Food!!!

Hey Guys. The Mail takes about a week and a half to get from here to home. Two Brazilian holidays slowed down the mail right as I sent the first letter. I can not send pictures until after I leave the CTM. I´m having so much fun. Today we went to the Temple. It`s almost impossible to describe how beautiful the Temple and the grounds are. There´s a stake center and the temple right next to each other. The Stake Center and Temple Grounds both have beautiful gardens and lawns, as well as lots of benches to sit on. Today I went with my companion and my district to Simpatia Gaucha for lunch. It´s like Tacanos. I spent the equivalent of about 12 us dollars. I haven´t spent any other money since I got out here. The meals are great here at the CTM. There´s usually meat and then beans and rice but the meat is always different and there are a lot of fruits and vegetables and endless soda fountains. They serve fresh cut Guava here. It´s good but the seeds are hard. The Mamau (I don´t know how to spell that) is a beautiful looking fruit that tastes awful. So I´ve just described lunch and dinner. There´s also breakfast. The difference with this meal is that they serve Ham and Cheese sandwiches every single morning of every day of every week that we are at the MTC. I´m memorizing whole sentences in Portuguese. I´m starting to understand some scriptures and simple sentences in my study books. When natives try to converse it still makes my head spin but I can pick out a few things. We´ve had a lot of great devotional and firesides here. I sing in the Choir because Elder Hollandsworth wouldn´t have it any other way. I´ve never laughed so hard, so frequently before as I do with my companion and the other Elders in my district. I use the exercise time to the best of my ability. I´ve been eating a lot but I´m consistently losing weight. I´ve lost nine pounds. No worries though, I´m just getting used to the food and running around. The Brazilians love Americans! Many Brazilian elders leave here for the field all the time and always take pictures with us. When I get out in the field I´ll have some fun pictures for you guys. It´s like 80 degrees here. Love - Elder Devin Hanson.