There has been an information leak in the Santa Maria, Santa Marta Zone. The info is as follows: Elder Wassom has American Food Recipes. Instantly, I have become every American’s best friend. I have already responded to quite a few requests to copy and send them to elders all across Santa Maria. I am a very happy boy.
Why am I so particularly happy? Well, today I made a big ol pot of chili. At first, I was afraid it wouldn’t turn out right, because there was a lot of improvising that I had to do. First of all, chili powder isn’t a thing here. So I though... yeah that’s kind of important. Also, canned foods also isn’t a thing here. So I used fresh tomatoes, bagged tomato sauce, and I cooked my own beans. I live in Brazil. Of course I know how to cook beans. So instead of chili powder, I decided to use some churrasco seasoning, green bell pepper, and (the equivalent of) tobasco. To make a long story short, it worked wonderfully. If you guys have watched ratatouille, you might remember the reaction of the food critic in the restaurant when he tried the ratatouille dish. For those who do not remember, he goes into a flashback of when he was a boy, saddened by the recent bicycle accident. But his mother was full of compassion on him, and went to deal to his requests. She gave him a bowl of ratatouille. He smiles. Flashback ends. Time seems to stop. The pen in his hand rolls dramatically out of his hand and free falls 2 lengthy feet to the floor. A satisfied smile slowly spreads his previously-grim face, lightening the intense mood into that of abundant joy. He has a spoonful. And another. It is as if he was returning to his happy childhood which he left several bitter years ago. This over-dramatic interpretation of the climactic scene of a very mediocre film well describes my felicity during the 10 minutes of joy I experienced at lunchtime. Although I had no pen to drop from my quaking hand, I was able to re-live my days in Texas, and satisfy my temporary longing for home.
That’s enough poetry for this email. So other things. The weather has been AWESOME. Like, 73 degrees, partly cloudy. It feels like fall is right ready to take its place. And I have no complaints about that. Oh, and mom, I have a jacket now. It’s a big long black raincoat with a removable fur lining on the inside, tending to my chilly-or-freezing jacket needs. It’s really nice. My favorite part - it was free. For some reason, Elder Cardoso didn’t want it, so he left it behind at the transfer.
Another reason why I am happy - We are having success. Last week’s difficulty was recompensed. We now have a handful of what we hope to be the Elect of God, awaiting the chance to hear the gospel. Some of them, we can already tell that they are. For example, last week, we clapped a door (about a thousand, actually, but this one in particular) of a lady named Veleda. She was watching a novella (I hate novellas). She told us she couldn’t attend us at the time, but said we could come back another time. Yeah... that’s what they all say. But. Last Monday night, after P-day, we had nothing to do, so we went through our contacts, and gave Veleda another chance. She accepted us warmly. She said "Sorry for not taking you in last time. I was wearing these hideously ugly Bermuda shorts, and I didn’t want anyone to see me." Haha.. made me laugh on the inside. But she sat and listened. She mentioned to us that she had seen our chapel when passing it on the road. It caught her attention it was so beautiful, she said. So we're all like "Cool, wanna take a tour of the inside?" So we did the whole missionary chapel tour thing. At the end, in the chapel, I sang "Mais Perto Quero Estar" ("Nearer My God, to Thee") as Elder Soares da Silva played the piano. (Yes, he plays piano. We will be a well-used source of musical numbers in the ward, I can imagine) So anyways, she said she felt something she never felt before really strongly in her heart. We testified of the spirit, and now she’s gonna be baptized.
Hey, I’m out of time again, but other potentials are Ana, and two ladies named Rosangela.
Love you all.
Com Amor,
ELder Wassom
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