Week #11: Feliz Natal

     Hazzit my people!  This week went by fast. Christmas was good, we worked.  It was pretty much a normal day, I'm super pumped to get all the mail from family!  I'll get it in about a week.

     It was so sweet talking with you guys, I'm glad you guys are doing good.  I didn't get an email from Keapo, but if you give me her e- mail I can write.



Felt good to sit in a car!  Too bad we can't use it!

     This week we had someone that wanted to give us a car.  Irmao Thomas, he told us,"you guys walk too much - -  take my car, it's yours."   But he was like serious, of course we said no.  However, people here will not stop at anything to give, they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.  



Turkey!  Best meal yet!

    




The lunch we had Christmas eve day was the best one we've ever had!  We actually knew what kind of meat it was, we had turkey.

     Oh Elder +=*&%$@ got transferred
:( idk where he went but he's not here anymore.

     Aye and you guys got to here my Portuguese, that was cool.  Nothing really new this week especially since we talked!  Same old - -  I will send pics right now.  Love you lots! 

Christmas Day Talk:

Love Modern Technology

Happy Mama!

•  Gained 8# in the CTM, has lost 7 of those 8 pounds. 
• Averages 8 - 10 miles a day on foot.  If an appointment cancels we will walk upwards of 12 miles that day.
• In the CTM there were some college football players - - they taught the missionaries some chants - - got us all going - - brotherhood!
• Elder Fernandez is my companion - - he is from Peru. He has worked his whole life, helping to support his family.  He is a beast.  I have learned most of my Portuguese from him, he is an excellent teacher.  I am also learning Spanish.  He asks me every night,  "Do you Deserve to Sleep?".  This means did I work hard and give the Lord my best.  If the answer is yes then I deserve to sleep.  If no, then I need to get up and work some more! 
• A Favela is a shanty type home, made of cardboard or tin.  When we track there we can't take anything with us but one paper back Book of Mormon.  No bags, no watches etc . . . this keeps us safe.
• We eat a lot of fruit.  When we have a lunch appointment cancel on us - - this is our lunch meal for the day - - we pray other food will be provided to us.  Many times fruit vendors will offer fruit as we are walking.  A tender mercy.
• Been on splits (trade companions for the day and work in a different area)  to Sumare - - 30 minute bus ride. 
• Funny story:  There was a man on the street - - he approached us.  He told us he needed to touch our faces.  I said, "No way man!"  My companion let him palm his face.  Elder Fernandez was getting uncomfortable - - I told the dude to let my companion go.  He said no while trying to touch me.  I told him no again and pulled his hand off of Elder Fernandez.  My companion was quite upset at this point!  As we walked away Elder Fernandez said, "as soon as he touched me I lost the spirit!" 



Braxton Hatch, Baylor Romney & Carlie

• Hearing Elder Akina speak Portuguese and bearing witness to the work was the highlight of our phone call.  Love this kid!

Erik Glover facing timing Elder Akina

The Bus!

 

Week #10 Nutella & Dogs!

Oiii Hazzit Everybody,

 

     Mom I did not get any packages yet. It´s okay though, I have something to open on Christmas!  On the plane ride over they gave us little like fun size Nutella to put on the scone things, but I saved it for a rainey day.  I have decided I will eat it with a piece of toast Christmas morning, it will be glorious.  I have waited 2 months to open that bad boy  - - ha ha. (box is sitting at the mission home - - arrived day after mission party - - dang it!)

      I can't wait to talk with you guys, its gunna be sweet.  Yeah our water turned back on, so we we're pretty stoked.  This week was good, the days are starting to go by fast.  The language is coming a long well.

 

Mom: Are those Bananas?
Elder Akina: Yes my companion made them - - there were amazing!

     My companion and I kicked our first dog this week!  Please let Bro. Pac know, he would be proud.  Ha - - ha but yeah, we were walking like next a bunch of cars on the side of the road and this like ugly Beagle looking dog (kinda like opihi) nah nah jk, but seriously, like comes out from under this truck and like lunges at my companion.  My companion used his bag as like a shield and the dog like jumped up to bite at him again!   The dog caught a heel like right to the chest, it fell on its back and then booked the other way ha - - ha!  It was pretty sweet.  I havent kicked one yet,  but I have the technique down if need be.

 

      We have 9 investigators, 3 of them are getting pretty close.  My shoes are good - - I like them a lot!  That's pretty much it for this week, teaching and walking.  Will send pictures.

 

Love you lots. tchau - - Elder Akina

Week #9 "Ele e o presente" He is the Gift

Hazzit minha familia!

 

    Yes, I remebered that I have an umbrella, but it gets to the point where it doesn´t even do anything cuz the wind blows super hard and the rain is so heavy it like doesn't make much of a difference ha ha.  But yeah, it rained super hard this week.  We didn't have water for 3 days - -  it sucked, we had to fill buckets up and carry them back to our place.  It all worked out.

    I'm about an hour and half away from the mission home, and it doesn't surprise me you can't find it on a map!  Ha - - ha it's kinda in the middle of no where!   We grocery shop at this little store that's probably about as big as a Circle K.  It's kinda hard cuz it literally has like nothing, so we rely super heavily on the members lunch.   Like if they cancel or something it like ruins our day cuz we hardly have anything at our place to eat.  I never thought I'd say this in my life - - but I actually miss Wal-mart!  We have a washing machine to do our wash but we don't have water still,  so we did our laundry by hand this week. 

 

     One of the other missionaries in the other companionship that got sent here with us is having a rough time, his name is Elder *@#%$, we were in the CTM together so we got here at the same time.  He's ready to go home, like he hates it here.  The President won't transfer him though, which is good. He needs to learn. This is a pretty hard area to start off in, so please pray for him.

 

     We have are big Christmas thing in Piracicaba, we leave here at 6 in the morning.  It's like an all day thing, so if the package got here I should get it tomorrow.  Oh and yes, we have been sharing the "He's the gift" thing, here its called "ele e o presente" and yeah we love sharing it with our investigators.

 

     Oh yeah, Mom I need you to send like recipies to me, like basic ones - -  but like that still taste good you know. Oh and do you wash ground beef?  My companion and I argued about this the other day for like 20 minutes, in the end we did it my way and didn't wash it but I'm still not sure ha - - ha!  So yeah please answer that.

 

     But any who,  we're still working hard.  We have like 3 investigators that are really progressing so were pretty stoaked about that.  That's pretty much it for this week,  I'll attach some pics right now.

 

Love you lots. tchau.

Elder Akina

 

 

 

 

 

 Caleb and Braxton preparing for their
UGLY Christmas Sweater party.

Sent this photo to Elder Akina, "Ahh, Sa-weet!  I miss those dudes!"

Investigator owns this chicken farm. 

 Much to Elder Akina's sisters heart ache, there are lots of stray dogs.

 "Soccer, it's the sport here - - basketball doesn't exist.  70 year old men still ball here!"

Neighbor - - he roams the streets!

Instagram at Lunch!

Carlie received an Instagram message at lunch today!  Love the technology!

 

Week #8 Mango Poop & The Box

Hazzit Minha Familia!!

     All is well here in Portal Bordon, Brazil, working hard.

 

     Mom the $118 dollar thing was to pick up my box!!!!  Thanks heaps.  After 6 buses and 2 days I finally got it.  Everyone in my district was dying to see what was inside because they knew I'd gone through outer darkness to get it.  Thanks.  

 

     I haven't gotten a notice that my Christmas one is here yet.  I will probably have to wait 'til the 18th, that's when we have this Christmas thing down in Piracicaba and where all the mail goes.  Yeah I'd say keep sending everything to the mission address because our specific address where I'm at is super sketchy with mail, plus we live on the back of a house in like this favela area and don't have like a mail box or like a front area to put it you know. So, yeah probs best to keep on doing it like this.  Whenever you send a package it has to be under 50 dollars or I will have to pay. 

 

     This week has been good, we've been teaching a bunch of people, the same lesson over and over ha - - ha!  The first one, the Resturation, this is the first time all these people have been taught.   It's nice because we will say "we are missionaries of LDS church blah - - blah, some refer to us as "Mormons" and they have never heard of us before.  So it's nice because they don't have this thought already in their head like,  "Oh you guys... yeah goodbye!"  Ha Ha, so that's pretty cool.

 

     This week my companion and I discovered a mango tree in like this field area right next to our house, so we have just been pounding the mangos!  Our bathroom literally smelt like mangos cuz they just go right through - - you know. 

 

     The tan lines are getting real too.  I have one from like my collar and my watch, I haven't gotten the one down the middle from the tie yet, but we will see. 

 

    Oh yeah - - mom I need daddy kirks address.  Also, send pictures I have gotten only one  - - what's up with that!?  Ha- - ha.  This week was pretty normal, just walking until you die. 

 

     Oh yeah, I had my first dream in Portuguese!  It wasn't fully in Portuguese, like I was in a classroom and everyone was speaking English and everything.  The teacher called on me and I answered in Portuguese. Ha - -ha it woke me up too, I was all excited!  The full Portuguese ones will come soon, I hope.  

 

     My companion loves the shoe shining kit!  Can you print more photos for my album?  Oh Mom, if you didn't send it in the Christmas box, can you hook it up with Chapstick please?

 

     That pretty much it for this week.  Love you lots if you see this right now, I'll be on for a little bit more.  Thanks for everything mom you're the bestest.

 

 

Tchau love you guys lots.

Week 7 Portal Bordon

     Hey Mom!!! Ha ha,  I'm safe!  Sorry, yeah dad was right - - I missed my P-day because of transfers. I didn´t get my box that you sent for me at the mission home, it is here in Brazil but I have to pay 260 reals to get it (130$), and I don't have the money.   It's okay I'll figure it out, ha ha I've been sleeping on a matress with no sheet and a pillow with not pillow case on it!  Apparently you fill out a form when you send a package to Brazil and when you do, if all the stuff amounts to over 50$ I will have to pay for it.  The President said be very general when you list stuff. (Money added to debit card - - go get the box!) 

     I'm doing great! I got assigned to open a new area, called Portal Bordon, with my companion Elder Fernandez.  It's hard work man.  When first got here we got home to an empty little 2 bedroom house.  All of the stuff came in the next day.  The area is sweet, man I love it, you walk a lot!  The members that live in the area are so cool too.  It's hard starting out in a new area because you don't have that many referrals, so you start from the ground up.  Street contacting and knocking doors, I love it! 

 

     There are some areas in the mission they're averaging 2 baptisms a week, but I like it better like this, so when your investigators do get baptized you can say I found them. We've been working hard and the people here are super cool, like you say you got a message about Jesus Christ - - they're all for it man.  

 

     When you get in someones house the first question is,  "you want juice? Let me go make juice!"  The first couple of times Id' say, "Oh, no thank you, we're good - -  but they don't listen. ha - - ha they will make sure you get juice!  We're not allowed to drink the water in this area - - but its kinda like dad in Venezuela when they make it for you, you drink it.  I've had diarrhea for like 4 days ha - - ha, just getting used to the food and water and stuff, nothing serious. Here we eat lunch with members, not dinner.  We don't even eat dinner, it's crazy how the mission works.  Like the other day we worked all day, had like an hour lunch then kept on going!  We got home at like 9:45 and I sat down on my bed and was like, dang my leg has been hurting all day, but you don't really notice cuz your always teaching and helping other people.

 

     We have made a ton of contacts and we'll set up an appointment with them, and a lot of people flake it's really annoying!  I think I've heard some of the craziest excuses this week then in like my whole life ha - - ha.  On Wednesday we had an appointment with a guy who we made contact with on the street, but he didn't live in our area.  We still took his address down and we got permission from the zone leader to go and teach him, 1 hour and 15 minute walk.  We find his house, he answers, we say - -  hey we're the missionaries remember us?  He says, yeah hey look guys I'm just not interested anymore, sorry and he closed the door.  My companion and I looked at each other, exhaled and we walked 1 hour 15 back, ha - - ha.  

 

     I love teaching and testifying in these houses and streets, the people get so excited when you tell them about Jesus.  Oh yeah,  you don't knock on doors, you clap outside them - - its kinda weird.  A lot of the houses don't have doors any ways.  There are 2 other missionaries that got sent with us to this new area, so it's divided Portal Bordon A and B. My companion is my trainer, he's from Peru, he's little.   He's been out 7 months and he speaks like perfect Portuguese, he's kinda small.  We work well together.

 

     The language is coming, people talk super fast I can understand if they slow down, but if they're talking fast I just try to pick out the words I hear and know then draw like a conclusion as to what they're saying.  I feel like I can talk way better then I can understand. But it's coming a long.

 

     Hope you guys had a good Thanksgiving, ha - - ha we didn't have one.  There's no such thing here, I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving 'til my companion and I got home and were planning for the next day,  I saw the date in my planner.  I was like, "Oh, today was Thanksgiving - - ha ha.

 

     But all is well, just teaching and walking, and then more walking, ha- - ha.

 

I love you guys!!!  I'll send pictures in a separate e mail.  Tchau

On the streets of Portal Bordon - - loving the field!

Papa Pilimai this fa'i tree is for you!

Backyard of the missionary pad.

Should we be surprised?  He found a hoop!

 This is Elder Akina's Mom's favorite for the week!

He got pooped on by a very large BIRD!  They walk 30 minutes to church - - about

2 minutes from their destination the bird did a fly by! 

He had to turn around to change and then walk back to the chapel! 

 Elder Camacho in the CTM with Elder Akina. 

Hawai'i Elder  - - graduate of Kamehameha, knows our Anna and Tierre.

 Da Boys in the CTM 

 Temple grounds in Brazil