Well, Tica is great but she is also kind of a stumbling block in the work. Everyone wants to get baptized her way and it's making stuff hard. Also, happy birthday to Katie!
Okay, well this week was very strange. We had 3 investigators that I was sure would be easy baptisms (this is to say we wouldn't have to push them into the font), 3 girls that were loving the branch, they're teachers and they were really close to baptism, but this week one of them wasn't home the 8 times we passed and then she wasn't in church. The other girl said she needed more time like Tica (worst excuse I've ever heard). The third girl said she'd be at church but wasn't so we'll have to talk to her. But that's not the strange part, get a load of this, we had 6 investigators at church. Here are their backgrounds. First, a woman that said the church wasn't bad but that it wasn't true. She likes the missionaries but doesn't want anything to do with the church. Well, she was at church on Sunday. Second, third and fourth, a woman and her kids from Araipina, a town about an hour outside Trindade that we visit every Friday cause we have members there. Anyway, we passed there this Friday to invite this woman and her kids to church (they are inactive members and haven't been for several years). We invited her and she said, "thanks for the invitation but I will never go to church again". After some talking we extended the invitation again and left. Well, her and her two kids were there at church on Sunday. Five and six, a couple with several kids that are members of the church, and the first time we ever met the husband about a month ago, we entered the house and he called his daughter into another room and started hitting her with a wooden bar. He got so mad at her for letting the missionaries into the house that he started beating her. Well, he was pretty drunk, so some of her brothers pulled him back and the girl left the house. We left since we were mostly the problem and we had never been back to that house until this week. We were invited by a member of the ward over there. I was afraid something bad would happen again but he just quietly listened. It was really bad missionary work on my part because while we were teaching him the whole time I was wanting to get up and smash my chair over his head. I was still very angry at him for the way he treated his daughter but I learned to have faith that people can change because he and his wife were there at church on Sunday. So, that's what I mean by this week was strange. I learned to trust that God can change anyone.
HAHA! And also I was talking to an investigator that the other elders are teaching and I told her I was from the United States. She replied, "oh", and I said California. She said "is that close to Sao Paulo?" I said the United States. She guessed, "Rio?" I said no, I'm not from Brazil. Yeah, so that just goes to show my Portuguese must be kinda good, and also she is really uneducated. Everyone knows where the United States is.
Also, the Branch President was trying to speak to me in English. He said, "Do...you, are Flowers?" I didn't know what to say to that so I asked him to just speak in Portuguese.
Last thing that was wierd this week...on our way here to the internet cafe we turned the corner next to the big Catholic church and became the head of a funeral procession. It was perfect timing so that everyone was just behind us and followed us for 3 blocks. It was kind of wierd but mostly kinda funny.
Also, yes the music is acapella. I'm the unofficial music conductor guy...I do it most weeks. The branch president conducts. The priests pass and I think we've got like 100 active members and something like 300 actual members.
I love all of you,
Elder Swinney
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