Among the Gaúchos: New Companion and New Responsibilities

My new companion and I after Stake Conference this weekend.

11/17/2014

First week of the new transfer! To start things off here's the story about getting my new companion. They told us that he would get here 10:30 pm on Tuesday night, a bit weird but whatever. So Tuesday morning Elder Gois and Elder Rocha Martins were packing up all their stuff and we were cleaning the house a bit. Around 11:00 am we get a call from a Sister in our ward saying that she found an Elder waiting there at the Rodo Viaria (bus station?) an Elder Araújo so we were a sort of caught off guard and ran down to the bus station to pick up my companion. Another thing, in our mission we have an Elder Santos Araújo, Elder Araújo Souza, Elder Araújo Lima, and just Elder Araújo (the last name is pretty common here in Brasil). So who we thought was coming was Elder Santos Araújo who Elder Gois knows and is "my age", but who they told us was coming was Elder Araújo Souza (they mixed up the names on the transfers list) and who it actually came was just Elder Araújo. So he isn't the Elder that I explained to y'all last week.

Elder Araújo is from Brasilia, funny enough the same ward that Elder Fávero my first companion is from. He will have 5 months on the mission this week and this Saturday makes 10 months for me, kind of crazy. So the day went on and we had to pick up other Elders at the bus stop so they wouldn't be alone and dropped others off and Elder Gois said some last good byes to people until it was finally time for him to be off for Santa Maria. It was a bit sad to send of Elder Gois who became my good friend for the past 13 weeks together but I can already tell that Elder Araújo and I get along great and we will work awesome together.

So this week has been a bit different for me with a new companion and that feeling when we start to plan... and now what?... haha but with time I'm sure it´ll get easier. We are going to have to do a lot of work finding new investigators and following the spirit especially because this transfer is only 5 weeks and that means just 4 more to go, wow. Elder Araújo has great energy and isn't afraid to talk with everybody that we see so I know we will have success. And a cool bit, he actually worked as an English teacher so for language study we have just been conversing in English and reading the Book of Mormon out loud in English. He is practically fluent (but he wont tell you that haha).

Anyway so many stories to tell and never enough time! Love you all hand I hope you enjoy the pictures this week!

Elder Pierce

There's a big cuia (koo-e-ya) statue here in the city that Elder Gois and I took pictures with
(cuia traditional cup thing that gauchos drink Chimarrao from)

Pics from a Noite Familiar (Family Home Evening) we had as a farewell

for Elders Gois and Rocha Martins:

We sang I am a Child of God together.

Here are pics of a game we played at the Noite Familiar (family home evening) where one tie is rat and one is a cat and when you get the rat tie you have to make 2 knots and pass it on but when the cat tie comes to you you only do 1 knot and then whoever gets caught by the cat while they are still tying the rat is out, super fun!