August 25, 2010

hey everyone!! how are you all doing?! i hope you are doing great!!!
this week we have training meetings. it almost feels like a basketball
tournament or something or a road game where we have to stay in a
hotel. i feel bad about that. it isnt how i was hoping, but lots of
missionaries are using this time as an oportunity to hang out with
friends. it feels like we are on vacation or something. i guess that
it is just a different part of the work that the church has started.
it is definitely different than normal. we start our meetings at 9 and
it goes until 4. we eat lunch together too. so we all just sit there,
listening and discussing different ideas about everything. it is
pretty interesting. i dont know how it could be better than practicing
and receiving feedback though. i hope it helps out in the long run. we
have been putting it into practice as we work at night. it is helping
i think. i barely worked with elder ficklin this week though because
of this training meeting. i have been with elder pezzin this whole
time. he was in my zone in jundiai but his name was elder cardoso
then. it is pretty fun. we have been staying at a house just outside
campinas in a city called paulinia. it is the smallst house in the
mission ha. that is fine but not with five missionaries. one elder
slept on the tile floor and three of us without blankets or anything.
it got a little cold. tonight we got moved to a house with about 6
other missionaries. they are all the crazy missionaries in the mission
too ha. i think it will be pretty crazy. it will probably be pretty
fun but its not like i am in the mission. i just want to start working
again. the worst thing is that there is no way to talk with the
missionaries in my zone because we are out of minutes. we can only
call them when we are in the same area code. i hope they are doing
well too ha.
i really am liking my new area. there is a young man in the ward that
is always with us. luis eduardo bacarin is his name. he is really
cool. the branch is great and the members work tons!!! things are
going well. we always have tons of people at church. it is great! i
think we are going to baptize quite a bit! elder ficklin teaches well.
but i am excited to learn the area so that we can get things
progressing more quickly!! that was about all that has happened
though!! sorry i dont have much time to write this week!!
love you guys!! thanks for everything!!
love,
elder long