Yup! I'm here, in Maceió (sorta, long story that is explained below). I think I've just about completed 10% of my mission now, if my totally nonexistent math is right - anybody want to check me on it? Fffffrick. :D AH'M SO EXCITEEEEED.

As usual, lotsa stuff in the post. Hope you'll have the patience with me! Don't forget to write, as now I can receive any and everything (though if you're not sending a drawing, carepackage, bomb, or some other such thing that requires my physical presence, you'll likely just want to stick with email). Be advised it can take anywhere between 1-2 months - don't send me something weird like fruits or veggies (though I'd still love you for it, even while I was chucking them). Don't forget to write! I'm excited to hear how my awesome peoples are faring!

In the Field - Vol. 1 of 96(ish?)

HOLEY BEANPOLING TOUCANANANAS. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW EXCITED I AM TO BE HERE IN THE FIELD.

Bahaha. I've been waiting an entire week to mash a keyboard like that. :P This place is AWESOME! But first, gotta pick up where I left off last.

So. While I was in the CTM, we had to go to the Brazilian Federal Police and get fingerprinted and entered into their system (a lot of organizational nightmare, let me tell you). A bunch of the missionaries with me came in these little APCs that the São Paulo MTC has, and we went up a bunch of stairs to go into what was basically an impromptu immigration office. It was very. Very. Long. And it involved a lot. Of. Standing.

Kind of like what I'm doing nowadays, except I'm actually talking to people. :D

There were some neat opportunities to do missionary work there, though. We had a Korean member whose Portuguese was somewhat skewed (remember we met her in the impromptu immigration office), and I absolutely failed to communicate with. The Brazilians found her first, and I'm just proud to have contributed the Book of Mormon we gave her - she didn't have her library with her, or know where a church was. Glad we could help!

Also. Having a tiny Brazilian tot say "Bom dia!" to me in the squeakiest voice I've ever heard. Made my day! :D I hear it a lot now, but again I'll explain that in a bit.

And thus, the time came. Transferred from Elder Maiava (who's an absolute boss to teach with - thanks, Elder!), then we hit the road...of São Paulo again! Before we head out to the field, we're given two opportunities to do street proselyting - around the CTM (remember the last post?) and then in the heart of São Paulo, in a highly urbanized area. I was a bit nervous this time too...but Elder Shaw and I sucked it up, and we ended up handing out 5 Books of Mormon! It was SO awesome. It felt really good to be able to finally perform some of the work we've been trained to do, and I sincerely hope some lives got changed that day. One companionship actually spent the entire two hours we had to do this discussing...EVERYTHING...with a single guy in a park. He got excited to call in for freaking BAPTISM. Que legal, não?

The next day, E. Shaw and I once again went out, this time to the field - Maceió! MACEIÓ! :DDD The field! Hooohaa! We went out with three other missionaries that day - Elders Ribeiro, Keen, Maia (known amongst us as Elder Filippe), and another brasileira Sister (though her name escapes me at the moment...frick. :|)
I dedicated much of the travel time to thinking, writing, and figuring out what exactly I learned at the MTC...and I think I can sum it up in one sentence.

The phrase "encourage others to come unto Christ" requires the word "courage".

This is something I learned from those two hours proselyting out on the streets of São Paulo. And it's true! Once we started discussing with people, it was easy - the hard part was getting over ourselves, and introducing ourselves in such a way that we didn't freak them out. Beyond that, it was easy to talk about our work - I guess I DID learn something from these two months after all, huh?

That day, I met my mission president. President Gonzaga is a business-toned man who has a great love for missionaries, as does his animated wife. Sister Gonzaga is also a fantastic cook - I ate some REALLY good food while I was in the mission home that afternoon. When Prez Gonzaga and I opened our relationship with our first interview, my first line was something I hope all you UCASians will appreciate:

"Eu sou um nerde."

I also met my companion, Elder Biddulph. He's from Utah, like me. He's also had an interesting dynamic in his mission - he was actually reassigned to California while he waited for his visa to come through, and he had to start basically from scratch with his Portuguese when he arrived here. Four months later, he's training me - and he's freaking good with Portuguese. Not to mention, he's also a really good missionary. I'm super proud to be his junior, which oftimes we call a "son" here in the field. Heheh.

I'm now no longer in the city of Maceió, or even the state of Alagoas of which it is the capital - I'm currently in the state to the south, called Sergipe. My area is called Siqueras Campos, and right now I'm typing from a "lan house" - which is basically a cheapified internet café that will serve as my access points for email for the next two years! This is gonna be REALLY weird. But hey. I'm not done writing all this junk yet!

The house I'm staying in is a freaking CASTLE. We go up to the second (or third, in the US) floor, and we're basically open to the wind once we open a bunch of windows and doors - 'ti s NICE, because nights can get pretty warm here. It's also weird to think I haven't taken a warm shower or used toilet paper in a week...but HEY. Lifestyle changes, all of 'em. :D

Time's running short, but here's a list of crazy junk I've heard and seen really quickly:

- Guy having armpit stretch marks. Holy beefcaking.

- First day on the job - day of firsts. First date of marked baptism, first lunch with members, first breakfast of strictly rice and beans...first barfing in a LONG time from eating way too much. :P Is it weird to say it was fun?

- "Have you ever accidentally kicked your mom in the stomach while giving her a high five? Yeah. Didn't think so."

- "Optimization issues in programming are like picking your nose. Everyone kind of gives it a sideways glance, but life sure seems better once you do it." - for Matt Peterson

Yup. Life be crazy and awesome! I gotta peace out for now, but next time I promise you this: PICTURES. :D

Tchau tchau!