Scorpions, Monkeys and Snakes…

I guess I will start with the wildlife report--this week has been crazy.  We have a family of monkeys that live in the mango tree next to our house.  They are quite the little thieves--if there is any fruit anywhere, they are the first ones to get it.  They are adorable though.  And then came Wednesday night.  We walked into the house and the floor had a few surprises--scorpions the size of my hand!  Holy cow!  Well, to say the least, we captured them and let them pass on into the next life.  Let’s just say I wear my shoes everywhere in the house now.  And then on Thursday, I had the opportunity to do a split with Elder M* in his area.  As we were walking, this huge snake (about 15 feet long) was leisurely crossing the road.  I think it was a python.  It was super thick (about 7 inches in diameter.)  I guess I will be a little more careful the next time we take a short cut through a field...

In terms of missionary work...This past week has been raining a ton.  We found a mother and her daughter to teach during one of the rain storms.  They both went to church yesterday and loved it.  We also are teaching a lot of youth--they are the only ones who want to listen to us.

We are eating a lot of rice, beans, chicken, oh and yeah, a little more rice...

Today was really neat.  We had a mission conference with Elder Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve.   Wow, he is the most humble man I have ever met.  He made it a point to shake every missionary's hand. The way he teachs illustrates the love of Christ - I learned so many things.  He spoke in very broken Portuguese but he refused to speak English (it was awesome, he's persistent!).  It is good to know that the Apostles struggle with foreign languages too (even if they lived in the country for four years.)  He brought with him Elder Jairo Mazzagardi of the Seventy.  His message was one of repentence and he emphasized:

“This life is short, eternity is very long!"  

This really impressed me.  Am I doing everything possible to take advantage of this short existence in order to take full advantage of an eternal one?  

"Cada dia é um novo dia!"

I like this phrase, and share it often.  

(Today is a new day!)