First letter from Brazil!

Oi!!!!! MEU FAMILIA AMADO!

Thanks so much for writing me back! I love hearing about things from home! So I have not been gone for ever mom... I know what a boo is on halloween! haha that made me laugh! It sounds like everyone is doing great at home and I just sent off some letters today for you guys so hopefully it will arrive in about 2 weeks is what I hear. haha the post office is kinda sketchy. You will really like your letter if it actually comes haha. I was told they would give us letters to put our notes in and so I go into the post office and this guy takes 2 pieces of paper and glues them together and puts the letter inside haha. I guess that is how they do things here is brazil! haha

Things that have been happening here, we as a district did a musical number on sunday in sacrament meeting. and we are doing another one for devotional tonight! woo hoo! We got about 150 more missionaries this week and so this place is filling up quite a bit! I like it! But everyweek people leave too, and it seems like all of the brazilians that were close friends are leaving haha. Good thing all Brazilians are awesome! So this week has been really awesome and I feel like my portuguese really toook a leap. Just talking to everyone I can in portuguese has helped so much.

That is awesome that you are having more family parties with other families! Keep it up! I wish I could be there with you, but I can just be there is spirit. haha

DANIELLE IS GETTING A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT??????????? QUE ESSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!So this might be a dumb question but what is costa vida again? That is so awesome! I am so proud of you! I know you are getting the job, so you can send me letters on my mission! You're the best danielle!

Trev, that is awesome! Way to go in scouts! And Jazz band is a definatly good idea! Totally worth it! Jazz music is the best! your a stud!

Sorry I dont have like anymore time... the computers are really slow today, but as far as christmas... the only thing I can think of is a watch. Like a sports watch, with plastic. My watch is kida breaking down haha it is that and ties.

I'm out of time but I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Heath

Pictures from the MTC

The missionaries aren't able to upload any pictures while they are in the MTC... so we just got these from Branden.

ENJOY!

New Address!!

Now that Branden isn't in Provo anymore... if anyone wants to write him a letter here is his new address! You can still use DearElder to write him if you like that method... just use his new address information. :)

Elder Branden Jared Heath

Box #29 District #36-A Brazil MTC

Forteleza Brazil Mission

Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo, 121

Casa Verde, Sao Paulo, SP

Brazil 02516-040

I know he would love to hear from all of you!!

Finally in Brazil!! :)

Mue FAMILIA!!!!!! Eu amo voces muito e esperanco estao fazer OTIMO!

This week has been so crazy but I absolutly love it here in Sao Paulo! So the plane ride was super long and I couldnt really sleeep but I meet a ton of people and did a lot of reading! We had a blast and man, ariving in an airport where you cant read anything is really different! Im so glad that I knew what little portuguese I learned in Provo. So I could ask where the baggage and stuff was. There were about 10 of us missionaries on the plane togetther, so we put all of our portugues together and made it will all of our belongings. Driving to the mtc could be compared to a roller coaster ride! Especially for us missionaries! haha Our seats for some reason were not locked in adn kida slid back and forth and they drive like crazy people here! We were waving in and out and dodging the motercycles that are even crazier! The city is huge and we have a really good view drom our window! But we were greeted by President and Sister Clark and the gave us hugs and it was really nice to personally get to know them. Hope you got the picture that they sent home last week, I think I put your right e mail on the list. But Here in the Sao Paulo MTC it is pretty empty compared to Provo. Going from about 2500 missionaries to about 175 missionaries is pretty crazy! And only about 45 americans here. But that is all good. We hear there is a big visa shipment going out and about 175 visas just got sent so we shouild be getting more people here.

The best thing about the MTC here is all of the Brazillians! I have learned so much by just talking to them and I have made a lot of really good friends here! They are so nice and so patient with our portuguese. You will not believe how many of them know so many movie quotes in english, and some have actually learned english through movies and through videogames. We have two brazillian missionaries in our room, Elder Melo and Elder Servio! They are really nice, kinda quiet and reserved but they are really nice and we have a good time trying to communicate. I have been getting really good at charades here haha

But other than that we get to go out on the streets and go to the temple today! We actually just got back from the temple and man it was BEAUTIFUL! It is so cool how everyone speaks portuguese and we can all still get things done. We could actually talk a lot more at teh temple becasue it was mostly all gosple talk which we are pros at!

The food here is amazing. We saw a red hornet today.... and ran haha. I learned really quick that when you feel a little rain coming RUN FOR COVER! Becuase it never just rains here, it pours! haha But I love it here and cant wait to hear from you guys again! The mail system here is on strike I guess so I am not sure how much mail will get through but we e mail every week! Love you Tem um bom dia, e boa sorte!

Elder Heath!

Last Day in the Provo MTC

Today Branden left the Provo MTC and will be arriving in Brazil sometime in the next 24 hours. He has a long lay-over in Atlanta and we don't know exactly when he will be arriving in Brazil.

On Monday night Dallin was able to have one last dinner with Branden at the MTC and snapped a few pictures afterward.

He also ran into Sister Montgomery.

I had to put up this picture of the two missionaries because they look so awkward! haha!!

Branden is so excited and can't wait to get to Brazil. Dallin said Branden's Portuguese has improved since the last dinner they had, and that he was throwing Portuguese randomly into their conversations.

We can't wait to hear from him and here how things are down there!!

General Conference

Oi meu Familia!

Thank you so much for the express package that I received last week! Dad, thanks so much for running around and finding me the backpack! It is working perfectly! And the pictures that you sent me are so awesome! My desk looks complete now with a picture of my wonderful family! And dont worrie, I have already marked everything I own with that sharpe. Laundry is kinda of crazy, people are telling me stuff gets lost all of the time because everyone here has the exact same things! Thank you grandma too for sending the family letter! It was really nice reading up on how everyone is doing back home, and the pictures were awesome too!

So today we have another Elder leaving for Brazil! Elder lamb received his visa and is boarding the plane at 10:00 today! I am crossing my fingers everytime that we check the mail for that letter for me to go to the travel office:) It would be awesome going down to Brasil but Leaving everyone in my district here would be really sad. We have had so many awesome experiances together and are so close! I will definatly let you guys know when I receive my visa! I believe that I get another 5 min phone call if I receive my visa and head down to Brasil!

So General Conference was so awesome! You would not believe how early we were. I was remembering back at home when I would wake up 2 min before, and kind of stumble in and take a nap on the ground. This time we got up at 6:15, went and studied for an hour then headed to the auditorium to get good (comfy) seats. To our surprise the gym was already 1/4 full...2.5 hours before it started! haha pretty typical here though:) you are eather 1 hour early or you are late :) We had a really cool fireside after conference on sunday! You will never guess who came and talked to us! CHAD LEWIS!!!!!!!! He was an amazing TE for BYU and moved on the play for the Phili Eagles! IT was so awesome having him come and talk. He related sports to just about everything. He had some really awesome quotes that just made me want to jump up and get out and do missionary work :) After Elder sherrill and I went and shook his hand. He was a walk on at BYU and we asked him what it takes to make it, he said that you just need heart, and a want to work hard...no skill:) He talked about Donavan Mcnabb like they were old buddies haha Super awesome speaker. Then after that we had a musical number that was the most amazing thing I have ever heard. So there are about 2,000 missionaries in the auditorium and we sang called to serve. There was a special arrangement that was so awesome. The first half of the first verse we started sitting down, and singing as softly as we could. Even with 2,000 people it was like a whisper. Then the second half we got a little louder but still not very loud. Then the second verse we started singing normally, which with so many missionaries is loud. Then for the last part "We'll sing and we'll shout" We all stood up and sang as loud as possible and O MAN! It was so awesome! I had instant chills and it was so amazing! The walls of the building were shaking! I love being around so many missionaries that all have the same desire as we do and all are here to invite otehr to come unto Christ. It seems like I have meet hundereds of people, standing in line for food, walking in the halls, even here writing this letter I meet this Elder that is from Atlanta and just converted to our church 9 months ago! There are so many amazing people here!

I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ came to the Americas and Healed the sick and raised the dead. He is our loving Beloved brother and because of him we can all return to live with our families forever in heaven! That is God's plan of happiness, and through our faithfulness here on earth we can receive all of those blessings.

I love you so much!

Elder Heath

P.S. I just printed off some pictures I will be sending home soon :) Love you all!!!

Updates!

Oi familia! Como vai! Eu dormo muito bom Ultimo noite, e tem animados por que eu tem um nove componhero ojhe!!! (not sure how to spell that :)

So this past week we had one Elder in our group receive his VISA! Elder Baldwin is heading down to Brasil today. Because he is heading down, I am going to take over with his companion because we were in a three some. So My new companion is Elder Sherrill, he is from california. But for most of his life he lived on Kawai at Lihue, so just a little ways away from Betsy! He is such a good hard working Elder and it's going to be a blast!

So this last week some pretty awesome things have happened... I ran into some friends, or more of cassies friends :) I found out that Jon Burrup works here, and I sat in on one of his workshops that he taught! It is always really nice to see a familiar face! When we were talking, I had just got done with teaching a lesson in portuguese, and so portuguese was running atraves my head and he asked me a question, but I seriously could not think of the words to say in english to respond. It was really weird, but at the same time really awesome! The Language is coming really fast, and I am learning about 20 new words a day. It is really fun to go up to the guys that have only been here one or two days and just go off in portuguese. One of the cool things is walking around campus and just listening in all of the rooms to all the different languages that are being spoken here. We have a lot of japanese speaking Elders across the hall... and man I have it so easy with portuguese compared to them.

Dad, the other day I meet one of my buddies from college here, and he speaks spanish. So we tried having a spanish/portuguese conversation, and we could understand eachother pretty well! So we are going to have to see how much we can understand eachother one of these days!

I Also saw Danika's older sister here at dinner last night(sister Montgomery). I dont know if I have ever really talked to her, but it was nice chatting for a little bit:)

So our First investigator (silvana) is preparing for baptism this saturday and we are so excited! She had been having problems with the word of wisdom and didnt want to give up her coffee. So last friday I went into the cafateria and grabbed a bunch of hot coca packets as another drink instead of coffee, and on friday told silvana that hot cocoa is so much better than coffee. So when we meet with her this week she said that she had been drinking the hot cocoa and no coffee! We were so happy, and she said that she felt so good inside, and that she feels more awake and and more happy everyday! It was so awesome! So after that we had a little testimony meeting and there was such a strong good feeling in the room. After Silvana bore her testimony nos tem muito ANIMADOS!!!!!!! It is honsetly the best feeling I have ever felt. When you know that you have helped someone change their life for the better, and you can see how happy they are with teh teachings of the gosple in their lives! I love it!

So on another note... we are building up a rep here at the mtc! We are undefeated in beachvolleyball! And we have our rivals, the Tongans! I never knew beach volleyball was so much fun! I wish I could of played with cam this last summer.... darn work.

I love you all so much and will talk to you soon!

Elder Heath

P.S. The bookstore just got moved, and so I will be printing off pictures and sending some home soon :)

P.S.S. I am not sure what the official rules are for my Dakine backpack. But my backpach already ripped. And when the lady sold it to me she said we could trade it in for a backpack of the same or less price. So if you can trade it in for a black/ smallish backpack and send it to me... that would be awesome! Thanks a ton! and preferably with the straps like my green one had :)