Last week in the CTM

Yet another enthusiastic greeting,

Chess... the Lord's answer to my prayer. This last week was starting to drag a bit because we are all so sick of trying to learn in the CTM and want to get out of the field so we end up just talking but then feeling guilty about not learning the language...but not enough to do much about it. So one day we were really bored and Elder Fabian had the brilliant idea to make a chess board out of paper. Sounded pretty stupid but it was literally better than any other idea that we could think of so we made it and started playing. It's freaking awesome. I have now played 11 matches in the past 5 days, all of which are usually around 40 min long...yep just thought I would let you know I am wasting time. Just kidding, we usually play at break time but I could still be doing something more productive...but it is too fun. And I am actually a lot better than I remember being and we all know winning is everything.

How about that Conference eh? We got to see all of it and it was so good. The talks were amazing and to top it all off we got to see the guy in the choir that looks like Peter Griffin from Family Guy every once in a while. I told my district about that and they all hated me cause they would just start laughing when it panned through everyone. Anyway, I loved all the talks. Every word the apostles and prophet say(s) are so much more meaningful when you are a missionary.

I especially loved Sister Allred's talk when she encouraged those at home to write the missionaries...it's funny how at home conference seemed SO long but here we are used to sitting in class for 3 and 1/2 hours in one sitting so it seemed like it flew by. Awesome. Oh yeah how about that temple in Rome? Pretty big news around these parts especially with my companion Elder Blackham because he LOVES architecture and says that he will never forgive the church if they don't use some sort of Greek influence in their design of it. I rarely understand what he is actually saying.

Glad you had a good time at SYTYCD Alysha and Karrissa. I am actually glad I was not there to be embarrassed by your 11-year-old screams.

The other night I woke up and was so confused to as why I was awake in the middle of the night because I never wake up in the middle of the night but then I heard this huge 'crash' outside and so I opened up the windows and I swear it was like a scene out of some crazy movie. It was literally the biggest lighting storm I had ever seen. It was awesome because there was like hardcore pollution going on so I could barely see anything except where the massive amounts of lightning were hitting. I watched a building about 200 yards away from us get hit, it was crazy.

Oh yeah we went proselyting again and it was pretty sweet, but prob the worst time of the 3. We went to this park that was really really quiet and very few people were there so within about half an hour the entire park had been beat to a pulp with the gospel from the 12 eager missionaries of my district. It was good though cause we just left the park and walked down some streets and made some pretty good contacts.

Some days I don't put gel in my hair because my district loves it because I look 12. Moving on.

The language actually is starting to make a little more sense. I went and got my haircut yesterday by the local barber that belongs in a pizzeria in Italy, and we actually had a pretty normal conversation in portuguese while he was cutting my hair. It was pretty cool and I am starting to think a little more in portuguese although most the time I have to think of the sentence in English and then translate it to portuguese out loud. It's funny because if a Brazilian talks to you and you understand their first sentence (which they say really slow as if to test out the waters of your understanding) then it's like they think 'oh i guess he must speak portuguese' so they take off into some elaborate story about who knows what and you just have to nod your head and say 'sim' periodically throughout. My Brazi roommates have a problem with this and I always have to ask them to slow down. They also enjoy turning on the lights at 5 in the morning…who knows why they get up that early. Oh and during our naps after lunch as well, it just makes us so so happy.

Speaking of roommates we had a tough goodbye last night. Elder Phillips, Elder Smith's companion who share a room with Elder Blackham and I unexpectedly was summoned to his mission this morning. Long story that I dont have time to explain but his visa came late so he stayed at home a week longer before he came and no one thought it important to tell him that he would be leaving a week early too. It was actually kind of funny to see him scrambling around to pack and stuff but I felt bad for him. He is really quiet but when he goes proselyting he talks to EVERYONE. He loves to share the gospel and has the best work ethic I have ever seen.

We went around saying goodbye to him last night and he started crying, which then obviously made me start crying because I am a blubbering baby now and, as the CTM doctor Elder Linford says, I cry at super-market openings. But the real story here came from after I started crying. I think I have a hormonal imbalance because I literally only cried out of my right eye. Like not just a little but multiple free-flowing tears. Completely dry in my left eye. This combined with one of my ears often being ice-cold and the other extremely hot (which my district finds hilarious and often grope my ears to find out if 'it is happening' right then) lead me to believe this hormonal imbalance proposition.

Anyway, this will be my last letter while here in the CTM. I leave next Tuesday at about 7:30 in the morning on a bus to the São Paulo North Mission Home. I will make sure to get my address and email as soon as possible. I love you all and I am so grateful for the support you have given me with your writing, remember I am going to need even more of that support for my first week out in the field I think, so keep the letters a flowing. Miss you all.

Love,
-Elder Brent Parsons