To the Faraway Towns

Ah, P-day. Thank you everyone for those letters. It’s really a motivational boost to hear from home. To tell you the truth, it feels like I have been gone for a LONG time. Seriously. I guess the MTC has that kind of effect on you.

To answer your question about mail, No I haven’t received any. Although, we haven’t checked the mailbox today, yet… but I haven’t received any as of yet. Kinda depressing, although our whole district hasn’t received any mail yet. I feel happy that I have some coming, though. Maybe I’ll be the first.

Oh, to clarify, Elder M. isn’t going into the field early. They were thinking of sending him, but now he’s just gonna stay and help our district along. He’s a way nice guy, and it’s nice that I have someone to talk about Utah stuff with. He’s actually typing right next to me as I type.

(Man, I feel rushed. There is an incredible amount to tell, and all in these little 45 min. that I have, but I’ll try.)

First of all, the traffic. The roads here are about a quarter-size of the ones at home, everyone drives very small cars, and it seems to be a rule that you must not drive UNDER 40 mph. at anytime, for any reason. You really have to look both ways when crossing the street, cuz here the driver apparently has the right of way. It’s insane, and I’m afraid to venture off the sidewalk. In addition, I learned from my teachers that Brazil has more Catholics than any country in the world. Makes some things easier in the sense that most people we talk too will already have some idea about God and Jesus Christ...

My companion [Elder H.] is a good guy... He’s from Vegas but then moved to Panguitch, UT last year. I doubt we’d hang out outside of a mission, but I guess such is the way companions go.

Now, my district leader. Oh, boy. I definitely had to have the faith to get on my knees and ask for the ability to get along with him. We are two completely opposite styles. Now, you know me, I like everyone. But in the first week, he basically embodied every guy I’ve never liked that I met at BYU. I can’t explain it, and he’s not a mean guy. Just the basic Band/Choir/Debate team guy that I’ve been very unable to tolerate throughout High School and my one year of college. He’s from Iowa, but went a year to BYU. Again, he did all the things that I dislike about BYU culture. I have a great love for BYU and the city of Provo, just not everything, and he represented those things. Can’t really explain. But, before you think I’m gonna have my experience tainted, things are better. He’s a very honorable and spiritual guy, just a little overzealous. I prayed VERY hard to like him, and it’s slowly coming. We talk, and I follow him as my leader. I think that things are continuing to improve. I realized that it would not be good for me to harbor those kinds of feelings toward my district leader.

Anyway, the first week was very tough. I knew that the Lord wanted me here, but I seriously doubted that I was cut out for it. It wasn’t anything specific, just the comforts of Provo (family, friends, sleeping in, etc.) seemed like it would be hard to deal with not having. I actually don’t mind getting up early, once I get rolling it’s good. One of the hardest parts was not being able to unwind at the end of the night. Class ends at 9:30, then I shower and brush teeth and stuff, then it’s about 10:00. I write in my journal, then bam, it’s light out. That was really hard, for all the Elders in my room too. But y’know, I got used to it.

So Vance is finally tying the knot, eh? Seems like they’ve been dating a while. I always wondered why he wasn’t getting hitched to her already. You know she’s Rob Magleby’s cousin, right? Rob’s gonna have Vance as a very distant in-law.

Oh, before I forget, last week I was really struggling mentally. Try as I might, my thoughts would dwell on things at home. Past and Present things. Living with Rob and Alex at good ol’ Penrose 80, Friday nights, lifting with Mat6t and Paul (although mat6t is very lazy when he lifts) and stuff that is yet to come, like hanging with the guys when we are all RMs. I realized that was not helping though, and prayed and sought a way to focus more on the work. It took a few days, but I was reading Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage, and I ran across a passage that I felt was an answer. You guys should read it, especially Levi for future mission reference. This passage especially. The page number escapes me, but it’s talking about when about three guys were talking to Christ and his apostles, and the first guy said that he’d love to follow Christ as an official minister. Christ responds that it is hard, because the foxes have their holes, and the birds have nests, but the son of man doesn’t have a place to rest his head. Now this is the part that got me. Elder Talmage writes (I’m paraphrasing), “Those who have been called and ordained and set apart as representatives of Jesus Christ, must be ready to abandon all comforts of home in order to attend the things of the ministry.”

Wow. I considered that an answer. I’ve been set apart as a missionary, right. So that applies to me. Since I read that, I realized that those things in the future are gonna be awesome, but if Christ could forsake all the comforts that he has, the least I can do is not be down about not hanging with my friends. I hope that two years from now, I can list this as a turning point in my mission. One from where I went from kind of a missionary missing the comforts of everything, to one who is completely lost in the work.

Thank you everyone, and to all friends, you got 1 year and 11 months to send me letters. So let’s get em coming!

Boa Tarde!

Elder Heperi =w=