I just want to express myself through the art of dance, Mike.
So in about 4 days, I will hit my first landmark on the missionary timeline - 6 months. I´ve already got the tie picked out to burn and everything. I cant believe it´s already here, and time is slipping through my hands faster than I can comprehend. I waited my entire life for these 2 years, and I´m already a quarter of the way done! It´s unreal. I´m glad I at least get 2 years, instead of a year and a half like the Seesters. This week was crazy. I seriously have never used my legs this much in my life. Between soccer, walking everywhere, and learning how to dance last night (rule book dont say nothing bout dancin!). Seriously, if we´re not playing soccer with an actual ball, it´s the rocks in the street, or a coconut that fell from a tree, or some kinda trash. The goal is to kick it through your comps legs when he takes a step. I think Miles played something similar, but I´m not sure. And then, the fact that we walk everywhere. This is one of the things that I love about Brasil. Even if people have a car, they´ll still walk. There´s hardly any fat people down here, because of this. So, our little city of Jacarezinho is full of hills. It´s seriously uphill both ways (back in my day..). So, by the time Í come home, I should have a nice little keester, and a nice pair of legs. In the next package I get I need someone to send a pedometer so I can see how many miles we walk a day. And, to top it all off, I learned how to dance Forro last night (pron Foho). The church asked Elder Lima to help teach because that type of dance was created in the section of the country he´s from. Turn´s out he´s actually really good, and he´s a good teacher too, so that helped. Since I cant touch girls, I had a guy partner - easy folks, it´s only gay if you make eye contact ;) - a 15 yr old kid named Gustava (we call him Gu-Gu). So yeah, by the time we were done, my calves were friggin burnin, and then we had to walk the 2 miles (uphill) back to the apartment. I was friggin wore out.
My mother gave it to me before she died. It was her lucky machete. You can have it.
That same day something happened that I´ll never forget. Earlier in the day, we stopped at a members house to get some water. We had been working in the area, and our apointment fell through. So after we got the water we were chillin for a few minutes in the front yard talking to the wife, because the entire family is a member except for her. So there we were, in the front yard, when the Rurais bus goes by and drops off the workers. Rurais is a company that makes sugar cane, and they´ve got alot of sugar cane fields where we are, and alot of the people that live in Jacarezinho work for Rurais. So it was nothin special when it went by, other than the fact that it kicked up alot of dust. Next thing I know this big black guy is coming up to us. He had obviously been drinking, and he was 4 sheets to the wind by the time he got to us. He comes right up to me, and starts talking. He talked real slow, so I was able to understand him. We talked for a few seconds, and then he moves onto Elder Lima. They talk for a few seconds, and then he turns back to me. He makes out like he´s going to leave, so I offer him my hand. He takes it, and just keeps holding on. Most people here in Brasil give you the dead fish, but this dude had a death grip on my hand, and he´s just staring at me. He´s still got his machete in his left hand, and I´m thinking about what I´m gunna do if he goes ape-snit and starts swinging. Now for the ladies, I´ll give you some background. There´s an unofficial amount of time that a hand shake is supposed to last between men. It´s usually around 2.67 seconds and then the shake is over. This is universal, or so I thought. So there we are, locked hands, and so I give him the "ok, handshake´s over pal" squeeze. He´s still hanging on. I´m lost at this point. Next thing I know, he drops the machete and cradles my arm that he´s holding like a teddy bear. He just breaks down at this point. He starts to weep, and pulls me in for a hug. I´m 6´1" and this dude´s gotta be 6´4", and when he wraps his arm around me, his armpit is right under my nose. Keep in mind this dude had been working in the sugar cane fields all day and smelt like a bar. I felt like Edward Norton in Fight Club when Meatloaf pulls him in for a hug, and he´s just smothered (it´s ok Cornelius, you can cry). We do this for what felt like an eternity, and then he releases me. He continues to stare at me, and then he says "when I look in your eyes, I see Jesus". My first thought was "Yeah, you´ve had way too much to drink". He then pulls me back in for a hug, a little shorter this time, and then he takes off. Elder Lima told me this is the life of a Missionary, and that kinda stuff happens all the time. Yay. Alcohol is bad folks, mmmkay?
This week was also a benchmark for another reason. I realized my nothingness. It was during a lesson, and Elder Lima was teaching. This dude´s a pro, he´s like a one-man army, like Charlton Heston in "Omega Man." You ever see it? Beauty...
Anyways, so the thought came to me "ya know, he would probably do better teaching without me." And I realized that Elder Lima didnt need me, like I needed him. And, then another thought came to me, God dosent really need me, like I need Him. But, He knows that this will help me more than anything I could ever do, so He´s giving me this chance. It´s just like all of the commandments and the laws that He´s given us. It´s not because God likes robots that cant have any fun, it´s because He knows what the consquences would be if we didnt follow them. Like it says in 2 Nefi 26:24 - He doeth not anything, save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world. People think that Latter day Saints cant have any fun because of all of the "restrictions" that we have. Are you serious? How backwards is this? You cant seem to have fun without drinking, drugs, and sex. Three things! You only have three things! I´ve got the rest of the world!
Anyways folks, I´m outtie for this week.
Eu amo ya´ll,
Elder Standard
You dont have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a Body.
C.S. Lewis
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
No comments:
Post a Comment