sweet milk with coconut....MMMMMMM

WE HAD ANOTHER BAPTISM THIS WEEK!!! A man named Paulo, he is great man, has a family of 4 and they are all members now!! Sorry I don´t have pics I left my camera at the house :(

But, this week was awesome. We ate at a members house his name was Jorgergeraldo (yeah it is a mouthful) and .... he killed us. We ate until we were full and he said that he did not want any food left ... so he filled our plates full and we had to eat all the food.  I think I am sick of rice and beans now...

I blessed the sacrament yesterday ... And it was terrível lol! A missionary that speaks very good English said "congrats, that was the worst blessing in Portuguese ever" lolololol I said everything right, just probably in a really bad sotaque (american voice).  Portuguese is coming great, I am able to follow almost all the lessons we give, and I have been asking questions and responding very well during lessons, and I made my first contact in only Portuguese the other day. Language is good, Not great but good!

 I made french toast the other day (yes I cooked something besides cereal) and the Brazlians here flipped! They loved it!! I had members asking me for the recipe and I was like ovos e pão.... frito ... come!!! I just thought that  was funny!  Oh my gosh!! I found my weakness here! It is called Doce de leite com Coco. Sweet milk with coconut. AHHHHHHH  SO GOOD!!!!!!  A desert that y'all have to try Pudim and mousse de limou ... So good!  And finally .... I found heaven here yes those are oreos!

Great week I hope you guys have a wonderful week, know my prayers are with you always!

Deus te Abençoa

-Elder Burnside

 

Heaven in Brazil....OREOS

Ouch!

And yeah I have some pretty bad blisters :(  LOL a small price to pay for happiness!! Oh and I want you to try and find the youtube video :

A expiaçâo aos obras de missionario. The atonement in missionary work

Portuguese or English??

OH MY GOSH! Slowly but surely things are getting better! Everyday Portuguese gets a little bit better, it still frustrates the crap out of me when I can´t say what I want to but things are better!! So 3 stories for y' all! 

1) I made a contact in english with someone on the street.... like what? I guess he saw an american and wanted to talk english. We talked about church for a second and then I started talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet I had in my bag, but that is not the best part. I started talking and every other word I wanted to say was in freaking Portuguese ... It was like " This is a pamphlet about the evangelho, sorry gospel, of Jesus Christ. Fala sobre, sorry it talks about, how famìlias can be together forever and the cinco prinipios of the gospel. Primero fé, second, repentance, batismo, domde espirito sant, and perservering until the end." Oh my gosh I was so mad, I can not talk fast in english anymore without saying a word or two in Portuguese...

2) I rode in a car with a Brazilian and I was scared to death .... I felt like I was on a roller coaster through the favelas, and It felty like I was in a movie,  He was taking turns super fast, almost hitting people, and speeding down little alley ways, scariest drive of my life

3) This last week, we baptized 3 people, and I was able to Baptize a man name Sergio, Maybe the kindest man alive. He was prepared for me and my companion, He accepted the gospel so easily, and he will be blessed a ton! 

This week has been great, Portguese is being built line upon line, and It is my goal to know what is being said all the time in 2 months. Eu amo vocês!

Deus te abençoa! 

Picture from my window. "the Favehlas"

Rough first day...worst....but I love it!

Well .... talk about rough first days!!!! I think I could mark mine down as one of the worst! After I emailed you guys we had lunch and that was good, talked and talked and finally it came time to leave. President Dalton was going to take us in his car, because it was raining, and I was perfectly good with that, but .... apparently my companion had to get to an appointment.   We had to take the bus .... Now we started walking to the bus stop and it started to pour rain, like terrible rain. I didn´t have my umbrella or rain jacket so I kept on going in my suit.  I was soaked and cold. We got on the bus and it was about an hour ride in a crowded bus, with my suitcases, and I am freezing. We missed our stop, so I had to walk with my suitcases in the rain, freezing for about 2 miles. And get this MY FIRST AREA IS IN THE FAVEHLAS!!! The poorest parts of my mission. So I am freezing pulling suitcases through a pretty rough place. And I am walking up hill with 2 heavy suitcases... We got to our apartment, which is pretty sketchy, and all I wanted to do was lay down. But, nope. I had time to change and get ready to go teach. Now I thought I could speak Portuguese, nahhhh ..... The people talk a whole lot faster here than they did in the MTC, I had no clue as to what was being said. We returned home after a couple hours of teaching, and I thought to myself, this is gonna be a long ride .... But, I wouldn´t trade that experience for anything. I absolutely love it here!!! I can´t speak fluently, but everyday I can feel myself understanding more, speaking faster, and knowing more words. Soooooo.... the first week was good, we had a baptism yesterday and should have another one this week, and more than likely a couple in 2 weeks!!  The favahelas here are always built on huge hills so I continually walk up and down hills.  I am pretty sure I lost that 10 pounds I gained in the CTM lol!!!  I finally get to send pictures too!!

 My companion is great by the way!  It has been really cold and rainy here lately.  The rain jacket works amazing! But, I am ready for the summer to get here!!!  This first week has been pretty good besides the first day.  In about a month I should know enough Portuguese to type and speak without having to stop and think, but until that time I got to keep paying the price. Enjoy this next week! I will have more pics to send next week!!!
 

Eu Amo Vocês!!!

Elder Carson Burnside

My companion Elder Perriera and my new mission president and his wife. President Loren and Annette Dalton.

The mission is Awesome!

Today I got into the field. I woke up at 4:45 this morning and I am super tired. We had our first interview with President Dalton and it went very well. The mission is awesome, the people here seem wonderful! I would be lying if I said I was not scared a little bit. I feel like a 1st grader talking to a college professor when I am talking with the Brazilians. But despite all of that, I told my mission president that I wanted to learn Portuguese as fast as possible. I asked him to put me with a companion, my trainer, who doesn´t speak English. That was a tough choice and he told me it would be hard,  I would feel alone and secluded, but It would be the right choice. He promised me this decision would help me so much. So my companion is Elder Perriera, and he is a native of Rio De Janero. He Does NOT speak ANY ENGLISH. He is also 26 years old. So this will be very interesting. These next few weeks will be super tough. I think I have learned enough in the CTM to get me by, to show the people my love for them and the gospel, to show my companion my desires to help him and not be a burden, and I hope by this trainer decision and all my work in the CTM Heavenly Father will acknowledge my efforts and help me learn this language even faster than what I could imagine. So now, I say goodbye until Monday (I think ) That will be the next p-day. Keep your prayers with me, hopefully I have some good stories for you guys next week!

Eu Amo Vocês!!!

Love Elder Burnside

What would you do for Chocolate?

HEY family!!! 

So yes, the field is coming up very fast.... and I would be lying if I said I was not a little scared. My Portuguese is adequate and I am working so hard everyday.  I have really just come to accept the fact that I probably won´t be able to speak and understand everything I want, which is really frustrating... But, faith in the Lord is necessary right? 

 I leave the MTC next Tuesday morning. I think I will be out doing the things of the missionaries on Wednesday. I hope I can send pictures on Tuesday when I get to the Mission home.  I think that the president wants to give us some instructions that day. There are 4 other people in my district going to Interlagos with me.  I really need a good long run, The next p-day won´t be for another 12 days unfortunately BUT I DON'T HAVE TO STAY IN THE MISSIONARY FARM!!!! 

This week went by super fast .. I listened to a devotional here only in Portuguese and I understood most of it so that was pretty cool. There was one point in our class we were learning about some grammatical structure and this one kid goes "O que você farai por ........ ( a minute pause) ..... Chocolate?" ( What would you do for ..... Chocolate. It was the most anti-climatical thing I have ever seen in my life. Our instructor was crying. And my instructor really helped me and probably some of the other people in the district out he said " I had a companion out in the field, he was 7 months in and he barely knew more Portuguese than you do now." That was last week too, He continued to say that you guys can survive with the Portuguese you know, but if you are willing "Pagar o Preço" ( Pay the price)  you will be fluent in 4 months. Fluent, in about a month or 2 you will be able to say everything you want to. CAN THAT DAY COME FASTER????? 

I love you guys as well, I am scared for the field, but I know I can do it. Please send some prayers my way, and hopefully in 12 days I have some pretty scary/ awesome stories to tell you!!! 

Love you Guys!!!

Elder Burnside