Well. Looking back on this week I can definitely tell that
Heavenly Father has a good sense of humor and is a master of comedic timing.
This week can pretty much divided in halves titled ´What went wrong´ and ´what
went right´.
What went wrong.
So, we finished up our P-day activities and headed home.
When we got home, there was a gray slip of paper letting us know that the water
company had stopped by ´two times´ and that they were going to cut our water
(read: we already cut your water because I don´t feel like coming back here two
more times). There was still a good amount of reserve water, but still... they
cut our water! We called the help line to see what the deal was, since we´re
living in the house for only 2 months now, and we sent all of the bills to be
paid. Turns out the landlady didn´t pay the bills when nobody was in the house.
Also, we would have to go to Fortaleza to get our water turned back on, because
they only do that business there (the worst part of this is that the water
company doesn´t even deliver potable water! Well, you can drink it, but it
makes you sick 10 out of 10 times).
Tuesday, we headed off to our district meeting... without
the cell phone... which would have been really nice to have that day (my bad!).
WE had our meeting like normal, and then we had lunch with Elder Huntley and
Elder Clemens in their area so we could get our things all figured out. So we
finish lunch and we head off to Aldeota to get things all fixed. WE got a bill
printed out, and took it to the mission office, which they payed promptly, and
then we headed back to request our water back. WE got it all sorted out (in the
last ten minutes of operation). We headed out about 5:30 and realized... ´hey,
the last bus back home leaves in thirty minutes... 8km away... in rush hour.
WHOOOOOOOOOOO! So we got a taxi and headed to the bus station, with about 5
minutes to spare. We got home at about 8:30 and went and got pizza. We headed
home, and in the stairway, I see a note on the floor. I pick it up and see that
at the top it says ´Coelce´, which is the energy company here (notice the
comedic timing here? Well done Heavenly Father, well done indeed). I run into
our house and turn on a light. Nothing. We slept without lights (we didn´t
really miss that part so much) and without fans. I hardly slept, and we didn´t
have any food, because the refrigerator didn´t work.
So we get up the next day and head over to the energy place.
We find out that this time, the landlady didn´t pay 3 months of bills. We had
the finance secretary call to arrange them to come and pay the bills so we
could have our power back. Her husband assured that it was an error and that
all the bills were payed, and they would be in the area in the afternoon, then
hung up, and didn´t answer his phone again. We just decided to pay the bill and
discount it from their rent, bwahahahaha. The bad part is... they didn´t turn our
lights on that day. One more night of bad sleep!
The Good part.
Thursday, we went to the church to help a member prepare for
a baptism of their son. We passed by a few investigators just to see how they
were doing, and then at 7, we went back to the church to watch the baptism. The
chapel was FULL of friends and family... a good part of which weren´t members
who also had never heard of the church. It was a great service and we got a
good amount of references, including a mother and daughter very interested in
what they had observed.
Friday we got back to work like normal, and we made visits
with John who is getting his papers ready. I´ll have to agree with what Elder
Clements said in his last email... I just put the blinders on, and I only
remember that I worked.
Saturday, we hit the ground running, and worked 12:30 to
9:30, just rounding up people to go to church.
So Sunday was really good. There was a good amount of people
at church, and John came with his roommate/workmate João, who really liked
church. They had to leave early to give computer classes, which is why they
live here. It was fast and testimony meeting, so it was a perfect opportunity
for him to come. After the testimony meeting, the sister who´s son was baptised
came up to us and told us she wouldn't be able to give us lunch on Saturday, but
her friend (the mom and daughter) was really impressed with us, and wanted to
give us lunch and present us to her neighbors. Elder Leal and I were so giddy.
So many things went ´wrong´ but a lot of things went right as well. Even a less
active young man came and decided he was going to serve a mission, so yesterday
was the turning point in his life. He will bring with him a bunch of other less
active young men as well, but he was well set in his plans. As we were talking,
I went to the library, and got a Preach My Gospel and gave it to him, telling
him all he needed to know is in this book. What a wonderful resource!
Afterwards, the Branch President rounded everybody up to visit less active
members. My companion and i were floored! It was something very unexpected for
us, but we were SO happy. About everything that was problematic in our area
changed in the span of a week.
So that was my roller coaster week! I really noted how these
happenings helped shape me. I became more bold in the face of problems, and I
feel more ´resolved´ than I was before. I realized that surviving all this
really wasn´t hard at all, and in reality, teaching the gospel is a whole lot
easier. So now I have no fears! I am really excited for Saturday, because we
will be practically opening the work in a close-by city. But this week really
wore me out! But the time is passing by really fast... crazy!
Welp, that's my letter for this week. Hope it got a laugh out
of you guys!
Elder Cornwell
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