Hello!

Howdy Partners!

How's it going? I hope that your Superbowl Sunday was as fun as mine! 

So the cards that go to the mission home don't get forwarded here, I will receive them at zone and mission conferences and the next one is in 6 weeks.

Anyway, where to start? We had a couple days here that were around 45 degrees C. Which is over 100 F I think. I was sweating nonstop like a waterfall down my face! It's really gross. I'm tired all the time, I don't know how I'm going to make it two years, but I guess I just gotta trust in the Lord, He'll help me, He already has. We do lots of walking and stuff, both Elder Heleno and I are new in the area so we are just trying to find people to teach, we teach about 7 lessons a day though.

I like it down here though, I feel like I'm in a Brazilian John Wayne movie about missionary work. People ride horses through the streets and stuff. The sunsets are the most beautiful things! It's amazing the sky is so huge and it is a majestic site! I always look forward to it. The gauchos here are pretty cool too. I will now answer some of your questions.

São Gabriel has about 50000 residents. There are two branches here. I was sent out a week early because I was supposed to enter a week early, and the transfers lined up like that. They gave me a debit card and I get like 120 Reals per 15 days or something, which I think is plenty so I should be good. If not I will use my card. I am sort of eating 3 square meals a day. I've already adopted the small Brazilian breakfast way of life. I usually have some bread, yogurt, and cookies. Lunch is always with members and we eat a lot. It's always rice, beans, and noodles with the occasional chicken. Dinner is just whatever. We get back at 9 or 930 and have to plan so I will eat some cookies and bread and something healthy if I can find it. Haha.. More about Elder Heleno, he is from Curitiba his mom joined the church when he was 4, he is going home in April I will be his last comp, he's super excited and walks really fast. Which is a problem for me because it is physically impossible for me to walk fast, but I try to keep up. 

Now that a couple of weeks have passed I think it is alright that I tell you that I think that it is a little funny that mom deleted my voice mail. I'm sure that it was terrible as well, but a little funny, right? Haha! And Happy Birthday Mason!! I forgot to tell you on Monday but on Sunday I told everyone that it was your b day! Haha the big 1 7 wow, you are very old! It's weird I think. I am jealous of the snow and cross country skiing, I miss that. Haha, I miss the time when i wasn't responsible for hardly anything! Oh well, i~ll put in my two years of responsibility and then i~m done. I love you guys so much! I am excited for when we can party again, but until then I will keep going! I hope things are going well, it sounds like they are. Hopefully time starts passing a little quicker. I think it will as I start understanding the language and what not. But even if it doesn't I will keep going. I will continue waking up at 630 and everyday I will continue talking to as many people as I can. I love you tons, you are a major reason for why I wake up every morning. Honestly, I want you guys to be proud of me. I think that things will be okay here. I love you more and more everyday!

Lots of love,

Elder Braden Stringer