Day 245 (Transfer 6)

Happy early birthday to Mom! I never thought I'd see Dance Dance Revolution at home, and I don't even know where to buy that, but I bet nobody's complaining (except moving it on the stairs, lots of whining there)

After a month and a half in Ijui I'm being transfered again. These next six weeks I'll be in Santa Maria (the city), area Tancredo Neves, or as the missionaries here know it, "heaven". There's the missionary-famous McDonalds at the highway station, and also some other American fast food restaurants.

There's also Bovinos, which according to others who've served there is the best Brasilian restaurant in the southern region (50-something reais for one person, churrasco and buffet). 

Here in Ijui (and while I was in itaqui) we've offered service projects to every single household we've taught in. So far we've cut the grass on an elderly man's lawn with his horses standing a few meters away, replaced a lightbulb fixture, helped repair a member's tool shack, moved piles of bricks, etc.

But in general, at first contact people don't accept, maybe they think we're going to charge? Granted, its not often anywhere that people show up, talk with you about you and your family, introduce a gospel message, and then offer to help you cut the firewood in your backyard.

What I've heard about Santa Maria is that for missionaries the situation is inversed. Here it's easier to find someone willing to let missionaries into their house, but much harder (in general) to find someone notably willing to make changes and follow through with appointments, invitations, etc. In Santa Maria, which has a gigantic college-aged population, everyone is always busy, and just getting into a house is difficult. 

On the other hand, when you do find someone willing to hear a message, chances are that person is fully committed, or even has been *waiting* to utilize this opportunity to make changes that representatives of Jesus Christ are there to present. 

Sounds fine to me! Also I won't be mountain climbing daily anymore like this last month and a half. My area in Ijui was 40 minutes of hills from the apartment. 

Santa Maria is the city that finds the most people per month who are willing to be baptized, or as it's phrased more commonly here, "baptize themselves", which really does make more sense. At this point I've forgotten whether that phrasing is used in the States, but I've always said "be baptized"... I think.

Until next week,
Elder Hopkinson