Stereotypical Mormon Missionary!

How are you guys doing?  I hope California is treating you all well, it'd serve you right!  I'm glad to hear that you got the window regulators on my car fixed, that's so awesome!  That's a good little car, take good care of it!  Congrats to Landon too, I'm so happy that he finally gets to go back to Paraguay!  How long will he be down there?  Make sure that his friend picks him up from the airport, that way you know he's being picked up by someone that you can trust.  I know that he's going to love his time down there.  He and I will only be a few hundred miles apart I think!  Maybe I'll see his plane fly over on his way to Paraguay lol!

Well, here's this weeks report.  It's kind of short because not a whole lot went on this week.  First, I got some information regarding my departure.  I will be going to the airport around ....... on December ..th.  That's basically all I know!  President Passey told me that they'd already booked all of my flights.  Of all of the Visa waiters they've had, I've had the second shortest wait!  I'm pretty thrilled to be going down to Brazil, but I have grown to love Tucson, Arizona.  It's a beautiful place and there are so many great people living here.  I also went on my first official companionship exchange!  My trainer is the district leader, so he has to go on an exchange with each of the missionaries in our district once per transfer.

This is a picture of Mt. Lemon during the rainstorm,

 it looks like it's straight out of a movie!

I got to spend Thursday with Elder C. in a biking area!  Biking up some of those hills is hard work, let me tell you!  I'd have to get into much better shape to do that each day!  It occurred to me that that's the only day in my whole mission when I get to be the stereotypical Mormon missionary!  In Brazil I'm told that I'll just be walking everywhere, and that they don't use bikes down there.  So, I got one day!  It also rained too.  I didn't bring a coat with me because I rarely need one, but when I woke up and saw that it was raining outside I realized that that had been a mistake.  Elder C. lent me a sweater that he had, so I put it on and we went about our business.  Around 2 o'clock it stopped raining and started warming up, so we swung by our apartment to drop our sweaters off.  I happened to look in the mirror after doing so and saw that my shirt, which had been white that morning, was now blue all the way around the collar!  Elder C. lent me a "bleach pen" that he had and the blue came right out.  I wish I had had the foresight to take a picture though, it was really funny!  

On Sunday one of our investigators dropped us too.  That's the first time that that's happened to me, so it was kind of difficult.  There are so many things that I wish I'd done differently, so many things that I should have said.  I'm trying to learn from it and move on though, so I won't vent too much :)  I know that God loves his children, and that a way is prepared for them to accomplish the things that he needs them too, even though I may not see the beginning from the end. (1 Nephi 3:7 and 1 Nephi 11:17)  I have faith in Heavenly Father's love and in his plan!

This is a dead cactus arm.  I just sent you this because I think it's kind of interesting. 

 I used to think that cactuses are like cucumbers on the inside, 

but they're actually very sturdy and have a lot of wood inside them. 

 I heard about a Saguaro cactus that fell across a road.  

A guy who was driving a truck down that road decided he'd just 

blow through it without slowing down, expecting it to blow up like a watermelon. 

 His truck stopped very quickly, and the cactus didn't go very far!

I also cut my own hair for the first time today.  I can only describe the experience and terrifying; terrifying beyond almost anything else that I've ever done.  It turned out ok though, and I learned from it.  I'll be a pro pretty soon here :)

Well, that's the gist of what's gone on this week.  I don't know exactly what time I'll be able to call, but I'll probably have a pretty long layover before my flight to Sao Paulo.  I'll try to let you know if I get more details, otherwise just be ready for my call!  I might be able to call on the 17th too when I get to the Sao Paulo airport, but I'm not sure.  I'll give you more details as they become available.  I love you all so much, keep being awesome!

Best,

Elder Sweet