BATISMO!!!! (That's Português for baptism)

"...Winter is officially over down here, so now it is reallyhot, especially when we are hauling up and down the ginormous hills of Pilarzinho. But life is good down here, I'm developing a killer missionary tan and I have lost a ton of weight..."

Dallin is very positive and excited about being on his mission. He cannot believe that he has already been in the field for a month! He likes that he can not only speak to someone in Portuguese but also understand what they say back to him. (Plus it is still fascinating to him that he is in Brazil!)

"...We had transfers this week, but nothing really changed for me- Elder Brown and I are staying in Pilarzinho. I kinda figured it would happen, after all, I've only been with my Pai for four weeks. I'm glad I'm staying here though, the ward is ridiculously awesome and Elder Brown and I get along great..."

Dallin said they had their 2 baptisms on Sunday for T and M. Things went really well and there were over 60 members there to support the girls. The girls are very excited about being new members of the church and Dallin knows they are going to do great things.

"...We've been having a hard time finding enough people to teach and fill up all the hours of the day, so we decided we'd start passing by the members' houses and we'd sing a song and leave a condensed version of the first lição (lesson) with them so they would feel the Spirit and then ask if we could share our message with any of their friends. Its been going really well..."

"...Baptism, lots of walking, lots of rejection, but then lots of success too. Yeah, this whole missionary gig is pretty sweet. Eu sei que Jesus é o Cristo e eu sei que o Livro de Mórmon é verdadeiro. Eu amo Brasil e eu está muito bem. Eu amo todo mundo and eu amo de ser um missionário!"

Its A Mission

"Life down here in Brazil is going okay. Its been a bit of a difficult week. We walk up and down and up and down and up and down these huge Brazilian hills trying to find people to teach but we haven't had much success. Also, we've had some investigators disappear off the face of the earth, so we're trying to change things up and support the ward and strengthen them instead. It all balances out in the end though- we walk and work hard all day and then finish up with a really good lesson or something at the end of the day..."

Dallin said that his first baptism was on Sunday (and he is very excited!) They've been teaching these two moças (young women) named T and M and they are very accepting of the gospel and are really excited about baptism. Dallin says that even though they live far away, the walk is completely worthwhile because of the girls' excitement and happiness.

"...So yeah, things are hard...then something awesome happens and it gets better, then they get difficult again, then another awesome thing happens to get you through the hard parts. Its a mission..."

Dallin got to visit the Curitiba temple this past week and he said it was GORGEOUS.

"...We eat every day with members for lunch (lunch here is the big meal of the day). One day they had peppers on the table too, so me being me, I mixed them in with my rice and beans to add some spice. The sister started freaking out and telling me that it was too spicy and I wouldn't be able to handle it. I told her not to fret and I would be fine and ate the peppers. The sister was surprised to see me be totally fine and enjoy the peppers, because apparently it was one of the spiciest peppers in Brazil. It barely even tickled. So now the story of me and my leather tongue has started spreading throughout the ward (thanks to Elder Brown telling everyone) and the elders in the ward are going to find something to make me cry. I told them good luck and I would take whatever they dished out. I'll keep you posted on whether the Brazilians can actually find a spicy pepper..."

Just FYI

Dallin's mission has a blog: curitibamission.blogspot.com

You can check the blog out to see what is going on down there in Curitiba and meet Dallin's mission president/family.

Here is a picture they posted of Dallin when they picked him up from the airport:

Pioneer Children never walked as much as we did this week...

Dallin has had quite a busy week since we last heard from him. To begin with, the afternoon after Dallin sent his last email, he and his companion decided to cook hamburgers and french fries- just to have a taste of American food. Dallin's companion, Elder Brown, put some oil in a pan and covered it with a lid so it would heat up. Long story short, Elder Brown forgot about the oil and they noticed smoke pouring out of the kitchen. They took the lid off of the pan and saw that the oil had caught fire! After trying many different ways of putting the fire out they finally just wrapped towels around their hands and took the pan outside so the fire could finish burning without causing any damage to the apartment- crazy!

"...Our neighbors were all staring at us and making fun of the stupid Americans who tried to burn down the apartment. Quite the experience..."

Dallin says that they have experienced a difficult past couple of weeks but God saw their struggles and blessed them because of it.

"...I was actually on divições (splits) with Elder Lima in a different area called Boa Vista... while I was gone, Elder Brown went to a noite familiar (FHE) with a family and taught two girls who accepted and want to be baptized! Then, we met back up the next day and went and visited a contact we made the other day. We taught her and her boyfriend the First Lesson and the were really enthusiastic about it and really want to be baptized..."

"...we went to another noite familiar and taught a different pesquisador (investigator) and she too was really interested and excited in our message. Yep, it was amazing. We also saw success on Sunday. We have been working with this family, R and L, who were baptized a few months ago but then Satan really went to work on them and they went inactive. Well, after months of trying to get them to come back to church, THEY FINALLY DID!!!! It was awesome and they had a great experience..."

It sounds like Dallin is doing better on his Portugues as well:

"...My Português is starting to come along. I can understand people better but I still have trouble speaking it...It is kinda difficult still at times to understand all that everyone says but I'm still working on it..."

Dallin is also enjoying the Brazilian food:

"...Brazilian food is RIDICULOUSLY salty, so sometimes its all I can do to choke down the food with some water, but its usually fairly good. They also have Tang here... basic orange, mango, guava, passion fruit, grape, pineapple, watermelon, and there are more flavors too. Yep, its awesome... The pizzas have no sauce and they also have crazy different kinds of toppings. I had a stroganoff pizza. No joke. Also, they have dessert pizzas with about a centimeter of chocolate over the cheese and fruits- they're awesome. Hot Dogs are way different too with lots of different kinds of toppings..."

Finally... A REAL Missionary

"Well hello everyone- I survived my first week as an actual missionary. Its been a really long week but its been good... Pilarzinho is EXTREMELY hilly, (I have discovered) and I have done A LOT of walking this week. I think I've lost at least 5 pounds this week. I've been getting to know my area more so now I know my way around better..."

Dallin has been a "real missionary" for a week now and he is loving it. He has been keeping busy with meetings, working with the members, teaching investigators, and trying not to freeze.

"You know how they say Curitiba is chilly? They weren't exaggerating. It is FREEZING right now, and nobody heats their houses so we don't really have any place to escape the cold...I am really enjoying my big fleece missionary jacket right now."

Dallin says his area, Pilarzinho, is a little different than what he expected. There can be a very well-off neighborhood with a run-down neighborhood right next to it. He said that there are lots of bars in the area which means that people like to party and struggle with living the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity.

"My Português is improving. I am getting better at understanding what everyone is saying, but I'm still having a hard time forming my thoughts into Português..."

"Our ward here is AWESOME- they really support the missionary work, which makes life much easier. The sisters always feed us lunch, and we get a lot of diviçãos (splits) with the Elders Quorum."

"Right now, were focusing on a man named H who will be baptized on the 15th and then we are teaching a really cool family: S e W. We got them to come to church this week and they really enjoyed it. They're responding well to all the lessons we teach them so our hopes are high. Also, we've been working hard at trying to support the ward members. There's this family, A e M, whose son has drug problems so were trying to give them support. We are trying to get this less-active family, R e L, to come to church. Satan has really turned out all the stops trying to ruin their lives and were trying to help give them support with all their problems and get them to come back to church..."

Dallin says that he had no idea he would have so many meetings to go to as a missionary (district meeting, meeting with the Ward Council and Ward Missionary Coordinator, weekly planning, church, etc.) He says that there are way more meetings than he expected but he is enjoying them all.

"Know I'm doing well and I'm working hard- we're not having too much success right now but we will keep at it."

First Email from Curitiba

"I am now in Curitiba and loving it."

In his email, Dallin reviewed his last days at the CTM and then his journey to Curitiba. He said it was really hard to stay focused when he was so excited to get to Curitiba but he did it.

"I got up at 4:30am yesterday to drop off my companion at the front desk and then at 5:30ma I checked in for my departure. I was the only one who was going to Curitiba so I pretty much got dropped off at the airport by this guy who doesn't speak English and was told to find my way through the airport. We only had about an hour to pack so I didn't check the weight on my bag and it ended up going over..."

"...Eventually my flight left, it was only about an hour so we were there in no time. My baggage got through with no problems and President Cordon met me at the airport. We then went to the mission office where I met my companion, Elder Brown. He is from Atlanta, and has been out here 11 months. He is super enthusiastic and we are going to work super hard together. After that, we went to the Curitiba temple and President Cordon took a picture of me and Elder Brown outside. After that, we went to the mission home where we ate with President and Sister Cordon and their family. I'm the first missionary they've received and they were pretty enthusiastic."

Dallin said that the mission home is actually on the 13th floor of an apartment building in downtown Curitiba. Apparently in all the cities there are apartment buildings with 15+ stories everywhere.

"Riding around Curitiba was cool, its very green and MUCH cleaner than São Paulo. Its also very chilly. Ive been wearing sweaters since I've got here, which beats São Paulo and me wishing for a pair of shorts."

"After lunch, President dropped us off at our apartment and told us to get to work. I'm in a place called Pilarzinho (little pillars). Its the very farthest part north of the actual city of Curitiba with our area going a little over into another town. It is VERY hilly- I'm going to start dropping weight way fast and I have a feeling I'm going to develop legs of steel quickly if I want to survive. There's a pretty well-off area and there's also a not-so-well off area so its pretty diverse. I've also already started to develop a hatred for dogs. They growl and bark and sometimes they follow you until you act like you're going to pick up a rock and throw it at them- that usually makes them scamper."

It sounds like the language is a little more difficult than originally thought:

"I understand maybe 60% of what everyone says so having a conversation is kind of difficult at times."

"I'm super excited to be here and I know its going to be hard work but I am super excited to be out there doing it. I know that this gospel is true and I love sharing it. I'm going to do great down here."

Finally in Curitiba!

Dallin is officially in Curitiba, Brazil. His mission president is brand new so Dallin was the first missionary they received. They did snap a photo with Dallin though...

In the email they sent to my parents, Brother and Sister Cordon said:

"We are thrilled to have your son arrive yesterday in the Brazil Curitiba Mission. He has been given one of the best missionaries, Elder Brown as his trainer.

Elder Marx will be serving in Pilarzinho area. The Lord has prepared many wonderful people for him to teach there. We love your son. He will be a great addition to the Lord's vineyard."

Also, here is Dallin's new address for those of you who would like to send him a letter:

Elder Dallin Scott Marx

Brazil Curitiba Mission

Caixa Postal 9501

Portao

80613-991 Curitiba - PR

Brazil

Just keep in mind it takes about 2 weeks for mail to arrive!