Email 07/13/09

One thing I have learned in the mission is that EVERY missionary loves having a clean house that is good shape that everything works but I haven´t met a single one that is willing to do anything about it. I know that sounds weird coming from me, but the apartments I´ve been in were SO disgusting, SO unlivable and no one thought anything about it. I decided from the first time I opened the fridge in my first area that I wasn´t going to suffer that anymore. It´s made life very wonderful.
We didn´t have any interviews this week but we did get to meet President and Sister Callen and zone meeting. They are REALLY nice. All of their kids are staying in the states. I´m really excited to work with him. Their Spanish was really good for just having come from the states. The funny part is that for us here, there´s lots of words and phrases in Guraní that have become part of our Spanish and there was a couple of times when they couldn´t understand us.
One thing is for sure, I LOVE MY AREA!!!! This is an amazing place. The Portuguese is coming along REALLY good. It´s kinda crazy, of all the new investigators we found this week, NOT A SINGLE ONE spoke Spanish. It was all Guraní or Portuguese. We are SO blessed. I´ve been able to communicate with everyone. Morales is struggling a lot with the language barrier. He is very self confident. He is 21 and because of that he knows more about cars and music and the world than I ever will and poor guy gets so frustrated that he doesn´t know what´s going on in a lesson. Please don´t interpret this wrong. We get along great but most of the time it´s really hard for him to accept when I am better than him at something. The language problem has been killing him. The only thing, the ONLY THING that is hard for me about him is that rules don´t matter to him. I don´t take away his agency, when we´re at home he can do what he wants but when we´re out of the house and because I always have to be with him I do NOT let him choose for me. And because we´re being obedient we´re receiving so many blessings.
Berna will be baptized this week. She cannot stop reading. She finished the New Testament so we gave her a Gospel Principles book and she devouring that.
The branch helps us sooooo much but we earn it. Our branch has a complete absence of men. Every Sunday about 50 people come and 6 are Melchizedek Priesthood holders, including the missionaries. In the 3 weeks since I´ve been here I´ve taught Priesthood quorum twice, Sunday School twice and given 2 talks. Lots of 2´s. We are also minus a pianist so I´ve been doing that too. The wonderful part is that EVERYONE wants to learn how to play so that will come shortly. One very big plus is that I´m going to be doing some trading. I´ve been "negotiating" to get a guitar and one of the Brothers in the ward is an AMAZING guitarist and he wants to learn how to play the piano. So when I get my guitar we´re going to trade lessons. I´m really excited. The members really help with the work. Every day we have a lunch appointment and every day we get a couple of references. They help us out in every way possible.
I´ve got to go.
I love you all so much.
Elder Frank Wills