prayers would help a lot

Ok sweet so my stuff is still intact... thats a relief. so ya this week was a good one. exept my mission president is leaving already but it will be interesting with a new one. . even american!. Crazy. but ya so check this.. theres like 2 gangs here one on one side of the highway and another on the other and theyre getting all riled up so they started killing peeps.. ... but just killing the gang members but they dont like to let people walk across the highway, people that live in one neighborhood to the other but so far people dont stop us or normal people from walking but everyone here gets scared. but were talking with people and praying for safety but your prayers would help a lot too. dont forget about me. i know chris is about to go to Belem but i still got some time out here and ya so i never got my package. hope it didnt get janked... i just want my new shoes!!  but ya this week was good. and tell chris to send me some cool tabs with lyrics.. songs i would know. i need some relaxing stuff to play here. like jack johnson or like dashboard confessional. that would be sweet. well i got to get out and work now.. thanks for everything mom!! tchauzão!

Elder Arroyo

thats what they call "snake" here

Hey Thanks for the pictures! i was ganna ask you for some! so no we dont get to watch the game. our president was like no you guys can get a lot of work done during that time. but wow were the people going crazy or what. everyone has brazil flags on the houses cars everything. soccer is so funny.
 so let me tell you about my week first... WOW!. so lets start with the almost bad news. we were preparing a family to get married right... but she started working on sundays so we couldnt help her anymore cuz shes got to be obeying the commandments for us to help pay for it. so it was a week from the wedding on monday and we went to the wedding office here in central and i was like hey we got to move the date for the wedding and the guy looks at me and was like.... "Oooooh we cant do that!" like all funny like and i was like look dude were moving it so we talked for a while and he didnt move a thing so i talked to my branch pres and he said he would go. he went there friday and the wedding was on the next day (Saturday) and he told them we had to move it explained it all and there like OK come monday to resign the papers and mark a new day so we go to our investigators house to tell them it wouldnt be saturday and we had told them to be on standby and when we got there she was like. that lady from the wedding place called and confirmed everything with me for the wedding saturday. so she thought it was going on and had rented a dress bought a ton of food for the party. they had gotten work off and told everyone and i was like.... WHAT?!?!? and explained it wouldnt go down saturday. so shes like. what!!! and they got all sad and we told them we would see what was up the next monday for the wedding. so we went by there saturday night to see how they were and our investigator came out and was like ya so we didnt leave our house today to not get humiliated and we dont want you guys to come to our house anymore etc... and i was getting all sad ya know cuz i helped them so much. so we were like well all of us still have to go to the wedding place to see whats up ya know. so i was like ill go there and if we have to pay anything me and my comp will do it. so monday comes around and we get there and our investigator is already there and gives me this mean face and im like oh great... so i walk over there and the wedding lady was like ya it didnt go down saturday cuz someone called and said the wedding couple would travel.... i was like "what!" so our ivestigator is mad thinking we lied and stuff and the wedding lady is taking her side and says doing the wedding or canceling it it will be 160 reais! and i was like. bull! so we keep talking and then they want to mark a date and i dont know what to do right... so i go outside and i call my mission president and explain the situation. and hes all calm with me and walking me through what i should do. and hes like. you dont have to do anything elder arroyo. you are just trying to help her obey the commandments. if she doesnt want the churches help she can pay the wedding herself etc. and he tells me to go in there and just talk to my investigator and not to listen to the wedding lady. so we marked with our investigator and the branch president to see if they wanted help. so tuesday came around and we had this little meeting and everything was explained and all the members will help pay the wedding and they are good with us now. our investigator said when she told us she didnt want us to come back. she felt bad and all the good feelings she had that we helped her have she said went away. we told her we would have the wedding money by next week and if she wanted us to be there it was her choice. if she wanted to get baptized it was up to her. so its all been worked out but wow!!! let me tell ya it was nothing easy... but now i know that not everyone business (like this wedding place) is organized. they dont call to verify nothing and they change ideas. telling one person you can move the date and another no... it was tense.
 but some better news. so my last area vila izabel right. i had tought this in-active family that had someone who hadnt been baptized yet. her name is mahala shes like 17. so i was just here in my area right and then i get a call from the assistants and they were like hey theres someone who wants to talk to you. and i was like.. ok pass the phone and it was that girl. and im like oh whats up hows it going ya know. cuz i had tried to help that family a lot. and then shes like im great. i just wanted you to know im getting baptized. and i was like ... "oh cool, when will it be?" shes like this sunday (it was friday) and i was like "cool whos ganna baptize you" and then shes like thats why im calling, i want you to baptize me! and i was like "uhhhh...... can i talk to the assistants??!!"  and they were like ya she wants you to baptize her and i was like well can i? and they said they would ask the mission pres and he said i could! it was way tight but kinda weird. thats what they call "snake" here.. a girl that goes after an elder. but they let me do the baptizm cuz i was already ganna go to portâo (city) to meet for the choir program!. it was amazing.
 Sunday we went to Ponta Grossa to have another Choir presentation!! it was way good. they got us a charter bus and we drove for 3 hours to do it! we got back at midnight and i had to sleep at another elders house!. for a present we got a dvd of one choir presentation we did and it shows me! and a cd that we recorded! ill try to send it to you guys!!!
 Last night me and my comp made a killer pizza!! its a Pizza Doce or sweet pizza ill send you guys a pic! but ya so that was my week. its been pretty intense. but thats cool chris will go to provo too!! he will experiance them both!. his reception will be cool too!!! send me pics of it!!! and him in a suit too!!! i need it!! but hey times up. long email.
love you guys


Elder Arroyo

6/9

Sandra is doing good she asked me to confirm her a member sundayl. i dont like getting in front of everyone and doing blessings. its weird. but ya shes doing great. and ya me and elder skabelund are hitting it well!! i dont have to much time today but quick i will talk. so thats sick chris is about to leave and thanks for his address but can you guys send me the CTM address so i can write him there too. i might still have it but i duno! but thanks for the shoes!!! i will be waiting for them!!! so how are you guys? whats going on at home? i am ganna make you guys another cd of all my pictures and send them to you! theyre great! but i gots to go now!!! love you guys! bye!


Elder Arroyo

2 of the Lords Angels 6/2

So ya our house is coming along just well! and its about to be even better! My comp got transfered!!!! whoooaoaoaoaoao!!! im so happy. i can stop worring too cuz my new comp is Elder Skabelund! i dont know if you guys remember me talking about him but he is from my group from the CTM and when i lived in my first house he was trained by elder Bailey and lived in the other room. so we already know each other and have already kicked it off really good. and hes really organized and obediant! were ready to start of a good transfer! not to mention.... ENGLISH!!!!. but ya so the transfer went down really well. and last Sunday we baptized 2 more. we Finally baptized Sandra and another girl we found named Patricia. Patricia chose me to baptize her so i entered the water! it was good. and our mission president had a goal for our mission to baptize 200 people in the month of may and we got 201!!!! and to those 201 i baptized 5! it was hard work but was so worth it.
i dont know if i have told you guys but this is my mission presidents last month on his mission our new mission president is President Cordon. Hes american he should get here soon! well be really cool!.
Oh ya but let me tell you the baptizimal story about Sandra. so she is the mom of 3 children 2 had just gotten baptized when i got here. she loves the missionaries but just kept saying she wasnt ready for baptizm. so we kept marking dates with her and she just kept telling us that she hadnt found her answer yet. we then did a fast with her for her to feel or find her answer and nothing. but then last friday night, we went over there like always to talk with her (and she always gave food :)... ) and when i get there i would always talk about her baptizmal date which was for the 30th and she was like no... no... no... im not ready yet and were like no your way ready and i just keep saying it... "This Sunday Sandra... Baptism?" and shes like no. no.... so then i kinda gave up and had this feeling like .... "She will never get baptismed " then i was like well can you fry me up some "coxinhas" (my favorite brasillian food. which she makes) and she was like .... ya. so then she was frying them up right and the Oil is boiling and shes just watching them... then out of no where the coxinha exploded and oil like got all over her hands but the weird thing was nothing happened she was like why isnt it burning??? she said it felt like water! but it was boiling in the pot and nothing happened to her.... and we were all like what was that?!?!?! and then like 5 min later the same thing happened but exploded in her face and her face was covered with Burning Oil but it didnt burn her. she simply washed it off and saying. "why isnt it burning me???" and she turned to me and i was like.. Sandra your in the presence of 2 of the Lords Angels... and he is trying to show you the truth. and i told her how that was her answer and she was like ... WOW! and she was like call your leader to do the enterview cuz im ready for baptism!! and she got baptized. everyone joked around saying she got baptized cuz elder arroyo was hungry and wanted a coxinha!!! but it was crazy.
oh ya and on sunday they grabbed me to teach the gospel principals class and just gave me that manual that isnt like the manual that tells you how to teach but its just has the doctorine and i just went. what im trying to say is that its crazy how i am now that i can just take a class of people and talk for 1 hour about a topic... without studying. its that missionary spirit. but dont worry im still studing.
So wow chris is about to hit the CTM thats nuts! Im getting him a package ready. im ganna make him a missionary starter kit. im making copies of all this cool stuff that helped me and that was cool to study and making a notebook of them and like this cool stuff to help get him ready the Book of mormon and stuff. im making CD´s of music that he can listen to on the mission. everything! it will be tight. Chris make sure that you bring an mp3 player on the mission. its better if not an ipod cuz not every lan house has itunes. but ya. well that was my week. hope this ones better. Hows Summer? and please if you can send my package as fast as yall can!!! love you guys


Elder Arroyo