Mitchell's Mission in Manaus: Week #41: 30 June 2010 Email: Baptisms of Carol & Carolayne

Hey, we just got back from the member´s farm again today, and then we had to run all the way across town to give a blessing. My big email is coming soon. We just got here.

A chicken in my hand, so small. It's for Livs (his niece)

if I could get it to her. (Found near his house)

29 June 2010

in a bit!

-elder10e

(And now...the Big Email...)

Hey everyone!

Sorry about being a little late today. There seems to be a lack of consecrated oil in this ward, and we had to run to the 1st counselor's house to give his wife a blessing because nobody here has oil for some reason. I have the anointing part down pretty well now. I forget to tell about all the times, but usually at least once a transfer I have the opportunity to give a blessing. I have done the anointing every time except once, and it was the most nerve-wracking experience I have ever had to be the second part. I managed, though.

So, let´s start with the list of things I have in my planner. First off, the other day we found shampoo that was about 90% off, so we bought it, being the thrifty shoppers we are. Last week I was looking at the bottle, and I learned something. Shampoo has an expiration date! I have never heard of this before in my life. Is this normal? Because if it is, I need to know soon because I am still using it and it's "gone bad" for about a week now.

I am Guybrush Threepwood. Mighty Pirate. I slayed a monkey with my bare hands and... I won't go into details. This was the latest insert in the animal graveyard close to our house where we found the chicken. We have found dogs and cats and back ends of animals and skulls and lots of fun stuff. There are always a lot of vultures there, too. This was the closest I have been to a monkey in a while. Too bad it was dead.

Monkey Skull

30 June 2010

(Editor: Good thing it WAS dead with those fangs!)

Next up, the USA in the World Cup. Yes, it was very sad for us. Everyone makes fun of us now every chance they get, but I continue on happy because I know that Grandma Tenney is happy that Ghana won, being her mission and all. :) I am just waiting for Brazil to lose this Friday so we can actually get back to teaching. It is so hard sometimes to talk to people. They keep checking scores like every 5 minutes and it gets a little annoying after a bit.

"The Banana Bread before..."

I got a few letters from this last Zone Conference, and one of them had recipes inside! I made banana bread last night. We had to hunt all over Rio Branco for ingredients. We couldn't find any Baking Soda, though. (Is shortening vegetable fat? We found a package that says that on it and I just hope and pray it is shortening.) As I was making it, it came to the last ingredient of baking soda and I said, (being the smart little chef that I am) "Well, it's just a small little teaspoon. It can´t be that important."

Whoa! A bat just flew into the lan house! go away! go away!

"The Banana Bread after..."

Anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah! Baking soda. So, I threw it in the oven and. . . basically it turned out great. It just didn't rise at all. It is basically banana cake. Oh, by the way, 10 bananas costs about $1 here. I win.

If you can send a small package really fast, send a new white tie and my old alarm clock. The little white guy that I brought with me is kind of dying. I put in the second battery a couple transfers ago, but it's life span isn't looking very big. The white tie is a priority, though, even if it is just a small $5 package, that would be great.

So, I realized that I could never be a Brazilian citizen the other day. We ate lunch with some members the other day who are part of the political party called PCdoB. (Partido Comunista do Brasil) (Communist Party). It is actually a pretty big party here. I am not a fan. never never never never never

Elder Mitchell Tenney

26 June 2010

Zone Conference was really good. I had to give a 2-3 minute talk about how the mission is strengthening my faith in Jesus Christ. I made a few notes beforehand, but I ended up saying completely different things.

Carol, Elders Fox and Tenney, Carolayne

26 June 2010

Oh, we had a couple baptisms this last Saturday. We baptized Carolayne and her friend Carol. Carolayne is Lidiane´s little sister.

Elder Tenney, Carolayne, Elder Fox

26 June 2010

Carolayne, Elder Fox, Carol

26 June 2010

Carol, Elder Tenney, and Carolayne

26 June 2010

Carol, Lidiane, Carolayne

26 June 2010

They were all really nervous. Especially Sunday for the confirmation. Lidiane was really really scared and stayed in the bathroom crying with fear last week, but this week we helped her work up the courage to get confirmed with her sister and her friend. It is really awesome to see how much happier Lidiane is, especially after what happened to her brother so recently.

Lidiane and Carol - 26 June 2010

Sisters: Lidiane and Carolayne

26 June 2010

Sorry I haven't been writing many handwritten letters. It is R$2 to send each letter and I just sent out letters to friends the other week like Elder Auston Hafen and Kevin Steck and all them. Did you know it costs R$2.55 to send a letter to Russia?? I´ll try to write a letter to home soon! Promise!

Tereré stuff that Elder Fox bought

28 June 2010

Elder Fox - Going home soon....

26 June 2010

I got a slide show that I asked from President Jayme that he gave as a training for the Stake Conference Priesthood session about how to find your eternal companion. I will work on translating it to English. In the meantime, I took a picture from it that we see all the time in the mission. It's a good one of the temple that someone photoshopped the Christ statue behind. Now this is a pic you can put on the blog.