Clowns on The Train

HI GUYS,

Well, It´s been another crazy week as always. Getting to know a new area as well as the members here with a companion that is getting to know the area with me isn´t always the easiest task in the world, but I´m learning to recognize all of the tender mercies that God places in my life each day. I hope all goes swell in Star Valley for Grandma and Grandpa. I´ll include a special place for them in my daily prayers. Let grandpa know that I love him and wish the very best for him in his situation.

It has been very tough to not be in Maricá anymore. If I had the opportunity to do so, I would totally choose living there after my mission. My love for the culture and the people and everything there is immense. Change is tough, so I´m doing my best to just accept it. Here in Bangu, just like everyone says, is HOT. Like, HAWT. It
already hit 44 degrees celcius, and it´s still the beginning of fall. I have to drink something like 2 gallons of water just to survive here. It´s cray. And since we didn´t have a teaching group, at all, when we got here, we´ve spent pretty much all day walking, trying to visit ex-investigators, walking, doing street contacts, walking, visiting members and inviting them to help ud do missionary work (That´s the hard part), more walking, knocking doors, and to top it all off, walking some more in this good ol Rio sun.

But it really hasn´t been completely a miserable experience. I´ve been studying even more the atonement of Jesus Christ to help me realize that in whatever hard situation or diffitulty we pass through, we can always rely in the power of the Lord´s atoning sacrifice to help us push on through and come out stronger, wiser, and more prepared for life´s challenges in the days to come. This week, we tried to visit a lady who we found the the area book that was baptized, but wash´t confirmed (yeah.... ), and we met her sister and neighbor. We took the
chance to share a message briefly with them about the restoration, and it was incredible how Mayara and Natália understood the doctrine. We invited them to read the Book of Mormon and prepare for baptism, and they accepted! We´re hoping to help them continue to feel the same spirit that that they felt during that brief, but powerful visit.

We also met a lady who´s passing through trials and is being prepared in the Lord´s hands to receive our message. Marcia, whose nephew was baptized about 6 months ago, has had some emotional turmoil since her
son died recently and she´s having trouble gaining the custody of her grandson who has been abused at his mother´s house. We´ve taught her about the Book of Mormon and how it can be a guide and answer for all
of life´s difficulties. she felt peace hearing our message, and we hope she can have that same feeling as we visit her and her nephew more.

We will have a special musical number sung by 4 zones in the mission for Christmas. As we were returning home from the practice, on the train, a goofy old guy with a yellow wig, big glasses, a guitar, and a Brazil flag used as a cape entered the train and proceeded to play a bunch of music. Both Brazillian and American music. It was probably one of the most inspiring and delightful moments in my life. I didn´t take any pictures, but I´m happy to say I filmed almost the entire thing on my camara. I´ll have to show you guys when I get home since I have no way to send videos through email.

I love alllllll of you! This Gospel is soo true I can practically taste it. No matter how much Satan wants to tempt me in whatever form he does, there´s no way I can deny the powerful force of our Lord´s atoning sacrifice in my own life, and the ability that his gospel has to cure lives and families.

Love,
Elder Braun