Nov 29, 2021: Prepare Yourselves

 Oi everyone! Hope you are all doing well this week! This week was my first fully week in Brazil and it was definitely super crazy! From the language to the culture and everything in between it's just a crazy good time here in Rio! 


LANGUAGE UPDATE
I still don't know Portuguese and it's kinda unfortunate.

STREET FARM
I'm pretty sure if someone were to gather up all of the animals that I've seen in the street here, they could run a highly profitable farm. So far I have seen pigs, dogs, cats, horses, goats, and chickens! Even just walking down the street here is pretty crazy haha. 

LANGUAGE UPDATE PT 2
Fine I'll give a little more. Honestly my Portugese has been improving at an unfathomable pace, however it's still far below where it needs to be for me to actually comprehend whats going on around me haha. But I know itll continue to get better as I just keep going! Also my tips for learning the language. Simply go to a place where nobody around speaks English! Once youve gone crazy for a few months you might pick it up a bit. Good Luck!

MISC
We had some interesting things happen this week so I'll give a quick rundown. We met an inactive on the streets who said he wants nothing more than a strong testimony but is too lazy to do anything about it. That was a real stumper for us haha. We just told him in order to find answers he needed to do the work, so hopefully he'll take that to heart. 
Every time the local soccer team scores, about 10000 people light of fireworks in the crowded streets of Brazil, só it sounds a lot like a massive bomb going off or a machine gun or something and it's super funny to me every time still.
We taught a lesson to a kid name João. He is 12 years old and is super receptive to the gospel! I felt the Spirit and the gift of tounges very present during that lesson!
They don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in my Brazil só I had a very exciting dinner nothing that night lol. (But we did have an amazing lunch with some members só that was cool)


FOOD
And finally on to one of my favorite subjects, food. Honestly the food here has been great. My companion is an excellent chef for when we actually eat at the apartment, but most of the time, we have lunch with the members! It is awesome every time! We get some good food, I get to practice português, we get to share a message, and it is always a good experience. And on Saturday, I got to have a churrasco with the ward! Churrasco is Brazilian barbecue and it is amazing! The food was delish and the ward here is something special I can tell. It has been awesome!

And finally heres the spiritual thought for the week! 
Mosiah 4:9,12
9) Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in Earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in Earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
12) And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

I love these two verses because it a very simple and powerful promise. All it takes is to believe. If we believe in God we will follow him, and if we follow him, we will always rejoice!

I love you all a lot! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
Elder Bradshaw

PICTURES
1) churrasco 😋
2) the streets here are super hilly and super steep, só walking everywhere is fun haha
3) me and my comp
4) we were just doing some contacting in the church and out of nowhere the members just bring us in a whole meal even though we ate like an hour before, só epic.






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