What’s up, y’all? Welcome to the exclusive, weekly, best friend’s and family email.
Hand of God or My Hand?
If y’all remember, I’m the new barber on the block. I’ve been using some handy American clippers for my services, on loan from Elder Pollack, a missionary in my district. As I said in my last email, the block was hot, and this was the first time I had a decent amount of time to cut hair. So, as the people are lining up and I’m cutting down, these American clippers start heating up. Graciously, the CTM bathroom outlets are made in such a way that they fit both USA plugs and Brazilian plugs. Unfortunately the wattage is not the same (USA voltage 120V, Brazil voltage 220V). Anyways, these clippers start heating up, and I mean cooking (80-110°F), but as any good barber, the show must go on, so I wrapped one of those thin commercial bathroom paper towels around the clippers and kept going.
Anyways, about an hour later, I start seeing smoke, but for some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to just finish the cut I was on and then let the clippers rest. Well, when the clippers started smoking like a chimney, I quickly put them down, and that’s when I realized the clippers had melted around my hand. And somehow, a tiny paper towel had kept my hand from getting burnt. After I took my hand off and rechecked the clippers, I would guess that they were 140-160+ degrees, and half metal, half plastic. Everyone who touched them after burned their hands, but somehow I had held them for 1.5 hours straight, and my hand was fine. 😳 Call it what you want, but I’ll call it divine intervention.
Robbed?
As we speak, my wallet is still MIA. On the bus on the way to the Campinas Temple, I was examining my voluptuous wallet and the bills inside. This wallet was so big that when I tried, while seated and buckled down, I couldn’t fit it in my pocket. So, I put it in the seat next to my leg. When I got off the bus (charter), I remembered it two minutes later, apparently 20 seconds too late because the bus was gone. Anyways, a couple of hours later, I expected it to be lying in my seat, but no. After the whole bus was searched by everyone, there was only one explanation: the bus driver had taken it. Unfortunately, I was tasked with asking him (in Portuguese) if he had seen it (I learned the word for wallet the day before). He said no. So, we took the two-hour bus ride, and I was slowly dying inside because it was on the bus, and only out of my possession for 2 minutes. When we arrived, one of the counselors told me that he didn’t think the bus driver would take it because, I guess, if the church trusts you to hire you, it means something. He said it in Portuguese, but I’m guessing the church has some street cred here. Judging that the CTM is smack dab in the middle of the hood, I don’t doubt this.
Anyway, I talked to the guy that runs the CTM, he made some calls, and an hour later, they said they had my wallet. They asked me how much money I had in it. When I asked where they found it, they said they didn’t know, but I would have it tomorrow (today). We’ll see how the story continues.
Update: I have the wallet. The boss guy at the CTM (not the president) came up to me at breakfast and had my wallet. He opened it and made me count all the money and asked if it was still there. It was. I asked where it was, and he said “the bus.” When I asked where because we all had ripped the bus apart looking for it, he just winked and said “idk” (This has been translated). I hope the bus driver is alright.
Tired? Don’t care.
This week has been interesting. Most of my Brazilian friends have left, and our district (the best American Portuguese speakers in the CTM) is getting a little tired of putting in the work that got us there. Unfortunately for them, it’s not about us. It’s about the people we will be teaching when we get to our missions. I shared a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley: “Forget yourself and go to work.” Needless to say, they didn’t necessarily like that answer. But during the devotional later that night, the speaker gave the same quote and played this video: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/prophets-of-the-restoration/gordon-b-hinckley/2012-05-1501-preparation-of-gordon-b-hinckley-forget-yourself-and-go-to-work?lang=eng
Spiritual Thought
As I’ve been reading from Acts, a pattern I’ve seen is that the Lord will teach you things in ways that seem foreign to what He’s preparing you for, but the principle you’ll learn is the same. As I look back on the moments that have prepared me for this experience, I can help but look in awe at how much I was prepared by things I had no idea would connect. I know God is your loving Heavenly Father, and He wants a relationship with you, and sometimes those hard things are just preparation for your mission later down the line (Acts 10).
Notable Events:
– The CTM is basically a hospital now; more than 10 people this week have broken, sprained, and been injured, mostly due to volleyball.
– Most of my friends left, including Maddie (my neighbor).
– It is finally a nice day outside.
– I am now back to 200 lbs (90 kg).
– I am 68% fluent and can talk about pretty much anything now and understand (still trying to understand what people are saying when it’s not a conversation, but I no longer listen to the translators).
Email back if your a chiller 🤙
(jakweli.gist@missionary.org)