Well Hey there Fam Bam!
Hope everything is going well and things are just dandy back in the good ol U.S. let me tell you that i miss it! seriously, i already miss the US. i am typing on a port keyboard so my typing will be uber bad today.. and i dont know how to use the question mark so just bear with me. So brazil... well its brazil. i dont even know how to describe it. the weather has been great here! not bad at all! wearing a suit is the worst thing in the entire world though. good thing i brought two. PLEASE PRAY FOR RAIN!!! they informed us that sao paulo is going through a drought (spell) right now and at the ctm we have about 5 days left of water and then we run out.. so that would suck. so plealse help us in our prayers for rain. the ctm is super small but actually suprisingly really nice as well. i have seen a few of the famous cocroaches that everyone has been talking about. they look tasty. the food here is FANTASTIC and i could live off rice and beans. except they use pinto instead of black where i am at. anyways... we got to go to the sao paulo temple today and that was pretty sweet action. we went through a session and it was in english and it was the new video. the new one is SO much better than the old ones. i am still feeling the jet lag sooooo super bad. its quite ridiculous! i am always always always tired because of it.
So i said the CTM was nice.. it just looks like a hotel kinda.. but small with 6 floors and i am on the 6th floor. so we have to hike the stairs everyday which sucks. i have gained 8 pounds on the mish so far... which frightens me a lot. i guess i just need to poop more. no im not worried about it. umm what else... oh yeah! so my district was totally split up and me and johnny are the only two from our old dist except for elder wantland. so we have a new dist all white. we room with 4 other people, two from our district ( that one kid we met at carbs in provo before the mtc) and another kid. then we have 2 native brazilians who are super super funny. however if they said what they do in english then it would just be stupid... its mainly funny bec its port. anyways i can speak and understand port like the second or third best in my dist. anyways so i am like the only one who can talk to the brazilian kids in our room. they all ask me how to say what they want to say. the brazls are really old. one is 23 and the other is 20. so that is also kinda weird.
We wont have a district leader until sunday so it might still be me again which i would cry if it is. that would suck so badly. so lets just hope that it isnt me. brazil is pretty cool. it jsut doesnt really feel like brazil. we are always cooped up in the ctm... except later today we get to go out and roam the streets and explore. the 4 weekers get to go tracting and have to place books of mormon so i am looking forward to that. the port is coming along just fine, i know ill have it down eventually. anyways mom i would answer your questions but you havent asked me any yet. i really miss my family and being so far away from then is so scary. i miss provo... but it isnt bad here. i like it. umm another thing... i am writing you a letter so anything i forget to mention will be in there. so please please please send me letters. they take 7 to 10 days to get here. so its not too bad. umm... oh yeah. here in sao paulo there is trash everywhere and graffiti EVERYWHERE literally everywhere you look. ive seen some favelas and they are insane. there are places and towns built of straight up cardboard. not joking. its ridiculous. they have no value for life here so we have to be very careful. they will beat the crap out of you becuase they are trying to survive and they need stuff too. its just really sad and really humbling. i cannot wait to get out and change peoples lives. brazil is a baptizing mission and i am very excited to get out and baptize.
im not really sure what else has been going on. nobody (except for the white missionaries) speaks a lick of english.. well the president and his wife do but other than that nope. so that is weird. its good though bec that is how we will learn the language. its been so cool to understand what they say in lessons and listen and thing of what to say and then translate it and speak. its hard and its a process but it is so super awesome. i see the hand in the lord every single day. and i know it is only by the spirit that i am able to understand or speak anything at all. i also know that he is helping me not think of home. everytime i think of home i cry.. the first night here was so hard.. so he has helped me to not think of home. i just cant do it or i will be homesick. its hard.. i miss home.. i miss utah.. but i know i am supposed to be here and i wouldnt have it any other way. I know that i will grow to love this place... and i already love the people! there is not a more welcoming or a kinder people in all the world. i have been drinking guarana at every single meal hahah. i love that stuff. they have such good food and amazing fruit and fruit drinks! i am so pumped to hit up the city today and go explore. its crazy to think that i have already been here on the mission for almost three weeks.. and yes anything past 2 weeks is almost three weeks;) p.s. i figured out how to use the question mark key????? woo woo. anyways i only have a little over 23 months left of the mission! that is crazy crap right there!
oh how i wish someone would email me back!! seriously though... anyways this is an adventure... the craziest thing i have ever flipping done in my entire life. oh and mom... i dont want you to feel guilty but there is not a worse feeling that opening up my email and there is nothing.. thank goodness for erin because she REPLIED TO MY I AM ALIVE EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so thanks erin! you are so fantastic! i miss you mom! i love you so much and i miss you like crazy!! Abby i miss you too.. i miss you guys so much! i dont think i forgot anything but if so it will be in the letter i will send today or tomorrow. I know that i am supposed to be here in brazil... i am adjusting well i guess but i really miss home. im not homesick.. i just really miss it. its good here! i am so grateful for the atonement of our savior jesus christ and for the love he has for all of his children. his love is all encompassing and is eternal. i am glad im here doing the right thing. i miss my brothers. i miss my grandparents. i wish i had time to just write everybody! i hope you guys all have my letter that i sent before i left provo!! check the mail for those! they should be here by now.. hmm.. i hope you got them. GOD LIVES!!! pray and read your scritpures alllll thheeee timmeeee!!!! be good. be safe... i. love. you.
Yours Truly,
Elder Sharp
