Well I've got a better idea of how things are in Cambe.
1: The sisters in the ward don't give lunch to us like they do in other areas. They give us 5 reais each for us to buy stuff on our own. I've eaten lunch at one of the member's house since I've been here and it was on Sunday (just because they can't give us money because its the sabbath day....). I'm not liking this at all. Eating lunch at the members' houses is the best and easiest way to get to know them and to build friendships and gain their confidence.
2: There are a lot of older members here. When I say older I mean a long
time in the Church. The bishop's name is Abel. He's a good guy but he seems really timid. His 1st counselor is the one who "wears the pants" of the bishopric. His name is Amancio. He was the 1st stake president in Londrina and is well respected. He's about 65 years old and he seems to be the one that makes the decisions. He seems normal to me but my comp doesn't like the way he works. The 2nd counselor to the bishop is a 70 year old man named Limiro. He's a nice guy who does his best to help out.
3: Baptisms aren't easy here. The last baptism here was 9 months ago. The members don't expect too much from the missionaries here. Therefore, they don't help us too much. I don't even think that President Leal expects too much from us here.
My comp is a stud! I like him, but he's sick of Cambe. He's been here for 6 months and hasn't baptized anyone. He needs a change because he's gettin really low. He's losing more faith and hope each day that goes by - the poor kid.
Sunday was my first day at church in this new ward. There were 74 people at Sacrament meeting. The bishop came up to me before Sacrament meeting and asked if I could bear my testimony. I accpeted. Then he said "10 mintues?" I accepted again. But then I thought, 10 minutes is a big testimony. So during the sacrament, I prepared a little talk thing. I was frustrated because the bishop could have told me way before hand that I would give a talk. But whatevers... it went fine.
Well, I'm outty. I'm heading to Londrina to walk around downtown.
love you guys.
Elder Carter