June 25th, 2008

Well, this week we had the baptism of Janice's two sons. The one, Cesar, is 20 years old and the poor guy not know how to read. He is also the size of a grizzly bear. When Elder Franklin baptized him, he didn't plug his nose adequately and went into the water with his mouth open, so it didn't take the first time because he came out of the water yelling and thrashing, and clinging to the glass on the wall, trying not to drown. I wasn't fortunate enough to witness the event, but I heard his gruesome screams from the hallway where I was waiting with his brother. The second time went a lot smoother.
The water heater in the baptismal font is broken, so after Cesar, when I went to get in the water with Claudio, Janice's 19 year old son, he put his right foot in, pulled it out very quickly, and decided that salvation just wasn't worth it. He fled from the font to the bathroom, and I had to chase after him and calm him down, and then lure him back to the water. Once he got in, it was fine.
On Sunday we had ten investigators at church. I want you all to just take a moment and reflect on that. TEN! It was excellent. We even made the "Extraordinary Accomplishments" section of President Frei's weekly email. We invited this one 15 year old kid that we're teaching named Elton, and told him that if he went to church, he would be blessed. He went, and loved it. The next day, the police raided his house and found cocaine in his dresser and arrested him for trafficing drugs. I feel kind of bad about that, but I guess these promises don't apply to people who are breaking the law.
Next week is transfers, and Elder Franklin will be going home. It looks like our area is going to stay open, so I'll be at least one more transfer in Belo Horizonte, living in the center. I admit I wont be terribly upset when I finally do get transfered. Two transfers is a long time to be working in the ghetto. And three is certainly sufficient.
Elder Franklin and I have made a companionship goal to try every flavor of Ice Cream at this little shop in our area. To date, I've tried 16 of the 28.
Tchau,
Elder Sisco