But as for me, im doing great.

Road I walk everyday

WOO! One more week! Man they are going by sooooo fast! I have this
piece of paper that I taped to the front of my desk. Its called 20
passes. Our presidente made them for us. And you start a new one every
month. But its 20 things that you need to do every day, to be a
successful missionary. Its great, And Im an obedient freak, so I get
stressed out sometimes over this thing. But the days just go by so fast.

Everyone has a well in the house.

On tuesday the Bishops mom died. And we went to her funeral at the
church that night. It was my first funeral to ever attend. SO I didnt
really know what was going to happen or anything. But I helped bring in the casket. (I dont remember how to say it, the box they put the
passed away person in) And yea, my first time to see a dead person. It
wasnt as weird as I thought. It was actually very peaceful. She gave a
talk that Sunday, and then it just happened so fast. They said she died
singing a hymn. But yea, first funeral.
It was a great opportunity to think about the Plan of Salvation. And
to just go around talking with the people about The Plan God has for
us.
But yea, Lets change the mood here with another Spider Story!! :[
yall are prolly sick of them by now, but i need to remember them. So I
wake up get out of my hammock, pray, exercises, the normal routine
right. Then straight to the bathroom like always. So I go in there and
start up the shower, everything is going perfect, singing a church
hymn. Then my attention is turned to the door, which is dark brown. I
see something barely move.. Man, I couldnt even scream I almost passed
out right there in the shower. Enormously huge spider on the door,
just camouflaged...!! It was super dark brown. Looked just like the
door. The bathrooms here are super small, and its not like the states.
There is no tub or shower door. You just turn on the shower head, and
its just like taking a shower beside your sink and toilet. And thedoor is right there. It took me like an hour to leave the bathroom.
But yea, Our house is not safe anymore after seeing that. This is why
I sleep in my hammock. Its more difficult for them to get to you.
As well the other day, I opened the door to come into the house, and
there was another huge spider on the ground. Theyre everywhere!! Ill
send a pic. I got my name tag crazily close to it, And took a video of

how I did it ha.

SPIDER!!!!

The life, its only two years haha. then all the spiders will go away!

But as for me, im doing great. health great, mission great. This morning I was walking to the back of the house, and as I passed my bed whap! I stubbed my pinky toe hardcore on the side. It hurts so bad, The words that came out of my mouth werent portuguese or english.
haha. Im working a lot with the members. Were planning a wedding thisfriday in the church, and theyll be baptised this saturday! Fingers crossed! But im doing great.
Hows the fam back home? school is back! Justin is def going to have a
great year com miss Hillman! Tell her I said hey, and sorry for any of
my past transgressions haha. :) Tell Destinee to send me her
schedule. Who is next to leave for the mission? And come home? Hope
everything is going great back home. And love you guys a lot.
Tchau
Elder Arroyo

I felt like Alma teaching multitudes of people

Nothing better to start off your day.
Terere, this is cuia from southern Brasil.

Olá mom. Good Morning. So this week went by pretty fast! Its already
August!! This is just nuts for me! Months go past like days! Im doing
just fine here. I got pretty sick, not now im back on my feet! And
talking with everyone! This week we had a good bit of novos. I
remember we went to a house (which was a contact the week earlier) and
I talked with a senhora in the front of her house, and asked her if we
could come in and share a message with her and her family. Of course
she said yes, who can turn me down :D. So we went in there, and I told
her to gather everyone in the house to hear this message. Man, There
ended up being 9 people. Not even enough chairs for us to sit down. I
felt so good. The spirit just filled me up with joy teaching this
many people in one visit. I felt like Alma teaching multitudes of
people. and another day the same thing happened.

Jaka, third love in my life (it's a fruit)

Ive been told I have a great personality out here. Always happy, and just goofy. ha. There is a neighbor we have, and she has a son that a lot of missionaries that have passed here have been teaching. But no one has had the go to baptise him. I got him to come to church with us yesterday! and I passed by last night, to talk with him about baptism,
But he wasnt there. So I talked with his mom. And she told me that Im
different than the other missionaries that passed through here. That
her son is always talking about me. I know he will be ready to be
baptised this saturday. Im not saying this to brag. But im sharing
this, so that we can all take a step back, and look at our selves. Are
we being examples? Are we smiling at all times. Helping others? Just
saying hey to someone or giving a hug, can change a life. I never
leave the house with bad feelings. We pray every time we leave the
house to be examples in the road. And to be happy, helping others feel
our joy. Im telling you, that this will bring people to church.

Weve had some more people pop up to be baptised. just came from
nowhere. Already great to talk with everyone, to see if they know
anyone that has been in the church that isnt a member. If you ask
everyone, then someone will pop up.
The leadership is going great. Im learning more and more everyday. Its
not easy, But im learning sooooo, much. Were working more with the
members and im going to start teaching english in the church on
saturdays. See if that will bring people into the church. Chris an
english teacher??? haha i know right?
But other than that the Lord is giving me the strength to reach points
that I thought I could never reach before.
Thats great that people are talking about me ha, hope its oly coisas
good. Im going to give all I have too this week, to make up for my
sickness last week. I know I can baptise every week. Just need to work
hard, and dominate my goals!
I know the church is true, that Christ lives. That were all here to
make a difference. The greatest place to start, is to be an example.
Love all you guys, have a great week.
Elder Arroyo

I know the Lord is helping me so much

The Package is great mom! Im loving it! And tambem my
comp ha. He got a package at the same time, So Everything is all good.
The photos are great, ha! Lots of memories! I was soooooo big ha. Its
funny to show the pictures to the members And they love to see how
the states look, and family pics. The letters were also good! Thanks
to everyone in the fam! So much cheese haha. (good thing)
So right now, im not so happy. Cause well, I got sick again. Its getting old..
But on the bright side, im still District Leader! :D LOTS of work! and
responsibility. My district is great. Theyre opening their area just
fine. Sometimes I get kind of stressed out, cause I pretty much do all
the work in the comp ship. and I have a District to run as well. But I
just remember the stress Nephi felt when he was in the desert with his
family. And they didnt even have any food. Everyone was all stressed
out, and just chewin each other up, Nephis bow broke, well yall know
the story. When he was just about to break down. He went to his
Father, to ask what and where he needed to go. I have all of my
confidence in the Lord. Im pretty much leaning on Him with all my
weight. I would definitely have broken down this week,With all my
sufferings. I know the Lord is helping me so much. Thats everything im
doing out here, wouldnt be possible without him.
My new comp is Elder Genaro. He has 4 months in the mission. Hes still
got a lot to learn.. But I know exactly how it is starting out.
Hopefully the Lord will help his faith. Hes from the outskirts of Sao
Paulo. 
tell jimmy! Thanks a bunch for the binder! ha. Its helping alot, and I
have lots of stuff to put in it for Justin.
I dont know what else to write, My mind is blank with the sickness.
Sorry, if this letter is lame. But ill end it here. PRAY FOR ME A LOT! por favor.
Give everyone a hug for me. Love you guys! 
Elder Arroyo

I got called to be District Leader here in Laranjeira

MOM! Sooo much!  So I just got off the bus like 5 seconds ago
from Belém. And jumped in this cyber to do our emails! im starving...
lol. Ive been there all day. But yea, I have a huge package next to me
haha.!! Finally! :D Thanks so much! I dont even know whats in it yet.
Better be good! ha. Because I had to go to the post office in Belém to
get it out of prison! i had to pay 95 reals. I dont know if it was
because of something inside, or the shipping. But im back now haa. I
love it up there in Belem. The streets are so amazingly beautiful. i
took some pics, But I dont have my cord with me. And the package was
super heavy! ha, but not complaining atttttt allllll. Muito obrigado!
SO TRANSFERS!! The zone leaders called me last night (I call them the
zone Lords ha) And told me to call President. I was like, im getting
called for sure. So yea! I got called to be District Leader here
in Laranjeira. And my comp is getting transferred. And im getting a
comp that is pretty new in the mission. IM SOOOO PUMPEDDD! Ive been
waiting to be called! Everyone is pretty excited for me. Just love
everyone, and lead by example. I dont know much about my district
right now, cause i havnt met them yet. Ill tell ya about them next
week.
But the work is still booming here! We had another baptism this
saturday! We just need to keep up our faith, and agora its not just my
faith but of my district as well. Need to keep them baptising weekly
juntos with me. So I can get called Zone Lord! :D I know the Lord is
preparing my way, not only here. But after the mission.
Its still hot.. hah. duh. AÇAI season is back!! We eat it at lunch
a lot. !!! YES! ha, im so excited lol. Everyones teeth are blue, and
everyone is more happy ha. The other day, they taught me how to eat it
without sugar. You just eat it next to your lunch plate, and eat it
with chicken, or shrimp. And its DELicous! Im just super happy right
now, and sweating hardcore.
I might take money out of my card. I dont want to though. I think ill
be able to live on what I have. Thats crazy that school is already
starting back! It went by super fast! Jonos getting married in April!
Whhhaaaaattt?? Sweet? When does Sister Bowden go home?
hows the work goin? Keep me in your prayers every night. Not only me,
but my district, and the people. I love you guys so much! Keep the
commandments! And youll prosper in the land! Jesus is the Christ.
Elder Arroyo

I know that the Lord is preparing this land

Hey mom! Good morning! HA! Pleeeeeeeeeeeassse, I promise you guys
right now, that it is not even close to how hot it is here. not even
comparable haha. The sun stays at the stop of the sky. I remember the
other day I walked into the bishops office cause there is an air
conditioner in there. And I just sat there to relax for a sec. And
~when I walked back out the door. I almost cried, from the heat wave
ha. For realz.
This week was great. Another Saturday, another baptism. Ive been
walking like no tomorrow. Im going to weigh myself again today. And
see where im at. I heard that the trip went great. I miss the Larsen´s
party. And...pools.. But its ok. Cause I love Pará! And im putting all
my time to the Lord. And the time here is just going by so fast.
Yea, Was my Hump Day last week. But no, I didnt do anything. Just
another day. Your days get complicated when your preparing people to
be baptised in 2 weeks.

Victor's Baptism

The other day, we were lunching at a members house for the first time.
And I was talking to there daughter about church stuff. And dont you
know she told me she hasnt been baptised yet!! haha! Man! Ive seen her
at the church every week. A lot of people thought she was already a
member. ha. So now we are preparing her to be baptised this Saturday.
We are really pushing to reach our goal for the mission this month.
which is 250 baptisms. I know the Lord will show the way.
So we had interviews with president last week. And guess what!! The
church bought a huuuge lot of land in Belém. We think we have a pretty
good idea of what this land was bought for. Our number one goal here
is to bring a temple into Pará! And the church is growing like no
other here. Miracles are happening everyday. I know that the Lord is
preparing this land for a temple in Northern Brasil.
Pará! Im loving this place so much. I cant stop talking about the
fruit here. Everyone has trees of fruit in their yards. So the other
day. we were sitting at a members house waiting for her to finish
making lunch, and I saw a lemon tree in the front yard. And I made
some lemonade for us for lunch ha. Thats my new thing ha. Making
juice of whatever they have in the yard ha. And It tastes amazing.
Just have to look out for whatever lives in the trees ha. yea.. Ill
tell you after the mission.
Ah! If you see Brian again! Tell him I miss that guy so much, and when
I come back we´ll def jam out again.
But thats a little of what happened with my week! Still waiting for
your package! I know its coming this time :D Love you mom! Tchau
ELDER Arroz

This is an Açaí Palm!

This is an Açaí Palm!

Good Morning mom! Happy 4th of July! haha, Yea, that means nothing
down here. This week was great. The Lord is showing his hand in our
work everyday, and we are getting results. We had another Baptism this
week, It went great. She was totally prepared! And guess what, we will baptise her son this Saturday. And maybe her daughter the next.

Ah! So this church down here ´Assembleia De Deus` or something like that (jimmy knows) they did a thing where they were marrying a couple
hundred people for FREE! Man! When I heard about that, I went nuts
haha. So we took a family and they got married! It went great, And they will be legally married today. so theyll be ready to be baptised
this week!! And we are going to marry another one of our families this
week. ha, It was funny. We walked into there church with our invesitigators, and everyone was just staring at us lol. But yea! FAMILYS!! Its soo hard to find familys that are married. We have been teaching these families for a while, and the main problem is the money. But now theyll be good to go! A lot of work! Finally some results :D
We did some service projects! I love service projects sooo much. ha,
Because I get to use shorts and a shirt. But my legs are sooo white ha.. Ill see if I can send you guys some pictures.

another spider!

Sounds like a good swim and a bbq would hit the spot right about now.
Maybe ill be home for the next 4th of July. If you want to know where I am. I usually walk the streets in Icui. and thats where the church is. Im doing fine. Working hard. Keeping the commandments ha. Hope everything is great at home. Love you guys!
Tchau Thcua
Elder Arroyo

Helping others in all ways possible

Hey mom, Good morning! I dont really have much to say sobre this week.
I wrote some stuff in my planner but I left it in the house. soooo. The
time in this area is going by super fast. Yesterday at lunch, There
was a plate of something on the table and I was like hey whats this?
haha and theyre like its torquitos haha. But I so knew it wasnt. So I
tried some, and it wasnt that bad. And then they finally told me what
it was. And it was chicken hearts... Thats a first for me haha. But Im
getting good with the area here. Im making good friendships with the
members and our investigators are getting married!! WOOOO!! But yea.
Elder Arroyo. Third area. Its the same thing you just got to start
everything over when you transfer. I passed my one year mark, And time
is going by even faster now.
Ben is going to Las Vegas!!! WOO! Siiick! give that guy a congrats! So
whats your knew calling? Yea, I dont even know how big that spider
was, My comp took a pic of it when I was in the shower haha. Would be
great to know where it went. But the work out here is going great. I
growing and learning so much. Helping others in all ways possible. I
love you guys and hope yall have a great week!
Elder Arroyo

I want the rainy season back!

hahahahah I love how you said its hotter there than it is here. :D
Jokes are always good to start off the day. I got a pretty bad sunburn
this past week. But now its gone. So last night we were about to open
the door to our house and the power went out. Last night was a super
sweet lightning storm here. It just goes all around the sky and really
huge! I wanted to take a video of it. But yea, Another night without
power. It was pretty hard to stay asleep, sleeping in your sweat,
with mosquitoes all over you. But now im ready to take on any sort of
camp out ha.

Sonic Speed Spider

The other day, me and my comp were walking down this little dirt road,
and it had like a little rain stream going down the middle, and theres
a super tricky part where you have to jump over the stream onto a
little strip of land, and my comp has already accidentally stepped in the
water, and it just makes me laugh so much when he does. But this last
time, I was in the front, and I jumped and I dont even know what
happened, But I fell... haha.. And it wasnt just like a `oh, I fell on
my knee fall` ha.. I fell and than did like a roll into the stream...
so we had to go to a members house and I just took a shower in my
church clothes. My comp loves talking about it..

But on the spiritual side! We had another baptism! Were definitely
going to baptise every week here. We have families in line to get
married! and dates for baptism shortly after. Just hope everything
goes as planned. The people are great here, Just need to get married.
My Portuguese is getting pretty good. My comp is helping me a bunch
get better.Its getting hotter and hotter everyday. I want the rainy season back!As well! Açai is starting to get cheaper!! Its been like 6 realsbecause it was the time when they ship it to other countries! But nowits coming back down! Thank goodness. ha.Thanks for sending off my package! My next one, I would love a newpair of shoes.But thats pretty much whats going on here! Doing the Lords work! I love you guys! And pray for you oft. Lemme know what I can do for ya here.
Tchau tchau

My area is called Laranjeira

Hey mom! Remember all those times I told you I was in the Ghetto? Well, this time its serious haha... Im in the outskirts of Belem, My area is called  Laranjeira. And its just straight up ghettos haha. Dirt roads and tiny houses piled up on each other. We´ll be walking down the street in the night and boom! A gun will go off. Its so crazy here, has a lot of kids in the street flying and  battling with their kites, and they also set off a loooot of fireworks. When I got to the house there was no power.. cause someone was late paying the bills.. So it was pretty rough sleeping without a fan or shower. Then we got the power back, and yesterday it went back out, cause someone was trying to steal power from a power line.. this place is crazy. But its cool, im adjusting. My comp is  Elder Dos Santos, And Elder Silva Dos Santos was his comp in this area  before me. (my first comp..)  Ah! when I was in Marituba, There was an inactive family that lived out in Tauá. The father use to be stake president.  When I was out there we visited with them, and long story short, they starting coming back to church, and I baptised 2 people in the family. And my first day here in Laranjeira, My comp didnt tell me where we were eating lunch, and we get to the house to eat lunch and it was that family that lived in Tauá!! They moved here, and theyre all super strong in the church, and the father is working to get a call in the church again. I fealt so good.
The area here is pretty big, well at least it seems big, how my comp sets up appointments on different sides of it. So im going to lose a lot more weight here, cause of the walking. Also I threw one pair of my shoes away, cause there were just too many holes, and it rains too much. Sooo, If you guys could, I would love a new pair a shoes, Cause I dont know how much longer these ones will last. 
I miss swimming soooooooo much.!! I miss you guys a lot. And hope that
yall are having a great time. I have a good bit of time left if you
want to talk some more! Love you guys!! Tchau Tchau!
Elder Arroyo

If I stayed one more theyre just going to transfer my church membership registers to Brangança ward

Good Afternoon Mom! so yea, its transfer time.. The Zone Leaders
called last night and said that both me and my comp need to pack our
bags. Were both leaving Bragança! Ah.. I was so sad.. But they didnt
tell us where were going.. Cause they said they didnt want us to
know.. Yea.. the leadership here gets abused a lot. But yea, I already
got my bags packed, and got my haircut, and pretty much ready to go.
Were leaving for Castanhal at like 6 o clock.
Haha, I got so connected to the members here. I am definitely coming
back here at the end of my mission. They said if I stayed one more
theyre just going to transfer my church membership registers to
Brangança ward hah. They even signed me up to give a 20 minute talk
next Sunday. Ill have to give that down to the new missionary that
will take my spot haha :D. I took a good amount of pictures and got
some addresses gave out my facebook, stuff like that. Ahhh, but im
going to miss this place so much..
My Birthday was fun, A sister made me a cake and pancakes and stuff
and some people came over and I gave a message then they sang happy
birthday for me and stuff. I got it on video. Hey mom, if you could
send me like all the happy birthday stuff that people sent me on my
facebook.
But yea, pretty much now. im just waiting to leave, were going to take
a taxi with our stuff to the bus station. and take a bus to Castanhal,
and then see what adventure I get to do next! I love you guys, and
praying for yall every  day. I know the church is true, and that Jesus
is the Christ.
Elder Arroyo