Hello everyone,

  I want to start out this letter by thanking Josh for his email, you never change and that is why I love you. You have a pretty good grip on my sense of thought and everything you said was good to hear, and you need to be married to get into the Celestial Kingdom, even if it is against your will.
     Things are picking up here. There is one woman that I can never understand. I have said this before, but questions in Portuguese are really hard to notice. This woman, Faniana, will look at me... talk a whole bunch... then stop out of nowhere and stare at me. After she leans her head forward a little more and squints her eyes I realize she is asking a question and I smile and say something about Heavenly Father and prayer and she will say amen a few times and everything will be good. Other people are easier to understand, but I really struggle with her.
       While I was on a ´´division`` with another Elder we taught a man named named Sergio. He argued and argued that the people in our church weren't´t perfect and therefore the church wasn't´t true and all churches weren't´t true, just closer than others. I told him that all of his doubts and questions could be answered by prayer about the The Book of Mormon. He was difficult to teach, but he had a giant painting of Freddie Mercury on the wall and I liked that.
      We baptized Fabiana this past Sunday and we had two investigators at the Baptism. Clefferson and his mom, Cida. They are a great family and we taught her other son and he is reading the Book of Mormon and liking it. I am going to make them pizza, ``Papa John´s`` style so I need mom´s recipe for sauce and a recipe for a toss-able dough. During a lesson to them Clefferson gave the opening prayer and the only thing he thanked Heavenly Father for was the Book of Mormon and the help it gives his family. He is thirteen and an awesome kid.
     Also during my division we met a woman named Aminha. She cried during our lesson and during the first vision . When we finished she told us that she had a dream that we would come. It was crazy. She was a really sweet old woman and she could barely see so they are going to give a Book of Mormon during the next lesson.
     I feel great. I´ve seen two cockroaches in our house and I usually wake up with bugs crawling on me. I wash my clothes by hand and It takes a long time so you can make some assumptions about the state of my white shirts. Even though this is such a different lifestyle than anything I have ever lived it feels like it is the only life I know.
    I´m sure everyone is wondering about the food and since I am the pickiest person you all probably think that I am struggling, well you are wrong. They mostly have rice an beans. With these two they will trow in something random like meat, pasta, or more likely something colorful that I am not familiar with. I am usually so hungry that I don´t even look at the food, I just eat it. And I it always leaves me satisfied. Just as always I eat the fastest and Elder Freitas eats really slow so I always sit there until the woman who cooked the food looks at me and says ``eat more.`` If I say that I am full all of the women immediately say that I don´t like their food, so basically I always leave with a stomach ache. Now everyone reading this is saying ``Stephen, you should just eat slower.`` Well, that is logical but old habits die hard and I just love eating fast and I always will.
      I am a missionary and I am in Brazil, but I am still me and it is hard because I want to be the me that I am to my investigators, but the only me they know is the quiet American who eats fast. I am talking more and I have been very blessed, but I feel like part of me is dying. The fun, real me, because I can´t be him with my current understanding of the language.
    I love the work, It is way better than yard work, and Casey thank you for the letter in MTC I never said thank you. Also thanks for letting me live at your house.
    I love you all, but Noodle is always number 1!

Com Amor,
     Elder Nothum

Well Everyone,

  I am here... finally. The flight from Dallas was 10 hours. I sat next to a brazilian named Fabiano. He was a really religous man. He said us sitting together was a mystery of God. We talked for a long time and he told me some tips about the people of Brazil. I taught him about the restoration (in portoguese) and he seemed to agree with everything. He then said ´´You are my brother in the faith and we all have one God.`` So that was the flight. I got about two hours of sleep.
     We were at São Paulo airport for two hours, then I drove two more hours to another mission to drop off Elder Martinez, then after one more hour driving... CAMPINAS.
     I arrived at the mission office and the president was not there. I was with the assistants and secretaries for two days. My first meal in Brazil was... Subway. Yep, I was hoping for some Barsileiro Almoço but I enjoyed my Sub Club. I really like Gauraná. It is delicious. I can´t explain it, but you all need to try it.
    I arrived in my area on Monday. My companion is Elder Freitas, a Brazilizn who can´t speak any english. I feel good about my speaking skills but I still can barely understand everyday talk. It is hard because I know everything I want to say but I just can´t say it. It isn´t annoying, it is just sad sometimes. I know that I will get better and I know as long as work hard that the Lord will bless me.
     I mostly just follow Elder Freitas around. He is a good Elder who has been out for about four months. I can get the jist of pretty much everything he is saying it is just hard to respond. I can´t wait until I can understand without listening. I just want to beable to talk and become people´s friend but my vocab is extremely limited.
    Here, lunch is the main meal and they eat almost nothing for dinner. Needless to say, I am a dinner man and it is hard on the American tummy. The burgers here are HUGE. I had one for lunch and I will send a picture but they are giant.
      I helped teach two lessons yesterday. I taught half of the first lesson and I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and of receiving strength to overcome temptations. The investigators understood everything I said and that felt great. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much with this language, the progress he has allowed me to make has been incredible. I didn´t know one word three months ago and now I can teach a whole lesson and understand most everything my companion is saying. It is truely a blessing. But I still have a ton of work to do, I want so badly to just speak it and understand it, with time and with work the Lord will provide.
      The pictures didn´t work with this computer so maybe next week. Wednesday is my p-day.
   It is really hot. The people are nice and accepting and I am going to Baptize someone this Sunday. I love it, even though it has been the hardest three days of my life. I love you all, especially Natalie!

    Com Amor,
          Elder Nothum

Oi Como vai,

  Hello there everyone. This was a good week. It was great. I feel ready for Brazil. I feel ready to serve the people. I know that is where the Lord needs me to be and I cannot wait. I have learned so much since I have come here. My understanding of the importance of this gospel and the power of the Book of Mormon has grown leaps and bounds. I am feeling better than ever about what I am doing and I know, without a doubt, that it is the work of God. The work that is spoken of in Isaiah. The great and Marvelous work. I am a part of this powerful revelation and I could not be filled with more joy than I am right now.
     I love this work and I truly cannot wait for Brazil. Please, be member missioanaries and find others to teach. You were in that vision too.

Com Amor,
     Elder Nothum