Vera Cruz

Week #71

I traveled very far. All the way to Vera Cruz. It's about 24 miles from Venâncio Aires. I am very close to Santa Cruz do Sul which is the city with the largest Cathedral in South America, or so I've heard. There is a lot of German influence and the streets are full of red, yellow, and black for Oktoberfest. Sadly, not a lot of that influence reaches Vera Cruz. 

Vera Cruz is very small. Paris has the Eiffel Tower. New York has the Empire State Building. Salt Lake has Temple Square. St. George has Ancestor Square or at least Bluff Street. Vera Cruz has "A Caixa da Água" (The Water Box or Water Tower). Just about everybody gives directions based on the Caixa da Água. Usually the directions don't work very well and many people don't even have addresses. 

The branch is very small. I think there were about 25 people at church on Sunday and there is nobody but Elder Dickson that has any idea of how to play piano. We'll see how much I can teach before I leave. 

Speaking of music, I tried to find a method book for piano today. The only thing I found doesn't even talk about how to read music. I asked where to find something that actually teaches people how to read and play (actually learn) music and was told I would have to look in São Paulo (722 miles away) or maybe a store in Porto Alegre (100 miles away). Looks like I'll be writing my own method book. 

I am very tired. We taught a lot of people this week and have much more to do. We should have a few baptisms these next few weeks, but each one that we have in sight will require a great deal of work from the Lord's hand. Opposition is necessary, but sometimes I think it's just a little cliché.

I'm with Elder Barbosa from Espírito Santo. He has just two more transfers than I do and we're working together well. Here's to a good transfer. 

I am taking pictures, but once again I left my batteries and charger in another area. The problem is that this time, nobody can find them. Also, it is not advised that we send pictures from where we send email, so I probably won't send many (if any) photos while I'm here.

Now, I have to decide how to teach piano in Portuguese. New vocabulary to learn. 

Until next week. 

Elder Dickson