Upcoming Baptism

Hey! So I will try and get pix in this week. I have a bunch from my 2 trips to the temple and a few other good ones haha. All is well in Brazil, Recife. It’s starting to rain more which is nice but it also brings on the humidity. I am really enjoying talking with all kinds of people and sharing a message about Jesus Christ. It’s been interesting to see a new Pope or Papa (in Portuguese). Some Brazilians are bummed the Pope is not Brazilian hahaha there is a strong rivalry between Brazil and Argentina. I think it mostly exists due to soccer.

Renee, you asked about what American foods I miss? In n out! hahaha and Rudy´s. I miss Reeses, Peanut Butter, m&ms, pretty much all candy. I miss American Pizza. The pizza here is strange! It’s good but not great. Business opportunity for Joe! Make super good American pizza and sell it in Brazil. If the people here like it I bet it would become a huge food chain here and we could be billionaires!

Brazilians eat a big lunch and nap afterward similar to Europe. Dinner and Breakfast are usually just a small snack. For breakfast we usually don’t eat or make a sort of grilled cheese just bread and cheese on a George Foreman type grill. Lunch is almost always at a member’s home around 12:15 and sometimes we leave at about 2:00 in the afternoon. Dinner is usually soup or bread with fruit.

That’s sweet you got to talk to Ian in Atlanta. I’m sure Santiago is dope, and he is so pumped to be in his city! I hope he stay’s safe and doesn’t get robbed! That’s legit he has an impeccable accent. I can’t wait to hear his Chilean style of speaking. Pernambucanos speak a little different than other parts of Brazil. Its like USA and England or the deep south and San Diego. I am really digging Portuguese and I can’t wait until I stop translating everything from English into Portuguese in my head. Granny gave a good tip about how communication is all about listening. I am definitely learning how to listen on my mission. These first couple months in Brazil have been no problem for me to listen 90% of the time and speak only 10% hahaha. 

Stuff/food here is pretty cheap. Reais are little more than half a dollar. 1 dollar is almost the value of 2 reais. On p-days we eat at a restaurant where the food is self-service kind of like a buffet but you only get one plate and you pile on a mountain of food. Its only 9 reais! So that’s sweet. Beans, rice, French fries, steak, fruit, salad. It’s awesome. 2 liters of coca cola at a market is about 4 reais.

We have a bunch of skate punks here but my companion and I are really good friends with them and we talk to them a lot and teach them more about the church. I also use one of their skateboards and bust out some tricks. People find it more interesting to listen once they learn you are a normal person and did normal things before the mission and after my mission I can go to school, work and get married.

Yes we have a marked baptism this week! Breno is 8 years old and he is awesome. We also had a family reference that we visited and they really like us. They live about 3 miles from the church and our house so we walked for a long time. Their son Kyle was at church yesterday and I know he wants to be baptized. The night we taught them we met at their home at around 730 p.m. and ended up leaving at about 10 because they had so many questions and are really interested. They asked what their son (Kyle) needs to do in order to be a missionary like us hahahaha so sweet. The walk home was pretty sketch, but peaceful. Joe graduates in less than a month! Glad dad and Dianna are going to make it out there. Last week was awesome and this week is going to be even more awesome!!!

sinceramente,

Elder Kennedy

Mom-The story about Lorenzo Snow and Alma Smith is awesome! I knew the story about Lorenzo Snow being in Hawaii and having his companion save his life. I just didn’t know it was our relative. That is so awesome and inspiring.

Dianna- I miss hand and foot like crazy. Ill have to get a couple more decks of cards and teach my companion. I heard Dad jammed at an open Mic night. That’s so awesome! Anyway hope all is well, I am loving my mission and so excited to be here.