Email received May 25, 2015

(The email was in Portuguese again so the translation will follow)
Eu não tenho muito tempo está semana vendo que eu tenho que escrever Conner e mais algumas pessoas que querem que eu escrevo pra elas.
Esta semana foi boa! Tivemos batismo no dia 22 Maio, 2015 (sexta-feira) e foi muito bom! Esta final da semana também foi conferencia da estaca aqui. Foi muito estranho pra mim, mas foi bom! Esta semana teve dias boms e ruins. Algums dias foram muito bem mesmo com bastante lições e contatos! Boas famílias que estamos ajudando se preparar para o batismo e isso é bom :)
Mas também teve um dia quando TUDO caiu... Tudo tudo tudo. Nada deu certo aquele dia. A gente só andou meio perdido e frustrado o dia inteiro. Não foi bom de jeito nenhum. E no dia do batismo, a gente foi para limpar a capela e depois, a alergia me destruiu... Eu estava acabado o dia inteiro e sem vontade. Mas quando chegou a hora do batismo, foi em bora! O batismo foi de Lindalva Fernandes Dos Santos! Ela é a mãe do Jerônimo quem foi batizado pouco tempo atrás. Então foi uma boa semana mas teve dificuldades. Como sempre. Mas estamos com uma nova semana e ânimo renovado para trabalhar bem e melhorar esta semana!
Muito infelizmente, eu tenho que escrever por algumas outras pessoas. Inclusive Conner. Algumas outras pessoas também pediram que escrevo pra elas. Desculpa que foi muito curto esta semana. O tempo está MUITO corrido.
Mas sempre lembra que ti amo!!!! Muito! Eu espero que seja uma ótima semana e que tudo está bem por ali! Ti amo mãe!!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
PS
O endereço não mudou. É só um endereço melhor para caixas e cartas. Mas as caixas que estão vindo vão chegar normal!

(Translation)
I don't have a lot of time this week, seeing that I have to write Conner and a few more people who have been wanting me to write them.
This week was good! We had baptism on May 22, 2015 (Friday) and it was very good! This weekend was also stake conference here. It was very strange for me, but it was good! This week had good and bad days. Some days were very good with a lot of lessons and contacts! Good families we are helping prepare for baptism and that's good :)
But also we had a day when EVERYTHING fell through ... Everything, everything, everything. Nothing went right that day. We walked around lost and frustrated all day. It was not good at all. On the day of baptism, we went to clean the chapel and then my allergies destroyed me ... I was beat all day and had no motivation. But when it came time for the baptism, those feelings were gone! The baptism was Lindalva Fernandes Dos Santos! She is the mother of Jeronimo who was baptized recently. So it was a good week but had its difficulties. As always. But we have a new week and renewed courage to work well and improve this week!
Unfortunately, I have to write for some other people. Including Conner. Some other people also asked that I write to them. Sorry that was very short this week. Time is VERY fast (passing quickly).
But always remember that I love you !!!! A lot! I hope it's a great week and that all is well over there! I love you mom !!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
PS
The address has not changed. It's just a better address for packages and letters. But the packages that are coming will arrive normal!

Email received May 18, 2015

This is the email we received today...all in Portuguese...fortunately we have a friend who is willing to translate for us so I will follow up the original email with the translated version :)  It is exciting to see how well Elder Gunnoe is doing with the language.

!!!!!!!!!endereço pra caixa e carta!!!!!!!!!
A/C Elder Cole Gunnoe
Missão Brasil Teresina,
Caixa postal 2321
CEP-64001-973
Teresina, PI, Brasil
Esta semana foi ótima! Eu vou escrever em Português esta semana. É um pouco mais rápido pra mim. Desculpa!
Esta semana passada foi da transferência! Tudo mundo ficou menos o elder franco. Ele voltou pra casa e o elder Dantas está trainando de novo! Ele está trainando Elder Bingham de Blackfoot, Idaho! Ele é um cara muito legal e ele está gostando muito daqui! Mas eu Elder Oliveira e elder Dantas estamos aqui mais 6 semanas!
Esta semana foi muito boa! Ensinamos boas lições e boas famílias! Mas pode ter sido um pouco melhor. A gente estava parado na segunda e terça feira, então não conseguimos fazer muito no inicio da semana. Estamos preparando uma família para o batismo nesta próxima semana e nos vamos batizar a mãe do rapaz que batizamos um tempo atrás. Então, vai ter batismo esta semana e na semana que vem! Estou muito animado! Estamos faltando um pouco de gente para ensinar, mas esta semana vai ser focada nos contatos e fazendo novos! Vai ser uma semana de animo e trabalho!! Tudo mundo está melhor da saúde e muito feliz! O Elder Bingham ficou um pouco doente nos primeiros dias, mas a gente deixou uma benção de saúde nele e ele melhorou na hora! O poder do Sacerdócio é real! Foi uma experiência muito legal! Vocês estavam vendo que eu tenho muito dificuldade pra falar inglês agora no Skype chat. Muito dificuldade mesmo. Mas quando eu deixei a benção no Elder Bingham, ele queria que eu falasse inglês. Quando eu comecei a dar a benção, eu falava inglês perfeito! Foi um momento que eu pudia ver e sentir o poder do Sacerdócio trabalhando por intermédio de 3 jovens. Foi muito legal mesmo!
Quando eu falei que foi um pouco difícil no Skype, eu queria dizer que foi difícil falar inglês! Eu estou muito bem! Não tenho muito saudade de casa. Estou bem!

Elder Cole Gunnoe

Translation...
!!!!!!!!! Address for packages and  letters !!!!!!!!!
A / C Elder Cole Gunnoe
Mission Brazil Teresina,
PO Box 2321
CEP-64001-973
Teresina, PI, Brazil
This week was great! I'll write in Portuguese this week. It's a bit faster for me. Sorry!
This past week was the transfer! Everybody stayed except Elder Franco. He went home and elder Dantas is training again! He is training Elder Bingham of Blackfoot, Idaho! He is a great guy and he is really enjoying it here! But I Elder Oliveira and elder Dantas are here another 6 weeks!
This week was very good! We taught good lessons and good families! But it could have been a little better. We were stopped (not well... sick?)  on Monday and Tuesday, so we could not do much at the beginning of the week. We are preparing a family for baptism this coming week and we'll also baptize the mother of the boy who baptized a while ago. So we will have baptisms this week and next week! I'm very excited! We're short on people to teach, but this week will be focused on existing contacts and making new ones! It will be a week of enthusiasm and work !! Everyone is better, healthy and very happy! Elder Bingham was a little sick in the early days, but we gave him a health blessing and he was better within the hour! The power of the priesthood is real! It was a really cool experience! As you were able to see, I have a very hard time speaking English now in Skype chat. Very difficult. But when I gave the blessing to Elder Bingham, he wanted me to speak English. When I started to give the blessing, I spoke perfect English! It was a moment I could see and feel the power of the priesthood working through 3 young men. It was really cool!
When I said it was a little difficult with Skype, I meant it was difficult to speak English! I am doing very well! Not much homesickness. I'm fine!

Elder Cole Gunnoe

Email received May 11, 2015

Things are going so great down here in the great country of Brasil! 7 months is still a good chunk of time! But it is passing very quickly! Before we know it, I will have been here a year! About 5 months before then, but for the mean time, I am gonna live it up down here! In a spiritual way of course!
This week was a fairly slow one. The companion of the other elder in our house was having a bit of trouble with some health issues. It limited his ability to walk long distances or even work. So the better part of the week he stayed at home and someone had to stay with him. So we traded who would stay at home during that time. So the week was pretty slow. It was still a good one though! We got to teach some really good lessons and had some moments when the spirit was testifying the truth of the things we were teaching at that time. It is always amazing to see how we can have our testimony re-energized when we sincerely seek to have Him with us.
Everyone had a great visit with family and we all left very happy! It was a little bit tough, but I know that the Lord is taking care of things there at home better than I ever could!
I have to keep the email short this week. I need to take care of some things related to the mission since this is the start of a new transfer today. But next week I will write more!! Pictures are coming!!
Have a great week! Happy Mother's Day! And Have a great week!!
More next week!!
Love,
Elder Cole Gunnoe

Friendly visitor a while back

Ata fruit

Cake we bought the other night

Email received May 4, 2015

This week was a good one! Feeling healthy and strong! Just a little cold has been after me these last few days, but it seems to be going away!
Jerônimo (their most recent convert) is doing great! He went to seminary this last week and liked it a lot! We didn't get a chance to visit with him much this week, but he is still doing good! We ended up cutting that family. For some reason, the husband stopped talking to us or even really looking at us, so we were just teaching the women in his family. and it wasn't worth going back there because they weren't understanding what we were teaching and weren't paying attention in the lessons. So unfortunately we had to cut them :(  But we will find another street where we can teach everyone this week!
That talk was a truly amazing and powerful talk (he is referring to the talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that he referenced in his email last week). The story he gives at the beginning is very real and descriptive. And it is something I can almost relate to with the rock climbing aspect.
Don´t worry about getting the box out! One of the Elders who is with me wanted me to ask if you could send maple extract! He likes to make pancakes and uses the maple extract to make syrup. But here it is really expensive and hard to find. So if you could add that, I´m sure we would all appreciate it and he especially would! And some Oreo's if possible! :) (puppy dog eyes) Everyone here sends a hug for you too!
Skype will happen at 5:30 Brasil time, so that would be 1:30 your time if I am right. I am more than prepared to speak all the Português you would like! It would be a thousand times easier than speaking English to tell the truth. I will struggle to speak English at first, but after a while I think it'll get better.
I will attach a couple more pictures in a separate email, but I don't have many. It is really hard to take pictures here since we don´t walk everywhere with our cameras. But I will send what I have. (unfortunately he ran out of time and didn't send any pictures)
I am no where NEAR as dark as the locals. Not at all! I am considered very very very white here. Only a few are as light as I am. But the majority of the locals are either almost black or are very dark.
Liked the picture of the dogwoods! And Elder Oliveira liked it too!!
We have lunch with members every day! And if the member can't give lunch, they give us money to get something for ourselves. We only ever have lunch with members. There is only one that gives dinner for us when we got to her house, but it isn't a regular thing. Just when we go there.
Time has run out! Gotta go now :( So sorry it was short and ended abruptly this week!
I love you!! Have a good week!!! Sorry no pictures! Next week!

Love you!!!
Elder Gunnoe