Not The Missionary I Was 6 Month Ago

Hey Mahm!

So I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosososo happpy that Evan got his eagle! Yeah the guys who do the interviews are butts. I got boy scout Hitler as an interviewer.

Yeah so now I'm in Ala Baeta Nevis! it's still Sao Bernardo but it's in a different zone. But yeah, this area is enormous and has 

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOns of hills.

This ward has a lot of potential, but the area is really unorganized. There is a giant slum on one end of our area that is impossible to work in because nobody has a car and nobody can come to church, and its filled to the brim with inactive members. So basically it's just like my first area in Brazil: Eldorado. (remember Eldorado? nick named outer darkness...). So we are trying to find people to work with on the other side of our area... but the problem is that everybody we find on the richer side lives in the giant slum. So yeah, it's a little bit of a challenge. But I'm not the missionary I was 6 months ago. This transfer we will have miracles! I'm planning on working a LOT with the members. We split the area with Sisters, but there is no division line well established. My new companion is M.P. He's a dude from Rio de Janeiro (they call guys from Rio Careokas, it doesn't make sense. they just do).  He's a really cool guy, but he struggles a lot with a lot of things. He's really smart and teaches really well. I am finishing his training right now as LD. But yeah he is having a really hard time right now, but I'm really doing every thing I can to motivate him and to encourage him to work. We've been doing contact challenges, where one challenges the other to do something crazy in his next contact. It's been a lot of fun. Some of the challenges are a little strong though. A gente brinca. (translation: we play)

So right now I give my area the following ratings;

members: 9.5

investigators: 5.01

companion: 1-10

organization: 0

Swank :11.6

Love, Elder Tagg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I dont have any photos of my mug (I had asked him to show me his mug in a photo in my last letter) to give you right now, but here is my face pressed on the keybord:

 trj8bvhjvg

 its not the same, I know... but it's close. 

God is Real. I can feel it

Hey Mahm!

So I got erythang that you sent except the messenger bag and the third pants and ties :) Everyone in the zone was soooo jealous because I got 3 packages and 1 letter at interviews with the president. Don't worry, I shared with erybody. I told them to thank you so you might be getting a few random emails in Portuguese... just so that you know why. (Btw thanks).

This week was a blast! We had a few crazy experiences. One guy said that he thought that God was a group of alien intelligences and then he started to give us his schpill of how he thought that the ten commandments were written with a laser and how Elias was captured by aliens and just all this crazy junk. 

We also got rejected a bunch this week. I think the Brazilians are a little annoyed about the world cup. Well at least Argentina didn't win. 

Well R was confirmed. Then he got the Aaronic priesthood, then he gave it to his son. All in under 30 minutes. Yeah there were a lot of hands on a lot of heads yesterday.

We got transfer calls this morning and it turns out that I'm leaving, staying LD. I'm kindof bummed out... The last time I was transferred I cried like a baby. There still haven't been any tears yet, but I know that they will come. Dangit. This is the worst part of the mission. Always. I don't have anytime to say goodbye or anything. I don't know who my next companion will be.

The mission is a good representation of the plan of salvation. First of all, it's a choice. You come out and you learn things here that are impossible to learn elsewhere. You can't compare one person's mission to another person's. It's impossible. Your mission is unique. You learn how to LOVE, how to be away from home for a while. Then you go back, and before you know it you have the rest of your time in front of you. One day we all will go back home to our Heavenly Father. We learn things in this life that we could not learn at home. I know that God is real. I can feel it.

I love you!

Elder Tagg

Hey Dad,

So I got transferred.

I have been thinking a lot about how fast this year has gone by. If the second year goes by so much faster, I don't know how i'm going to catch it all. I have been pondering a lot; What will I do this next year? What will I change... what will I learn?  It's a lot to think about. I am kind of bummed about having to leave Planalto. I have spent most of my mission here. But I knew it for a while now... My work here is done. I feel the Lord is pleased with my work. I'm on to bigger and better things!

Love 

Elder Tagg

R Gets Baptized!

Dear Mom

So I re-sent you those pictures. I hopes you get them.

Yeah I hit a year this week :(

This week was great. R was baptized. It was amazing and there were tears EVERYWHERE, even from R. Which was odd because he's a big tough guy covered in tattoos. It made me realize that nobody is immune to the spirit of the Lord.

We worked our butts off this week. If I had to have a butt replacement for every time I had worked my butt off on my mission I wouldn't have time to work in the first place. I would probably just go buttless... yeah sorry for that one - I probably need to work on my virtue. I have changed on the mission I promise.

Brazil got their pants handed to them by Germany. And then Holland. And then Germany won the world cup and became four time champ. One more and they'll be tied with Brazil.

Actually I was with Elder P on a division when Germany played Brazil. At 40 minutes during the first tempo (half?) it was 5 to 0 and we were all like, "uhh, I think we should probably head home before the riots start." So we left the favela (slum) we were in before halftime and started running for home. It was empty on the streets. not even one person was not watching the game. we got home and then we got the call to pass on to all missionaries that they were to get home immediately and not leave to work for the rest of the night. But it wasn't even that bad. Brazilians like to complain a lot about stuff and sometimes they will get angry enough to start breaking things, but they also forget really fast. Within 24 hours, it was all back to normal again. there are a lot of 7-1 jokes going around now. people are calling it the "eterna 7-1" because this is going to be eternal. I was at the store the other day and I asked for six breads and the lady was all like, "você tem certeza que não quer levar sete?" ("are you sure you do not want to take seven?") and then we laughed. Because it was funny.

But your son is doing just fine, Momma. I have been thinking about that also. About you guys coming down here when my mission is over. I am also thinking about extending my mission, but not for a whole transfer. Because that way I will be able to catch the sealing of R and T at the very end of my mission. and I kind-of already promised him that I would. So it's already settled. Maybe if we time it right you guys could meet me at the São Paulo temple. And maybe you could meet R. I will talk to my President tomorrow about it, because we have interviews with him tomorrow. vai ser dahora. (will be dahora?)

And by the way thank you for the pants I got. I only got THE BLUE ONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (if you didn't get that you aren't my mother) the other packeges eu ainda não recebi. (I have not received)

And yes, I want Dad's ties. I will never ever ever evereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverevereverever trade them. 

Love 

Elder Tagg

Poor Poor Elder T

Nice!

Elder F, R, and Elder Tagg

Elder T and R

Baptism Day for R

Solid Investigator

DEAR MAHM

So this week was was great we worked hard. On Saturday we taught English to a bunch of Brazilians. Then on Sunday we get to sacrament meeting and we had 2 new investigators at church - M and Dô. Then guess who just decides to MARCH ON IN, UNINVITED? it was R!

So if I haven't told you... R is a ex investigator whose wife is an inactive church member. He has a brother in law on a mission right now. Elder T and I were really making progress with him, until he disappeared. So he lives in a closed apartment building and we lost contact with him. We would pass by his house a lot and wouldn't be able to talk with him.

But anyways. R walks in and sits down. and i was all like duuuwaaa?!?! so i got up and plopped myself down next to him to say hi and he says, "Elder Tagg, eu quero me baptizer." (I want to be baptized) straight up. he already stopped smoking (a common problem here in Brazil). He just wants to be baptized like NOW!!! so we decided to pass by his house later on that day.

We also taught these super crazy evangélica people (that's like the religion that everybody is here, there are like 58713945087124714561243238 different evangelical churches here). When we prayed at the end the wife left the room and then came back with a veil over her head and was all like "esto pronto agora" (I'm ready to go?). It was weird to say the least.

Then we taught our recent convert P about the plan of salvation again and my companion brought up outer darkness and pauloma was all like "whats that?" and then we had to explain about outer darkness to our recent convert.

But anyways that night we taught R and he is solid! He reminds me a lot of Elder Blake

SHOUT OUT TO MA

HOMEBOUI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TE LOVE MEU IRMÃO PREMORTAL

But anyways R is awesome. at the end of the lesson they offered to buzz my hair for free... seeing as I was in desperate need of this and I am dirt poor, I accepted. 

tchão, amo vocês

Elder Tagg