From Ireland?

So, today, we went to buy our bus passes to go to Sobral tomorrow for our district meeting. I saw some caucasion people at the bus station that were trying to get to Parnaíba, and I thought I heard english. But Brasil is kind of a confusing place, because there are also caucasion people here that are native Brasilians. Also, because Elder Braga and I speak a mixture of english and portuguese to each other I get kind of confused if I am hearing english or portuguese. So, I proceeded to ask them "Vocês são da onde?" And they said "sorry, we don´t speak portuguese." in a very timid kind of way. So, I asked them "where are you from?" And guess what, they are from Ireland. I think they´re on an 8 month adventure exploring South America or something like that. They were going to take a taxi, which would have been very expensive, but they decided to take the bus instead. (good choice). I asked them if they wanted help with buying their tickets, and they gladly accepted. Then we pointed them in the direction of the bank and some places to eat. I´m not easily recognized as an american. They were appreciative. Also we told them a little bit of what we do, which was way weird to try to explain missionary things in english. I had to think really hard. That made my day though.

Camocim is a touristy kind of place, but until today, I hadn´t met anyone english speaking. It was fun, and we helped some weary travelers. I remembered later though that I should have explained the difference between a motel and a pousada. Don´t ever use a motel if you come to Brasil. It´s only a place to go to "hook up".....gross. Pousadas are good though. It´s like an INN or something quaint like that.

Anyway, our job is to preach the "Restored Gospel." Restored, because after the time of Christ, simple and precious truths of the gospel had been lost and/or distorted. The Gospel of Jesus Christ consists of 1. Faith in Jesus Christ, 2. Repentence, 3. Baptism, 4. The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and 5. Endure to the End. For this purpose a restoration was needed. In fact, the gospel can be found in the Bible, but it´s difficult to put it all together because of all of the translations the Bible has gone through. So, God gave us the Book of Mormon as a means to restore the fullness of the gospel of Christ. I know it is true, and my job right now is to share the good news with everyone. It's so wonderful. The gospel blesses my life everyday, and it´s amazing to see it changing lives here in Camocim. I love you my family and friends.

Elder Samuel H. Chiba