Elder Alexander Baker

September 19, 2011

Hello:::::::::::::

Mom, lemme tell you a little bit about`what I do right now. The mission president has 4 assistants. He split the mission up into 4 zones and put an assistant in each zone with a jr companion. The junior´s calling is ``junior viajante`` which means junior traveler. I am companions with Elder Athayde, and assistant, and I am Junior Viajante. We are in charge of the areas São José and Florianópolis. I believe that I will now be in charge of Itajaí and Joinville as well because an assitant is going home in 3 days. I will stay with Elder Athayde for one more transfer. The president of the mission looks at the numbers of each area of the mission each week. The areas with the lowest numbers in each of the zones is where the president usually sends the assistants to work, for more or less 2 weeks. I worked and lived in Serraria sleeping on the air mattresses the president bought for us for 3 weeks. I then went to live in the Center of Florianópolis. I am still living in the center and I continue to work in an area called Rio Tavares (the prettiest area in Brazil). We are always changing who we work with for the day, so I work with Athayde sometimes and sometimes the other two missionaires. Each day I wake up, do studies and all that stuff, and take the bus (20 minutes) to Rio Tavares. At the end of the day I take the bus back to the Center and sleep there. Many times the president will call us and send us to the office to solve some problem regarding furniture in a missionarie´s apartment of problems with uncertanty of rules in an area. Or preparing trainings or whatever he needs. That is my job!!

This week we were in the office a lot doing various things, but mainly preparing for the new missionaries to arrive. I did work for a couple of days in Rio Tavares. We went up this huge hill and found a hidden city in a hidden valley that had never before seen the missionaires. We talked to an 80 year old that never had left that city and he said that he had never seen the missionaries. So we marked an appointment with him and will try to visit him tomorrow. But the secret valley was pretty cool, its what I imagined when I read my call for the first time. It was like wood huts, no electricity, etc. The people were really receptive.

I have been hanging out a lot with M. Santos and it has been a blast. (first companion). We went to Tijucas on Sunday (because he can do it if he wants) and visited our old area. Thats the best area in the mission! It was really funny because we walked in and all the members saw us walk in and got really excited! They miss us, we were, supposedly, ``the dream team.`` M. Santos wants to end his mission there and he is gonig to ask president to put me there with him haha. That would be pretty fun. But we ate with Rafael, who set a date to be sealed in the temple in June.

I enjoyed the story a lot about Dad. I am thankful that that lady fainted. I don´t remember you talking to us on skype though... Maybe it was just with mom. When I got interviewed for finding the skeleton I learned that the news often makes stories more drastic, so that might have been the case. But I find it so noble how Dad explains his experience. It is practically impossible for the news channels to see the good that has come from 9/11 and is hard for many people but Dad points out one very impressive improvement and I think thats cool

Sooo I was in the office a lot and I only taught one lesson to an idiot baptist that reminded me of Baton Rouge.. So no spiritual news or cool stories, sorry. It would kinda suck to be an assistant. But, we had a really cool p day today!! We went to sand dunes in a place called Lagoa de Conceição. It was soo pretty! The pictures were taken today. But I am enjoying my mission to the fullest extent, you can be assured of that. Thanks for the email Dad, sorry Linds I don´t have time to email you. Mom, did you send that package?? I will continue to work in Rio Tavares until I don´t know when.