p.s. I HATE THE HEAT!

Hey family! Yesterday we had Mission Conference so that’s why I’m writing today

I’m dead tired...sunburned...in some pretty inconvenient places (not what you think) the feet, the back of the legs and the back of my neck. It makes being a missionary really hard.

I hate the heat. It kills me every day. It’s not Christmas...snow is needed to have Christmas.

How was your Mission Christmas gathering? IT WAS AWESOME. Tiring but fun... the stockings were good too...full of candy...had socks in it too...weird.

But like I said I’m dead. Transfers are coming up this next week. We’ll see.
So talk to you all Thursday.

Oh about my birthday. It was good. It didn’t feel like a birthday but whatever. I guess that’s growing up. We had a Christmas fireside in Santa Maria...it was good.

I love you all...Elder Jed Breinholt

Sunday the 21st was Jed's Birthday. We made a cake, had the Elders in our Ward over and celebrated! My Christmas baby just turned 20! It has been interesting week so far for me and a little emotional having his Birthday and Christmas all in one week and him gone. I'm still awaiting the details of our Christmas call. On Mothers day he called me to give me the information of when and where to call him so who knows I may hear from him today!!

Mission Conference Today = P-day Tomorrow

Thanks to Elder Lee's Mom Lynn I now know why we had no e-mail today. Look for one tomorrow! Thanks for the e-mail Lynn!

38 degrees Celsius (100 F)

It totally was really hot this week...REALLY REALLY HOT!

But it was a good week. Really it was.

Transfers are coming up on the 30th. I’ve kinda been thinking about those. Don’t think I’ll stay in Sao Pedro by the stuff President Myrrha told me. I really don’t know...we’ll see. I know I need to forget them and get to work.

Today we are going to see the big rock...or Pedra Grande. It’s a rock with Indian paintings on it about 20km outside of Sao Pedro. We’re going with our Branch President. I’m super excited! I’ll send you pictures next week...it’ll be awesome!

Anyway...you guys as a family are doing great! I get e-mail every single week...this is good...don’t worry about it. When people send me letters it’s hard for me to write back to them. I do it it’s just hard...I don’t know why.

Got my backpack Tuesday.

So it really is true...without Christmas there would be no Easter. Christmas is important...really important...if we stay with the focus and not with the papai noel!(that’s Santa Claus in Portuguese)

So it turns out I think I’ll be talking to you guys at Presidente Ngelos house...(branch president) I’ll get the details and you’ll know.

Wow this year has shot by...here in two months I’ll have one year in the mission...Crazy...here in one week I’ll be 20...WHY DOES TIME SHOOT BY SO FAST!?

But the work is coming good...thank you all for your prayers and love.

I love you all

FELIZ NATAL!

Elder Jed Breinholt

We are just the opposite here in Wyoming. Right now it is -21. We are breaking all kinds of records. At least the wind has died down we had a -45 wind chill Saturday night. Bundle up stay inside and make hot chocolate! The kids even have a 2 hour delay for school this morning because of the cold.

**Update** School is CLOSED because it is so cold. Anyone up for a visit? See you soon Elisabeth and Bobby!

Very good week everybody!

Pikes Place Fish Market

This week was Zone Conference...it was really good!

We talked about Pikes Place Fish Market and how they do something different and how they’re world famous because of it and what we can do with the Book of Mormon to make people want to read it more. It was a really good conference.

Christmas is coming! Here’s some calling instructions...only 40 minutes this time(ask the missionaries to show you the missionary handbook)…so that’s why. You’ll call me, I don’t know where yet. We need to find a member that will let us use their phone. I’ll e-mail you in the future about this.

This week I made a line graph of my numbers for the week. I highly recommend it to missionaries. It shows you a lot of stuff that you can do better. Do just your key indicators and total lessons including less-actives.

I’m doing great. I Can Totally Focus Now without problem.

The package was great...one question though...Why Catapult guns?
(He’ll know when he and his companion open up the Christmas stockings I sent and there are little Ninjas and Pirates that they can catapult 15-20 feet! Just some good missionary fun! The guns were too hard to wrap.)

That would be great about the testimonies.
(Elder Oliveria is going to translate our testimony into Portuguese and I'm going to print them ready to be glued into Books of Mormon or is it Book of Mormons! ha ha)

This part is for Elder Oliveira....Tudo Bom? Cara...Como est a trabalho l? indo bem? Cara tenho um Monte de Referencias eu posso dar...mas acho que j dei...fala com minha irm quando ela chega em casa...Abi...sobre indo para falar com algums de meus amigos...SERIA BOM DE MAIS! S Vai! cara se tem alguma coisa eu posso fazer ajudar vocs...Ideas, Qual quer coisa...s fala com minha me...Tchau meu irmo no senhor.
(Elder Oliveria is serving in our ward right now he is from Boston but was born in Brazil and moved to the US when he was 11 or 12.)

I know its short but we still gotta do lots of stuff today. But I will talk to you all later...and send pictures...too!

Elder Jed Breinholt

It's too hot!

Hey Family!

How are you all? This week has been extremely stressful for me. But it has been good. It’s extremely hot and humid here now! It kinda makes me mad! But its good. I’ll answer the questions and then continue a little bit.

How's Training going? It’s good. I have the most responsibility of my mission but it’s good. Work hard...lose myself and my companion...in the work.

New Companion adjusting well? Yeah...really tired a lot...that’s normal for the first few weeks.

Anyway...Christmas is coming...got my package for Christmas/Birthday...SWEET! Don’t worry I won’t open it...

How’s the missionary work going in Gillette?

I have an idea for the fam...every one carry a few pass-along-cards of Joy to the World with them and give them to people saying Merry Christmas! Just explain that the card has this 1-800 number that they can call and get a free dvd with Christmas music in it.

I can’t wait to talk to you all.

I need to find something to eat...I’m starving!

That’s all for today...

LOVE YOU ALL
ELDER JED BREINHOLT

P.S. MY LIFE PERSPECTIVES ARE CHANGING!

Well HOWDY DOODY!!!

My new companions name is: Elder Ferreira from Panabucu in the north of the country. Today is his first p-day...poor Elder he is really lost! But he is a good guy. Training is probably the most fun and the hardest thing I’ve done on my mission to date! These Elders from the CTM are so filled with fire...excitement to work...so I have harnessed that power to work a lot! It’s awesome!

Abi wrote me today and told me that Jeff is going to Virginia...YAY!...what awesome news!

Eating pancakes with Elder Santana

About the pancakes…I made them from a recipe I had. I did a little modifying because we had a lot of bananas so we made banana pancakes they turned out good!

About American companionships…it is rare...but does happen. Usually happens with older more experienced missionaries because it is important to learn the language with someone that can translate for you!

And now the bad news...my package hasn’t arrived yet...were hoping today. But when it’s here Elder Wageman will shoot an e-mail to you. It’ll come...just wait!

YAY CALLING FAMILY! I’m going to warn you right now that I may slip into Portuguese while talking. It’s hard for me to talk English right...YAY FLUENCY!

I don’t have a ton of time today because I still have to write Pres.

But my message to Grandma is as follows:

Hey Grandma...just a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving!
These days I have been remembering holidays at your house with beets, relish trays, and put-back-ins. It was always great...Holidays at Grandmas! I remember when I was young all of you people that ate beets seemed so weird to me, here in Brazil they eat a lot of beets. But not pickled. They eat them like grated carrots. I like beets now. Funny how our tastes change isn’t it? Anyway I am just wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and telling you that I miss you a lot and that I love my mission!

Love you all! E-mail next week with pictures!

Elder Jed Breinholt

P.S.
This is the e-mail I just got from Elder Wageman in the office:

Sister Breinholt,
Ok, so today we went to the post office with Elder Breinholt (right after I wrote you) and his package arrived both of them! The one for him that had his shoes in it and the one for Christmas.
Congrats. He was way excited. and he wanted me to tell you that he loved you. and I love you too!

I am so glad!! I just sent his Birthday/Christmas package on Friday. The Christmas package mentioned above is one I sent full of candy for the mission to combine with other candy from the families in the states to use for a christmas stockings for all the missionaries in the mission.

I am so sorry everyone...

Last week was crazy! There seriously was no time to do anything. We were in Santa Maria and weren’t close to an internet place.

Today was transfers. I will be getting a new companion here in Sao Pedro. I can’t tell you his name because Pres. Myhrra doesn’t even know who it will be yet. Tomorrow the new missionaries will arrive and Wednesday morning I will know...in short...I will be training a new missionary.

I have paused lately to reflect on how fast the mission is going by! 8 months! I was looking at my pictures of me and Elder Cordeiro...and it’s hard to believe that I will be in his position training a new missionary. At least he will be a Brazilian that will know Portuguese. Elder Abreu will be going to Sao Gabriel...the other area...not the one where I was! But he’ll know a lot of people I knew. So that’s pretty cool.

I have some pictures to send... One is of me and Elder Santana...eating pancakes. The other is of our zone soccer team...we won by-the-way. The back of my shirt says Breinholtch...tch is like dude here in the south of Brazil!

The work is good I guess. My teaching pool has gone to zero really fast. But with this excited greenie we will fill it back up...to BAPTIZE!!!

I didn’t get my shoes yet...hopefully tomorrow...I really need them!

I know it’s not a very long e-mail but Elder Abreu needs to say goodbye to some people.

I love you all and will have lots to write about next week