Hello Family,

well this week has officially started Carnivál, more specifically this friday. trying to teach and find people is difficult, but when is it not? everyone just is drinking and blaring music in the street, i dont know if i already have mentioned but there is a type of music here called ´funk´ its basically electronic music and really really bad/dirty rap mixed together. its not even music! but everyone listens to it here. anyways so its carnival and it will last officially until wednesday, here called grey wednesday. i learned the catholic church started carnival, saying that for these 3 or 4 days, god looks away towards other creations, and thus ´we´ can do whatever we want for those 3 or 4 days without consequence, and afterwards grey wednesday, where he looks back to us, and is a day of mourning for people whove died, and thus appearing to god that weve been doing good the whole time. great and abominable church, whaat?

but i remember hearing about a brazillian missionary years back who said that in some parts of brazil you cant look up without seeing pornography. well im not in são paulo, or Rio de Janeiro, but carnival is still here, and basically i just keep my eyes out of bars and stores when we walk by. but it will pass soon enough!

this week was the birthday of our recent convert livia. she told us a few weeks back that she had never really had a birthday before where she got presents and such, so we teamed up with the young womens leaders and turned the activity night this thursday into what ended in a surprise party for her! it was a great success. Elder Borges and ordered scripture cases for her, and got here a nice set of scriptures, one triplet and one bible. we couldnt find a bible, so i gave her the one that i bought in the são paulo templo, but i got my hands on another bible so all is well. but overall it was a great sucess!

also, youth conference is this weekend for the marília stake, and all 3 of our recent converts ended up going. we also had a baptism there! another yound man named rodrigo, instead of baptising him at the chapel where there was almost no one (seeing as how everyone was gone because of youth conference, and alot of leaders and adults too) we arranged for him to be baptized in a river near the cabin where they were having youth conference, by another youth named naiter who is always going on splits with us. it was a great experience! he got to baptize someone, and rodrigo got to go to youth conference and such, and from what i heard it was a nice spiritual experience, because they had sacrament meeting there as well.

things here have been good, similar to ouro branco i am getting a little tired of our area. weve already knocked doors on almost every street, and when the people you pass by seem familiar, i feel like its time to leave. but we continue on i guess, at least one of us will leave, but we will see! 2 weeks

this week is zone conference with our Mission president, all wednesday. its a good idea by him because hes doing zone conferences during carnival, which is yearly the worst time for missionary work.

My companion has started doing physical therapy 3 times a week, 8 oclock in the morning. this is good because we walk about an hour to get there, so i get a nice walk when its actually cool and not burning hot from 7 to 8, but also i dont have more time to study! but i have been bringing my book of mormon sometimes, so its been ending up ok. its also nice while were there to be in an air conditioned room and all

mom, how is the old testament? i have been steady in my reading of the bible this year, i am reading 4 chapters a day, and so far in the old testament ive read neamias (ensligh spelling?) until job, and all of genesis until exodous. what part are you guys at in the old testament?

So basically everything has been ok here in Palmital (almost named Palmdale), i have been just going nuts talking to everybody, because if i dont work then i get down and if i get down it just makes being here miserable, so the key is work!

it doesnt feel at all like it (obviously) but my birthday is in 3 months! i am going to be 20 years old, not technically a teenager more! its about time haha.. but im already getting older on the mission, and by that i mean i have 7 months here and already have a bunch of missionaries that are ´younger than me´ and it just makes it all go faster and faster.

i once again learned alot this week, the entire mission is reading the book of mormon together, and have been therefore studying it everyday. its crazy how much i have learned here on the misison so far, but also how much of a desire i have to learn more once i return and dont have rules on what i can read (here is just talks, scriptures, jesus the christ, search for happiness, and tyrue to the faith) i want to read those books called the doctrine of salvation, all of the teachings of the presidents that people use for classes, everything! it totally makes sense how when we get more spirutual, we hunger and thirst for things righteous.

well i should go, my hour is almost up. but i love you guys! and i hope that you all have a great time together on this presidents day weekend, i will be praying for you guys as usual. i love you all, and i miss you all very much as well. until next week!

-Elder Zachary Paul Hoskin