Awesome Sunday!

I'll have more to say later, but I just wanted to get this in today. This Sunday was pretty awesome! Dad ordained me to the office of an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood this morning in church. It feels so wonderful to be progressing and doing my part in God's Eternal Plan of Happiness! In Sacrament meeting Bispo Leite had me and this other young man in the ward, Westin Wilson, bear our testimonies since we'll both be leaving soon and we've both received our mission calls. Westin will be serving in the Rochester New York Spanish speaking mission. Then after coming home for lunch Mom, Dad, Emily and I went over to the MTC here in Sao Paulo to visit cousin Zach Ellis, who's going to serve in the Salvador mission. Each of us had written him a letter, and we also gave him some lemon pound cake that Mom made last night. Zach asked Dad for a blessing, and since I was newly ordained an Elder, I could participate in the blessing. I felt very honored to exercise the priesthood so soon on my great cousin.

Post California

Last Thursday and Friday were no school, so Mom, Dad, Emily, President Didier and I went biking Thursday morning at a park here called Iba Pueira ("eebah poo-eh ra" roll the r). Then later we met up with some friends of mine to see Iron Man, and then we came back home to play a bunch of games, including the amazing Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii. Friday I watched I Am Legend when I got up, then played a RISK game with my family that I unfortunately lost to my parents - I swear, married couples ALWAYS play together! i hate it!! grr... anyways, after that i went to a friend's with two other guys and we practiced an acapella version of Kiss the Girl (by Rockapella), and then played Super Smash Bros. on Nintendo 64. Then Friday night the guys in my ward went over to our bishop's cabin/mini-farm ("sitio") and slept over there. It was called a campout, but I disagree, cuz we weren't really camping, even if we did sleep in tents outside the house. Plus i think it was a secret plot to exact labor from the ward's young men. I was the first youth awake Saturday morning, and then two other guys woke up, and the bishop came over to us and asked "hey, do you want to help me move some grass?" lo and behold, there's a huge truckload of carpeted grass (grass in rectangular mud carpet-sheet-thingys). I got very dirty - my hands were so dirty they were beginning to look like a different ethnicity. The only frustrating thing was that the 3 Brazilian guys that came with us didn't help at all, and only about half the American guys. but we still had fun - when I wasnt working i was playing some of the guys on my Nintendo 64 on Smash, Bond, and Mariokart.

Grandpa "Lion" Lynn Kleopfer passed away last Monday (May 5), so Mom, Emily, and I flew up Tuesday night and most of Wednesday to California for the Inaugural Grandpa Lion Memorial Backgammon Tournament, which Rachel won. I think the Tournament was a great idea, since it was Grandpa Lion's favorite game and he loved to play it all the time. I was able to see a lot of my relatives on Mom's side that I haven't seen in ages, all the more since I don't see them regularly and I'll be leaving on my mission in September. Plus I also got to see Nolan finally (he is hilarious! and he looks a ton like Warren did at his age!) and Elle, another bundle of joy. Adorable munchkins! Luckily i'll get to see them again in August/September before I leave, but then it'll be two years. ooh boy. Anyways, Em and I flew back by ourselves and we arrived back here in Sao Paulo on Saturday morning, Dad and I had to drop off Em at this theme park place called Hopi Hari which took a long time because of traffic, and then Dad and I came home so I could shower and change into Sunday clothes so we could stop by a wedding reception and then go to my Dad's exchange-student mother to wish her (early) Happy Mother's Day. whew!

Anyways, I have two tests to make up since I missed most of last week. And a big English paper to work on as the semester final... finals coming up... graduation and departure on May 31st and then off to sell books in Wisconsin! aaah! tempus fugit! (time flies!)