e-mail for Dec.27th. Transfer to Teresina

James mentioned in his phone call on Christmas Day that he wouldn't be surprised to get transferred at any time. He had served in Acailandia for around 4 1/2 months. He loved serving there, but thought a move might be coming soon. Well, it happened perhaps a little sooner than he thought. He was transferred to Teresina the day after Christmas, as you can read in his e-mail below. New adventures for him now in a new city. The big strip he talks about in his letter is a strip of land that goes clear across Teresina. It shows up on Google Earth and I have asked him about it. Now he says he can find out what it is.

Hi Dad and Mom,

I don't have much time to write because I was transferred from Acailandia. I am going to Teresina and I don't know how long that I am going to stay there but looks like I will be able to see what that big old strip is after all. I love you all it was so good to talk to you all on Christmas and I will write more to you all next week.

Love your son,

Elder Crittenden

Christmas phone call

We enjoyed a wonderful phone call with James on Christmas Day. We called him at 3:00 p.m. He was at a phone in the ward clerks office. The connection was crystal clear and he sounded great. We talked to him for over two and a half hours. Part of the family was here for dinner and we passed the phone around to them. His nieces and nephews had a fun time talking to him, as did his brothers and sister who were here. His dog wouldn't say Hi to him. In fact, she left the room when she heard his voice on the phone. She's still mad at him for leaving. His mother and I had a wonderful visit with him. It was hard to hang up when we were done. He put his companion on for a few minutes and he coached him as he thanked us for James. He said he loves him and that he has helped him a great deal as a new missionary. It's a wonderful blessing to hve a son serving in the mission field. We are proud of him and for his choice to serve the Lord and the people of Brazil. It's hard to have them gone, but it is worth it. James and the other missionaries in Acailandia live in a house around the letter "A" on the photo below. It is across the street from a school.

e-mail of Dec 20th.

Dear Dad and Mom,

So I will be noting some things to tell you about on the phone call on Saturday, I still can't believe that Christmas is this Saturday. This past week was a little bit difficult and I don't remember what it is in English but in Portuguese its Corrida so look it up on google translator. (I think he means life has been really hectic) This past week I went to Sao Luis because we had an area 70 there. He spoke to us about a lot of different things, it was really good I liked it a lot. While I was there I saw a woman and her two kids that I had baptized and found out that they are still really strong in the church and are helping out in the Ward a lot there in Sao Luis. I don't remember my password for my cell phone. I know that it is not my password for my email. I think that it might be the last for digits of the cell phone number. I still haven't gotten my Christmas packages yet. I called the secretaries this past week and they said that they still hadn't gotten to Teresina but they get packages there every Wednesday or Thursday so maybe this week they will get there I hope. I still don't know what time that I will have you all call because we are going to an activity at the ward and I don't know what time that I will be getting back to have you call. But tomorrow we have a meeting with the bishop and I will plan out the time and send a quick email to you all. The area code here in Acailandia is 99 so just put that into the number that you all have and you will get a hold of me. Well I am out of time, but I love you all and can't wait to talk to you all on Saturday and wish you a merry Christmas.

Love your son,

Elder Crittenden

Dec. 13th e-mail

Dear Dad and Mom,

I don't really have a lot to write about either this week. Things have been kinda slow and it is kinda tough to find people to teach, because everyone is traveling and going to visit their families in the interior. I still haven't heard anything about my Christmas packages but I will call today about them and let you know next week. There is going to be a community marriage tomorrow at our church with 120 couples getting married and a majority of them are not members of the church so we are going to be there to take pictures of each couple and then give them a copy for free and get a lot of references. On Wednesday or Thursday we are traveling to Sao Luis to have a special training from our Area 70 Elder Mazzagardi and we will be there in Sao Luis so I am going to try and visit some of the friends that I have there. I have got a number for you all to call me at. It is the number to the bishops office here and the number is 3592-2836. I will plan out a time for you to call me and I will let you know next week. That is about all that is going on this week for me. I am ready for Christmas and I am missing the parties at home but it's good to know that this will be the last one here in the mission for me. I love you all very much and will talk to you next week.

Love your Son,

Elder Crittenden

E-mail for Dec 6th. Great letter

Dear Dad and mom,

I really wanted to watch the Christmas devotional but the time that it previews there meant that it was 10 o clock at night here and we had to be at home so that didn't work out but its ok. So for our zone conference we didn't stay in Imperatriz. We just caught a bus back home after the meeting because it is only an hour away. The new MTC curriculum is the new things that they are concentrating a little bit more on while the missionaries are in the MTC, like teaching people, not lessons and revelation through the book of Mormon and some other things. They concentrate on 7 subjects to help new missionaries. They have instituted these things here in the missions too. That 4 day conference that I had a little while back was all about these 7 subjects. A churrascaria is exactly like Rodesios. It is just a Brasilian restaurant. The Jello was made like normal with water, but it was covered in condensed milk. I will try and think up a Christmas message to share with you all and I will send it in my next email. I still haven't got my Christmas packages, but I did call the mission office and they will let me know when they get to Teresina and try and get them out to me by Christmas. So something that happened yesterday I will share with you all and maybe it can be my Christmas message for the family. Yesterday, after we got done eating lunch we headed back to our house to drop off our suit coats at the house, just my comp and I. When we got about a block away I saw a man with this cart that had a box of full beer bottles and some empty ones to the side of the box. This man had his head down and was resting under the shade of a tree. He was really dirty, his shirt was ripped and torn a little bit and yesterday the sun was really hot. As we passed the man I looked over at him and I heard the spirit tell me that I need to talk to this man and offer him a glass of water. So I told my comp to hold on a minute and I went back and talked to him. I asked him if he was ok and he said that he was fine. He was a little bit drunk and I asked him if he wanted a drink of water and at first he said that he was fine, that he was just resting, but I persisted and told him to come to our house and drink some water. When we got to the house I asked him some more questions while my comp went inside and got water,I asked him if he had a family and he said that he did, a wife and three kids. I also asked him if he had eaten lunch that day and said that he had but I wasn't sure. I asked him if he had food to eat that night and he said that he didn't. He began to tell me that he was unemployed and that he had used the last of his money to by that box of beer to resell and try to sustain his family. This man began to break down and cry and my comp and I decided to give him some food to feed his family for that night. We gave the man some rice with some ramen noodles that we had, some crackers and some other things. At first he didn't want to accept it because he said that there were other people in worse conditions than he and that we should save it for them. I shared a little message about God with this man and he told me that he was ashamed to ask God to help him because of the way he had lived his life. I told him about God being our Heavenly Father and that he always wants to hear his children. The Spirit was so strong in that moment that this man just started bawling and thanked us for the help. We got his address but unfortunately he is in the other Elders area so we won't get to teach them, but I know that the Lord is in this work and that he always puts people in our paths to help and to share the Gospel with. I don't know if that man is going to remember me, but I know that the Lord taught a whole lot to this man, that God has so much love for each one of us his children and wants to hear each and everyone of us. I am out of time for this week but I love you all very much I will get the number for you to call me at on Christmas by next week.

Love your Son,

Elder Crittenden