The moon is made of cheese........
E AI USA!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys what’s up?

Not too much is going on here, it’s a sleepy city....

Favorite drink, Guarana

I found out that Halls (cough drops) are candy here.... talk about abuse of medicines..... some people’s kids.....

Ok I found this chiclet called Baba de Bruxa, which is Drool of the Witch, and Cabeça de Abóbora, which is PUMPKINHEAD!!!!!! For those of you who know what the signifcance of that is, LAUGH!

Ok I’m going to tell you something I miss: I miss being able to put my clothes in a magic box with magic powder and push a button and poof my clothes are clean, then you put them in another magic box and push a button and poof they are dry and ready to use!!!!!

I went to an English school and the teacher thought I didn’t speak Português, but I do speak a lot for 6 months, (well that’s what everyone says) I don’t think so...... anyway, she started speaking in English with me and I naturally responded in Português, and she was like wait you speak Portugês? And I said, yeah, I have 6 months here.... But it was way cool, her students are more advanced, they asked me questions in English and I responded. It was cool then I talked to a newer class and they thought it was way cool.

Here's a picture for my dad. . .

But yeah that’s about it. I don’t remember much else, we kinda worked, we had conference, my mission president is way cool!

I’m super happy and I hope you are too! I love you guys!

Abraço com amor,

Elder Richardson

P.S. I am Elder Richardson, Master of Awesomeness, Speaker of English, Hero of Casmo the English School, Only American in Votuporanga, Comp of Elder Sória and I end mine epistle, Amen.




Any guesses what this is? Think of Taylor, you'll see it. . .

Taylor said this is Elder Carlos, as in Carlos the Dwarf
(a reference from the TV show Freaks and Geeks).
No, not the new companion.
This is for Taylor's brother, Dante.
I am guessing this is Votuporanga.
Nice view!
And for me, my favorite place to eat pizza in Italy was in Napoli (Naples). I hope it's at least close to that great pizza!
Taylor said they haven't eaten there yet, but are planning to--hope it's good!
Taylor's version of Super Missionary. . .
Okay, here's the new companion, Elder Soria.
Thanks for the T-shirt Moni! (BLAB is Bear Lake Aquatics Base, the scout camp where Taylor spent his summers for four years, and loved it!) The Iron Man mask was from one of our recent birthday parties. Didn't want Taylor to miss out!
And this is for Dad--he ate these treats in Argentina--one of his favorite food memories!
Can you see the Woody key chain on Taylor's pack? This looks like a roadside rest stop. . . okay, probably isn't, that's my guess.

GREAT HORNY TOADS!
Nossa Cara Que isso? Então, tudo bem aqui, oh, Eu recebi uma CAIXA!!!! Hahahahhahaha (Hey everyone, everything here is good, oh and I received a box!)

Hey guys what’s going down? Man this last week was nuts, I went on a divisão with Elder B. Anderson, an AMERICAN. It was good for us to get to talk in English for a change, and we amazed some Brasilians... it was way funny.

Ok, we were walking down the street when a HUGE TRUCK came driving by with loud country music, in English, saying “too much of a good thing” then it turned and it had a ton of watermelon or melancia in the back!

I talked to this lady and I asked her what’s your name and she said she didn’t have one!

Everything is going great here, we are happy as can be! Ok I’m going to translate one name for you Mr. Bean, is Senhor Feijão. I thought that was funny!

I got a box this last week and I committed a sin! Ok it’s called that—when you have a futebol time you can’t affiliate yourself with the opposite/rival time, (time is how you say team) (say it TCHEEME). I’m São Paulino and our favorite missionary in Porto Alegre, that’s right Robbie Damewood, is a Corintiano :( BOOOOO! and he can’t get stickers, because it’s a São Paulo Team so I got him some stickers. That’s my sin. Thank goodness for Repentance!!!! Hahahahahha!

I hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of summer!

Abraço com amor,
Elder Taylor Richardson

Taylor's new city is Votuporanga--it is the uppermost city shown

Nossa Cara que isso?

Man everyone, it’s hot here! Ok for transfers I got on a bus to go to Ribeirão Preto, then I waited for like 4 hours with a ton of missionaries. I got some letters so thank you! Then I got on another 3-1/2 hour bus ride, then I had to wait at the Rodoviaria (road), for over 5 hours... then I got to Votuporanga.... It was crazy!
We usually ride the bus, I don´t know if they have a people train. I feel like Neil Page.... my comp just talks and talks...it will be good because I can stand anything. (Reference to the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)

I’m having a good, hard time. Here the local stoner/merchant is my best friend, he told me about how he has a Book of Mormon.

They have a flavor of Ice cream here called Milho Verde, it’s green corn. OHHHHHH MAN there were some cats meowing for like an hour at 3 in the morning! It sucked so bad!

Some guy said to his girlfriend when he saw me Quer Religiâo? So I went and talked to him, he had a girls name, Alison.... hahahahaha! They also have Fat Mannequins here.

My comp is from Rio Grande Do Sul, he is 21 and has a Fianceé. It’s going to be hard this transfer.

I can’t send pictures this week, the computer stinks. I can’t think of much more to say, yo quero Taco Bell, or in português, eu quero Taco Bell.

Abraço

Elder Taylor Richardson

If you want to hear what language Taylor is speaking, click here for a Votuporanga Commercial

A cold day in Americo


This is our zone Zona Araraquara
back row E, Sevy, Santos, Malaquias, Jeffery next E Guimarês, Porter, S. Campos, E. Fidelis, S. Nascimento, Pietróski, and me


That’s Elder Jeffrey


And here we go..... It’s silent, you wake up, no one is there, it’s so still, and then you hear the drums.... slowly beating, then you hear the people chanting, chanting, chanting, then...............................................................GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then firecrackers go off for about 30 seconds or so, depending on what team scored!!!! This actually happens and it did on Sunday during church.

Ok I’m in a city called Votuporanga, it’s on the north-westernish side of our mission. It’s like 20 degrees hotter here and it’s just me and my comp Elder Sória. I’m having a wonderful time here.....

It’s kinda hard my comp. gives up fairly easily so until I know the área we aren’t going to be doing much..... Oh well, it’s the mission and it’s only for 6 weeks. 5 weeks left!

Ok the last 2 weeks were nuts. There is a dude on the buses here that takes your money and everyone, I mean everyone in Brasil likes to not give coins for change so if you need to pay for example $R5.20 they usually ask for $R.20 centavos and I didn’t hear the dude say that, we were on the bus so it was loud.... I understood him but he said vinte (20) CENTS and gave me the eyebrow thing as if to say it’s good dude I got you.... then he said twenty cents while still doing the eyebrow thing..... it was pretty funny...

Then there is a family in Américo Brasiliênse that absolutely loves me and the missionaries. I knew I had work to do with them so I prayed to stay there, then on Saturday morning we got the call that said I’m leaving, so I was really bummed out. So I prayed to know why..... Then that night I got my answer. The lady we were working with asked to be baptized. She asked me to do it... So we called our LZ’s and got the interview done and got her baptized. Then on Sunday, my last day, we spent the evening with them and they had me give the last message and prayer for them, and I read Moroni 10:4-5 which is one I haven’t done in Português yet. But I said it pretty good and everyone felt the Spirit.... Not everyone is a member but they felt it too. It was awesome.

Then I got transferred.... To here! It’s good, I felt a lot better about leaving after having my prayers answered, not necessarily the way I thought, but they were answered. I love my work.

Just remember when Chuck Norris crosses the street he doesn’t look for cars, cars look for Chuck Norris.

I love you guys.

Your bud.

Amo, Elder Taylor Richardson

No letter from Taylor this week. He said it would be transfers, so I guess either he got transferred or his companion did and they missed emails. I'm guessing it was him. So, where is he?

Todo Mundo! E ai? Beleza?
Eu tinha uma boa semana, foi bom. Foi bom. (I had a good week. It was good.)
Também, ah Espanha ganho Copo Do Mundo, neh? (Also, Spain won the World Cup, no?)
Muito bom. (Very good.) Eu não queria Holanda, porque eles ganho de Brasil. (I did not want Holland, because they beat Brazil.) Então, agora é tempo pra Inglês. (Now it is time for English.)

Hey this week went by way fast! Muito Rapido! Next week is Transfers so we´ll see if I get to email you or not!


I hope you guys are happy, well this week we baptized Fabiana, the lady in the picture. Then there is one picture of me.... that's about it... She is married to Oséias and they have 2 kids. Flavia and Alana...




Everything is going great here in Américo.... I love being a missionary..... Nuff said. I don't really have much to say about this week..... I don't know where it went..... I just want everyone to know that I´m happy here, and all of you with your calls and preparing and not preparing to go on a mission, I want you to stick with it!

Good Luck! Elder Richardson

July 5

Man it sounds like a louca semana! ok here we go! OPA!

Hey guys what ‘s going on in the USA? It's not bad here in Brasil, but man it's muito chato about the Copo Do Mundo! I think the Europeans wanted it more this year, all Ámerica Do Sul has left is Uruguai.... I think Espanha will take it this year maybe Alemanha..... I don ‘t know.... I'm still having a great time here.
Elder Malaquais and Luis

Me and Pepe

We baptized this week, this guy named Antônio, he is way cool! In the big group picture its me, Tamires, Antônio, Elder Malaquias and Malaman.


Man I'm really happy here. Yesterday I gave a blessing to another Tamires, she is 7 and wants me to baptize her but I probably won't be here so we found an alternative; a blessing for children. So I got to do that. It was cool but I was freaking out because I don't know enough Português! It went pretty good though.

Well we got a new mission president this week and we don't have any huge changes yet or at least we don't know about them yet, we will find out probably Quarta-Feira.

This last week was fairly uneventful, I really can't think of what to say..... Everything is going great, we tried to use our Área book but that didn't work....

I hope you guys are having fun, I know I am! Remember who you are! If you can serve a mission do it! If it is a money problem, don't worry the Church will help, if its something else talk to your bishop, he will know what to do!

It’s so great being here!

I am Elder Richardson and I end mine epistle, amen.

Amo Vocês!!!!! Elder Richardson!