July 29th, 2013

Hello hello! I hope you are all doing well!! Carson and Jonathan it looks like you had fun at bear world... I want to go there someday!! It looks like fun! And Connor congratulations for the wisdom teeth! Its a shame you werent crazy like I was.

Grandma I recieved the package that you sent me with the hankerchiefs! Thank you so much! I loved the message that you put in their too! Thank you so much Grandma! By the way Mom and Dad, if you could, Elder Menezes is trying to learn English, and he said he would give me money if you could send a mini English hymnbook in the next package you send! If you cant its okay, but you dont need to hurry or anything, just whenever you get a chance!

Anyways so here In Capão do Leão things are going good! This week I was a little sick! I wasn't sick enough to stay in our house, but I definately wasnt feeling too good. Im all better now, but it was a little rough! On ething that we have been finding is a little difficult is that everybody we talk to on the street seems extremely interested and so we mark another day to pass by their house, and then they run from us or ignore us er something! Its been a little bit harder to find people to teach! But yesterday, um member Deginir was called as a group leader, kinda like our bishop and so we will work with him and I think things will improve!

We had a zone conference and so the picture attached is me, Elder Harris, and Elder Wilkinson! We were in the same district in the MTC but e are super tight. Haha Imtrying to convince them to come to ASU when we get home haha. The other picture is us with Neiva! The ward had a party becasue it was a big holiday saturday night, Festa Junina er something. But Neiva played musical chairs haha she is 80... she rocks!

Anyways thats my week! I love you all so much! Thanks for everything you do! Tchau!

This week we will have the opporutunity to baptize a girl named Ketlen! Her mom, Angela, is a member but was less active for a long time. We found her on a ward list and have been teaching her two daughters for a long time, but only Ketlen wants to be baptized. She is 9 years old, but is super smart and really wants to be baptized! Im excited becasue she will be able to grow up with the happiness that the gospel can bring! We just need to get permission from her Dad, but he is super awesome and I am 90 percent sure he will let her!

My Português is improving slowly... ha very slowly! But its getting there! People can understand almost everything that I say to them. The hardest thing isnt words but knowing the phrases that they use to talk becasue the translations dont really make sense in Enlish... But M working on it!

Neiva is awesome! She is doing super well and was going to give a talk in Sarament meeting yesterday, but got really sick! I got pretty nervous becasue she is so old and got sick, but she is getting better! Thaynara is awesome too and today I am going to paint a picture of the temple to give to them!

 

 

The Baptism of Thaynara!

Hello everybody, how are you all doing! It looks like you had so much fun in Washington! Its so awesome! And Connor driving a Mustang!!! Minha Nossa... haha! I wish I could of been there, but Im helping the Lords work!

This week was really cool, but really... really.... reallllllly cold! Ah in Rio Grande do Sul it gets pretty warm in the day but freezing cold at night and so I always guess the weather wrong and end up wearing too much or not enough jackets! But yeah!

This week we were able to baptize Thaynara, the grandaughter of Neiva!! She is so so awesome, she is 9 years old and has a little problem with ADD, but she was so excited for her baptism becasue she knew the Holy Ghost would help her with her her problems! She is awesome!

But her mom, Nara is having some issues. She was progressing for a long time and we could see that she was happier becasue she wasnt drinking, was trying to stop smoking and wasnt using drugs. She was so happy, but the night before Thaynaras baptism she used all of the above and tried to call off the baptism, but we already had everything ready and convinced her to let Thaynara be baptized. I really really dont like drugs and alchohol. Its so sad becasue they really ruin lives. 

But one thing cool that happened this week, A week ago we talked to this woman named Jane and scheduled a date to meet with her and her family, but she said she is really hard to get ahold of. She said that her husband is even harder to get ahold of but already had a Book of Mormon and was reading it and liking it! Anyways, this Saturday night we were walking and I was feeling sick, it was cold and it was rainy, and we were walking about to catch a bus to go home. We passed her house and I had the impression that we should talk to her. I said to myself, nah she isnt home on the weekends... But clearly clearly recieved another impression, go to that house! So I told Elder Menezes, and we went there and found Jane and her husband at home, with their family, and they really want their two sons to grow up in a religion. Wow what a miracle! We will keep working with them!

 On a side note, transfers are coming up and Elder Menezes will probably be transferred, but I will most likely stay here! But yeah thats what happened with me this week! I love you all so much, have a great week!

 

 

 

20th birthday!

Hello my family! I hope you all had a great week!! My week was a very good week here in Brazil! But first, Jonathan and Natalie, it looks like you ahd alot of fun at Bear World. Haha I didnt know that place existed... but it looks awesome! Connor, mom says you are doing very well at volleyball, congratulations! Keep up the good work!! I loved the Birthday video so much!!! Thank you so much!!!:)

Anyways this week was soooo cool. We got to baptize Neiva this week! We moved her baptism forward because this happened...

We have been teaching her, her daughter, and her granddaughter, and they are all super super great people. Her daughter, Nara is awesome, but smokes alot, drinks, and did some pretty heavy drugs in the past. Anyways, we got a call from Neiva that Nara was having medical problems, and the next day we went over and found out she was having seizures during the night. Poor Neiva, barely slept and was super sad. We explained that after baptism the Holy Ghost helps to comfort people, and as we were teaching Nara had another seizure!!! We ran in there and gave her a blessing and she stopped!!! She hasnt had a seizure since! (What a miracle, honestly I love that I get to see so many miracles!). But Neiva was pretty upset, and we asked if she would want to be baptized on the 13 so that she could have the Holy Ghost comfort her, and she became extremellllllly excited and said yes!!!! 

So Elder Menezes baptized her this Saturday, and she was so happy. She said thank you my sons for showing me the truth, and it made me feel amazing! The next day on my birthday, I gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost, and she satrted to cry becasue she felt so happy. Ahhhh she is amazing!!! And we are teaching her grandaughter who wants to be baptized on Saturday, but we need to talk to her mom!

So that was awesome, about Oscar, we found out that he really has no intention of coming to church or anything about God... He lied to us about stopping smoking, and so that kinda stunk. He was awesome. But we can only invite as missionaries, we cant force him. Pretty sad. But yeah.

About Regiane, she told us last week that she didnt want to go to church anymore. We didnt know why, and I was pretty upset, but this week we talked to her and found out that she still wants to go and knows that its true, but her husband doenst want her to go. We are going to work with him and help her to come to church! 

Oh I almost forgot! We started teaching an English class!!! We talked to this school, and now we are filling in for an actual professor haha... Theyll let anybody be a professor here... haha but yeah!! Super cool! We only do it once a week, but so far so good!

Anyways, yesterday for my birthday we woke up and had a mini party, and Elder Wilkinson gave me a piece of leftover pizza which was an amazing gift! We went to church and at night we had dinner with Jean and Bianca, the second counselor to the bishop that is super awesome! Every Sunday night we have dinner with him, but he gave me a pair of Grêmio (a soccor team) socks and my friend Lucian that is leaving on his mission on Thursday gave me a little Rio Grande do Sul case to wear on my belt for money and things like that! But anyways thats my week! I hope you all are well! Thanks for everything!!!

 

 

July 8th, 2013

Hey everybody how are you all doing!! I hope you are all doing well! Dad I cant believe that you went to Mexico and saw those ruins! That is so awesome! It looks like it was so fun! Soooooo... I have a confession... I got the birthday package... and opened it.... ...  ......... because it wasnt marked to nottt open until my birthday... anddddddd I Really needed to use the pants... But they fit perfectly thank you so much for all the stuff inside! I love all the notes!! And the peanut butter is heavenly, and the Cholula is amazing! Thank you so much for everything! Also Jonathan the T Shirt is awesome! 

But my week has been really good! I will finish the Book of Mormon in Português tomorrow, so that is really awewsome! I remember starting it and not understanding anything, and now I can translate it all in English! But we have been teaching this really awesome lady that I want to tell youa bout! Her name is Neiva, and she is like 75 years old, but so so sweet!

So we started teaching her my third week here in Brazil, and she is really religous and loves to read. She has been attending a church in Capão for a long time, and has alot of faith. Well we started teaching her a while ago and gave her a Book of Mormon, which she loves. Between our first and second visit she read all of first and second Nefi! She prayed, recieved and answer that it was true, and wanted to be baptized! 

But then, her pastor talked to her and said negative things about the church and so she stopped talking to us for a while, but we didnt give up, and met with her this week, and she said that she didnt want to go back to her other church becasue her pastor did some weird thing to baptize the congregation by the Holy Ghost, and she never read anything like what he did in the Bible or Book of Mormon and knew it wasnt true. She really has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon bhecasue she reads it so much!

And she is so much happier now since she has been reading the Book of Mormon, always smiling, and whatnot. She is so awesome! She wants to be baptized next week so that will be exciting too! We are teaching her granddaughter too! Yesterday we were at her house to take her to churdch with us and she told us that her daughter had medical issues in the night and that she had only slept one hour, but still wanted to go to church with us! Ah a she has so much faith! 

Yesterday at church the Bishop asked me to teach the young men and young womens class, and I didnt havce anything prepared... It was interesting... Haha but I managed to do it... And then last night we had a family night with a family, and only the mom is a member. It was awesome, we made cookies, and taught a lesson in a funnier way while we made cookies, and it was awesome! Alot of fun! 

But that was my week, I love you all so much! I hope all is going well! Ill talk to you next week!! Tchau!

 

 

Fala minha familia!

Hey everybody! So this week was a good week in Brasil and many good things happened! But first, I am glad to hear that you all are doing well! Connor and Carson! I hope you had fun at the campout! It looks like it was alot of fun! Jonathan how is your band!! I want to see more pictures! I hope all is well with you!

So yesterday we had our group and it was very sucessful again. What it is, is its still a part of the ward under the bishop, but it meets seperate. We are trying to start a branch soon but we need to find more people! We have a keyboard for the group that I am practicing for the Sundays and Im getting pretty good! Haha hopefully I can reteach myself before I get home!

So we found this awesome family that I have a strong feeling will accept our messages! The father, Douglas, went to church sometimes with his grandfather when he was younger with his grandpa, who was a pioneer of the church in Pelotas. He remembers the missioraries being nice to him when he was a kid, and said that he and his wife Rogera have been trying to find a religion that felt right but they didnt know which one. I have high expectations for them! They are such a great family! He goes on walks with his son so that they have a good relationship!!

Oscar is having a hard time, but we arent giving up on him. He is so awesome, but I think that he is starting to lose hope that he can stop smoking. We are going to keep working with him!

So Elder Menezes and I are going to be staying here for more one transfer together, and after he will probably leave! I can see myself staying here for proabaly 5 more months, because we are trying to start the branch! He is trying to learn English and so today we arent speaking Português and just English!

Falando sobre a idioma, eu estou fazendo muito melhor! We had a fast so I could speak the language and I really feel that I can speak better. I understand all the grammer of Português, I just need to learn words and my accent!

But thats how I am doing, I miss you all and hope that you are doing well! I love you all and hope you have a great week!! tchau!!