June 16th, 2014

So everybody this week was a very great week and flew by so so fast! Its craziness, the time is going by so fast, because I am just always so busy! But yeah, this week was the first week of the World Cup and here during the game NOBODY was on the road or on the street and all the stores closed and yeah! So President said that we needed to be at home studying during the game and so thats what we did this week! But I didnt miss the chance to throw a world cup party with my companion during the studies! We just made a pizza and bought soda and yeah, haha it was fun. Also this week I went to Porto Alegre for the dermalolgist and she perscribed an antibiotic called tetrocliclina in Portuguese I dont know what it is in English, and also a bunch of other creams, and already there is a hugeeee difference. I have another with her in like a month, and so it should be good as new! But yes it cost alot, but Sister Castro said the mission could reimbolse it, because it was something that happened here on the mission. 

But yeah! SO this week was pretty stressful actually! The last week leading up to baptisms is always so stressful! So we had marked with Luis to meet with him on Tuesday, and we called and he couldnt meet with us. Then on Thursday we had an appointment and we expalined a bunch of stuff, then friday we had is baptismal interview, and Saturday was the baptism! Everything went very well and its was very great,he was very excited and in the baptismal meeting he bore his testimony and it was great. He is so so so awesome and will be a great strength for this branch. I am so very happy that this miracle happened. And so grateful that the Lord trusted me and Elder Moraes with this miracle.

To be quite honest sometimes I feel like I dont deserve all of the blessings that the Lord has been giving to me, but I am so so happy to see how many blessings he has been giving to me. I love being a missionary, as hard as it is, its great. I love Canguçu. I love the church. I just am so happy. Happy for repentance, happy for being here... just a happy guy!

So that was my week, and just so you know, that thing I am holding on the spoon in the picture... is a chicken leg. The other parts were in the pot. Pretty rad right? Haha I love you all!!

June 9th, 2014

Hello everybody so this week was another great week in Frio Grande do Sul! This week was reallly cold and reallly rainy. Generally when its not raining its foggy, which is cool, but a little bit harder to work in! But it was a great week! Right now I am in Porto Alegre for my dermatologist appointment, and so Im emailing a little early because of it. 

So this week President Castro said that the Presidency of the area Brasil said that all the missionaries need to be in their apartments one hour before the game and cant leave until one hour after it ends. President Castro would have let us watch it but because they said it, nobody can watch it. But its all good, it would have been cool to watch but thats not why Im here! Its kinda cool because everything on the roads is Green and Yellow, and its pretty awesome! 

Anyways about the work in Canguçu. Its awesome. I love this area and think it is my favorite area so far. We are still working with Luis who is progressing, just havig a hard time with the word of wisdom, but he promised us that today he will stop, and later we will call him to see how he is! The baptism is still marked for this Saturday, its just hard to teach him because he works so much! Tomorrow we have an appointment with him and then on Friday its his baptismal interview and I am praying that he can be ready this Saturday! He is awesome and really trying his best, and so we are going to help him! Its so easy to teach and help people when they want to know and when they have desire to learn and change... because if they dont have those feelings its kinda like pulling teeth... haha. 

Danilo and Milene are awesome, and ever day that passes they are becoming stronger and stronger in the gospel. I love them so much, they are really amazing! Yesterday they were out of the city and Milenes parents house in Iguatemi, but they came back justttt for church which was great!!! I love them, and yesterday the branch went on a hike together and they went with everybody which was awesome because they are creating Friends in the branch! I love it!

But yeah. So I know this letter was kinda boring, butttt Im working hard, doing my best, and letting the Lord do the rest! I love you all so much, miss you all so much, and love hearing from you! I hope youa re well, Connor happy birthday this week, I cant believe you are 18... thats so weird... so weird.... Mom, good luck with the calling, I know it will be hard, but he wouldnt call you if you couldnt do it! I love you all so much! Dad, I love the postcards you send me, this week I got Amsterdam!

Anyways have a good week, andddd VAI BRASIL!!!!!!!

June 2nd, 2014

So everybody this week was so so so crazy!!!! So hectic and so many things happened! It was pretty crazy, but man, in the end everything payed off! Mom Dad, I love you guys so much, thanks for always being there for me! President Castro sayd that you speak really good Spanish Dad! We had interviews with him this week and he said that you speak great spanish and he told me about the appointment in Porto Alegre, I just dont know how its going to work, but later today I will call to see. Carson, have fun at camp buddy! Connor, keep being snouty, and Jonathan, keep being focinhoso.

Anyways, all snouts aside, I would like to tell you about my awesome week! So this week was so crazy because there was the wedding and baptism of Danilo and Milene, and because there are so few members here, we had to do everything! So last Friday we went to the wedding which was in a governent office, nothing fancy, and alot of their family came to watch! It was so awesome and they were so happy! And we thought that their family would also like to see the baptism on Saturday, so we invited them and went to decorate the church! Not gonna lie, mom you would be so proud of my decorations! They were so awesome! We didnt have alot of resources, but for what we had it turned out great! Yeah!

On Saturday, we had the baptism, and all morning we were fliing up the baptismal font with a small hose. The only problem... is that in May in Canguçu... its pretty cold... sooooooooo we tried everything to heat up that water but it didnt work... We even heated up boiling oil, and put the whole pan in the font to see if it would heat up the water... but it didnt work.... Also we thought that their whole family was coming so we ordered... 20 pounds of cake.... but.... the family ended up not coming.... we had alotttttttttttttt of cake....... But the service was amazing, and I batized Danilo, and Elder Moraes baptized Milene! It was great, and they loved our decorations and everything! Man, we were jsut doing so much, it was so crazy, but it was totally worth it!

Yesterday a miracle happened! So remeber Luis? He has been coming to church for a while but whenever we talk about baptism he never really likes it and tries to change the subject... But this week he had a dream, and he saw a bus full of people going to be baptized, and also me and Elder Moraes, and he was going to go, but he got afraid because he thought the water would be cold, so he decided not to get on the bus. And when he saw it driving away, he realized that he needed to get on, but it was too late, he missed his chance. He came to church yesterday and he told us he didnt want to miss his chance to get on the "bus", and so we invited him to be baptized, and he accepted. He will be baptized on the 14th of June! Wow, he is amazing and I am so excited too!

So this week was absoultely amazing! I love Danilo, Milene, everybody! I just feel so happy to have gotten to know them so well! I love all you too, I miss you all! Connor, Happy birthday this week!!! But yeah! Enjoy the pictures!

May 26th, 2014

Hello my wonderful amazing family, I love you all so much! So this week was a cold cold colddddd week! My city, Canguçu, was officially the coldest city in Brasil this week... And Im freezing my pants off! Haha its way cold... The hardest thing about it all is that our apartment doesnt have air condicioning... so it is like a big freezer! Mom to answer your questions, they just the water off in the city to clean the water towers, and on the news they announced that the water would turn off, but since we dont watch TV, we didnt know, and so the whole day we were without water! But now we have it again, so its all good! No I havent seen a doctor, but I called Sister Castro and she told me about this creme that I am using, and she said if it doesnt get better I can see a doctor.

Connor and Carson you both sound like you are doing great, and I am so happy for you guys. Keep on being amazing, but keep being righteous too, and everything will work out the way it should! I love you guys, and miss you. Jonathan and Natalie too, I hope that you are doing well. I love you guys too!

So this week was full of ups and downs. So this week we found out that Danilo and Milene have a habit of drinking coffee, even though we already taught the Word of Wisdom with them, but this week we went, and I think they just didnt understand when we taught the first time, but this time I think they understood and stopped! Their baptism will be this Saturday! Something cool happened this week when I was praying, because I have ben really worried about if they have had a true conversion or not, and when I was praying I felt they need to really feel the Holy Ghost, and the thought came in my mind to watch a church filme with them, the Lamb of God, that talks about Christ. So the next day we went and did just that, and wow the Spirit was so strong! I asked them how they were feeling and they said they were feeling something in their heart, and I explained that in that moment they were feeling the Holy Ghost testify that everything we taught is true. Wow, it was an awesome lesson! So they are super excited for the baptism, and this week is going to be nuts haha.

Also something cool that happened, as we were knocking on doors this German lady opened up the door and let us in... and IIII spoke better Portuguese then her! She spoke with a really really realllllly strong German accent, and learned Portuguese just a few years ago. Crazy right? Who would of thought! Haha it was cool.

But other than that, nothing too interesting happened this week! Just alot of work in the cold cold cold! But its all good, its just part of the work! I love you all so much and hope you are well! Have a great week evreybody!