August 25th, 2014

Hello everyone, so this week was a great week with alot of work. Alot. I am sooo exhausted thank goodness its PDay! I love reading your emails!! Mom, that is so awesome about that family that came to church, and I love how happy you got when you saw them there! Thats what is cool about when the members get involved in the missionary work, that the missionaries and the members get happy because of it!

I am doing great. I am not sick anymore thankfully! I am loving Brasil more and more every day. Haha this week when we were walking down the road we saw a starfruit tree!!! I got so excited and so we ate a ton of starfruit and took a bunch home! I get so happy to find strange fruits as I am walking.

So we have so many people that are progressing here that it is just so awesome! First of all, Luis and Lizara are doing great! We did a family night with them this week and I made Tacos which they loved (who wouldnt love a good taco right?) They both were going to go to church yesterday, but at 8:30 in the morning Luis´s work called him in, and so he didnt go, but Lizara went and she loved it!

A Karina said that she would go this week... but her neighboors decided to blast music all night, and her newborn baby couldnt sleep... so she wasnt able to go yesterday! She is so so special I just want her to go so bad because she will love it! This week we decided to plant "seeds of faith" with her and so it was fun. She is so ready to be baptized, she told us this week she has a strong testimony of everything we teach, she just needs to go to church!!

We are also teaching a young man named Lucas who is thirteen, and he is just aweosme! He wakes himself up every sunday and walks to church with a member that lives by him every sunday! He has gone like the last six sundays! He is great, but his mom isnt really letting him get baptised, even though she is a member less active. But he is just awesome, and we did the seed of faith with him too!

I am really learning about the grace of the Lord recently, because sometimes I feel like, even though I am trying my best, it isnt enough, But then I remember that the grace of the Lord makes up the rest, as long as I am doing my best, and it makes me feel better. I just love being a misisonary. The Lord must really be a patient person, because I make so many mistakes, but he still trusts me to be his missionary.

Oh and yesterday I officailly tasted the grossest thing on my misison so far. FISH EYE. Yeah so they make some fish soup, and insetad of just cutting off the head, they put the wholllle fish in there. And they told me "you are supposed to eat the head, its the best part!" And so they were all happy eating fish brains and tongue and everything, and they gave me an eye to try.... nasty. Never. Again.

The first two is me with starfruit! The third one is me with a banana tree. number 4 is us with Karina! And number 5 is Lucas!! I love you all, enjoy the pics!

August 18th, 2014

Hello everybody I hope you are all doing well! I miss everybody so much! Taco looks like he has got so much hair, that is so random.... finally he has become a man!!! Haha I miss that pooch. I miss you all so much! I am doing well. The weather decided to be crazy this week and was freezing cold, and then hot, and then cold, and then super hot, and so my body couldnt resist!!! And I got sick on Friday. It was actually the first day on the mission I had to stay home because I was sick. It was kinda rough, but luckily now I am all good! Elder Hiatt gave me a blessing and I was able to work the rest of the week! I love that guy. We actually get along very well!

So I have been pretty stressed out recently, and like Im tryign not to be its just hard! Because I am just so involved in the lives of so many people, and what I say can change the lives of people for the good or the bad, and so I have been pretty stressed out, because alottt of our investgators just have alot of problems! But me personally, I am okay! I am extremely happy here with my comp, and he work here is going great, even though we have faced alot of rejection, I am happy because I know what I am doing is right! I love being a missionary. Actually the fact the I have such little time left kinda stresses me out too. But Im good I just need a chill pill and some good ice cream!

Haha então! Yesterday morning was kinda fun.; We decided that we would run around and go talk to all of our investigators to remind them about church yesterday morning, and so we literally ran across the whole city in our white shirts and ties visiting everybody telling htem to go to churhc. I am pretty sure I ran like 3 or 4 miles! Haha it was cool!

As for our investigators, we have alot that are progresing super well. Karina (the one that had a baby about a month ago) said she will go to church for sure next week!!!! I am so excited because she will lovvvve it. She already has a strong testimony, and just needs to go to church, and then she will be baptized! Luis and Lizara are also super well, but their son that uses drugs is a huge burden for them, and we are trying to help him too the best we can! And Maricleusa too, the one whose husband left her, she has a testimony too, and is progressing great.

I miss you all so much and hope you are well! Keep being the great family that you are! Youguys are the best! Oh and this is what bananas look like when they come off a tree, and this is me on an old bold on the river shore! Pretty cool huh! And this is me with a pet parrot that a member had! And the last one is Bruce, our pet bat.

August 11th, 2014

Hello everybody so this week was a great week here in Cachoeira! I love this place! I hope all of you are well, I didnt get any emails from you guys this week, but I hope youa re all doing well! I miss you guys a bunch! Today was the transfer day and me and Elder Hiatt will stay together for one more transfer here in Cachoeira! It should be cool. We have alot of people that we are working with and soon we willl be able to see the frutes of our labor.

So this week on Monday I went to Porto Alegre for our leadership counsel and we learned a little bit more about the importance of the book of Mormon, and I loved the message that Presidente Castro shared. I love the book of Mormon so much. Recently I have been studying other scriptures and the book of Mormon not as much, but I decided to start reading the whole thing again, and there is such such a great feeling when I read that book. I dont know, it just really changed my life, and I want it to be able to do that to everybody!

As for the work, it is going very well! This week we didnt have a ton of time to work in our area because of the conference, and then on thursday we decided to work in the sisters area to help them out a little bit. But we are working with an awesome family that I told about last week, Luis and Lizara! Last Sunday we started teaching them, and then this wednesday we went to see how they were doing and the absolutely loved the book of Mormon. We had left them a part about the Holy Ghost, and Luis especially loved that part because he wants to recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is just a great family, and they love our visits! We love them so much.

That other family that we were working with, the family of Maricleusa, isnt progressing as much as we thought they would. They were doing great, but then I think Maricleusas mom said somethign to her and the family about how they were born in the Catholic church and that means they have to always stay in the Catholic church. And so yeah, but we still have alot of faith in the, and we will keep on visditing them until they tell us no because we love that family too!

Yesterday something cool happened! At like 8 o clock a member called us and asked us to go to his house, and so we went there, and he said that he was needing a blessing of comfort, because he was having to work in another city so he was only home like two days a week, and anyways, he wanted a blessing. So I had the opportunity to give hiom a blessing, and it was just awesome because I just felt like the words come to my mouth to say, and like promises to make, and it was cool, because I fel like it was all by the spirit. I love that feeling when I know the Spirit is working through me!

But anyways that was my week. Not toooo many new things, I hope you all dont get bored reading my letters. I am fine, I am working hard and trying my best to serve the Lord. It is great to be a misisonary. I love it! And I love you guys. Thanks for all you do! Stay strong! I love you!!

August 4th, 2014

Hello everybody, so it looks like you all had a great week, I love you all so much! I deinately miss you guys so much. Dad all those pictures look so cool, you definately have the coolest job! Mom, I love hearing from you too, I miss you very much! Jonathan, congrats for playing Warped Tour... thats pretty rad. Im definately jealous... And Natalie, congratulations for the art show and whatnot, Jonathan tells me you have got some good stuff going on. Congratulations everybody!

As for me, I am just here in Brasil, teachign and doing my best! There is alot of cool stuff happening here, and some hard things too, but its all good, Im not letting my spirits get down! So first of all you guys remember that family of Maricleusa that I told you about last week? The one that her husband betrayed her a month ago and we started teaching? Well turns out the family is really really really special. Like alright, I already knew that, but they are soooo ready! This week we went back to see if they read and prayed about the book of Mormon, and Maricleusa did, she read and prayed. And while she was describing what she felt she started to cry because she just knew that it was true. Its just so cool how the Lord can put us in peoples life just in the moment that they need us most. Just one problem... Turns out they "technically" live in the sisters area... so we are going to have to pass them to the sisters to teach. Yeah Im pretty bummed about that, because they are so special... But as long as they are taught I am happy!

Also, this week we had a District Priesthood meeting and President Castro came and gave a great talk about the difference between a testimony and conversion. It really made me think. I know I have a testimony for sure, but i really want to be converted. So it made me think a bunch and I really oved it. I really love President Castro, he is the type of guy I want to be some day!!

Um yesterday we found a pretty cool family too, and the dads name is Luiz. He is such a humble guy and his wife is way awesome too, and they adopted a little girl a few months ago. And they have been thinking they need to find a path to follow to help the little girl... And then we showed up!! Once again, the Lord literally guides us I love it. It is a great family. I am very excited to start teaching them! But other then that, nothing reallllllllly reallly exciting happened this week, just the same old trying to find people to teach!

But yeah! Today I am going to Porto Alegre for our Zone counsel and it should be pretty cool! I am very excited for that! But I think thats just about it! Sorry there isnt a tonnnnn of cool stuff this week, but I am working hard!!