It is finished

I can´t believe it. I´ve over.

I keep waiting for me to get the wierd sensation that I always thought I would have of great joy and relief that it is a done deed but it just hasn´t come. I am happy, yes, to be coming home and thrilled to see some of the people the i have missed for 2 years, but mostly I just feel strange. I feel uncertain about what to do and who to be, I don´t really how to do anything else than be a missionary...

My last week has been spectacular, I have gone out just the way I wanted to; working hard while seeing the people I wanted to see. Tuesday President and Sister Wright took us to a temple session for the last time. Wednesday we had my final zone council that I directed, and after we went back to Santa Cruz with the Zone leaders to divide with them. Yesterday I went back to Gravataí for the final time and Franklin and Jussara made a huge churrasco for me, it was delicious. Little did i know we had a dinner planned that night with a super rich investigator who said she was going to make a lasagna, but ended up taking us to the nicest churrascaria in Porto Alegre! It was like Tucanos on steroids... I think I put down about 9 pounds of meat yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart pounding super hard, I thought I was having like a heart attack, so drank some water to get the salt taste out of my mouth... love meat. 

I was so happy to have a good "last day" on Friday, i went out with an awesome zone leader in my old area with nothing planned. It was one of those days where we just roaming and testifying to people in the street that Christ´s church is restored. I felt such a sweet spirit in doing so and we found a lot of good people that they will be able to teach later one. I love missionary work, I hope I can find a way to stay inovolved in this God´s marvilhous work and a wonder.

Words can´t describe the gratitude I have for my mission experience. I have gained a testimony of the importance of not just being at church but applying the things we learn there. I know that God speaks with men today, and that if we follow the celestial counsels we reieve we will be able to have an eternal family. 

I´m so excited to see my family. I want you to listen to "I´m on my way" by Phil Collins on the drive up to the airport. Tell everybody I´m on my way.

Stay Classy. For 4 more days.

I'm On My Way (almost)

What´s up people

I honestly don´t have much to say. I´m tired and happy. We spent the week doing divisions, nothing very exciting. The idea of me actually leaving this place is starting to take effect, It still doesn´t seem real, but i know I will be leaving ever so soon. 

Thursday was great because it was the first day this transfer that I could work in my area with my companion, it was awesome, and super important for me to try to pass everyhting i know about the area to Persinger before I leave. At night we had one of those incredible visits that make you want to stay on the mission longer. It makes me sad to think i had almost forgotten how that feels. Good people, good understanding, good spirit, real example of how missionary work when it is done properly can change a persons life. It was a lady that has been coming to church the last couple weeks but always rejects our visits when I ask.. finally last sunday after sunday school she came to me in tears and said she was ready to recieve our visits. We went there and met her whole family and they loved us. They were intelligent and understand the restoration, they responded wisely to deep soul searching questions. It made me miss having all day every day to preach the everlasting gospel of Christ. I have loved the administrative work of being an Assistant and helping the mission, but for a few weeks I almost forgot my purpose of helping people. The mission has been an unforgettable experience that will serve as a foundation for the rest of my life.

Today was an awesome p day. I came back from Novo Hamburgo on a division and we went to the church to participate in the helping hands service project. After, Eduardo and Danielle made us a sort of goodbye churrasco. It was delicious, they bought me a sweet original inter jersey, i love them. Then we went to the church to play basketball with a few ward members, the second counselor and the young mens president are going to call president this week to ask permission for me to go play paintball with them on my last p day, pray that he lets me! After that we are going to eat with a bunch of members. 

I honestly can´t believe this is my last week on the mission. I don´t think it will register until I sit down on that plane next Tuesday. We´ll see, this week will be pretty crazy, there won´t be a whole lot of time to sit and think, so that will be good. 

Chances are if you are reading this I´m stoked to see you.

Stay classy.

To the People

Yo

This week was awesome, I don´t think I taught a single lesson... but it was awesome. We were so busy. Tuesday was transfers and I had no idea how difficult that would be without any help from another assistant (my comp was picking up his parents) or President Pavan. Missionaries have no idea how much time and money go into the small things to make a mission run, Tuesday I was running all over the city. Wednesday was our planning day, we weren´t able to get out of the office, mostly just spent the whole day mapping out the next 6 months for President, buying bus tickets for missionaries, and planning our leadership meeting on Friday, which went awesome. We invited two guest speakers, a recent convert and the most renovator type Bishop we have here in the mission. We also gave a couple trainings. Thursday we went to GRAMADO!! If I haven´t spoken much of Gramado I will now, its the biggest tourist city south of São Paulo! It was legit, the closest thing I can describe it to is like a Park City on steroids, its there that people come all over the world for Christmas time for that big show. Me and my comp had mostly just planned on going there alone because the district was struggling but when I mentioned it to President he was like "well I´ll go with you!" (it´s like 3 hours away...) I love that guy, he came ready to work! He wants to divide with the missionaries and watch as many district meetings as he can, what a champ.

My companion is the MAN, seriously the perfect companion. Not only is does he work hard and keep the rules he is NOT a wierdo! Something we both have in common that I have grown to treasure... I went and played basketball with him at the church today for the first time in 23 months and it was wonderful. After we went to Outback, then came back here to play War until now. Fantastic p day, I didn´t even have time to be trunky, and that´s how I like it. My comp´s name is Elder Persinger and he is from Colombus Ohio, but his family now lives in Denver. We will be at BYU together.

My mission is starting to scare me... Everyone tells me I´m dying and going home soon, my body is starting to cease to function, and Dad is giving me marriage tips which is never a good sign... It´s all gone so fast I feel like I need another two years to be able to appreciate all the things I´ve learned and changed. The funny thing is I still feel like a little boy waiting to one day "grow up." Here soon I will have to enter the real world and go through the refiner´s fire, and I couldn´t be more stoked for it.

I have loved my mission, am I excited to go home? Yes. Will I miss this place? Demais. (look it up.)

Love you all.

Stay Classy.

New President

Oi Gente. (Pictures of our goodbye dinner with Pavan, our hello dinner with Wright, at the "laçador" statue, and at the temple.)

This week was a turbulent week, as I mentioned last Saturday night we picked up our new President and his wife, President and Sister Wright. It was way more diffucult for me than i imagined to say goodbye to Pres and Sister, particularly for President. I have spent so much time with him over the last few months and he has had a great influence in my life. That being said I already love our new President and his wife. He is very different from President Pavan, he is very outgoing and excited, he will be a great President. His wife couldn´t hurt a fly if she tried, and if she tells every missionary in the mission that she personally loves them i think she goes to bed happy. 

We spent most of our time this week traveling to various cities doing zone conferences for the missionaries to be able to get to know President. It was a lot of sitting and doing nothing and repeating to the 200 missionaries that asked me that No, I dont know anything about the transfer yet, and no I dont know if he will prohibit Coka Cola or Chimmarrão. On on the last two conferences i wised up and slipped out for 30 minutes to drink a coke while we were waiting. We raced home all of the nights to be able to salvage a bit of our teaching pool, and we actually had some great lessons this week. Our group is small, but solid, President even left with us to teach on Tuesday night! The guy came willing to work! Sister already wants to go knock doors with the Sisters... 

Thursday we amped ourselves up for a long day in front of the trasnfer board. We had to pound it out in about 5 hours because if not we wouldn´t hvae been able to make the necessary preparations yesterday for the transfer. Seeing that this will be the last transfer that I will actually be here to assist in the process after we picked our next Assistant we called him in for an interview and to watch the process so he can catch the ropes. I couldn´t be happier with my new companion, his name is Elder Persinger and he is the man. He will not officially be here until Tuesday, and no one knows yet so don´t let the word out Di, I know what kind of a gossiper you are. 

Yesterday for the last distirct meeting of "The Council" my future comp and zone leader Elder Persinger prepared America Jeopardy. One of the categories was "Countries that End in Merica...", all of the answers were The United States, and you got double the points if your team spontaneaously broke out into chants of U.S.A.!! U.S.A!! Needless to say it was a rousing good time. (I remember once when I said that in a Preiesthood church meeting and everyone laughed embarrassed and asked me if I knew what that meant. I responded, Yes.) I love America. 

I can´t believe I have one month left on the mission. That blows my mind, Im excited for the transfer, i need one last breathe of new air before I put my head back down to finish strong. We are going to be traveling a lot until the end so I should get home with holes in my shoes and pretty worn out, that will be good. 

I put Mitt Romney faces on our Mission Newsletter, Go Mitt. 

Stay Classy.

Weekly Email

Is anyone else getting sick of my weekly emails?

This week was fantastic, we went to my beloved Passo Fundo to do my last division with one of my favorite missionaries; Elder Barbosa. It was a blasty as usual full of mate doce (sweet chimarrão) and laughter. This time i divided with Elder Erickson from Draper Utah, what a stud, super hard worker, he completely wore me out!! I dont know why but i think the last 4 or 5 divisions i have done have been STRAIGHT knocking doors, I think God thinks I need to work harder... I have come to the conclusion that i dont like leaving my area, I don´t have control over what happens. Its a funny thing though watching younger missionaries, I told my companion after our division that about half the day i just wanted to be like "calm down! your killing me, there´s an easier way to do this!!" I dont know if Im just getting old and tired on the misison or if I´ve gotten used to my comfy chair in my heated office, but I was spent, and. Which is funny because i was watcihng Elder Erickson knock doors relentlessly for hours and seeing myself in Caxias and the start of Gravataí, doing that daily for months. I get frustrated leaving my area becuase i know how much differently i would do things If I could go back and how much easier it would be, and sometimes i think about telling young missionaries that-- but I then end up not doing so with the rational that it is part of the growing process. I am the missionary (and the person) I am today because i had ot learn for myself. I had to pass through just a little bit of hell and frustration to be able to figure out how things are done, and in my mind its a necessary step to become a leader. That is the basic logic behind the suffering of Jesus Christ, we don´t have to be crucified because he did it, but to a certain point we have to understand just  a LITTLE of what he passes, hence the answer to the classic quetsion; "Why does God permit suffering." Answer; Because he loves us and doesnt want us to return unchanged. 

I don´t want to return from my mission unchanged.

We have several good people we are teaching right now. It´s funny how the addictions we deal with here in Lindóia, a wealthier area, are more sophisticated addictions, but nontheless; addictions. Instead of getting people to stop smoking and using crack we have to get them to stop drinking wine and cheating on their spouses.. It´s intense. The world is messed up. 

You Stay classy Orem. You don´t need to change one bit.

Santa Cruz du SUI

Hello

This week was pretty normal, we traveled during the middle of the week and tried to finish up our divisions at the end of the week. I am growing weary of traveling, it is really starting to take a toll on me. I have grown a loathing for the bus, its the only time i am stationed and dont do anything, and thus the only time that my brain has to really wander outside of the misison. 

Stress is really something I am trying to avoid in my life. It does no good for me, and unfortuantely I was born into a family that quite frankly just cares about things. I have wondered to myself so many times why I can´t just "not care." Sometimes I want to have that attitude, to just not be so affected by things but I can´t. It´s not me. Something I have really worked on the mission is to be okay when I don´t get things I want. All of my life I think my biggest strength is being able to get what I want, it´s always been something I´ve been able to do. But especially on the mission when we affect the free agency of others and include gospel principles into the picture it becomes a little bit more complicated. I need to get to the point where I don´t need to control the situation, where I can be okay with others making important decisions, that i even may not agree with.

The mission is an incredible ground for learning about God, others, and most importantly yourself. I´ve made so many important discoveries about who I am and what things control my actions, that difficult part is being able to cannonize those things, and direct them for good, be it my will or not. Mostly I´ve just realized that I am a selfish selfish person, and each day I fight with myself to become a little bit more like Christ. And that is my sermon for the day. Sorry I didn´t give more details about the week but quite frankly I just dont remember. My mission is becoming a big blur, and I know it will all be over soon so I´m going to try to work hard and stay focused as to have no regrets.

Stay Classy Provo.

Manaus

Hello people-

The temple of Manaus gets dedicated tomorrow, we get to watch, Schweet!

It is SO cold here. People look at my like I am crazy when I tell them I am from Utah where it snows, and I am freezing. Humidity is the worst thing that was ever created, I don´t want to say God created it accidentallly cause I think that might be blashpemous but I have not discovered its hidden purpose yet other than to torment me relentlessly from the hours of 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. I finally broke today and went and bought a new Shower Head and a heater for our house. It´s brutal.

This week was good, it passed really fast. We went to Caxias and did our division there, (-1 degrees) enough said. I went with Elder De Jesus who had no idea about anything in the area and we were far from anything I recognized, so.... we knocked doors from the hours of 2 until 7:30. Then we went to our appointment at 7:30 which fell, so we did contacts. BEST DIVISION EVER. Seriously, if you have never tried to convince staunchy catholics to leave their warm house and come out to talk to strangers in the below freezing weather for 6 hours straight you have got to try it! It´s a blast. 

Anyways we got home from Caxias for me to quite literally "jump" in and out of the shower change clothes and get on a bus to Canoas for another division. This one went a litter better, and wasn´t quite as cold. Except that we got fed "muscle soup." I´ve learned to be much more tolerant in all aspects on the missoin, but I don´t reccomend it. (Neither do i recomend knocking doors in Caxias all day in the freezing cold, that was a joke, but I´m not as funny as I used to be) 

We have cool investigators. We are teaching a lady named Mathilda (name has been changed) (the area seventy is really cracking down on not putting details into your emails, as if you guys were going to remember that her name is really Rubia...) that is the lady that had the cool dream. Anyways she is progressing super awesomely and now our biggest barrier is Alcohol. Long story short she texted us yesterday after us having taught the word of wisdom and told she drank a beer and she didnt get any pleasure out of it, it had a wierd taste. i can´t express how many times that has happened on my mission be it Cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol. We marked a baptismal date with her for the 8th of July, now we´ve just got to get her rich doctor husband to fall in the water with her. He (She) accidentally blurted out in the last visit that he is a mason, so I told my companion It´s simple, we just drive him by the temple, tell him he CAN´T go in and see what happens until he gets baptzied, and he´ll beg US to get wet. 

We also have a cool dude named Carlos that we are teaching that is a total rocker! He plays lead guitar every saturday night at shows that go until ilke 5 in the morning and he still comes to church at nine! What a boss! His baptismal date is marked for the 24th but he´s starting to feel a little uneasy about it but im not worried, the ward loves him and we´ve already done visits with like 5 members. Vinicscius (the lawyer that travels to the U.S. and São Paulo) and Marcia are doing well but just too hard to find!! That´s the problem with well educated people, they are busy and dont just sit at home. He told us the last time we visited him and asked him if he had read and prayed that he is "fleeing from the answer", because he knows it will require changes in his life. I love intelligent people. His wife has already read to chapter 21 in 1 Néfi and described in detail Lehi´s first vision, I love intelligent people. 

The mission is good, life is good. I have enough time to teach the elects and enough money to buy a coke a day so no complaints.

Stay Classy, read the Bible. (And when I say the Bible, I mean the "Bible of the Mormons," as they say here.)

Pictures of our the Last churrasco for Sister and Prezz.

Mission lessons

My week was a bit hectic but it was really good. Its so crazy to me that I literally dread p days because they seem to drag on forever and its the only day I ever think about home. The rest of the week I just dont really have time. This week we were caught up in function of Transfers and another Caxias trip. Routine, but the drive home from Caxias was unforgettable. As President gets closer to going home he seems to be much more open to story telling and passing wisdom to his Assistants. He re counted a bunch of incredible experiences that he has had on the mission that strengthened my faith. My president is an inspired man, and there is no doctrinal question that his wife cant answer. They are the type of people that just make you want to be a better person, kind of like my grandparents. They have taught me countless lessons on how to live the gospel. I will miss them.

Its funny how the Lord always seems to let you fall flat on your face before he lifts you up. In our spare time this week we planned well and had a few important visits all marked to be with members. It was incredible how badly they didnt work out. Thursday night I just felt stupid, pretty much everything I had worked so hard to plan had fallen, and I had wasted the members time and money. What of the things that most frustrates me on the mission is that other´s free agency affects my ability to be successful. Being here in Brasil where punctuality and fulfilling your word doesnt mean a whole lot that can really spiral a missionary into depression. But I´ve also learned on the misison that it is not prudent to make decisions off a hot head, and that a good nights rest and a cold coke can solve a lot of life´s problems. After stepping back and taking a look at things we were able to re group and make everything work out Friday to set us up to have a good p day. We had a great lesson with Rubia last night (that lady that had the Joseph Smith dream.) 

I was super frustrated because we had already marked twice to have a family night at this couple´s house, they had made food and everything, and both times she didnt show up, totally making us look like slacker freeloaders. I was so nervous to try it again last night because of my pride but the spirit confirmed that that was the right decision to be made. We showed up at this couple´s house awkwardly smiling and he just opened the door and started laughing, but he was cool about it and told us we could bring her up. We ran down to her apt startled when she opened the door dressed in something I would expect to see in Las Vegas at 3 in the morning. After declining to step outside of hell´s corrider and entering into the doorway of wily temptation, we told her we needed to go up to the other apt to teach her. To my bewildered amazement she replied "How am I supposed to go to a family visit dressed like this?" As me and my companion stood there in silence not knowing what to say.. (You don´t feel comfortable going to visit a lady in your building but you´re okay to recieve 2 missionaries??) She helped us out and told us to wait while she changed. (She apparently was going to a Night Club.) Moral to the story the moment we arrived there I realized why we felt we needed to go; They totally hit it off, the lesson was awesome, full of the spirit, and her countenance immediately changed. She went from the most worldly woman I had taught in months to an incredibly elect investigator. When we do what is right and endure, the Lord will bless us one way or another. 

Im grateful for my mission and everything its taught me. I can honestly say that when my time is done here in about 10 weeks I should come back a slightly better person. 

Stay Classy. 

Weekly Status Report

It was good to talk to you guys breifely yesterday, it made me excited to talk tomorrow. The two Elders going home was a fiasco. One of them was one of the most painfully unlikeable stuck up rich kids from Texas I have ever met. He only had like 3 months on the mission but a month ago His mom got cancer while he was on the mission, but told him it was completely treatable and that she was not going to die and her only wish was that he stayed on the mission. I was the one who told him the news and watched him not even blink or show any reaction, I was like are you okay... It looked like he couldnt have cared less. Long story short for 3 weeks has been asking to go home, saying it has nothing to do with his mom, he just has no tesimony. I talked to his companion yesterday and he said he did nothing less than argue DURING lessons contrary to church doctrine. We fed him lunch before he went home and he was insuportable, basically gave us the middle finger and told us how he couldnt wait to get out of this hell hole so he could play tennis, good riddance. Feel bad for his family though, its going to kill them.

The other is one was the complete opposite, one of my good friends on the mission. For months he´s been thinking about going home, but fought against it because he knows it is the right thing to do to stay. i called him the night before and he just cried and cried, Didnt say a word on the way to the airport, completely sullen. His problem was testimony too though, he told me he saw so many people in the big world and they looked happy, and he wondered if he couldnt be happier breaking the commandments too. I couldnt believe it, I wanted to say YOU IDIOT WHAT PEOPLE ARE YOU TALKING TO!! But I didnt, I tried asking him some questions and helping him remember the things he already knows, but to no avail. He promised me he would talk to his bishop first thing he gets home, and try to renew his temple recomend though, Ill be rooting for him. He had almost a year and 3 months. Super sad day for me. 

I got in the gym a little today. We had to go fill up the font for a baptism tonight and we brought a basketball (Here there is a sweet indoor court, the only one ive ever seen in Brasil) i just couldnt ever find anyone to play with me. But while we were waiting me and my comp played a bit. YIKES. i am terrible, I had completely forgotten how hard it is to learn how to stroke and dribble again. I got so frustrated becaues i remembered those things coming so naturally to me before, and there i was trying to methodically THINK okay where do I release the ball.... It was painful. 

Mostly my last three months are just going to be really memorable. I had such a fun time in Santa Cruz do Sul yesterday.  We drove home with Presidnet and Sister Pavan and planned our Passo Fundo trip this Monday. We talked about a lot of fun stuff, about you, and motorcylce riding, and basketball, and politics. And then Sister asked me if I had bought presents already for my family, when i said not yet she told me we would make a trip out to a city called Soledade, that is about 30 minutes from Passo Fundo. Its a city renowned for priceless gems from the serra mountains. I´m stoked, Im going to be a couple cuias (the chimarrão cup) some bombachas (the big gaúcho pants) and a couple gems, one for a ring for mom and another for my future wife!!

Mostly Im just stoked and happy. Im working very hard and my mission is just passing before my eyes. Yesterday I woke up in a panic thinking that soon I will have to face reality, i had always though of it as a dream and a vision but never really thinking about. Frankly the though scared crap out of me. I have NO idea how to be a normal person. All I know is how to be a representative of Christ, and JUST now im starting to learn how to do it effectivly. Its crazy...

Soak up the good times, save some good stuff to do when i get home. The gospel is true, keep studying the scriptures, even though Wyatt pretends he doesnt notice he does. I did. Talk to you tomorrow.

AL

Full of Gas Still

This week was no easier but I feel more energized. I´m just stoked, I´m not tired and I get more and more excited about the progress we are making in the ward. It´s funny becaues honestly it was a slow week number wise but I feel like we got so much done. We are really getting after the members trying to build a strong relationship with them worthy of their trust so that they will help us in the work. Any missionary knows its way easier to spend 30 minutes with a member to get a reference of a family that already has LDS ties rather than knock doors looking for a pin in a haystack, i just wish I would have figured that out earlier. We had a great experience with that last night when we were frustrated with nothing working, and decided to step back and say a prayer. It was incredible how right after that everybody starting picking up their phone, we got two visits done, and then went to the 2nd counselor in the stake presidency. We ate dinner with them and shared a message not even asking for a reference simply telling them they could confide their friends in us. Before we finished he startled me by suddenly just getting um and making a spontaneously call to a friend of his. On the spot he marked an apt with him and his wife and 2 kids for this Sunday. Ironically at my favorite pizzaria for lunch today this same guy stopped me and said "Hey are you Thiago´s friends that are coming over tomorrow?" I chatted with him for a few minutes, super cool guy, I´m stoked to go there tomorrow. Lesson learned. Members have people that are prepared for the gospel, but they will not give them to missionaries that A. They don´t trust, and B. Don´t ask.

Yesterday we had a good zone council with all the zone leaders and we also went to Caxias this week to do a division with the zone leaders, i feel like all we do is travel or plan trainings these days, but it´s good because it keeps you busy. Tomorrow is going to be sick, we asked for some help from our zone leaders here to come help us make up for the time we lost this week, so we are going to blitz our area!! We are going to divide and just go crazy, looking for news and contacting the references we got this week. Then at night I promised them we would make Hot dogs (Brasilian of course...) and my famous mate doce. (It´s basically chimarrão but and Elder taught me something that revolutionized my world (Just like the day I figured out that Corn and Bacon Pizza with chocolate crust is delicious) But he taught me that if you put erva doce (sweet herbs) cinnamon, sugar, orange, and clove in the cuia (the wooden cup thingy) it created the most delicious mixture of heavenly goodness that man have experienced after the fall of Adam. All those going to the RANCH will be eternally blessed as we pass the cuia and drink sweet sweet erva doce late into the night while we gossip on others. 

I am doing well. I have gotten so sad at a few of my recent converts decisions to throw away the eternal truths they have learned for pitiful worldliness. I can´t understand how a person´s who life is already a piece of trash can not be willing to make a few changes. I have definately felt changed by my mission learning that my parents haven´t lied to me all these years: keeping the commandments not only protects us, it brings us true happiness.

Stay classy.

Holland

Need I say more? The rest of my week would seem pretty insignificant if I even tried to overshadow Friday morning. We were so lucky last year to be able to recieve Elder Christofferson and Elder Holland coming to our mission was just a big big BIG plus. He was incredible, the man spent the first 10 minutes joking about how old he was, (and he does look old) but his voice and his spirit have not lagged a single bit. I´ve never heard anyone speak with more intensity in their voice, and more fire. Needless to say I have no doubt that I personally witnessed one of Christ´s special witnesses here on the earth today. I´m very grateful for that testimony and how it will be a bedrock for the rest of my life. Elder Holland´s message was about the Fall, we made a scoreboard for someone that understands gospel truths from the Book of Mormon, and someone who doesn´t. He explained how the knowledge we have of the Fall and the intercession of the Atonement makes us unique from the rest of the world. We are quite literally the only people on the face of this Earth that understand that doctrine. He made me laugh when he said sometimes he wishes he could just take Chapter 2 of Second Nephi and staple it into the Bible somewhere in the middle of Corinthians. I love Elder Holland, and now I have his voice recorded along with Elder Christofferson´s, and I´ll remember their words forever.

The rest of my week was involved in Transfers, and preparing for this Conference. Its been a lot of busy work here in the office but honestly that´s probably a good thing because my health has not been soo good. I´ve been struggling to get back to full strength, but I know that´s no reason to slow down and that I just need to keep my head down and stay focused. We have kind of hit a rut here in our area, we have quite literally either baptized or cut all of our investigators. Now the trick is finding them with the limited time and resources that we have. That is going to involve visiting a lot of members, its been far more effective. I like to think of it as a type of fundraising the surely Grandpa Rex used to do for BYU. It´s going to be far more efficient sitting down with someone and being like "look, I don´t really want to be here. I don´t want to have to suck you dry or ask you for help you´re not dying to give, but i don´t have another choice, so... Hand it over." Rather than running into the street and stopping pedestrians one by one asking them for 5 bucks.

I´ve lost all patience to teach normal imperfect people that don´t want responsibility. I either want to teach elects or I don´t want to teach at all.

I honestly love missionary work. I´ve come to learn it´s eternal importance in the scheme of everlasting exaltation. I know it needs to be done, and I know it needs to be done the way the Lord asked it to be done. Elder Holland told us he knows he asks more of us than is fair, but he would never ask for apologies. I took that as meaning that we need to realize; I know that more than what is fair is being asked of me, but I´m not going to complain. Complaining never solves anything and quite ironically only makes a bad situation worse. The Gospel is the answer to all of life´s question´s and anybody that has real faith will live it, and find the blessings of doing so. Pray for my well being and the well being of those I teach.

***

That I forgot to tell: I call it "What is the worth of a Taxi?"

On Thursday we spent most of the day helping the secrataries get all of the materials ready for the Holland conference. We had already skipped one of our appointments that we had to help and we had one more coming up at 8 that i really didnt want to cancel but we had to help them finish up so we did. It turned out that there were way more matierals than we thought there was going to be so we decided to grab a taxi and take them down the to south mission so we wouldn´t have to take them in the morning. The only problem was that is was raining super intensely which was backing up all the taxis, every one we called said they couldnt attend us. So sitting there not sure what to do we see a Taxi drive up and drop a guy off in front of the office. We run out there frantically to try and grab her and she luckily didnt have another route and agreed to take us. 

Long story short after a few basic questions me and Elder Baker dived in to teaching the first lesson. She became instantly intrigued with the idea of the Book of Mormon and was really excited about coming to our English Clases. Unfortunately this Taxi Driver was a woman (no pun intended) and doesnt have the directional skills of a man, and we got very very lost, giving us tons of time to teach and field questions, but racking up our Taxi bill. But we finally got there.  We ended up asking her to wait while we unloaded the boxes at the south mission to take us bafck so we could talk to her more, and we started talking about the Temple. It just so happened that we were super close, so we told her to drive by to see it and we would pay the difference, again, upping this already expensive Taxi Bill.

 it was a fantastic experience of someone that the Lord may or may not have thrown in our path. Honestly I´m not sure if he did or not but I know we took advantage of it and taught her, gave her a book of mormon, and picked up her address for the misisonaries to go there. She promised to come to English class this next Friday, and that she would read the introduction of the Book of Mormon. The bill for that Taxi was about 3 times what we would have paid if we would have picked up our typical gruff "go screw yourself, I hate my job" Taxi driver. But that money and the appointment I canceled would be all worth it if she so much as stepped foot inside an LDS building and felt the spirit. It gives you an idea of how much one soul is worth to God. Does anyone know the value? Mathew did, and he described it in his Gospel, but basically, it´s a lot.

We've Got Worms

It was a hectic week. The week before transfers is usually crazy like this one was but this was a bit of a peculiur transfer. We have kind of had to do it looking ahead to the big events we have coming up in our mission. (Change of President, Jeffrey R. Holland, and a new zone we are opening up in our mission.) On top of that it was tough because we have 14 new missionaries arriving (we pictures up one yesterday (Elder Henry) and we will pick up the other 13 Tuesday morning.) And me and Elder Baker have made an earnest attempt to visit every single returned missionary we hvae in our ward (which is quite a few) before the end of the transfer. We really feel like we can utuilize them to make this work advance here, using the young couples. So all in all its been a busy week, it didnt help that i got SICK for the first time on my mission.

Yes, that´s right, i´ve been diagnosed with WORMS. Monday and Tuesday both days i was feeling incredibly nautious like i was going to throw up and without any type of energy, but i worked through it. Then my comp ratted me out to Pres Thursday and we called the doctor responsible for all of the missions in Brasil. About an hour after he diagnosed me with worms and gave me a bunch of medication and told me if anything got worse i needed to call him IMMEDIATELY, i started to vomit violently. Long story short Sister made me go to 2 different hospitals (neither of which could attend me, Thanks Brasil) until i finally got the injection i needed. It was a TERRIBLE day. I literally felt like I was going to die. BUT, im alive, and (almost) worm free. Well, not really, that probably actually wont be solved until i get back to the States, again, Thank you Brasil.

Today was sweet. We took Elder Henry to an early session at the temple at 9 where it just so happend that there was a Caravan from Passo Fundo! I saw tons of people I knew, it feels great when people still remember your name and face when you were sure they had forgotten about you! Its incredible the impact missionaries make in people´s lives, I truly am grateful for the opportunity i have had to do so. Then we went and celebrated at Outback where I ate Chelsea´s body weight in Ribs. Pictures to follow. 

I truly love my mission. The Lord still thinks im a little too immature to go home so he in really going to put me through the "Refiner´s fire" these last 3 1/2 months. I´ll probably still come home cracking jokes and making fun of foreigners but I will definately bring a knowledge of the plan of salvation and a deep love for Brasil with me.

I love America

You know even your President is trunky when he is the one calling you to let you know Santorum is out of the race, Mitt is my boy. It´s been a busy week and i am exhausted. We finally finished out last division, and now this week will be a good week of rest for me as we finish the transfers with President, cause im going to need it. The last 4 months of my mission are going to be spent hopping city to city. We recieved some new news this week...

JEFFREY R. HOLLAND IS COMING TO OUR MISSION. POW. He will be here on the 27th of April. Add that to the growing list of things we have to do on top of our preparations for our new mission president that will arrive on the 30th of June. The next transfer will be a short transfer, it changed to be 5 weeks instead of 6 weeks (moving everyone´s release date up ONE WEEK.) So me and Elder Baker have A LOT of planning to do to figure out how we are going to do all 8 of our divisions (plus any emergency ones we have to do, all the specialized trainings (We are going to GRAMADO next week- (Gramado is one of the most famous tourist cities in Brasil)), on top of the zone conferences we are going to have in all 7 zones!! In other words, you can kiss our area goodbye.

I like staying Busy, it keeps me focused and makes time fly (almost too fast even) but it is really taking a toll on me. I find myself waking up each day just a little more beaten and exhausted, and the only thing that gets me up off of our coach is Elder Keesling to make me do P90X with him. (If I wasn´t doing P90X daily my butt would have its own area code) Its tough to stay in shape because all we ever eat is Sausaged Pizza with Chocolate Stuff Crust (Best invention ever), Overly sized hot dogs full of eggs and maionaise (also delicious), and Coka Cola. I never thought i´d say this but I miss so much eating lunch at members houses...

So.. this week will be a big planning week for us. President is super concerned about leaving the mission in a perfect condition so that the arrival of President Wright goes smoothly. That means more conferences of prepartion, more movements on transfers, and more trainings that we will have to do. Its a good thing I have a firm testimony that this church is run by Christ personally or i might just want to lie down and die. That being said every day here in Brasil is fulfilling and meaningful, each day i learn something more about myself, and i know sooner than I realize, it will all be over.. 

Pictures are from my dinner with Daniel and Anne in Caxias, and our Churrasco we made today. Mmmm... Carne. 

Stay Classy.

Weekly Email

Hello
This week was fantastic. We are still struggling to find a groove in our area, it´s tough to remain consistant when we dont always have certainty of exactly when or how much time we will have to work there. But we have two baptisms marked for this Sunday so that will be a big boost for the ward. Its funny (not really) that after almost a year and eight months i´m finally figuring out how to do missionary work effectively. This ward can be a great tool, its full of young educated wealthy couples, and we are using them to find exactly that. Something great that the church in Brasil is stressing right now is "Real Growth." Meaning that we, as misisonaries, have to search for those who can immediately contribute to the growth of the Church. People that can hold a calling, pay tithing, go to the temple, and do their own missionary work. This is going to be a blessing here in Brasil, and I´m trying my best to apply it in my work and to help the missionaries do the same.
On Tuesday we went to Passo Fundo. It was fantastic as always, the Zone Leaders there are brilhant and are really elevating the zone. Plus, i just flat out love that city. Tomorrow we are going back to Caxias with President right after Church, we will work with the LZ`s and then do a specialized training Monday morning.
Today was a pretty relaxed p day.. We were tired so pretty much we are just chilling in the office using email, writing letters, and eating ridiculously oversized Brasilian hot Dogs. Delicoius. These crazy kooks know how to create a delicous form of a heart attack. I´m not going to lie, I admitted to a few Brasilians this week that i know prefer Brasilian PIZZA and HOT DOGS. What the freak is happening to me... Get me out of here!!
Just kidding. Im happy and healthy. Well, at least happy. But my daily P90X that Elder Keesling is slowly chipping away the saturated fat from that same pizza and hot dogs that i eat daily. Oh well, what do you do. 4 months.
Love you all, stay classy. Go Mitt!
P.s. I´m a ranch guy.

Viva La Vida

This week was fantastic. We got our butts worked, but those are the weeks where you learn the most.

I have hardly had time to breath. Monday and Tuesday we spent running back in forth from the office and working trying to prepare for the zone leader council we had here on Wednesday while at the same time trying to not kill our investigators. Thats something really tough here, the people we teach need to be fed and not always we have time to do so. But the training went really well on Wendesday, one of the best i´ve ever seen. Me and Elder Baker gave a trainiing on qualities of a true leader: We highlighted in the scriptures the differences between Moroni and Ammalickah. We suggested two ways that we can become true leaders: First, be an example in all things, including the numbers. Seoncd, consecrate your mission. We passed the short new church film. "Treasure from the Heaven." (Or something like that, not sure how you translate it.) If you haven´t seen it, watch it, its about the Story of John Tanner. 

The minute the training ended we had to sprint to change out of our suits and clean up all the computer stuff so we could catch a taxi to the rodiviáiria to take us to Caxias!! The division there was fantastic. We sat down with the LZ´s there and disucssed their plans and some ways we could improve their zone. Caio found out i was coming and arranged for them to spend the night with us, that was so much fun. We visited a few of my old baptisms. We had one of the most powerful lessons ever with Diego and Marcia and their family. They are having a lot of problems, and Caio thought them seeing me could help a lot. It was such a fun reuinion. Marcia started crying when she saw me and unfortunately just layed out all her and Diego´s problems to me in front of the kids. I thought i had already seen those kids cry for the last time. It broke my heart. But i felt a strong impression that i needed to read the story of abraham and issac, and highlight the love the boy had for his father, and the father had for the boy, how willing they were to do ANYTHING because of that love, something that i had never done before. I honestly told them how much i loved their family, and that it was Marcias responsibility to get her two boys on a mission so they could have a better life that she did, with or without her husband. It was one of those visits, everyone was crying, the spirit was so strong you could have cut it with a knife. Its incredible how the Lord puts the right people in the right place at the right time to bless lives. Im so thankful to be able to be one of those people every once in a while. We closed the night doing a baptismal interview for them, which was cool cause its been a while since i´ve done a baptismal interview!! Then we closed the night with Pizza Hut... I love Pizza Hut. 

Today was crazy. It was President´s birthday on Monday and since we can´t really do anything cool on a work day we pretended like we forgot but planned a huge Churrasco for him at our house!! We got Sister in on it to pretend like she had to stop by to grab some clothes and we surprised him! It was so funny, it was way fun to do something nice for our beloved leader. He was so surprised and impressed at our grilling ability! It was a lot of fun, i attached some pictures, and i have a bunch more. If I can ill send the video, its funny.

This week will be crazy, we have a division with the secrateries tomorrow, Monday we have a divison with Novo Hamburgo, Tuesday and Wednesday we will be in PASSO FUNDO!! And then Friday Im going back to GRAVATAÍ!! So... basically we will have Thursday here in our area... and we will probably have stuff to do in the office... yikes. Only with prayer. I love you all very much, don´t forget about me and stay super classy. 

Oh yeah and you guys can officially start on the "wife hunt." I want a 5'4 inch Brasilian dark skin blue eyes preferrably dark hair that speaks fluent english and porteguese has parents sealed in the temple and knows how to make "torta de bolacha," She has to love American Football and coka cola. (DIET, of course.) She likes to hike but hates snakes and will probably want me help her when she has to climb something. (that´s cute.) She kills spiders in the house and THEN cleans up the residue. I have a few other requirements but ill probably give them to one of my brothers n laws later. THANKS!

Pyramid Schemes

Howwww´s it going....

Whew, this week was long, but much calmer and much more normal, so
that was good. We did two divisions and I stayed in my area both
times. I was LOST. I haven´t had like any time to get to know my area.
But it was good, yesterday I was with my good old buddy Elder Evans.
We have to be home at 8 this weekend because of carnival, so we got
home early, ordered a pizza, and spent our p night playing WAR!! (like
risk but with cards)

So Im getting used to the office work a bit now the big struggle now
is just getting used to the area. Its so strange being here in the
center of Porto Alegre teaching RICH people! Its so incredibly strange
to me, Ive never experience anyhting like this. Instead of talking to
people the street we have to do it through their intercoms in their
fancy apartments. Another difficulty that all of the old assistants
have told me is getting to know the members. We never see them! No one
stays put here, so our lunch calender is money to eat at a restaurant
about 90 percent of the time. To give an idea in 3 weeks here Ive
eaten at a members house twice! So its cool cause we can eat whatever
we want but its tough cause we don't have that interaction with the
members!

The pictures are from the most elect couple I have ever taught. They
work for herbalife; The biggest pyramid scheme I´ve ever heard of in
my life. They invited us to come get to know the program and try their
new shakes and ended up almost convincing me to join them! Guy is
good! The problem is that if you are good you get super rich stepping
on the people you convinced to join you. They presented us this "too
good to be true life" full of glamor, fame, money and travel that
would make any man ditch his full time job in search of dreams. I was
just thinking to myself... I´m way too smart for this! My no nonsense
Dad (and uncles/family for that matter) taught me that If it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is.. So all in all i was pretty
turned off with their approach, but he will be a FANTASTIC tool for us
when they get baptized next week. They are those types of people that
everyone wants to be like, rich, well spoken, talented, and they have
the perfect job. They meet new people every day and live in a huge
apartment complex. Those types of people make people want to listen to
us, regardless of our message. They´ve already given us two
references, every time they have a new client they have to take them
to get a drink, and the first thing that person asks is why don´t you
drink? That gives them the perfect opportunity to spread the gospel.
They rock, even though they are trampling all over people a pyramid
scheme. Herbalife is huge here.

Im super fat... Money comes easier here, so we order a lot of pizza. I
love Brasil pizza.


Love you, Stay Classy.

Brasil

Im alive and well. Life is good here in the office but i simply just dont have enough time. In spite of our little time to prosselyte we found some good new investigators and had two baptisms tonight! Casamento no templo!

I would tell you about how great Passo Fundo was but I would spend more time than I have. Sufficeth to say that I was in pure bliss greeting and talking to the people the I love and miss. Not to mention having a few minutes to chat with Elder Mazzagardi. he asked me where I was from and I said my customary "near Salt Lake" line (no one knows where Orem is..) and he looked at me sternly, rolled his eyes and said Elder, I lived in Utah for 10 YEARS. WHERE are you from? Then he proceeded to BURN everyone, that stake is UGLY. Also, about 20 different people saw me, hugged me, then said Elder! you´re so skinny! Yikes.

Wednesday I got to do a division back in Gravataí. That threw everyone off guard, they were all like, Wait, didnt you get transferred? But it was fun and we did a surprise family night at jacsons and it was fun to see them. Along with being fat aparently im getting super OLD looking. We were teching a couple that after finding out that I travel all through the south doing divisions with the missionaries asked "But wait, i thought this work was only for youth?" I asked out old she thought I was and she got all red and mutterred, 30? Yikes.

Its the new comb over look. After 3 days in the office Prez called me in for a quick interview and told me the hair had to go. I hate being the example.. now i look JUST like that cook from the Best Two Years. 

Life is going splendid here Im busy and happy and learning incredible mounts of wisdom from a representative of Jesus Christ. Its so interesting to work by the side of President and see how he really is inspired of God. The secretaries just walked in infroming us that they were just assaulted. Some guy stopped them and asked if they were doing a survey, then calmy told them okay, first one to run gets a bullet in the head. The guy took their three cell phones and all their cash. Freaking Brasil. 

I love you all, Stay classy. Go Mitt. 

Pictures of our wedding/baptism we had Today!

First Week in Lindoia

Hello, I had a great first week here in the office! A hectic crazy week, but a good one. I had an interview with President yesterday morning and he told me "Elder, I´ve never seen you look so lost in the mission!" I laughed but its true, Im pretty lost. its okay though im adjusting. It just such a different life. I have yet to teach a lesson in my area... okay thats not entirely true we had two hours thursday night to go out and teach a lesson to a couple that we have a date with for next week, but other than that we have just been in the office. This couple is sick, Elder Melo and Elder Peterson found their boys playing soccer at the chapel one day, taught them, and baptized them. Then the AP´s before me started teaching the parents, and Wednesday we went to the Cartório with them to pay for the marriage and mark their day. Its marked for this next Saturday, it will be sweet.

But the big news is... IM IN PASSO FUNDO!!! It was soooo strange coming back here. i honestly never thought I would step foot in this blessed city again but here I am and it is crazy. Such a flood of memories and emotions of how much i love this city. Technically today is our p day but we are just here for an like an hour finishing up a training and then we are going to dividie with the LZ´s here in Passo Fundo. So basically im losing my p day, but its worth it because tomorrow is Stake Conference so I will get to see pretty much all the people I love in this city. As luck would have it by some strange chance of fate we ending up eating lunch with Felipe Heinz today!! Remember him? My basketball playing ingesh brother from Passo Fundo that drank Dr. pepper at my house? It was wierd seeing him married, he is still working at wizard until he can find a good job (jobs are painfully hard to get here) and they now live in the area of the LZ´s. It was rad.

Seriously I just love this city. I am in the same lanhouse that i used for 7 months to start the mission. The same lan house that I used to watch my companion use skype with his girlfriend!! Ahhh... good times. If you guys end up having Elder Lynn over for dinner tomorrow tell him where I am and he will be very jealous. So tomorrow after Stake Conference we will divide with the LZ´s again, and then Monday morning we have zone conference with Prez and we will eat lunch and then go home with him. We will arrive back in Porto Alegre around 7th Monday and be very tired. After that I have no idea, cause i still dont really know what´s going on around here, but it´s good, and im liking it.

The worst part of the week is the heat. Porto Alegre is an oven. I dont think i have slept more than 3 hours in more than a week. You Americans are so spoiled, you have no idea how miserable it is to sleep without air conditioning OR even a fan (broken) in 100 degree heatt in the 100 percent humidity. Seriously, i will never live anywhere else but the desert again. I dont ever fall asleep until at least 3 (when it cools down to like 90) and then i wake up at like 5 just DRENCHED in sweat. I used to be frantic about taking showers before going to bed cause i hate sleeping in sweaty sheets but now i´ve just given up, its impossible. Thursday night I couldnt sleep at all and so i found myself on the couch drinking coka cola from about the hours of 3-5. (and I ask myself why i am so fat...) So yeah, its pretty miserable. But, im happy and healthy and very blessed so there´s just not much to complain about. 

I feel my testimony rising and growing each week that I am here. I am 100 percent convinced that this is Christ´s church here on this earth and that it has the capacity to bless our lives abundantly. Through more personal contact with President Pavan and Elder Campos I have learned a few things that have strengthened my testimony greatly that this church is run by revelation. This transfer I had an experience that I will never forget, and that will always be a reminder to me of how closely God run´s his the dealings with his church and his missions. hope all is well.

Stay Classy.

The New Chapter of Big Al's Mission

Well, here we are again. Transfer day. This week was without a doubt the most hectic of my mission..

The big news is that for the first time I know where I will be going when I am transferred tomorrow and likely where I will be finishing my mission. I will be going to the office in Porto Alegre to serve as the Assistant to the President. I found out Thursday on our way home from the beach. The Assistants woke me up and gave me the news, and told me that I needed to come in on Friday to help finish the transfers. (I will be killing Elder Campos, it is his last transfer and they didnt think that just one transfer would be enough time to prepare me for the rest.) So it was interesting to be able to finish the last details of the transfer with President and the assistants. There is a ton of work that is involved that I had never considered. 

Saturday in the late afternoon I returned here to the Vale with Elder Carroll and until now we have been running trying to do all the visits we needed to and say goodbye to a few people. But the great part is that I will be able to return to this area on division. Also I will get to return to Passo Fundo and Caxias! I am honestly very excited about his new role, a little overwhelmed but mostly just excited.

My last few days here were so special. I´ve been witnessing true miracles. Yesterday we committed Adriano and Jaqueline to get married with the Bishop. They will be baptized with their 4 kids sometime next month. Yesterday we were able to watch the Joseph Smith movie with Jackson and Danielle, and then Luciano and Deise made dinner for us. I gave Luciano a signed baseball and he gave me a custom made cup with a picture of us at his baptism. It was awesome. 

My thoughts have been in a constant flurry these last few days, thoughts of my imperfection and how many flaws I have. But So many things have led up to me being 100 percent convinced that this church (and this mission) is run by pure revelation. One of those was a special experience I had with Elder Green (the assistant that is leaving) in my future area on division a few weeks ago. I believe I mentioned how painfully brutal that day was.. We were kicked on, spit on and flat out denied. It got so bad that we  decided to take a break, step back, and ask for heavenly help. We were led to a family of 4, and a good first lesson, and after that I sort of forgot about it. But What I haven´t shared is how Elder Green has called me after every subsequent lesson with them. About how they talk about that first visit every single time. How they NEVER let any kind of preacher into their house but in our eyes they saw real sincerity. They talk about how much their life has changed since then, and how excited they are to get baptized. They remembered every single word we said that first lesson, even our first names! They have already gone to chuch twice and given the Assistant two other references of people they are teaching. I had their opportunity to stop by their house on Friday with Elder Green and more or less tell them that I would be taking the spot of Elder Green. They will be doing a family night with them tonight to answer the question they asked of how we found them. Green wants to ask permission to come back for the wedding and the baptism. It is truly one of those unforgettable stories on the mission. 

Please pray for me in this new aspect of my mission. I know that it is in our weaknesses that the Lord qualifies us for the work. He calls igsifnificant people to take part in his spectacular and grand designs. 

Love,

Last Week in the Valley

Hey People.

For those of you that dont know what Hell is like come to Southern Brasil in January. Everyone says that missionaries are allowed to go swimming but they´ve never been here. I do it everyday!! Sure, its in my own sweat, but what difference does that make? If I didnt have second degree burns on my neck I would look like a true Brasilian.

I have no idea why but the Lord is just deciding to bless this area abundantly. Something I have learned on the misson is that when you work hard and do your part, the Lord will bless you. Not in the way you expect, but he will fulfill his part. For example, We spent a great part of the week knocking doors and doing contacts. Wednesday was one of the rougher days I´ve had in a long time. I was in Porto Alegre doing a division with the Assistants. Me and Elder Green knelt down in Prayer to ask help for us to find a family of five. We even left early before lunch to really get after it. We knocked doors and were painfully rejected, so we went to lunch. We left at about 2 o clock in the scorching hot sun with the attitude to just get creative. We didnt have a single thing marked so we just started talking to people in the street knocking trying anything to get in a door. Ive never been rejected so harshly in my mission. From 2-6 we didnt teach a single person and were just shut down. We were lost and decided to say a prayer. Ill admit I was faithless and told Elder Green I would not say it. I was prideful. But he having more faith than I did was confident some one would let us teach them. And they did, after a little while we found a family of 4 (with a baby on the way=5) that let us in to teach them. Elder Green called me Friday to tell me that the second visit was the best in months. They all accepted baptismal dates and asked what they need to do to be able to enter the temple. They went to church on Sunday. The Lord fulfills his promises.

In our area it was a bit different. We really didnt get into any doors. We tried and tried and tried but just weren´t successful. But when we just didnt have any more strength things started to happen. We found the most elect family of six I have ever found on my misson. I think I have mentioned Jaqueline. She is the most prepared person I have found in so long. She went to church last week and this week brought her 4 kids. We committed her to get baptized again and she is going to talk to her husband about marriage. We are going to take the Bishop there Friday, and I think he will agree, he likes us. We had the marriage and baptism of Jacson during the weekend, which was super special. And we will have one more baptism and wedding (after) this weekend. His name is Valdecir, and he repeatedly shocks me with his ability to understand. This dude gave up drugs, alcohol, and thug life to try to stay with his girlfriend who recently go baptized. I never told this but the first time we visited her he threatened to get his thug friends to kill us if he saw us again and now he takes off his hat when we pray, goes to church weekly, and is STOKED to get baptized. Last night as we taught the plan of salvation he took of his shirt and showed us his bullet wounds and told us how different this is and how good he feels. After that we received a reference from a girl in our ward, she went with us to her 17 year old friend who is going to go to mutual and church this week and will definitely be baptized. I honestly dont know why, but the Lord is just deciding to drop things out of the sky to us. 

It was a super hectic week. We literally did a division almost every single day. This week will be busy too, we have to go to Capão (that means one last Batatão, wahoo!!) tomorrow and then we will watch district meeting in Torres Thursday. We also have a baptism and various activities to plan. Friday Luciano is making a goodbye churrasco for me, so that will be fun. He said he has a sweet present for me. And sunday Franklin and Jussara are having us over for Dinner to say goodbye as well. I will miss this place. But we´ll see what happens. My p day will be on Monday next week, so ill give you the heads up!!

Love you, stay classy.

Limping Towards the Transfer

Whew! Another week survived.. I feel like Satan is trying to kill me here!! Just kidding... But seriously.

Im freaking tired. And every week this transfer there has just been a new problem. This week we went to do a division with a dupla that we knew was having problems. It turned out it was just the tip of the iceberg and we found out they hadnt left home in over three weeks and we doing some bad stuff. We tried our best to work hard and help them but as some wisenheimer always says "You can lead a horse to water but you can´t make him drink." I was frustrated at their district meeting because of the ineffective day, and a few things boiled over and I ended up losing my temper for the first time on my mission really. Imagine me dragging a huge Brasilian out onto a street corning and just screaming at him in Portuguese and you´ve got a good picture of what happened. After we calmed down and hugged and tried to understand the others point of view. We have to go back there next week but It will probably be with President. The Lord´s time is precious and I have little patience for missionaries who waste it, especially in front of young impressionable juniors. 

But other than that the week is good. We finished teaching Jacson and Danielle and everything is set for their wedding and his baptism this Saturday. Its going to be SICK! He has requested that we take a hugging shot in the baptismal font after the baptism so STAY TUNED!! Haha what a quirky guy... Oh! And we are also teaching a COMPLETE FAMILY!! Yes, you heard it, a complete family. Do you know how many complete families I´ve taught on my mission? I can count them on my fingers. They dont exist here in Brasil. Jaqueline went to church on Sunday and loved it! Then last night she brought her 4 kids to a family night we did at a nearby members house! We made pastels and played a game. Best of all, she has two twins that turn 8 on Jan 28th!! The last saturday of the transfer... EIGHT! My favorite number! Now we just gotta grab Adriano, the husband, he´s being a bit rebelious but he loves us and Im going to drag him to church and then into the baptismal font. 

This week is division week. Wednesday with the Assistents, Thursday with Cachoerinha, and Friday with Gravataí. Its going to be crazy, but sweet, i´m stoked. Sort of. 

Love you all, have a good week, stay classy. 

P.s. Mom don´t worry about my weight those tape worms that infest my shower will help us out!!

It's 2012?

Im tired. I thought Brasilians did a great job of profaning the day of the lord when they shot of rockets and gun fire from midnight to four in the morning on Christmas.. But I had forgotten what a party new years was.. My goodness.

This week was plain brutal to find people at home. Being so close to the beach here there are few people that stick around during the holidays. We did a lot of walking.. New Years Eve was painful. We spent most of the day stalling looking for someone we could talk to until our dinner. Which i really didnt even want to go to because last time i ate there they were all drinking... in front of the missionaries. My hope that that was going to change on the night where EVERYONE gets plastered drunk was not granted. For anyone that speaks portuguese they were the definition of "sem vergonha." I thought at least someone sober was going to be the one to take us home at 1030, I was wrong. I put on my seatbelt and prayed. The lord let us get into one little accident when my fluffy friend didnt see a speedbump, but he got us home. Thank heavens.

The next day was interesting. I felt like Will Smith from I am Legend. I didnt see a single person on my way to church. THEN i only saw about 30 persons AT church. Keep in mind they combined 3 wards so that the attendence might not be SO bad. So it was a pretty sweet stake conference... with 30 people. Brasil...

However that day was oh so eventful. Its funny how sometimes you plan everything perfectly and nothing goes right, then other times you dont plan everything and it all works out. Sunday we didnt plan a single thing, we just walked out with the idea to wing it, find anyone that would listen to us testify of christ. Long story short we found 3 drunk dudes that were willing! Well, i should clarify, they weren´t drunk when we started. They were drinking WHILE we taught. Long story short, bible bash´s with drunk dudes are difficult to win... but oh how they are funny. The lesson started out great, but when we got to the part of apostasy and Joseph Smith we started to get a lot of shaken heads. First they told us the Bible was the TRUTH and it was the only truth. Then when they brought up that it was impossible to see God I asked if they believe in Moses. No.. So now the Bible is "sort of" truth. Then after we established that two of their pastors disagreed on the same scripture the Bible was no longer valid. BUT when two drunk dudes make a stupid comment then turn and laugh at each other its a point for them!! I have high hopes for Marcelo, Ivondro, and Thiago. 

Wednesday was kind of fun. A missionary that served here brought back his mom and grandparents and had a little party at the church. We were invited as translators. I ate pretzels!! I love pretzels. 

So yeah.. my week was hectic and tiresome. But when we work hard the Lord always leaves us with a few tender mercies. Yesterday after walking all day and having just 1 lesson in the scorching hot sun we found something that doesnt exist here in Brasil... A full, complete family. Not just a family, but an AWESOME family. I wont tell you how many actual families ive taught on my mission, but i can tell you i can count them on one hand. We shared the message of the restoration, the BOM, and challenged them to pray as a family. They loved it and want us to come back Wednesday.. And best of all, the HUSBAND likes us to. Even better, The wife hates her church!! Wahoooo! Pray for them. Their names are Adriano and Jaqueline. 

Mom, take confort in knowing you have now passed the ONLY complete year you will ever not see me. Pow. Happy new year. 

Stay Classy. 

(Pictures of Gramado Chocolate (delicious) from my Brasilian Grandma, Her family, (Im going to baptize that 23 year old girl, count on it), and tereré. (Like chimarrão but its sweet and you drink it cold.) I drink it every morning.