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!!