January 13 - First transfer!

Hey everyone a ton happened this week so sorry this email will be a little long but I have a new companion now being the first day of the third transfer of my mission his name is elder conceiçao hes from teresina Brazil! Hes a way hard worker so im excited because i felt like Elder Matheus was a little molhe (soft) :D So yesterday i didnt email because we were traveling to and from Brasilia, we left at 5 in the afternoon on sunday and got here monday at 6 pm so it was like a whole day of lugging broken suitcases in the burning sun whoohoo! but now were finally here and im a little nervous to show the area to conçeicao but also excited!

Lets see what else, so last monday the members had a family home evening and it was super espitural because Lucas, one of the members who is 18 and preparing to go on a mission, bore his testimony of the plan of salvation because we had some investigators there, his mom also died of cancer the day that i got here so he has one of the strongest testimonies of the plan of salvation that ive ever heard. It was awesome!

Also Julianna, the sister of a recent connvert Luana her twin, is preparing for her baptism this sunay! Finally the weeks and weeks of teaching english paid off! So we were really excited about that, she has been progressing so well and Luana has helped us bastante! Let this be an example that members can be missinoaries too! Honestly i feel so bad that before the missino i never really helped the missionaries, they need you MEMBERS to help! So find a way to just give them a friend to come to church, its sooooo helpful! Im very proud of my mom for helping the missionaries in our ward this week parabens momma!

On sunday i and elder trivino, one of the missionaries from the other companioship, were inviting people to church and we were about to turn down a road that we usually went on but decided to keep going straight and turn later, as we were walking a lttle girl came up to us and said `hi elders!` and started just telling us about how her family has two members who were baptized and some more that would want to hear more. We were just like holy cow this is insane the spirit was with us when we decided to come this way! So we walked to her house and got to know the family and invited them, 5, to church the next day and everyone went!!!! my testimony of the holy ghost is so much stronger now, its honestly a miracle that that little girl stoped us and said hi and that we got to get to know her family, so we ill be teaching them all now!

Also this week i tried a new fruit called pitomba its like a coconut grape that you just suck on to eat, it was good! And the members here are just so awesome they help us so much.

Well thats about it, thanks everyone, remember that you can all make differences in each others lives for the better no matter where you go or who you are!

 Formosa, the othe city of our district

 A lake on the way to a members home 

 my new companion and i after finally getting on a bus home!

 the view on the way to the agroreservas

 me washing dishes, thank you mom for always teaching me!

 Brasiila, from the window of the bus

 the members and the missionaries, an unstoppable combination!

 Me in the house

 An awesome motorcycle helmet that was at a member's house.

 The First Vision, but not really!

 Me on the lake again.

January 5, 2015 - Feliz Ano Novo!

Hey everyone! So first off happy new year, i hope everyone made some wicked awesome goals focused on Christ and his love for us! THis week was pretty normal alem de (besides) the parties in the streets celebrating the new year, needelss to say there was alot of alcohol, and our apartment building smelled really bad! Haha but things have finally settled down.

So on saturday the four missionaries here and the members divided up to do splits and invite everybody to church! It was so great, i really think the lord blessed us in finding the people we needed to, because usually people arent home theyre all over the place but me and Alan a member, found all the people that we were assigned to talk to and it was so great! We were able to find out where a woman by the name of Zilda lives, There are no adresses here, its just remember where everyone lives kinda thing, so that was a blessing. The next day in church we had like the same amount of people but hey at least it wasnt less!

Transferes are coming up in a week, im going to stay most likely but get a new companion. Oh for new years us elders went to a members house until 10 and ate Churasco! Its pretty much barbaque but with all the delicious brazilian meets mmmmm it was so good! I also ate açai this week its like a fruit smoothie icecream mix yummy! 

So one thing that i really liked that someone said in sacrament was that we cant focus on our differences but God gave everyone in the world one thing and that is His son Jesus Christ so that through him the world can be saved, when we think of things we have in common rather than differences, life is simpler and filled with more love, this week i was getting chateado (annoyed) with the other elders just for little things mostly but i thought to myself that were all here for one purpose, we believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and restored the fulness of the gospel for us in the latter days. So now i have a much bigger testimony of unity, and the blessings that come from searching for it. 

And also this week we went and did some service on a farm of the grandfather of one of our investigotors Dijeyes! It was so fun, we fed the cows, cut suger cane, and ate fried cookies! It was great, we also had the chance to talk with a boy named marcos who is 14 years old and he is very interested in the church! It was so funny after we told him that we usually dont wear our street clothes everywhere but white shirts he was like óh yeah i know you guys! I see you all the time in Cabeceiras! ´haha it was funny but he is now our good buddy, next is conversion!

Here are some pictures, 

 The first are some chicken tallons that some of our investigators cut off! THeyre huge!

 The second is the family of Gildasio and Chirlene whose house we celebrated New years!

 Me and the Churasco

 The Churasco

 Me at the farm

 An armadillo shell

 Sugar cane and me haha narcistic much??

Feeding the cows

December 29, 2014 - Olá Amigos and Family!

HEy everyone Happy new Year! I hope everyones Christmas was otimo (excellent) here in Cabeceiras it was hot as ever this week but the spirit was just as strong here as anywhere else! This week for christmas the elders went to the agroreservas a farm that the church owns for christmas eve dinner and to call our FAMILIES!!! Such a great call my goodness it was like a dream! But the farm was beautiful as ever with trees for miles and Mccaws flying through the air everywhere, we played frisbee and just had a great Christmas! This sunday was great too, the speakers must have received alot of personal revelation from on high because what they talked about was really what some of our investigators needed to hear and from members its even more personal, Every member a missionary! Every sunday since we have about 3 american families here in Cabeceiras i translate for them and its helping my portuguese so much and i get so much more out of the talks than i did before, translating is harder than i though, shout out to Jeff! But at first i was reluctant to do so because it was so hard to pick up on everyones fast portuguese over screaming kids, processing it, then saying it in english while listening ainda (still) But after christmas i felt the spirit so much more and with that different attitute i know that Heavenly Father helped me with transltating more fluidly so that they could feel the spirit and enjoy the messages too! Ah, such a good feeling from helping others, 

Also this week, there were two ex sister missionaries that had served in the city next to us Formosa who returned! They both finished their missions in march but they were really happy to see that the area had opened up again and that we had so many people at sacrament, which is still being held in the school building, it was great they bore their testimonies and alot of the members were teary eyed because of the love and the spirit that was felt. 

All my picutres are mixed up right now due to the new camera i got Shout out to Jeff  again! So here are a few! Happy new year, dont forget to make goals, Life is really just a serious of goals so have a purpose, and remember everyone is an example of Christ not just missionaries, help those around you and share the light of Christ! Love you all!

our skype session with Paul!

December 22, 2014 - Christmas!

This keyboard is awful so ignore the bad spelling (the spelling was so bad I went through this email and fixed it up).This week we went to Ceandia which is close to Brasiia for a Christmas celebration of the mission it was great, we were gone for three days traveling there and back, we stayed at the apartment for our zone leaders and it rained a ton when we were getting there it was so fun! 

Also this week the group choir, (more or less consists of the whole group_) sang and performed for about 70 people in another city called Formosa and as we performed for the city of cabeceiras there were probably only 350 people there and i accompanied on the piano and member who sang o holy night it was great! Usually i  get really nervous playing fr alt f people but ive never felt calmer then when i played that day! I now have a stronger testimony of prayer, because i was nervous walking to the stage but as i sat down i felt just a sensation of calm it really was a blessing. i know the lord answered my prayer!

Its such a blessing that we have a loving Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ always ready and waiting to help us, we just need to come to them, our happiness is our own choice even when it doesn't appear so. Thanks friends and family for being there for me, i am so grateful for all of you! Merry Christmas!

December 15, 2014 - Photos

T     His week was very normal but elder matheus and i sifted dirt for 2 hours with like a glorified sifter for juice and our arms it was so fun! our arms were so sore the next day but it felt good, I have so much to tel you abot brazil on christmas! It will be much better than these emails sory theyre always so short, but this week we had to cut 3 investigators it was sad, we are hoping to hav a little more sucess this week with people coming to church, everyone is always tired from partying saturday night to wake up sunday morning at 8 is tough except for the missionaries! Ive been making a book with everthing ive been learning here and in the scriptures its 600 pages long and has a lot more filling to be done but i enjoy it, what else, the words massa and maça are the same for me but for portuguese speakers there completely different! the ç makes an s sound but one is nasalized. massa is cool and maça is apple. haha i love portuguese! I can understand probably 80 percent of whats being said and say probably 60 percent of what i want with confidence, but i know im bleseed to be understanding and saying as mucvh as i can, poor amigos of mine, i have a feeling thyre struggling a little bit! Im going to buy panetone this week, im very excited. 

     My one thing thats really funny abut brazilians is that they cant keep secerts or just get too excited to keep them, we had a surprise birthday party for our district leader of the ward and getting everyone quiet was a task but it turned out great! THis week i learned to just be more happy even for no reason, it just makes everything so great! actually there is a reason, WE have a loving heavenly father who has a plan for each and every one of us! Haha the peple here fala que eu sou muito rico i am very rich and now i just say yes i am because i have the gospel and a family that loves me and im a missionariy! So thats what happened this week, we had an investigator come to church who almost was abot to be cut but not anymore! THis friday im going to be accompanying a member on the piano for a performance for the whole city! Im a little nervour but its a small city, i think ill be fine and im practicing alot! Mas eu devo sair agora, i should leave now, love you all see you in 10 days!

PS thanks for putting together this care package, and to all of your ability try to include the things on the list, thanks!

Dec 1, 2014 - ONly 1 hour to write!

This will be short but alot happened this week, we as our companioships got to visit the Agroreservas of the church, its a huge farm that the church runs here closeby, and the highlight was we got to climb to the top of a wildlife observation tower and look out over Mato Grosso! It was so cool! When the wild blew the tower shook and we were about 80 feet up in the air, so awesome. This was in the city of Unaí

The next significant thing this week was on Wednesday night as we were going to bed at around 11 we heard 4 gunshots extremely close to our apartment, but after theywent off we heard nothing so we just went back to bead because were were tired. The next day while we were at our investigator Julios house the daughter of one of the policeman here told us that the barber that cuts our hair and lives across the street from us was arrested for sexually abusing kids and thats why there were gunshots. We were just in shock because he seemed so nice and friendly, but the worst part was that one of the kids he had been abusing was Lucas who calcelled his baptism last week. After that we just didnt know what to say. .It was very shocking, After that it seemed like it might have been for the best that Lucas had cancelled his baptism for the time being because he wasnt ready, and knowing that has made it much easier this week to have faith that the lord knows best.

Yeah it was a crazy week, were still trying to talk to lucas, he is very reclusive lately, but i just hope that we can help him how the lord knows he needs help. On a happier note, we had a record of 57 people at church this week! It was great, and stephanie is still on track for baptism and now her cousin wants to be baptized too! Its so great to see families come closer together, here in Brazil, family means alot and i think we can all learn to keep our family close like brazilians do. 

Thats all, here are some pictures!

Emus that were roaming around on the farm

THe missionaries of Cabeceiras!

The view from the tower

November 24, 2014-Faith!

Hey everyone! I had my first zone meeting this week, for one night there were 10 missionaries in one apartment, some of us had to share beds, needless to say i felt much closer to Elder Matheus than i have before haha. Its been raining alot still but its such a blessing because the church farm workers couldnt start planting crops until there was enough rain and there finally was! THis week at church we had a lot more people come than usual, the school building was full! And our district leader (we are technically a group right now, it goes like this; group, branch,ward,stake) announced that we are going to have 3 meeting every sunday now! We couldnt before because to have priesthood meeting there has to be at least 15 men attending church and we finaly have enough! Haha its great to see the church in a different aspect like this. Even though there arent many members the faith is strong! Also yesterday we went to a pesquisadores house for lunch and they were having a party because the grandpa of Julio had his birthday yesterday! It was great, everyone was asking me about America and what its like, we realized that things in America like shoes cars houses and anything electronic, are so much cheaper in the states its ridiculous! Later that day we went and picked mangoes and gave them to a member and ate some ourselvs they were so good. 

    Sadly, Lucas the boy who wanted to be baptized told us that his step dad and mom were fighting about his baptism and he told us he wasnt going to be baptized anymore but he wouold still come to church and receive lesons. It was pretty heart wrenching, especially because it was because of his parents, he is so ready to be baptized too! But later that day we talked with another family and one of the daughtres wants to be baptized so that lifted our spirits. THis family is so funny, the mom is 24 with 4 little brazilian kids who have so much energy and their house is tiny and they dont have much but they still enjoy life all the same. WE were teaching the restoration to them and they were all squirming around on the dirt floor playing and they when we shared the first vision they all got quiet and listened it was really cool the spirit was there helping us for sure. 

THe other elders had a baptism on saturday and it was in a lake! It started pouring raing after too and it reminded me of the primary song I Like to Look for Rainbows because it says I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain, so it was just reallly cool to see that connection. THis week i also realized how much prononciation matters in Portuguese, for example, avô and avó. THe first is grandpa and the second is grandma, its so hard to distinguish the two! Also depending where the stress goes on words changes the meaning, saí is I left, sai is YOU LEAVE! Haha so ive been trying to be careful with my pronunciation so as to not offend anybody. Its funny, in portuguese there are verbs that mean to fatten and to skinny, so i hear that i need to fatten alot haha and my companion says he is trying to skinny right now. THe food is so good here i think im going to gain like 10 kilos by the time i come home! I havent gained any yet haha

THis week i think i learned most about faith, in the book of Ether, Moroni gives a great summary of faith and the miracles that are brought by it in the Book of Mormon, also in 3rd nephi, Christ tells the nephites how he does not reveal everything at once because it is to test our faith and if we are faithful he will make more marvilous things known to us. It really helped when finding out that Lucas couldnt be baptized, i am grateful for the scriptures so much more now! THanks for all the writing and such i love reading them i hope everyone has a great week!