tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57105068117009350262024-02-20T19:15:47.264-08:00Finding Fortitude in FortalezaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06446759825572942503noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-28990643845210016732015-08-02T07:20:00.001-07:002015-08-02T08:47:07.312-07:00Wrapping Up<style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXyPMXbvgLvBDGXRLsvuiy9rKXVZE1TBbdfvrTwep21Avm9jCYHhmTd8os7y79thHtaBxQpLNIlwvovWphu2saCCnapPy8y3DRHSDtzE4-OmVJHNFTyJYouvczXJCuh8Tba0s6CMmd3x1/s1600/IMG_4368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXyPMXbvgLvBDGXRLsvuiy9rKXVZE1TBbdfvrTwep21Avm9jCYHhmTd8os7y79thHtaBxQpLNIlwvovWphu2saCCnapPy8y3DRHSDtzE4-OmVJHNFTyJYouvczXJCuh8Tba0s6CMmd3x1/s400/IMG_4368.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My worn out shoe collection!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ok, so I guess that I am writing
this posthumously as I am now a returned missionary, and have been for one
month now. I’m finally getting around to telling all of you about how the last
week of my mission was! It was amazing. P-day this week was absolutely crazy
because something went wrong with the system and we weren’t able to talk with
our parents, and then we also had to go to the city center to make sure that
everything was set for the DOUBLE WEDDING we’re planning. </span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After that, we tried to
email again and we STILL couldn’t log on… Frustrating! So the very last week
I’m able to talk with my family we finally get on at the very last minute just
to say that we’re alive and that I’m coming home! (super excited) Then we ran
off to teach a recent convert and have a great family night where we watched
‘Meet the Mormons’ with a family in the ward and the family that was getting
baptized this week. It was all really really good! Unfortunately we did not
have any time in our day to clean the house. That is an important bit of info
so remember it for later. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The next
day, I was called into the federal police because I’m leaving the country and I
have to negotiate my visa and blah blah blah all of that good stuff. Anyways,
when we got home and we headed straight out to work. I had originally planned
on cleaning when we got back, but once again, there was no time. We had
appointments, and we couldn’t spare a minute! Unfortunately, Sister Bonini
decided that she wanted to visit our house and she left a wonderful little note
about what she thought of our house. Just to use some of her own words “I can’t
believe that you elders live like this, How would you feel if Christ saw your
home like this, and (the worst) I love you, and I believe that if your mother’s
saw what I saw, they would cry”. For her
information, I took a video of the house without touching a thing and showed it
to my mom and not only did she NOT cry, she thought it was actually pretty
decent thank you very much! It was just the normal dust that settles after a
couple of days in our area that we just can’t get rid of. Still, Elder Ribeiro
and I set out to get the entire house cleaner than ever before. Since we can’t
let cleaning interfere with our work schedule, we would clean during exercise
time and at night after we planned. By the end of the week, the house was so
clean I could have eaten off the floor! Ok, not really, but it was pretty dang
clean. I felt pretty good about leaving my house super clean in the end of my
mission. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> This week
just kept getting better and better, but today was really the beginning of
everything. We had to skip district meeting so that we could go to the center
of the city for Joao, Joelma, Alipio, and Eterlene’s double wedding. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> It all
went down without a hitch, but President did NOT like the fact that we skipped
out on a meeting, but his anger was placated when we invited him to the baptism
of two full families, and that he was going to baptize Eterlene. Anyways, we
taught each of the families every single day, and they are just so ready!!!!
Their interview is tomorrow and the next day, so we will see how they do!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Okay,
seriously, Brazilians are notoriously late. Our district leader was late to the
interviews, but Alipio’s family was even later… Like, think 2 hours late!!!!
Ugh. But their interviews all went well. They all passed and they are all super
excited! Joao and Joelma are tomorrow and then they’re all getting baptized on
the same day!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Once again,
Joao and Joelma were late. Ugh. I hate being late. So much. So stinking much.
It’s like a traffic jam where everything is just completely backed up. That’s
the worst as a missionary! They also passed their interview. I’m super nervous
about the baptism tomorrow, and I hope that everything goes well because it is my
last weekend of my mission. I’m so stoked! There’s seriously no better way to
end my mission. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Today was
busy…. Busy, busy, busy! In the morning we enlisted all of the youth to help us
clean up and organize the chapel to prepare all of the pews, chairs, baptismal
font, scrubbing down the bathrooms/floors, etc. I love this ward so much! I’m
going to miss it a lot. As usual, the families showed up late for their
baptism, but Pres. Bonini was there! He gradually got in a better and better
mood as the night went on. He was even taking pictures of everything by the end
of it. It was funny because when he got there he was super cold and wasn’t
mixing very well with everyone, but he really warmed up by the end of the
night. It was a wonderful occasion. Joao and Joelma’s little boy, Marcos, was interrupting
everyone because he had seen the cake that was for afterwards, but no one let him
near it so he started crying and crying and Elder Ribeiro managed to calm him
down. He really has a way with that kid. The kid is super attached to his mom,
but Elder Ribeiro knows how to calm him down. The only problem with the baptism
is that Elder Ribeiro baptized Joelma, so the only two people who could control
him were both in the water!!! Hahaha, so during his mom’s baptism the kid would
not stop crying! He’s already 3, but he just can’t bear to be without his
mommy! Tomorrow is Fast and Testimony meeting, so I’m excited to see what’s
going to happen. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegwUJql8Mjfe7ngrmQhbdkcYtVtUH80chXrtyF6j7VnYVU545f5UNvxaSaw1YKScJrIuMPVSZWjRT1_03IgwPLKgY962gS-eHzfWlrIv3SR7SdrfxLCEcn4zI6o6lUytM-We1Xn1ATOmy/s1600/IMG_1892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegwUJql8Mjfe7ngrmQhbdkcYtVtUH80chXrtyF6j7VnYVU545f5UNvxaSaw1YKScJrIuMPVSZWjRT1_03IgwPLKgY962gS-eHzfWlrIv3SR7SdrfxLCEcn4zI6o6lUytM-We1Xn1ATOmy/s640/IMG_1892.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The very best day of my mission!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> The last Sunday in Church was also my last fast and testimony meeting...it was a Cryfest.
Pure cryfest. I cried during my testimony, 2 of my recent converts got up and
they both cried. Taynara cried a LOT. Then, after church, I wanted to get a
picture with everyone, but Mikaelly was in the bathroom crying uncontrollably
and it took about 15 minutes to be able to convince her to come out and join
everyone. I loved this ward. By far my favorite area, and I am so glad that I
was able to end my mission here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy61-unMDcvtrX_sGIW6ELw9prUEBTSH42Z2X6dwGn0yZKkr4hNqp6SaNl25j884IOf2nHmsCVHpFcRi6XUnZcLRx_t-jdUtButNXOcUhbWl2MCL3wrUAdN7Athvr7ZOFwdI6NXWYGt4DX/s1600/IMG_1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy61-unMDcvtrX_sGIW6ELw9prUEBTSH42Z2X6dwGn0yZKkr4hNqp6SaNl25j884IOf2nHmsCVHpFcRi6XUnZcLRx_t-jdUtButNXOcUhbWl2MCL3wrUAdN7Athvr7ZOFwdI6NXWYGt4DX/s400/IMG_1905.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZLEGkTUBrtByRJXXAb3LFnlNptzbJK3pOAQVqx4rTGZ9jDj-jrX6lqrd7HpFyP9mTRdaGgGJttviNCLasnImg7qYEENThLNQyrxGLRmTfmYJeSOkXxqGfeWEDgKYLpdmy3l1wySSxs9E/s1600/IMG_1918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZLEGkTUBrtByRJXXAb3LFnlNptzbJK3pOAQVqx4rTGZ9jDj-jrX6lqrd7HpFyP9mTRdaGgGJttviNCLasnImg7qYEENThLNQyrxGLRmTfmYJeSOkXxqGfeWEDgKYLpdmy3l1wySSxs9E/s400/IMG_1918.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-U7ElSvGP4ywc5bzj8Yo31wLyEgsJRCm6k0VALI3GxbMfKIOhlU-Qu4kQz26Jg8-SSJfbdzUZOvy4dGo0b8VPuZgmG23rzKNC3WhBPRQoyE8n92ND3wdrxy1zzu8-yb-Y-ceQt4ZPeNV/s1600/IMG_1915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-U7ElSvGP4ywc5bzj8Yo31wLyEgsJRCm6k0VALI3GxbMfKIOhlU-Qu4kQz26Jg8-SSJfbdzUZOvy4dGo0b8VPuZgmG23rzKNC3WhBPRQoyE8n92ND3wdrxy1zzu8-yb-Y-ceQt4ZPeNV/s400/IMG_1915.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGiAkM9zNHbE3zhVjZq9nt-Juqs6UXe86d9bmSwn9HjQr75SONjIL6H4FRx8yUuX633c7HPuzbpVc1RuhM2o8OMzfbyW9h8qnEAXJwXIcm9OLFUeMWNqgwZY6finJvm3OUqYazwTvQPmO/s1600/IMG_1906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGiAkM9zNHbE3zhVjZq9nt-Juqs6UXe86d9bmSwn9HjQr75SONjIL6H4FRx8yUuX633c7HPuzbpVc1RuhM2o8OMzfbyW9h8qnEAXJwXIcm9OLFUeMWNqgwZY6finJvm3OUqYazwTvQPmO/s400/IMG_1906.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I9Aouil_BUQW76iy4FDNGbdNAPF191l6K5P6Cu2nLUhzML_Fq5axpJaqxV2n3bCE5EmeGvrFdff1wddXy5eB-jESDgvV9AP7B1OjG-wUjCNTXDWy-umsoamVPKJrdOVLaj_Nv-hMSxaJ/s1600/IMG_1908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2I9Aouil_BUQW76iy4FDNGbdNAPF191l6K5P6Cu2nLUhzML_Fq5axpJaqxV2n3bCE5EmeGvrFdff1wddXy5eB-jESDgvV9AP7B1OjG-wUjCNTXDWy-umsoamVPKJrdOVLaj_Nv-hMSxaJ/s400/IMG_1908.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGhoRkHRjgvBBuIgu0QX-CYQ92C8TZzUDCqUSOzeFi1O1qcGSL8vYdIAvX2o_RjVUEDXnZ9BpMyFCypILo9jsUxDmeGJFxwRKDSd6TWbv1ZmzmGYO4o0xNCzOJqbc5ecRfOW7OjSjKcZQ/s1600/IMG_1919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZGhoRkHRjgvBBuIgu0QX-CYQ92C8TZzUDCqUSOzeFi1O1qcGSL8vYdIAvX2o_RjVUEDXnZ9BpMyFCypILo9jsUxDmeGJFxwRKDSd6TWbv1ZmzmGYO4o0xNCzOJqbc5ecRfOW7OjSjKcZQ/s400/IMG_1919.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNV2P0xWIxmrnVGhpDy7pNMX1bhTQiMLuMsZHb1lCiFzngLEA-fAOP23GZiiJBMC5mYVs6RZZxRDvvndJ1T98ts0k5Zkjvh7KE9SV4gfoRZafEKTcVE647jNb18Y4ny2EEfBurRF6_XPw/s1600/IMG_1927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGNV2P0xWIxmrnVGhpDy7pNMX1bhTQiMLuMsZHb1lCiFzngLEA-fAOP23GZiiJBMC5mYVs6RZZxRDvvndJ1T98ts0k5Zkjvh7KE9SV4gfoRZafEKTcVE647jNb18Y4ny2EEfBurRF6_XPw/s400/IMG_1927.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The last goodbyes to the great people of this ward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Khyphenhyphen9H9_EC5gz5gXA03gAfCL5RdUVRGllrqwBPvB20HhDveSnrmVDxyey9gmQY2rYd_VR8RzKIuNcTqM7ngf1PBPDyaA18D2eiajQrON2bK94M27DHgqZCaEQjO7x8Q0waGQf6NVyzeJG/s1600/IMG_1935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Khyphenhyphen9H9_EC5gz5gXA03gAfCL5RdUVRGllrqwBPvB20HhDveSnrmVDxyey9gmQY2rYd_VR8RzKIuNcTqM7ngf1PBPDyaA18D2eiajQrON2bK94M27DHgqZCaEQjO7x8Q0waGQf6NVyzeJG/s400/IMG_1935.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSw3mpNrxdKH7UV6H-gFx0zS73gdXnSMgvhPYOM7Pz4yEkytqu2YRTlJeuyrZnnY-p1OumHTSklTz8QaXBsAh_b8a5mv1rDWf0AKfG0g5oP65ShJG2zC5IrpOKRYMWVOTJDf7m13I8H0e/s1600/IMG_1932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSw3mpNrxdKH7UV6H-gFx0zS73gdXnSMgvhPYOM7Pz4yEkytqu2YRTlJeuyrZnnY-p1OumHTSklTz8QaXBsAh_b8a5mv1rDWf0AKfG0g5oP65ShJG2zC5IrpOKRYMWVOTJDf7m13I8H0e/s400/IMG_1932.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtwXx7UiDOIn4b4BaAEeiWh1fT4m8I4FpZbM6KbeAbD9XuFaBRp227IjEKEp_QDG6SV5QsIFaHIbsZw7e-D7DLpqA7Nj7G3lD1dGp65gsZ7uaOb4_1bharX749kLLLgrxkL88bwfjPFj1/s1600/IMG_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwtwXx7UiDOIn4b4BaAEeiWh1fT4m8I4FpZbM6KbeAbD9XuFaBRp227IjEKEp_QDG6SV5QsIFaHIbsZw7e-D7DLpqA7Nj7G3lD1dGp65gsZ7uaOb4_1bharX749kLLLgrxkL88bwfjPFj1/s400/IMG_1941.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXFZlkn7VTGkMBtr62d45b5jkQLr9BNsLyeXBEKyenV-kGlyh2mhNp8k1x7bb-mF1O9KSqd_McBtmv181ExrVdrcuTgHLdxGD9VYKx2S42nDoq46sf5UYWttJDIjiq1uoqx-JYOYP_xQN/s1600/IMG_1944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXFZlkn7VTGkMBtr62d45b5jkQLr9BNsLyeXBEKyenV-kGlyh2mhNp8k1x7bb-mF1O9KSqd_McBtmv181ExrVdrcuTgHLdxGD9VYKx2S42nDoq46sf5UYWttJDIjiq1uoqx-JYOYP_xQN/s400/IMG_1944.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> Unfortunately,
the next couple of days was just sitting around. A lot of sitting around. For
some reason, there was a mix-up with the keys and all of the missionaries going
home. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> They split up our group so that we were staying in two different houses
in a couple of the areas closer to the airport. Anyways, we stayed outside of
these two missionaries’ house, but we got there at 7:30, and they didn’t come
until 9. I hate just sitting around…… It was super fun once we got into the
house. The two missionaries had only been out for a couple of months each, and
there were 9 missionaries staying with them who were all going home in a matter
of days!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Trunky! It was funny because they said “you know, we can’t even get
trunky because it seems like it was just yesterday that we got of the airplane,
because we did!” After that, there was just a class for people who have
problems in getting a job when they get back, but for the most part, it was
kind of boring, but it’s a brand new thing that all missionaries have to do
when they’re going home. Mission President’s rules!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> We had a LOT of people from the mission come to see us off at the airport. I don't think that this is a tradition that members do for missionaries in the states when they are returning home. I got to see a lot of people one last time and that was really nice.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Rdwc2e8msK9M-NBYzMHaC8rmdP-dSP0IdqgkSshynJfbcJI-cR09AW1qPcXFL_Of_Ty3DM5vYI1pyXoYZ1lQWyh40osFB7ZtcByIeOmeEivE_9DsMIIoaFW5hYvHcwO9caAwXqNm0Eys/s1600/IMG_1969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Rdwc2e8msK9M-NBYzMHaC8rmdP-dSP0IdqgkSshynJfbcJI-cR09AW1qPcXFL_Of_Ty3DM5vYI1pyXoYZ1lQWyh40osFB7ZtcByIeOmeEivE_9DsMIIoaFW5hYvHcwO9caAwXqNm0Eys/s400/IMG_1969.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Finally it came time to board the plane for HOME! </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span> <span style="font-size: large;"> My very
long 25+ hour flight went very well. I had a goal to read the entire book of Mormon
on my flight, but I only made it to Helaman 7 because I talked to my neighbors
all the way back home. I missed out on about 5 hours of reading, so I could’ve
gotten it done, but I didn’t, so it didn’t happen. It was incredible to see the
difference between Americans and Brazilians, because the Brazilians are way
more open. It was weird, because with the Americans, we actually hit it off!
But the problem is that when I tried seeing if they wanted to learn more, they
just completely shut down. Nothing. Even if we had a great conversation, they
just let it all go when I hinted at something more, like maybe a missionary
visit. Brazilians don’t have that problem, but Americans do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38ijpWE6oj03ycYBdJLnRfIGTo-MEJexx5C4QFGe7DcuHr6gQLtIk9N3xQMgt2Hya2u9kowNSMBeENutkX0uCEq8ex86ctidPPlamkYAtYqVmGkE_J6RbmqWxeucWdWWT6SuS3VztkOEr/s1600/IMG_1994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38ijpWE6oj03ycYBdJLnRfIGTo-MEJexx5C4QFGe7DcuHr6gQLtIk9N3xQMgt2Hya2u9kowNSMBeENutkX0uCEq8ex86ctidPPlamkYAtYqVmGkE_J6RbmqWxeucWdWWT6SuS3VztkOEr/s400/IMG_1994.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> One of the cool
things that happened on our way home happened in the Seattle airport during our
last plane transfer. The flight kept
getting delayed but I had no way to notify my family. I met up with another returning missionary
from Korea and we just sat there waiting.
It wasn’t very long before a group of ladies my mother’s age approached
us and started talking to us about our missions. They were a group of LDS friends who were
vacationing together and were all traveling to Spokane. Every one of them had a child of their own
serving a mission. Anyway, they took a
few pictures and texted our families to let them know about our delay. We ended up being over an hour late so I am
really glad that they could communicate with our families in Spokane. I love my family, and to be able to see them
at the end of that ramp was the best thing in the world. I’m HOME, and it’s GREAT…… just AWESOME! I
love America. I love the Lord, and I
love everything that has happened in these past two years.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0B45Ri6DTzAoZLui8Ju3mQB88ggOrA9ExFnmT_YOtbEaHjbXUnlPwft9_40Za3lwzVqfbBEayyKBn5Rw6D580E0xUZzK0tYviM3b-Z_fRbSI9tnd3NL7vAaVMCFUF3l_QfMTmV7J0WZdt/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0B45Ri6DTzAoZLui8Ju3mQB88ggOrA9ExFnmT_YOtbEaHjbXUnlPwft9_40Za3lwzVqfbBEayyKBn5Rw6D580E0xUZzK0tYviM3b-Z_fRbSI9tnd3NL7vAaVMCFUF3l_QfMTmV7J0WZdt/s640/DSC_0094.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sawyer stuck once again holding the repurposed sign.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDawypOa9SRDt97u0LdlC65mw-YbVN0ete3Atk_L6all8Nhp3ggU8M2_sQvha9uc7HSqzCebJLxb0TfVRUGJ9_xCgI0ccSFVt2_6-iBmJu80x3MUxPYwG5sqo53uaXNkz4tzzRzYdAN0DK/s400/DSC_0111.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mom swoops in for the first hug</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dad soon follows</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJPNcIiT95MWTM-6g-UzAQXH3Rj_5xDmRbgc3a2_MiHy62CF91z_VduHKjZ1v9hDTys594_jOUZhrZ9UpvdRsJ_C5qb_EfjAYy-cqfJ5NA8dp5kvOnPuOA3Kp4hptP2vvY3RZwHYalxI_/s400/DSC_0117.JPG" style="cursor: move; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brotherly love</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BdOYLs4h1pEhycdqF3lXVJZYOm9H29evyUOkyl4vZuOpbibYrQp7sxk2j_H8vD-fzkYBwWqDNsx-xkHlnJIjmzDnLVd9PLddSdsJgq9EJ-ePd22aMAqGDDTDxHxS8EJclxsmOa6YEALr/s1600/DSC_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-BdOYLs4h1pEhycdqF3lXVJZYOm9H29evyUOkyl4vZuOpbibYrQp7sxk2j_H8vD-fzkYBwWqDNsx-xkHlnJIjmzDnLVd9PLddSdsJgq9EJ-ePd22aMAqGDDTDxHxS8EJclxsmOa6YEALr/s640/DSC_0144.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Round Two</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9VYNBHnf0kcNxr_ISgNjIEOgm1LqOZAknc2ZTHiVmfiWY4NSnJkPq7IdP0TS-masChn325jdrkmEFucQEx0rfrSJWGO7uSq8GDO-1sFEhFV3KDiv7jJGYTqyOzjc_SD8JT88p4wMb2i-/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9VYNBHnf0kcNxr_ISgNjIEOgm1LqOZAknc2ZTHiVmfiWY4NSnJkPq7IdP0TS-masChn325jdrkmEFucQEx0rfrSJWGO7uSq8GDO-1sFEhFV3KDiv7jJGYTqyOzjc_SD8JT88p4wMb2i-/s400/DSC_0125.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sisters Face time in for the reunion</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fKiuy0RHoeqfLK2C8jhVcy6OhAEdf2mtyjxm5V9BuuAf1lwIPzDe7KTEzwfXzGuAH3UNB_5_LOdO68fRqDTYzzZiBtX3E0944RxvjnqpsgqnWaWV98fvZxcsaKDF9hr7-fabIBh35j70/s1600/DSC_0130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fKiuy0RHoeqfLK2C8jhVcy6OhAEdf2mtyjxm5V9BuuAf1lwIPzDe7KTEzwfXzGuAH3UNB_5_LOdO68fRqDTYzzZiBtX3E0944RxvjnqpsgqnWaWV98fvZxcsaKDF9hr7-fabIBh35j70/s640/DSC_0130.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Family portrait...Taylor is in his right hand and Maddie is in his left hand.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7UIQK3B6Mp2rsJipaVn7c_cy-rFvF2HJ09NPC-TUAPo5jKuft-oJd3WABiAYiRL63JETae22o5tSfUfaFtv-2rgo02Kh_spgL4IhzclCGf6MmNKLMvsduNCqnSDTTJ2UxyM2puLZebYP/s1600/DSC_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7UIQK3B6Mp2rsJipaVn7c_cy-rFvF2HJ09NPC-TUAPo5jKuft-oJd3WABiAYiRL63JETae22o5tSfUfaFtv-2rgo02Kh_spgL4IhzclCGf6MmNKLMvsduNCqnSDTTJ2UxyM2puLZebYP/s400/DSC_0154.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sooooo glad he is HOME!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZsYjWk3BH2p713RvS_pXFRDU4ogERWEKHqLlTO6Oeb1ChcrZbMTdpnZVTd1wBDHv6DxAcnsKYfcIUDwm2VCDGLvu7j2CJ3lXYKji7gR-Jo-J94tCE1_JTUJ0aPoKWIyhsn3gzxo5HbRE/s1600/DSC_0169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZsYjWk3BH2p713RvS_pXFRDU4ogERWEKHqLlTO6Oeb1ChcrZbMTdpnZVTd1wBDHv6DxAcnsKYfcIUDwm2VCDGLvu7j2CJ3lXYKji7gR-Jo-J94tCE1_JTUJ0aPoKWIyhsn3gzxo5HbRE/s400/DSC_0169.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Welcoming committee!Left to right: Debbie Roger, Leslie Brim, Elder Colvin, Stewart Brim, Barbara Benefiel, Cody Benefiel.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa5uVdKTlgPhyphenhyphenC2lSsoTTE90uUc8pJFvNzoymnhvMOL5ZFk6pGmcARk-Cg5pLl31L7dp40YvD0gmb4JiifyAiJ3-cQHdVy8pQ4JgNda7BuAl1awpwG-3g83EfAYmDEF9gvGReNOLrc0QX/s1600/DSC_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa5uVdKTlgPhyphenhyphenC2lSsoTTE90uUc8pJFvNzoymnhvMOL5ZFk6pGmcARk-Cg5pLl31L7dp40YvD0gmb4JiifyAiJ3-cQHdVy8pQ4JgNda7BuAl1awpwG-3g83EfAYmDEF9gvGReNOLrc0QX/s400/DSC_0157.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wore my best shoes home!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopped by Golden Corral (his request) on the way home.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufv3vpWk1vp5r242DLzRpvHaBFYt0jaPyNiH1NIhqtJgyCNSM2zwEKDFGbUs6twIa-G7X3NUjUvuBjEVDx1gn1hLbvH2w8qnGaY1l7qQ36m9z3Xdyf4-zu1yuUbiFrlzNXmnQovWxs41t/s1600/IMG_4326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufv3vpWk1vp5r242DLzRpvHaBFYt0jaPyNiH1NIhqtJgyCNSM2zwEKDFGbUs6twIa-G7X3NUjUvuBjEVDx1gn1hLbvH2w8qnGaY1l7qQ36m9z3Xdyf4-zu1yuUbiFrlzNXmnQovWxs41t/s640/IMG_4326.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">We made it home..suitcases full of gifts for the family!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3Fxz-5WNL_SMFAO32Ha4pOIJyaBrL4uLYJPpSOauyEK1fFg5tbxypygSVDla7WXt8cTcH9XzKIx0wq4lqM2KoSLEeJJA9yw2MUtgsIyguV3BpEOvdFkMXijtHXZbQGbTlGyS1eFPS20u/s1600/IMG_4327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3Fxz-5WNL_SMFAO32Ha4pOIJyaBrL4uLYJPpSOauyEK1fFg5tbxypygSVDla7WXt8cTcH9XzKIx0wq4lqM2KoSLEeJJA9yw2MUtgsIyguV3BpEOvdFkMXijtHXZbQGbTlGyS1eFPS20u/s640/IMG_4327.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">So grateful!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65_Ch6nBMSKuzoOMhanoZgKs2QDRTJIiFIHIO-kuyzipuEqvY2lXIBP1107DMQPG8uZ7qR1-e04ZUMqpVNcldz37Qhxw-IsSE-8RznPrLt4Y4qhM6dFar1ryVfz9IpqirN4qAFqOu-k38/s1600/IMG_4357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj65_Ch6nBMSKuzoOMhanoZgKs2QDRTJIiFIHIO-kuyzipuEqvY2lXIBP1107DMQPG8uZ7qR1-e04ZUMqpVNcldz37Qhxw-IsSE-8RznPrLt4Y4qhM6dFar1ryVfz9IpqirN4qAFqOu-k38/s640/IMG_4357.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">So tired!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwWOeG3uGdPOinWid4oPYZoBVQ-RAajmbZexIP1WI9qaFU-tnCaNi5meJ4SLmhYp_4pK27w1gMgJMkifQTdLZmGnNVzzqvjFjxTpgcjHSRNWNdNMFpmh9CTE3lOylJjUdRfAuKTA-DCei/s1600/FullSizeRender2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTwWOeG3uGdPOinWid4oPYZoBVQ-RAajmbZexIP1WI9qaFU-tnCaNi5meJ4SLmhYp_4pK27w1gMgJMkifQTdLZmGnNVzzqvjFjxTpgcjHSRNWNdNMFpmh9CTE3lOylJjUdRfAuKTA-DCei/s640/FullSizeRender2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Family Reunion for Father's Day and Garrison's homecoming talk. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTGhj_piMjWTD-RGeidGvVx8zAsak50J74CVYI1I5cdeFXQcMZpRD69x95GWTbxx__VVAt-q7dLPriANnwsPoT-Jdwh4e5fGBr81I7ea3DsF9cdEknHHEmVa7V4A8cLSVst5CQxYYdwH-/s1600/IMG_4374.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTGhj_piMjWTD-RGeidGvVx8zAsak50J74CVYI1I5cdeFXQcMZpRD69x95GWTbxx__VVAt-q7dLPriANnwsPoT-Jdwh4e5fGBr81I7ea3DsF9cdEknHHEmVa7V4A8cLSVst5CQxYYdwH-/s640/IMG_4374.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Returned Missionaries</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bwpj9ZNlFzyiF04anU1oEyD4cErPlsT0EBQO4tu7aPtFKT3LTx_9GOipge8OcR_Ick2RaLbaA2NTaMZLr9dCTvfc12BKnw_x9tA4NkRfYlvCpwMqUArGtN0-F46pFmo9ohlo5C-EdJH2/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3bwpj9ZNlFzyiF04anU1oEyD4cErPlsT0EBQO4tu7aPtFKT3LTx_9GOipge8OcR_Ick2RaLbaA2NTaMZLr9dCTvfc12BKnw_x9tA4NkRfYlvCpwMqUArGtN0-F46pFmo9ohlo5C-EdJH2/s640/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">TRUE LOVE</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4ZJwXi_yyjm4mIcPuRfclNAbJif8s_ciq0NlTARbF525mDOLj1utm8TeFRHAUWNdzq5uwD-yQhXwht-iLvXA3PHS2DBh7UcpJasjTQfBjuTKX3wPmA9EbWQ4SXdRazbTB-4jV-IWAwPu/s1600/FullSizeRender4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4ZJwXi_yyjm4mIcPuRfclNAbJif8s_ciq0NlTARbF525mDOLj1utm8TeFRHAUWNdzq5uwD-yQhXwht-iLvXA3PHS2DBh7UcpJasjTQfBjuTKX3wPmA9EbWQ4SXdRazbTB-4jV-IWAwPu/s640/FullSizeRender4.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">My next adventure - University of Utah</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-50785442143472019502015-06-01T18:39:00.002-07:002015-06-01T18:39:14.774-07:00P-day without e-mail :(<span style="font-size: large;">I'm super late today because the missionary net
was down all day long and I just now got on. We have some
appointments for later tonight, so I can't stay on long. I'm doing very well, and my diarrhea is gone... after 2 weeks..... And super quick updates: M. got baptized! J. and J. both lost their jobs, but they're still super dedicated to the church, and everyone's super strong for their marriages and baptisms this week! It's hard to believe that this is the last week of my mission, but I'm super excited and I am going to work hard right up to the end. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tchau!!!</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-13625265412624334972015-05-25T20:12:00.000-07:002015-05-26T15:28:12.924-07:00Fantastic week, despite sickness.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0IBmtsIqMewGlGHjTXun2sMM8GPhLeED2L59bSj7fyzfxXJZx_iUXGHWN6mq7-qAqh-LyMwbF60CmdZBMDBICAZR1EJ0EoXMakGr4fQ1oEJQQiZUoyT4oG_xhmhMuXESUTnBspEKTvvC/s1600/image002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR0IBmtsIqMewGlGHjTXun2sMM8GPhLeED2L59bSj7fyzfxXJZx_iUXGHWN6mq7-qAqh-LyMwbF60CmdZBMDBICAZR1EJ0EoXMakGr4fQ1oEJQQiZUoyT4oG_xhmhMuXESUTnBspEKTvvC/s400/image002.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our mission logo-the symbol of our mission that President Bonini chose.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiytBMvxG3jP_iYDe8H8gpfi2eDz7tooyHsunnzS6JL5SNBDjbIZIcK3_SJyqtIiQM2iX90Ny3S_4cHEMM9TAIQlHFJLC9LHax2JleAXZdAlCWFJiqf-AqdxYRVFSKwohKu47V2fyk_NO/s1600/IMG_1784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiytBMvxG3jP_iYDe8H8gpfi2eDz7tooyHsunnzS6JL5SNBDjbIZIcK3_SJyqtIiQM2iX90Ny3S_4cHEMM9TAIQlHFJLC9LHax2JleAXZdAlCWFJiqf-AqdxYRVFSKwohKu47V2fyk_NO/s320/IMG_1784.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I included a picture of what I drew that the elders want to put on their zone T-shirt. I thought that it was pretty funny, because the theme of the mission is "Start with the final result in sight". I feel that my drawing shows how an Elder feels about this theme. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 17, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was stake conference and we had an area authority
talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a lot like the pastors from
other churches here in Brazil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He talked
really loudly, used hand gestures, and cried a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone really loved it cause that is just
the way Brazilians are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To tell the
truth, it was a really good talk about faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He talked about how when you are rich, material things seem inexpensive
and then are not a concern to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we
compare our faith to wealth and become rich in our faith, then our problems will
not concern us because we will have the resources to handle them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cool thing about stake conference was
that I had 7 investigators come to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wooohooo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afterwards we visited
with everyone and they are all excited about their upcoming baptismal
dates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another one of the cool miracles
that happened today sortof by accident was that R. (one of our investigators)
was dropped off at church and was told to get a ride home with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He forgot to ask us, but amazingly enough we
found out later that he showed his ability and independence by walking home by
himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This is our special needs
investigator who is surprising everyone with what he CAN do!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had a great lesson with A. and his family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we were there, the family that referred
them to us come over to talk with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were very complimentary when they heard that the wedding and
baptism were all arranged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were so
supportive of their friends, it is great!</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 18, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZdBfsgRQLqDTePitOaB-hZJyMRVAeQJM_gBwu1oYCpKP3j76z3GCspZ0jMf3sMnfIH3h4uh6mADlRaz6Bg_tMqqvs4e1exdeANyndh2drlqoA8721QwZ-EWD1EOZk4Rh3ektnMN6-Y0q/s1600/DSCF2239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZdBfsgRQLqDTePitOaB-hZJyMRVAeQJM_gBwu1oYCpKP3j76z3GCspZ0jMf3sMnfIH3h4uh6mADlRaz6Bg_tMqqvs4e1exdeANyndh2drlqoA8721QwZ-EWD1EOZk4Rh3ektnMN6-Y0q/s400/DSCF2239.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Something kind of funny happened last night while we were planning
we had a bunch of stuff to do today and we almost didn’t plan time to email
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haha! We were so focused on
everything that we need to get done that we forgot it was p-day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what was the highlight of toady
because we taught three great lessons on p-night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, we are super busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best lesson was family night with A. and
T. It ws bades on faith and M. (our recent convert) gave the message. The
daughter of the family is the same age as M. so she is helping befriend
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>M. asked people to give examples of
faith and the daughter told us the story about the first time they went to
church. Their member friends had already arranged to take them to church but
they couldn’t find the key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They looked
everywhere, but couldn’t find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
daughter decided to say a prayer and in her prayer she asked that if God wanted
her family to go to this church, would He please help them find the key, and if
not then the key would remain hidden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just as she finished her prayer, the key was found and they all made
their first visit to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end
of the lesson we sang “Families can beTogether Forever”…but in Brazilian it is
translated “Family is Forever.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
thought about how great it was to bring an entire family to Christ, and then I
thought about my own eternal family that I will be with in just 3 short
weeks!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#TRUNKY!</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 19, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This morning we found a man who accepted our message about
the restoration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the first person
in a long time that we have successfully contacted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are so busy with teaching our great
investigators, that we are having a hard time finding time to contact new
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been visiting with G.
and R. every day in preparation for their baptism this Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two couples are preparing to travel to the
wedding office this week to sign the final paperwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything seems like it is going to work
out.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohMBmz-ESofwnanl8jJh4G5gQ6Z7bA7jLhrv7R3GvBOUL5LcgMnwL0TPJ4jz_z0qp_ovlaXxxQAzRylBtT6-ZH31bPLus7rgzkF3wKbEZJSpMoP-nhDddyKNj1OcrayEB5WmxYl6UMM3g/s1600/IMG_1776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohMBmz-ESofwnanl8jJh4G5gQ6Z7bA7jLhrv7R3GvBOUL5LcgMnwL0TPJ4jz_z0qp_ovlaXxxQAzRylBtT6-ZH31bPLus7rgzkF3wKbEZJSpMoP-nhDddyKNj1OcrayEB5WmxYl6UMM3g/s400/IMG_1776.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My last zone training!!! I took pictures with all of the other elders who are finishing their missions with me. Yep, everyone was pretty trunky.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9H-4gj6h1r2c_FF7SiwIQil4ghgXpU8aQdsfT-kFoFGguNDRrzjD3Od0VDpolhfqXpj9bQ1kafb-FlvktY889w_QNSxNJRz_wqztY3L17-t07ZeOd0AtMKl_BVQABlHYob4C5Fhkk7Rb/s1600/IMG_1778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc9H-4gj6h1r2c_FF7SiwIQil4ghgXpU8aQdsfT-kFoFGguNDRrzjD3Od0VDpolhfqXpj9bQ1kafb-FlvktY889w_QNSxNJRz_wqztY3L17-t07ZeOd0AtMKl_BVQABlHYob4C5Fhkk7Rb/s400/IMG_1778.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rRCrHJhfQ5-Zv3M_TnPYJBVvZlgJqFcuM-bAMo1J_tAZMonbuBkGKFtANX1Taw4AtGhHuaEVUqtr9dykAorHj2bnCxlJCiAejz-xEBRlBkhQQYfxkBtY1hvCj_4F-527ee76E9Djb_Tw/s1600/IMG_1779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rRCrHJhfQ5-Zv3M_TnPYJBVvZlgJqFcuM-bAMo1J_tAZMonbuBkGKFtANX1Taw4AtGhHuaEVUqtr9dykAorHj2bnCxlJCiAejz-xEBRlBkhQQYfxkBtY1hvCj_4F-527ee76E9Djb_Tw/s320/IMG_1779.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 20, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My last zone training! Weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our zone, we have 3 missionaries going
home and we have 3 brand new missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everyone was joking with me about going home, even the other elders who
are leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They like to mess with me
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43Il7uFLE9tULPm3AcF1Xn0qfy9oedXfT4IlM0ySeuIEPQioZA0l0p1VRZHOXMSXdS3aPhBsmwiqxQ5nCOYhqViVXkio5r65ePl4Fx2MpZ3yMe_mraOe9tyA2Ps708NWZQe20BYot06sV/s1600/IMG_1780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43Il7uFLE9tULPm3AcF1Xn0qfy9oedXfT4IlM0ySeuIEPQioZA0l0p1VRZHOXMSXdS3aPhBsmwiqxQ5nCOYhqViVXkio5r65ePl4Fx2MpZ3yMe_mraOe9tyA2Ps708NWZQe20BYot06sV/s400/IMG_1780.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I haven’t been feeling well for a couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have really serious diarrhea…like every
hour on the hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is super hard to
teach and gather the will power to contact people when I am so sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I only have a short time left so I don’t
want to waste it at home.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZ9H-tifud1DyTKFPbEK65saU8KhFLj8-fYVycTZLvWp5VVwKbIJJ7jspbjo2T03CLofe532p1UH3JJq8Uz7UEridoOxdv6BbRpUZ1toG61gSoe5kGO2xGGtb4Jw-hfhgzYmyTZtKYMg2/s1600/IMG_1783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZ9H-tifud1DyTKFPbEK65saU8KhFLj8-fYVycTZLvWp5VVwKbIJJ7jspbjo2T03CLofe532p1UH3JJq8Uz7UEridoOxdv6BbRpUZ1toG61gSoe5kGO2xGGtb4Jw-hfhgzYmyTZtKYMg2/s400/IMG_1783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The two lucky women! (I forgot to take a picture of the men...)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 21, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The couples signed their papers for their weddings this
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were walking to J. and J.’s
house to walk with them to the train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But they had already left without us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then we met up with A. and E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
walked with them to the station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of
the trains broke down so we had to wait 2 hours for the next train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But everyone started talking and getting to
know each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are all super
happy to be getting married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had
enough time to read a good chunk of the Book of Mormon on the train rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My goal is to finish it one more time before
my mission ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another thing that we did today was have a special training
for the youth. Almost all of the youth here want to serve a mission one
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very helpful with
missionary work and they know a lot more about the work than I did before I
came out on a mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But one problem
that they have is that they ALL date at a very young age, some as early as 12
years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided that the best way
to approach this was to have a fireside about the importance of the “For the
Strength of Youth” pamphlet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We compared
it to the missionary handbook because the same way that the handbook is a
guideline for obedience to the missionaries, this FSOY is their handbook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left each couple of youth a topic to read
and explain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left the sexual purity
and dating topic for the bishop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything worked out great except for the bishop’s part when he taught
stuff that definitely isn’t doctrinal to a group of young kids, investigators,
and recent converts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugghhh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then after his strange ramblings he turned
the dating talk over to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the
Elders are experts on dating. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>R. and G. are scheduled to have their interview tomorrow and
they are both ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to
baptize R. and Elder Ribeiro is going to baptize G. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 22, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had another division today and I went to the other area
with Elder G. again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I titled the last
division with him “Getting lost with a crazy Chilean 1.” Well, this division is
called, “Getting Lost with a Crazy Chilean #2.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I thought that the other time was just because he was new in his area,
but it had been over a month and he still doesn’t have a clue where anything
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s funny because he always walks
as if he know where he is going. Also it was weird because my planner given to
me by Elder R. O. was a lot different from his companions, Elder G.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am seriously thinking that he has a couple
of screws loose. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My companion told me
that his divisions didn’t go much better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is concerned that Elder O. only contacts girls and women because he
said, “Why would I contact men when I like women, not men.” When I got home I
found out that Elder O. had searched through ALL of my stuff looking for
anything that he could take with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ughh, what a terrible example of a district leader! BUT, it doesn’t
matter because we got our baptismal interviews done and the baptism is ready to
go for tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My companion and I made
special desserts and they are so beautiful!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJrzxOOsN4kXeU4fh3mNqDz4X5XXzIp6sMgksBjlsvZRoTSsAeJZGr5y0uSP5t8ToOy1W5OPVgPaDxsbnajJBlf8kn5qEfXq5FnhNdVKkndlZr2TY1fIeZLuE-z6BsHbcJXqb-9bh9UBX/s1600/IMG_1782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJrzxOOsN4kXeU4fh3mNqDz4X5XXzIp6sMgksBjlsvZRoTSsAeJZGr5y0uSP5t8ToOy1W5OPVgPaDxsbnajJBlf8kn5qEfXq5FnhNdVKkndlZr2TY1fIeZLuE-z6BsHbcJXqb-9bh9UBX/s400/IMG_1782.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The jello is acually super easy, it just takes a while to make. Every 1/2 hour or so you waste 10 seconds to pour on another layer. Brazilian jell-o also isn't all that great, so it didn't taste nearly as good as it looks. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8ng_Euxz5W3I5zsCMt5WZiEixAUhVnki8sqk-ylHywn1NMAKKBZ2bSMV-IVXnE58pTeuih70COjW9D5Y2SziSLV7Qf2WUc6UyBSk9IsPdT4m5dwxRGDkjfR_X-lpXBuueJLE7va4qcM-/s1600/IMG_1793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd8ng_Euxz5W3I5zsCMt5WZiEixAUhVnki8sqk-ylHywn1NMAKKBZ2bSMV-IVXnE58pTeuih70COjW9D5Y2SziSLV7Qf2WUc6UyBSk9IsPdT4m5dwxRGDkjfR_X-lpXBuueJLE7va4qcM-/s400/IMG_1793.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I made the jello, but Elder Ribeiro made the cake. He worked in a bakery for a while, so he knows how to make a ton of stuff.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 23, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yet another day that we wasted getting the dirty water out
of the font by hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the youth
were there helping us, so we were able to get it done in just over an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we had to wait for it to fill up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The baptism went down without a hitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>R. was a little scared that he was going to
drown, but he got in the water and was baptized!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bishop gave his usual unusual baptismal
address.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coolest part was that all
of our other investigators who have baptismal dates came to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> After the baptism, we had a “family night” with some members who live
close to J. and J. and we invited the two of them. It was very nice and cozy
because it was just the two couple and us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I did that tape object lesson that Mom sent me that relates how keeping
the Sabbath day holy helps to keep us on the right path to our Heavenly
Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>J. was the example and it
worked perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she was
blindfolded she couldn’t make it to the end of the tape, but when she could
open her eyes on every seventh step to regain her direction, then she was able
to reach the end of the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone
loved the example and the sister said that she felt the spirit very
strongly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that our investigator’s
also felt the spirit of the message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Keeping the Sabbath holy is a very difficult challenge for most
Brazilians.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 24, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, J. must have felt something last night because she
came to church today even though she told us yesterday that she would not be
able to go because she had to pick up her son in another city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We asked her why she was able to come after
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that she realized that she
should come to the Lord’s house first and then search after her own interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We gave ties to both J. and A. so that they
could have them for church. They were super happy about that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our gospel principles class was FULL today!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had 7 investigators, and 2 new member
confirmations, and 2 recent converts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seriously, I am so stoked about how well things are turning out for the
last part of my time in Brazil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
seriously also wiped out every night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One night this week, we literally were so tired that we could not sit at
our desks to plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just had to lay
down on the floor to get it done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
good to be drained because we use our energy and time well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I think that my misison president is going to baptize one of the people my last week here. On my last Saturday on my mission, we're going to baptize two families, and President Bonini is going to come here be part of the baptism! It's super exciting.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZTNL0PQIQuL9qCShVKyB2Pyguxh6wXohHHUn8Zg2p2Ie6fq9Xcy2oazMtNbPo_70ywKZhzdX9CpRZ1xtLcLjIesxMFNdDfCegYVj-piawbLiHHQvEahfQmHyABAxg3JywyA6KqQ5QVuE/s1600/DSCF2260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZTNL0PQIQuL9qCShVKyB2Pyguxh6wXohHHUn8Zg2p2Ie6fq9Xcy2oazMtNbPo_70ywKZhzdX9CpRZ1xtLcLjIesxMFNdDfCegYVj-piawbLiHHQvEahfQmHyABAxg3JywyA6KqQ5QVuE/s400/DSCF2260.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jerry-rigging a straining system for cevada which is a roasted ground barley coffee substitute...no caffeine!</span></td></tr>
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brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-62589108016433484522015-05-18T20:39:00.002-07:002015-05-18T20:39:37.623-07:00So much work....so little time!
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 11, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This p-day was probably one of my favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were lacking a couple of the documents
necessary for the wedding, but the people that work in the city office that
manages weddings all know the Elders and what work we are trying to do so they
let it slide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was super stressed out
because we didn’t know if it would work out or not, and then we were just so
happy and relieved afterwards when it did work out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;">On the way home we went to the biggest cemetery in Fortaleza. It was kind of
like a walk in the park really. It was super cool and one of the only quite
places in the ENTIRE city. I found it rather peaceful. I took pictures of some
tombs that I thought were the coolest. There were even some that made me think
of Rio! Weird, because it's actually a nice place... Until the Spirit people
showed up dressed in white to perform some rituals... That was interesting.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtp_Z4nT_tb20D__xMXbGQy8h8ov0kgbCqY9HfNbXLAUTLU9tlvH2_FMI2gzpnsTDDe73pF3zfQbCs_dpYLBFAB40z9UxdFXy_ouJ6u1Uv1VVtkfKVDb20m1c9XLQu47mGI4DNm4CCD1Eo/s1600/IMG_1761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtp_Z4nT_tb20D__xMXbGQy8h8ov0kgbCqY9HfNbXLAUTLU9tlvH2_FMI2gzpnsTDDe73pF3zfQbCs_dpYLBFAB40z9UxdFXy_ouJ6u1Uv1VVtkfKVDb20m1c9XLQu47mGI4DNm4CCD1Eo/s640/IMG_1761.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I
even laid down for a little nap ;) I'm almost dying anyways!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Also, other good news is that
I bought 2 more hammocks to bring home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One for Mom and Dad, and one for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have a smaller one at home already, but these are nicer and can fit up
to three people in them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another great thing that happened today was that I got my
flight itinerary emailed to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
makes the end seem so near to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
glad that I am really busy teaching a ton of people right now to help me keep
my mind off of going home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We marked 2
weddings for June 3<sup>rd</sup> – they lined up perfectly for both of the
families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The families are super excited
about the weddings and their baptisms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught G. today and she is so ready to be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her date is set for one week from now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is retaking all of the discussions, but
everything is familiar and she is doing well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She loved going to church and it was really great to see the members
welcome her and her little daughter. The baby actually let the members hold her
and play with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was good stuff.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 12, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>M. wanted to go out on teaching visits with us but we have to have a
third guy with us if a girl is teaching with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We planned on having the young man who is
preparing to serve his mission go out with us so that she could go. Sadly, the
guy flaked out and all we could do was go contacting with M.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She actually was pretty good at it and we got
some good contacts in. After a while we headed to the chapel to take M. to
seminary and switch out with another member who wanted to go out with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got to the chapel there was a 13 year
old girl there who wants to be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We talked to her and learned that she lives in the Zone leaders
area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to be baptized and
attend our ward because all of her friends are youth in our ward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talked to her about how we need to keep
her in the area where she is living and then gave the referral to our zone
leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><u>May 13, 2015</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Sooooo today we found out that the missionaries from another
zone have been teaching in our area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
got in contact with a referral today and she said that other missionaries had
passed by and taught her less than 3 hours ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We will have to get that all straightened out </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught our recent convert’s father today, but he did not
seem too interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He supports his son
and is not antagonistic, but he is Catholic and said that he didn’t want to
change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the bright side, T. and E. are reading the Book of Mormon
and T. is attending seminary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has
downloaded all of the church library and is studying a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She reads everything that we give her and
asks great questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her dad is also
doing well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He smokes a little, but he
says that he is quitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 14, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am going to call today, the “dog-day.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were so many dogs on the street
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had this one super sweet dog
that followed us for about an hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Where ever we went, she followed us until we crossed a major highway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The road scaredher back into her area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the dogs have a sort of territory that
they stick to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>even though they are all
strays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also saw some rather large
dog taking advantage of a tiny min-pin female dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was creepy especially because there were a
ton of other male dogs just hanging around her. I felt sorry for her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Focusing on the more spiritual side of things, we taught J.
tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His family is really
spiritual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to hear their
beautiful prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are so grateful,
sincere, and humble. Every time we finish a lesson with them, we have a
kneeling prayer and that leaves us with a great spirit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 15, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had an appointment scheduled that was a no-show, bu his
brother-in-law was there and he invited us in, gave us food, and asked us if we
could say a prayer with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He liked
our message and he said that he wanted to visit our church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he is super strong in his church so we
will see if his pastor will let him visit ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One of our investigators is having a hard time finding his
the documents that he needs for his wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That makes me super nervous, but tonight we got the address for a place
that specializes in fast document recovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tonight we went teaching with a young man from another
ward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is preparing for his
mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great night of
teaching and on the way home he said, “Man, I wish stuff was happening in my
ward!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That made me feel good about the
work that is happening now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 16, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>J. won’t be able to come to church tomorrow because he has
to go to his mom’s house to get his birth certificate for his wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lives almost 3 hours away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his “wife” (almost) really wanted to
make it to church, but they need to get the papers for their wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">May 18, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I
think that we got all the wedding paperwork worked out today. We're going to
have a family night with the family of 4 tonight and we'll see if what we did
this morning will work. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8s3Snk0MnAT7nAHhabBpfapHc6uBIbcZ_IRNhcsKnjkiR9xIBygxK75o-osg0wjLsHjdZNFgndW9XDuz51islxg5XYfBLovSJGFh-kLJqRkbrJAiU6QHagLSKtNKOtNVacdqrKIyGf3_G/s1600/IMG_1724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8s3Snk0MnAT7nAHhabBpfapHc6uBIbcZ_IRNhcsKnjkiR9xIBygxK75o-osg0wjLsHjdZNFgndW9XDuz51islxg5XYfBLovSJGFh-kLJqRkbrJAiU6QHagLSKtNKOtNVacdqrKIyGf3_G/s400/IMG_1724.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;">We
killed a rat. That sucker has been evading us for about a week</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2g1nrL8ebOT9mnOH-tm8hb7ZJ6U1G2uESfc3y2cyDgUg_mrhSl4kod2k_hoX_SKStTeY1H932R6VTXRi41bMxE0tCJkhkkpH9x79pG-0VNLGAMelVO2A0buHsIxkFtkWNP1vXZsAqnub/s1600/IMG_1766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2g1nrL8ebOT9mnOH-tm8hb7ZJ6U1G2uESfc3y2cyDgUg_mrhSl4kod2k_hoX_SKStTeY1H932R6VTXRi41bMxE0tCJkhkkpH9x79pG-0VNLGAMelVO2A0buHsIxkFtkWNP1vXZsAqnub/s640/IMG_1766.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;">A
super old tree here in the center of the city. It's "huge"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-12314744534941972472015-05-11T13:17:00.003-07:002015-05-18T13:38:28.054-07:00Upswing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7C1eYoH_xSWENS9zup7fTY0ISn-XUeFES2BlbzI31AA7SWg2tzW2aQuYHCzoOOR7bI9UH-XCXFCW9pwROxf74u0Wtwey3-gO0SaebjF_p9ntZxb3anaBn5RUSIFgYzr-L5ildBWdVW_S/s1600/IMG_1682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7C1eYoH_xSWENS9zup7fTY0ISn-XUeFES2BlbzI31AA7SWg2tzW2aQuYHCzoOOR7bI9UH-XCXFCW9pwROxf74u0Wtwey3-gO0SaebjF_p9ntZxb3anaBn5RUSIFgYzr-L5ildBWdVW_S/s400/IMG_1682.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwO5ZEt_Ra4RfXzhITYxOjEPFH7BuLxkZudrIEN_HqahMi_0q7h3ECKJ6xr2RUTaAp3-V2wUY_WMpBrmPs41j01Y2eKYTQ5YWA4cjFIrSA9zIcig6xJlXH3ukh1F0K2CT7zSUb0LrrrvI/s1600/IMG_1683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwO5ZEt_Ra4RfXzhITYxOjEPFH7BuLxkZudrIEN_HqahMi_0q7h3ECKJ6xr2RUTaAp3-V2wUY_WMpBrmPs41j01Y2eKYTQ5YWA4cjFIrSA9zIcig6xJlXH3ukh1F0K2CT7zSUb0LrrrvI/s400/IMG_1683.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going away lunch for Elder Shelton!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6wZPGtlCG4Rf2sRP9EUSWDRCSIHP83YqkT07XsDKJ9HfTcNS6GefSlPhUWeIG8BVhJ9_SRZCXPXVdnGgtHexXyi0mgJk70xIRrkxIfdpF-CoJwPwo5oFn2teWZosMmU6xk8K8YEVVnpJ/s1600/IMG_1684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6wZPGtlCG4Rf2sRP9EUSWDRCSIHP83YqkT07XsDKJ9HfTcNS6GefSlPhUWeIG8BVhJ9_SRZCXPXVdnGgtHexXyi0mgJk70xIRrkxIfdpF-CoJwPwo5oFn2teWZosMmU6xk8K8YEVVnpJ/s400/IMG_1684.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staying here party for me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZa_UoWwqTd2Z64rtC2T3uOEogXrxg0H3Pm8za02ThEUxYFekIGn5yNzSNIoDEYAL_W5FR-EAlm4I5yy2h7DQbdIEIJhBW3rk5-gQYRyk2-gEqcyQTGh5Rz-y_TrnLAq2QIuju-l6w0Bt/s1600/IMG_1696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZa_UoWwqTd2Z64rtC2T3uOEogXrxg0H3Pm8za02ThEUxYFekIGn5yNzSNIoDEYAL_W5FR-EAlm4I5yy2h7DQbdIEIJhBW3rk5-gQYRyk2-gEqcyQTGh5Rz-y_TrnLAq2QIuju-l6w0Bt/s400/IMG_1696.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHk7PppI2dMH5ERMryZ_yiPCGXo8q0N3BQmXpEf5ASLIpccDZ0OZpImA3I_Q2VhjpPFUTBMmNqZfNBGjHV6ynlPbDOc5JBfq1FV-OxC5MjCq4ViNR5G9SW_VyFw2sCEN5DmFxo1gD1SKV/s1600/IMG_1698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKHk7PppI2dMH5ERMryZ_yiPCGXo8q0N3BQmXpEf5ASLIpccDZ0OZpImA3I_Q2VhjpPFUTBMmNqZfNBGjHV6ynlPbDOc5JBfq1FV-OxC5MjCq4ViNR5G9SW_VyFw2sCEN5DmFxo1gD1SKV/s400/IMG_1698.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brazilian selfies..they stole my camera!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>May 11, 2015</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I had a great visit with my family on Mother's Day yesterday. I was able to talk to everyone in my family except for Bailey. Dad looks so healthy with all of his hair grown back in! We talked a little about plans for coming home and I have to admit to feeling excited about my return. I actually got my flight itinerary today that says that I will be in Spokane on June 10th at 12:24! It is started to sound real to me now, but honestly I have so much work to do before I come home.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_w0IZ17RWzQX-BwEhSl5_LLtWGRzTMbZkG0qEKGwK3_9eOXPdgjp3RBZrJTCsezN6pFUAHspdUCqmI2NQUluITzaRKfgqiO5tt7PeKnGfqaCenrXTHoEbShEKKSI1nL0jnRreQFWGKrw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-10+at+10.39.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_w0IZ17RWzQX-BwEhSl5_LLtWGRzTMbZkG0qEKGwK3_9eOXPdgjp3RBZrJTCsezN6pFUAHspdUCqmI2NQUluITzaRKfgqiO5tt7PeKnGfqaCenrXTHoEbShEKKSI1nL0jnRreQFWGKrw/s640/Screen+Shot+2015-05-10+at+10.39.07+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Svf2qrFQvudXprHM-uLWSCqLTya-2vAbPsYBFZu1q2B8dK6a3cOOe16KkJNKc10TdCm_Xuwk4xZiRsNEjnFllaCf4eH9scarzkrovADmRE_sWzm8CuTqXtVMNm5Wwn6HsL1KTE1cfDCh/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-10+at+11.47.02+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Svf2qrFQvudXprHM-uLWSCqLTya-2vAbPsYBFZu1q2B8dK6a3cOOe16KkJNKc10TdCm_Xuwk4xZiRsNEjnFllaCf4eH9scarzkrovADmRE_sWzm8CuTqXtVMNm5Wwn6HsL1KTE1cfDCh/s640/Screen+Shot+2015-05-10+at+11.47.02+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOkTODaZmIfXGm_zf9JhCYGPpEwsMyWW4jbv4XhRftDPnhi_VBrN8FWxBkKpbmjv9DgoAYXc3VbYZgjIf_OJKKMFx0SZLU29v7z90pYaNikWN68usVbe5aWmr3MWeG7Y1H4fcojyw1QAO/s1600/IMG_1701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOkTODaZmIfXGm_zf9JhCYGPpEwsMyWW4jbv4XhRftDPnhi_VBrN8FWxBkKpbmjv9DgoAYXc3VbYZgjIf_OJKKMFx0SZLU29v7z90pYaNikWN68usVbe5aWmr3MWeG7Y1H4fcojyw1QAO/s400/IMG_1701.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Our freezer went out this week which means that we will probably have to defrost it every week until I go home. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> I was so busy this week with so many miracles that I did not have time to make a journal entry, that and I left my journal at my zone leader's house. Don't worry Mom, I got it back already. I just haven't had the time to get caught up. I have a new companion named Elder Ribiera who is from Brazil. He is a hard worker and a good companion. He is also extremely tall and skinny. this week has been packed with so many great things happening with investigators and members. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_gQmx4ATRvKDjRPfz94_XVVRkd1IEZTuZElGngELpbG0bFcxMf2t5C3-lNiqqbje6vB0j0l-q962DCgMAUibKQupryg2qHtibjhzwkTyPKTJSe1ffRQCEtaVCLk01QG5hEQhmRj8W1dI/s1600/IMG_1706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_gQmx4ATRvKDjRPfz94_XVVRkd1IEZTuZElGngELpbG0bFcxMf2t5C3-lNiqqbje6vB0j0l-q962DCgMAUibKQupryg2qHtibjhzwkTyPKTJSe1ffRQCEtaVCLk01QG5hEQhmRj8W1dI/s320/IMG_1706.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> S. was baptized and the service went well. His family even came to support him. The only bad part was that we had to hand empty the font again. Also we have set 7 more baptismal dates for the next couple of weeks and I am very excited about all of these good people that we are teaching. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tjI3UJ-JtvuV6VeJkfWt3FteVROzDp4Izd9aQTu3rrnzoepKd2Qwc4vNfFcd8Q3eW0OZve9U9dihS2ULmR8UM1sqrhhxD29IrlXC_KDvUtbHFcr8-opvyiEIqf71DvS3CPisGYagBSxb/s1600/IMG_1705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tjI3UJ-JtvuV6VeJkfWt3FteVROzDp4Izd9aQTu3rrnzoepKd2Qwc4vNfFcd8Q3eW0OZve9U9dihS2ULmR8UM1sqrhhxD29IrlXC_KDvUtbHFcr8-opvyiEIqf71DvS3CPisGYagBSxb/s320/IMG_1705.JPG" width="320" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> There are two families who are going to be baptized as soon as we can get the parents married. It was almost miraculous how we were able to help both of these couples get the documents and pay for their wedding which are set for June 3rd. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wUmIP4Xufw4rMAIF9ApEhESigA4UgxEyRykYJupDESfhV6rJ62jfy_Aj5A1nrwub2YXf4KLDO6KeMW_VR0ip17AY32edaN60KZ61Vpu1GNal0J6R3DwwZX-79cPYJ3yZCE4X178Ok16Q/s1600/IMG_1714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wUmIP4Xufw4rMAIF9ApEhESigA4UgxEyRykYJupDESfhV6rJ62jfy_Aj5A1nrwub2YXf4KLDO6KeMW_VR0ip17AY32edaN60KZ61Vpu1GNal0J6R3DwwZX-79cPYJ3yZCE4X178Ok16Q/s400/IMG_1714.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our awesome new family that came to church and they work for the church so they'll never have to work on Sundays!!!!! Woohoo!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaQLNf2DqLQciHZ6dZKMumYCKuTod6326wN0UhEiGP8q1-H_c5j5XnkzuDbPyoNmZYEtiFHK8pSnSlICX2PpVJjU1xRA8zEwqkG0BFpQJ7b4EHdGuFCWEStWOAu66GjmQLjZRmNsO3mql/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaQLNf2DqLQciHZ6dZKMumYCKuTod6326wN0UhEiGP8q1-H_c5j5XnkzuDbPyoNmZYEtiFHK8pSnSlICX2PpVJjU1xRA8zEwqkG0BFpQJ7b4EHdGuFCWEStWOAu66GjmQLjZRmNsO3mql/s400/IMG_1715.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Me and elder Ribeiro dying of happiness after we paid for the weddings this morning. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigR4Ib9m9pfQxVO9UjjcPt5ub1DwLlA3NBACQYcJdKm2hgqhzV01l1SMDqqIXaz2PnzhlJksNSTBmRSrGMVtvEVRrnjBcdPgrDFlXfI7_A8Sfxx3edG3a1bWzkPLQE5OBsb9KOHz3wEUF6/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigR4Ib9m9pfQxVO9UjjcPt5ub1DwLlA3NBACQYcJdKm2hgqhzV01l1SMDqqIXaz2PnzhlJksNSTBmRSrGMVtvEVRrnjBcdPgrDFlXfI7_A8Sfxx3edG3a1bWzkPLQE5OBsb9KOHz3wEUF6/s400/IMG_1716.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> This week we contacted a woman from Africa who studied the gospel a year ago, but them stopped taking the discussions. She was so happy to see us and told us that she has been reading the Book of Mormon for over a year on a regular basis. She then told us that she is ready for baptism! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Then another cool thing happened this week when the mother of a young man in the ward approached me and said that she thought that I was the missionary that needed to baptize her son. Her son is slightly disabled mentally, but still very much able to function and communicate. He comes to church and understands and lives the gospel, but he has never been baptized. So now we are teaching him and looking forward to his baptism. I feel so incredibly blessed by these amazing miracles that are happening right at the end of my mission. Although I didn't get to write much, I did take a lot of pictures this week.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqDyoKNdYcOtQrKSVxlaByh60uhGIYhng2rQHZ3jzIOR6_hTp5tHprkgVCx9bl-1zx_q9hO9qY_cNigx2apGTbXJ7yRQcmYcrTjBWUhasnpxltbpPZe9d_peXBWTiBZYgOiWKoJmDCCcw/s1600/IMG_1713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqDyoKNdYcOtQrKSVxlaByh60uhGIYhng2rQHZ3jzIOR6_hTp5tHprkgVCx9bl-1zx_q9hO9qY_cNigx2apGTbXJ7yRQcmYcrTjBWUhasnpxltbpPZe9d_peXBWTiBZYgOiWKoJmDCCcw/s400/IMG_1713.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">S. and his parents. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdeqpg3vgcyDrewGwmVEVbMqsxvZAbDJdiYiRKWj3lQ4dOlSO33fJ_yspuut-34SV1MS14t354OLHnMsltmGapoTsLO2QFnYLytC60QVByYG5sx-PuoQ0P8FlIQzXdiohAFg8S1Y4zEV0/s1600/IMG_1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdeqpg3vgcyDrewGwmVEVbMqsxvZAbDJdiYiRKWj3lQ4dOlSO33fJ_yspuut-34SV1MS14t354OLHnMsltmGapoTsLO2QFnYLytC60QVByYG5sx-PuoQ0P8FlIQzXdiohAFg8S1Y4zEV0/s400/IMG_1709.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84GkGtNhyphenhyphenykmBvYAESyxY-mjOvS19WizJmDa35sFPz1GZiPJ9-mJtjfdbHe9gZo4Lmbw2auk6GC9NPJ4NKiGTzutIgKgBm9h9AFnjNMOOhS5eXlfnEEo8W19OL4ezPAykpXkGAxK8FFQd/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84GkGtNhyphenhyphenykmBvYAESyxY-mjOvS19WizJmDa35sFPz1GZiPJ9-mJtjfdbHe9gZo4Lmbw2auk6GC9NPJ4NKiGTzutIgKgBm9h9AFnjNMOOhS5eXlfnEEo8W19OL4ezPAykpXkGAxK8FFQd/s400/IMG_1712.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They make me look so short, which is unusual in Brazil!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMk1fGSM1y8Hzuh7om0-StkD3DOh3gpQGHvn3CaKwIdKTqnVdsYR41vD8udB94FPC0idG77HrC3qD1uOgPaDeKmyQaebU1YbGpUvqh080FQHvShs8SJRfJ4tOD8eZxwvpQi5KyjxHEkmO/s1600/IMG_1710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvMk1fGSM1y8Hzuh7om0-StkD3DOh3gpQGHvn3CaKwIdKTqnVdsYR41vD8udB94FPC0idG77HrC3qD1uOgPaDeKmyQaebU1YbGpUvqh080FQHvShs8SJRfJ4tOD8eZxwvpQi5KyjxHEkmO/s640/IMG_1710.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was blessed to be able to stay here in this area and baptize this great young man!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-29083056718317303402015-05-11T11:27:00.002-07:002015-05-11T14:34:15.538-07:00Rejuvenated!<style>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
27, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay, so I started this P-day
completely and totally DEAD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am tired
of working by myself, and I was about ready to give up, but I got an email from
my one of my former converts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has
been forever since I have talked to him, but he sent me an update and he is now
working an office job where he will get his smile reconstructed for free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is helping to do missionary work in his
ward and he is happily married to a member of the church who he is planning to
take to the temple this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
thanked me for helping him to transform his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I knew him, he had just gotten out of
rehab, and had no clue what direction to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It brings me so much joy whenever I think about him and he reminded me
of why I am a missionary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, my mom
got me some brand new shoes from Mr. Mac because of the warrantee!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never thought that new shoes would make me
so happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then a final wonderful
thing happened today when Elder Shelton pointed out to me that we only have 6
more p-days left!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where has the time
gone?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, I am super stoked today
and ready to start a new week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder D.
Todd Christofferson is coming to speak to our mission tomorrow!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had the opportunity to listen to 2
apostles during my time here in Brazil…3 if you count the MTC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Elder Costa's wife talked in this conference that we had this week, and she said that we should have a goal to send home a 'new truth' that we learn every week to our family. These are new things that we have found out about the principles of the gospel. I don't have my notebook with me right now, but this past week I was studying about the Holy Ghost, ad there was a verse in D&C that gave me a cool insight on it. The part that I liked was how it said that the Holy Ghost will teach us the peaceful things about the kingdom of God. Everyone here thinks that it's the Holy Ghost who commands everything on the earth (people outside of the church) but this scripture reveals that he teaches the peaceful things. It is very rare when He will give a command like he did with Nephi. Rather, he whispers to us. Who gives commands are the prophets, apostles, 70's, etc. Our leaders receive revelation and have the authority to be able to guide us. </span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
28, 2015</span></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweighcaMxGVC71-N7OZ3QaU7PZp62pJj52qPMQlLztcj3eD6N1gT5MVbahgsE8n4I-7V6V2rwBLHqtmaUTGcttBpRQa3L_f_u0N7_EskjsO70_hZZvWweJcV9R6GbQZhT2HTUpl4kXT0C/s1600/IMG_1670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweighcaMxGVC71-N7OZ3QaU7PZp62pJj52qPMQlLztcj3eD6N1gT5MVbahgsE8n4I-7V6V2rwBLHqtmaUTGcttBpRQa3L_f_u0N7_EskjsO70_hZZvWweJcV9R6GbQZhT2HTUpl4kXT0C/s400/IMG_1670.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had to wake up SUPER early to get to
the conference because our zone leaders wanted to get good seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It worked….but it meant that we had to wait
an hour and a half for the conference to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least I had some time to catch up with some old companions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of my past companions where there, except
Elder Gino, and Elder Dayton (from the Independence Missouri Days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a big reunion for me! I took a ton of
pictures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would write more about the
conference but I wrote it in my spiritual notebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a super great experience for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spirit was very strong and at the same
time Elder Christoffersen was joking around a lot which made it fun for
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good part of the meeting was
Q&A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote a lot down in my other
notebook, but one thing that I would like to share here was when Elder Carvalho
asked, “There are a lot of missionaries that we know who fall away after their
mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we help these people,
and how can we make sure that it doesn’t happen to us?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder Christoffersen was quiet for a long
time, and then he said, “You know, I don’t understand why or how someone who
serves a mission can fall away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave
two years of their lives and didn’t let the gospel into their hearts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t understand how someone can teach the
gospel without believing in it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he
said, “ We have to always remember the importance of practicing the gospel on a
daily basis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the habits we have
know should continue after the mission as well.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a personal goal that I am going to
set for myself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As far as working after the conference,
it was super hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of our
appointments fell through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did a bunch
of contacts, but it was the same thing as before; just me doing the
contacting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing more that I
can do to fix this situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will
just keep doing what I know that I should be doing.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
29, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had divisions today and it was super
good! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stayed with Elder Gomez and I
decided that if I could give a title to the division it would be called,
“Getting lost with a crazy Chilean!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seriously, he had no idea how to get around his own area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the plus side, we BOTh did a tone of
contacting and it was so nice to work WITH another missionary who is excited to
do the work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is actually a little too
excited if you ask me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is one of
those missionaries who is focused on just one thing: BAPTIZE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our mission president had been teaching us
that the standards have changed and that we must now teach ALL of the lessons
before baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately the
“batizadores” don’t give a crap about what President says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just prepare people for the baptismal
interview, they are not obedient, and they still baptize a TON!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t make sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even Elder Shelton said that he baptized more
when he was being disobedient than he does now when he is actually trying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
30, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I don’t know what kind of black magic
Elder R. Oliveira used on my comps, but today was completely different!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They both actually helped out with contacts
and it felt great! Elder R. Oliveira said that my comps are completely
dependent on me and that I should try and let them work by themselves
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today I didn’t even need to get
after them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught this super good
couple, F. and D. and they have committed to baptism on May 16.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">May
1, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>IT IS ALREADY MAY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to a service project today…did you
catch that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AN ACTUAL SERVICE
PROJECT!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was awesome to actually
serve people again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to really sell
the idea to have president let us go there for one hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does not like service projects at all. We
took the roof tiles off of a house so that they can build a second story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not going to lie, I am getting a little
tires of the minecraft houses here, but this family really needs the
space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was kindof annoying because
everything fell through. We managed 18 contacts today and we taught S. He has a
baptismal date for next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
know if I am going to be transferred or not, but I would really like to be able
to baptize S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught him a lot of the
lessons today and it all worked out super well UNTIL one of the other young men
(who is preparing to go to the temple next week with his mother) asked us about
baptisms for the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had already
taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Word of Wisdom, Sabbath Day, and the
Sacrament, and NOW we had to teach the doctrine of Baptisms for the Dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully, the lesson went really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started with John 3:5, then 1 Peter
3:18-20, and then we finished with 1Corinthians 15:28.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spirit was present in the lesson and our
investigator accepted our message. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">May
2, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had lunch with our ward mission
leader today and it was really funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had one of his friend from and other ward come over and it was hilarious. They
are both returned missionaries who married the girls who waited for them. It
was fun to listen to them talk about their missions and life after their
missions. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-30017180963056837622015-04-28T12:44:00.003-07:002015-04-28T12:44:57.097-07:00Losing Steam
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGQjcc1TqjSS9Qy9OsPPotzhEWjwcFai98XDhTOXMCYouEmJvE7LApDs595HNO_kHliUI__vJ5YJaacxfjO7Ez7W8gv7036dsQiDOjA7rB6bikJo2ojImvzdQYzNO0G4jEHIYJcqA6424/s1600/IMG_1654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGQjcc1TqjSS9Qy9OsPPotzhEWjwcFai98XDhTOXMCYouEmJvE7LApDs595HNO_kHliUI__vJ5YJaacxfjO7Ez7W8gv7036dsQiDOjA7rB6bikJo2ojImvzdQYzNO0G4jEHIYJcqA6424/s1600/IMG_1654.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjW7qWIk3sgkneo7tH432idp_c16PFddwiTkTYCyrHZIj92Da7DWXNx4RpNiqJhyti5kd8al6wJRL18YkDXEZJ7Whd20HdyHWtAkbiAATgqXtx58g6CoSNtOw7SmTn7iyFitDZJ6rNMpT/s1600/IMG_1651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjW7qWIk3sgkneo7tH432idp_c16PFddwiTkTYCyrHZIj92Da7DWXNx4RpNiqJhyti5kd8al6wJRL18YkDXEZJ7Whd20HdyHWtAkbiAATgqXtx58g6CoSNtOw7SmTn7iyFitDZJ6rNMpT/s1600/IMG_1651.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My companion's breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
20, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tMy9TvciM9WVn5dtVEV1aBR3sIK_7UqWXANI2NACvvR3nfYl5z2_qQxkg5Jc9We87SJ7TWsyib7nPfYSV8YyxvPInDtrfHo2qu9js-AQJsP84q6DxuZOajRecngogiRULGHuxWD73M0a/s1600/IMG_1648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7tMy9TvciM9WVn5dtVEV1aBR3sIK_7UqWXANI2NACvvR3nfYl5z2_qQxkg5Jc9We87SJ7TWsyib7nPfYSV8YyxvPInDtrfHo2qu9js-AQJsP84q6DxuZOajRecngogiRULGHuxWD73M0a/s1600/IMG_1648.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>P-day was hard today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t have anything to do from 2 until
6:00 pm and I got sick of playing the guitar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is how bad it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder S.
knew how to get into the other companionships house so we went over there and
messed with a couple of things in the front of their apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also met up with the young men in the ward
while they were selling clothes to help with a fundraiser for a temple
trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They already had made $100 when we
saw them, which is really good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also,
our district leader had an emergency transfer today and he was really badly
shaken up about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could only support
him and encourage him to work as hard as he could where he is going so that he
finishes his mission strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucky for
him, he is going to a good area, but he is going to be a junior comp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told him that I knew how that felt and that
he just had to work hard and everything will work itself out in the end. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
21, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We found a good family a while back and
they continue to be interested in learning about the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talked about baptism today and they said
that they want to know for sure before they will be baptized, but that they
want to work towards that goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dad
might start working on Sunday mornings, but I am praying that he won’t have to
do that. Other than that, we did a lot of contacts today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, I have to be the “go-to” in the trio,
which means that I have to either, do all of the contacts myself, or I have to
send the other two elders to do them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The new district leader seems super energetic so I hope that he can help
me out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
22, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay, district meeting was rather
weird/fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a really good
training, but it was weird because as the new DL was giving his training, he
kept looking at me seriously like staring at me while occasionally flitting his
gaze to other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has been out
only about 11 months and his companion is from Chile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder S. had a really hard time with our new
leader, but I think he is a good hard working elder. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After the meeting we taught a TON of
really good people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>R. who came to
church last week and has a strong interest in learning what all the
commandments are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wife is not all
that interested, but I think that is because of past trouble that she has had
with other churches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we taught F.,
who is a referral from other elders and he accepted a baptismal date on our
first lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He literally said, “I
think that I have not found the yet because I haven’t been to yours!” After his
lesson we taught the young men and S. , who also came to church on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught the restoration and the lesson went
very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we need to get on a
more personal level with S. so that we can figure out what exactly he
needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the youth are helping him,
which is good news!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the bad side of things, one of my
companions is struggling with motivation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have been trying to help him, but then I thought I saw him flip me
off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I asked him if he did, and he
proceeded to give me the finger right in my face….while we were walking along
the road. Great example huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also
didn’t do hardly any contact so that added to my stress. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsCaRJ9b0MUlEbHRVMuiPlNFOHvMZdIKf-9bBUJTgJPk9EqJQjUos5L_tpkn5idZPvJV4K_LzwNzp_9L9qU2MSThZYE4hk1u35cGJ5bOSJRdQpig0gzrDFJ09NVeq3kCw6bSY3W1esdoT/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsCaRJ9b0MUlEbHRVMuiPlNFOHvMZdIKf-9bBUJTgJPk9EqJQjUos5L_tpkn5idZPvJV4K_LzwNzp_9L9qU2MSThZYE4hk1u35cGJ5bOSJRdQpig0gzrDFJ09NVeq3kCw6bSY3W1esdoT/s1600/IMG_1650.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My comp hanging out on my bed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDORgl4VeAzxhqJ9Xg8D8yrl3amegG7hkAXVyCGtz9norhnvG53MjXsgs7bTnRD6T0ALHYX4TVJ9omJLRoL4ba-S3qUzNtoLeGlQkZvrPhyrTR7CEYIRGvaoye5fYuiJjQ3XnkoWOIFCt1/s1600/IMG_1655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDORgl4VeAzxhqJ9Xg8D8yrl3amegG7hkAXVyCGtz9norhnvG53MjXsgs7bTnRD6T0ALHYX4TVJ9omJLRoL4ba-S3qUzNtoLeGlQkZvrPhyrTR7CEYIRGvaoye5fYuiJjQ3XnkoWOIFCt1/s1600/IMG_1655.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What rain does to these big feet!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
23, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So
we didn’t have a whole lot planned for today, so we (more like I) were
determined to contact a LOT of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
set a goal for us to contact 8 people each by the end of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, we only had 12 contacts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I told that to the DL, Elder S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>corrected me and said, “No, WE didn’t have 12
contacts, but Elder Colvin had 12 contacts.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seriously, it is like they have just given up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is really hard when you have one companion
who is just plain tired out, and the other who is so introverted that he can’t
talk to strangers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our new convert, M., is going
great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is studying like crazy to
learn everything about the church that she can. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
24, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had lunch today with the H. family
and they have a son who left on his mission a couple of months back, so they
(especially the mom) have very mixed feelings about missionaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One moment they love us, and the other, they
can’t stand the sight of us because it reminds them of their son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Super funny thing: their son sent home a
sweaty p-day shirt so that his mom could SMELL his smell again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, that’s right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The culture here in Ceara is a little
different than what I am used to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
example, I am pretty sure that my mom is very happy to have a 2-year break away
from my sweaty t-shirts!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no
other state in Brazil (that I know of)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>that does this, but I think it is kind of animal-like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean all animals have this thing about
sniffing each other, but I have never seen that before in humans, at least not
consciously. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We tried to go teaching again with the
young man who has received his mission call, but he said that he was too tired
from work to go out with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the
one who set the appointment up in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, he is going to have a hard time on his
mission.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
25, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay, I have had it. Today was one of
the WORST days of my entire mission, and I have had some pretty bad days so
that is saying something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t
teach anyone today. Not a single person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I tried contacting people, but failed miserably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first guy we tried to contact yelled at
us because he said that miracles are impossible and that Jesus was just an
ordinary man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the next people we
contacted were from the Universal Church and were very rude and closed
off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we met a Spiritist lady who
gave us the whole charity talk about how we shouldn’t judge others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agreed with her and testified that we
follow Christ’s doctrine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we were
almost out of earshot, she told the other people in her group that we were all
going to Hell….so much for being nonjudgmental.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What is really crazy is that Spiritist don’t even believe in Hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should have tried contacting more people,
but I gave up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no support from
the other two missionaries who don’t even try to contact people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an energy sucking experience. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There was only one bright side of the
day that happened just by chance as we were passing by the store owned by a
less active member,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>C. Earlier in the
week, I set an alarm on her phone to help her remember to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever since then, she has been reading the
Book of Mormon, praying, and she paid her tithing (which she has never done
before).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t actually teach her a
lesson, but it sure brightened my awful day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofSATtO0Ay-UDkb5-nW7GKl9nbuh-IvVTuofx2fy5lwqLUG7qq-KjZBuznnvhRxFalvuEXOVUHWCgErhLf6ze6ukAMhlQhfd54twZtKYdkpb_3bKLvsHVwah7l2fYYYjyVEzDyBcrCYry/s1600/IMG_1656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofSATtO0Ay-UDkb5-nW7GKl9nbuh-IvVTuofx2fy5lwqLUG7qq-KjZBuznnvhRxFalvuEXOVUHWCgErhLf6ze6ukAMhlQhfd54twZtKYdkpb_3bKLvsHVwah7l2fYYYjyVEzDyBcrCYry/s1600/IMG_1656.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling trunky<u><br /></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">April
26, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;">I am WIPED OUT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
had a bunch of people say that they would come to church and, SHOCKER, no one
came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went looking for all of them,
some were working, others “weren’t home”,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>and others just didn’t want to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t know what happened to S.?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the bright side, I had all 3 of my recent converts and 2 less active
families come to church today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had one
of my comps passing notes to our recent young female convert which didn’t set
well with anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had some members talk
to me about stopping that from happening again. That is always a fun
conversation to have with your companion who likes to flip you off. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another
interesting thing happened in church today when this brother got up to say the prayer
(he also served a mission). This is what he said, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"We thank thee O God for a prophet, who guides
us in these latter days…” He said almost the entire first verse of the hymn as
his first part of the prayer. Funny, huh?</span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After church, once again with no help
from my companions, I talked to some more super disinterested Catholics. AND
THEN, it was ward council (remember the council that the stake presidency has
asked that each ward should hold weekly? Well, the missionaries and the ward
mission leader were the only ones who showed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt like that was the moment that I just kicked
the bucket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is one of the first times
on my mission that I felt like I was aimlessly walking. I am totally
drained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully it is p-day tomorrow
and I get to email with my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do
have a special conference coming up with Elder D. Todd Christofferson, which I
hope will help me finish this mission on a positive note. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt;"><u>April
27, 2015 </u>(written in email early Monday morning)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Okay,
so I'm a lot better right now because my recent convert wrote me and email this
morning (Evaldo) and he thanked me for everything and gave me an update on how
he's been and it was exactly what I was needing right now to keep my head in
the right place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I am looking forward to my skype call in just TWO WEEKS...!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixQzEqeYb-fgUpG2iHyxSjtyIoBBgIbUnhs-SKlSw8SjGMLIcpvputRQyCmXRn0P_vv_dgZhlGBwPKyjJn8Qm8_gjfzvENSRRD-AEuuXKIyhVf-K27ZNa8-LC9pj1unjOQDAEE1gvrbqY/s1600/IMG_1653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixQzEqeYb-fgUpG2iHyxSjtyIoBBgIbUnhs-SKlSw8SjGMLIcpvputRQyCmXRn0P_vv_dgZhlGBwPKyjJn8Qm8_gjfzvENSRRD-AEuuXKIyhVf-K27ZNa8-LC9pj1unjOQDAEE1gvrbqY/s1600/IMG_1653.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-47423470259348826902015-04-25T16:15:00.000-07:002015-04-25T16:30:57.132-07:00Baptism!<style>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52BkfFAJ0cxng8r71wfg9Rhb0TyjpTuWH_A4NRh6RA9-zuhnP2_37fAb1Qg3AYBrilU2fXYre4-_TwXwiVWv3dfJ5rGEjUWhr03CXRUb1lnbfk5DPSIJ6_DMaHo-XbrEj2xmIXVGnk2ts/s1600/IMG_1638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52BkfFAJ0cxng8r71wfg9Rhb0TyjpTuWH_A4NRh6RA9-zuhnP2_37fAb1Qg3AYBrilU2fXYre4-_TwXwiVWv3dfJ5rGEjUWhr03CXRUb1lnbfk5DPSIJ6_DMaHo-XbrEj2xmIXVGnk2ts/s1600/IMG_1638.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">MY NEW(sort of) SHOES!!! I took them to a shoe guy, and he fixed them up really nicely. These are the same shoes that i sent pictures of with giant holes in the bottom. I'm very happy.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
13, 2015 </span></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHEDu5Ku416TMVK0JACulm9eLLB8PDtxfhXWORTyILz0KGTF3hpo86oYGr-qiTIv7eJlIu07O0d6u9a3DFepiPQao7VPMdyvGXFhT3CwSKb3_GYSu1oBSMwCTgxJHsSC-exsp-V_a-fXI/s1600/IMG_1633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHEDu5Ku416TMVK0JACulm9eLLB8PDtxfhXWORTyILz0KGTF3hpo86oYGr-qiTIv7eJlIu07O0d6u9a3DFepiPQao7VPMdyvGXFhT3CwSKb3_GYSu1oBSMwCTgxJHsSC-exsp-V_a-fXI/s1600/IMG_1633.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">Picking up the contact lenses actually didn’t take that
long, but we still didn’t get back until 12:00 so that was annoying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I almost threw up on the bus ride
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, the buses here are
crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never got car sick, but this
gets me bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with Elder L.
Lopes in Elder Shelton’s old area because I went to fix my other pair of
shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad news, it was raining like
crazy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, umbrellas only protect you
from the waist up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rain is so strong
that your pants get soaked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, I
took my shoes to the repair shop and the other Elders will pass by there and
pick them up later. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">The mission secretaries asked me to give them pictures of
me to put in the slideshow that they put on for the missionaries who are
leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I was looking through old
pictures I saw a conversation that I had with my mom a long time ago about my good
shoes having a warranty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that
warranty will still work because those shoes are destroyed but I really like
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Turns out that the warranty was still in effect and Mr. Mac sent me brand new shoes to mail to Elder Colvin!)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"> Work today was pretty much a total fail, everything fell
through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the recent convert forgot
about our appointment…ughh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
14, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We finished teaching everything to M.
today, and she is a little bit nervous about her baptism, but she is super
ready. We also were able to teach our recent convert and help him with some
concerns that he is having.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
15, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Missionaries can be kind of annoying
sometimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder Cooper changed the baptism
interview to an hour earlier at the last minute so we had to try to get a hold
of M. to tell her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We couldn’t find her
anywhere. We checked her apartment, the lan house, her friend’s house, and finally
her sister’s house where we found out that she was actually babysitting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were able to talk with her and she had
enough time to make it to the interview before she had to pick up her
babysitting kids from school at 3:30. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On our way to the stake center we saw a
guy try to steal a lady’s purse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually,
he was on a motorcycle with his girlfriend and he just reached out and grabbed
the purse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily for the lady her
strap broke and she ended up with the purse in her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We kept hurrying on to the stake center and
made it there at 2:40 so that gave her about 40 minutes before she had to leave
to pick up the kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we started the
waiting, and the waiting, and the waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>M. asked me about every three minutes what time it was because she was
nervous that she would have to leave to pick up the kids. Well finally the
district leaders showed up at 3:20…but by that time we didn’t have time for the
interview. So I arranged to have the DL’s go to the our chapel after M. picked
up the kids and meet us there. Unfortunately the DL got lost and he didn’t show
up until 4:40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he spent over an
hour in the interview….in the end, it all worked out and M. is ready for her
baptism on Friday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
16, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today we had interviews with President
Bonini and he basically confirmed what my Mom said was the reason for our
trio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told me that it is necessary
for not and he told me to just be patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah. I also talked to him about the problems that we are having with getting
people to follow through with commitments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He didn’t really have any solid solutions for me, but he did explain why
this happens so much in Brazil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
because people here see “church” as the end of everything when it comes to God.
You just have to join a church but you don’t have to actually attend
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are trying to teach them that
there is much more to it than that and it is culturally hard for them to accept
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, the interviews took WAY
TOO LONG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were supposed to go in at
10:30 and we didn’t end up getting called in until 12:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That meant that we didn’t get home until
3:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
17, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We found a pretty cool family today,
but the only problem is that the father works on Sundays right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is one of the hardest problems to
overcome when it comes to getting people to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than that, they seemed very open and I
invited them to be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"> In other good news, M. was baptized
today!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The service took a while because
the bishop likes to talk a LOT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bishop talked about exaltation in his welcome to the ward
spheal, and he bascially interviewed her before she got baptized. He
does that and it almost seems like he tries to scare them out of being
baptized by saying 'this is a really serious thing that you're about to
do, are you sure you want to do it?' We only ever baptize that say yes,
so it's no big deal.</span></span></span> </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DjRIIGc1ojGalGYa5A8tC55xe97ON5Y3Q87aX3vDoyhTi14alqx9yI_dG0m70qzePyFbTWsDu8-5adzr8NNbZ2jjT-yKCExmvhd6sLlLG0GdGynnuYOH3q-jYspzGan75qvfy028U6VQ/s1600/CIMG9092.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">M. chose
me to perform the ordinance and everything turned out well. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DjRIIGc1ojGalGYa5A8tC55xe97ON5Y3Q87aX3vDoyhTi14alqx9yI_dG0m70qzePyFbTWsDu8-5adzr8NNbZ2jjT-yKCExmvhd6sLlLG0GdGynnuYOH3q-jYspzGan75qvfy028U6VQ/s1600/CIMG9092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SgbiGYWNnOAUKAlMN5bCW9tGg6SCIrc1JAh6EaurdlhnY9Q3EKjlMFo6QzdH9ld-2FSCrgNDqT_KR0ycEBSIJY4MxZNkZs5XQ7tF-xcw5enMAVlGtfIrH4yO_ImRWtm0_rANzgiNATxm/s1600/CIMG9096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SgbiGYWNnOAUKAlMN5bCW9tGg6SCIrc1JAh6EaurdlhnY9Q3EKjlMFo6QzdH9ld-2FSCrgNDqT_KR0ycEBSIJY4MxZNkZs5XQ7tF-xcw5enMAVlGtfIrH4yO_ImRWtm0_rANzgiNATxm/s1600/CIMG9096.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX3hUlvtzTwr6E9FyqkzDMwrLEfiFqXl17ElOtZmPmnbuNFqTvrsP9QWowxHc1_5K7zLBHPs2J1Vm3MUK5Ryj9og1fmbnPXIteey8TxvN4CGjfs84WHjHNRMqwpEgLzsXpXYPOglCI6he/s1600/CIMG9099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX3hUlvtzTwr6E9FyqkzDMwrLEfiFqXl17ElOtZmPmnbuNFqTvrsP9QWowxHc1_5K7zLBHPs2J1Vm3MUK5Ryj9og1fmbnPXIteey8TxvN4CGjfs84WHjHNRMqwpEgLzsXpXYPOglCI6he/s1600/CIMG9099.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">M.'s baptism was this week and the youth have really helped us out a lot with her. She was a little nervous, but it all went down without a hitch. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYNU5yq1fau5nb9mF_t_ws_K1AN2DDgZPW9MJtcrGZ09FawfiDlEDwHwvjX0pRG_vb5pqEOtOaVf9HV4N7KDw6NWACUS7iw_8qi90bL5KsxY0L83mm6vui3gv8qXxo9xj5S4_OoPD5_HP/s1600/DSCN9632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYNU5yq1fau5nb9mF_t_ws_K1AN2DDgZPW9MJtcrGZ09FawfiDlEDwHwvjX0pRG_vb5pqEOtOaVf9HV4N7KDw6NWACUS7iw_8qi90bL5KsxY0L83mm6vui3gv8qXxo9xj5S4_OoPD5_HP/s1600/DSCN9632.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trio!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUZlxQNyYHAta03KOlQGG7yBOIJCBki6La44J7ZOq0PevMBV00lllmaTe03iviKFanROr39llCMi7ub2ni05WFg5R2jyzn2EIZZ7bI2KVoHrvLsGrJc-meAafwKOCl7NE5ajabUCqTSJC/s1600/CIMG9097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEUZlxQNyYHAta03KOlQGG7yBOIJCBki6La44J7ZOq0PevMBV00lllmaTe03iviKFanROr39llCMi7ub2ni05WFg5R2jyzn2EIZZ7bI2KVoHrvLsGrJc-meAafwKOCl7NE5ajabUCqTSJC/s1600/CIMG9097.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
18, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today we have been visiting people with
the young men in the ward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything
fell through except until we started working with Denis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has been a member for a little over a year
now and he told us that he had just finished his first 24 hour fast!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So with him along for the lessons, every
single one of them worked out AND they all ended up giving us food!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of our less active members talked to us
about how she never remembers to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I asked her if I could set an alarm on her phone so that she could
remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that will work for her
because she is in love with her cell phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have a lot of investigators and less active members who struggle with
wasting time with electronics, as well as getting mixed up with inappropriate
content. I am really glad that my mom and dad were strict about limiting our
use of electronics, especially video games, ipods, and cell phones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am pretty sure that I will be just as
strict.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">April
19, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So one thing that I didn’t write in my
journal was when I felt inspired to contact this guy on the other side of the
street a couple of days ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only
problem was that he was going the opposite direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told Elder Shelton and Elder Carmo, “Hold
up, I am going to contact that guy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was walking really super fast and I basically had to chase him down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to admit that I was a little
disappointed because it wasn’t one of those “WOW” contacts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it turned out that he is friends with
Denis, and Denis brought him to church today!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is super shy, but the youth in the ward really welcomed him and he
seemed to really like church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>M. was
confirmed today and we had a pretty good turnout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, the stake leadership here said that we
need to start having ward council meetings every week and that the missionaries
are supposed to be in charge of it….WHAT?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Okay…so today we had our first ward council meeting and we brought a
video to share and planned to discuss the needs of our investigators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, the bishop had other plans and he didn’t
want to talk about our work so we just sat and watched the video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did talk about strengthening recent
converts a little bit, but there weren’t any concrete plans made to help
anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were pretty discouraged until
we met up with our recent convert N.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was excited to tell us about a surprise plan that the young men have to help
Denis go to the temple with his mom this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The young men are going to sell clothes to
get money to pay for Denis to go to Recife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This little bit of news made me feel hope for the future of the church here
in this area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the youth here!</span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-19566537327169884332015-04-13T13:31:00.001-07:002015-04-15T13:50:10.810-07:00Some more of the same<style>
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<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy_s9_BU52GEDpFi_6oH0b8yv38IyP8eOcVTfqwjp5eAd6CjJxZyBVlSHeI5aS0y2oRwpYrjX76GMMg7ay4pQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 3, 2015</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I will say it again: I hate holidays. They suck. Everyone here is drunk in the streets. The
only difference about Sexta-fieva santa is that they are all drunk on wine
instead of beer. Not even joking. Wine is cheaper than grape juice here. Sad. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We had a bunch of people tell us that they wanted to come to
church and that they would, but we will see about that. We did have this super cool contact where
this guy had a flat tire and he was really struggling. We passed by him, but then I said, hey let’s
see if he wants some help. He gratefully
accepted our help, but in the end we couldn’t help at all because their car’s
spate tire has one of those master locks and it just wouldn’t come off. Anyways, he was super friendly and we gave
their reference to the missionaries in their area.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 4, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Wow, conference was awesome.
I thought that it was kind of funny that almost all of the talks were
about marriage, especially in the first session which was the one that my
family attended in SLC. Our
investigator, M. went to both Saturday sessions and to the Women’s session
rebroadcast on Friday night. She took a
bunch of notes so that was good to see. I
have reached a point in my Portuguese that I can take notes in
Portuguese as I am listening. Sometimes,
when the English speakers speak quickly, the translators also have to talk very
quickly to catch up, and then it is hard to take notes. But when Boyd K. Packer spoke, it was super
easy because he spoke very slowly and I could understand the Portuguese
translator without a problem. I loved
his talk about the cookies and a kiss…only problem is that I brought cookies to
the conference with me so the other elders gave me a hard time.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> After the last session, we taught M. She showed us her notes
and the answers to questions that we asked her last time we met. This time there were no hearts or poems next
to my name! She loved conference and
said that she would bring her little sister to the Sunday sessions.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 5, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> M. is our only investigator who keeps her commitments. We seriously were running after these
investigators today and no one came to conference. The stake center is about 30 minutes walking
distance from our area, and we left to try to get people to come after each session. No one else came. Yeah, we are going to have to drop a bunch of
people because they will not keep commitments.
But, M and her little sister did come to all the sessions today The little sister has never been baptized
into any church, but she has expressed interest in the past in being baptized too.
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I have all of my notes about conference written down in
another notebook, but my favorite talk from all the sessions was President
Uchtfdorf’s talk about Grace. This
morning I studied that topic and I had been reading the same scriptures that
Presient Uchtdorf shared in his talk. It
really touched me. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I also thought that it was hilarious when Ucthdorf started
talking in German. I could actually
understand the Spanish speaking guy and then when President Uchtdorf got up to
speak, I couldn’t understand him and I thought wow, I have lost my English
completely! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 6, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Well I am sick and tired of this whole contact lens thing
with Elder Shelton. We have to go BACK
again next p-day. It is ridiculous and a
huge time waster. Ever since he got
here, we haven’t been able to have a normal p-day. On the bright side, we got a free haircut
from our investigator. That was nice
because my hair was getting really long.
Anyways, with M. we are just trying to draw out the lessons to fill the
time until her baptism. We left her to
read D&C 76 this week. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 7, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Today I went on splits with Elder Cooper. It was alright, but we did a couple of things
that I wasn’t so comfortable with. It
was just his teaching style which was taught to him by his other
companion. One thing that they do is
pray with their contacts so they can “count” it as a lesson. Our president told us that we shouldn’t say
prayers or try to count contacts like a lesson.
So yeah, I didn’t feel so hot about that. Anyways, other than that we did really well.
We are both ancient in the mission and we both teach well, and I LOVED working
in a pair for a change. One of the
annoying things though is that President Bonini called a last minute meeting in
Aldeota at 8:00 am. It takes at least an
hour to get there. So we have to finish our divisions by 6 or 6:30. That means that we have to wake up about 5 am
tomorrow.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 8, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Well we got to the bus stop at 6:20 and the other elders
waited for us until 6:19 and then went back home. So, I had to go to the
meeting with the same clothes on that I had on yesterday. This meeting turned out to be really good and
super annoying at the same time. I was
all about our responsibility to get results for the Lord. For 3 HOURS…yeah, 3 HOURS of listening to our
assistants pounding their chests and telling us how hard they work. But I have passed through their areas and I
know that they only have one active convert out of 17 baptisms. I have also had zone leaders brag about the
same thing, telling us how you shouldn’t go even one week without a
baptism. The annoying part is that
everyone knows that those two elder baptized a LOT of kids under the age of 12
and a LOT of girls and that when they leave the area none of their converts
stay active. These kind of elders are
annoying especially because they usually don’t keep all the rules and they
still get results?! I work my tail off,
and keep all the rules, and I see almost no results. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Well the meeting was so long that we didn’t have time to go
back to our area for lunch. So, I ended
up paying for Elder Cooper at Burger King.
The plus side to that was that there were a lot of other elders there
and the restaurant let us use our coupons.
I love coupons! We got to talk
with a bunch of the other elders and I ate lunch with Elder J. Silva. That was
nice to catch up and it turns out that he is living with Elder Nogueira and
Elder Yarrington, my two “sons” in the mission.
I could only imagine how that would work out. They both get super stressed, super
easy. Kindof funny how three of the four
elders in that house have been my companions.
I heard that Elder N. and Elder Y. got in an argument because Elder Y.
wanted to study Spanish for some reason, so Elder N. argued with him that he
shouldn’t be studying Spanish when he still couldn’t speak Portuguese. “You need to study your mission
language!” It’s kind of funny. When we finally got off the splits we visited
with a bunch of people and also dropped them.
That was sad for me. No we have
almost no investigators.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnyj_QOsB_tq6-WcaH6SkB68C8xG61hhhbxlvtZi8b7gWSNDYRe55eVZ2IHekBlARaycMTzTbQEmEAJWMNSh7_92J0Dtgoe_uxXTO-465sQvTiaU6PMdYa7c4U5Y3IHgrxHbi0IbXjoEW/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnyj_QOsB_tq6-WcaH6SkB68C8xG61hhhbxlvtZi8b7gWSNDYRe55eVZ2IHekBlARaycMTzTbQEmEAJWMNSh7_92J0Dtgoe_uxXTO-465sQvTiaU6PMdYa7c4U5Y3IHgrxHbi0IbXjoEW/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 9, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfe0fPQX-sE8zl2sQvK_zpQxIJRMb3ZSzLmxYON7DlRdS2LWjwEBNgQ47dPgy_htK1_G7oAhKpA4Qb_cagm76Y5wRcWtfB4u30yRcto_mLDFBIE_gH0WZSAwfy9SybGqvRksF3qFTccRrR/s1600/IMG_1596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfe0fPQX-sE8zl2sQvK_zpQxIJRMb3ZSzLmxYON7DlRdS2LWjwEBNgQ47dPgy_htK1_G7oAhKpA4Qb_cagm76Y5wRcWtfB4u30yRcto_mLDFBIE_gH0WZSAwfy9SybGqvRksF3qFTccRrR/s1600/IMG_1596.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We had our zone training today, and it was actually really
good. Our new zone leader is Elder Wood
and he is a good leader. His family sent Easter chocolates so that helped make
the meeting even better! This meeting
was Elder Medrado’s last one. (I love that guy) and a couple of other missionaries
first zone meeting. Elder Guilherme (or
Barros da Silva) was excited as always, but now a little bit more because he is
finally not the newest in the mission anymore!
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 10, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Just as an example of how non-commital Brazilians are, there
is this member who is waiting for his mission call who has promised to go
teaching with us three times this week and has stood us up all three
times! It is bad enough when
investigators flake out, but member?
That is just cruel. M. is still
doing well but there is this drama thing in the ward about dating and it is
just all very confusing to try to understand a teenaged girl’s world. Fortunately the drama is not stopping her
interest in the gospel. She said that
she is having a hard time because all of her friends abandoned her ever since
she started coming back to church. But
she is very committed and has attended all of her meeting including seminary.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 11, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> So almost all of the teacher’s quorum members have set goals
to serve missions and so we are planning to have them come and teach with us on
Saturdays. They are a pretty dedicated
group of young men. I don’t remember
being that dedicated at a teacher.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>April 12, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Today in sacrament meeting, the bishop read a list of the
names of members whose temple recommends have expired, or are about to
expire. I am pretty sure that you can’t
or shouldn’t do that. One of our
strongest recent converts didn’t come to church today. We stopped by to see him and he said that he
was thinking about leaving the church.
His brothers are always looking at porn, which his mom supports, and
they make fun of him for going to church.
We talked to him and helped him through it, I hope. I am tired…so very tired. And then there is the issue of my shoes which are all passed the expiration point. I took them to a different repair man and he was appalled at the repair the other guy did. I am hoping to be able to get my Mr. Mac shoes replaced and then I will just repair my other cheap pair. I am especially not looking forward to riding
the bus all the way to Aldeota tomorrow. It has been miserably hot and raining which is a weird combination. At the end of the day, my feet look like this:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDG2SleTdf2T1AQtiXufeIMHfW1qmqXAhKGI4xquR3h58bbb0Yaid44rIV820g5CqLlirYXP0x63DCgFgHIJyfu50nM4E2x4kE1JbKpRwiwTKMROLL3OOp6NJks1OIXn8l_KU-APQZ9ty/s1600/IMG_1602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDG2SleTdf2T1AQtiXufeIMHfW1qmqXAhKGI4xquR3h58bbb0Yaid44rIV820g5CqLlirYXP0x63DCgFgHIJyfu50nM4E2x4kE1JbKpRwiwTKMROLL3OOp6NJks1OIXn8l_KU-APQZ9ty/s1600/IMG_1602.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">March
30, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>So, we had a miracle today!<span> </span>M. stopped us and said that she wants to come
to church ad be baptized now.<span> </span>Okay,
that’s cool.<span> </span>It turns out that her dad
is a member and her sister is planning on serving a mission.<span> </span>I didn’t know that the entire time we have
taught her!<span> </span>She wrote out an explanation
about chastity and it was really well done. At the top of the page she wrote
“rumo ao batismo” which means “to the baptism” or “onward to baptism.”<span> </span>On the downside, A.’s dad prohibited us from
teaching her or allowing her to come to church. He said, “ While she is under
my dominion, she will learn what I want her to learn.”<span> </span>I told him that we would respect his choice,
but that he would be responsible for what happens at the last day.<span> </span>I don’t think that he really understood me. Her
mom really liked us teaching her and we told her mom that anytime they needed
help or wished to come, they were welcome at church. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">March
29, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We had a ton of people who committed to
come to church NOT come after all-not a big surprise.<span> </span>But, F.E. And M. all came.<span> </span>I guess that if you want to have people come
to church you have just got to make a LOT of invitations.<span> </span>People just do not keep their word here and
it is no big deal when they don’t. Annoying.<span>
</span>And, our bishop talked and talked and talked about garments during the
combined hour.<span> </span>Brazilians like to talk
about temples, baptism for the dead, garments, and exaltation A LOT!<span> </span>(All of the most difficult topics to teach to
our investigators.)</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDmHTxfwT2rmkLhKiwh9azkGh3bm44zoJcD09oGup3tUHBMbi7s0zGjmh4o0xx4emsN4XRbvtpmJy1PO5cYRtS6G4ieec_Fhi4WWCDfZOmujM-rNTDkla7xnGBZ5-z5CMa-a4N5v25ooE/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDmHTxfwT2rmkLhKiwh9azkGh3bm44zoJcD09oGup3tUHBMbi7s0zGjmh4o0xx4emsN4XRbvtpmJy1PO5cYRtS6G4ieec_Fhi4WWCDfZOmujM-rNTDkla7xnGBZ5-z5CMa-a4N5v25ooE/s1600/IMG_1578.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mall where Elder S. had his eye appointment. We normally are not allowed to go here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkyW9z3dSTL-2xN3q4DiW1RandlG9PvNv8o-Wse_zjDGm-kRdnZcq9j2EXiGZTuoEJonYTn1-nh0MuMtzL3wI3RHES3SolxwhCl6-ZXiAAS1ftQRp6ZFyOugCHF6roX8CI0K6IZ9589Mb/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMkyW9z3dSTL-2xN3q4DiW1RandlG9PvNv8o-Wse_zjDGm-kRdnZcq9j2EXiGZTuoEJonYTn1-nh0MuMtzL3wI3RHES3SolxwhCl6-ZXiAAS1ftQRp6ZFyOugCHF6roX8CI0K6IZ9589Mb/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">March
30, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Today we spent 3-4 hours waiting for
Elder Shelton to do his eye exam and this was in Aldeota where the commute
alone is a huge time killer.<span> </span>Then we
played basketball which is always great for me!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>When we taught M. we found out that she
is obsessed with me.<span> </span>Well, I am not sure
why because I am flabby and all of my clothes are stained and torn, but oh
well.<span> </span>She wrote on the front of her Book
of Mormon “Garrison Colvin I love you.” OPA!<span>
</span>That is scary for an elder.<span> </span>On
the bright side, I think that she is studying the gospel with real interest.<span> </span>She marks her Book of Mormon, attends
seminary, and comes to church by herself an hour early.<span> </span>I am making sure that Elder C. and Elder S.
sit on each side of me as a “baracade” during our lessons.<span> </span>You can never be too safe!</span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">March
31, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Happy Birthday to Bailey!<span> </span>I forgot to write something to her
yesterday.<span> </span>I have actually thought about
her a lot on the misson.<span> </span>I hope that she
can have a good birthday.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We taught that couple who had the
amazing miracle happen and they said that they would not come to church this
week because they were tired.<span> </span>Ugh, the
wife has no semblance of a testimony.<span>
</span>But the husband said that they would go when he regains a little more of
his strength.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We taught M. again and she wanted to be
able to respond to the questions at the back of the pamphlets that we give to
her but she doesn’t have a D&C so she asked us for one.<span> </span>We don’t actually have them to give
away.<span> </span>But he got one from seminary to
use.<span> </span>She likes to write paragraph
summaries to answer the questions so she bought a notebook to have enough room
to write her thoughts.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We gave a dedicated Book of Mormon to a
less active sister today and she was extremely grateful because she lost her
copy a long time ago.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">April 1,
2015</span></span></u></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We revisited that same sister we gave
the Book of Mormon to and we were able to talk to her husband as well.<span> </span>He drinks and smokes a lot, but I think that
he will go to church if his wife pushes him a little bit.<span> </span>Our district leader asked me to give the
training today, and it turned out good. The zone leaders where there too.<span> </span>I taught about the role of the spirit in
conversion.<span> </span>The main focus was on what
we could do to help our investigators feel the spirit.<span> </span>I used Acts 2 as an example of how Peter gave
a very short discourse and then 3,000 people were baptized.<span> </span>Why? Because he had the spirit with him with
an intensity that was equal to the level of conversion he had for himself.<span> </span>As we reach a higher level of conversion, we
will be able to teach with a greater degree of the spirit and the people that
we teach will feel that difference.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwA_PNjQfmBvPf-NEAmC26msG8RPziwDh8U1-FTLoQUp5ZZy6-G8lN8dALz9gcQI5RIK32YT-PclBrv8IyAN9CAt5aOON66NY7C9wcIGVuQIsJ3z94YAhn1CrLn2eJHATy0EiUVkBTMX8/s1600/IMG_1576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwA_PNjQfmBvPf-NEAmC26msG8RPziwDh8U1-FTLoQUp5ZZy6-G8lN8dALz9gcQI5RIK32YT-PclBrv8IyAN9CAt5aOON66NY7C9wcIGVuQIsJ3z94YAhn1CrLn2eJHATy0EiUVkBTMX8/s1600/IMG_1576.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">April
2, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>So we taught all of the youth after
seminary today about prophets and why they are important.<span> </span>Seminary here starts at 7 at night and goes
til 8:30.<span> </span>Our investigator wrote up an
essay on the Word of Wisdom and it was, as usual, really well done.<span> </span>However, she put a bunch of hearts right next
to my name.<span> </span>It is weirding me out on the
inside, but keeping my cool on the outside. </span><span style="font-family: Garamond;">.
it's actually kind of funny, because this past weekend she found out what a
snake was (from some other member or missionary) and she immediately stopped
with all of the flirty stuff. It was kind of cool, because she knows what's
right, and so far, she's showing that she wants to do it!</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span>
</span>S</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;">he ALSO went to ALL of the sessions of general
conference including the women’s conference.<span>
</span>We are planning for her baptism in a couple of weeks.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We had a really good lesson with W and
B.<span> </span>They quit smoking for a couple of
weeks, but started up again.<span> </span>The parents
are pretty relaxed about everything, but their little 9 year old daughter is
very serious.<span> </span>We read James 4:31 that
teaches that he who knows how to do good and doesn’t do it, commits sin.<span> </span>We asked the little girl what she thought
that meant and she told us that it is like people who know what they should do
to follow God but they are just scared to do it and that is wrong. She is a pretty
bright little girl.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz49QyUE8C93Gql1jcT8kuSyk5FagWbsrhlfbOBAhSwdHBb7-_puKE3SfbzN0c7ZMxW3EdhX54naCv9CiFIZhXK4iyxLRyGarniPWgnRAwczI-P16_d2vWa4rhs9Rhfkr3a_Sr7v6FWU3G/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz49QyUE8C93Gql1jcT8kuSyk5FagWbsrhlfbOBAhSwdHBb7-_puKE3SfbzN0c7ZMxW3EdhX54naCv9CiFIZhXK4iyxLRyGarniPWgnRAwczI-P16_d2vWa4rhs9Rhfkr3a_Sr7v6FWU3G/s1600/IMG_1575.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our nice stake center!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">It
was a super inspired conference this weekend - it is always that way but extra nice when you are a missionary. I especially loved the Saturday morning one with
all the talks about marriage. I also loved it when President Uchtdorf started
speaking in German after the Spanish speaker. At first, I was thinking,
whaaaaat? Do I not understand English anymore??? I think that he's itching to
give a talk in his native tongue.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> </span></span>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPHCA7ViBwS0L-3DvP3qcf6xfM9omo9FSFW1TIxjYoTK3rOQmQpg2zt2ji-6l45gj9dkvwuhsc3FTtj7cPtfSyUiRf9cKbRZi3xwDhwKelNVZ0mw4D20yhuLjHSj1iZpIkTtw1tIVtV_1/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPHCA7ViBwS0L-3DvP3qcf6xfM9omo9FSFW1TIxjYoTK3rOQmQpg2zt2ji-6l45gj9dkvwuhsc3FTtj7cPtfSyUiRf9cKbRZi3xwDhwKelNVZ0mw4D20yhuLjHSj1iZpIkTtw1tIVtV_1/s1600/IMG_1581.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">I'm
kind of in a bad mood because the repair that the shoe guy did only lasted a
couple weeks. I'm going to have to glue the rest of them together now.... My
Johnston and murphy shoes are still holding up, so I think that they'll last to
the end.</span></span></div>
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</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ItWumAlJIg7lJxyshBUhAPbuOMBBTq5UeLlaj2iXsx0jjqCTfGPIUzVucRafTHMo__IYxLKqPUg4SDPkE46PQt8tzBrM_0YYzF7Aht5LO6UI3M9TrWXSym6bSH565F2jaAVWVapR35QD/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ItWumAlJIg7lJxyshBUhAPbuOMBBTq5UeLlaj2iXsx0jjqCTfGPIUzVucRafTHMo__IYxLKqPUg4SDPkE46PQt8tzBrM_0YYzF7Aht5LO6UI3M9TrWXSym6bSH565F2jaAVWVapR35QD/s1600/IMG_1577.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">This sign was on the ground and set out next to the trash. I think that I will keep it!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-39206020616688985572015-04-07T11:29:00.001-07:002015-04-07T11:29:29.257-07:00Did I ever tell you that missions are hard?
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
19, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we are teaching this 18 year old mom and
she has committed to be baptized on April 18<sup>th</sup> if she is ready by
then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also taught a bunch of other
people today and all the lessons went well, but I just feel spiritually
drained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to have to figure
something out or I am not going to make it to the end of my mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lunch today was frustrating because Elder D.
almost make a members kid cry because he pretended to pluck out her eyes with a
knife. Who does that?</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
20, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkHyS_DOsl-lEtXRBl_vEsRyDumCiknfhjQv_W5ZIhFYCMJctHNrgGd6U7SuefUrr3itRtNJsuKKmnck_U1ui-mFPvKFq2RptlGh6RprZWUEy-vI9Jt0LdIMnx5pUp7VcnCXhehKZuT-3/s1600/IMG_1541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQkHyS_DOsl-lEtXRBl_vEsRyDumCiknfhjQv_W5ZIhFYCMJctHNrgGd6U7SuefUrr3itRtNJsuKKmnck_U1ui-mFPvKFq2RptlGh6RprZWUEy-vI9Jt0LdIMnx5pUp7VcnCXhehKZuT-3/s1600/IMG_1541.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Soooo good news and bad news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that the other elders are
going to have a baptism tomorrow! The bad news is that the pump to drain the
font isn’t working and the water was super old so we couldn’t use it for the
baptism. It was green, smelly, and full of bugs!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we ended up taking all of the water out
by hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was actually a lot easier
than it sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn489-LIG_X5PjYDB4FuGdYttYhDW-gyKyl8ZVRnBDsShZvR_hZqbfiwcjWqgNyUaIhMgFRf9gA9XyoTYYT3rMaSd30PRRae41qL96cpKdb0blBMsB9eNqC7vjd0JXDZ2Bo7h44thxIxPK/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn489-LIG_X5PjYDB4FuGdYttYhDW-gyKyl8ZVRnBDsShZvR_hZqbfiwcjWqgNyUaIhMgFRf9gA9XyoTYYT3rMaSd30PRRae41qL96cpKdb0blBMsB9eNqC7vjd0JXDZ2Bo7h44thxIxPK/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was on divisions with Elder D. and
the definite highlight of the day was E.’s interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were talking to him before and after his
interview and we were able to actually have a meaningful conversation with him
about the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was cool!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is so knowledgeable and ready for more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He already knows about the first and second
resurrection just from understanding the book of Isaiah. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
21, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The baptism went great! That really was
the only thing that went the way it was planned today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the baptism, the bishop wanted to talk
(he like to talk).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever he starts,
he usually goes off on never ending tangents telling life stories and sadly a
little apostasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sitting in the
back and our ward mission leader and I made a bet on how long he would
talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said 15, and Herbert said 20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bishop ended up talking only 8 minutes and 50
seconds so that went a LOT better than expected. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">We taught A. today and her Dad forbade her to go to
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will have to talk to him more
about that tomorrow. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
22, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Shoot!! Everything fell off the deep
end this Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one came to church,
and one of our best young couples needs to work out the paperwork on a divorce
before they can get married/baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is the end of a transfer, and the end of another hard week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure how I feel about this next
transfer. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
23, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjQs7AxyPpiSWvLrg1i4uewM8cOD4g7G_Uh8opkr97Qx90HwDZWzbYzr2k3rbk1mMgqGoNhKSGRvjYE7MDkoXmr9bc5qR0TGEpN97odfeBW5UQkL5L8w2ksapkT1sSrc9RMYohv5V3o6h/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjQs7AxyPpiSWvLrg1i4uewM8cOD4g7G_Uh8opkr97Qx90HwDZWzbYzr2k3rbk1mMgqGoNhKSGRvjYE7MDkoXmr9bc5qR0TGEpN97odfeBW5UQkL5L8w2ksapkT1sSrc9RMYohv5V3o6h/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay, I have no clue what President is
thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are staying here, Elder
Anderson and Elder Dornales are leaving and their sector is being absorbed into
ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are getting another elder,
Elder Shelton, as a TRIO.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not sure
how I feel about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well one thing
that I know is that I won’t like working in a trio, no one ever does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the bright side, I got to play a lot of
basketball. We were playing games where the teams switch up with every game and
my team won every single game!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, it
was the best part of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I sort-of
got demoted when my district was absorbed into another district. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
24, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well this is going to be
complicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do NOT work well in a
trio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is super hard to teach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to have to figure something out
quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My new comp makes a lot of
random cracks that aren’t all that appropriate in English (I am the only one
who understands him.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bite my tongue a
lot of times, but sometimes my tongue reacts faster than my mind can process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way to counteract this problem is by
talking about our investigators which in all honesty is what we should be doing
anyway.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
25, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>District meeting was a huge let down
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very robotic and exactly
out of the PMG book with a lot of ums and ahs and awkward pauses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of the other elders, except for one,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have more than one year in the field so it
was hard for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing that I
learned form the training was actually from the newbie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked a really good question and that was
what I remembered for the rest of the practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Good questions will make you think and remember. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught A. again today and her dad
gave his permission for her to go to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We also taught C. and she seems really interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left 3 Nephi 11 with her to read and she
wrote her own summary about it so that she could remember what she read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was perfect! She is preparing herself for
baptism on April 18<sup>th</sup>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have been seeing a lot of members
from Elder Shelton’s old areas. (Like one person every single day) Today we saw
this guy and he served a mission and helped our current zone leader come back
to church and go on a mission. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
26, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Well, we taught I. today and he is a
really nice person but super not interested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is one of our basketball friends, but he is very evangelical and
doesn’t want to listen to anything we have to say. We did teach a bunch of
other people today but a good portion of our appointments fell through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder S. has a hard time about talking about
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was in the MTC when I was, so
we have the same amount of time left. It is not a very good idea to put two
missionaries who are about to end their missions together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately he says these things in English –
it would be very destructive if people understood what he was saying.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;">March
27, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOBtPtYR9fLN5iuRUummHLBGq8-AaeAhxwH93JV_BkuD4Hf7aNjn6BDPNvhr99zk9gBzT4G8-Yq9zpQXY_RS_vHzI7hTegvQJMMLf7wUZuZkYsEfePwu5QrPgpAkFQm-S3IHDRNO3nDYe/s1600/IMG_1567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOBtPtYR9fLN5iuRUummHLBGq8-AaeAhxwH93JV_BkuD4Hf7aNjn6BDPNvhr99zk9gBzT4G8-Yq9zpQXY_RS_vHzI7hTegvQJMMLf7wUZuZkYsEfePwu5QrPgpAkFQm-S3IHDRNO3nDYe/s1600/IMG_1567.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was really hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of our appointments fell through and my
stomach has been killing me for the past couple of days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today was hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was walking slowly, and it was HARD to do
contacts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught very little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we had a super cool lesson with F.
and E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are investigators from the
other elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have already taught them
on divisions 2 months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was in a
bad motorcycle accident. He broke his pelvis and a bunch of other stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say, he was bedridden. The other
elders found them and started to teach them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It took us almost a week after the transfers to get back together with
them. Anyways, when we met with them today, F. was standing up!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told us an amazing thing had happened to
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last night that the missionaries
where there, they prayed that God would do what the doctors could not and then
afterwards, F. prayed with a lot of faith that he could be healed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night, he had a dream that he was being
operated on and the next day he had his doctors appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The doctor took Xrays and was shocked at what
he saw on the Xrays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked F. if he
could stand up and then he did!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
pelvis had completely healed overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is still very weak, but he is getting physical therapy to receive his
strength back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a miracle!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I
have been asked about my preference for my final airport destination which
means that they are getting ready to book my tickets home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I understand why dad cannot come to Brazil (or
anywhere in South America) this year because it requires vaccinations and he
can't be vaccinated until next year. There's no way that he would survive here
with a weak immune system because... well... I'm not sure if Rio was any
cleaner than Fortaleza, but there's literally trash in the streets. Every
street has lots of dog poop/animal poop, and human waste flowing through the
open sewers. My area is completely situated exactly around these canals.
Luckily they're a lot cleaner now after the torrent that we had a couple of
weeks ago. Think about it. It's like a 15 foot wide 10 foot deep chute of water
moving at high speed. It cleaned out just about everything. It was super nasty
before though.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;">I am
working on keeping my mind focused on finishing strong. I told Taylor, I'm the
only one doing contacts right now. Out of three old, experienced missionaries!
My new comp is kind of revolted against president for putting him here and he
always complains about feeling like the third wheel. We've had a couple of
discussions, and I don't know if you have ever read the talk about the fourth
missionary, but he is very much a type 2 or 3 missionary. He's just biting the
bullet for now instead of loving the work. When I told him that, he got a
little mad and told me 'you don't know what I've worked like, you don't know
what I've done in my areas, you don't know how I am as a missionary!' I thought
and thought for a while (one of the cool things that I have learned on my
mission is how to think before I talk!!! :D ) and I told him, 'sorry, you're
right. I don't know what it's been like for you. I'm sure that you know how to
work, so why aren't you doing it here?' Him: 'because I hate it here. I
didn't ask to get transferred.' After a lot more thought I said 'well, you've
worked really hard, but if we do really well in life, and then screw up at the
end, what's going to come of us? We have to endure to the end. We always have
to give it our best, or the Lord won't be with us.' Then we both we quiet for a
while, and then he said, 'I'm sorry, I just don't feel useful. I don't know
what I'm doing here, I don't know the area, I don't know the people, I'm super
close to my old area, I don't know. I'll try to do better.' Ever since that
moment, it has gotten a lot better.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16.0pt;"></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-35515498052482945092015-03-23T18:43:00.000-07:002015-03-24T08:25:38.174-07:00A sad and hard week<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 16, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> P-day!!!!! There rarely is anything super exciting about
our p-days. But today I got to play one
on one basketball with a super cool, and super athletic Brasilian. I won two games and he won one. It is weird because he LOVES basketball and
that is very rare here. He even has an
original Miami Heat jersey. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We were planning to take M. to visit in the Relief
Society President’s house, but she rescheduled for tomorrow. M. appears to be a lot happier and she is preparing a family
night activity for this Wednesday. She volunteered to teach this lesson. Elder
C. and I are planning a fast for her. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 17, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I hate the bus system here. Elder Anderson wanted to get to the office
early today so that he could resolve some problems in order to get a bus
pass-card. We left the house at 6:30 and
we didn’t get to the office until 8:30.
Normally it is a one hour trip…ugghh!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We taught this guy this afternoon who is addicted to
crack and alcohol, and he told us that whoever could tell him what his two
greatest fears were, then he would go to their church.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> As we kept talking to him, we quickly figured out his fears. His first fear is that
he is afraid of confronting and resolving his problems. His second fear is that he is afraid to
become a part of a community because that would mean that people would depend
on him and he doesn’t thing that he can follow through with
responsibility. So he told us that we
were right about his fears, but that he still doesn’t give a hoot and wouldn't go to church with us. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Anyways, we helped M. plan her activity and she seems
super well prepared. I have a good
feeling about the activity.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 18, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_VXBZ1rJB_pBIugsGw2ygTE6d502aj3fUYyFVKdGyOTNrw7q-phDlKwP9wcwAawHNYB9YJejtV1zJqzUcylYJor4DhzMiqT-QAg2d9BK3PTYZtNHvflK8Xe6q2-Iw_sNZFf1MAUX9Q7D/s1600/IMG_1524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_VXBZ1rJB_pBIugsGw2ygTE6d502aj3fUYyFVKdGyOTNrw7q-phDlKwP9wcwAawHNYB9YJejtV1zJqzUcylYJor4DhzMiqT-QAg2d9BK3PTYZtNHvflK8Xe6q2-Iw_sNZFf1MAUX9Q7D/s1600/IMG_1524.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Well………That was one of the biggest let-downs of my entire
mission. So this is how it all went down.
M. gave the family night and it was one of the best that I have ever
seen in a long time. It was really well
organized, lots of people came to support it, and her message was great. I felt the Spirit really strongly, and that
is one of the reasons why I am so confused and disheartened. She talked about trust, specifically, trusting
in God. She used Joseph Smith as an
example of someone who trusted in God and then God blessed Joseph with an
answer. Seriously, all of the members
were impressed with this lesson. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Then afterwards, M. gave Elder C and I ties and said that
she wanted to talk to us to thank us for everything. “When you knocked on my door, I was really
needing help. I felt this void in my
life and I didn’t understand why. Now I
feel like it is not empty anymore. It’s been great to know you and I love your
church, BUT I can’t be baptized. It has
been great to know you, really really great…”
Yeah that’s it. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Working, teaching, fasting, praying, finally finding
someone who listens, learns, follows through, and beyond that – someone who
actually develops a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, but then turns
their back on it.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I am not going to lie, I felt like my feet were swept out
from under me. And as we walked home in
silence, completely deflated, I cried to myself. One of the things
that our mission president told us is that the devil should shake in his boots
when we wake up every morning (in honor of that scripture about Captain Moroni).
However, I just feel like in this past week the devil was just thinking: 'let's
see what we can do to mess with these two this week'. <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It's a sad situation, but it is especially sad for M who we care about so much because she is making such a life limiting choice. </span>I pray that</span> it'll all
work out somehow.</span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 23, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I
didn't have the heart or the time to write a lot in my journal for the rest of this
week, so I'm going to have to catch up.
We met some other people this week who loved our messages and said that
they would be baptized, but a lot of them have to get married before they can
get baptized. Here in Brasil it takes a LONG time to marry someone. The other elders baptized a man, and he's super cool. He
already knows about the first and the second resurrection before the other
elders started teaching him because he likes to read Isaiah. What? Cool, huh?
His baptism went well except for the part when the font’s pump broke and we had
to empty it by hand. On </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday, we managed to have an investigator
at church! BUT she got a phone call and had to leave immediately. What a week.</span></span></div>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOatSTSOU_Ueeg17EOnmN6A2bMn4ehTrRM1sgGV-EqtMtNRginsyaLREk5i_DxF_RTknasgSiyBMJnjX8jrMT_gCxBkoBsSpl3gOvo25gU6oMGaWXK8qBiUvTFv6F-pFsYc_E9S7zi8FTK/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOatSTSOU_Ueeg17EOnmN6A2bMn4ehTrRM1sgGV-EqtMtNRginsyaLREk5i_DxF_RTknasgSiyBMJnjX8jrMT_gCxBkoBsSpl3gOvo25gU6oMGaWXK8qBiUvTFv6F-pFsYc_E9S7zi8FTK/s1600/IMG_1544.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My most productive work this week.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jQqHL0ZqFs_FxaOqL3ot0U2VV357O5LPKI3sJ0S61b3xKs5u1qnlqu8O2ymQA_Dplau5XBPv8Aw5aCU_ewrwgWmIQTkLR7hbDYa19foe1Sr9kZynVXy-2fdKQLVXhOMyUpuJOUpaai2e/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jQqHL0ZqFs_FxaOqL3ot0U2VV357O5LPKI3sJ0S61b3xKs5u1qnlqu8O2ymQA_Dplau5XBPv8Aw5aCU_ewrwgWmIQTkLR7hbDYa19foe1Sr9kZynVXy-2fdKQLVXhOMyUpuJOUpaai2e/s1600/IMG_1550.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Carmo's reacton to transfers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Transfers
happened. I stayed in my area (I'm happy about that) I
got demoted (not so happy about that) and the other elder's area got shut down
and we're absorbing it (not sure about that). There was a consolidation of two districts,
Elder Anderson and Elder Dorneles both got transferred. I know my new district
leader, Elder Cooper (he's also from my MTC group.) </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Also,
I'm going to be working in a triplet with Elder Shelton (also from my MTC
group) and Elder Carmo (I am REALLY not sure about how I feel about working in
a trio, but I am glad to stay with Elder C.) I'm going to have to keep the
situation under control because I am the senior comp. We are the weirdest looking trio on the
streets because, Elder Shelton is a big boy, huge actually, then I am average
sized, and Elder Carmo is tiny! I am trying
to figure out how to work efficiently and effectively in a trio. In our mission we aren't allowed to go on
divisions with the members. At all. It's rather annoying. One of the things that I have to figure out
how to solve right away is the amount of English that is being spoken between
our leaders and the other American elders.
It is not right because the Brazilians don’t speak English so they feel
excluded, rightfully so. Everything's going to be fine. We've got lots of cool
stuff that's going to happen in the near future I hope.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have no idea why the
president changed things up the way he did.
We were (and still are) working super hard, but whatever comes our way,
it's what president wants, so I'm not going to let myself feel hurt about it. I
just think that it's weird. I think that the President has a plan, but I still
don't know what it is, so the only thing that I can do is work. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am
thinking about selling my guitar to another elder and just buying a new one
when I get back in the states. It has my
old comp's picture in it, but I'm thinking of putting mine in it too, and writing
something on the back of the guitar before I sell it and then telling the next
missionary to do the same thing when they get ready to leave. Who knows, maybe
it'll be a missionary guitar that'll make it's way around the mission for years
;)</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGLXYO6CAzEbFXZBRj0QXxHqivN68l5LwNfPc_SDBRX3pfg16KO2HkIez6-cEAVSY8jKX-GcIHQFYu-ba3iR7dVd2uhKlBz1QpX1_TFEHCt7x8s0EUQkyGItZkWwPJEAKWGVenBbMu8Rs/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGLXYO6CAzEbFXZBRj0QXxHqivN68l5LwNfPc_SDBRX3pfg16KO2HkIez6-cEAVSY8jKX-GcIHQFYu-ba3iR7dVd2uhKlBz1QpX1_TFEHCt7x8s0EUQkyGItZkWwPJEAKWGVenBbMu8Rs/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is not my guitar, but one of the members who we visited with. The glasses were his daughters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdR9OlD662TxvH5sPiAAx7YqNXrhyphenhyphenrbmHzN6CXupw9xyShUbaz88PQChgUq3MOL27JPECQ0FfqFRp3FQWIJZPeowFnX_n6dujHYtN9lDh5WeHeb94qg-x_7xHpkvlgKwdkD6QmLnwn2k6/s1600/IMG_1523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdR9OlD662TxvH5sPiAAx7YqNXrhyphenhyphenrbmHzN6CXupw9xyShUbaz88PQChgUq3MOL27JPECQ0FfqFRp3FQWIJZPeowFnX_n6dujHYtN9lDh5WeHeb94qg-x_7xHpkvlgKwdkD6QmLnwn2k6/s1600/IMG_1523.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We took pictures at
one of my favorite member's house. Her kids are super funny and her husband is
a recent convert, a really nice guy.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-25557106572844642882015-03-22T06:09:00.004-07:002015-03-23T18:45:19.679-07:00Sabbath Day - the hardest lesson<style>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ143sS_M1Q8PryvguxhhB5AHblFaP2NkPTUzaEX0QEhU3AjHVWg2dVfOfKVPhcM5h9ek4iheAP55Z7MwL9uLxGTQasXrrI1RRxzWad32kZyMsFbmxUug_4YqyGwpFF1ZPoJHd0RNt7Fy/s1600/IMG_1507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZ143sS_M1Q8PryvguxhhB5AHblFaP2NkPTUzaEX0QEhU3AjHVWg2dVfOfKVPhcM5h9ek4iheAP55Z7MwL9uLxGTQasXrrI1RRxzWad32kZyMsFbmxUug_4YqyGwpFF1ZPoJHd0RNt7Fy/s1600/IMG_1507.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical encounter during the day. Donkeys just roam the streets here.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wFb65TvzXNGP_GvHoUGWm8RFYywy_9QDraS9jbP0n7LM4U8BHcIX-_ZM1eOeJzhsZnngtEjD5ntCjuqLpIWBqdcPnbua4SZJRGODb4VC0NBLb8Yng9swFD0iw9kXEfhm_46r5Dg9C-C0/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4wFb65TvzXNGP_GvHoUGWm8RFYywy_9QDraS9jbP0n7LM4U8BHcIX-_ZM1eOeJzhsZnngtEjD5ntCjuqLpIWBqdcPnbua4SZJRGODb4VC0NBLb8Yng9swFD0iw9kXEfhm_46r5Dg9C-C0/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friendly little donkeys, Usually they are afraid of people, but we got along great!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2yCxfEaV9fcKSirHxFLAOxeVOyV7hCrp56MP5APlEHXRTEzvPFiVPRapZhC7Mp8kNr1QV108F4-lydplN1Ota1Ut95VRos9YyYrwDOFZizRabjNA_ftPZMtcX3UAqKablBXGJWKklLW_/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2yCxfEaV9fcKSirHxFLAOxeVOyV7hCrp56MP5APlEHXRTEzvPFiVPRapZhC7Mp8kNr1QV108F4-lydplN1Ota1Ut95VRos9YyYrwDOFZizRabjNA_ftPZMtcX3UAqKablBXGJWKklLW_/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A giant icecream cone</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">March 9, 2014</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We ended up playing a lot of basketball with some Brazilians
who actually know how to play!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder
Andersen and I were still the best, but there were some guys who weren’t too
far behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the game, one of my
glass lenses popped out, but I was able to put it back in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up playing most of the game without
my glasses, which was a challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the end, we had what we called “a religious conflict”, missionaries vs. home
team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We won!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Elder Dorneles playing it was a big enough
handicap that it was actually hard to win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had 4 appointments marked for tonight, but not a single
one worked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is totally normal,
but a really frustrating start to our week.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">March 10, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So last transfer I asked President Bonini if we could have a
special training about planning more efficiently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today he sent the mission assistants to train
us on this topic and it really helped me and my district.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a bunch of good lessons today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of our couples read about Lehi’s vision
of the tree of life in The Book of Mormon by themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had many good questions and are
progressing a lot, but it is like pulling teeth trying to get them to go to
church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We also had a good lesson with another couple about the law
of chastity and they both said that they would live the law in preparation for
baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">March 11, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Elder Muniz was at my district meeting today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today was his last day on the mission, so we
trunked ourselves out a little bit. He was with me in the very start, and now
he is leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is kind of scary how
time flies by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is planning on
studying at BYU so we will definitely see each other afterwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He speaks English really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to miss him a ton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has been a great friend and zone leader.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught M. again today ad she is so hung up on the whole
marriage thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She already lives the
law of chastity and the word of wisdom, and she attends church meetings
regularly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is sure that she wants to
be baptized, but she is still holding off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We took a member couple there and it worked out really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a pretty strong relationship and
they definitely helped to settle her fears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">March 12, 2015</span></u></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PNaEDGuUDtDaSI5ghhnn0HzSjUEWo19Lbq7ZCalkigsnHnzSUyi2kBm1rowgFpsMkHls0m-w6y4hmvWuePquYh4gv-dnYP-nPXPHGh47gS2DhlzO7ZGXE7HOSXs7UC94JJpEs7RnbdlY/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PNaEDGuUDtDaSI5ghhnn0HzSjUEWo19Lbq7ZCalkigsnHnzSUyi2kBm1rowgFpsMkHls0m-w6y4hmvWuePquYh4gv-dnYP-nPXPHGh47gS2DhlzO7ZGXE7HOSXs7UC94JJpEs7RnbdlY/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most streets here are either dirt or cobblestone.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I don’t know why, but for some reason we started teaching
people who live right next to the canal (ie. open sewage drain).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found this one road while out working one
day and it turns out that several families live there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are very poor, but very nice people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one little family that we are teaching
lives in a 12X12 brick box with their 3 little girls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing in the states that compares
to the poverty here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is humbling.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had another appointment with a woman whose husband
greeted us by shouting, “Did you come to hear the word of God?” and a bunch of
other stuff from his church. All the while he is yelling a the top of his
lungs, and I am just like, “oh brother.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then he asks us for our Bible to read a scripture and I he read: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">John
3:16 </span><span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.</span></span></div>
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<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We explained that scripture a bit to
him, but he just kept yelling .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So then
I showed him </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Ephesians
4:31</span><span class="label"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Let all bitterness, and
wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with
all malice:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Portuguese ‘clamour’ is
“gritaria’ and it was super funny because once I pointed out that he had done
nothing buy yell at us, he toned his voice down to almost a whisper. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">March 13, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today
I went on splits with Elder T. Anderson and it went pretty well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A ton of appointments fell through, but we
managed to teach some super cool people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was this one family in particular that stood out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a 6 month old Rottweiler and I have
decided that I love that breed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
lesson went smoothly and they accepted the message of the Restoration
readily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even committed to
baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got back together with
the other missionaries, we asked how their lesson with M. went and it went
really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We studied this morning for
her and picked 5 talks specifically for her to read from the last general
conference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that it will help
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other elders only did 10
contacts today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard for them
because they are both junior companions and it is a skill that you just get
better at with practice and time. Also, neither one of them are all that
excited about the work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This week I have
been working hard to contact and we average about 16-17 per day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is pretty good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the interesting things about trying to
talk to absolutely everyone is that we find a LOT of inactive members who are
not on the membership list from church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well this week just flew by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tomorrow we have<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very busy day
planned with appointments schedules for every half hour of the entire day. It
is going to be crazy if everyone keeps their appointment.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">March 14, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
am tired of appointments falling through, but on the bright side, only half of
them fell today so that still left us with plenty of work to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all we taught the English class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now we have 3 students who are
regulars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of the members are
interested at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We worked really well
today, but we only had a couple of good lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught a less-active member’s daughter’s
boyfriend and he really liked the lesson. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We invited him to be baptized and he said
really softly, “I think so, maybe.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
said that he would come to church tomorrow, so we will see about that. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Also
we taught another less active member’s girlfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This kind of thing happens a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This couple is progressing a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have quit smoking, they are reading and
understanding scriptures, but they are not coming to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They always have plans for Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What can we do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is odd that it is easier for people here
to give up a serious addiction than it is for them to keep the Sabbath day
holy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They already told us that they
won’t be there tomorrow because they have plans to celebrate a birthday.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">March 15, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ever
since we contacted M. she hasn’t missed a single Sunday!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We haven’t had to go and get her a single
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She even showed up in the pouring
rain when half of the members didn’t even come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I hope that she decides to get baptized soon because I will really feel
sad if I get transferred and miss being there for that. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today
we brought a 13 year old investigator to church along with her 10 year old
cousin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really hate bringing kids to
church without their parents. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
plus side, when we got to church, two f the young women basically took care of
them for the entire church block.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
young women were so amazing, they even set up for the 13 year old to attend
mutual with them. This was a little miracle for us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="content"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then
we had a real miracle happen when we were teaching. and L.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>C. is very serious about studying the Book of
Mormon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She takes it to work with her so
that she can read on her breaks. L. has been inactive for a long time, but with
the energy and enthusiasm of C, he is coming along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has told us that she is praying for an
answer about whether to get baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The next lesson will be on the law of chastity, which will be hard since
they are not married and living together. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-29915435525407550382015-03-15T19:53:00.000-07:002015-03-15T19:53:27.654-07:00Wet Feet
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1QXFJusT4tgaeZtmLlTm1WDG7ALyYHXgxiVGiwDIFJi58slJ5ucbaWTGRZbx1UYYcfXlvJcT6282qCooqUjlRZSRR23lnbuTaJdH8dk8rEFWN-EcsqGGAMFbeKAOwnZhjwoDJHJ0oOpm/s1600/IMG_1496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl1QXFJusT4tgaeZtmLlTm1WDG7ALyYHXgxiVGiwDIFJi58slJ5ucbaWTGRZbx1UYYcfXlvJcT6282qCooqUjlRZSRR23lnbuTaJdH8dk8rEFWN-EcsqGGAMFbeKAOwnZhjwoDJHJ0oOpm/s1600/IMG_1496.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constant Rain lately</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 2, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>I think that it is super cool how in Portuguese the days of
the week translate to literally mean “second day”, “third day”. Etc. And this
week, it just so happens that the days correspond to the date, today was the
“second day”, March 2.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today was pretty dang chill. We had lunch at a member’s
house which is a rare treat on p-day, and it was really nice.<span> </span>This sister has a bunch of family that lives
in Utah.<span> </span>She is going to give me their
names so that I can visit them when I go to school.<span> </span>Her brother served his mission in South
Africa and is now studying at the U of U.<span>
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 3, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today I had to go to the office to grab material and it is
really annoying because it takes up a huge chunk of time from my studies.<span> </span>But, I was able to read a large chunk of “The
Articles of Faith” by James E. Talmage on the bus.<span> </span>I actually really like that book.<span> </span>It explains the doctrines of the church in
simple but eloquent language.<span> </span>The trip
to the office turned out great for me because I got a package from Mom.<span> </span>It was the Valentine’s package with lots of
treats and a new white shirt for me to wear home!<span> </span>The sad part about that is that she told me
it was my last package on the mission.<span>
</span>Man, I love those packages!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We found a less active member of the church today when we
were talking with A. She works at one of the depots here and she seems really
intelligent and she told us that she has the desire to come back to
church.<span> </span>She doesn’t live in our area, so
we passed her information on to the missionaries in her area.<span> </span>Other than that, it was kind of a dud
day.<span> </span>We didn’t teach very much, and we
didn’t even contact that many people.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 4, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today we actually made the goal of doing 20 contacts!<span> </span>Up until now, we have never been able to
reach it.<span> </span>We have come close, but today
we did it with a little help from the other Elders.<span> </span>We had this activity (the starch and faith
example) and we made a huge mess.<span>
</span>Everyone loved it, but we asked the other Elders if they would stay and
clean up for us because they had already gotten their 20 contacts.<span> </span>So we were only missing 5 and we still had 20
minutes left in our day.<span> </span>We managed to
do it!<span> </span>Because it was the very first
time that both companionships reached that goal on the same day, I bought us
all pizza!<span> </span>It was a good day.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>There was a super funny thing that happened earlier this
week that I forgot to write about.<span>
</span>During our email time, Taylor sent me a video of our cat pawing the
sliding glass door to get in the house.<span>
</span>Just at that moment, Elder Dornales showed up at the internet café and
pawed on the glass of the café door exactly like our cat.<span> </span>Elder D. is so crazy about cats that he
actually behaves like one. Elder D. offers a lot of comic relief in the
mission. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 5, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today when we were preparing for the baptism of Marcos and
Marcelo, I was reviewing their records and noticed that Marcelo is actually 8
years old.<span> </span>He and his parents thought
that he was 9.<span> </span>How is it that parents
don’t know the actual age of their child????<span>
</span>This is sad news for a missionary because the baptism does not count as
a missionary baptism but as a ward baptism.<span>
</span>But still he will be baptized so it is no big deal. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We managed 22 contacts today and it was easy.<span> </span>You just have to take advantage of every
opportunity you can have to talk to someone. Stopping someone on the street
usually isn’t my thing, but sometimes you just have to push back your fears and
do it. We got to know a bunch of people and we even found a few new
investigators.<span> </span>It is raining like crazy
here now and it is annoying because ALL of my shoes have holes in them.<span> </span></span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span>L</span></span><span> But, it really is amazing how the Lord puts people in
your path, but in order to find them, you have to go outside of your comfort
zone.<span> </span>It is definitely NOT comfortable
walking around with wet feet. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnSf6SYknQh9o3hlajrjmpc8edKmSF2eBdiodvpcbId5IDBvp3CSwOwOu-esEbCyvs08u2U7c1TZ6JtxeD26Ye-HbaT9CYr7fJAE0nJX0dNDwL2gSii13-5pRXDbAHF4ypOZV9OltgLR9/s1600/IMG_1493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnSf6SYknQh9o3hlajrjmpc8edKmSF2eBdiodvpcbId5IDBvp3CSwOwOu-esEbCyvs08u2U7c1TZ6JtxeD26Ye-HbaT9CYr7fJAE0nJX0dNDwL2gSii13-5pRXDbAHF4ypOZV9OltgLR9/s1600/IMG_1493.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So when it rains like crazy, there are these water spouts here that are like gutters. It was raining so hard that everyone basically just acted like they were at a water park!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOmM1y38hOs56ERS_sZZK0urgD5DS5SZ7AEaI_6iCZlKcZdgD0cXwSG2-PFBoo7jezvOZDV4jr3xLA83QoAVku-Qd4am0_NygZ1XOaRMPlKpHKU5B0MUHxcZ07aR9tQsmrG4IALlBcuD1/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOmM1y38hOs56ERS_sZZK0urgD5DS5SZ7AEaI_6iCZlKcZdgD0cXwSG2-PFBoo7jezvOZDV4jr3xLA83QoAVku-Qd4am0_NygZ1XOaRMPlKpHKU5B0MUHxcZ07aR9tQsmrG4IALlBcuD1/s1600/IMG_1486.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 6, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z-3Aggaq_hsXuzIWiTsWREuGY8XpgtIaooBeeKQw2N-VIJLvuiujB-ectkg4M9XNi_wbXUkVLLuZhxnCvx8iMQnhFnKBolnhEhyphenhyphenrrcguP-ZKGXZlTLa62e3o_Mq0mWlQ3FC8n6H9-yLj/s1600/IMG_1485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2z-3Aggaq_hsXuzIWiTsWREuGY8XpgtIaooBeeKQw2N-VIJLvuiujB-ectkg4M9XNi_wbXUkVLLuZhxnCvx8iMQnhFnKBolnhEhyphenhyphenrrcguP-ZKGXZlTLa62e3o_Mq0mWlQ3FC8n6H9-yLj/s1600/IMG_1485.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Exchanges with Elder Medrado!<span> </span>It was actually really really good.<span> </span>First of all, Eldr Carmo and I had a couple
of appointments in the morning, so we were almost running to get there on
time.<span> </span>As we were hurrying on by, this
guy just says, “Hey Elders!”<span> </span>I felt the
impression that we had to talk with him and as it turns out, he is a returned
missionary and he has a co-worker who is super interested in the gospel.<span> </span>He is going to introduce us to him.<span> </span>Throughout the entire day, Elder Medrado and
I talked to everyone we met.<span> </span>We filled
up next Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday with appointments. Elder Medrado gave me a
couple of tips on how to improve and organize our house better.<span> </span>He also taught me a couple of cool songs to
play on the guitar which will keep me busy on the next p-day.<span> </span>One of the annoying things right now is that
this week Elder D. found the soundtrack on the phone for the “Primary Colors”
acapella.<span> </span>I don’t know if you remember
that CD, but it brought back a lot of good childhood memories for me and made
me a little homesick.<span> </span>But that was
quickly cured after listening to “The eensie, weensie, spider” for the tenth
time.<span> </span>Ugh, of all the sound tracts, that
was Elder Ds favorite!<span> </span>Not even Vocal
Points soundtrack won out against “The eensie, weensie, spider”. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We have a great investigator who has a very interesting
difficulty.<span> </span>She wants to remain a virgin
forever.<span> </span>She told us that she never
wants to marry for many reasons. This leads then to her biggest hangup in the
church and that is the principle of exaltation in the celestial kingdom.<span> </span>She is very bright and has a really strong
testimony, plus she keeps every commitment we give her, and she has been to
church many times.<span> </span>She says that she
wants to be baptized but she feels like she has already lost exaltation because
she never wants to marry.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 7, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Elder Medrado has even less time in the mission than I do
and during exchanges we didn’t ever talk about home or other trunky
things.<span> </span>We were always talking about the
mission and the things related to the mission…up until we were waiting for the
other elders at our meeting point.<span> </span>They
were 40 minutes late so yeah, we talked a LOT about home during that time.<span> </span>Haha, still we are both doing great in our
work.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today went really well.<span>
</span>We taught a lot, but unfortunately we did not do
very many contacts.<span> </span>We did contact this
guy who asked us to teach him and he was SUPER interested.<span> </span>We left him a pamphlet on the restoration and
he asked us a ton of questions.<span> </span>We had
Jose Victor with us and he thought it was pretty awesome.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWslt8SOP2eKpFUT6ePvN0VP3bIJUCSkEjhvHXJ5OYlP7eqpbO6SEXXeNZjbLiYtAd3dpUHEJj33SA9QYKRz22DxHeOJhTc1dtPEhy1RVKAlm-bBga-pzkl4BgoEudO6HizBL4GP_bhdd2/s1600/IMG_1491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWslt8SOP2eKpFUT6ePvN0VP3bIJUCSkEjhvHXJ5OYlP7eqpbO6SEXXeNZjbLiYtAd3dpUHEJj33SA9QYKRz22DxHeOJhTc1dtPEhy1RVKAlm-bBga-pzkl4BgoEudO6HizBL4GP_bhdd2/s1600/IMG_1491.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4wJ7pqyxbMnbutjXByBj-ggJuJjR5A8oak4wP6CNOqpHpxGKajgxvpnW3LICwwq3HQIBLPgr9YlgE2-cjCMVtI3sWggmXOQVGuaPYPWFIazO2rgJXJ6ZkVZtAQkFryZotvsnQocNJp_1/s1600/IMG_1492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4wJ7pqyxbMnbutjXByBj-ggJuJjR5A8oak4wP6CNOqpHpxGKajgxvpnW3LICwwq3HQIBLPgr9YlgE2-cjCMVtI3sWggmXOQVGuaPYPWFIazO2rgJXJ6ZkVZtAQkFryZotvsnQocNJp_1/s1600/IMG_1492.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This super cute little kid at the baptism!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Then
we had the baptism and we had a ton of visitors and investigators there to
watch.<span> </span>M. and B. and a bunch of their
family showed up to watch. The baptism turned out really nice. The boys were
both baptized by their uncle.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ocnrvIPGbzBmzwa7JPA_IkKDF_8-qiWQ5ZlGRPAudelpnq5nWcFhCGVKsMDw39i-JR0PgfflbXlRivvp9SoapzYLFzHSEPdZfE33DmCZbFgxT0l5Y_CRbM-CGojm63Or90FYk-N6oRB6/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ocnrvIPGbzBmzwa7JPA_IkKDF_8-qiWQ5ZlGRPAudelpnq5nWcFhCGVKsMDw39i-JR0PgfflbXlRivvp9SoapzYLFzHSEPdZfE33DmCZbFgxT0l5Y_CRbM-CGojm63Or90FYk-N6oRB6/s1600/IMG_1490.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>March 8, 2015</span></u></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span>Oh
my gosh, I have never seen it rain so hard before in my life!<span> </span>AND we still went looking for our
investigators before church.<span> </span>There was
no way around getting soaked and sometimes we had to wade through puddles that
went to our knees.<span> </span>The canal was
actually overflowing (with sewage).<span> </span>None
of our investigators we looked for came, but M. came again all by herself in
the rain.<span> </span><span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBhVeaCd0K_Rdy33WfB1_txWMZTKLEBftoorV1iybsW2Q3xH2uSTYMh0MND2xL5TuLi3LcTIjM3MQy-97q1VSLJFvi9ZbD645w9RZPWsmN8idMGD0plyGMQE-Sl3SVXTxA7z9ZPTPQFlZ/s1600/IMG_1487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBhVeaCd0K_Rdy33WfB1_txWMZTKLEBftoorV1iybsW2Q3xH2uSTYMh0MND2xL5TuLi3LcTIjM3MQy-97q1VSLJFvi9ZbD645w9RZPWsmN8idMGD0plyGMQE-Sl3SVXTxA7z9ZPTPQFlZ/s1600/IMG_1487.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of our recent converts walks with a picture of the missionary who baptized him in his triple combination. It's pretty funny. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-20668201463894827792015-03-08T11:36:00.001-07:002015-03-08T11:36:36.385-07:00The Power of Music
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxcf-EvF1d50RxFsSQCl-6gwWm4GrPpifg0mCIv9BUd8TYgUF7mtpiutG81IWOlOYGLWjmzhG_aBgU7i2WwNPVdO_l_EoGPZ9mO9CRD4S1FlyQOjUg0xAWlnhU2H_8IHtqzAYsIjYOGma/s1600/IMG_1438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxcf-EvF1d50RxFsSQCl-6gwWm4GrPpifg0mCIv9BUd8TYgUF7mtpiutG81IWOlOYGLWjmzhG_aBgU7i2WwNPVdO_l_EoGPZ9mO9CRD4S1FlyQOjUg0xAWlnhU2H_8IHtqzAYsIjYOGma/s1600/IMG_1438.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder D. and the killer ant monster</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSe2o37fDyQp5_SnV0Giks9YNH0zakXpq6oTj2Lf1Nb9-HY4SNNGvnm0tGjx8R_yoT0GQcpmRyAKy0W5-2EaB67dSvZ81z9hWIC-M3wTh1CyAxmpGE5fjtwBXByCcpGzdxmQsAkGhb51j/s1600/IMG_1437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSe2o37fDyQp5_SnV0Giks9YNH0zakXpq6oTj2Lf1Nb9-HY4SNNGvnm0tGjx8R_yoT0GQcpmRyAKy0W5-2EaB67dSvZ81z9hWIC-M3wTh1CyAxmpGE5fjtwBXByCcpGzdxmQsAkGhb51j/s1600/IMG_1437.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 23, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Well,
today we emailed and then we wet straight from that to practice the choir
pieces. That was basically our entire p-day. It just so happen that I had to
sight read one of the accompaniments and it was one of the hardest ones of them
all! Ugh!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And unfortunately I am a yes
man, so I told her that there was no problem and that I’d get it down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sure hope so!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that I will have to dedicate one of my
days of studies to practicing this music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So me and the other elders were starving because we hadn’t even eaten
breakfast OR lunch and it was already 5 pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I ended up going to McDonalds with Elder Anderson and Elder Smyth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s weird, because McDonald is a nice
restaurant here! I took some pictures because it seemed so nice. I have a
feeling that I have completely forgotten what it is like back in the states.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrUub_JnbnHSEPBlFrNdMz-nn53PSlUgTNe2wT4JBVCBflBopJ_R-_pftdob56rQ4In_Dogd9XU9sXaXHrs_1vyyxM3vJZumB3GXwyTIAVw-QEoU0oznPhzdTppseyKsef6TfdoOgsb2B/s1600/IMG_1422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrUub_JnbnHSEPBlFrNdMz-nn53PSlUgTNe2wT4JBVCBflBopJ_R-_pftdob56rQ4In_Dogd9XU9sXaXHrs_1vyyxM3vJZumB3GXwyTIAVw-QEoU0oznPhzdTppseyKsef6TfdoOgsb2B/s1600/IMG_1422.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtflacopdhk4XkwP1NHCIWDOrMXKmzbGAGHPmruE3DB62Qu7lt_2mIy6c6I-mAXdfNBdtZBEB-NXiiIzqiD7BTB_tqFxJBwMYL3I_nr_cHuGL7A3GVxIfmx5iuLk_b_Cbba3V7JmIdofHV/s1600/IMG_1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtflacopdhk4XkwP1NHCIWDOrMXKmzbGAGHPmruE3DB62Qu7lt_2mIy6c6I-mAXdfNBdtZBEB-NXiiIzqiD7BTB_tqFxJBwMYL3I_nr_cHuGL7A3GVxIfmx5iuLk_b_Cbba3V7JmIdofHV/s1600/IMG_1423.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The best news of the day is that I finally got the camera
from Taylor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so excited that I will
be able to take some pictures of the last part of my mission.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 24, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wow, it has been a long time since I have sat down and
practiced piano for an extended period of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was able to sit down and play for 3 hours!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t even seem like it was anything. I
miss that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before my mission I wasn’t
able to appreciate just how nice it is to play instruments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am actually excited to play the viola
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guitar as well….Oh it is going to
be nice to have access to the internet and as much time as I want to play. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught someone today and he has been bedridden and is
waiting for surgery of some type. He is very faithful, reads the Book of
Mormon, knows that it is true, and wants to be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he can’t come to church for a good long
while. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaL0PCQLMbmkUSJ6-fRzfePisHdCpS1GJ23Tx_qv7AkGTqmaoD3Xp00Bpv1-JtpRbHxjQM3DrkljGewqFHmjXCMxD5RQNPsjbfol37gu6YJ_SXpSvyU_7qS6aY_nV2CckEjEWhftzzr-8/s1600/IMG_1471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaL0PCQLMbmkUSJ6-fRzfePisHdCpS1GJ23Tx_qv7AkGTqmaoD3Xp00Bpv1-JtpRbHxjQM3DrkljGewqFHmjXCMxD5RQNPsjbfol37gu6YJ_SXpSvyU_7qS6aY_nV2CckEjEWhftzzr-8/s1600/IMG_1471.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4bUp5QQT5ITMnBsp52Kcl0tY-DlNqRfZSqoIzTT9Yz82eklJN5xVok-XFEP_fO4c4ndMBBN44qLbWEorzV3WBCFSV2VbO66eqN9EyRPEIXJN2cpMxRdJi9XOTRJsrKp7CU2V_8THc7a/s1600/IMG_1425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilk4bUp5QQT5ITMnBsp52Kcl0tY-DlNqRfZSqoIzTT9Yz82eklJN5xVok-XFEP_fO4c4ndMBBN44qLbWEorzV3WBCFSV2VbO66eqN9EyRPEIXJN2cpMxRdJi9XOTRJsrKp7CU2V_8THc7a/s1600/IMG_1425.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The big news down here is that it actually does rain here in
Fortaleza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, it has been pouring
for the past 4 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to buy an
umbrella because mine got all rusty and broke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Water is leaking through our ceiling with all this rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 25, 2015</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Zone conference was really good today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Up until today, I didn’t have a lot of faith
for the future of this mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
ask me why, but I didn’t feel it from the leadership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have had a hard time feeling mutual love
and respect that existed with President Sousa,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But this conference was a turning point and felt perfectly inspired and
uplifting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With these changes I think
that the mission will definitely start to make progress. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iKL4LHdfVprblQnRj-c7_yVefTXIM6RykmRo46uvXM_-gjfCU_dUtRfdC-uD1dxlL1mqragNjyJtsy2LAKJ6pmbYOB_o7_i6xkQbIhjxOAgFhBlrEXnKinq2e3ok4Exfkp_ZdCvETF2Q/s1600/IMG_1462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iKL4LHdfVprblQnRj-c7_yVefTXIM6RykmRo46uvXM_-gjfCU_dUtRfdC-uD1dxlL1mqragNjyJtsy2LAKJ6pmbYOB_o7_i6xkQbIhjxOAgFhBlrEXnKinq2e3ok4Exfkp_ZdCvETF2Q/s1600/IMG_1462.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfZbCWcE5ncWlzmoWsU953l6rQVHE8bjdGsA_Rx7LpdgoVhEbrxAE8YplCoePVAANSZSgpySyL8ctWl7hRMAwSQeCmEut8G5UyPV9l89p2ATniprbBjca638_NBJbdB6By9wf-TDU0rab/s1600/IMG_1463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvfZbCWcE5ncWlzmoWsU953l6rQVHE8bjdGsA_Rx7LpdgoVhEbrxAE8YplCoePVAANSZSgpySyL8ctWl7hRMAwSQeCmEut8G5UyPV9l89p2ATniprbBjca638_NBJbdB6By9wf-TDU0rab/s1600/IMG_1463.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wRCW1EzZo_-kCrWbO3Hcu8s-TALPfPQK3E_p0-P-bw7S-0ooOU5NThAIn8xveHvvMrKD-WCMcaSHM1pEWIru24nvrSFcnqW_vVdjku0XB9l7k4h8_VDpKWNUChFaXjrntAGP7BFpiPCi/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_wRCW1EzZo_-kCrWbO3Hcu8s-TALPfPQK3E_p0-P-bw7S-0ooOU5NThAIn8xveHvvMrKD-WCMcaSHM1pEWIru24nvrSFcnqW_vVdjku0XB9l7k4h8_VDpKWNUChFaXjrntAGP7BFpiPCi/s1600/IMG_1426.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkBzcJQHOtjtH7alJO_a07D8QXNZ_MPfpldA5znTKbc-tCuq3Y1s3tSuRJpJUjDP1ORiivmaXD6EpxfeQfou6ymn2Z-4RlY0CC5WZh-TdExqaQUl9DsKtTC4pMn1MPxtOrKPkQruZjvNW/s1600/IMG_1443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It was weird watching all of the Elders that I have known
for so long bear their last testimonies as they get ready to finish their
missions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them have been with me
from the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder Muniz, for
example, was in my zone when I first got to Brazil, and then again at the
halfway mark, and he is currently my zone leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is even stranger is to think that at the
next conference it will be my turn to say goodbye. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After the conference, we were planning to grab a bus, but
one of the brethren from our ward passed by on his way home from work in his VW
van.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(There are a LOT of those
here.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was perfect for us because we
fit almost our entire zone inside…12 elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bus would have normally taken over an hour to get home and we made
it in 15 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We held a special activity tonight at our ward mission
leader’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had one of our investigators
come and at the last minute I was asked to present the message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I asked everyone there who was a convert
to share their conversion story, specifically how they came to know that the
gospel was tru.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone told their
stories and each one was very different except for one thing that they all had
in common: they each applied the test in Moroni 10:4-5 personally and
sincerely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cool part about the night
was that I finally got to here my companion’s conversion story which was
cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that his answer was
completely based on the Book of Mormon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Before, when I asked him how he got baptized, he would just say, “Oh it
was normal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess that it is true
because even something that is so special and sacred is at the same time normal
here on a mission. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 26, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> I am thoroughly convinced
that every single week as a missionary has to have as least one day where
everything falls through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today was one
of those days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One the plus side, I made
the most of the zone conference and tried to hit the standard of excellence as
far as the contacts went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should have
made our 20 contacts, but on contact #17 we ended up talking a long time so we
had to hurry home before 9:30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made
it home just in the nick of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
other Elders made it back late because a member gave them dinner and they
brought home some extra crab for us!!! YUM, I have never eaten an entire crab
before, so that was a new experience for me.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 27, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today was almost the exact opposite of yesterday. We taught
a ton of people, and it was kindof sad because we had to drop a lot of
investigators and we also had a big family drop us because they don’t want to
give up praying to Mary or their saints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I really had thought that they were going to change, but they ended up
telling us that they didn’t have any desire to change their religion. They told
us that if they were to change, it would be to become a Mormon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It was a hard day for us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 28, 2015</span></u></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia7lrf03-OMmOikhohgW5_lqb3erkdJ51mb8iLT1jTUSCoweJMo3FRbcadjzgcDreDAvSnlogDH1KmX4r_gakR-1SbK6N4RyJjwj3rZFFdciAFdMRXyqmkbNowKguyRm9dLHXo9AeZODW/s1600/IMG_1453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia7lrf03-OMmOikhohgW5_lqb3erkdJ51mb8iLT1jTUSCoweJMo3FRbcadjzgcDreDAvSnlogDH1KmX4r_gakR-1SbK6N4RyJjwj3rZFFdciAFdMRXyqmkbNowKguyRm9dLHXo9AeZODW/s1600/IMG_1453.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evaldo and his wife!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAzS8IBHitIns4J_3CtB6LN3vCLDvfxVjEqg94WImvRqNoNm7VwR4l8VPdvJcnuQe3CFxTE7zSL0Dimw0q4MKdtuzWjsULEp46g_Ansq19zPa6N8_pTKSNVa502jxWNYffa0HUgwZueOj/s1600/IMG_1454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAzS8IBHitIns4J_3CtB6LN3vCLDvfxVjEqg94WImvRqNoNm7VwR4l8VPdvJcnuQe3CFxTE7zSL0Dimw0q4MKdtuzWjsULEp46g_Ansq19zPa6N8_pTKSNVa502jxWNYffa0HUgwZueOj/s1600/IMG_1454.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evaldo's new family!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gsDvBAh3ZqUxziwa7GmS2Yb1sJFgZC0PbMeOvVTuVnouwdtdF6Hat0n8xs04-DjXMRxHmibN6TQzdTFM6QSgxyoH9YBUg7XPG5gTsUqYKX2ECW9C4I0NQx8-pD77JzRTEsid6p04Kuev/s1600/IMG_1444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2gsDvBAh3ZqUxziwa7GmS2Yb1sJFgZC0PbMeOvVTuVnouwdtdF6Hat0n8xs04-DjXMRxHmibN6TQzdTFM6QSgxyoH9YBUg7XPG5gTsUqYKX2ECW9C4I0NQx8-pD77JzRTEsid6p04Kuev/s1600/IMG_1444.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wow, that musical activity that Sister Evans had us do
turned out amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a stake
activity for the Fortaleza stake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have
already passed through both the Nova Aldeota and the Aerolandia wards, so I saw
a bunch of people that I knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mainly, I
saw Evaldo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was baptized almost a
year ago and he got<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>married to another
member and they are planning to be sealed this summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only Taylor and Dad would be able to
understand the pure joy I felt at this moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Levi is going to feel this too, and it will make all the moments of
hardship and sacrifice worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I
found out that one of the investigators that we had to drop, got baptized one
year later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to visit with
Bishop Amorim and his son, Bruno.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
great!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should have taken more pictures
than I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that it is kind of
funny because I spent very little time in those wards and still everyone
remembered me and I have such a love for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was by far my favorite place to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBhsQY1IOxGihswnPSyv-VIpKH0Q8b7U-KqSGD4du97Nd7VCPShOoH4gI7DU_ZTa-MBgi-vqrCWouL71dm4Sc26HFN0hX3KrQEHS25h2Wy8Wvrg7Mlon-MjD1y3FeoX0ZoZd07oFGCDhD/s1600/IMG_1458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBhsQY1IOxGihswnPSyv-VIpKH0Q8b7U-KqSGD4du97Nd7VCPShOoH4gI7DU_ZTa-MBgi-vqrCWouL71dm4Sc26HFN0hX3KrQEHS25h2Wy8Wvrg7Mlon-MjD1y3FeoX0ZoZd07oFGCDhD/s1600/IMG_1458.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As far as the actual activity went, the chapel was full to
the brim and it is a huge chapel/stake center.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We pulled it off much better than I thought we would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I messed up on a few parts, but I have
developed the ability to keep going and cover up mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before my mission, that was one of the
hardest things for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sister Evans got
after me a TON, but it was actually really fun in the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have an interesting love/hate relationship
that usually exists between the pianist and the chorister, especially when the
pianist isn’t all that great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t
get any missionary work done this week because of all the practicing that I had
to do, but I think that it was worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know that this activity was inspired and for me it was a special
gift.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would never have been able to
see these people again had it not been for this activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just sooooo good for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the bus ride home we got to talk to some other elders in
the neighboring zone to the zone that I was in when I served in Jatoba, mainly
Elder Evangelista and Elder Pereira. Elder Evangelista told me that he was
surprised at how much I have changed since the Jatoba days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well truth be told, I was suffering a lot during the days
that I served in Jatoba and that suffering shaped me and changed me into a more
mature and better person. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">March 1, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Where did February go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That month just snuck right past me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We started off the months super well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We did the normal before church routine of running around trying to get
investigators to come to church, but no one came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I am convinced that God wants to see
our efforts despite the outcome. Ultimately we had 4 investigators show up late
and 2 kids of less actives that we are teaching. One of our investigators came
by herself, and another came and brought her cousin (who is a member) with her.
Another person came to church that lives on the other side of the city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We referred him to the elders in his
area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, we had a great Gospel Principles
class about exaltation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am always
apprehensive about potential anti-mormon propaganda that can come up during
this lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We read a bunch of
scriptures that teach the doctrine simply and clearly: Romans 8:16-17,
Revelation 3: 21, Psalms 82, and a few others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everyone seemed to comprehend the lesson and one of the recent converts
asked me a question that led us to go to his house after church and teach her a
really meaningful lesson. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In fast and testimony meeting today, I bore my testimony and
got a little emotional (which never happens to me). I also had a bad cold so I
was snuffling and snorting…I was a mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the reasons that I was emotional was because a less active member
came to church and bore her testimony about the stake musical activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went to the activity because her less
active brother told her about it and she described the choir as a choir of angels.
I felt so touched that something that I participated in would have such an
impact on others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to testify
to the ward of the power that we have to touch people’s lives without even
knowing about it simply by living the gospel and serving the Lord. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After church we taught M. and she committed to baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She really loves the Plan of Salvation and
had a lot of questions about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
expressed some impressions to her about the three degrees of glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told her that everyone is going to be happy
and receive according to their desires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I compared it to fish in a tank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A small fish needs a small tank and is content in that place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bigger fish needs an aquarium and a whale
needs the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each fish is happy in
the environment that fits his desires and needs,.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Celestial Kingdom is created for people
who have enlarged their capacity to be like Christ and be obedient to his
gospel. It is the best place for celestial beings to live. M. has such a great
spirit and understanding of the gospel. I could see her serving a mission
someday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really hope that she does.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After that lesson we taught another really GOOD lesson to
B.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, it has been a long time
since I have had a lesson like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
read the Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11 and had questions about baptism and what
would be the right baptism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
expressed her desire to be baptized and asked us what she would need to do to
prepare herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, she lives with
her boyfriend so we taught he about the Law of Chastity which is usually a very
hard topic to teach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It went perfectly and
she committed herself to living the law from now on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She decided right then that she would move
out and keep the commandments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a
missionary, it is a great feeling when you can help someone to change and
become closer to Christ. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-47538398636521600122015-02-24T14:56:00.000-08:002015-02-24T14:56:00.591-08:00Carnaval/Chess/Crisis management/Piano overload/ and missionary work
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 16, 2015<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>P-day was super chill and pretty relaxing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom sent me an email with pictures of the
place where Taylor and I will be living during school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks SUPER nice….and made me just a
little bit trunky, but nothing that a little hard work can’t fix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, today is part of Çarnaval, so that
means that everything is closed, even the place where we buy our water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soooo, we are going to have to make our water
last until Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can just boil
tap water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUJ87OfclqPjQY4qYajzyo21hNCnhgf5BnOJ662vmWfZ58uodmmHR1o1v9Yga4Utc-p7nPEpdaNKTWrtJ6yJtx2ST1G8red4gyJK2N0r2BnzBn8HrGT56Yr5iNQ15959Emch4Vf6WIq1P/s1600/CIMG9029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOUJ87OfclqPjQY4qYajzyo21hNCnhgf5BnOJ662vmWfZ58uodmmHR1o1v9Yga4Utc-p7nPEpdaNKTWrtJ6yJtx2ST1G8red4gyJK2N0r2BnzBn8HrGT56Yr5iNQ15959Emch4Vf6WIq1P/s1600/CIMG9029.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am learning about Elder Carmo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We played chess for a couple of carnival
hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won 2 out of 3 matches, but
this is the first time in my mission I have been beat by anyone!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder Carmo loves to read and spends most of
his spare time reading the Book of Mormon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He would rather read than do his exercises in fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a pretty serious and quiet person, but
there are occasions where he comes out of his shell and surprises me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Elder Carmo and I are going to go to this special district
leader training in Aldeota tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then next week the mission is doing a special musical presentation for a
open house and Sister Evans is organizing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She found 3 pianists to help accompany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I told her that I did not have enough time to practice, she go
really upset so I told her that I would do my best to help her. She originally
planned for each pianist to play for 2 songs, but then she ended up giving me a
3<sup>rd</sup> song because the music was too hard for the other
missionary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It IS HARD, and I don’t know
how I am going to have the time to learn it in a week!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 17. 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wow, training today was different and very cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Bonini got side tracked very easily
and would go off on random tangents (like how to have good personal hygiene in
the bathroom.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, his main emphasis
was that we should be the examples for the other missionaries to follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are called as “captains” of the army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, President changed the organization so
that most of the work that used to be done by the zone leaders will now be done
by the district leaders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of the
grunt work was transferred like retrieving mail and supplies from the office,
and organizing our separate district meetings which replace a lot fo the zone
meetings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically being a zone leader
now is just a matter of G.H. (I asked my returned Brazilian missionary what
G.H. meant and she told me that it is kind of like having prestige in a
self-righteous way.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The biggest thing
that I got out of the meeting was that we are called to serve, uplift, support,
and drive our districts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today we taught a super confusing lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We planned to meet up with our ward mission
leader and our super strong investigator at the home of one of our struggling
investigator’s homes.This investigator has been having troubles with just about
everything we teach her, so we decided to just focus on the basics: Faith,
repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what should have been simple was far from
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a lot f problems with
understanding the gift of the Holy Ghost, but our stronger investigator made
some really great comments and really learned a lot from the lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 18, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today we actually had a zone training meeting…the ones that
we are told are going to be decreased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
learned a little better how to prepare someone to be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were taught something completely different
from what my trainer taught me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our zone
leaders told us that we should be helping our investigators to prepare for
baptism from the very beginning of out lessons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My trainer taught that we should only invite investigators to be
baptized AFTER they had received an answer to their prayers and knew the church
was true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haha, now that I am more
experienced, I fully realize how bad of a trainer he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My zone leader, Elder Muniz (who was also in
my first zone), was telling me that basically I had to train myself with my
trainer being who he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently my
trainer moved back to the Fortaleza area so that he could be near a high school
girl from his last area…boa sorte.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Anyways, tonight we taught E. and N. and they are doing
really well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her foot is healing nicely
and hopefully she can come to church soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We had a good lesson about the 10 commandments especially the part about
only worshipping God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the
problems that a lot of our investigators have is they like to pray to the
Virgin Mary. This is a hard thing for N. to understand and to stop. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We also taught a lesson to a less active member tonight who
told us all about how he was watching some of the Carnaval parades in Rio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said, “you know it is actually super cool
if you could take out the naked feathered ladies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, I can see why the church puts a lot
of effort into taking the youth of the church out of the “world” for the week
of Carnaval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 19, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Almost everything fell through today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess that it was just one of those
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were teaching M. and M. (the
reactivated member’s boys), about family history and it was super hard because
they just kept goofing off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My comp.
didn’t help much when the boys got off on a tangent of ancestors being
dinosaurs., and then Elder C. said, “Yeah, you definitely look like your
ancestors.” They laughed, a LOT, all three of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder C. is 27, but oh he acts like a kid
sometime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I miss Elder Ferrao.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 20, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today we visited people with J.V. and N. (the two young men
who are recent converts) and that was a big mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we take them in the future it will have to
be one at a time because they just mess around. We visited with a less active
member and had a good lesson about faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am really hoping that he will start coming back to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His biggest problem is that he works on
Sundays, but his nonmember wife is interested in learning more about the
gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That visit went well with the
two boys, but the other visit was kind of funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is interesting to watch the youth and how
they just go and go and then they just stop out of nowhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard to give continuity to the lesson,
but in the end it worked out okay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We visited with a recent convert family tonight as taught
them how to make tapioca. They thought that it was hilarious that an American
man was teaching them how to make a Brazilian cultural food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder L. Lopez taught me how to do it and now
I am pretty good at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brazilian
tapioca is almost like a crepe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 21, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We found a really cool young couple today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been teaching one other the other of
them for a long time, but today we got to teach both of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a super-cute little kids who loves
to talk (think Levi when he was little.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He is only 1 ½ years old so no one can understand him, but he just
chatters away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had an answer to prayer today when we felt we should go
and visit with R.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out that she was
really desperate for help because her son’s meds ran out and he started having
more seizures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, they don’t make
the medicine anymore that helped to control his seizures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the first one in 4 years and it was
a pretty bad one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After his big
seizure,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the young man asked his mom to
call the Elders to give him a blessing, and right after that we showed up at
their house. It is moments like that that remind me why I am on a mission.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">February 22, 2015</span></u></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLqsI3Nh-9vIBMb4bSsGv0mppuncC2_RkGrO7UPn10gfSg30M93ndQJD07qZEFL640JXa-Rz8JpDYKJZvf23gdb7LxUV2AGoU8hksySEB1pS8QqseG3eTSLAoE4IbNB84CV3Cr4dE7haN/s1600/CIMG1938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYLqsI3Nh-9vIBMb4bSsGv0mppuncC2_RkGrO7UPn10gfSg30M93ndQJD07qZEFL640JXa-Rz8JpDYKJZvf23gdb7LxUV2AGoU8hksySEB1pS8QqseG3eTSLAoE4IbNB84CV3Cr4dE7haN/s1600/CIMG1938.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rain soaked Elders!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stupid rain!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever
it rains, everyone stays inside which makes contacting hard to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got pretty wet looking for investigators
who were sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My shoes that used to
be waterproof aren’t anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
some holes in them and I am just hoping that they can hold out another 3
months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDvzfiI6PLKTemf6vuZ_2cZTLvWfYufixIm_pjDWTMc16mmMWiZsEkLzFWmSplTi7y7QevSOE_ZG-VP81Mf50uXJNnGf1vDH1df7ZdESfhYs1YG7qVewqd4oX1E4dJIra0rpF4Mq1utXx/s1600/CIMG9027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDvzfiI6PLKTemf6vuZ_2cZTLvWfYufixIm_pjDWTMc16mmMWiZsEkLzFWmSplTi7y7QevSOE_ZG-VP81Mf50uXJNnGf1vDH1df7ZdESfhYs1YG7qVewqd4oX1E4dJIra0rpF4Mq1utXx/s1600/CIMG9027.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will these shoes last another 3 months?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"> M. came to church again today and
she said that she believes that the church is true, but that she didn’t
understand why she should be baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She asked us, “How is it that even if I am a good person, charitable,
obey God’s commandments, that I cannot be saved without baptism?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and
also a little bit about baptism for the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then all of a sudden, she got really interested and then she said that
she knows that God wants her to be baptized and she will prepare herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Church
was really good this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another two
of our investigators came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were all
very entertained by a little sparrow that flew into sacrament meeting and
landed on the chorister’s head, twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then for his finale, the little bird flew in for the closing prayer. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We taught an interesting couple today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is 34 and she is 18, and they are living
with a member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were having a hard
time because she lost her phone so she called her number and a guy answered it
and gave them an address to come and pick it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem is that the address is in
one of the most dangerous parts of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nobody wanted them to go, but she jumped on the back of her boyfriend’s
motorcycle and said, “If I am going to die, I am going to die with him!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, not too smart. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then tonight we had another interesting situation happen
when a drunk guy called us over to talk to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He said, “I am going to kill someone right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have the gun and my motorcycle, and this
guy is flirting with my wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to
kill him, what do you say?” He was super agitated and if we hadn’t been there
to calm him down, I think that he would have done it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even after we had been there for a while, the
police came to visit his neighbors and stopped to see if there was anything
that they could do to help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just
thought, “Man, God is sending you a LOT of support right now, don’t do this
thing.” It was an intense ending to our Sabbath night.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Oh and on another note, Sister Evans called me tonight to
tell me that there was another pianist who backed out of the program because
the music was too hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I guess that
I will be playing another 2 pieces. All of the good pianists in our mission
were sister missionaries from my group and they have gone home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that I have time to practice.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjscyGwgsxleCAqRTOZr5J-pG45lGB6-seJqx_DQIIodcGx_DYOZcWA-05lnMPlepnNLayTt_PR9XgMgmtKJFnBqJZqvrLy2CYeuMqDGvCm90liat74nSj_J5iJdP4v6Ov98aFXVKc1Pg/s1600/CIMG9030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjscyGwgsxleCAqRTOZr5J-pG45lGB6-seJqx_DQIIodcGx_DYOZcWA-05lnMPlepnNLayTt_PR9XgMgmtKJFnBqJZqvrLy2CYeuMqDGvCm90liat74nSj_J5iJdP4v6Ov98aFXVKc1Pg/s1600/CIMG9030.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder Dornales is more addicted to Rubix than any of us. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Post script:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
received an email this week from Sister Evans relaying to me that Elder Colvin
finally got his sister’s camera!!!!! It took three months, but it finally made
it and now he can take a few more pictures of the last part of his mission. He
has been without a camera for about 6 months. Thankfully, he has had housemates
who have let him take a few pictures with their cameras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></div>
<br />
<br />
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-42085761643447338172015-02-18T19:36:00.004-08:002015-02-18T19:37:33.200-08:00New Companion, Same Area<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXssUI4vVa5u3VTPZOudE-ab775lewMo-5T3dy052c4FxU3n_bee6X8HJn1gRTz6U6B3EkTCO6QDvT2ady4cKW4UBok6ktrKgN2wxp5TuDWNmqV23krVBb3W-uF9Nn-a5PIo8glaTPPZV/s1600/CIMG1934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXssUI4vVa5u3VTPZOudE-ab775lewMo-5T3dy052c4FxU3n_bee6X8HJn1gRTz6U6B3EkTCO6QDvT2ady4cKW4UBok6ktrKgN2wxp5TuDWNmqV23krVBb3W-uF9Nn-a5PIo8glaTPPZV/s1600/CIMG1934.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Companion, Elder Carmo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 9, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Elder Ferrao is going to be transferred! He is pretty dang
excited, but I am going to miss him. He
helped me out a lot. Elder Carmo is
going to be my new companion. He is already
been in my zone before, but I don’t know him all that well. I know that he is from Para, Ca state in
Brasil and that is just about it. I </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqmaWEIR6GHtCGhB0MEhSO2N5FcZH1ftp3YOb_3iCph_aLVo4YJH8XyjF67IabqULvEPHvlm4e-8183aI0ItvLoj-Z6F4t2gj0p5KE8BcNrt88qieeCV2GgMGcZKOvh9cv_8jArLduI0x/s1600/CIMG1930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqmaWEIR6GHtCGhB0MEhSO2N5FcZH1ftp3YOb_3iCph_aLVo4YJH8XyjF67IabqULvEPHvlm4e-8183aI0ItvLoj-Z6F4t2gj0p5KE8BcNrt88qieeCV2GgMGcZKOvh9cv_8jArLduI0x/s1600/CIMG1930.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I bought this notebook because I don’t have any more space in
my journal. To tell you the truth, this
was the only “non-childish” notebook
they had in the store, so I had to choose it.
Oh, so I am also getting another companionship in my district. Elder Castillo is going to train a new
missionary! That will be interesting. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 10, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Elder Carmo got her SUPER early, like before we had even
started our studies. I was in the shower
still. Today was cool, we taught a
couple of people and we found this bright 12 year old less-active. Their family is actually almost all members,
and his Grandma said that she wants to come back to church. Oh, N. left with us to teach, and he did a
really good job! He is still not used to
id and doesn’t really know how to, but he tried hard to help to preach the
gospel. I think that N and J.V. are
going to be able to help us out a lot.
We FINALLY got into a less active member’s home who lives right next to
the church. As we got to know them we
felt like they were really interested in coming back to church. We had a good visit with one of the teenagers
in their house who has not been baptized.
Unfortunately, we got home a little bit late because neither Elder C. or
I have a functioning watch. I felt so
bad about that, that I gave Elder Anderson some money so that he could buy me a
watch in his area. (There isn't any place in my area to buy them.) I don’t really like
watches because I am allergic to the metal, but I guess I have to have one to
keep better track of the time. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 11, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I am never ever going to cut my hair by myself again. We had a buzzer that I used until it broke
halfway through the haircut. So Elder
Anderson cut the rest of my hair with scissors.
I was the first person he gave a real haircut to. Considering that fact, I guess he did a
pretty good job. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We visited K. today and he was sleeping when we got
there. Man that kid sleeps a lot. Anyway, he is coming along well. He is just having a hard time making it to
church. N. came with us again today. He really really tried to help but he got so
excited about what he was trying to say, that he had a hard time actually
getting the words out. But, he has a
strong desire to help share the gospel and to be a missionary. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 12, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We did a bunch of contacts today on this road in our area
that I had NEVER seen before. We
actually found some pretty cool people.
We clapped at this one door and this little toddler screamed in
fear. It was pretty funny, but because
he cried, we were able to contact his mom.
We also clapped at a nice little house and we were invited in! This rarely happens, but this time is was a
great visit with a nice woman named M. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The second part of the day we taught with J.V. and we rushed
from appointment to appointment. We
taught M. and M., the two little boys of the recently activated member. They are starting to figure things out and
they are also remembering the lessons that we are teaching them. Their mom is determined to teach them the
gospel and get them prepared for baptism.
She is doing great! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Then we visited with W. and B. and B. said that she wants to
marry W. and be baptized. The only
problem is now W. is having a problem committing to marriage, that and they
still haven’t made it to church yet.
That will be the first big hurdle to overcome since they both travel a
lot on the weekends.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 13, 2015</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> It’s Friday the 13<sup>th</sup>! That’s probably why the lunch that I made
turned out so bad. Well, it wasn’t that
bad, but it definitely could have been better.
It was just spaghetti and some kind of sauce I made up with too many
onions. Today was interesting. We dropped by a less active member’s house and
her son (who is a non member)
participated in the lesson as well.
It was kind of funny because she doesn’t remember anything about the
church, but her son does remember. It
actually seemed like he was the one who had been baptized. They actually started a Bible bash between
themselves and we didn’t say anything at all.
We had to end it by inviting them to come to church.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> One of he cool things that happened today was when we were
teaching M. Her little brother and sisters were making it super hard to teach,
but at the END of the lesson, she told us that she had received an answer from
God and that she wanted to be baptized on March 7<sup>th</sup>. Wow! </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 14, 2014 </u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Just about everything fell through today. It was sad.
I really hate Carnival. Everyone
is drinking or traveling and we have to be in the house early.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>February 15, 2014</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Today followed the same pattern as yesterday. However,
church today went really well. Very few
members showed up to church, except our Gospel Principles class was full to the
brim! It was kind of sad and cool at the
same time because our investigators were fellow-shipping each other. Of course
because we had plenty of visitors today, the talks had to be on temples,
garments, and the plan of salvation.
Still, everyone like church, so it was definitely a good week. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I am pooped and definitely ready for p-day.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-76873387677484093162015-02-11T11:33:00.002-08:002015-02-11T11:34:42.595-08:00A GREAT way to end the transfer!<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I'm doing absolutely great!!! This
past week was awesome and by far the best week that I've had for a long time!</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 2, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8WoidkEZriD0vVwEg1PeQngqjNMt-1tc4KJDQwzpx3KARF9VFd4R9fDY7RZtoz0XNCjxFrG7gtf11kWiH2fDw5G_3MB6LafGVzgBVpbL4nDhn3bWJE4oAjBBPH4LJV2fkt-AspF-X8An/s1600/DSC01912.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8WoidkEZriD0vVwEg1PeQngqjNMt-1tc4KJDQwzpx3KARF9VFd4R9fDY7RZtoz0XNCjxFrG7gtf11kWiH2fDw5G_3MB6LafGVzgBVpbL4nDhn3bWJE4oAjBBPH4LJV2fkt-AspF-X8An/s1600/DSC01912.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Well..P-day was basically just guitar, and rubix
cube. It is kind of sad that we don’t
have anything better to do with our time.
Oh wait, I did do something pretty creative today! I made weights my using ice cream containers
as my cement molds. It worked great and
cost about 2 dollars. Maybe now I can go
home in decent shape, as least I am working on it. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSLZOxPJNrf7-dsiKfsZMtbLp9JIjm-a7-3bit5jO7yO6x9_cRQRdnh-46d8M4NtHG0L9Yocub5HQVEC7JnkV2KeNjVvUeXBNmhznRFrswEv-caXGiiHHWPKYelqj3CxztmKnzI3eqYGG/s1600/DSC01911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSLZOxPJNrf7-dsiKfsZMtbLp9JIjm-a7-3bit5jO7yO6x9_cRQRdnh-46d8M4NtHG0L9Yocub5HQVEC7JnkV2KeNjVvUeXBNmhznRFrswEv-caXGiiHHWPKYelqj3CxztmKnzI3eqYGG/s1600/DSC01911.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Anyway, we taught N. and it turns out that he is going to
be able to go on the special Youth Carnival Campout. We are going to baptize him on Saturday so
that he will have the Holy Ghost when he leaves. It was the ward’s idea, and they are really
working hard at fellowshipping him.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 3, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> This is the last week of this transfer, and man, things
are really looking up! We have people to
teach, a baptism, lots of referrals, and everything is as should be (for
now). We just need a little bit more
time and effort to bring things together.
I am hoping that we do not get transferred! M. came to church and loved it. She read the Book of Mormon and the materials
that we left with her. Sadly, it is hard
to teach her during the week because there are no other men who live there and
we have rules about needing a third man present in order to teach a single woman. We taught a TON of lessons today and I am
super tired (in a good way!) N. is still super excited for his baptism and we
are teaching him or really just basically studying the scriptures with him because
he knows everything he needs to.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 4, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We taught a blind lady today and that was very
interesting. She is and evangelical and
she was not very interested, but one of our recent converts (of 7 months)
helped us teach her and he did and awesome job!
He studies “Preach my Gospel” almost every day and he really knows how
to teach, AND he is only 14 years old! He is the reason that we found N. to
teach! N. is having some struggles at
home which is delaying getting his parent’s signature. But N. is very positive that things are going
to work out. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Our activity this week at a member’s house had 49 people
present. That is a ton for this
area! Now that we have some good
fellowshipping within the ward, we are going to try to get them to invite their
friends. The activity was at R.’s house.
Yesterday she told us her very sad life story. It is really really sad. She has a handicapped son who was injured in
an accident when he was a little boy.
She was washing dishes while he was speeding around on a little plastic
bike. He crashed into a cabinet and some
plates fell on his head. He started having seizures so she took him to a doctor
who said that he was okay. As he grew older he had learning disabilities and
then in the 5<sup>th</sup> grade he stopped progressing. She took him to the doctors again and when
the boy heard his mom tell the doctor his history, the got very angry at his
mother and blamed everything on her. “It
is all your fault, you have ruined my life, you should have been watching me
better!” After that, the mom felt
terrible and was not able to forgive herself, UNTIL she joined the church and
then she told us of the understanding that the gospel gave to her. I was touched by her sad life, but also by
her resolve to keep working to do better.
This activity that we did was in celebration of her 40<sup>th</sup>
wedding anniversary!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 5, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We taught K. today about the law of chastity which is a
very hard law for young Brazilian men to obey, especially men who do not know
anything about God or the commandments. It
is almost always a very serious problem for our investigators. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Today N. passed his interview for baptism and everything
is set for Saturday.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 6, 2105</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Sooooo, we cleaned the font today, but the pump didn’t
drain the last 6-8 inches of water from the baptism that was held one month
ago. Yeah, it was stinky pond scum. So, we took the last of the scum out by
bucket method. As we were doing this I
heard a big SPLASH! Elder F. slipped and fell in, getting totally soaked. It took a while to finish getting the water
out, but in the end it looked good. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We taught our family with the Mom who had foot
surgery. She is still very excited about
the church and taking the lessons, but she wants to come to church on her own two
feet….yeah, that is going to take a while longer. After that family, we taught a new
investigator. He is a very nice devout
Catholic and he told us that there was no way on earth that we could ever
convince him to change. I invited him to
pray and ask God because He is the only one who can change us.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRSScX-a-lzDd3jIe2Le-vwMFT4rrE6tubOTv15JEfGkizQVoExiKzWkrAg4rm0-LnSJVn4CVb0-l19R_D36CdpL-nchzqsHoBLZZP9oTbJFljpkmW44bDveCl4VEPgkemtlCjTulHeqAC/s1600/DSC01897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRSScX-a-lzDd3jIe2Le-vwMFT4rrE6tubOTv15JEfGkizQVoExiKzWkrAg4rm0-LnSJVn4CVb0-l19R_D36CdpL-nchzqsHoBLZZP9oTbJFljpkmW44bDveCl4VEPgkemtlCjTulHeqAC/s1600/DSC01897.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 7, 2015</span></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Today was AWESOME!
First of all, the baptism went great.
It started late (that is just normal for Brazil), but a ton of people
showed up. Sadly, none of N. family
came. Thankfully, the ward family is very loving and supportive of N. and he
feels that love. I was blessed to be
able to perform the baptism – a privilege that I don’t often get. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QC2tCdFnRiDblgQEOb8gdGD-x7GVs5uC8ex07U9mjTjopsv1T9ESowj7VAImZr3SHSX5T2VmL8q9rJ4ZzefgAhR1mFVwSy4jWtlNiUAnrt3ekBQjIa5JvjWMQ_vfX5KvpdPQRjXGhOAm/s1600/DSC01896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-QC2tCdFnRiDblgQEOb8gdGD-x7GVs5uC8ex07U9mjTjopsv1T9ESowj7VAImZr3SHSX5T2VmL8q9rJ4ZzefgAhR1mFVwSy4jWtlNiUAnrt3ekBQjIa5JvjWMQ_vfX5KvpdPQRjXGhOAm/s1600/DSC01896.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BEFORE smiles!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZDvwkCEc1VTHN-vO7vW3v7IoLEJt0-wNzNW36bleCEOvMQoB4KASH-G5Bg74TPad-jw9stwRLuSWefkpX6T2e5hWJ2Fb_522rUXwi7ycaeoV9K2aUgnXt5JOiUNf-2rjDrzel-lGNd75/s1600/DSC01902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZDvwkCEc1VTHN-vO7vW3v7IoLEJt0-wNzNW36bleCEOvMQoB4KASH-G5Bg74TPad-jw9stwRLuSWefkpX6T2e5hWJ2Fb_522rUXwi7ycaeoV9K2aUgnXt5JOiUNf-2rjDrzel-lGNd75/s1600/DSC01902.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AFTER even bigger smiles!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"> The rest of the day pretty much fell through teaching
wise. In the end of the day, I had
another moment of joy when I solved the rubix cube in 28.03 seconds! Elder Anderson says that officially makes me
a “speed cuber”. I just admit that I
felt way too much joy and even a little adrenaline rush when I solved it that
fast. What has my life come to? Haha</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 8, 2015</span></u></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> We had 5 people come to church today. Well, actually 6, but one is not actually our
investigator yet. Today was just
great! We passed by one of our
investigator’s house to pick her up for church.
It turned out that her little 10 year old sister got up early to go to
church and had been trying to wake her older sister up to go with her, but
couldn’t. So the 10 year old came by
herself. She is REALLY sharp and pays
very careful attention to the speakers.
She has already read the Book of Moron and even marked passages that she
likes. She ALSO has responded to the
questions in the back of our pamphlets.
We are going to try to focus on teaching her entire family so that she
can continue to progress. Unfortunately,
her family is rarely home and if they are home, they are usually sleeping.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> This week has turned out to be a great week for us and we
couldn’t have ended the transfer better.
</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-13901646104299409912015-02-04T12:04:00.001-08:002015-02-04T12:04:40.203-08:00Another good work week made better with Burger King.
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vxhWXVi5_ueO6Dq1HFNErIrDjuvxxCHN6eMF_d3lXVP5tQrB1PzPvoiYeOFis2peYjnPMCNtTT7xF2QY7E_6ndk6K7cqExjy38O7sJzxX6X4h-7JpuHsnOHuEBjcAnNBHVngA6ZDYXIO/s1600/CIMG1900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vxhWXVi5_ueO6Dq1HFNErIrDjuvxxCHN6eMF_d3lXVP5tQrB1PzPvoiYeOFis2peYjnPMCNtTT7xF2QY7E_6ndk6K7cqExjy38O7sJzxX6X4h-7JpuHsnOHuEBjcAnNBHVngA6ZDYXIO/s1600/CIMG1900.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortaleza</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>26 January 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIkp7c3A0zm8bC0e9-KVm_86m-sZdp4uH8A_EZwr-xr4N-LjtQ3KQ5fBlJJs5zFlQI_RrtWZgV4ok2EJInoVcABirUbDRkCQv_2USN6RWC5RrLr_LyI8Cz8VUqiMOobX42d3Xm9FSrLJi/s1600/CIMG1901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIkp7c3A0zm8bC0e9-KVm_86m-sZdp4uH8A_EZwr-xr4N-LjtQ3KQ5fBlJJs5zFlQI_RrtWZgV4ok2EJInoVcABirUbDRkCQv_2USN6RWC5RrLr_LyI8Cz8VUqiMOobX42d3Xm9FSrLJi/s1600/CIMG1901.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made a trip into the city for interviews with the President.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We are going to hold off on the baptism of the two boys for
a little while longer.<span> </span>These are two
kids who have never been to church before their mom came back to activity a few
weeks ago.<span> </span>We talked to their dad (an
inactive member) and he wanted to postpone the baptism because he didn’t think
that the boys were ready.<span> </span>At first I was
a little disappointed until I started teaching them and then I was like, “Yeah,
this will take longer than I thought.”<span>
</span>This is a good example of how important it is to listen to the
parents.<span> </span>We are going to plan on working
with the dad also so that he can baptize his own sons.<span> </span>He already said that he wanted to come back,
now we just need to help give him the support he needs to do it. </span></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>27 January 2015 </span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yvGAqtWCOGp-64O5JN9dRv7wXQ4-cLEdq0efwKRZGaezc8UCNSjuh9MOJLG_sLksnOBP91UsYeHQAhNssaeT68cb2GXvBjdjL7EL4ygIGzSRi8tfG3AfLqvXmlXTypBfW9w4KZFR86LZ/s1600/CIMG1866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yvGAqtWCOGp-64O5JN9dRv7wXQ4-cLEdq0efwKRZGaezc8UCNSjuh9MOJLG_sLksnOBP91UsYeHQAhNssaeT68cb2GXvBjdjL7EL4ygIGzSRi8tfG3AfLqvXmlXTypBfW9w4KZFR86LZ/s1600/CIMG1866.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My breakfast = the end of mission diet plan to drop 10 before returning home.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> We had our interviews with
President Bonini today.<span> </span>We got there a
little early so I treated my district to Burger King.<span> </span>I miss American food….. like Dad’s ribs,
burgers, French fries, pancaked, bacon, hashbrowns…The food here is good, but
it really gets old.<span> </span>Anyways, getting back
to the point, our interviews normally take forever and go super late.<span> </span>But, today President Bonini was on a roll ad
our interviews were super quick.<span> </span>Mine
was cool.<span> </span>I asked him to renew my temple
recommend.<span> </span>It was really different experience
this time because with every question that was asked I would have a little
missionary flashback of an experience that helped me to answer each question
with an a surety. I definitely felt the spirit stronger and know that I am more
dedicated and prepared to go to the temple than I was when I got my first
recommend.<span> </span>I also found a quote that I
like that Presidente had in his office: “Whatever excuse for not reaching and
objective, even if it is valid, weakens the character.” Spencer W. Kimball</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>28 January 2015</span></u></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Woohoooo!!! We have a date set for a baptism for the 21<sup>st</sup>
of February!<span> </span>This is the young man we
met in the alley and he is making incredible progress. The hard part will be
waiting to see if he makes it to church this Sunday.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>I haven’t told you about this experience that I have been
having with an old man who pushes a wheelbarrow around and always asks the
missionaries to help him.<span> </span>He is super
old, barefoot, and you just feel sorry for the guy.<span> </span>One day, I walked nearly ½ of a mile pushing
a heavy wheelbarrow with sacks full of manure. Then, after I finished helping
him out, he asks me for money…..</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>29 January 2015</span></u></span></div>
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</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Today something super cool happened.<span> </span>So, Elder D. and Elder A. gave us a referral
and when we talked to them, it turned out to be a miracle<span> </span>The dad of the house left his family a few
days earlier after a nasty fight.<span> </span>He
only had returned last night. Then this morning he told his wife that he was
sorry and that they needed to find a church that could help their family. Then
we showed up with our message and they are very interested.<span> </span>They have a large family including teenagers
and they all listened to our message and will let us return to teach them
again.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>30 January 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Nothing super interesting happened today.<span> </span>Everything is going well with the families
that we are trying to reactivate.<span> </span>The
dad of the two boys is really warming up to us and says he wants to join his
wife and kids and come back to church.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>31 January 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvJlxNSHhyphenhyphen83OYT0737jf096APKcC_53HmBiY7lVrZfH9-LfFv2kFdhcVkIvnXshbmqJy9q34_kIZHFyEaaFlEDb6b_xGBmFHzUOLejUevG6vmvdr753GVZfKbEXA7LgQoBr3JDv8ivHn/s1600/DSC01882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDvJlxNSHhyphenhyphen83OYT0737jf096APKcC_53HmBiY7lVrZfH9-LfFv2kFdhcVkIvnXshbmqJy9q34_kIZHFyEaaFlEDb6b_xGBmFHzUOLejUevG6vmvdr753GVZfKbEXA7LgQoBr3JDv8ivHn/s1600/DSC01882.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elder F. likes ping pong alot!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Where to start?<span> </span>Haha,
so while Elder F. and I were studying, someone called us.<span> </span>It was Elder Curty (one of my former
housemates from early in my mission).<span> </span>He
is from Rio and has been home for a while. I was super surprised and I almost
didn’t even recognize his voice.<span> </span>We
caught up for a bit, but sadly I had to get to work so I couldn’t talk for
long.<span> </span>Anyways, he said that he needed to
talk to me to explain something important on my p-day.<span> </span>So now I am really looking forward to p-day!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>After that we had three new people show up for English
class.<span> </span>It was a really good class even
though it is hard to think of ideas to keep people involved.<span> </span>The book that Mom sent me is for a lot more
advance students, but I still use a lot of the principles from it because they
are really useful.<span> </span>Anyways, the class
members all said that they would come to church tomorrow. (We’ll see if they
come!)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>We had a chance to visit the family of the mom who had foot
surgery.<span> </span>We haven’t talk with them in
over a week and sometimes that is long enough for people to lose interest in
the missionaries.<span> </span>But, they still have
the same desire to attend church as soon as her foot heals, and then she wants
to be baptized.<span> </span>She thinks that her foot
will be well enough to walk in another week.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span>1 February 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>It is already FEBRUARY!!!<span>
</span>Man, time is flying by now.<span> </span>We
had five people come to church today which is great, but then again we were
expecting 20 which is not so great.<span> </span>We
spent 20 minutes walking and knocking doors before church. One of our
investigators and her boyfriend came to church and it turns out that she knows
a lot of the members already.<span> </span>She really
really enjoyed church and it was a really good testimony meeting.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span><span> </span>Everything after church fell through.<span> </span>Sundays are drinking days here in Brazil and
today it was an exceptionally drunk day. I am looking forward to p-day
tomorrow!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVf_Ymm-ykizznjN4Kk3NtTRz1WXvFMq5o9NcGlxPxvi881oCidI7Z-Bs2VF4t3mBdmZcAJB-egMyeXG1cux_5xhakqGLyn_fc1vjzRSBEh5M04FTIkzAlkrq26VUEUJ5UURuepVpx5Lw6/s1600/CIMG1867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVf_Ymm-ykizznjN4Kk3NtTRz1WXvFMq5o9NcGlxPxvi881oCidI7Z-Bs2VF4t3mBdmZcAJB-egMyeXG1cux_5xhakqGLyn_fc1vjzRSBEh5M04FTIkzAlkrq26VUEUJ5UURuepVpx5Lw6/s1600/CIMG1867.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ghetto washing machine that empties into our toilet and doesn't really clean out clothes.<u><br /></u></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLLE0CUekYqgO1E3iw6vBzAuBzHoafIf7ystRBiot5EB2mzN-uMPVke2mhfobR8tSPZRDGPSgl8cveWxhsd9jwXJP9oopmX4aYV3iGa8Tq5ATCfd8C7RrsaTC-bDWWYMzelpSwk_ICR7a/s1600/DSC01885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLLE0CUekYqgO1E3iw6vBzAuBzHoafIf7ystRBiot5EB2mzN-uMPVke2mhfobR8tSPZRDGPSgl8cveWxhsd9jwXJP9oopmX4aYV3iGa8Tq5ATCfd8C7RrsaTC-bDWWYMzelpSwk_ICR7a/s1600/DSC01885.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our lovely area has the canal. Yeah, it absolutely reeks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-24736872937564860262015-01-27T20:27:00.002-08:002015-01-27T20:27:49.721-08:00Top of the World
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">19 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man, p-days are so
annoying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spend all week waiting for
one day to roll around, and then it passes by so quickly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, some cool things that happened
tonight: We talked with our recently reactivate member who wants us to teach and
baptized her two sons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we first met
this lady, she was really super closed-off, but we just kept talking to her and
being happy to see her and teach her. In time, she realized that we were
sincere and then she started changing and listening to us. One of my favorite
things that I have learned on my mission is to follow the Spirit and the Spirit
will tell you that sometimes it will take a long time to help a person while
other times it will be fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we follow
the Spirit then the conversion process is sincere, otherwise it is just
convincing and manipulating people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are quite a few missionaries that opt for the manipulating method,
but I don’t like it and I won’t do it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">20 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I went on exchanges with Elder D. and today was really hard,
but not is a bad way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard
because every single appointment went at planned which meant that we literally
had to run from house to house to keep our appointments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a very fast walker, in fact I have only
had 2 companions who could walk faster than me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But today, even I had to run to keep up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Elder D. likes to talk a lot and he does not like children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever a child interrupts the lesson, he
gets super serious and tells them off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We showed up to this less active lady’s house where the grate was closed
but the door was open. So the woman was just chillin on the couch watching TV
without her shirt, or her bra on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fortunately she did have a towel that partially covered her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were like, “Hey,….oops…we will just wait
for you to put a shirt on.” Awkward, but in the end it turned out to be a good
lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Anyways, finally we were making some progress with the
baptism in our area. We have these two young men 14 and 15 who are
amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are studying the
scriptures every day, and living the word of wisdom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never heard or seen kids this young be
so interested in the scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will
also be baptizing the two sons of the recently reactivated Mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">21 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There is a guy who was listening to us when we were teaching
in a very sketchy alleyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first I
thought that he was the least likely person there to want to hear our message
because he had multiple piercings, big chain necklace, and many tattoos inkling
skulls with wings and smoking skulls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then he asked us to come teach him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, today we taught him and he has a sincere desire to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we visited a bunch of less active
members who were not interested in the slightest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be interesting to see who will follow
the Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">22 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>One cool experience happened today when we passed by a
recent converts house we learned that their Mom was very sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kids said that they had no idea what to
do and that they were trying to get a hold of us but to no avail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we just showed up and we were able to
help them out a ton. Those are some of the things that I love the most about
being a missionary. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On a light note, we made contact with this old guy who has
two weiner dogs (a mother dog and her daughter!) The owner said that if he
could, he would love to have 200 doxies!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Later that day I had one of our investigators asked< “Why
do you guys believe in Joseph Smith?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
bore my testimony about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and because I
know this to be the word of God as confirmed by the Spirit, I also know that
Joseph was a prophet. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">23 January, 2016</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay, our heavily tattooed friend is amazing!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He read everything that we gave him to read
and he responded to each and every question at the end of the pamphlets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This almost never happens and it was really
sweet. His cousin was there and he wanted to learn about the Plan of Salvation
which wasn’t exactly what we wanted to teach that day, but it turned out fine.
Later we had a great lesson on the Proclamation to the World and the Plan of
Salvation with E. and N. and ALL of their kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were interested and participated in the lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, N. still has to heal from her foot
surgery so that she can come to church before she can be baptized.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">24 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today just about everything fell apart. We ended up visiting
less active members who are sometimes much harder to teach than brand new
investigators.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">25 January, 2015</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We had three of our investigators come to church today! One
of them was late because he was planning to come with a recent convert, but
then when he (the investigator) went to the member’s house, the member was
sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But our investigator woke him
up so that he could get to church too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This week turned out super well and we finished it off by
teaching a couple where the man is pretty wacko about the Book of Revelation,
signs of the times, and conspiracy theories, and other stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was interesting, but we tried to focus on
the fact that it is more important to be prepared for the second coming that it
is to be worries about the details. If we follow Christ we will be ready for
that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of our investigators are
very musical and into singing groups so we showed them a Vocal Point video and
they were impressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The husband said, “Those
guys are Mormon too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought it was
just you guys walking around with shirts and ties.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-39254248584227186842015-01-19T15:24:00.000-08:002015-01-27T20:29:49.628-08:00A good work week!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DHximXxcaPYM0FpZsTArYUDldVih2JTJF2rsZd6RNmm0b8psQu160sCu1AwaTOAUXfk5EWizPWXsENpY18LdY0dTGqNxCXlwi92BxCBZGg_Fd0ZN_Hdr7OrX56OFdWDV7ZRtnV3nEYpC/s1600/CIMG1841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1DHximXxcaPYM0FpZsTArYUDldVih2JTJF2rsZd6RNmm0b8psQu160sCu1AwaTOAUXfk5EWizPWXsENpY18LdY0dTGqNxCXlwi92BxCBZGg_Fd0ZN_Hdr7OrX56OFdWDV7ZRtnV3nEYpC/s1600/CIMG1841.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I solved all of the rubix cubes last p-day. It took me 56 minutes. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that that was just a one-time experience. I don't feel like wasting another hour of my precious p-day time. But I thought that it was cool. </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGOzhyqzBJzA8RHbmha3ccXUqkN10ItVMhXMuffCWE4gjltyZyCnJSxGwtqal1rFPZms4_ehf84B7purMt7hdgkodo7iQGh6A54A5bZADT55t3CjsJiYqh5JGPJLeqUoeVKbxDDQpifIj/s1600/CIMG1844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGOzhyqzBJzA8RHbmha3ccXUqkN10ItVMhXMuffCWE4gjltyZyCnJSxGwtqal1rFPZms4_ehf84B7purMt7hdgkodo7iQGh6A54A5bZADT55t3CjsJiYqh5JGPJLeqUoeVKbxDDQpifIj/s1600/CIMG1844.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
12, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I got to play basketball today!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was pretty awesme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than that, today was like any other
p-day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We taught this less active member
who is having a hard time with his testimony about the restoration and the Book
of Mormon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is hard to see members
deny the faith, but what can you do?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
13, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am never going to eat Ramen
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only resorted to eating
like 3 times on my mission and I have regretted it every time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ate 2 packages for lunch yesterday and I woke
up today with the worst pain in my stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lunch was at home and we made lasagna, which I couldn’t even eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still went out to work even though I didn’t
feel well, and I am glad that I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Today was a good day of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
are teaching an 11 year old less active boy who is huge for his age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a super cool kid and really
bright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is one of the kids that was
baptized by the previous elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
what this kid had to say about that situation, “I stopped going to church
because all of my friends there always sat with their families and I felt sad
because I sat alone.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, I wish
that I could give those missionaries a mouthful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
14, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tonight we had a super cool family
night at a member’s house with some of our investigators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They really liked the activity and we got to
know other people from the ward better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A ton of people showed up and it was actually a really great
fellowshipping activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our ward is not
known for activities like that so it was great to see.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34e97m7dof0sftqVMzeeDVe-dStBZCjD_NGciRnDBEc8_gNryCP5NOfbEtLdevqSx9Gbvkk806mmx7M8l4ow_kB9-YFITlOiOWTUjzuDrqWSIlMktwpu7y-nmoyToIfN_wddy7xSFRT7x/s1600/14374_657424201032793_4510291998268921349_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi34e97m7dof0sftqVMzeeDVe-dStBZCjD_NGciRnDBEc8_gNryCP5NOfbEtLdevqSx9Gbvkk806mmx7M8l4ow_kB9-YFITlOiOWTUjzuDrqWSIlMktwpu7y-nmoyToIfN_wddy7xSFRT7x/s1600/14374_657424201032793_4510291998268921349_n.jpg" height="299" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
15, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Okay we were visiting one of the recent
converts and he sayd to us, “Oh yeah, I just remembered that I have a friend
who told me that he wants to get baptized.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So of course we stopped by the friend’s house to find out about him and
he told us that he felt bad when he stopped going to seminary and that he has
repented from when he told the other Elders that he didn’t want to get
baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he is ready and wants us
to help him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuff like that just
doesn’t happen very often to missionaries, at least not to me. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have been fasting for our other
investigator who is getting foot surgery this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is very nervous and she has a strong
desire to progress in the church, but her foot is a big problem that is holding
her back. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We have working on that 22 page ward
list and trying to update the members in the ward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has been really weird because many of the
names on the list are actually dead, including young people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes like this, “Hey does so and so live
here?” “No, he died a couple of months ago….or, no, He moved after his mom
died.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is sad in a way, but we are
finding a ton of people because of this list. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
16, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I almost cried today when I was talking
to a 12 year old boy who told us, “I don’t want to go back to church because
everyone here in my apartment complex talks about how you guys don’t even care
about us after we are baptized.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
are literally 40 people under the age of 18 who live in that apartment complex
who are coming to church because they feel like numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That kind of stuff just kills me. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
17, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This week has been awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re really getting into the groove and
starting to teach really well. Today we were walking in an alleyway and we
basically had the opportunity to teach a sermon to these people in the alley on
the restoration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was kind of a
sketchy setting, and at first it seemed like no one was paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But once we started teaching it was almost
like magic and everyone just stopped what they were doing to listen to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even invited us to come back
tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>January
18, 2015</u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Oh my gosh….it is often hard to understand and work with leadership in the mission field. There is a family who lives right
next door to the chapel and they are not coming to church anymore because someone got after them for not paying their tithes in front of other
members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today we had lunch with a ward leader and he started off the conversation with complaining about the activity
that we had this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was upset that
we called it a “family night” and held it on Thursday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he started complaining and complaining
about how hard it is to reactivate people and how it is not worth the
effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He literally said, “When they
want to come back, they will come back.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then we started talking about our investigators and he got upset with us
for having two kids on date for baptism….yeah, they are kids in a member family
that has recently been reactivated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
bishop couldn’t even remember one of the less active members who has been to
church for the past month and interviewed with him last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has been reactivated after 10 years of
absence and asked to speak with the bishop about coming back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you forget about something like that? </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: JA;"> Still,
My companion and I are doing to Lord's will, and we're seeing a lot of miracles
happen every day. Seriously, this has been one of the best weeks that I've had
in a long time. A lot of spiritual experiences, and a lot of times that I just
wanted to cry. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Just a couple of questions for you: Could you check into the camera that Taylor sent because I still have not received it yet. Also, could you please send me a new long sleeved white shirt so that I have something decent to wear home. My clothes are all falling apart and my shirts are looking bad. I am not planning on bringing anything home with me other than what I will be wearing. </span></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-86372669760985367302015-01-12T14:16:00.001-08:002015-01-12T14:16:10.906-08:00Hard work and Happy times
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiRf1ElQtrdtH4VnIZqx8-k5hy5A-PPODUy3zwbG3OmYJwDZhQBW3cwEgsYpHWOnLG881mcThk2L4UX4NWfEI_-gZ0eOq7CUs4nw5EdIRTcf3QeZ3VyoDBcFMp-6IeQf_lYPVe1E1g0R-/s1600/CIMG1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiRf1ElQtrdtH4VnIZqx8-k5hy5A-PPODUy3zwbG3OmYJwDZhQBW3cwEgsYpHWOnLG881mcThk2L4UX4NWfEI_-gZ0eOq7CUs4nw5EdIRTcf3QeZ3VyoDBcFMp-6IeQf_lYPVe1E1g0R-/s1600/CIMG1102.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;">We
ended up eating at our house a lot this week, and our favorite food to make: Monster
subs!!!! They're actually super super good! Happy times</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTW8386rU3ad6B9zvvtjXbTECzSHXDMWiqf08yepoJ2I-ulueC8f9rfTmqR_ILa2JyocSwmJYduhfQ2bFo6oICw4A4t9EYX7gCo7fJCLvzlKoNATz9WaX-7_FqF9f1TgHJkCaYuDePEjyv/s1600/CIMG1104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTW8386rU3ad6B9zvvtjXbTECzSHXDMWiqf08yepoJ2I-ulueC8f9rfTmqR_ILa2JyocSwmJYduhfQ2bFo6oICw4A4t9EYX7gCo7fJCLvzlKoNATz9WaX-7_FqF9f1TgHJkCaYuDePEjyv/s1600/CIMG1104.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
6, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>We had lunch today at a less active
member’s house.<span> </span>She is very nice but
during lunch she was talking about how when she was in young women’s, her
leader would always tell the girls that they should get married instead of
serving missions.<span> </span>Then she started
talking smack about sister missionaries, which prompted me to tell her about my
three sisters.<span> </span>My oldest sister is
inactive in the church, the next oldest got her education and married in the
temple to a returned missionary, and my third sister just returned from a
mission to Brazil.<span> </span>I told her that there
are valuable things that are learned on a mission that can’t be learned
anywhere else.<span> </span>She didn’t really accept
it and I didn’t want to offend her, so I just backed off.<span> </span>That’s not the end of that story though,
because Elder D. being the way he is, was goofing around a lot so this member
started calling him Elder Chaves (after an elder known for his
hyperactivity.)<span> </span>Elder D. really didn’t
like that and kept insisting that he wanted to be remembered as Elder D….yeah,
he is definitely going to be remembered all right.<span> </span>Elder D. started telling this less active
member that he came on a mission because his bishop said that he would help him
with college if he did.<span> </span>Then he went on
to say that he doesn’t think the Book of Mormon is true and left a scripture
that other churches use to prove that the Book of Mormon isn’t true.<span> </span>At that point I had to cut in and reprimand
him.<span> </span>The members actually said, “ Okay,
he’s been in the mission for over a year, he’s got to be pulling our leg,
right?” So I say, “Yeah, the sad thing is that he has been on his mission for
over a year and he still acts like this!”<span>
</span>Yeah, we had a little talk about that teaching moment afterwards.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Anyway, let’s talk about some good
things.<span> </span>We ran into a less-active member
who we had just about given up trying to find, but Elder Ferrao said that we
should try him one more time. We talked with him and his girlfriend and she
actually seemed really interested. We left the Book of Mormon with them and she
seemed excited to read it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
7, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Another new couple that we are teaching
are doing really well.<span> </span>They are reading
what we leave with them and they are eager to come to church.<span> </span>However, the wife is very sick and is home
bound.<span> </span>She reminds me a lot of my mom,
especially her personality.<span> </span>After our
visit with her, she told us, “When you came here, I remembered the parable that
Jesus taught about the seeds being cast into the rocks by the side of the road,
or into weeds, or into fertile soil.<span> </span>I
wanted to let you know that the seeds you are planting are falling on soil that
has been very well prepared.<span> </span>We keep
everything you two say in our hearts.” </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
8, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>One thing that is really hard about
being a missionary is the fact that people feel like they need to confess their
sins to us.<span> </span>It is annoying and seriously
wrong.<span> </span>When there is gossip or something
going wrong, we are the first to know, but whenever it is actually something
important, we come in last place. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Anyway, on to another more positive
story, we visited with a family who is less active because of a complication
following the birth of their child.<span> </span>The
husband is a very nice guy and said that he will teach me some guitar on my
p-days.<span> </span>We were reading some scriptures
with them as a couple and they really seemed to appreciate and understand the
scriptures well.<span> </span>It will be fun to
strengthen this awesome young couple. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
9, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Today I went on exchanges with Elder A.
and it was really cool.<span> </span>He said that it
was the best day of work <span> </span>that he has had
since he has been in the area.<span> </span>His
companion is difficult and Elder A. just wants to work hard and be a good
missionary.<span> </span>Our day started a little
rough because we had a bit of a Bible bash.<span>
</span>We were teaching the restoration to a lady and out of nowhere this
lady’s mom appears right as we are talking about the first vision.<span> </span>Oh boy, she went on a five minute rant about
how “no man can see God ad live!”<span> </span>We
showed her many scriptural examples of how prophets of God have seen him.<span> </span>She wasn’t accepting anything we said and she
even got to the point where she herself said that the Bible contradicts itself.
We just decided that it was better to bear our testimonies and leave, rather
than to argue with her.<span> </span>Then after we
bore our testimonies, she ‘prophesied’ that we would one day be ashamed of the
testimonies that we had born and that we would abandon our religion.<span> </span>I just couldn’t leave it at that so I read
her 2 <i>Nephi 33:11 that says, “An if they
are not the words of Christ, judge ye – for Christ will show unto you, with
power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I
shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been
commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.”</i><span> </span>I told her again that there is no doubt in my
mind that the Book of Mormon and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is Christ’s church restored to the earth.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
10, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>One of our families told us today that
they had prayed and received an answer that the church was true.<span> </span>They said that they want to be baptized, BUT
-<span> </span>they still haven’t been to church.<span> </span>The wife has to have a foot surgery next week
and then she said that she would come to church after that.<span> </span>In the meantime, we will continue to teach
them and help them.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Overall, this week has been great.<span> </span>We have worked a ton and made some great
progress.<span> </span>I just hope that a few people
come to church tomorrow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: Garamond;">January
11, 2015</span></u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span> </span>Shocker….no one came to church.<span> </span>Well, actually, a couple of the less active
members we have been teaching came and that was great.<span> </span>We have a lot of work to do in this area to help
those who should be in church but aren’t coming.<span> </span>I am loving the work even though it is really
hard.</span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"> This is our list of members in our ward.
There are 22 pages, and there are only 92 people that show up for church each
week. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ_5Ac5Zv0u24vEjnKhZaMYxp3OoM0CEErqyiM2v1d7UN2GoFF3r4qpDu27Aqf7VJLS-CcXoL0VlE6d3-1P7yWXqA9nC0Qqblkj6a8XJDkqFxDrGzReHyjtjSZ2BCbijOCPl801yP0ieX/s1600/CIMG1109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJ_5Ac5Zv0u24vEjnKhZaMYxp3OoM0CEErqyiM2v1d7UN2GoFF3r4qpDu27Aqf7VJLS-CcXoL0VlE6d3-1P7yWXqA9nC0Qqblkj6a8XJDkqFxDrGzReHyjtjSZ2BCbijOCPl801yP0ieX/s1600/CIMG1109.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgd7lEtGTca9N1XFfxUN9BC7tLu-PuJE3VKt0IohWmShHumP9WAnZVvDis-DlWDw07FXHJDu8caUB1ezPhQafxfldBy4VMTcBggKXi-x3XxgUxcTjVy5Ry4zU82t801zJWcxVBnnxqlU2/s1600/CIMG1837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTgd7lEtGTca9N1XFfxUN9BC7tLu-PuJE3VKt0IohWmShHumP9WAnZVvDis-DlWDw07FXHJDu8caUB1ezPhQafxfldBy4VMTcBggKXi-x3XxgUxcTjVy5Ry4zU82t801zJWcxVBnnxqlU2/s1600/CIMG1837.JPG" height="300" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt6lORxxArOKxSSB66NhRN73ZRVxceeeg3YKLMVzafEVuoFQPYwld8o-NV95aVFENslPdrWjPppQUq1BgfjUJfz2ng-36UP7TEQ0gOpjpJekf3TvMJ2hChlVt8-KNs3AnElstEkY1tTJ9/s1600/DSC01834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWt6lORxxArOKxSSB66NhRN73ZRVxceeeg3YKLMVzafEVuoFQPYwld8o-NV95aVFENslPdrWjPppQUq1BgfjUJfz2ng-36UP7TEQ0gOpjpJekf3TvMJ2hChlVt8-KNs3AnElstEkY1tTJ9/s1600/DSC01834.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">It was such heavy reading that Elder Ferrão and I ended up falling asleep
on Sunday afternoon. We had lunch at home, so as it was cooking we were looking
at the list, and the other elders were so kind as to take pictures of the
result.<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-62101399478043933372015-01-05T20:04:00.003-08:002015-01-05T20:04:34.626-08:00Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday to me!
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">January 4, 2014</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Elder Anderson got me hooked on his rubix cubes and that
means that I have been not writing as regularly as I should in my journal this
week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I have decided to write first
thing in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have mastered
the cubes up to 7, and I am now trying to learn that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a fun way to keep your mind a little
more active in our spare time. Don’t get me wrong, it is not interfering with
our studies, planning, or proselyting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">I
went souvenir shopping on p-day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taylor
warned me that you aren’t given any time, or you don’t have any time at the end
of your mission to do this, so I had better work on this a little at a time
now. I blew some money on one big thing and one little thing for each of my
family members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was fun, but also
annoying because I was looking and looking for something for my mom and couldn’t
find what I was looking for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">We
had a great week this week even though it was a holiday week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that I am going to rip out the part
of the handbook that says that the holidays are the best time to contact
families because they are home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah,
not true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, actually they are home,
but they are either drunk, sleeping it off, or hung over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are not even allowed to work on new year’s
Eve here because it is so crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We did have a “special” zone meeting on New Year’s Eve that
was announced two days before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
watched “Ephraim’s Rescue”, or rather we tried to watch it, but due to poor
planning we weren’t able to. I did, however, get a bunch of new religious
guitar music from some other Elders in my zone and that made me very
happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also really liked the training
message which was about bearing our testimonies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave us the situation where the person is
rejecting us and we just bear our testimony and leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing that we will never likely see that
person again, we often bear a strong and powerful witness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he asked us, “Why don’t we bear our
testimony like that every time?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
made me think for a while and I decided that I am going to bear my testimony
every time as if it the last chance I will ever get. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The last couple of days we made up for lost holiday time and
have been super productive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>W found some
new families to teach that were both miracles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first family is a family of 5 that we found we found when we were
trying to contact some of our recent converts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were trying to find a certain road so we stopped to ask directions
from this couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we asked for
directions we talked to them about the church and they were very interested in
learning more. We taught them the next day and the lesson went super well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had read the pamphlet that we left with
them the day before and had questions for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Mom is getting ready to have surgery on her foot and she told us
that she would be to church as soon as she could after her surgery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She seemed very committed to us and I just
feel that this family is a special family.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our second family that we found was a result of listening to
and acting on the promptings of the spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We passed by their house and I stopped and did an about face and just
knew that we needed to teach the family in that house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we clapped and contacted them and they
actually invited us in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to know
them and it turns out that they have already been taught by other missionaries,
they have a Book of Mormon, but they recently moved and haven’t had the chance
to talk to missionaries since their move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was a great experience for me of the importance of listening to the
spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am excited to teach this
family and see how it all turns out.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My 20<sup>th</sup> birthday was super chill. I almost forgot
that it was my birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absolutely
nothing happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year I baked my
own cake, but this year I didn’t feel like doing it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Sunday was kind
of frustrating because our ward council meeting was so chaotic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the meeting, our ward mission leader
pulled us aside for another meeting where he told us that we are not going to
get a lot of help from the council, but that he knew of a few families in the
ward who would help us and he was going to help us coordinate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poor Elder Dornales was so frustrated by the
whole complicated mess that he almost cried. But, we are going to keep working
and doing our part and things will work out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although none of our investigators came to church on Sunday, we did have
3 less active families that we have been visiting with come to church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, our work with the less active members
has been our greatest success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
feeling pretty strong and I am happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I got my return date
this week….JUNE 8<sup>th</sup>…WooHoo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">FUNNY EXPERIENCE</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsENRZTas74J6j49N3mhYPiHmi2faFUNhVyCqOB8cprU3QnC6LyFpTgnC2BhyphenhyphenyVc0p0L0ADCQ6f412pgQtIqIGrkmDm1Q1rFBI-5bvyzt-6EZhZfvzZTeghTWQJuTFszzQYf_gKJf0T3_N/s1600/CIMG0997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsENRZTas74J6j49N3mhYPiHmi2faFUNhVyCqOB8cprU3QnC6LyFpTgnC2BhyphenhyphenyVc0p0L0ADCQ6f412pgQtIqIGrkmDm1Q1rFBI-5bvyzt-6EZhZfvzZTeghTWQJuTFszzQYf_gKJf0T3_N/s1600/CIMG0997.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh yeah, and so apparently one o the ladies in our ward doesn't like giving food to the missionaries and this was how much spagetti she gave to 4 full grown men. Taylor can show you guys how the portions usually are here. Luckily we had leftovers from some other more generous members here.</span> <span style="font-size: small;">It is always the same food, spagetti, rice, and beans. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-8508943818716586462015-01-03T15:58:00.002-08:002015-01-03T16:04:19.603-08:00"I'll be Home NEXT Christmas"<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcc1hrwucfiZUVSpmLNdEptgwiKLcUq_4eTzYk9V3Ezr6u-mnx6sU518rVF1Sc-TJJkjwTc3FS_pf6GPL_qIrg9LPsFfGsJEUEpBSr58YPzib823Cz4hxJopjvlP4FHgy4M2jPpuDBOfbT/s1600/DSC01808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcc1hrwucfiZUVSpmLNdEptgwiKLcUq_4eTzYk9V3Ezr6u-mnx6sU518rVF1Sc-TJJkjwTc3FS_pf6GPL_qIrg9LPsFfGsJEUEpBSr58YPzib823Cz4hxJopjvlP4FHgy4M2jPpuDBOfbT/s1600/DSC01808.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>December 23, 2014</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> So just about everything fell through today. We were visiting some investigators with
member, but none of them were home so he took us to visit with all of his
friends in that area and we got a bunch of referrals from everyone. Out of all of the referrals, the most
interested two people was a young couple who are living together…..like really
really young (the guy is 19 and the girl is 15.) </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Anyway, we went to a baptism tonight for a former member of
the church. One of our investigators was
there and she seemed to have a good experience.
I still haven’t met her because her schedule has prevented her from
making an appointment.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>December 24, 2014</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Talk about a hard day! The only thing that was good was the
lunch. We had turkey for our Christmas
Eve dinner. Lunch was in the condominium
complex where the were 40 children under the age of 12 baptized by one set of
elders. (all for the sake of playing the numbers game) That is so ridiculous
that NO ONE in the complex wants to talk to us. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Everyone, even the members, was too busy to talk to us. That is just the way it is in Brazil at
Christmas time. I am super excited for my Skype call home tomorrow!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVzQcwc3B-omlyoqDgg3xPdj7tHnKG74vaqMiE2_PHR14PomxY0NyeCCjp30XUWBpTfIWug6oOpjoD_K-wJWrknTZfE6gFRCJRwe38-J8b7ctQY09gbPneUeDmWxZ4a-NHdj925v9cjqQ/s1600/send1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVzQcwc3B-omlyoqDgg3xPdj7tHnKG74vaqMiE2_PHR14PomxY0NyeCCjp30XUWBpTfIWug6oOpjoD_K-wJWrknTZfE6gFRCJRwe38-J8b7ctQY09gbPneUeDmWxZ4a-NHdj925v9cjqQ/s1600/send1.png" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>December 25, 2014</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We tried to get everything set up in advance for the call,
especially since last year my call was a
major fail. The owner of a Lan house
promised he would open for us to make our calls and then he didn’t show
up. So we ran around like crazy at the
last minute to find a member who would let us make the calls. Wow, talking with
the family is really kind of sad. You
wait for six months, or more, and then you only get 40 minutes. I have looked forward to this for so long and
then it just flies by and is over. Elder
Anderson and I played our guitars and sang, “We’ll be Home NEXT
Christmas.” My favorite part of the day
was getting to talk to my brother Levi in Chile. He got super emotional and I even started to
tear up with the things he was saying to me.
I am really proud of how well he is doing and how quickly he is learning
to be a missionary. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsq9POWspo_Q9rNOtr3ZTbKyOhbpXBlt4iHGWb3Hq9saG_oq-MZ8y4r26pozRfJnyxpzZR2FAAndS_0VuqKAo0hiqalUZeR3U_4QfxuSy35_ZjzpqEc4eXTe2k05w1WtX37dvcy3WdBHY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-25+at+11.06.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicsq9POWspo_Q9rNOtr3ZTbKyOhbpXBlt4iHGWb3Hq9saG_oq-MZ8y4r26pozRfJnyxpzZR2FAAndS_0VuqKAo0hiqalUZeR3U_4QfxuSy35_ZjzpqEc4eXTe2k05w1WtX37dvcy3WdBHY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-25+at+11.06.13+AM.png" height="400" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> After our Skype calls, the zone had a barbeque (with special
permission from the president.) It was
pretty all right I guess. We ate a lot,
but is was a big waste of time. Elder Anderson made cinnamon rolls but no one
even bothered to thank him. The zone
seemed a little bit dead to me. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzCaQMQlBZpviKRo4vAecig_vYeqROOQ7xP_OAmPm86tBihCJGScgcAmCDehBr0ia-XTKHJaerf_QdNy4J3MDDIbq7Qz7lVm8ot6bN3gcSZsgdUuK8H0HZx2wsiISXX46L_8BbGIWQnD2/s1600/CIMG0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzCaQMQlBZpviKRo4vAecig_vYeqROOQ7xP_OAmPm86tBihCJGScgcAmCDehBr0ia-XTKHJaerf_QdNy4J3MDDIbq7Qz7lVm8ot6bN3gcSZsgdUuK8H0HZx2wsiISXX46L_8BbGIWQnD2/s1600/CIMG0045.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Funny story, back in the day of the randomly baptizing
missionaries, there was a young guy baptized who thinks that we are all Gods
and that we can just pray to ourselves.
My companion says that when he has taught him in the past, it is just
completely crazy. He really is so ill
that he cannot possibly make decisions for himself. Most of the time he is very drunk and never
comes to church, but we still try our best to help him.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>December 26, 2014</u></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> So we talked to one of our investigators who is reading the
Book of Mormon and praying about it. He
is very receptive and has a lot of questions for us. One of his friends is a pastor and he trash
talks the church all the time. That is
very hard for us, but we never criticize other religions. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I finally met and investigator who has been taking the
lessons for a long time. She is keeping
the commandments but is afraid of committing to baptism. She has some good friendships with members of
the ward, so that helps us in our teaching.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>December 27, 2014</u></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf39BHye3KCtFYT7ZYNhuZAKAVi7eQstsAAXgzXDYkEHLhh3n0C7ecBQJZlzZq6bC4EQX0DHIsuJLop9NiwEtwaJzsAOPoic0yVIXcNInIX8zh9sX03gY37U5xQ-GVEf6TjrRKqCtPlyX9/s1600/DSC01806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf39BHye3KCtFYT7ZYNhuZAKAVi7eQstsAAXgzXDYkEHLhh3n0C7ecBQJZlzZq6bC4EQX0DHIsuJLop9NiwEtwaJzsAOPoic0yVIXcNInIX8zh9sX03gY37U5xQ-GVEf6TjrRKqCtPlyX9/s1600/DSC01806.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We went on exchanges today and I wasn’t all that impressed
with how the work is going in their area.
The companionship is getting along better, but their planning needs
work. In the beginning of my mission,
the one good thing that I learned was that you have to “plan with your head,
and not your legs.” That day, they
definitely planned with their legs.
Everything fell through and we ended up walking from one side of the
area to the other and back again trying to talk to some of their old
contacts/investigators. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> We also had our meeting with the ward mission leader. We have a really small ward of about 80-120
members in attendance. What I learned
was that we have over 500 members on the ward roster!!! So there are more than 350 inactive members. We actually have a very small area that our
ward covers. We can walk from one end of
the boundary to the other in 40 minutes.
Basically, all of the doors have been knocked. So, we will be focusing on reactivation and
hopefully we can have some success. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710506811700935026.post-79754365403850384562014-12-22T21:49:00.002-08:002015-01-03T16:02:35.170-08:00First line of business - clean graffiti off chapel!<style>
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<u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">December 22, 2014</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have been so busy that I haven’t had time to write in my
journal this week. So much has happened that I don’t even know where to
begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First of all, I got transferred
which is a good thing because it is hard on missionaries to stay in the same
place for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, we
were just getting ready to baptize several people and starting to finally have
some success in teaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will miss
Elder Yarrington and I hope that he will be okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, now I am in Conjunto Ceara.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good way to know what kind of area it is to
picture what I saw when I went to church for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They actually have a nice little chapel (much
better than not having one at all like in my last area.) Somehow someone got
onto the secured church grounds and painted graffiti all over the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah it left me with a bad first impression.
My new companion is Elder Ferrao.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
said that it has been on the church for over a month now. I am planning a
service project with the Elder’s quorum to clean it up. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNX6sUk7BYOl1Ac4ISnNGxEvu2A4lROq-NY7dXS7oatnYq3nMMp8XWyrfjq0Tb9kGiCfqrFsvpIByRrWVEZB_0zPtTrtSKVn4fEW5RW2NvR7EbZpthjaJac0rNMCseHLVSKXku5sZGjXM/s1600/DSC01774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNX6sUk7BYOl1Ac4ISnNGxEvu2A4lROq-NY7dXS7oatnYq3nMMp8XWyrfjq0Tb9kGiCfqrFsvpIByRrWVEZB_0zPtTrtSKVn4fEW5RW2NvR7EbZpthjaJac0rNMCseHLVSKXku5sZGjXM/s1600/DSC01774.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">My
companion is a great guy from Rio Grande de Sul, which is a part of Brazil that
is right on the border with Uruguay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
said that in one day he has crossed the border at least 6 times because there
is no regulation of the border in that part of the country. He is the youngest
of 8 kids and all of his siblings have served missions (or are serving.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that ever since he was 6 years old
his family has had a member of their family gone for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get along super well and I am very blessed
because he is the only missionary left in this area from the last
transfer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helps me to find my way
around and to meet people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This area is
a bit difficult because we have no teaching pool and everyone we meet says they
don’t have time to talk to us until next year…in other words, after the
holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ihDvSjSBKAwQJIfg9Rr18fp9eZVTEVSgFU6NvyXP2DhTEB1x9YABOeLhOh0q8f35slPJganuWqJ07-VfReU7YSgS-okcmKrSYZpjPDFSrMhhx-hb38UySTUfHLUlaQr3QkYlXiXc1aQ/s1600/DSC01775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_ihDvSjSBKAwQJIfg9Rr18fp9eZVTEVSgFU6NvyXP2DhTEB1x9YABOeLhOh0q8f35slPJganuWqJ07-VfReU7YSgS-okcmKrSYZpjPDFSrMhhx-hb38UySTUfHLUlaQr3QkYlXiXc1aQ/s1600/DSC01775.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-_cPirC5OjRG5jHIv52D1eSNQ7EDMTUixAR-5V35mBSdVb6JGy0nNIzkhoD-zXeyUSDksoBYGggfTt4_QAiDUOYvCEOLXF1XRMZ6e5AVkP4J3VMOxoBm7BBwb9surZag2DcnFWu6Gdfl/s1600/DSC01809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-_cPirC5OjRG5jHIv52D1eSNQ7EDMTUixAR-5V35mBSdVb6JGy0nNIzkhoD-zXeyUSDksoBYGggfTt4_QAiDUOYvCEOLXF1XRMZ6e5AVkP4J3VMOxoBm7BBwb9surZag2DcnFWu6Gdfl/s1600/DSC01809.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fO2kO1sHdvpw7eo4hjT2pbJcfG18Y65N9SeNs6YOhYXLGVWyeEbvEvdM_NocyZWv1upUBxVV4JQxMP4Gzx9v4-eTdCSzIpy8EaPZdzTBbClCI2UoztJRys5Jy4FNXgQJegEcf26bGLdi/s1600/DSC01776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3fO2kO1sHdvpw7eo4hjT2pbJcfG18Y65N9SeNs6YOhYXLGVWyeEbvEvdM_NocyZWv1upUBxVV4JQxMP4Gzx9v4-eTdCSzIpy8EaPZdzTBbClCI2UoztJRys5Jy4FNXgQJegEcf26bGLdi/s1600/DSC01776.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The
other elders living in the house are Elder Anderson – from Michigan and Elder
Dorneles from Brazil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elder Anderson is
teaching me a few tricks on the rubics cube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He served in Oklahoma for almost a year as a visa waiter, but finally
made it here a little while ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
doing really well with the language and is the senior companion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have known Elder D. for a while now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were in the same zone a long time ago,
then we were transferred into the same zone again, and then we were moved into
the same house and served in the same ward, and now we were both transferred to
a different area together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I am his
district leader and it might be a challenge because we know each other so well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">I
don’t have much time left, so I will close with letting you know that I am
happy and that I am looking forward to my new challenge. I can’t wait to talk
to you on Christmas!!! Please send pictures of Taylor’s reunion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad that she is home for Christmas with
the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believe it or not, I am not
trunky – I am feeling strong and ready to work. </span><br />
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<br />brendaseminaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03539792192414972932noreply@blogger.com0