A New Hope

If you think it's hard coming up with a unique subject for every e-mail, you should see my journal. There I need a unique title for every day. Xl I feel like it's a rising scale of difficulty that can only be contained by cheating and using a different language later. :P

Oh right, now that my side thought is over, I'd like to say hi to all you out there! All you wonderful readers that are sticking with every estranged word that I write. You are truly legit... maybe too legit. o_o I almost think the same of the mission thus far. Although every day down here is filled with miles of walking under the blazing hot sun, there are definitely miracles to be seen down here. But I'll get to those in a bit.

First of all, I got to talk to my family this week! As well (as far as I know of) you all may have been privileged to see my terrible little "speech." If you did, this is probably a good time to apologize for my ignorance of the manual focus on the web cam that I didn't notice until after I hung up. :l Sorry Mom, you'll just have to wait till Mother's day to ridicule my face. :P But fortunately I still had the privilege to talk with my family, discover that they're just fine without me, but as well that they continue to grow and become stronger in the Lord. It kind of reminds me of when, in the Book of Mormon, Alma came across his old friends, the sons of Helaman, and rejoiced that they were still his brethren in the Lord. I didn't cry or anything that cheesy, but I guess it is still a somewhat good representation. The unfortunate part, though, was that while they had a nice fresh coat of snow, I've been sitting in 100 degree temperatures with humidity. -.-'  I guess that's just the way it is.

As for the rest of the week, I will describe it with this emoticon: \'o'/ We did a lot of work this week. One of the more important occurrences however, is that several landmarks were reached: both the first baptism of my mission, and the first for this area! Probably one of the coolest experiences was seeing Jaqualine make these final steps to baptism. After she emerged from the water, I could feel that she was certainly prepared of God to help the small little branch we've been working in. My companion and I have been discussing this and have decided that God has prepared those who are truly strong in the Lord to lay the foundations for his church here in Ivoti. With some of the people we're teaching now, I have no doubt that is the case. 

I'm running out of time, so the spiritual thought will be quick. There is a time and a purpose for all things under heaven. Just as Jaqueline wasn't baptized eight years ago with the first set of missionaries, over these years she received even greater preparation and a spiritual witness of these things, and has entered into an area that truly needs her help. Never doubt  if the Lord is there, or if the things that are in this world are solely that of the devil. Always remember that God loves each and every one of you, and that just as a an evil man can give good gifts to his children, then can God give good gifts unto us, his children.

Thanks everyone for the prayers and the support. Thanks for the recipes too Mom. ;) We now have everything we need to actually cook, so this will be great. 

Stay sweet,

Elder Angus

Merry Christmas from Jess

Since our missionaries get to call home on Christmas and mothers day, we had him record a little message for all of you.

That video has been uploaded to the facebook group: Elder Angus

A late Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ashes of the Pheonix

And thus did he cry from the wilderness of Ivoti, "Repent thee, repent thee oh though wicked generation! How hast though drawn so far from thy God!" Okay, I have yet to say this, but it is truly what all missionaries are called to do. >:D

Hello world, and thanks for tuning in to the wonderful mission of Elder Angus as he struggles to save the souls of all he can. This week was truly beginning to become testing for me and my companion. First of all, many of the past few days have been really hot, and I mean really hot. Really' it's just hard enough to stay dry sitting down in front of a fan, let alone walking quite a distance from house to house in the sunlight. An interesting thing I've been seeing is that as time goes on, we are walking further and further in this area. I don't know why, but for some reason we never seem to teach people all in one area, and investigator by investigator, we are slowly expanding out to quite some great distances. The weird thing, though, is that we often encounter these people in street contacts on the other side of town! Why? I don't know but that's the way it is. We also had some trouble with the progression of many of our investigators who were unwilling to follow up on commitments, some even that have completely lost their desire. :( I guess that's just the way it is with this kind of missionary work. You bring the truth to all the people you can, but it is truly up to them if they want to follow through and discover the truth of these things for themselves.

The week wasn't all downs though, for some truly inspirational things occurred. For one, I received a wonderful package of cookies and candy from my Mom. (Thanks Mom) But more than that, we had a special Christmas dinner in our small little branch here in Ivoti, where we had the opportunity to teach about Christ to investigators and countless neighbors and friends that outnumbered the number of members. >:D What was really cool, is that one of our investigators invited a friend, who discovered that she had already known the church and the missionaries, but hadn't met with them in eight years, but wants to be baptized. :D It is truly a blessing to see the souls prepared by God making their way towards the right.

I guess I should finish up now. Thanks everyone for all that you do for me, and I'll let you know when the first set of Skittles arrive. ;P Remember that all of you are children of God, that he has a plan for you, and that one day he will place his servants in your path. When this happens, don't push them away, for they truly carry a message of great worth.

Teu amigo,

Elder Angus

Salvation of the Drunken

Friends, Romans, countrymen.

Four score and seven years ago I had a dream. I don't quite recall this dream, but it had something to do with ice cream. Hello everyone, and Bem Vindos for the next episode of Angus in the White Fields! This week was a little different than others because a lot of it was spent outside of our area. This week we had the priviledge to visit the Porto Alegre temple on Tuesday, a mission Leadership Conference on Wednesday, and than a Zone Confrence on Friday, all of which require us grabbing an Onibus to Novo Hamburgo (and for some a train to Porto Alegre). Although extra instruction is great, I feel like this entire week was overloaded and we got very little done with the time we had. However, there were a lot of good experiences we had.

An interesting story of what came to pass two days ago is that of our saving a man who was extremely drunk and nearly died in the backyard of an investigator family. However, after already typing a few details then deleting, I've decided that one is better left for the imagination. After all, the better stories are those of when souls are saved, not only vitality. This week had an especially legit experience with an investigator named Luciani. We had encountered her while knocking at a random door after having lunch with a member in the far reaches of the city. She's only lived here for a few months, but moved here with her daughter, son, and husband (whom I've never met). She's really progressing well and is one of two people (her and Michael) who actually visited church a second time in a row. This week, when we visited her we started by asking if anybody had questions. Luciani's hand shot strait up and she said I have one! Of course, at this time we have all the different scenarios running through our heads, what rumors she heard, what her husband said, etc. Then, to our surprise, she said, "What do I have to do to be baptized in your church?" :l ... :D It took a few seconds for the question finally sunk in and we realized what she had said. After that, me and my companion excitedly explained all she needed to know. We can't set a date yet until she has plans for marriage, but she is certainly ready to receive and has a desire to do so! :D

I could probably relate more, but I'm an extremely slow typer, so I'll just finish with my motivational thought. This week I've been studying the General Conference talks in the Liahona (in Portuguse :l) and encountered a talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook titled "Can you feel so now?" (I think) and the first things he talks about is repentance. Often we see repentance as solely a means to receive forgiveness, but this is not it. Repentance is like the remedy to a sickness. Whenever we take anything into our hearts or our souls, it damages us and makes it difficult for us to move or to act. Repentance is the means by which we can relieve our burdens, open our spiritual sensitivity, and realize more of our grand potential. 

Thanks everyone for your love and support. I gotta run!

Elder Angus

P.S. Thanks to anyone with plans to send Skittles ;)

Skittle Famine

Gazooks!

I figured my letter intros needed to be a little more interesting, so I started to improvise. Todays letter, however, will begin with my lamentations of the long lost product of infinite worth... Skittles. They don't sell them here! DX I don't even think the black market smuggles them in, mostly because they're focused on the Old Spice. The lack of thereof, has inspired a desire within those touched by the rainbow that they will even surrender time in their day and teach with the missionaries just for a bag of skittles. So, I make an official plea to the world that is listening to send me this precious commodity. ;P

Okay, it really isn't that dramatic, but there litterally are no skittles here, and one of the five male members of the branch here will only combine with us for a bag of skittles, a little joke. I am glad to announce, however, that we have finally received a fridge and stove! Now all we need is gas and we'll be ready to eat something other than sandwitches and cereal for breakfeast and dinner. However, we have had some nice treats to snack on from families we've taught. My companion told me that you know a person/family trusts you when they send you home with food, and you know they love you when they make you Churrasco (pronounced shoe-haus-coo, meaning barbecue, sweet sweet barbecue). Luckilly, both of these things happend this week, wich means we have alot of friends and alot of good food. :D

But the food certainly isn't the best part of the mission, nor is it the purpose. The best part is the people. For example, one of our investigators, Michael, is probably one of the best people I know. Unlike every other investigator we have, he actually calls Us to confirm appointments. :D He's also studying the "Principles of the Gospel" book for sundayschool and asking us questions when we stop by. The best part of all is that he will go to the church on his own, and drag his family along too. We're considering calling him a dry member, because all he needs is baptisim. :)

But when it all comes down to it, we all should be this excited about the word of God. It is not some form of fantasy, a good story, or a means by which we justify our actions. No, the word of God is an essential part of all our lives to secure our salvation and the salvation of those we love. It answers all of our questions, and it prepares us for that which matters more than all things, returning to the presence of our Heavenly Father. Please, no one take these things lightly, but don't be afraid either. When we have treasured the word unto our hearts unto action and following the word, we have secured our salvation and in this we may have joy.

Thanks everyone for your love and support. We'll be having a baptisim this Sunday and I hope you all pray to make sure it happens. In the end, this branch is amazingly small and we need more members to help. :) 

High Fives, handed out like party favors!

Elder Angus