Necessary Repetition

Are you being transferred or staying put?

Staying Put

How are things going with this family? (This is the family he talked about last week)

They are well. The kids were going to baptized this week, but their mom had a huge health issue this weekend, so they had to take her to the hospital. But last we heard, she is alright. They're really elect people.
------

It's interesting how when you want someone to remember something, you end up repeating it to them a hundred times. I thought a little about that when we had stake conference this week, because it seemed that among the many speakers they had, only two topics seemed to be made clear: Missionary work, and family history. Probably something important to remember ;)

Anyway, with that said, this week was really good. We were able to help a lot of people, listened to a great many stories, and ate a lot of food. We even had a baptism at the last minute. This Saturday, we were preparing a family to be baptized, when we passed by a past investigator that was playing soccer with some members. When we saw him, we thought, "what the heck, why not" and we promptly invited him to be baptized Sunday with the others. To our surprise, he answered with a simple question, "Can I?" With a smile on our face, we let him know everything he needed to, and sent him off. When Sunday arrived, the family we were preparing for the baptism had a health problem and weren't able to do it, but this other young man simply said, "alright, I'll be baptized alone then. :)

This week, we also had the opportunity to teach a new family with a great interest in our message. The father is the cousin of a recent member here, and had been invited to attend the sessions of our stake conference. As he attended, he felt the spirit and mentioned something that is really true. He said, "I think the 'Mormon' church is something special I'd never seen before. The members value for every soul, and the desire to help everyone is greater than that of any other church I've gone to." As we taught the restoration afterward, he practically taught himself and promptly accepted everything we shared with him.  Best of all, him and his wife are very desirous to follow the commandments of God with all their heart.

The next few weeks should be really cool as we continue to help these wonderful families come into the gospel and find more investigators as we go. I thank God always for this great opportunity that He has given me to help him in his work and his glory. Truly this church is the church of Christ, for it does just as he did, dedicating its all to save as many souls as possible, and bring them to the light.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. Sorry I can't write as much as I'd like to, but I hope that what I've been able to write each week will suffice. So, until next time,

Elder Angus

fotw:

O Trabalho de Slavação (oh trah-bah-lyoh gee sal-vah-saoong) The Work of Salvation

photo!

- Baptism of Dirceu 

Someone Ate All My Chocolate!

Were you able to see the blood moon?

They put it in the newspaper, but we never woke up to see it. In the mission field, sleep is very precious. ;)

 

The sister missionaries are moving in to our home next week.

Leave some food downstairs for them to eat. If they're anything like us, they'll arrive home late with the munchies. (But then again, ya'll eat dinner, and here we just eat lunch)

Did you forget your dads birthday?

I didn't forget Dad's birthday, I just forgot to write to him in all the rush. Happy Birthday Dad (April 16th) and happy anniversary (April 18th).

In Portuguese the birthday song is a little different. The translation would go as follows:

Congratulations to you

on this special day!

Many more happy moments

and even more years of life!

(Honestly, I think it a little more creative than ours)

 

ROTFLOL XD.  Woah!  Grant got huge.  No wonder Grandma got confused. ;)  kkkkkkkkkkk (This is in reference to a picture that was sent to him of our Easter dinner party.  Grant is Jess's younger cousin and Grandma called him Jess when she saw him this last Sunday)

------

This week was a week best to remember our Savior and his triumph over death. It also means tons of chocolate, because the tradition here is to buy large quantities of chocolate to give to friends and family.  At the same time, it also happens to be a national five-day holiday that sends everyone we're teaching to the beach or to some other place... 

:l 

Anyway, despite the unexpected traveling, we were still able to help out a lot of people. One of the families we are teaching is showing great progress that I've never seen in another family. This family is very humble, but they are also very diligent. When we first talked to them, we could already feel their great desire to receive and follow the gospel of Christ.  They had been inactive in church simply because they never felt the churches they visited were right. We taught them the restoration and left them a Book of Mormon to read. When we returned, we were surprised to learn they had not only read what we marked, but all fighting over the book to read more. So, this week we left a book for everyone to read, teaching quickly and inviting them to church the next day. When we arrived to walk to church together, they were not only all ready to go, but they'd been reading into the third chapter already while they were waiting. In that moment I gave a great big smile, while my heart did a silent "boo-yeah!"

Woah! Time went by quickly. Maybe I should have learned how to type faster before the mission. Oh well. Happy late Easter to everyone, and remember that Christ and his acts are not something to be remembered on a calender, but eternally.

Elder Angus

Phrase of the week:

KKKKKKKKK (kah kah kah kah...) Meaning hahahahaha. Honestly, I don't know why, but that's just the way it is.

Pain Is Good

Have you lost weight?

I think so. Maybe not. It's been a while since I weighed myself.

How are your shoes?

Pretty beaten. I'm on the second pair since the beginning of December, but there's only a scratch in the leather and a hole in the ball of the foot. I'll probably put duck tape to take out a few more weeks, but I'll probably buy a new pair. (They're cheap here, about $15 for a work shoe)

What are you planning to do for Easter?

I don't know. I guess we'll find something to do. If I get my box today, I guess I'll eat a lot of chocolate. ;)

Are the people there nice to you when you come to knock on their gates?

Sometimes. In fact, they are that type where many don't want anything, but let let us off kindly with a few excuses. Some people hide, others send their kids to lie that they aren't there (I'm glad you never did that... I think), and others just shake their finger then ignore us. Very few bite back, so for that I'm glad. :)

----

This week we did a lot of service, including a deep cleaning of a member's very short attic, so we're basically aching all over. However, pain is good, because if you're not in pain, it means you didn't do anything. As weight lifters say, no pain no gain. Although directed mostly to your muscles being exercised and sometimes ripped, the phrase actually extends to just about every part of life, because going up implies climbing, and easy street implies descent into who knows what.

Anyway, this week is finally starting to get cold, and the fan is being quickly switched for a blanket to sleep at night. In addition many investigators have decided to stop investigating, so we had the privilege to renew our teaching pool, and therefore, meet a lot of new people. One family we found was really special. John and his wife are a simple family that had really difficult pasts. John, specifically, had gone through a life living on the streets and saw his life go from the worst conditions ever, to the point he is today, with a small home of his own, and a loving family. How he said he did it? By faith. 

Growing up in the streets, he never had the chance to learn anything. As he put it, his best grade in school was a 0% and he never got any better. He grew up sleeping in front of churches, begging for food, and getting a few jobs here and there cutting wood or other chores. Finally, when he was already a man, he decided to better his life, so he applied to be a fireman. For three months, he sat with many other high school and college graduates listening to the instructions given, and watching  them read  the thick manuals. He could only sit there and pray for God to help him. When it came to the very last day, they all took the exam, and courageously, John told the chief his situation, and stated that he needed someone to read the test to him. So the chief read as John prayed and sought God for every response, one for one until the exam was completed. When the exams were all completed and graded, the other students averaged about 50%, but John, by his faith and courage, scored the only 100%. He did it.

As we began teaching John, this same faith showed itself in his desire to follow anything the Lord asks of him, and the miracles that are manifest in his life each day. After teaching about the Book of Mormon, we challenged him to read it, promising that if he believed, God would help him. Sure enough, the next time we arrived, he had been able to read and understand an entire page, and was starting to rocket through the text. John, like many others, is an example to me, helping me always remember that faith has unimaginable power if we just allow it act within us. 

Thanks for everything and all you do. Until next time!

Elder Angus

phrase of the week:

fogo nos ossos (foh-goh nohs oh-sohs) Meaning fire in the bones, or the Brazilian equivalent of "fired up."

Faith and Reason

Did you have a baptism this week?

No. :( Unfortunately we were unable to visit (or find for that matter) the young man this week, and another young man that would have been, had a little fall this week, but we'll do all we can to help them out.

How is he capable of supporting his family? Did he stop going to school and start working? (This is in reference to the young boy of age 14 he talked about in his last letter)

No. He still goes to school, but he works in the morning, and his mom and sister work as well. In Brazil, the minimum wage is less than half that of the united states, so normally both parents are always found in the work field. 

How did you like conference?

I liked it a lot. However, after all is said and done, we can see that the work is being accelerated, and we need to buckle down and work harder than ever. Then again, I don't know if I'd like it any other way.

Please tell Drew his first son should have the name Sherlock ;) jk I may miss the wedding, but I'll be there before the first kid.-----

Hello once more!

This week was a really good week because we had the opportunity to hear our beloved prophet and apostles speak world-wide. It's interesting, that when we try talking to people about the magnitude of these events, they don't really recognize or understand it until much later on. It's funny, because one of the members here had the opportunity to know the prophet Gordon B. Hinkley personally, but didn't go because he only had two weeks as a member, thus didn't understand the importance nor the privilege it would have been to meet him. Now, he regrets it. (Just another reason that we should never put things off until tomorrow, because some opportunities are once-in-a-lifetime.) 

Anyway, this week was interesting. A week or two ago, we made contact with a woman that showed a lot of interest in hearing our message. As she told us later, she was curious to know more about "the Mormons".  The only thing she knew about us was the nickname and the film about "kolipoki." (The Other Side of Heaven) Teaching her, however, is a lot different than most people I've already taught. For one, she's a high-level missionary in the Seventh-Day Adventist church, and has studied the Bible for years, even in Hebrew and Greek. She is trying her hardest to open her mind to other ideas, and although she hasn't yet achieved it, she tries her best to understand others and their motives. 

Because of this, teaching her has become a challenge, yet doesn't require much more than that which we've given to any other investigator. Although she is very well instructed, our message is truly unique and we know it is true without the shadow of a doubt. Beyond that, being that it is true, there is nothing in written scripture that contradicts the message nor the gospel of Christ which it manifests. So as a natural result, she often finds herself in inner conflicts between what we've taught her, and the doctrines and one-sided interpretations she's been fed after so many years. But in truth, there is one thing she knows and it is something we know she's been avoiding for quite some time, which is "ask of God." (James 1:5) 

She, like many others, is lost in the fight between her invested past and her possible future (what economics would call "sunken cost"). What's worse, is that past was highly built by the endless teachings of "wise men" and "masters of the law." But she, like all the others, needs to ask God if what we said is true, for if not, that anchor of human reason will weigh her down to the point of complete prevention, where she will no longer follow nor hear more. The Savior knew this as he expressed to his disciples when He asked, "What do men say that I am?" After various (and off-mark) responses, he asked "Whom do you say that I am?" Whereas Peter declared him the Son of the living God. Christ's next words then become some of the most important guidance He has given, when He said "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonas, because flesh and blood hath not shown this unto you, but my Father which is in Heaven." 

Whether it be a personal testimony about The Church of Jesus Christ, or the teachings we receive each and every day, we need to trust in that which our Heavenly Father has shown us to be true. It is for that reason that I'm here, and I know without doubt that what is taught and what I've learned is true. Therefore, |I invite all others who have not yet opened their hearts unto God to obtain this same testimony to do so, and I promise it will be given them. 

Thank you for everything, and until next time...

Elder Angus

Phrase of the week:

Pai Celestial (paee seh-les-chee-al) Heavenly Father. Now you can pray in Portuguese ;) 

Photo: 

- My companion and I

Home Away From Home

If you are always on foot do you not get the chance to visit with people out in the country side?

Rarely. Sometimes we can get rides with members to go visit truly elect people or references, but it's rare. 

Is it starting to get cold down there?

Not yet. :( In fact, Campo Bom is known as the hottest part of the state, and the state is know as one of the hottest of the country. The funny thing is that where my companion is from (Amazon region) is nowhere near as hot as it gets here, nor does it ever get cold. Basically, every Brazilian will have a lot to get used to here.

----

I felt like I was at home this week, because we ended up doing a lot of the labor I'm used to doing back home but in larger quantities. Something my mom would be glad to know is that we basically helped prepare gardens for a whole bundle of folks, picking weeds, hoeing out grass, etc. With all the work, I think I fulfilled my garden duties at home for at least the next few years, but I doubt Mom would let that slide. :P 

Anyway, Hello everyone and welcome back. Besides the physical labors of the week, we were able to talk to many people. Something interesting that I've been able to see is that those who are generally more open to change, more curious, or have greater desires to follow God are those that are young. Many times when we teach a family, it seems that the young people (ages 12-30) are almost always open to the gospel, but when we return, the parents have suddenly hardened their hearts and have no more desire to hear us, and therefore no longer permit their children to hear our messages. The worst part about it is that their children will grow up seeing this same example, and will become just as closed to change as their parents. However, there are those rare blessings that God will give to help that child have a chance. 

For example, there are a few young men we are teaching that are really excellent. One is a young man about 14 years old. In his family, the father had left some time ago, leaving him, his mother, and his sister to fend for themselves. Under these conditions, this young man has grown to be the "father" of the family, supporting his mom and sister, and doing everything he can to help them. With that, the mother has given him the liberty to do what he needs. We came to know him when a friend of his (a member) brought him to seminary to see how it is. After that, we began to teach him.  Although he still doesn't understand everything, his desire to know and follow Christ is through the roof. If everything ends well, he'll be baptized this week. 

The other two young men are friends that have left home to live on their own. One is 17, the other 18, and have left home because they felt the example their parents gave was terrible and no longer wanted to stay. So, they dropped out of school to get jobs and rent a place together. That was a while ago, so now they're already a little better off. When we began talking to them, they seemed more like those rebellious young teens most people expect, but after a while, we found out they really wanted to have a better life, and something greater to follow. They live about forty minutes from the church on foot, but until now have unfailingly walked there for the last few activities and meetings. They still are rather rebellious, but never will that get between them and their goals. 

Anyway, if everything goes right, we'll be filling up the baptismal font a lot these next few weeks. Thanks everyone for all the prayers and support. I'll make sure to pray for all of you too.

Until next time,

Elder Angus

wotw:

casa (kah-zah) House/Home. It's funny when Spanish Elders teach because they always pronounce this wrong. :)