Small and Simple Things

Is it hard to serve with a companion who is going home?

Somewhat. There are some that get really trunky, but Elder Boeno is still actively working. The only great difficulty is the routine. After two years, it get's difficult for them to wake up at 6:30 to study once more. And it's true, you get tired of the routine. But, I'll try my best not to be one of those missionaries.

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This week was a little complicated, but definitely an experience. We had a few young men preparing for baptism this Staurday, and they all simply gave up a day before the baptism. Sometimes it makes me want to just shake the nonsense out of them or lend them a little confidence, but unfortunately their choices and respective valor are things that they must do for themselves.  I just hope they don't just give up forever.

Anyway, besides them, there were a lot of things that happened this week. A few over-protective parents, object lessons misinterpreted as Gothic worship, and more. However, today I'll talk about a new investigator called Jose. We met Jose when all our commitments fell through and we started knocking on doors. When he answered the door, he gave us one of those "Not again" looks, then left to attend us. We explained simply our purpose and he invited us in. What I thought would be one of the really skeptical investigators turned out to be a miracle.

When we left the house, we left him a passage to read, and invited him to pray. When we returned, he did what no other investigator had done before, he read several times, pondered over it, and even made a written summary just to see if he fully understood. When we arrived, he was really excited and sat us down, saying simply, "Thanks for everything you've just taught me. I want to show you what I found."

It's not every day you find someone who values the truth as much as this man did. When we learn the basic sciences and mathematics, we don't hesitate to take time to buckle down and study hard. However, it's rare to see one who will do the same with the spiritual truths that God has given them. Jose may not know this, but he taught me more than I taught him, because now I know to more greatly value every written word that God has given.

Anyway, this next week will be the last week for Elder Boeno, so it will be inherently crazy. I hope there will be a lot of photos to send. But, until next time,

Elder Angus

Phrase of the Week:

Copo do Mundo (coh-poo doh moon-doo) Meaning World Cup. The games are getting close, and everyone's excited. I just hope we can still work when it all goes down.

Serial Killer (Don't look at me...he has weird titles for his emails sometimes)

Who are the people in this picture? 

They are other missionaries in the district. This photo was taken by the members in the picture. They gave us all lunch. :P

Where in the world are you now?

Vista Alegre Ward, Cachoeirinha, RS

Who is your new companion and where is he from?  Give us the low down on him.

Read ahead for the "low down."

Preston Ross... graduating. 

What! Already!? The world is going to be weird when I return home. 

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Another good title would be Dejavu, as something I've already done, I'm doing again. Two years ago, I "killed" (terminated the mission of) Elder Bueno in Ivoti. Now, I've been transferred to the city of Cachoerinha to "kill" the one and only Elder Boeno. As he put it, I'm "an official expert on killing Buenos." :P 

According to Mother's request, I will give a quick "down-low" of my companion. Elder Boeno is from Curitiba - PR, Brasil. He's a really cool guy and is fully animated to work hard, even when his mission is coming to a close. That's what we call endure to the end!

The new area seems like one of those "higher stakes, higher rewards" situations. The problems and situations are in high concentrations, but the people we are finding and the help we are receiving from all of the members is tremendous. To start, the young men here are all very active and excited to help out in the missionary work. For example, just this week, we filled almost all our time visiting people with three of the young men in the ward. Beyond that, many of them are actively inviting their friends to go to church and participate in activities. Probably for this reason, most of the baptisms for the last few months were young men and women. 

The regular missionary work is also moving forward. This week we found various people prepared of God to receive his message. One which was really special was a young woman and her mother. We first made contact knocking on doors, when the young woman came to meet us at the door. Seeing as her parents weren't home we marked to return later. About two days later, we met with her and her mother, and they were very receptive. They had already visited many churches, but had never decided to become firm in one of them. As the mother said, they like to "take the truths they find in each church, and forget what remains." As we began teaching, they paid really good attention to our message, and had really good questions. Many times the phone rang, people knocked on the door, etc., but these disruptions didn't take away their attention. At the end, the daughter offered a kneeling prayer so powerful that everyone felt the spirit really strongly. When we opened our eyes, we looked at her and we knew that one of her prayers had just been answered. 

As we get further into this new chapter in the Adventures of Ambassador Angus, there will be many great and new stories, but for now, thanks for all the help and support. You guys are the best!

Elder Angus

PotW:

Show de Bola (show gee boh-lah) Meaning well done, cool, or literally, a demonstration of soccer.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of "Jess" at our cousin Drew's wedding reception and actual pictures of Jess during a transfer.

Did anyone else notice that his smile seems to be exactly the same in every picture? Ha ha ha. :)

Reflections

Danny - "do they have the tradition of chocolate and Easter bunnies? or is it different?"

The tradition here some what reflects the American version, with a few differences. The bunny and the egg continue to be major icons of the season. Eggs also become a popular decoration, as people hollow-out eggs, paint them, and put them together in wreaths/baskets/etc. However, they don't do Easter egg hunts. Instead, everyone comes together for a big barbecue and present each other with large chocolate eggs. (Basically wonder-balls ranging from the size of your fist to the size of your head)  One thing that thankfully doesn't change, it is the time to celebrate Christ and His victory over death.

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This mother's day, I had the pleasure to see my family once more before the epoch homecoming. Everyone seems to be doing fine, and for that I'm extremely happy, but there is one thing that distresses me. It seems that while I've tarried away in Brazil, a cardboard figure masquerading my likeness has snuck his way into my home and my life. I have a doppelganger! D: !!!!! 

Hehehe, just kidding. I actually suggested to do something of the sort (a paper plate with my face) but it looks like they actually went through with it. What a loving, dedicated family. ;P (For his cousins wedding we made a cardboard look alike of Jess so that he could attend the reception.  I will attatch some pictures to this email.)

Anyway, with that on the side, we continue on to the week. This week we ended up doing things a little different, almost as if it were a "jump to the past." Instead of looking for entirely new investigators, we went back to continue where past Elders left off.  We visited with past investigators and inactive converts. As we began to teach them, we could truly see their desire was still there to search and know the gospel. Some were truly dedicated to follow Christ, others who are searching honestly to find him. But, with all of them, my mind always returned to the same question. "Why don't you go to church?" 

One of the men we taught, I can actually understand, for the very situation has been seen in Christs own teachings. He was an investigator about a year back, and he was labeled by the other missionaries as one of the best they've taught. Talking with him, we saw his true desire to do what is right and to be a good person. Beyond that, he has a powerful testimony of the truth of our message. He knows it's true, but yet he was never baptized. When he first went to church, he felt the spirit deep within, had desired it, wanted to follow it, and accepted a goal to be baptized. However, the moment he heard the word "tithing" his mind hardened faster than a fruit cake, and he didn't want to hear anything more. The missionaries tried to explain how important it was, and especially how it was different than any other church, but he wouldn't hear it. Just as the young rich-man who came to Christ asking him for guidance to eternal life. The man had obeyed all of the basic commandments of God, but when asked to make a sacrifice of his abundant goods, "he went away sorrowing."

It's been about a year since the man was taught, and he seems to be in much higher spirits, so it's my hope that he can open his heart once more so that the spirit can guide him on his path. 

It's interesting though, that this falls among two of the greatest laws of God; the law of Obedience and that of Sacrifice. Christ gave the best example of how we can live these two laws together as he sacrificed not just goods, but his own choices, doing "nothing of [His] own will, but the will of [His] father in heaven." It is a question between belief and faith. What am I willing to spend to get what I want? Where am I willing to go, to find something? What would I do for a Klondike Bar? Just as we ask all these questions, we must always remember this, "What am I willing to give up to receive eternal life?"  I know that if we trust in the Lord and do all we can to obey his commandments, we'll actually find out we're gaining a lot more then we profess to have lost. In fact, it's more than an experience, it's a promise.

Thanks everyone for the support, I hope everyone has a great week. So, until next time,

Elder Angus

phrase of the week:

-niga maluca(ni-guh mah-loo-kuh) A type of chocolate cake with condensed milk. Very delicious. (It also happens to be a literal translation of "crazy black person" so better use it in context) 

Look Out For That Tree

How are things going down there?

Fine.

Does the time seem to be flying by?

That would be an understatement. I feel like I wrote Y'all yesterday.

How old is the young boy Dirceu?(This is the boy that he had a picture of last week)

12

Do you have to get their parents' permission to baptize if they are younger then a certain age?

If they are younger than 18, they cannot sign for themselves, so they need permission from their parents or legal guardian. Many missionaries had parents with hardened hearts and weren't baptized until they reached 18 years of age. 

 

Oh yeah, I forgot the last few times, so here OOOOoooo0000 <- (These are those tighter hugs that just squeeze the puddin' out of you :P)

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Just now I had a flash back to the movie Avatar, as I remembered the many great battleships taking down "home tree." This week we had the privilege to do something similar as we helped one of the members take down the largest tree I have ever seen. The bishop, the priest quorum, my companion and I all teamed up to take down this beast and didn't come out on top until after about eight hours of hard work. Luckily, this member cooks really well so we were greatly rewarded. ;) 

Anyway, let's get to the juicy stuff. This week was really good. For one, we had tons of surprises. We had unexpected service projects, tons of random gifts, lots of sudden rain storms, and best of all, investigators that went to church on their own, walking in heavy rain. One of the other cool happenings was the experience of a family we started teaching very recently. They are a very young family with a shy kid about two years old. We first met the father late one night while we were heading home.  We decided to speak with a man standing alone on the sidewalk. After talking a little, we learned he was there to cool off after a lot of heavy problems at home, so we testified of the power of the gospel to him and we marked to visit with him the next day.

When we visited with his family, they received the message very openly and had a great desire to change. One thing I saw in them was their faith and desire to act on what they learned, even without knowing the ending, or even when expectations were highly negative. We taught the restoration and invited them to pray.  When we returned, we learned that they had said their prayers and those prayers were answered. When we asked them how it went, the man humbly explained that he'd "gone to converse with the Lord" and that the Lord had spoken to him in a small calm voice.  The Lord explained to him that the pathway shown was truly of Him, and that he shouldn't trust in the understandings of men but always seek the confirmation of God. Shortly after, he explained that another voice came, that he described simply as "the enemy", who came to say that he wouldn't disappear just because he'd found the truth, but he'll always be there to tempt and to lead him astray.

When he finished explaining, I just stared for a little while, impressed with the great witness he had received. Then my jaw finally returned and we began explaining to him the witness he'd received from God and the opposition there will be in all things. As he said, he still doesn't know everything, but he is ready to act on the faith that he has.

Of course, not everyone has such great faith or sensitivity to hear the words of the Lord, but I'm so grateful that the Lord has never failed to fulfill his promises and answers all prayers made in faith with real intent. To some He speaks, to others He sends his servants, and to many He changes their lives, but above all, He touches their hearts  and minds bringing a silent but strong confirmation of peace and understanding. I know this not just because I've been  a witness to so many such responses, but because it was such that brought me to this very path and work of salvation. I testify that God lives and this is his work and his kingdom granted unto all who will open up unto Him. I know that there is no other place I'd rather be than right here, right now, and of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Well, thanks everyone for your prayers and support. I am coming into the final stretch of my mission, so your prayers are needed more than ever.  Y'all have done so much for me, if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know. 

But, until next time,

Elder Angus

phrase of the week:

frio de renguear cusco (free-oo gee heyn-gay-ar koos-coo) Meaning really cold. It's a southern slang, where if translated literally, it means "cold enough to make a dog limp."