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

Days Without Rain

Opa!

Once again you have the great opportunity to hear the toils and random nonsense of Elder Angus out in the farthest reaches of Brazil (well, okay that may be a little exaggerated). The only real way to describe how life is here is adventure. In our house, we haven't had power for the duration of the week, so we haven't been able to wash our clothes or iron them, and we also have been taking cold showers by candle light every night. Elder Tenório, my companion/trainer/Pai, says he's always had everything he needed in a mission house, and so he feels very unprepared. However, just this morning, the lights suddenly came on and it was like a hallelujah chorus. However, we still haven't had the chance to use it. :l Oh well.

The work here is going remarkably well. Among all the chaos of a new area and a new home, we've been meeting some great new people. We met a family the beginning of this week who are from Forteleza, and they were really receptive. My companion is from Forteleza as well, so immediately they hit off a great friendship. So far we've been teaching them everyday and already have the kids set for baptism on Dec. 9! Oh sweet beans and hot sauce! Sorry for my weird exclamation but I just think this area is really cool. Literally no one here has heard about the church and everyone is letting us in for at least one lesson. What's really cool, though, is that this Sunday we had eleven investigators and a few children come to church, nearly doubling the size of the branch attendance! That's already tons for this mission, but me and Elder Tenório have even greater goals, to help everyone we can, find the pathway toward joy and salvation.

For my little spiritual message this week, I'd like to talk about one of our investigators. We've only taught him once, but we are already certain he will be ready for anything we throw at him. He's the father of one of the branch members here that was recently converted, and he has a great interest in truth. After we finished teaching him and challenged him to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know of its truth, he said, "Com certeza," ("without a doubt," in this case) and explained that he felt a true knowledge and spirit within us, and that he had studied and searched for truth in all things. Furthermore, he explained that he had no doubt that if these things were true, and if God were to affirm this through prayer, he would, without a doubt, be baptized and become a member. This is the kind of person we all need to be. Not necessarily in receiving the gospel as such, but we must be actively seeking for truth, or more truth. We must be searching to learn more about God, about his plan, about our responsibilities, and even simply about the world he created if we so choose. When we do this, when we are in a state of active search, it is then that the Lord reveals his truths unto us.

Just a note for my Mom, the little worry wart, ;) I'm fine and eating well... at lunch. The members truly feed us well, and although we only eat cookies for breakfeast and dinner, the lunches make up for the rest. >:D

Thank you everyone and thank you for your prayers and support. I'd hug you all, but that's a little difficult to do from here, so hug yourselves for me. :P

Your friendly laborer in the field,

Elder Angus

For all mail and packages, send to 

Elder Jess R Angus

Caixa Postal 13008

Porto Alegre - RS

CEP:91010-971

Brasil

Elders at the airport Wendy's (Elder Christiansen at front)

Me w/ Mission President and wife (Pres&Sis Wright)

The Elders of my CTM district

The CTM View at night

My whiteboard drawing of Christ

My CTM companion on his bed (Elder Davidson)

My CTM district + Irmã Menezes

Me w/ CTM President and wife (Pres&Sis Dane)

Our new House and Eldder Tenório

Arrived safely

Casa Branca

Ôla!

Elder Angus here on another great addition of the wandering missionary. So, I'm finally out into the field! It's kind of crazy down here but one thing is for sure, this place seems more like america than Brazil. If the people here spoke English, you wouldn't tell the difference. So, I am now in my first area. The interesting part, though, is that it also happens to be a new area. What I've been told is that the town of Ivoti has never had missionaries before, and that they've held a special fast in order to receive them. :D Que coisa boa! There are only about twenty members in the branch here, but they are all really strong members and about half of them speak descent English. You'd think that would help me, but in reality, my entire life right now is in Portuguese. At times I, I even think of a Portuguese word first, label it as English, then speak the English equivalent as Portuguese. X( But the good thing is that although my language system is a complete wreck right now, I can still teach. 

So, since this area is entirely new, we're doing a lot of contacting people. We've been "knocking on doors" (which is actually clapping at gates) and making a lot of street contacts so we can find people to teach. The funny thing is that nobody here knows who missionaries are, so you'll be standing on a street and see hundreds of people stare or take double takes at you with confusion in their eyes. I don't blame them though. Usually its not normal to be walking around on a hot day with a shirt on here, let alone pants and shoes as well. We also just got a new house to stay in, so we literally have nothing in the house but two mattresses, two lawn chairs, a bathroom + shower, and a sink (which we barely finished installing this morning). But its all a fun experience.

There is one family I really like so far. We encounterd a man, Michael, on the street and he said we could visit him. When we went to visit him though, he wasn't there. However, his Mom and sister were, and when we taught them the first lesson, I could see on their faces that they liked it and they wanted to learn more. My mom has been worried about her talk this week and has been desperately asking me to say why I chose to leave on a mission. The awnser is this, that I love to see other people when they are happy. The gospel we have to teach is a powerful tool that brings families closer, and people closer to Heavenly Father. This naturally brings people, like me, great happiness in their lives, a happiness you can see in their smiles and their behavior. This is something priceless, and something that brings me great joy as well. 

Good Luck on your talk Mom and thanks everyone for your love and support. Iforgot to bring my photos and info with me today, so expect them next week. Just know that there are no gaurantees the current mission adress will work, unless you're using the one that goes to the post office box. Love you all, and stay sweet!

Elder Angus

Time Compression

Holar from Brazil!

 

Surprise! I`m still at the CTM! Don`t worry, I didn`t do anything wrong or something like that, I just got an extra day here, which just so happens to be my p-day. >:D Apparently there is an area conference soon, so all the Mission Presidents are here in São Paulo. Makes, sense to delay travel a day, otherwise we'd be arriving at our mission areas with nobody to help direct us. So, I'm just living the life here for my last day at the CTM.

 

We went proselyting this morning as well. Normally we would have done it yesterday, but it rained a lot and that slows the buses down, so we ran into a time constraint X(. Luckily however, we had this extra day on our schedules in which we could try again. Rather than proselyte around here, we ended up going to Paulista Ave. (I think I spelled that right) which is downtown São Paulo. Their they have at least twenty times more people walking around. To get there, we took the onibus, where me and my companion taught someone who speaks English. Apparently she was an exchange student in Indiana, where she went to a Catholic high school. How cool is that! It seemed kind of odd, yet easier to be able to teach in English.   I think it went very well. Once off the bus, we talked with a lot of people. Probably the most interesting thing I've seen so far, is that the people who are most receptive to the truths we have to share, are those who don't normally appear to be receptive, and those who are young. All in all, I think it was a successful day.

 

As for the rest of the day, I've been packing up my things and preparing to leave. This mostly involves washing and folding laundry (something my college roommates can affirm that I dread) and searching for all my stuff that mysteriously disappeared. Surprisingly, the only things I can't find are a few articles of clothing, and a sandwich that went missing a few weeks ago. O_O I really hope someone took the latter. Also, I bought a cheap chess set a few weeks ago that had two black royalties instead of a white one, so I decided to hand the pieces out today and have everyone hide them in rarely seen places. It's like a meaningful scavenger hunt. Just like the right people to teach, sometimes you have to search in the most obscure or unlikely of places. ;)

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I could tell you all. Just a few days ago, we "baptized" our practice investigator. Even though she wasn't an actual investigator, it really felt like we had helped another child of God return to the fold. Recently, also, the instructors had a play to show us how we can work with members to help them spread the glorious gospel among their friends and family. And so, I've decided to tell you about faith and fear. In the Book of Mormon, the first people we read about is Lehi and his family. Laman and Lamuel always murmered against their father, a prophet, and the commandments of God. We read many times that they repented and that they began to do righteous things, but they always strayed off the right path because they feared what the future could hold. When asked to retrieve plates from Jerusalem, they tried once and failed.  Fearing they would lose their lives upon a second attempt, they began to doubt God and his power. Please brothers and sisters, be not like Laman and Lamuel, but be as Nephi, and have faith in the Lord and his promises. Fear not to share the gospel, or to do what you know is right. It is likely that we may consider this a "hard thing" to do, and that the risks are high. But please, doubt not, for the Lord will always bless and help those who act in faith.

 

Thank you once again for all your love and support.  I pray for all of you and ask you all to be strong and of great courage. Doubt not for the Lord shall deliver.

 

Stay awesome.

Elder Jess Angus (The best link to my name is McDonalds here. Who knew.)

Sunshine sprinkled with dew

Wow, it`s cool to see how the world goes on, and just how secluded I seem to be. At the same time, though, the world has the most powerful influence of all. Just today, for example, I've been praying for someone who will rule with wisdom and righteousness to win this election. It doesn't really matter who it is that wins to me, but I know that if that person holds to the strong family values and the love of God as they rule and make judgments, they will be a good leader and help this country to progress. As such, it is important that we always support our leaders in their positions. When we disagree with an action, it profiteth none but the adversary to comment with scorn or hate. We must be active in the civil process, kindly inform our leaders of our views, and make sure to elect leaders who are righteous and who listen.

Today is my last P-day at the CTM, and as such I may not be writing for a while. I head out to the field next Tuesday, sometime in the morning, and then the real work begins. Just yesterday, we had a little taste of what the work would be like, and I loved it. We went out in the afternoon and endure three hours of walking and heat to spread the word to the people and to share the Book of Mormon with people on the street. It was so fun and so spiritually enlightening. For example, we met one lady who was walking her dog and at first she said "she already had a religion," but when we told her about the Book of Mormon, how it testifies of Christ and the love of God to his children, and after we testified of the truth of it unto her, she seemed so excited to receive one and told us she would read it that night. :D So awesome!

We often take for granted the power of the Book of Mormon. It is not just another book of scripture, or just some story of the people in the ancient Americas. I know this book is true, that the the prophets who wrote the passages therein did so for the benefit of our day. This wonderful book truly does testify of God and of Christ, and I feel closer to them each time I ready and ponder its words. I would like to challenge all of you who are reading this to treasure up the Book of Mormon into your hearts, to seek for knowledge, truth, and understanding. However, I most of all seek for you all to find a greater testimony in Christ, for he truly is the foundation of all things. I know this is true and I know you will be blessed as you do this, and with that I testify in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thank you everyone for your love, support, and candy. I wish all the luck to your future, and say good luck in all your endeavors.

With Giant Hugs,

Elder Angus

P.S. For halloween, we totally went full out and dressed as missionairies! Some of us switched name tags for fun just to confuse the new people. ;) You can always find joy in the little things.

Note: Jess has only one more week at the MTC.  He won't get the mail that is sent to the MTC.  You can send him mail to the mission office down in Porto Alegre.  He should be able to collect mail from there until we find out his new address.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  He is doing great!

Elder Jess Robert Angus

Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission

Av. Visconde de Macaé, 245

Cristo Redentor

91350-290 Porto Alegre - RS

Brazil