Once More

The cake looks yummy.  Who made it for you?

I did. I used the stuff you sent me. Unfortunately, I don't know how to frost, so the cake was a big mess. Oh well, looks aren't as important as taste. :P

 

What are the springs like over there?

Hot. When it rains, the streets are covered in wet flower pedals, making a great slipping hazard. :P

Did you have a baptism this week for Arthur?

Yes! :D

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It seems that my time here has come to its end as I'm transferred once more. This time was faster than usual, but I'm glad I finished on a high note. This week was challenging, but rewarding, and certainly different than the usual. 

For one, I had to renew my visa this week. The laws are interesting here, because officially, I can stay here as long as my visa application is being suspended. But, as soon as it is accepted, I need to report to the police or I'll be ex-pulsed from the country. :) Oh well, I have nothing to complain about, as this years photo is one of the only good photos of my lifetime. Que bom. As well, I began making chocolate chip cookies for everyone (I finally achieved the right recipe!) and they all want the recipe. I'm thinking I should start doing street contacts this way. Just start handing out cookies in exchange for addresses. :P I doubt it'll work but it doesn't hurt to try. 

But what was best about this week? For one, we helped one more soul enter the waters of baptism, Arthur. This whole week he was excited and asking about how the baptism will be. When the day finally came, you could see the smile on his face. (Unfortunately he doesn't smile for photos ;P) We also had the opportunity to help out his nephew, Israel. We had talked to him a few weeks back, but he didn't seem interested in our message, but last week, he approached us saying that he'd dreamed about my companion, and that he knew he'd be responsible for helping him change his life for the better. Israel is a young man, and although he is doing the usual wrong things that college kids do, he recognizes it and wants to find an escape. He went to his uncle's baptism and is really excited to follow suit.

This goes to show that God is preparing people to hear and follow his restored gospel. Another example is that of one strange but really cool family. Pafum (nickname) and his family have known the church for quite some time. Their kids, in fact, have already been baptized, but are inactive. In the past, the father had really powerful addictions to drugs and alcohol, but the whole family decided to move from the big city to help him change. Ever since then, the family has been working together to help him quit, and today, although he still has a few problems, the whole family is united and he has abandoned almost everything. When we arrived, the only thing they lacked that they wanted to know, was where God fit in with all this. With each visit, we are helping them understand all that God did for them, and step by step, helping them magnify every little bit of happiness they can get.

That's about all for now. So... until next week/area!

Elder Angus

Word of the week:

Pelúcia (peh-LOO-see-uh) Meaning Teddy Bear. You have no idea how much time I was looking for this word. I learned it this week. :P

Photos:

-Baptism of Arthur

-Last photo of Father and Son (our house in the background)

Raios de Clemência

Have you truly been ejected from some one's home?

More or less. In truth, I walked out voluntarily. When you begin a "Bible Bash" you will never feel nor help them feel the spirit. When a family just wants you to give up or destroy your testimony, they aren't ready to hear the gospel, and therefore should receive no more than your testimony before you leave the door. I don't like arguing about something so sacred as God.

Do you boys get out around town and see the area on your p-days?

P-Day is spent entirely at home. On a sunny day, sometimes we get out, but we walk a lot more during the week anyway.

Do you get to do visits to tourist spots?

Yes, if they have any. The problem is the tourist spot here is the train, and it's really expensive to ride. (Just Like Silverton, Colorado)

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Before the mission, and even until a few weeks ago, I had thought of rain as a torture. At home, it meant that time must be passed entirely inside, and on the mission it meant soggy wet clothes and a bad mood. But something changed, especially this week. What seems to be bad for those who'd like to do something more, begins to be a blessing for those who need to find families at home. 

This week started terribly. No one received us. Literally NO ONE. We spent the first few days just walking, trying to find at least one person to teach. Every night we arrived home and said, "Alright, tomorrow we'll do better. Tomorrow we'll find someone." Then, Friday came, and brought heavy rain with it. At first, we thought the week was finished, nevertheless we left and tried everything. Everyone was home. EVERYONE. There was probably never a better day on my mission than this one. One rainy Holiday brought at least six families or more to the knowledge of the Gospel and the Restoration.

It's at times like these that we need to remember, God has all things planned out, and the only thing that changes between those that are truly happy and those that aren't is simple; Those who are happy recognize the miracles that happen even in difficult circumstances. Had we decided to quit, or to just slack off and take an extra day of rest, all of those families would continue in darkness and, perhaps, would never come to know what they know now. Even if they did come to know, we would no longer have the pleasure to take part in that process. 

That's about all that I have to say for this week. Be strong, and look for the lighthouse within the storm, for it will be your guide until the safe and happy shore. 

Elder Angus

Oh yeah, thanks for everyone that sent me Birthday stuff. I feel a little older now, and I'm worried my age will escape me. Maybe I'll add some pictures.

Word of the Week:

Raio (HIGH-oh) Meaning beam of light, like a light house or lightning. They say that the worst storms on the mission make the most beautiful lives. I hope so. ;)

Photos:

-Nailed It

-Sacred Ritual Fire

(in case you can't tell...he has the 2 backwards)

Helping Hands

This week was all over the map. Nothing went right, and every experience was so different, it is hard to decide any specific theme to talk about. What's funny is that even the weather wasn't right. Here it's hotter than ever, even during the winter, and there at home, it's "rainy season." (as told by one of the members here) Of course I didn't know exactly what that meant until ten minutes ago. Thanks for the pictures Mom. 

But all of you are already caught up on the news there, so I'll get straight to the news here. As I said, this week had absolutely no theme, unless that theme was "random." We visited jokesters, suicidals, true believers, dreamers, hiders, lazies, crazies, and all sorts of people. We've been excepted with open arms, avoided, praised, and even ejected from homes. However, rather than talk about all that, I'll talk about the man who is truly progressing this week, and therefore, the one true success of the week. 

Arthur was an investigator we found a few weeks back. We started teaching him after contacting his nephew that lived in the same house. In the first lesson, to be honest, I thought Arthur had ruined the whole lesson because as he looked through the pages of the pamphlet and the book of Mormon, he was chanting to himself "Profeta Profundo." (Profound Prophet) This was truly wrong of my part, but I had officially labeled him as mentally challenged. After the second visit, I was truly repentant, and still am. When we returned, he tried to express to us how he had read the part we marked three times over, and that it all truly touched him, and he had a great desire to follow. What I'd taken for mental illness had turned out to be a simple difficulty of expression, and the man I thought to be a simpleton turned out to be a professional engineer. This goes to show two things. First, we should never judge people by their cover or even by first impressions. Second, God knows those who are prepared to receive his word a lot better than we do, so we must be willing to do all that he asks of us and help everyone we can. Arthur visited church with us this week, and loved it completely. He is now preparing to be baptized on the 28th of this month. I hope it all goes well.

The other cool experience we had this week is the opportunity to do visits every day with the young men in the branch. There are very few young men, so this week we used practically all of them. I remember that when we arrived in the house and asked who wanted to do visits with us, everyone shot their hands in the air.  It was good to see them try to help in any way that they could. Even though they aren't full time missionaries yet, their testimonies are just as powerful, if not more so, than ours. What truly inspired me, though, was Jackson, a young deacon that has partial cerebral paralysis on his entire right side. We weren't able to work very fast or as far as normal that day, but to me it didn't matter, because as I saw that young man give it his best with every step, I knew that even a little would already make him happy, and me as well.

If there is anything truly inspiring to learn from this week, I'd say these two examples will teach it. As for any other words, I'd like to challenge all those who live where the floods happened to help everyone they can with whatever free time they have. As well, for my family and the ward, take advantage of this time to share with all of your friends and neighbors the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, to help them better overcome all the difficulties in life, just as much spiritually as physically. 

I love everyone of you and hope that you all might find the happiness that carries me each and every day. Thanks for all your help and support. I'm trying to find time to write letters, so I'll try to send them out as soon as possible. But as for now, until next time!

Elder Angus

Word of the week:

Super (soo-pur) Alright, this word was uninspired, but let's just say that Super-Duper is the same in probably every language, I think.

The Penitent Man Will Pass

During the past week, I've had the phrase running through my head like crazy. Maybe it's because the year I've spent without seeing any movies, but probably because everything I've studied this week fell upon that one word: Penitent. But I'll dive in a little more detail a little further along.

This week was really good, In fact, too good. The sun was shining, the members helped us 100%, and we even had a baptism to Top it off.  Right now I feel like I'm on the top of the world, and I hope things keep going this way, so that I never have to fall.  So, let me explain a little bit about Sandro. Three or four weeks back, we arrived at a large house, looking for someone we had contacted in the street. While waiting at the door, someone else arrived from behind and said simply, "Can I help you?" My first thought was, "No, but we can help you!" We introduced ourselves and he invited us in. Ever since then, he was a Golden investigator. Everything we taught, he responded simply: "Alright, makes sense." When we invited him to assume and live God's commandments, the next day he was already doing it. He's one of the purest, and most faithful people I've known on the mission, and he lets that faith act in him. His baptism was just two days back, and he's still more excited than ever to be here.

So what is a penitent man? As Indiana Jones put it, "A penitent man is humble. A penitent man kneels before God." As well the scriptures explain the meaning and blessings of being penitent. In Alma 26: 21-22, Ammon explains the following after having converted thousands of his brethren to the Lord. "And now behold, my brethren, what natural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is none that knoweth these things, save it be the penitent. Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God." To be penitent, we must humble ourselves, repent of our wrong doings and seek to do good unto all men. As well, we must exercise our faith, and we must find ourselves in constant prayer, at all times and in all places, in gratitude for that which God has given us, and with the desire to receive that which we need. Then we have the promise that all things will be known unto us, and, as Mormon describes later, we might be able to find true happiness. (Alma 27:18)

I don't have much more time, but I'd like to describe one more investigator for all of you. We began teaching her a little time back, and she has passed a lot of difficulties in life, including painful surgeries on her leg which she broke. We taught her first as she sat in front of her house, "catching a little sunlight." After we began to talk, she began to thank us for everything and for, as she put it, "bringing, something new to her life." In just the last two weeks, she's already read almost everything, and has a great desire to go to church, every day thanking us and God for this blessing in her life. Surely great things are in store for her, and I know that she is truly penitent.

Let us all search to be the same. :)

Elder Angus

Word of the week:

Dormir (door-meer) To sleep. Unfortunately there isn't much time to do this here. :P

Photo:

- Baptism of Sandro

(as well, shows my new companion, Elder Fonseca)

Another email without a title...Jeeeeeeeess

There is not a lot to say about this week. All in all it almost appears as the weeks are blending together and the work just keeps on going. Weeks become months and years become only days. In fact, the whole sense of time is lost in the continuous labor of the Lord's vineyard.

However, the people in which we were able to help did leave an impression. An interesting fact about the people here is that they have been taught since their youth to respect all people and to do good works. In this manner, they all are great people, all who believe in God and desire to do what is right. Unfortunately, their respect and tolerance has also left them with an unfortunate side effect, being the belief that no matter what you believe or do "God is only one" and will save all of us. It is this very belief that settles them into their comfort zone where they'll never be removed. We are soldiers in a battle against all evil, and so, we must help all that we can leave their comfort and see with open eyes the dangers they face and the safe path they must walk. This week we had the unfortunate experience of really good and united families deciding to reject what they've seen and heard and return to their comfort zone.  But the war continues, and the successes always overrule the losses.

Two young people, for example, have been extremely touched and readily leaped into action. We found them as we looked for another young man, Sandro (who should be baptized this week), and they responded at the door. We talked a little about hopes, fears, and about God. We taught them about Joseph Smith, the restored church, and the Book of Mormon, and left them with the challenge to read and pray to know if the book is true. In the moment, we didn't feel like they were truly open to the message, but all our doubts were eliminated the next time we saw them. When we arrived at the door, they greeted us with grins wider than ever and hurried us into the house. They told us that they'd read the the Book of Mormon and were filled  with a peace they'd never felt before. They'd already read all that we'd marked and the next few chapters, and even had planned out when they would read the rest of the book. I got so happy, I had to restrain myself from shouting for joy. :D They're preparing for baptism by the end of the month.

I know that God lives, and we are all his children. Because of that, he provides all the means that will provide us with a meaningful and happy life. It's just up to us to search for what's right and live what we find.

Thanks for everyones prayers and support. Vos Amo!

Elder Angus

Word(s) of the week:

Chva Congelada (SHOO-vuh cong-jel-AH-duh) Meaning frozen rain. It snowed in a few cities around here, but we only got freezing cold rain. :( Oh well.

Photos:

- The tower of Carlos Barbosa

- The house where the church meets here

Pass the Sun and Into the Fire

Why are you walking to a neighboring city?

We are responsible for five cities, but only two are close together and already have members that are active in the branch.

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Hey everyone!

This week was once more an.... experience. We had transfers, and my companion left me. :(  As well, I'm no longer district leader. :l However, I am training again! :D  One more greenie to help adjust to mission life. Elder Fonseca is from Forteleza - CE, (the hotter part of Brazil), and arrived just in time to receive the last part of our hot weather. He arrived and said, "Wah, it's cold here." Then I replied, with a sad smirk on my face, "It's gonna' get worse".  Unfortunately it got a lot worse.  Since that day, it hasn't ceased to rain, blow, or freeze. Probably the worst and most disheartening weather I've had in the mission, and my new son(companion) gets to experience it in his first week. :P Poor thing. Anyway, it looks like the rain-wind-cold will stop here in a few days, so he'll be a little happier.

Fortunately, the mission work overcomes all things! (As well, a cheap umbrella!) This week we taught some really excellent people. Just yesterday, after passing hours looking for someone to teach in the rain, we knocked at one door that appeared richer than everyone else on the street. After a few minutes, we hear a voice on the other side of the door. "Who is it?" I thought it funny, talking to the door, but began the usual introduction. After a few seconds, we heard the sounds of locks being opened and a young man opened the door and let us in. He was a programmer (Like me!) and really smart. He had been taught in his youth to seek out God, and he had a great faith in Christ. We began teaching and invited him to pray and to be baptized. Instead of saying yes or no, he said something that made me smile: "I don't promise to be a leader in the church, but I promise to seek the the truth and teach my children to do so also." Our response: "That's all we ask of you".  I feel that he has a great desire and will go far.

As well, we have been looking to teach more simply, and focusing on the basic gospel principles of Christ and the Restoration. Because of this, we are seeing some real results. Something really evident here is that the people don't like to sit and listen for a long time, so if we don't talk fast and focused, they end up understanding nothing more than 'faith is good'.  Although it is a good start, there is much more to understand. However, now we are beginning to see those who truly understand, and desire to change. This makes all the difference and the work worthwhile.

To close, I'd like to talk about something I learned a lot about recently: Free Agency. One of the greatest gifts that God gave us is our ability to choose what it is we desire to do, whether it be that which is good, which brings happiness and liberty, or that which is bad, bringing sadness and captivity. Many people ask why  bad things happen in the world, and why God does nothing. The answer is simple: God respects the freedom of choice for everyone, and will let the punishments of wrong choices fall in their proper timing. If all people that did wrong were killed on the spot there would be no freedom.  It would be "do what is right or die", which is exactly the plan that Satan had ever since the beginning, when he was cast off from the presence of God. So what did God do to help those that choose what is right and suffer because of those that do the wrong? As the scriptures say, he sent his only begotten son. Christ didn't only suffer for our sins, but much much more. He suffered for our pains, sadness, worries, guilt, and all thing that weigh us down. He descended below all of these things, that through him, we all might be lifted up. If you suffer, seek him and obey his commandments. Only then will you truly understand and feel his love wrapped around you.

Thanks unto all those that do so much to help me, and I hope that in some way I've been of some help to all of you. Until next time!

Elder Angus

Word of the week:

enlouquecido (en-low-keh-SEE-doo) Meaning 'went crazy.' Somebody told me I need to name my first son Enloque Sido Angus. I'm still considering the idea. :P

No title Jess? Sheesh, you are slacking.

Are they Catholic?  (I had asked Jess if most of the people in his area were mostly Catholic.)

Yes. It is tradition of all people here to baptize their children in the Catholic church. What's worse is that even members of other religions will do this because of tradition. Apostasy! However, only half of these people are active in the church. Normally one visit every other year is good for them. They also worship hundreds of saints.

I'm going to stop saying that I walk a lot, because it seems like every week I end up walking more. This week alone we walked to the neighboring city four times, which is an hour journey each way. Fortunately, the weather was nice, so we had nothing but clear skies. :)

This week was also interesting in the search for new people. It seems as if many people here are allergic to change, because we are able to teach many people for the first time, but when we return a second time, they hide faster than a groundhog from a heavy mallet. I don't know if I should say it's funny what they do, or sad, because they're truly missing out on something greater. However, there are many blessings I can see in those that desire change. 

What's best is seeing all of the youth that are ready to change. If I remember right, I already talked about the young woman, but recently we found another truly cool young man. He has barely turned the age of an adult, and already trying to find his purpose in life. We found him looking for another contact, and he invited us in. We sat and talked about the restoration, and he understood every single word of it. Then, he already began bearing his testimony of how he believed the gospel was true. We've marked his baptism already for September first, and he's really excited.

Oh, sorry I can't write faster! I'd practice more if I could. :P

Thanks for all of the support and the love. Y'all are the best.

Elder Angus

Word:

Compromisso (comb-proh-mee-soo) the opposite of laziness. something you take initiative to do. nobody here likes this. :(

Photos:

- Rural area of Carlos Barbosa

- Family Night with recent converts