February 14, 2015

This week has been quite the roller coaster.  On Sunday we had an awesome lunch with a family that recently moved here.  They are from Curitiba but have lived in the States for 6 years.  They only speak English in their home and the kids hate speaking Portuguese.  They love American food so they made meatloaf, real mashed potatoes, rolls, and coleslaw.  It was awesome.  I have become really good friends with them.  The dad is awesome.  He went and bought a basketball for me so that we could play on p-days.  A very good family.

Sunday and Monday were spent running all over the place to organize flights for the missionaries that were going home.  There were some problems that arose but after a lot of work we were able to get them resolved.  On Tuesday we welcomed 9 new missionaries to the mission.  One of them is from Scotland.  I had such a fun time speaking English with him and talking about Scotland.  I also have a new companion!  His name is Elder L* and Elder T* is training him to take his spot.

On Thursday we were able to teach M* and I*.  It has been a while since we have taught them.  Things have been so busy.  Last week we taught M* about the Word of Wisdom and she gave up coffee on the spot. It was awesome.  This week we taught them about the Day of the Lord.  I hope they continue to grow and progress.

 Making apple pie with Sister "E"

February 7, 2015

Well, the marriages went well.  There were five of them last Saturday and two more today.  In total I think about 9 or 10 people were baptized because of them.  It was neat to be a part of it but I am completely exhausted.

This past week I have spent most of my time running all around the city doing errands for the mission.  I think I know this city better than anyone who lives here.  I know all of the buses now.  Wow, the buses here don't deserve to be called buses.  They are like roller coasters.  The drivers drive a million miles per hour, don't wait for anyone, and take the corners as if it were the Indy 500.  If you have difficulties with the Tea Cups at Disneyland, then the Fortaleza Transport System would not be your cup of tea ;)

I am trying to make the most of everything possible here in Fortaleza.  I can't believe I only have 4 months left.  Time is running out.  Mom, I put your birthday money to good use!  On Friday we went to Subway; Saturday I took my companion out to Rodizio; and Monday I went to McDonalds and ate the most fast food I have ever eaten in my life.

January 31

This week has been filled with Brazilian bureaucracy and lots of stress.  This is really an interesting mission, but I am trying my best to just work hard, do my part, and not get in anyone’s way.

Later today is the collective marriage at the Aguanambi chapel.  I have spent the week chasing marriage documents, making programs, and organizing everything.  I just hope everything goes smoothly.

Yesterday, we cleaned the chapel (all the cleaning supplies were under lock and key, so we had to improvise with an old broom and dust pan.)  The best part was afterwards… I took my companion to lunch with my birthday money from home.  We celebrated at Subway, which incidentally, is one of the nicest restaurants here.  It was so good!

January 24

I have been super sick this week.  I’m dealing with headaches, 
nausea and extreme fatigue.  Even after sleeping 13 hours on Thursday,
 I am still wiped out.

Despite being sick, we did have some neat experiences this week.  We are teaching a guy in English!  His name is C*.  He is from Nigeria and has been living in Brazil for 8 months.  He doesn't speak Portuguese and got really excited to meet someone who speaks English.  We taught him the Restoration on Monday and then had a return appointment on Thursday.  C* had read 2 Nephi 31 and decided that he wants to be baptized.  He has problems with smoking and drinking but he said that he is going to try to do everything possible to stop in order that he can be baptized.  He is a really cool guy.  It is nice to be able to speak and teach in English. 

January 17

I think the highlight of this week was doing an interview for a young couple and his mother who were getting baptized.  They come from a very rough background of poverty and he has lived a tough life in the drug world. 

A few months ago, the Sisters found them and began teaching them.  They began going to church and changing their lives.  In the beginning, the wife was the one interested and he didn't have any desires.  However, over time his interest grew until now he is the one who is a hundred percent committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As I did his interview, I marveled at his pure humility.  He literally told me everything that has happened in his life and I have never seen a person so willing to give up everything in one shot to follow the Lord.  The Spirit was so strong in the interview.  I learned more about humility in that interview than in any other experience of my entire mission.   

I now understand what is meant in Mosiah 3:19, "unless he becometh as a child..."  This man has inspired me to try to become better, repent more fully, follow more obediently, and simply try to do my best to help other people. 

January 10

I had an experience this week which was very interesting.  We were searching for a less active member in the favela and it turned out that she wasn't home.  On the other side of the alleyway there was this older gentleman working with wood.  His actions caught my attention and I became very interested.  We went over to ask him what he was doing.  It turns out that he sculpts wood for a hobby.  I found it a very interesting hobby, especially for where he lives.  Most of the individuals in this area are not motivated to have hobbies, other than drinking.  He had started molding a blank piece of wood.  His hands were moving a million miles an hour with two simple tools, a hammer and a wood chisel.  We began asking him about how he learned to do this and we had a really good conversation with him.  We discovered that his father taught him this craft and that he is trying to change his life.  He sculpts wood in order to take his mind off other heavy aspects of the world around him.

As we continued to talk with him about his life, I became focused on his hands moving up and down the wood.  Every blow of hammer upon the chisel took off another piece of the wood.  Slowly, over time, a form began to take shape.  I mentioned to him that what he was doing made me think of how God works in our lives.  He takes a basic entity, for example a wood block, and begins to chisel.  Something I found extremely interesting was that in the beginning, the man would chip away extremely large pieces of wood in order to get a basic shape.  And then, with closer attention, he would take just the chisel in hand and would begin creating small indentations, as if he were breathing life into the very object.  As I said, we had a good conversation.  We continued to talk and then went our way.  However,  I continued to think about this process of molding a simple piece of wood into a marvelous figurine.  The final object which the man made was an intricate owl perched upon stacked stones.  Something the man said to me really made me think.  He told us, "I sculpt the owl because it represents wisdom."  I continued to think about the process which Heavenly Father uses to sculpt our lives.  In the beginning of our mortal existence, it may seem that the Lord is chipping away large, significant pieces of our basic form.  This may hurt a lot because something we may think is so dear to us simply falls away as if it were nothing.  However, He is the Craftsmen and knows what shape we must take upon ourselves.  Once he creates a general form, He begins to mold in intrinsic value.  He provides small details.  Instead of chipping large blocks, He takes a single tool in His hand, and begins to shave away the small imperfections until finally a very clear and distinct image has emerged.  He molds us step by step.

As I have further thought of this experience, I realize that I am now only beginning to understand what is meant in the scriptures when God states that He has made us in His own image.  When He organized our spirits we had the basic characteristics which He has; the same with our mortal lives.  These characteristics are essential, even though they may be basic.  However, over time and experience, He begins to mold these characteristics in order that our image, just as the block of wood, can be transformed into something which is a perfect personification of His image.  The major tool He uses is the Atonement of Christ.  He provides a way for large and small details to be worked out.

Fortaleza Office

View of Fortaleza

Elder "L" and Elder "E"

Elder "T" and Elder "L"

January 3, 2015

Happy New Year!  My New Year’s was definitely unique.  We went to the chapel in Aguanambi and met as a zone.  We had a training and then watched 17 Miracles.  I had never seen that movie before.  It is awesome!  It is about the Willie Handcart Company.  It is amazing to learn about everything that our early ancestors went through.  What a sacrifice.

New Year’s Eve here is insane.  There are so many fireworks.  I fell asleep at 10:50 and then right around 11:50 I was wide awake for many hours.  I felt like I was in a battlefield.  Our apartment is close to the beach and every year they have huge parties on the beach.  It was about 40 minutes of straight firworks.  Though our apartment doesn’t face the beach, the tall glass buildings in the distance reflected the firework show.  It was pretty neat.  Elder "T" and I had gone to the market in the day and it was as busy as I have ever seen it.  Every cart was filled with beer and wine.  The grocery store must have made a killing.  However, the funniest aspect of it all was the next morning.  The city was a ghost town.  There wasn’t a single car on the street.  We had to travel to an outlying area of the city, Jatobá.  The bus was practically empty.  The buses here are super different.  There is a person who takes your money and then you pass through a turnstile to get to the front part of the bus.  Well, the turnstile worker was completely hung over and passed out in her chair.  Elder "T" tapped her on the hand to try to wake her up and she wouldn’t wake up.  It took about 25 minutes until she woke up.  On the floor of the bus were many empty vodka bottles just rolling all around.  It appears that the bus driver didn’t have too much fun the night before with all the drunk people he had to drive.  Poor guy.

Yesterday, while at the office, I had to do repetitive work so I decided that I would put on a talk.  I listened to “Kings and Priests” by President Kimball.  Okay, hands down, best talk!  I love his message!  I need to read this talk a lot in my life.  As he talks about the funerals of the three different men, I thought back to all the funerals I have experienced in my life.  We truly are here to learn and grow, but life is a lot easier if we keep the commandments. 
I now have a testimony of that!

New Year's 2015

December 27, 2014

Happy Holidays!  Christmas day was spent with the zone doing a churrasco (bbq).  The zone leaders brought a huge chunk of meat (which was super good) but they hadn't thought to bring the stuff to season it and it was frozen.  Well, at least the final result was that it turned out really well.  I now know how to BBQ!  I can't wait to get home and make Brazilian Churrasco for you guys!  It will be good!

I got one of your letters this week!  I love the quote by Hugh Nibley!  I think it is really interesting.  He was asked once, "Who is righteous?"  He responded, "Anyone who is repenting. No matter how bad he has been, if he is repenting, he is a righteous man. There is hope for him.  And, no matter how good he has been all his life, if he is not repenting, he is a wicked man. The difference is which way he is facing. The man on the top of the stairs facing down is much worse off than the man on the bottom step who is facing up. The direction we are facing, that is repentance; and that is what determines whether we are good or bad.”

I think this is very interesting.  It is so true.  Life is grand staircase.  We are continually trying to progress.  Eternity doesn't stop that progression.  If we want to continue we must take one more step.  However, it is interesting how it all depends which way we are facing when we take that step.  If we are facing upward, we will take a step forward (it doesn't matter where on the staircase we are, we will still progress).  However, if we are facing downward, then our step will take us far away from progression.  We can change when we want to change.  The only thing we have to do is turn to face the right direction.  When we do this we can forget the stairs of the past and focus on the stairs of the present.  This is a quote that I am going to try to apply to my life forever.  We must always be facing upward and onward.

                                                                                                                                                                       

Christmas 2015

Christmas BBQ

December 20, 2014

I have been thinking about what I could do for a Christmas project.  I decided that I wanted to do something to help Canindé.  I love that city and the members there.  Since all the members there are recent converts and are still learning the gospel, I decided that I would buy Triple Combinations, Liahona Magazines, Temple Magazines, DVDs of the Restoration, etc. and send it to them.  I wrapped them all up and coordinated with Elder Z* to deliver everything.  He was super excited to do this.  Two weeks ago I never knew how to wrap a present well.  I can now say I am a pro!  I have got it down to a science.  It was a super fun project.  However, it didn’t stop there.  I decided that I would wrap up some regular copies of The Book of Mormon to pass on to missionaries and ward members to give as gifts to their friends and family.  Yesterday, we were eating lunch with a member, V*.  After we left a message with him, we presented one of the wrapped books for him to give to a friend and refer him to the missionaries.  He thought it was so cool and asked for 10 more.  He is going to give them to all of his employees.  I am making some more for Elder H* and his companion because they are awesome missionaries and I know they will go to good use.

I had another experience with this project this week.  We took many taxis while driving around the city preparing for Christmas.  As is customary, we always talk with the taxi drivers.  We had one taxi driver who definitely was not religious at all but while we were driving, I felt that I should give him one of the wrapped copies of The Book of Mormon.  So at the end of the ride I asked him if we could give him a Christmas present.  I presented the wrapped book to him and his nature completely changed.  He became very happy and said, “Wow, for me?  That is so kind of you!”  It was amazing to see how happy he became.  Fun project.  It will be interesting to see how it goes.

Subway with Elder T and President Evans 

With Elder B

With Elders H and Z

Dinner at N's Home

December 13, 2014

An amusing experience:  This week we tried to organize a Family Home Evening with L*.  We made the appointment with S*, her sister, but we still needed to tell L*about the activity.  She lives in one of the toughest parts of Campo América and it is a true favela.  Elder T* called S*’s daughter to ask for her aunt’s number.  She laughed when he asked this and then said, chuckling, “Well, she doesn’t have a number but I have the number for the payphone in the middle of the favela!”  Elder T* thought, “Oh, why not?  Let’s try!”  He got the number and then thanked her.  He called the number and a woman answered.  He said, “Oi, L*?”  The woman said, “Who?” with a tone of anger.  He responded, “Hello, is L* there?”  She responded, “Oh, one minute.”  Then, in the background, Elder T* heard her yelling at the top of her lungs over the music blasting, “L*!  L*! L*!  Come here!  Phone!!!”  He heard some muffling in the background and then about 30 seconds later a female voice came on the phone and very happily said, “Ms. L*’s Residence.”  Elder T* just started laughing and then went on to tell her about the Family Home Evening.  This is a classic example of Brazil.  I don’t know how there is a payphone in the middle of the Jaguaribe Favela but, apparently, it is L*’s personal home phone in the middle of the street.

This week, we also went to lunch at Irmão R* and Irmã K*’s home.  They are a very simple family that knows how to live the gospel.  We had a good conversation.  R* makes his living by creating high quality surfboards in his home.  He is famous in Brazil for his surfboards.  As you walk into their home, all you see are countless surfboards.  This reflects the culture of Fortaleza so well—very laid back.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to teach B*.  When we arrived, he asked us who our favorite prophets from the Book of Mormon were.  I decided that I would share one of my favorites.  I shared the story of Enos with him.  We had a very good conversation about the importance of diligence in the work of the Lord and in life.  It was really neat to hear the final prayer.  B* is very timid and shy and has a hard time socially.  However, he offered the final prayer.  He thanked the Lord for giving him “two sincere friends” and asked the Lord to bless us unconditionally.  He asked the Lord to permit this friendship to continue throughout eternity.  I was very touched by B*’s words.  He is a very sincere individual and I have learned a lot from him.

Elder Z* called me this afternoon explaining about the situation in Canindé.  He told me that he had been waiting for water for many hours and it still hadn’t arrived.  I told him I knew exactly what he was going through and that I felt so sorry for him.  Canindé is so tough.  He explained the feelings and sentiments that he is confronting right now and they are the very same ones I faced when I was there.  It was comforting for him to know he isn’t alone in the experience.  It is amazing how much a friendship can help life be a whole lot happier.

I love the Plan of Salvation.  It has become so real for me as I have been on my mission.  I have come to recognize that mortality is very short.  It makes perfect sense that the Lord created a Plan of Happiness.  It makes perfect sense that we would need to follow a Redeemer who would guide us safely home.

 Drinking coconut water with Elder "T"

The Beach

The streets of Fortaleza

Surf Shop in "R"s home

December 6, 2014

One night this week, when we were returning home around 9:15 at night, we were walking on an empty street.  There was a very worn down, dirty, garbage sifter sitting on the side of the road thinking.  We passed right by him, told him good-evening, and continued walking.  We had walked about 50 yards when I stopped and asked Elder Thieme if he had a “Ele É O Presente” card.  He smiled, said no, and then went on to tell me that he was thinking the same thing.  We turned around and walked back to the man.  He was a man who looked like he lives on the streets, had a worn down buggy to collect trash, and has definitely felt the effects of drugs during his life.  I asked him, “Excuse me sir, do you know where Rua Rui Barbosa is located?”  He smiled and said that he thought it was a few streets down.  We went on to talk with him.  In the middle of the conversation, a shop owner came out with a 2-Liter coke bottle filled halfway with water.  The man had stopped to ask for water since he did not have any money to buy it.  It turns out that he spends the entire night scavenging for trash in order to provide for his family.  We were shocked to find out that he has a family.  He has a wife and two children, 10 and 9 years old.  We were both very humbled by the situation.  At first glance, we would have simply thought he was a homeless man due to drug addiction.  However, he explained to us that he walks about 10 miles each night to Aldeota in order to find the valuable trash.  He returns home every morning about 10:00, eats with his family, sleeps, and then does the same routine all over again.  We told him that we had a message about the Gospel of Christ and we would love to share it with him.  He was super happy and told us that the missionaries could come by.  Who knows if anything will come of it, but I know that the simple action of us turning around and taking the time to talk with him made him light up.  It made him realize that he is of worth in the world.  These small actions create true humanity…

It has been a very interesting week.  It has been super busy in the office but things are working out.  I have taken the time this week to completely memorize the song “Come Thou Fount.”  It is by far my favorite hymn.  Now, anytime I get discouraged, I start singing it!  I love the Gospel.  The Lord answers prayers. 

He always listens to our prayers.