Oxente, this week was a busy one!

This week was a busy one, i´ll tell you what I am exhausted. So as I mentioned last week on a little bit of a sader note we had two missionaries who were sick. Well Thursday one of them was trasnfered to stay in the office with us for a few days, that was Elder Ribeiro. Then on Friday, Elder Azevedo had to go home. I believe I mentioned about him last week he fell and hit his head pretty hard and he losed a lot of his memory. But on the good side he is able to relearn pretty quickly. Along with all that on Friday we also had breakfast at the Presidents house to do a bit of transfer wrap up and also trasnfer planning, it as always went well and tasted great. The only problem it makes me a little homesick everytime we do it cause Sister Beynon always makes Egg Caserole which reminds me of Christmas.

On Saturday we had two baptisms which went well, Edlane and Vinicios. I forgot the pictures so I dont have one to put on. But the baptism went well we had a lot of people in attendance. Following the Baptism ther was a birthday party for Edlane which was fun. She is quite timid and I think the party helped for her to get to know some of the children in the ward.

Then on Sunday it was her sister Mila´s birthday. We had the confirmations at church and we also had a good afternoon but that night we had an interesting experience. We went to Edlane and Mila´s house for a family night where we watched the testaments. During the movie they stopped and told us that one of Mila´s friend´s needed our help. She was in Mila´s room balling and they couldnt figure out why. They asked us to give her a blessing in hopes that she would get better. I slowly enterd the room a little lost as to what we could do but as I sat on the bad talking with he she told us that she was afraid. She felt like something had happened to her family. We gave her a blessing and she quickly calmed and immediately after the blessing her cell phone rang and her family was just fine. I learned a lot that we need not be afraid as to what we are going to do but that we must always be preapred. If we are prepared when the moment comes we will not have a problem. Why she had become so afraid for apparently no reason I am not sure why but I know that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us as His children. I know that he recognizes our difficulties and knows how we are feeling. Because he knows these things he will bless us with experiences and challenges that we may learn and grow.
But lets move onto this week. It like that end of last week has been a tuff one. On Monday we had everything going on with The Elders who we going to go home on Tuesday. Along with all that Elder Ribeiro who had been our companion for the weekend was sent home. We had to get up at three to help him get out the door and get to the airport. It was sad to see him go but while we dont understand the Lord´s will and why things happen we can trust that he has a plan and not just a plan but a perfect plan.

At the Airport with all the Missionaries going home.

The Mission Staff - Elder Gonçalves, Elder R.Marinho, Elder Silva, and ME!

The Group of the new missionaries.

The new missionaries and I teaching a family in our area (Teles and Rayanne)

As for Tuesday it got even busier. It was transfers so our phone started ringing at four in the morning and Elders began passing our house at 5:00 to pick-up various things and to leave other things. We had ten missionaries going home and 14 missionaried arriving. So we took all the missionaries to the aiport to send them of then picked up the new missionaries. A few notes of Elders that went home, Elder Veloso one of my companions went home along with Elder Sadleir who has both lived with me and worked on the Staff with me for the past few months as an assistant. But after the airport we went to the mission home for lunch and orientations. Then following the orientations four of the Elders went to our house cause there first areas are in sergipe and they didnt go till today. So last night we took them and worked in our area and it went great. We found 15 new investigators and marked 10 baptisms. It was a fun and great night. I love seeing the excitement of the missionaries. I can see that same escitement in the e-mails from Adam. The only challenge then is to learn how to keep that excitement.

As for today we got up a bit before five to get the four new missionaries to the Bus Station. Then we resolved a few office things and spent sometime downtown at an artists market which was cool. But it was a busy week and I am tired but I loved it. I cannot believe where all my time has went, it is going by so quickly. But I love you and miss you all!

Another Good Week

Well I had another good week. Into the weekend things went well, nothing to serious went on it was pretty clam. On Friday the staff had interviews with the President as usual which went well. We had a great interview and we decided to as an office staff do a reading of the Book of Mormon. From now till the year´s end we are going to read Mosiah and Alma. We are in the office four days a week so that will be four days a week about ten pages per day. I am escited to do the reading, I love those two books, they are full of missionary experiences.
On Sunday we had a great sacrament meeting and Sunday school and Primary. President Beynon, Sister Beynon, and my companion Elder Silva spoke on sunday. I enjoyed President Beynon´s talk on the Book of Mormon. He had a whole bunch of books that he showed that all teach worthy and needful things, but none of them even come close to what we can find in the few pages of the Book of Mormon. Then following Sacrament meeting we along with the President gave a training to the ward. We did a few practices with the members of how we can invite our friends and neighbors to a family night or to receive the missionaries. Then as I said we had a great Primary. Why did we go to Primary? That is where I got my turn to talk, this months theme is service. So I spoke on service focusing on the service of missionary work and how we can invite our friends to come to church to be happy just as we are. It all went well. Then on Sunday night there was a fireside at the church for all of Maceio, specifically the young single adults but everyone was invited. It was a fireside with Elder Araujo of the seventy. I enjoyed it alot, obviously talking to YSAs he spoke a lot about marriage but he talked about a lot of other things that I enjoyed.
We had a cool experience before the fireside, one of my recent converts was sick and we visited her before the fireside. We decided to give her a blessing so she could get a better and also go to the fireside previously mentioned. After giving hte belssing she said it seems as though the consecrated oil that we annointed her with jst went from her head slowly down to her feet during the blessing curing her along the way. Isabella has such a stong faith. She is most definatley a fighter. Preachmy Gospel teaches that we cannot teach somone beyong our own testimony but I tell you what I wish I had the faith that she has. She is an example to me of how we can truly put the Lord first and put our trust in him.
As for this week it has also been coming along well. Sadly things have not been going wll with some of the missionaries in the mission though. As a part of my work here in the office I work along with Sister Beynon to take care of health in the mission. Elder Azevedo, a new missionary in the mission, had a accident on Sunday morning. While in the bathroom he fell and hit his head and also cut hiself when falling under the chin badly. The part that makes it bad is that he has suffered a bit of Amnesia which is difficult. He is remembering things roughly but we pray for his recovery. It is tuff to see something like this happen all of the sudden. It makes me really realize how fragile our bodies are. It seems as though he will be sent home to recover with his family and we hope upon his recovery he can come back into the mission.

As for today we had a pretty fun P-day! We went and played some paintball which was fun so I am pretty tired. In the end those who still had balls lefts decided to play without guards/shields. I did well and only got hit once but it was a good hit. I wasnt as unlucky as the other when it got down to just him and I. I got him about four times in the chest side and back. As you can see here are a few pictures from today. It was lots of fun and then after that we went home got cleaned up then went to the Chruch to play a little. On the second floor is the Institute, they have ping pong, fusball, air hockey, pool, karaoke, chess and whole buch more.
But ot was a pretty goos week. We are excited for this weekend and the finish of yet another transfer. I love you and miss you all.

My Week

Well this has actually been a pretty calm week, nothing to crazy going on. I actually had to think about what I would tell you about this week. Near the end of last week we were excited for Sunday and those we were teaching. They didnt make it to church the week previous but they were excited to go this last Sunday. Sadly they didnt go this week either and they had absolutely no excuse to go. So I know we are going to have to leave them trusting the Lord has prepared others to receive our message.
It´s not all said though, we are working ro reactivate two families and everything is going great with them. Edison, Denise, Milena and Edlane went to church and they are doing great. Edlane is excited for her baptism and birthday on the fourteenth.
Along with their family we have started working with the family of Luciano. He approached us and said I have a problem and I think you can help me. He said my son should have been baptized a long time ago but we haven´t exactly been the most active, but we need to change. They also went to church this last Suday, and last night we had a successful family night. There son is Vinicios, he also has his baptism marked on the fourteenth. Things have been going well with the reactivation of these two familes.
Not to much else is going on in other news. The mission has been doing well as a whole. I have been working these days on a few things for our Christmas and in the process I created a mission logo. These days as I said have been pretty calm here in the office. President Beynon returned from Campinas (near São Paulo) and then went straight into the interviews with the missionaries so he hasnt been in the office much.
But I am doing great I am loving my mission and all the great experiences I am having. This work is truly important and I know that I am being richley blessed. I love you and miss you all.

Conferance, Tarins, and Waterfalls!

Well this week was another good one. We finished up with zone conferances which went well. I  learned a lot and I also enjoyed them. I take care of the mission site so I wrote a lot more about the conferances there (BrasilMaceioMission.blogspot.com). As for the weekend it went well nothing to crazy went on. A few of our investigators didnt go to church which is always sadening but we still had a few investigators at church.

As for this week it has been going well so far. Our mission president left to Campinas Sunday morning for a mission president seminar. Things have been a little bit calmer in the office but at the same time as always busy. I have been working a lot these days getting a few things ready for Christmas. It seems like theres a long time till Christmas but it will come up on us quickly.

But today was a fun day. We went to Rio Largo which is a city about an hour away by train. We took a train to get there along with about ten other elders. While there we walked around the city for a while and eventually we checked out a waterfall nearby. Rio Largo is home to 2 missionaries and a branch of about 50 active members.

The train ride was pretty fun. It wasn´t to long as I think I already said about an hour. The engine and five train cars. I think the best part of it all is the fact that is was only 50 centavos which is about 25 cents. Once ther as I said we check out the city and then we check out the nearby waterfall. It isn´t a huge one and nor was it the cleanest but it was pretty cool.

Close by there was a little cave. Wel lnot really a cave a man made cave, it looks to have been an old drain from the nearby dam. But I got up in there and we say a few bats. Inside were about thrity bats. I tried to take a picture but it didnt turn out to well. I forgot my camera so I was stuck taking pictures with our cell phone. But we enjoyed it as usual I got a little sun burnt and we are tired but we will survive.

I am happy that everything went well for the wedding. I saw the pictures and it looked amazing. But I hope you are all having a great week and I love you all.

Another Week

Well how is everyone doing? It seems as though things have been pretty busy and also it seems as everything is in place for Kristen´s wedding. As for me things are also going well.
Things in our area are starting to pick up again. We have got another group of investigators and they are all progressing quite well. I am what the mission would refer to as a wave missionary. The first few weeks of the transfer are spent finding new investigators. Then once I get a large group to teach I spend all my time teaching them. Them at the end or near the end of thr transfer I baptize those who I had been teaching. Then the next transfer it starts all over. The preferable way is to spend a bit of time finding and a bit of time teaching. That way there is a nice even transfer. But the way I teach has nobody baptized the first weeks and then a whole bunch baptized in the end. But I dont know that is just the way that I teach. So we have spent a lot of our time finding investigators these weeks and  now we have a good size teaching group.

As for other things going on, we have zone conferances this week. First was Sergipe on Tuesday and then today the first of two here in Maceio. It went well. Along with the conferances I made some banners to help the missionaries remember the conferance from the past. Here is a picture of President Beynon, my companion, and I with the banners.

Then also along with the conferance I made the second issue of "The Lighthouse" It looks a lot better this time. Last time it was good but the first time it was a bit slow to learn how to do it all. Here it is but it is abviously in portuguese.

But everything is going well. I have been real busy these days with the work in the office and also out of the office. We have just started to work with an inactive family and we are also going to baptize there soon to be nine year old daughter. It was so cool we went to teach them the first lesson, the restoration and first vision. We watched the restoration and while we were watching it the little girl leaned over to her mom and asked, mom is this really true. She is real timid but she is super cool. Her family is going through a tuff time with a few things the father has got involved in during their time away from the church but we are working and constantly praying on their behalf.

Then to finish off, yesterday we had the big muli-zone activity here in Maceio. It was the same one that I planned last transfer, and it went well. I am quite dead though. We platyed a lot of soccer and football. Before lunch I think I played for two hours non-stop. Then a little after lunch I played another hour of soccer than and hour and a half of football. It was lots of fun but man am I paying for it today. I am paying for it with just about everyone else who went. We had a good turn out, almost 70 missionaries went and they all seemed to enjoy it.

But I love you all and as always miss you too. Last of all, congratulations to Kristen and Gavin I am keeping you in my prayers and I hope everything works out tommorow!

Councel, Birthdays, and McDonalds!

Well things are going great for me. As always I have been quite busy but I am enjoying my mission and all of the great things that I am learning and all the great experiences I am having. But to start things off last Friday we had zone councel which went really well. We discussed a lot of thigns and we also studies a little bit about the example of the Apostles of Christ. Specifically we studied chapter ten of Luke. There Christ taught the apostles that they must go preach and all houses that would receive them they were to enter and leave a blessing there. So we have put this into practice these last few days and I have really realized a big difference. We have felt the spirit a lot stringer as we teach. I havnt seen a huge increase in success yet but I have noticed one important difference. There are many who let us into their houses to leave a blessing but do not want to visit the church. With these people I have felt a strong spirit everytime. A strong spirit confirming that the Lord has accepted our part, that we have given them a proper chance to recieve the gospel and that it is not by any fault of ours that they do not receive the gospel. It is a good feeling for me but when I think for them it is at times sadening. I never really understood what the Book of Mormon prophets were saying that they had to preach so that the sins of their people would not fall upon their heads. It wasn´t until my mission and mor recently that I understood what they meant. Along with the study at councel I have also been reading Jesus the Christ a lot these days. If I am not mistaken I am at almost page 600. Christ just gave his last parable to the Apostles, and I have been learning so much. I have also seen a rise in spirit as I try to follow better the Lord´s example in my life and more specifically in my teaching as a missionary. Here is a picture taken at zone councel. In the picture are the 14 Zone Leaders, The Assistants, the Secretaries, and Sister Beynon.

After councel on monday we had a little celebration in the office for Preident Beynon´s birthday and then went to McDonalds. I guess there is nothing extremely exciting about that but its not everyday that we go to McDonalds becasue it is rediculously expensive. Whilte we are here in the subject of birthdays Happy Birthday to Dad. Today I sent a package home with presents for Erin, Dad, and Kristen. Here are a few pics from Monday.

As for the rest of this week thigns have been going well. We are getting things ready for Zone Conferance next week. We are all excited for those. But I have just been busy but loving my mission these days. It seems as though things are coming along well for the wedding. Once again congratulations I am happy for you. Everyone is making coments that I am not going to be there but I would not trade where I am and what I am doing for nothing. I am loving it here and I cannot believe the fact that it is coming to the end. But I love you all and miss you too. Let me know when the pacakge gets to you.

Conferance and Mission Arrivals

Well I had another good week. As we went into the weekend things went well. A lot of time in the office because of the training of Elder Silva. Then obviously we had General Conferance which I enjoyed. We were able to watch it in english which is always good, I did watch the Priesthood session in portuguese though. Above is a picture of the group that we watched in English with throughout conferance. The two girls on the end are in my ward and they have lived in the United States and speak english quite well. I seem to enjoy it more in english. I understand the portuguese perfectly but when the talks are translated they loose a little bit of the feeling and the voice and feeling of the speakers.

I enjoyed many of the talks and I did learn a lot. I enjoyed in particular the strong testimony and talk given by Elder Holland. I could see that many of the general authorities spoke about the spirit. One thing that really caught my atention was how many was spoken on the fact that we must accept the spirit. We must let the spirit or light of Christ enter into our lives. I can see that principle so much here on my mission. Many people that we teach do not make the choice to let themselves receive the spirit to know that all this is true. I wonder sometimes why when our investigators pray and yet do not receive an answer. I have learned that the Lord will never answer if they do not really want to know. Moroni knew the difficulty many would have when he taught to pray with a sincere heart and real intent. Without these two aspects the Lord has no reason to answer. If we pray to the Lord asking something that we have already made our mind up, many times we wont even get a response. As I said though I enjoyed conferance a lot.

Then yesterday we had eight new missionaries arrive in the mission. We got one American sister, one Brazilian sister and six American elders. There arrival went well. The first week of transfers are always busy with missionaries leaving and others arriving but things went well. The begiinning of the next transfer will be worse, 16 missionaries will be arriving.

Well I guess that was my week, nothing to exciting beyond Conferance and the arrivals. I got Kristen´s wedding announcement, thanks for that. Hmmm let me think what else. Nothing to much. I love you all and miss you all too.

Until next week...