Week 34 - Trials come to all but God will lift us up!

My birthday was good. It started out really stressful but ended really well.  Elder Farias gave the talk I was going to give because I was so stressed out.  Later, the branch president threw a party for me.  He made cake and pastels and it was nice.

Elder Farias

Elder Farias is having a rough time.  He hasn't heard from family for awhile.   His mom and dad aren’t going to be able to Skype him on Christmas either because they will be out of town and he had two friends pass away this month --  one in a car crash and the other from cancer.  He feels really bad but focuses on others.  There is a transfer the week of Christmas.  I hope we stay together.

Tests and trials come to all -- God will lift us up!

The Refiner's Fire

I never use plates so I don’t have to do dishes.   Here you have to wash dishes by hand.  Dishwashers don’t exist.

Hey, the coolest thing happened this week!  Elder Farias and I were walking to our area and this super fancy Mercedes pulls up next to us.  We just start checking out this car and then the driver roles his window down and says “Hey elders, today is your lucky day”.   We thought on a hot day like it was, he would give us a ride to our area but what he did was hand us 100 reis and drive away!  For sure it isn’t everyday that people just hand you money.

We are moving into a new house that will be in our area.   It is behind a member’s house.   We will be in by Wednesday.

Week 33 - Cakes and poisonous caterpillars.

Hey! I had a really sweet p-day today.  We hiked to the top of a mountain so I took a lot of pictures.

This week was pretty good.  We got our house all taken care of which is nice.  We should be moving in the end of this week or next. My friend, Jilmar, plans on coming and celebrating my birthday with me.  Last week I bought a cake at the store.  The cakes here are so good.  They are way better then those in the US.  The cakes here are super moist and good.

This week Elder Farias and I have been trying to find new people to teach. My current area is hard because there are rarely people in the streets and they don’t like it when we knock on their doors. We had a puppy follow us the entire day.  It was really cute and we wanted to take it home but we knew we couldn’t.

This is a poisonous caterpillar.

The pictures of candles and a clay pots are marcumba.  That’s what many people put out as an offering to spirits.  I wish we had more opportunities to help and teach them the gospel.

We had branch conference this Sunday. It was pretty good. Next week on my birthday I have to give a talk in church.   I can pick the subject.

Week 32 - Crazy and rough.

We might have a baptism here soon! One of our investigators agrees with everything the church teaches.  She just hasn’t received a testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith yet. She is reading the Book of Mormon.  We explained that it is evidence that he was a prophet of God.

I went to São Paulo today with some people from here. Man oh man was it eventful.

First, I’m not getting transferred. I’m staying with Elder Farrias.  This is good because I like him a lot. He is really trunky and down at the moment so it has been a little slow doing mission work lately.

Today going to São Paulo a woman jumped in front of the train we were on.  We had to evacuate the train and sit there while they pulled her from under it. She was still alive. But man was her body mangled. I’m surprised she didn’t get a limb cut off or anything.  One of her legs was for sure broken way bad. She had some pretty deep looking gashes on her legs too but I’m almost 100% sure she will live. She will sure be in a lot of pain though.

True happiness is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I also saw the police jump a thief today and a woman get her jaw busted open. It can be rough here.

I really wanted to visit friends from my old area but I didn’t have a cell phone or that much time because of the woman and the train incident.

Today I went to Bras, which is where many Hispanics live. They make clothing and stuff that is super cheap. I bought two soccer jerseys! One is the Corinthians and the other is the Russian national team.

We still haven’t found a house yet so Elder Farrias and I continue to stay with another set of missionaries and walk back and forth to our area.

Week 31 - The Campinas Brazil temple

My week was good. It rained a couple of days, which was nice. It was also insanely hot two days this week. Just to let you know how hot it was my water bottle melted in my book bag.

Two investigators came to church Sunday, which was such a blessing.

Wednesday we went to the temple, which was way special. I don't think the  Campinas Temple is the prettiest on the outside but the inside is gorgeous.  It was fun going through in Portuguese.  The Campinas temple has a restaurant in it too.  I wish I could go to the temple more often like when I was at the Mission Training Center (MTC).

Brazilian’s don’t do Halloween.  They don’t have a Thanksgiving either.  I miss holidays.

Hey I think we might have finally found a house!  We’ll probably know tomorrow.  I’m ready to move.

Transfers are Wednesday, October 12th.   I think I will be here for a while.   There are a lot of people that need help and the branch can really use some help too.

I was talking to Elder Faustino and Elder G. Santos last night.  My good friend who I taught the gospel to is the new ward mission leader.  He is working hard!  Elder G. Santos had a baptism this last week and they are set to baptize two more on the 16th!

One of my favorite things about being a missionary is preparing to be a better member when I return. I’m like crazy pumped to get home and get to work!