Week 7 - In Brazil

The plane ride was really nice! I got to eat some McDonald's which was delicious!  On the flight to Atlanta I sat by an older couple from South Carolina and just talked to them.  They were so nice and ended up being really interested in the church.  They are super big readers and so I was able to give them a Book of Mormon.  They really wanted to read and find out more.  It was way exciting!!

It was storming really bad in Atlanta so the made us stay on the plane.  I ended up missing my flight to São Paulo.  They rescheduled me on a plane to São Paulo two hours latter.  On the plane I met a lady who was Brazilian and has a lot of Mormon friends!  I don't know how interested she was but I talked to her!  Because I missed my flight from the weather I got to sit in first class which was way nice!  I got to watch the sun rise as I was flying over Brazil which was beautiful!

During the storm at the airport in Georgia it was raining like crazy and I guess they left every ones suitcase outside.  I arrived here and EVERYTHING in my suitcases was completely soaked.  A lot of my clothes are ruined...  I was able to save most of my ties thankfully!

When flying over Brazil I was blown away by how big the city is!  ITS FREAKIN HUGE!!!  Going through the airport wasn't bad but finding my chauffeur was.   In the MTC I felt like I could understand my teachers really well!  Here I don't understand ANYTHING anyone says...  It's way hard.

They dropped me off at the mission home and I got to meet my companions!   Elder Petterson and Elder Faustino.  Guess which one is the Brazilian?   Elder Petterson has only been out for two months but he speaks so well!  He told me that he couldn't understand when people talked at all until he became one of my trainers.  They are both really cool and good missionaries.  I like them a lot! Our mission home is really tiny.  

 Our house is small and gross.  Our shower is heated by the shower head so there are electrical wires everywhere around the shower -- talk about safety.  The buildings don't have air conditioning, not even the church building.  It's getting to be winter here and the Brazilians think its way cold but its really hot.  They think 80 degrees is cold!  I'M GOING TO DIE IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE I'M DYING NOW.   I've never been so sweaty in my life!!!  My clothes are semi wet to begin with and then we go work.  They get even wetter from me sweating so much!  I feel so gross.  I'm wet 24/7.  There are no dryers here...  Oh how I want a dryer!!!  If I don't lose a lot weight, I'm in trouble.  We walk a ton -- probably about 15 miles a day!  I'ts a 30min walk to everywhere we go.

My area I am serving in is called Monumento.  It's in the heart of the city of São Paulo!!!  There are so many skateboarders and longerboards.  I LOVE IT!!! It makes me miss my boards so much! There are people here that have long boards that are six ft long! They are literally surfboards with wheels!  Its cool to watch them ride them!  The streets are really really dirty and trash is everywhere. I don't know how to describe it.  It's a beautiful place but gross at the same time.  I love the graffiti though Some are way cool!  

ONE CRAZY THING HAPPENED YESTERDAY WHICH USUALLY ISN'T SEEN IN BRAZIL.  IT HAILED!  HAIL THE SIZE OF GOLF BALLS WHEN IT WAS 70 DEGREES OUTSIDE.

THE DRINKS HERE ARE AMAZING!!!  THE JUICE IS LIKE HEAVEN!!!  There is this fruit called goiaba!!!  BEST THING EVER!!!  The soda is so good too!!!  They have Fantas that are only in Brazil!  

The members here are the must humble and nicest poeple I have ever met!  The people we teach are golden.  One read the entire book of Mormon in a week!  We teach a lot of Hatians!  Portuguese is hard enough for me right now and we are teaching six people in Creol.  One of them committed to being baptized which is cool!! A lot of the houses are smaller then my bathroom at home... I don't know how people live in them and then on the other hand other homes are huge!!!  I'm scared to take a lot of pictures because its kind of sketchy, but I have some.  Even with everything as miserable and hard as it is I'm really enjoying myself.  A lot of the time I just think to myself about what the Savior and pioneers went through and compare it to my situation.  My struggles are nothing!  

Week 3 - Easter: Because of Him

My week has been sooooooo amazing.  I couldn’t have asked for a better week!!!  The miracles at this point are too many to count! The first crazy thing that happened was I GOT TO MEET AND SERVE AN APOSTLE!!!

Tuesday Neil L Anderson came.  His grandson was just called on a mission so he and his family came and asked the Brazilian Elders to show them around the MTC.  He had us teach him what MTC life is like!!!  It’s pretty crazy.  I did a favor for an apostle of the Lord!  Later that night we got to hear him give a talk and it was amazing!!!

Also this week something neat and special happened.  It wasn’t really an answer to one of my prayers but one of my teachers.  Here at the MTC your teacher’s pretend to be an investigator they taught while on their mission. You get to teach them but you can only use Portuguese.   They pretend they don’t know English.  It can be hard.  I was teaching my teacher Irmão Neilson and I was teaching him about prayer and how God truly listens and answers our prayers.  After I was done he started to get really emotional and then started to tell me how I just helped him answer one of his prayers.  Apparently he has been praying and fasting to know if he should ask his girlfriend to marry him.  During my lesson he got his answer!!!  Apparently I helped someone get married -- or not.  I haven’t asked him if the answer was yes or no yet. 

That’s one thing that is amazing and blows my mind about being a missionary, a Mormon, or a son of God.  I’m not the greatest teacher or missionary -- especially when it comes to teaching in Portuguese, but the neat thing is I don’t have to.   I’m not a perfect human being but again I don’t have to be.  Alone I can’t do much as a missionary, but I don’t have to.  I don’t have to be a perfect human being because the Savior was.  He makes up for all my imperfections.  All I have to do is try my best.  

As a missionary I don’t need to be the best at speaking, teaching, or anything.  I just have to try, put my faith in the Lord and He makes up for the rest!  I know that’s true.  I’ve already seen it happen with my fake investigators!  They’re returned missionaries.  They already know everything I’m teaching but yet they are still able to learn something and have their prayers answered.   Why?  Because the Holy Ghost truly teaches people -- not me.  I know Heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers.  It might not be when or how we want, but he answers them.  

This Easter week has been a special one.  Easter Sunday Morning we had the opportunity to hear from another of the Lord’s apostle’s:  President Dieter F Uchtdorf.  He shared the story of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and how he suffered for all our sins, pains, and afflictions and for everyone that was, is, or will be.  Now we can repent and be made clean again because of Him.

I know that Jesus loves everyone regardless of what we have done.  I am sooooooooooooooooooo grateful for Him and for His suffering for my sins, pains, and afflictions.  I’m sooooo thankful that He did that.   Whatever I’m going through.  Whenever I think there is no one who understands how I feel.  He does.  He knows EXACTLY how I feel.   He suffered too and more.  As I turn to Him during those times, through the power of the atonement, my sins and pains can be go away because of Him.

Our church released a video recently for Easter, which apparently is one of the top trending videos on YouTube.  It’s entitled Because of Him.  http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694   I invite you to watch it regardless of your religious background.  Even if you are not religious, Jesus Christ sacrificed for you.  This is the message I’m going to go share with the people of Brazil.  It is exactly the message this video is sharing.  Learn what is possible because of him.  I am who I am because of Him.  I’m doing what I’m doing because of Him.  Watch this video.  Check out the website after you are done.  This week think about who you are and what you have and what you can do because of Him.  Please write me back and tell me about yourself and the blessings you’ve received because of Him.

-- Elder Hammond