Week 90

Hey,

This week was good. We worked hard like normal. We had the first baptism ever held in the city of Santa Bárbara!! For the very first time in history the sign of the preisthood was raised in that town. It was so cool. Her name is Luclésia, She choose me to baptize her.I was so proud of her faith and confidence in the Lord. She has never even seen the church. She has been to the group meetings three times where we hold our meetings in a garage, and she still had the faith to recieve an answer from God and made the decision to be baptized. I will try to send you some pictures. We baptized her in a swimming pool of a person that we made our friend for that reason .... baptize in his pool hahahaha. Here are some names for you. Rafaela, Taislange, Verônica, João, Emili, Emerson, Tainara, Juarez, Lucia, Fabíola, Tailane, Eduardo, Luan, Maria, and, Fernando. These are the people that we want to baptize this week. Our Goal is 10 baptisms so all your prayers will help us out for sure. 

As far as school I think that it will be better if you email her from my email. One I dont have a lot of time today, since we have to send in a report about all the Elders and Sisters, and two I will probably spell something wrong for sure and they dont have spell checker in english here. hahahaha. 

I am trying not to think about when I get home too, but its really hard. I am working like normal, I am not letting it get to me, but every once in a while thoughts enter about home hahaha. I think I want to eat at a simple place, like a mexican restaurante. Yeah mexican for sure hahahaha. Its been a long time since I ate Mexican. That is way funny about the bathroom though. I all ways used yours anyway hahaha. It will be good to have a shower that works though. I cant believe that in about two weeks I will see you guys. I am excieted. Bring a coat for me. I love you all. Have a good week. 

week 89

Hey Family,

I am doing good. It seems like when we are doing good and think that we have everything figured out we always need to be humbled a little bit to remember who is really in charge. Last week we baptized without any investigatores and this week we had 4 baptisms fall through. This is the first week in 7 weeks that we didnt baptize. It was really tough to swallow. I know that we didn't baptize because we didn't have enough faith or we forgot to do something during the week. We have like 5 baptisms for sure this week though. I know that I wont let anything get in our way this week. I don't want to feel this way again in these last three weeks. As far as me talking on the 15th that is even better. I will get it out of the way. Talking has never been a problem for me. I think that I will need David in the front row though. I think that it might be the hardest part is remember the words in English. Let me know my topic. It is good to have a topic. I wouldn't like just talking about anything. the mission is so long and we have so many experiences that it would be really hard to put a talk together that is within the time frame and has a point. School looks good. I don't even know how any of that stuff works anymore so when I get home I will be able to look at it a little better. Elder Ilustre got his package this week, but I didn't. I will probably get it the first week in December. 

Last week we went to the boonies. it was cool to get out into ranch country. I will send you some pictures. I think that I will sell my camera before I come home. I dont think that I will use it and its not that good of a camera. There is a member here who is going on his mission in February and is needing one. I will sell it for the price that I bought it for. Today I am going to see jaci so I will tell her hi for you. I love you guys. So you guys know that I will be home on fri. like about 1 o clock. What are your plans for when I get there. Are we going to go straight home? I will need to be released so I need to know if I should ask president to release me or if i will be released at home? I love you guys tell Ryder that I am stoked to sleep in our bed again. I love you all. 

Week 88

Good morning. I am doing good. I will start by trying to answer your questions. As for school think I want to continue for an education major. I dont know about math though. I dont know how much I will be able to handle. it has been so long since I have studied. I dont remember how to do it hahaha. I know that I will still want to practice every day so I want to take as many classes as I can still roping every day. Elder Amormino will just leave on the same day he lives in the state of Minas Gereis. If I forgot to answer any question ask me again. 

 As for my week it was awesome. I have that goal of every week. This week Elder Ilustre got sick, We werent able to work like normal. During the week I was studying in a chapter of preach my Gospel that I rarely study. Because of what I studied I decided to look in our area book. I was organizing it and I found a baptism form of a little girl who had authoration and everything but didnt have a baptism date. Ilsutre didnt know who she was or where she lived. Sunday came around and I was a little nervouse since we had nobody to baptize. During sacrament meeting there was a talk about faith and miracles. The speaker talked about how on his mission he made a covenant with God to babtize that week, they didnt have anyone to baptize but god provided a person. After sacrament I was talking to a lady who lives in another little town away from here. She had brought with her, her nice. It was the girl from the baptism form. She had all ready been taught everything and was ready to be baptized. we were truly blessed with a miracle . I know that when we have faith and do everything that we can do to reach our goal God will do the rest. I shouldnt have had a baptism this week. but was blessed with a mirical from god. I am so glad that I can be part of his work. I realize every day how little I am, and how weak I am without God.

Another miracle this week. Santa Bárbara that little town that we have been working at had their first meeting in Santa barbara yesterday. I was one of the speakers at the very first sacrament meeting in Santa BArbara. It was so amazing. One more time God showed me how great he is. The members from there have been working so hard and praying so had to open a group there so that they dont have to travle to Feira every Sunday. God answered their prayers. We had about 35 people at the meeting it was so awesome I will send pictures for you. I know that we will have baptisms there this week. the people who whent there loved it. I love you guys and hope you have a good week. Miss you all. meeting it was so awesome I will send pictures for you. I know that we will have baptisms there this week. the people who whent there loved it. I love you guys and hope you have a good week. Miss you all. 

Week 87

hahah yeah I know how you feel about the time passing by so fast. It seems like the time I have even goes by faster than it should...... oh wait it actually is. The plan was that. stay a couple weeks after the transfer, but I got a call on fri. President Hart said it will be easier for him to just send me home at the end of this transfer with the group ahead of me. My date went from Jan 20 to Dec. 24 to Dec. 19 to now Dec. 12. I will be getting my travel itinerary  here in a couple weeks you guys should get an email as well. So yeah I know that you are happy. I will not only be home for Christmas, but my birthday too!!! I wasn't really raedy for that call. I know it was only a week and a half, but it was making me think that I had more time that I actually have hahaha. I now have 5 weeks left. I am trying not to think about that though. We are still working hard. We baptized Tainara this week. I was really excited. She is a young lady who we have been teaching for like a month now. Our goal is to baptize 14 people this month, and my personal goal is baptize every week before I go home. I will now go home with Elder Amormino ( who I lived with in the staff) so that will be cool I guess. I have gotten some stuff for you guys. I will bring some stuff home for everyone. More for kycen and ryder, but I didn't think you guys would mind. I know you guys will love the stuff I have though.

Sounds good on the school and the truck. So does that mean you got me signed up alright for school? What classes am I going to take? As for my birthday and stuff I think it will better to just wait now that I will be home in time. I am sure that there will be a lot of stuff that I will need. Especially winter stuff. hahahaha I am going to die. This week I got your package. Thank you so much. I have been loosing weight but this week I don't think that I did hahahahaha. I ate almost all my candy. I love you guys have a good week. miss you all. 

Week 86

Hey it is good to hear from you. Well this was the last week of the transfer. We had a goal to babtize 25 people in our zone this month. We ended up with 23! I was disappointed  but so excited at the same time. We were really able to help the entire zone pull together and work hard. Well Elder Ilustre didn't want transferred. He will be the companion that ´´Kills´´ me. That means your last companion on the mission. I will have one more companion who will stay with me and Ilustre for a week before I leave. This week Ilustre and I babtized 2 people. A brother and sister of a member from that little town Santa Barbára. The girl is 15 but she is so little it was so cute. I will have to send you a picture next week cuz I forgot my camera. Her brother is 12 and taller. They were both way easy to babtize though because of their highth. I knew that Kycen wuld be raised though. I am glad that he is roping good though. I bet you are going to be surprised when I get home. I haven't been really roping, but in my mind I never miss. hahaha. I cant even believe that I am on my last transfer. I cant get this in my head hahah. I was going to send you guys a package but I think that I will just wait tell I come home. If you guys want me to get you some stuff from here. I will need a little money cuz I kinda used mine. I love you guys have a good week. I am glad to hear that the finals was ok for you guys. love you all.      

Week 85

Hey this week was good. We had a zone meeting and interviews last Tuesday. I guess I will start of by telling you the things you will like to hear. I talked to president about how no elder can travel from the 20th tell the 25. Sorry to tell you I wanted to stay until after Christmas, but ..... President Hart said, ´´ Well if I am going to send you home early it doesn't make sense for you not to be home for Christmas. He is going to send me home on the 19th. I will be arriving even sooner than I thought. Know that you are all happy I will tell you about this week. Elder Ilustre was engaged before the mission and his fiance has been waiting this whole time, one year and eight months. Well last Monday he found out that she was dating another peorson.THey broke up and as hard as he tried to not let it affect him he was pretty devastated this week. We were still able to work a lot and we had a miracle this week. We were working with a young women named Tainara. She was excited to be baptized and all until fri. It was really hard because we had been doing everything perfect with here. Like every lesson was with members we wer following up with all of our invitations and everything. We knew that if we asked with faith God would provide. Well Sunday Tainara didn't go to church, but we ha another investigator there. She absolutely loved it. We went to her house after church and taught her everything and challenged her to be babtized on that day. She ACCEPTED!!!. Well we had planned that fireside so we went there me and Ilustre gave the fireside and during this she was interviewed by Elder Ferreira.... I dont know if I told you or not but I live with Ferreira (my old companion) again. Then at the time of the babtism she wanted to give up and not be babtized. We talked to her and talked to her. after about an hour we learned that she has a phobia of water. Well with the help of some of the members she got enough corrage to put on the babtism cloths and we decided that me and Ilustre would babtize here to help her feel more safe. Well still with both of us she was absolutely terrified. after about 30 to 45 min we got here into the middle of the font. Well we knew that it was one chance and that was it. We said the prayer and she started down in the water face first since she wouldn't do in going backwards. Well when she had her head next to the water I triped her and held her legs with mine and held her around the waist, and pushed on here back and Ilustre like jumped on top of here and we got her all of the way under. It was quite a site, but in the end she was so so happy. She knew that it was what God wanted her to do, but was so scared. I am so glad we have good members here if not they would have gotten mad hahaha. The bishops wife told us before we went in. If she goes into the water she doesn't leave without being babtized. It was a fight, but one more person is now able to use the atonement in their life.

Keep trying hard. Never give up. I know that if seems like things wont get better, but trust in yourself and go out there and do what you know how to do. I want to hear from you next Monday. Taylor we won a trailer, or we made a killing. I know that you guys know how to win. Just go out there and do it. love you guys have a good week. 

Week 84

Hey, This week was good. Actually it was really good. We had three baptisms this week. Two men and a woman from Santa Barbára. Santa Barbára is a little town like 20 min from freira. We go there 2 times a week and are trying to open a group there. we now have 15 members from there. These were the first men that were baptized from there. Then Sara was the girl she is 23 and has been going to church for like 6 months, but never wanted to be baptized, then last week she just decided it was right and that she wanted to serve a mission. She decided all this after watching conference. There is no doubt in my mind that we have prophets of God leading our church.I am absolutely loving my area. We have really good investigatores and we are getting a lot of help from some members. We are going to have a fireside this  next week were I hope we can help the people understand that babtism is the only way to establish the kingdom of God on earth. Our ward is really good and our bishop is awesome. The man you are talking about that lived under the stairs his name is Jair. We visit him almost every day. His brother gave him a house to live in while he is rebuilding, so he is not under the stairs anymore. He is doing good the problem is that he is an ex-drug user so his family doesn't trust him enough to help him anymore, because they have all ready helped him many times and it doesn't go right. We are trying to help him spiritually before we can help him physically. He is really cool though.

I think that we all have to take it in the face when we actually sit down and evaluate ourselves, but that is what the atonement is for. That is why we have the sacrament every week. We don't have to be perfect... We just have to get as close to it as we can. 

As far as school that sounds good to me. I just want to take the classes that are going help me get my degree. we found out that I will have to go home a little bit before the 23 or a little bit after Christmas. No Elder will be able to fly between the 20 and the 25 of December. I will talk with President tomorrow or later today about what day I will have to go home. As soon as I know i will let you know. I know that I will be home in time for school either way.