From Utah to Brazil: September 2009

Monday, September 28, 2009

FOURTH AREA: Zone Conference

3 Zones Conference in Pelotas

Max saw Elder Jones, Elder Piccin AND Elder Headley!

"Man, it was so great to see all of them again, especially Elder Headley cuz it had been about 7 months! It was weird to see them and be with all of them at the same time"

The 4 American missionaries that live together in Rio Grande.

"So, another dude came to church with us named Éderson and he is so sweet.. its amazing to hear about the change that He made with his life.. it was the 1st time He came to church and He loved it and we marked his baptism for the 10th of October and he’s great.. E. Bischoff and his last companion started teachin him before i got here and the 1st time they talked to him He was usin all kinds of drugs and He was possessed.. Elder B and his comp gave him a blessing and He started grunting and so they expulsed the evil spirit, man i never knew how real and dangerous this stuff really is until i came to Brasil cuz it happens a ton here because theres a lot of the batooki.. but they kept teachin him but He was still usin drugs so they stopped.. we started teaching him again this week cuz He went to get treatment and stopped usin all of the drugs and is completely clean now and only wants to do what is right and He hás made a complete 180 degree turn in his life, it is amazing to witness..."

"We have been trying and trying to talk to Suelma’s husband and the whole fam together but He doesnt want to ever talk to us about the Church and always leaves as soon as we get there.. He says that he’s happy for his wife and that she is goin but its not for him.. man, it hás been so frustrating.. and to add to the stress, Jessica didnt come to church yesterday once again! Man, but suelma was there of course and church yesterday was great and the Spirit was so strong throughout all of the mtgs and suelma loved it and finally stopped drinking coffee and so we think she’ll be ready for this Sat!  she is amazing.. we Just want more than anything to help out the whole fam together cuz they are so amazing"

FOURTH AREA: Blessings and Miracles

A week full of blessings and miracles.

"Us on the beach last week with the kids from our ward and the other ward here close, it was so sweet, we played american football and chilled all day on the beach and it was a beautiful day - not too hot, not too cold. The weather has been heaten up this week, and fast! Ha ha, i think winter is officially over here but we will see"

"Our baptism on Saturday with all of us together, it was amazing.. We had our baptism together with the zone leaders at the stake center in the center of the city and it was amazing.. Emilia and Guilherme were baptized from our ward and they baptized the other boy.. It was a miracle - Emilia's mom, Tuca, came back from her trip on wed night and so we werent plannin on it until we found out thurs. morn that she was back in town and they were ready for the baptism. Elder Bischoff baptized her and had to do it twice cuz of her knee and Guilherme's friend, Douglas baptized him and had to do it 3 times cuz it was the first time he baptized, ha ha, but it all turned out perfect and it was so amazing.. Guilherme is amazing, he already wants to teach with us and bear his testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it changed his life! How amazing is that? :) He is such a smart kid and yesterday in church, i had the opportunity to confirm him and it was amazing because i was completely guided by the Spirit just as i was in my first area with Igor"

"So this week we had two divisions.. the first, i stayed in our area with Elder Almeida and it was great and then the very next day i went to another city close to here called São Jose Do Norte with my buddy Elder Cézar - he's in my group and got here from the CTM with me.. it was so sweet.. the coolest thing is is that the only way to get there from Rio Grande is by boat! ha ha and so we picked up a boat thats just like a bus on the water and its just like a half hour to there and i took lots o pics and will send some next week. There in that area, we taught a guy named Sandro for the first time and it was a great lesson, he accepted everything and is great.. there in São Jose, they dont have a ward, just a branch and not a real chapel so its harder to get ppl to church, but it is a great area with so much potential.. "