From Utah to Brazil

END OF MISSION: *Wrapping things up

2010-09-04T15:16:00.001-07:00

"NOW behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul; And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen." (D&C 4)

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion." (Isaiah 52:7-8)

Areas Max has served in

14. Nonoai with E. Sampaio 7/27/10-9/9/10

13. Guaíba with E. Benício 6/15/10-7/27/10

12. Arco-Iris with E Mattos 5/3/10-6/14/10

11. OPENING Arco-Iris with E. Bangerter 3/30/10-5/3/10

10. Pelotas with E. Bangerter 2/10/10-3/30/10

9. Pelotas with Elder Pourre 1/6/10-2/10/10 (Zone Leader)

8. Rio Grande with E. Horrocks 10/14/09-1/6/10 (District Leader)

7. Rio Grande with E. Biscoff 7/21/09-10/14/09

6. Cavalhada with E. Romeiro 6/9/09-7/21/09

5. Cavalhada with E. Piccin 3/24/09-6/9/09

4. Cavalhada with E. Headley 2/4/09-3/24/09

3. Office with E. Fernandes 12/31/08-2/4/09

2. Cristal with Elder Jones 11/19/08-12/31/08

1. Brazil MTC with E. Watts 9/17/08-11/19/08

"We are a tiny fraction when compared to the billions of people on earth.
WE KNOW WHO WE ARE
WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW
WE ARE TO GO FORTH
and
PREACH THE GOSPEL"
- Boyd K. Packer

Returned With Honor September 9, 2010

EIGHTH AREA: *A light in the darkness

2010-08-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

"So everything is great here, well we are not seeing much success, but we are giving our all and we know we are learning and growing so much together each and every day, Elder Sampaio and I. I love him, he is so great and this week we had some great spiritual experiences and lessons. Almost everybody that we have been teaching just doesn't want to progress and it is sad, but we are focusing now on finding new investigators and families and teaching them and to have a new teaching group and so we've just gotta go forward with faith."

"So Tatiane is the closest to being baptized, but we are feeling that the opposition from her fam is taking its toll on her and she might be slipping, we need to talk with her again. She wasnt able to come to church this week and so we will try and pass by there tonight. So ya know that guy, Perseu. We were planning to have his baptism this sat. but we just feel that he really has mental probs and so we will try and get a hold of the Psychiatrist and mark an appointment. Of course he came to church and he just loves us and he is living the commandments, but it is just so hard to teach him cuz he just cant seem to focus on one subject and we cant know his real motive for everything. So yeah, its a long story, but I will leave it at that. So that fam we were teaching just cant seem to accept everything and so we stopped teaching them as of yesterday and if they want to they will come to church, it is a long story too and sad really, but its part of the work and we have to just stay happy and keep a good attitude."

"We met a young kid who was baptized a few months back and he was the only one baptized in his fam and we marked to pass by and teach him and try and meet his parents and get to know them and so we passed one afternoon this last week, it was just this last saturday and he accepted us in his house and he never wanted to learn anything with the other missionaries, but he accepted a message and Elder Sampaio just left a message real quick, a scripture and he ended and I felt that he was ready to hear the message of the restoration and so we started teaching and he had never been taught before and from the very beginning I could feel the spirit so strong that I was tingling from my feet to my head and we taught together and testified of the 1st vision and I felt the spirit the strongest during that and we gave him his own BOM and he had never even looked at it, just heard of it and he thanked us and we could see that he was touched and felt something different and felt the spirit so we asked him if he felt somethin and he said he that it was the best moment he had had in the last few months! It was incredible and we testified of the spirit and the reality of him and the blessings of the gospel for his family and we ended with a hymn and he was almost in tears and he just thanked us from the bottom of his heart and we prayed and left and marked to come back this week and he wasnt able to go to church yesterday, but he said for sure he will this week. So it was such a special experience for us and helped us with everything and to animate us and to strengthen our testimonies that much more."

EIGHTH AREA: *Rough week

2010-08-31T14:03:00.000-07:00

"Elder Sampaio and I after a long, rough day this week (Aug. 23, 2010) and to make things worse, my nose bled, ha ha! No, but it was funny."

"(Aug 2, 2010) We taught a family this week of 10 people with two of their neighbors so that was sweet and such a spiritually powerful lesson and it was great, but it turns out the mom found out later and doesn't want her kids to learn and come to church, cuz she wasn't there when we taught, just the dad with some kids and a grandma with a bunch of kids and a couple neighbor kids, so it was great."

"(Aug 23, 2010) So we are still teaching that big fam from the picture and it was hard this week cuz it is hard for them to change and where they live is so lost in the world and they are too and in the middle of it all and they had a b-day party sat. night and there was alcohol and dancing and so they all stayed up all night and no one came to church and it is hard, we just need to have patience. It is sad, cuz the mom is not fulfilling our invites and she wont even read the BOM and pray, but she said a prayer with us all this week and it was great. We taught them all about the plan of salvation when we were there and took that pic. It was such a spiritual lesson and it was great but it was sad with this weekend and everything that happened and so their baptism will have to wait and the two oldest girls received answers to their prayers and they have testimonies it is just so hard for them to try and escape the world where they live cuz everybody is so lost there and they are right in the middle of it, but we have faith in them and they will be the pioneers from their fam. So this week we were teaching them in the morn before lunch and their neighbor came in and he listened to our message, we talked to him and we invited him to listen to our message and he was really interested and so we marked another day and it was great and he was prepared to accept the gospel and his name is Guilherme and he is 21 and he is great. So after a lot of stress and confusion, we were able to grab a sweet guy from our ward and we ran to pick him up right in time for Sac. Mtg. and he loved it and came with his lil daughter and we went to his house in the afternoon and he said he felt different and really liked it and we told him it was the spirit and he has already read a lot of the BOM and understands the stories very well. So we marked his baptism for the 4th of September and he accepted and we will do everything to prepare him and help him be baptized on the 4th. So this week was great because of him and a lot of other things and so we are excited."

"This is from this morn (August 23, 2010) when we were studying and I put my elbow on the table and it collapsed and so we took a pic and I thought it was pretty funny."

"Two other elders in our ward, Elder Shäfler and Elder Zaguette, they are both Brazilians and Elder Bangerter trained Elder Shäfler in the same area here in our ward and he ended his mission here too! We ate lunch with that young couple and they were both missionaries and have a little boy now. "

"So I dunno if I have told ya'll bout a man that we have been teaching named Perseu. So it is sad, cuz we think he is literally crazy and has some mental probs but it has been 4 weeks that he has come to church everyweek and he is living all of the commandments and stopped drinking alcohol and coffee and he lives alone and so he is so alone that he has gone a lil crazy, we dont know if he was always like that. So we have been teaching him, but he likes us so much and everytime we talk to him he talks so much and it is so hard to teach him, but he reads the BOM everyday and prays and so we talked to the bishop yesterday about him and there is nothing holding back his baptism so our district leader will interview him and see if he is ready and we will have his baptism on Saturday. We will also try and teach with a man in the Cavalhada ward that I already know that is a Psychiatrist to see if he needs treatment. "

"We are also working with that same girl, Tatiane that is so smart and she came to church yesterday in a dress and took her piercing out of her nose and we hadnt even said anything to her. She is great and she had some doubts so last night we went there and helped her with her doubts and did our best to explain them and so we are planning for her baptism for this saturday, she is ready. It is just hard for her cuz she is alone and her parents dont like the church and they are very catholic but Tatiane has a testimony and her lil sis listened to our message yesterday and she is interested but has depression and its hard to get her to come to church. Tatiane came to church yesterday and she loved it. We are planning on doing an FHE with two fams tomorrow night with Tatiane and so it will be great."

EIGHTH AREA: *Helping to roll the stone

2010-08-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

"So we had two days of new trainings from Pres. Swenson and every mission in the world is receiving new trainings and so it was different to put em into play, but I have been gaining a testimony of them this week and we had a lot of great experiences this week."

Luis Phillipe, Elder Sampaio, and Max

"Luis Phillipe is the young boy whose grandma is a less-active member and we are teaching her and her grandboys, they are great and are reading the BOM and praying and they are gaining testimonies and it is helping them out alot with the death of their mom."

EIGHTH AREA: *Lots and lots of people to teach

2010-08-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

"I just love the gospel. The gospel is everything in our lives, absolutely EVERYTHING!!! The gospel of Jesus Christ, restored through the prophet Joseph Smith is the only way we can return to live with God in families and be happy forever, i know that this is true and the spirit testifies to me each and everyday and I am so grateful for each and every blessing that the gospel brings into our lives and the lives of our family."

People Elder Kirschman & Elder Sampaio are teaching in Nonoai:

Elaine: a single mom with 3 young boys: Donato thats 16 but works on Sunday mornings :( Francisco is 14 and Fabrício is 12.

"We are also teaching the fam of the mom, Elaine and her boys. We are planning the baptism of her boys for this sat. cuz she needs some more time cuz we found out she still smokes :( but we will continue to help her and her boys are ready for baptism this week. :) They are great. Fabrício thats 12 came to church all by himself on his bike and he lives far away, he is such a great kid and we sat with him at church and he has a white shirt and tie that he used yesterday and he is ready to just be with all of his friends passing the sacrament. He always sits behind the deacon's bench alone until after the sacrament when his friends come and sit by him and yesterday we sat by him"

Tatiane: a 17 year old girl that the other missionaries were teaching before we got here and she is great and came to church yesterday and it was her second time to we are helping her to prepare for baptism too and gain a testimony of the BOM. She lives with her grandma and she is VERY catholic and so she is scared of her, but it will all work out. :)

"So we are also working with a great girl named Tatiane that is 17 and she is very smart and understands so well and she has already been to church twice, but didnt come yesterday, she was ready but didnt end up coming cuz the members that passed by called but i guess she didnt here. But we taught her on sat. night she has been reading the BOM and she has been praying and she has been receiving answers to her prayers :) We invited her to be baptized this sat. and she was hesitant because her whole fam is Catholic, but we invited her to pray to know if she should and she said she will follow the answer she receives. She has a lot of faith, wow. It is so great to hear my companion's testimony and to hear him share it with her to help her out because he is the only member of his family and today he is a member for 2 years to the date. Wow, my comp. is the man and he has such a strong testimony and he is an example to me of faith and sacrifice and obedience. His whole family was against his baptism and when he was baptized he lived with his dad and his dad kicked him out of his house and so he went to serve a part time mission in another state and ended up staying for 6 months and went home and now he is here. He bore his testimony to Tatiane and the spirit was so strong and you could see it touching her and she could relate and so it was a great experience. We will go there tonight to see how she is and what she is planning."

Francielle and Katielle: Fran is 16 and Kat is 14. We are teaching all of their lil bros and sis and their mom, they are great. We are planning to bring everyone to church next week.

We also started teaching an old woman that is less active for years and is from another city and she lives with her son in law and 3 grandkids and we are helping the 2 boys prepare for baptism, they are 13 and 10, Luis Felipe and Luis Roberto. They are so great.

Daniel & Carla: So we are also teaching a great young couple with a really cute new baby. They are Daniel and Carla and they came to church yesterday!

"We have a family home evening with the two grandboys and their grandma member and a great family in the ward, we are excited!"

EIGHTH AREA: *Nonoai with Elder Sampaio July 27, 2010

2010-08-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Max is headed to open a new area and train a new missionary - he has come a long way!
"So guess where i'm at? I'm in a new area in a ward called Nonoai that is right next to Cavalhada in Porto Alegre! Ha ha, i am right here almost where i was last year.. its crazy weird, last year i did two divisions in this area and met some of the members so i remembered and it was easier to pick up the area, but with our map its all good and the area is easy enough with the map and everything is going great! :) I am with a new missionary in his first transfer named Elder Sampaio and he is great! (you pronounce that Sam-pie-oo) he is from São Paulo and before the full time mish, he already served two 3 month short time missions in Riberão Preto that is another city in the state of Sao Paulo and has its own mission. Sao Paulo is a city and a state in Brasil just to let ya know.. so he is great and already knows how to do pretty much everything and its like he has been here for 6 months so it is great. He reminds me so much of Russ so its sweet to be with him."

"On tuesday we went to the bus station here in Porto Alegre and Pres got there with all the new missionaries and he introduced all of us and it was great and we were off and so we got here but there was already a companionship here, now the ward has two and so we got the area book and they told us about some of the investigators and we were off and it has been great. "

SEVENTH AREA: *Pictures from Guaíba

2010-08-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

"It was a pretty rough week with a lil progress in our area, but it turned out great cuz we found a great new lady with her two lil kids and they came to church and loved it and they have their baptism marked for the 14th of August and they are a great lil fam. The mom is Deborah and she is a single mom and has two lil kids, Luiza thats 8 and Gustavo thats 3. They are way cute and Luiza will be baptized with her mom. So they were the highlight of our week cuz the work has been pretty hard lately with a lot of great ppl that just dont progress and probs, but its just another short phase and we just have to keep the faith and the smile on our faces! :)"

SEVENTH AREA: Baptisms and thunderstorms

2010-08-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

"We moved into a new house on Wed. and our new house is great but we were without water for a while but its a long story, ha ha. . .

On Sat. (July 3, 2010) was the baptism of Bruno (16 yrs old) and Guilherme (9 yrs old) and it was so great."

"Yesterday (July 10, 2010) we had Selmar's baptism! He is so great and progressed so fast and his baptism was great - it was right after sac. mtg. and so there was a lot of members and it was great. Elder Benício baptized him and it was great."
"Selmar was confirmed and it was great and the Bishop interviewed him before church about marriage and the Priesthood and after the confirmation he received the Aaronic Priesthood in the office of Priest. Man, it was so great to see and he is awesome and so great."

"Last night we woke up to a crazy storm and it was sweet, but crazy. A ton of rain with lightning and thunder and we thought our house was gonna rip in half, ha ha! So our new house is great, we cleaned it more today and it is great, we are loving it. One thunder last night shook the house."

"So this week was just full of more miracles. On saturday we were walking in the street doin contacts and just talking to ppl in the street and this was this really tall, big kid that Elder B talked too. It was a great contact and we got his address and talked about church and invited him, we said we'd call that night to his phone. We called on sat. night and he said he'd come to church with us and we went there and picked him up and he came to church with us and loved it and already has some friends from school that are members so we are excited to teach him, hes great, his name is Denilson and hes 18 so hes a great potential future missionary, hes huge too so his baptism will be one to remember, he has to be almost 300 pounds but its not all fat, hes really tall, hes sweet and really nice and polite. . ."

"So we also picked up another guy, Leondro, that came to church with us. We started teaching his sister and he was in bed cuz he had a motorcycle wreck and broke his arm completely in half so he was recuperating but just has a cast and sling now and came to church but he is interesting and it didnt seem like he enjoyed it that much and he didnt want to mark another appointment so we will have to try and talk to him another day and see , but i have faith, the Lord works miracles everyday in the hearts of his children to prepare them and I know he felt the spirit cuz church was great as always."

"This week has been a little rough, we found and taught a ton of new ppl this week but nobody came to church yesterday, one of the few times that not one person came to church, so that wasnt easy. There are so many great ppl. that don't want to learn anymore."

"We got to church yesterday and they asked Elder Benício and I to talk in sac. mtg. cuz two ppl. didnt come to talk, its amazing how often this happens! ha ha.. so we both talked with no time to prepare, but it was great and a special experience for me because i could feel and recognize the spirit helping me and guiding me and I had almost no probs with Portuguese. It was amazing and strengthened my testimony."

SEVENTH AREA: *Guaíba with Elder Benício June 15, 2010

2010-08-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

NEW COMPANION

Max and Elder Benício in Guaíba.

"So, I am pretty disappointed to announce that I'm being transferred :( but it will all be okay and i know that I was called by the Lord :) So Elder Mattos is gonna stay here with another great missionary and i'm headed to Guaíba. Its a town about a half hour from the capital, Porto Alegre so I'm headed back up north after about a year down here in Rio Grande and Pelotas. I am excited to see Elder Bangerter for the last time at the bus station, at least i hope i do. Hes headed home on Thurs! How crazy is that?! So I just love Elder Mattos and i'm sad to leave but it'll all be okay, i've just gotta make the best of my situation, its all about the attitude right?! My new comp. is Elder Benício and I already know him and he passed here in our zone so i have already worked with him and he is a great missionary."

"Everything is new and so it was another change, but i seems to get used to everything faster and everything is great. I guess I am learning to get used to change faster and easier and this is a miracle and a great blessing from a loving Heavenly Father to me, I know it. So yeah, my new comp. is Elder Benício and all of my worries for this transfer are gone cuz he is great and we are becoming great friends. I am loving to work with him and this week was just full of the spirit and miracles and so I could not ask for more... and we just cut our hair and are looking good ;), ha ha, jk... so yeah, my new area is called Guaíba Jardim and I am loving it. you prounouce that Gwy-eeba Jarjeen Cool huh? ha ha, yup thats portuguese for ya, ha ha.. so the members are sweet here and have already helped out a ton and we already had an FHE last night and the lunches are great and we did a division with some great young men from our ward that are preparing to serve missions."

"A great kid named Bruno that is 16 came to church with us yesterday and he loved it and will come to my english class on saturday and seminary during the week, he already has a friend thats a member and hes great and is reading the BOM."

Apparently Max is teaching an English class which is very cool!

"So it has been an interesting week but it turned out great and everything is just awesome. :) I am loving the opportunity to work with my comp, Elder Benicio and we are working through our differences that I knew we had, but i am learning so much with him and a lot about myself."

"Bruno is doing great, he came to church yesterday again and loved it and already has so many friends that are members and is integrated so well with the young men and so hes ready for his baptism this Saturday! :) He is a great kid, hes 16 years old and we are trying to teach his family too. He lives with his mom and stepdad and two lil bros a new baby and a toddler. We already talked with his stepdad and he doesnt want anything, but his mom allowed his baptism and likes the idea for her son so we want to teach her, but we still haven't been able to."

SIXTH AREA: Testimony of fasting

2010-08-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

Elder Kirschman & Elder Mattos continue on. . .

"So, yeah, it was another amazing week and the work is just going so great and I am loving my comp and working with him! Hes the man and hes the best soccer player i've played with i think.. we just got done playing at the church so it was indoor but it was sweet, he bought a new nike ball today and it was nice to play again.. So this week I strengthened my testimony of fasting and prayer. We are still teaching Fernando and he had a lil downfall into depression and was losing his testimony for a few days and we taught him and lifted his spirits and this week i fasted especially for him and he is doing so great and his baptism will be this Sat! He is so funny and so great. My comp. fasted this week too for Elisabeth that was baptized but not confirmed and she is getting better and we will visit her this week and she almost came to church but didnt come so we will work to have her at church this week. I know that fasting really works and really can help us and others in time of need and especially in missionary work."

"We are also teaching a sweet lil girl named Dara that's 10 and she lives with her aunt and uncle and comes to church with them and her baptism is planned for this Sat. too! :) We are seeing so many miracles in our area and we couldn't be happier, I am better than ever and am just loving my area and comp and the work! :) So we had an FHE of the whole ward this week and it was great and we had a lot of investigators there so it was great and they loved it.. We had a ton of great lessons this week that were so spiritual and last night was one too. We are teaching this young couple's friends that aren't married too and the guy is great, his name is Mateus (Matthew in English) and he has long hair and came to the FHE and loved it but didnt come to church and we visited him last night and he felt bad that he didnt come to church but said he will for sure this week, we just need to teach his girlfriend together, we only taught her alone at the gate real fast and she is great too. They just need to read the BOM and pray to receive a testimony, they are such great ppl."

-----
"On Saturday (May 22, 2010) we had Fernando's baptism and it was great and a few of our investigators came and it was great. . . hes so dang funny and he was finally ready to be baptized. It is so great to see him make the right changes in his life and to see him be baptized and confirmed. I was asked to confirm him and it was great and its crazy how i feel that when I confirm someone, my accent seems to just go away for a minute and i feel the spirit so strong and feel completely guided, its just one element of my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, I love the gospel and there is no doubt in my mind that it is true and that we are lucky enough to have the truth in our lives. "

"So i dunno if I told ya'll bout the other Mateus? Hes a 16 year old kid that has a bunch of friends that are members and its been a while that hes been coming to church and he really likes it but he always had doubts cuz his fam is from the baptist church and so he was always confused and he is now reading the BOM and he is gaining a greater testimony and we taught him last night and it was great and we are helpin him to be baptized this sat!"

"So last night we had an amazing lesson with the bishop and Elizabeth. Remember that she was baptized and had a fight with her son and hasnt come back since? She wasnt confirmed and so we taught her about temples cuz her husband died a few years ago and the spirit testified so strong and it was just what she needed and I know she felt it and she said shes gonna come to church this week to be confirmed!! :) We are so happy. So yeah, we are continuing to be so blessed and to see miracles each day, i love the work and everything is great! :)"

-----
"We are witnessing a complete change in Arli and it is a miracle. We taught the word of wisdom this week and they drink coffee (used to drink) and Arli said they had a new pot of coffee that they hadnt even opened and they gave it to us to throw away and it was amazing to see their faith and testimonies in action and so they stopped and are living the word of wisdom and they are reading the BOM and praying and they are just so amazing and were prepared by the Lord, of this i have certainty :) We got there and asked who could pray and Arli said he would and his prayer was so amazing, wow! Seriously it was such a special moment and we had never heard him pray before and it was great and they are just so great, a true miracle and we can see the hand of the Lord in their lives, what a blessing, i am so grateful to be a part :)"

"Diego is ready for his baptism and he is great and this week he told us about the dream he had after he read the BOM and prayed and asked if it was true he said he dreamed with an angel that appeared to him and told him he needed to be baptized! Can you believe that?! Amazing huh? So this week we taught him about the Sabbath Day and the sacrament and the meaning of baptism and the importance of it. He is prepared and knows what he's doing and has a testimony and he will be great missionary here in a year and a half! He is 17 and will turn 18 in october or november I think, he is great."

"So this week was so great. We had the baptism of Diego on Sat. and it turned out perfect and after the baptism we had an FHE of the ward and so it was a great night and we had some investigators too and there were a lot of members there at the baptism to be there for Diego. His friend Gabriel that is a member for a year and a lil bit baptized him and he had to try 3 times to get it right but it all turned out great in the end. Diego is great and he's 17 and will turn 18 this fall so he will already be able to leave for a mission late next year! He is great and I know that he will be a great missionary. I love how my testimony is strengthened each day because of various experiences and I have been thinking in church lately and paying attention to how strong the spirit is during the sacrament, it really is amazing and leaves no doubts. I am so grateful for the spirit and for my testimony and all of your testimonies."

SIXTH AREA: P-day photo

2010-06-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

HAPPY P-DAY

Max is doing well, and just had a quick moment to snap a photo as they were sending out e-mails on p-day.

SIXTH AREA: *Arco-Iris with Elder Mattos 5/3/10

2010-05-12T13:27:00.001-07:00

May 3, 2010

TRANSFERS

"Elder Bangerter is leaving and he will open an area and train a new missionary. I will be comps here in our area with Elder Bangerter's last comp. Elder Mattos. I am so excited cuz he is a great missionary, but sad at the same time to be split up from Elder B. My new comp. is awesome, hes a tall, great looking brazilian that all of the girls love, ha ha.. We are already such great friends."

Elizabete's Baptism

"So this week we have the rest of our baptisms marked and Roni's mom, [Elizabete] is ready and she told me she wants me to baptize her. She would have been baptized yesterday too but she got really sick this week. She went to the hospital cuz she was so bad and so we gave her a blessing and she got better and came to church yesterday and to the baptism and loved it."

"Yesterday in church a lady in our ward gave a great talk about adversity and faith and it was so great and made me think alot and I know that it was for me in the moment and has helped me to have a greater outlook on life and everything we go through. I am so grateful for this amazing gospel and for my testimony. I love the work and everything is going awesome. The time is just a flying and going by a lil too fast, ha ha, of course i am excited to come home and be with everybody again but its just such a great time in my life and the most important time of my life for my future. Its funny how the other day I was thinking about the talk that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave i think last year about the ministry of angels and how i know that everything he said is true and that our loving Heavenly Father always sends angels both seen and unseen and I was thinking and realized how blessed i am with all the angels in my life and every one that God sends to help me and all of us. I realized that before the mission at a crossroads in my life, God sent just one of his sweet angels to help me realize my purpose in life and help my testimony and because of that angel, and many others, i am here today. For this I will be eternally grateful :) I know this fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we have restored is the only way that we will receive eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of our Father and Savior together with our families and friends."

SIXTH AREA: More Miracles and Lots of Hot Dogs

2010-05-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Elder Kirschman's Zone (Max is fifth from the left - top row)
April 19, 2010

"So we were working on Saturday afternoon on this one road and we had two pages full of addresses from contacts in the street that are in our area book. So our appointment fell on that same road so we started knocking doors (clapping) at these addresses that we have. So we knocked at a house of a lady, but only her husband was home and he accepted us right in very nicely and very interested and so we taught him the first lesson, the restoration. So right away the Spirit entered and was with us so strong and it was easy to see that this man was prepared, he is amazing. He was completely prepared to meet us with an open heart and it was such a great blessing. So he understood very well and was paying so much attention and felt the Spirit so strong and accepted everything and even baptism for the 8th of May. He was shaking because the Spirit was so strong. So before I could even get out the invitation to church as I was explaining a lil bout it, he said he would come on sunday! Ha, it was so awesome and he said he would bring his wife and so we got to church and were waiting out front and there they come holding hands and they loved it and we have an appointment with them tonight so we are way excited. They are around 55 years old and have 4 kids but there kids are all moved out and so i just thought its like our fam, ha.. but they are just such great ppl. and we are so excited to teach them and help them be baptized and receive all the blessing and prepare for the temple. And its a miracle too because they are actually legally married! What a blessing."

"So yeah and also we were waiting out front of church for investigators and a guy in a suit and everything and his mom came up and we just thought they were more members from the ward but they said they were visiting and it was the first time and that someone had invited them so we showed them where the classes were and they loved it too and we marked tonight with them too so i am way excited. So yeah, so many miracles have been happening and we also started teaching a sweet lil 9 year old girl this week named Monique. She is great and loves church - so her aunt takes her to church and she wanted us to teach her so she could be baptized. Her mom was baptized as a girl but is inactive and so we will try and teach her together but the aunt said that they all live together with their dad and he doesnt want the missionaries in his house so we taught her at another members house. So yeah, kind of a rough situation but we will see, her baptism will be this week along with Ananda, did i tell ya'll bout her? Shes dating an RM and she is an elect and is so great and is already ready to be baptized so her baptism will be this sat. along with Monique."

"We had zone conference this week on thurs and it was great. We gave our training 4 times to 4 different groups of missionaries and it went great, better than planned, i hope all the missionaries learned something, i learned a ton and we started a new activity this week that is awesome with the whole mission. We all started reading the BOM together from the beginning and we are reading at least 5 pages per day and we are marking in the same way: Yellow = all the names for Jesus Christ, Blue = all of the words that the Lord says when he is quoted, Red = all of the atributes of Christ, and Green = all the points of doctrine and principles. I am loving it and i am also finishing the BOM from where i was at the same time so it is awesome, i just love the BOM!!! There is absolutely no way that it COULDNT be true! :) I know that it is true and have no doubts, I love it, it is our proof that we have for everything and all that we need to know that everything about the church and the gospel are true, everything.. I love the gospel and my testimony is continuing to grow everyday."

FUNNY STORY: "Not last Sat. but the one before we were walking down a street and this lil skinny black kid named Alife that we had talked to one time in the road was passing on his bike and yelled, "Hey, I'm gonna go to your church tom!" So we just told him to really go and it would be awesome. So he passed and I said to Elder B., "If he goes to church tom. I will buy you a hot dog everyday next week" Ha ha and so you can just guess what happened! We walked into church and helped our investigators into class and turned around and this Alife was walking down the hall! Ha ha, it was awesome and he loved church and we have been teaching him and we taught him and his mom and lil bro and it was great. So every single day last week i bought Elder B. a brazilian hot dog and he loved it! Ha ha!"

April 26, 2010

"Roni (remember the R makes an H in portuguese so its pronounced Honi) and his mom, Elizabete that came to church last week by themselves cuz a lady in our ward invited them? They are so great and Roni came to church yesterday and got there early and brought a friend and was wearing a suit! Hes so great and i just love teaching him cuz he wants to learn so much and understands and asks ?s and so hes great. He loved church and his mom didnt come cuz she was a lil sick but we taught them together last night about the plan of salvation and the word of wisdom and we had marked their baptism for the 8th but last night we invited them for this sunday the 2nd! They will pray to know what to do and i told them about how i prayed to know if i should serve a mission and how my answer was like, "you should already be on your mission, get ready as fast as you can and go!" ha ha, and so i told them about this amazing experience and how God always answers our prays and he will answer theirs about if they should be baptized this sunday so they said they would pray and we are gonna pass there tonight so we are excited! :) So they are amazing and Roni is ready to help the ward out already and wants to serve and teach so hes ready to work and the bishop loves him so hes amazing. "
Roni, Celso and Claudete, and Monique

"[The baptism] was so great and I was able to baptize Celso and I was so grateful for the opportunity :) It was prob the best baptism I have had on the mission and the best day yesterday. Church was so great and it was fast and testimony mtg. and Celso and Roni bore their testimonies! It was the first time that I have seen investigators bearing their testimonies in church before their baptism. It was such a special moment for me and such a special day."

SIXTH AREA: Miracles and Mt. Dew

2010-04-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

"My comp. and I have been very humbled to receive so many great blessings in just one week and since we arrived in our new area. This week was one full of miracles and the work is just exploding and I am so honored and blessed and grateful to be a part of it. So we are living in another apartment closer to our area now, we moved on Wednesday morning and a member with a lil truck helped us so it was real quick and easy. . . We basically have 3 main parts to our area and two of them are close and ones kinda far but not really far and so we divide our time between them usually and we have just been guided to the right and prepared ppl it seems like and we have been so so blessed."

"A missionary that went home, his dad came to pick him up and left two bottles of Mountain Dew for Elder Bangerter and we got them last week and it was amazing!! Ha ha, the first time in more than a year and a half!"

"We started teaching a guy named Byron last week and he didnt come to conference and we werent able to talk to him again until he called us on Sat. and said he passed by the church and no one was there so he said he'd come and talk to us and he came down the road we were walking in a new car.. He had the BOM in the front seat and was all smiles. Because of Gen. Conf. last week, he thought it was on Sat. too but we explained it to him and he came yesterday with his girlfriend, Maria, they are great and loved it. So Byron told us on sat. that he is reading and praying and that he prayed to help him get a new car and said when he did, he would enter the church and never fall away. Ha!"

SIXTH AREA: *Opening Arco-Iris with E. Bangerter 3/30/10

2010-04-12T15:54:00.001-07:00

March 29, 2010
"Tomorrow is the transfer and we got the call this morning, i was nervous cuz we had no idea what would happen. So get this - me and Elder Bangerter and I are staying together one more transfer so we are so happy! :) but we have to change areas!! We are going to go to another area in our same stake that is really close so i think we will stay in our apartment, so thats sweet. It will nice to have another change and to be able to open the area together and i am excited for the work. . .

Elder Bangeter and I are doing great together and loving the time we have together, we will be such good friends after the mission and he said he'll be there at my homecoming, ha ha.. so yeah, the times a winding down and its crazy, i cant even think about it."

MAKING MUDDIE BUDDIES

"So this week the ward had an activity and we didnt go, but Rodrigo and Felipe went with their other friend Gabriel and they loved it cuz they love playing soccer.. we are gonna play with them this afternoon so it will be sweet.. i will send a pic of them.. after church yesterday we were teaching those three friends on the sidewalk in front of Gabriels house and another one of their friends came to talk to them and we gave him a pamphlet of the restoration and he said he will read and pray. There is so much potential with these guys."

April 5, 2010
"This week we started working in a new area and a new ward, its called Arco-Iris which means rainbow in portuguese and so we are opening the area together and it is going great. So everything is new and we have met a few members and they are great and our Bishop is awesome and helps a ton and our ward mission leader is amazing. Hes only been a member for 4 months and he has such a strong testimony and helps so much, we already taught with him this week and it was great. . .

So conference was just amazing eh?! Wow, we were lucky enough to watch all of the sessions including Priesthood and it was just amazing, wow.. i learned so much and it was just great, i am excited to get the Ensign to be able to study. . .

So saturday night, we were headed to the saturday afternoon session (but it was at 5 here) and we were doing street contacts and talking to ppl in the street like we do everyday and i talked with an old man on a street corner and told him about conference and how it is special and that we were headed there, but that there would be two sessions on sunday and so he said he would try and go like so many hundreds of ppl have said but of course never went so we just went like normal and we got to the sunday afternoon session last night and guess who was sittin in the back all by himself, this old guy with his crutch thing! It was so great to see him. He has diabetes and so he has some circulation probs i think in his feet and legs and so its hard for him to walk and he told me that on sat. so i thought for sure he wouldnt go and was just another contact but he walked all the way there alone and was sitting alone and he got there at 3! so luckily the choir thing was going and i guess he watched that and he stayed for conference and he was in so much pain because of his foot he said but he stayed and at the end after President Monson talked and the choir sang and the prayer, he was crying. Man he was so touched and so was I. So he doesnt live in our area, he lives in another ward that has sisters so they were there and got his address and will pass there this week and teach him, it was a great experience :) So yeah, miracles happen everyday, it doesnt matter how big or small, they happen, its especially easy to see as a missionary. and so i am just so grateful to be a part of these ppls lives."

FIFTH AREA: Divisions

2010-03-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

"This pic is from two weeks ago when we taught with Leonã and Alison, it was great.. so this week was great and everything is awesome and i am great and my comp. The work isnt going so great and it was a really hard week, but this week with be a lot better and so dont worry.. we have zone conference this week too on friday so i am excited to see some friends and to learn how to be a better missionary, ha ha.. so we did two divisions this week and it was aight.. i stayed in my area on tues. with elder laird from Ogden and we're buds so it was sweet to work with him and then on friday i went to another area with Elder Santiago, i already did a division with him and hes sweet so it was good and we taught some great lessons."

FIFTH AREA: Testimony

2010-03-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

MARCH 8, 2010

"I love the gospel, its so amazing! how lucky are we all to have the truth in our lives.. i think about my life before the mission and how so very blessed i have been my entire life and for how easy it was for me.. living and serving in Brasil for this time has opened my eyes so much and to see how there are so many ppl lost in lies and apostasy and so many ppl searching and wanting the happiness that our family has always had :) man, its so amazing, i just love it and i love you guys!! My testimony continues to be strengthened each and everyday :)"

"There is a lady in our ward that bore her testimony of the power of the priesthood and it was amazing, a great miracle happened with her this last week.. so about a month ago her and her family were sealed in the temple in Porto Alegre because it was a lil more than a year that her husband was baptized and they are such a sweet fam, we ate lunch with them last sat. and she told us she had to have surgery and yesterday in church she said it was to see the problem that the doctors didnt know why it was happening.. they told her she could have cancer or something else but her husband gave her a priesthood blessing before the surgery so that everything could go great and when the doctors opened her up they found absolutely nothing wrong with the part where the problem was and she was completely cured - wow, it was an amazing story and i was so happy to hear it! :)"

"Then after church Leonã received the Aaronic Priesthood as a priest and it was awesome and we did a division with a kid named Alison and i taught with Leonã.. it was amazing.. i have witnessed a complete change in his life in only about a month of time and how eternally grateful i am for this and for the opportunity. The first time we finally taught him, he didnt really believe in God and this was about a month ago and last night he was bearing his testimony and teaching the complete 1st lesson to strangers in the street and in their houses, it was so amazing!"

(Pres. Swenson had a hernia on a disc in his neck i think but he already had the surgery there in Salt Lake and is just recovering and will return soon)

FIFTH AREA: Leonã’s baptism on 2/27/10

2010-03-10T13:58:00.001-08:00

Leonã’s Baptism with Sandra and Wilma February 27, 2010

MARCH 1, 2010

"So this week was great and I just sent the one pic of Leonã’s baptism, it was amazing. Finally a pic of their amazing family.. so it all started with the mom, Sandra and then her mom, Wilma and this last Saturday, Leonã.. it was so great.. we had the baptism together with the other elders in our ward and they baptized a sweet old lady named Ana and it was such a spiritual baptism.. It was planned a lot better and so there was a lot of members there to participate and it was great. Leonã is awesome.. this week he bought all new church clothes for Sunday and he looked great yesterday.. church was great and everything is just going awesome.. I love my comp. and we are such great friends and I love working with him"

FIFTH AREA: *Pelotas Areal Norte with E. Bangerter 2/22/10

2010-03-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

FEBRUARY 22, 2010

"My new comp. is Elder Bangerter and he is the man just as i had heard and we get along great and already have such a strong friendship, it is awesome.. i am so grateful for my comps, i have been so blessed my whole mission.. so i will tell ya'll about this crazy week, ha ha, aight? So when i wrote you last week i was in Cavalhada cuz i stayed with the elders there until tues. morn and we had FHE with the Kern fam and it was so great to see them all, i am sending a pic :) so then we had transfers on tues. morn at the bus station in Porto Alegre and it was great to see so many friends.. i saw Elder Horrocks there and he was happy to be transferred because he was with a brazilian slacker that doesnt even want to work so i hope his new area will be great.. so then we waited there and the bus station and i got my new comp. Elder Bangerter and we went to stay with the zone leaders in a city about a half hour from Porto Alegre called Guaíba because we had a mtg. with pres. and all the zone leaders on Wednesday morn.. so we had an amazing experience tues. night in Guaíba.. Elder B. and i went out to just do our contacts in the street and Elder B. talked with a lady who has 5 kids that are members of the church and she invited us to her house to talk so we walked home with her and taught her and her husband and it was amazing and they both accepted to get married and be baptized here in a lil over a month.. it was amazing and i know that thats the reason we stayed there just for one day, it was amazing.. so on wed morn we had the zone counsel with pres. swenson and he had to leave for SLC that afternoon so our new pres. was there too and it was great.. his name is President Gershwandtner and he lives in Porto Alegre and was already the mission pres. of the João Pessoa mission in northern brazil and he was already an area authority so hes great and it was an amazing mtg. with the Spirit so strong and it was great.. so we ate Dominos pizza after and it was amazing and then we went to pick up our bus and came back here to Pelotas and got here in our area around 630. So we lost alot of our week for proselyting but it was a great weekend and we are teaching Leonã and he will be baptized this Sat. and he is just about ready, we just have to help him with some things but he is great and we taught his friend this week too and his name is Stefan and hes 15 and the next day we talked to him and he read 3 Nephi 11 and he asked God if the BOM is true and received an answer and his baptism is marked for the 13th of March and hes great but he couldnt come to church yesterday but he will this week.. we played bball this morn with them and another kid in our ward and it was great"

The Kerns

New Companion Elder Bangerter

FIFTH AREA: Baptisms and a new companion

2010-03-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

FEBRUARY 8, 2010

Companion: Elder Pourre

"Do ya'll wanna know how hot is got on Tues. afternoon, ha ha.. 105 degrees farenheit with a humidity of even more! ha ha, so i guess you could say that its been pretty hot lately, ha ha!

"So the work is going awesome and my companion is the absolute man and we are the best friends ever. He's gonna try and get into Utah State to study with me after the mission! I love him and he is an amazing missionary and helps me out so so much everyday."

"Yesterday was stake conference and our stake is huge and you should see the chapel, its bigger than the Porto Alegre temple!"

"So this week two more women are going to be baptized and it will be amazing.. I think i told you about Andreia, she is a single mom that is in her 30s and a lot of her family are members but less active except her dad that is active. Her son is about 11 and was baptized too and she has been investigating the church for a really long time, ever since they were baptized and was almost baptised herself but she never believed in the BOM and was really into the Bible and just the Bible ya know, with a really closed vision and a few weeks ago we had one of the most amazing lessons that i have had on my mission all about the BOM and reading scrips together from the Bible and the BOM and we basically just read with her and the spirit testified to all of us that the BOM is true and she could feel it and new it and it was an amazing experience and she read a part that we marked and she prayed and received an answer and knows that the BOM is true and it completely changed her life because now she has the desire and testimony to keep the commandments and she is great and came to conference yesterday and loved it, she is great.."

"Conference was amazing yesterday, so many great talks and the testimonies of a few returned missionaries, it was alot about families and it was great and the spirit was so strong there with so many ppl.. the other lady that is going to be baptized this week is Sandra's mom and do ya know how old she is? 84! She is so sweet and amazing and her daughter was baptized two weeks ago and now she came to church again so is ready to be baptized. We had an amazingly spiritual lesson with her talking just about our Savior Jesus Christ and we ended with the hymn, "The Lord Is My Light" and when we got done she had tears running down her cheeks and told us that for 84 years she has been searching for the true church of Jesus Christ and she is so grateful to have found it :) she also received her own testimony of the BOM, she is such a sweet old lady and it is amazing and i am so grateful to see the changes in her life and her happiness that she hadn't had for years"

FEBRUARY 15,2010

Max's e-mail has had a small change: max.kirschman@myldsmail.net
NEW COMPANION: Elder Bangeter from Boise, ID (Elder Pourre was called as the A.P)

"So another transfer has already come and gone and my comp. got transfered and he is the new AP, hes the man and i love him and am sad that its over but i will get a great new comp. and believe it or not, another american! ha ha.. his name is Elder Bangerter and he's from Boise, Idaho and we've only really ever said hi to each other but I have only heard great things about him and that he is a hard worker and so I am excited.."

"So guess where i am right now? I am in my old area in Porto Alegre, Cavalhada, remember?! We just passed by the Kern family and it is so good to see them and we are gonna have an FHE with them tonight! It will be great :)"

"So we found out last night that Elder Pourre would be the new AP and we had to leave Pelotas to come to Porto Alegre at 9 and so we got here a lil after 12 and he had a mtg. with Pres. and the secretaries and i came here until transfers tomorrow morning at the bus station. Isnt it a great coincidence that i am passing here today? I think Pres. did it on purpose :)"

"Sat. we had the baptism of Andrea and Wilma.. It was so amazing and they both wanted me to baptize them and so i was so honored to be able to do it for them and it was so great. Andrea is a single mom thats in her 30s and Wilma is 84 years old.. i already told ya bout them huh? They are so great and guess who came to the baptism and to church on Sunday? Leonã! Remember I told ya bout him, Wilma's grandson and his mom was baptized two weeks ago. He seemed so much happier after and was all smiles and loved it and is going to be baptized on the 27th! Hey, Kyle's bday, ha ha! So yeah, they are an amazing family and will be an eternal fam here in a lil more than a year! :) Wow, i am so grateful for the gospel in my life and for my eternal family! I love you all,

FIFTH AREA: *Pelotas Areal Norte with E. Pourre 1/11/01

2010-02-04T12:29:00.000-08:00

Max in in a new area - Pelotas Areal Norte, with a new companion - E. Pourre and got called as a Zone Leader

January 11, 2010
"So my new comp is awesome and we are already such great friends.. his name is Elder Pourre (pronounced por) and he’s from Rio De Janeiro but before the mission he lived in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and hes so awesome and such a great comp and a great missionary.. He has the coolest accent cuz everybody from Rio de Janeiro has an awesome accent.. so this week was so much different from the whole rest of my mission and it is a whole new aspect to missionary work for me. My new area is in Pelotas and its called Areal Norte and our ward is called Areal and it has 4 missionaries and so it is a pretty big ward and our chapel is really big and beautiful."

Lots of time on the bus:
Tuesday- Rio Grande to Porto Alegre (4 1/2 hours) and then to Pelotas (3 hours)
Thursday - back to Porto Alegre for a meeting (3 hours), then back to Pelotas
Friday - we went to another city called São Lourenço do Sul about an hour and a half from Pelotas to do a baptismal interview, then back to Pelatos

January 25, 2010
"This morn I found out Samira and her fam were baptized on Sat!!!

"So yesterday was a great Sunday. I gave a talk in Sacrament Mtg. about being a missionary through example and the two old women that came to church last week came again and are going to be baptized this Sat! They are amazing and both are ready for their baptisms and we are still working with both of their families. . ."

"We taught a guy named Patook that is from Thailand and he married a Brazilian named Bruna and they speak English and he speaks very little Portuguese so we taught in English and they are great."

February 1, 2010
"We had the baptism of Marlene and Sandra on Sat. January 30, 2010 and it was amazing and Marlene choose me to baptize her and so i was so grateful for the opportunity, it was another very spiritual baptism and yesterday church was great and they were confirmed members of the church and i was also able to bless the sacrament and it has been a long time."

FOURTH AREA: New Years and a Transfer

2010-01-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

Max is transferring to Pelotas which is just about an hour north from Rio Grande. His companion is Elder Pourre who is Brazilian and Max has only heard great things about him!

"P-day was New Years Day so New Years Eve we stayed up for the new year playing this new card game thats the Best called Monopoly Deal and we banged pots and pans Just like russ baby! Há há, it was the Best and new years Day was great – i ate i think the most i have ever eaten in one meal.. we had Churrasco with Nilzair and her fam and it was so so good, wow.. and we stayed there and played Monopoly Deal with them pretty much all afternoon."

"Oh man, one of THE funniest thing ever happened this week a few days ago.. oh, it was New Years Day and we were going home from teaching and stopped by Cadu’s house and Elder Horrocks started feeling sick cuz we ate SO much and when we left it got worse and the entire walk home He was struggling to hold his diarrea in and was SO close to crapping in his pants and it was like a half hour walk home and He had to stop from time to time and i dunno IF i have ever laughed harder in my life.. He barely made it home and when i laughed He would start laughing and have to stop and fight to hold it in! HÁ HÁ.. oh man, it was the Best.."

"I AM excited for a lil change and to see what great things the next área holds for me, everybody have a great week, I Love you all!!!

- Elder Max Aaron Kirschman"

FOURTH AREA: Christmas and Zone Conference

2009-12-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"This week was great. We had our Christmas zone conference in Pelotas on Thursday and it was great."

We got to talk to Max on Christmas morning. Mom got a speakerphone so we could all listen and talk together. He sounds so great and just so excited to be preaching the Gospel.

Here we are talking on the phone. We were all there, except Emily and Russel who were on the cell speakerphone.

"The weather hás been weird here cuz usually this time of year it is already scorching hot, member last year on Christmas? It was like 100 F... it hás been rainy and cloudy and cool lately so i have been enjoying it, i prefer pouring rain and bein soaking wet rather than sweating and the scorching Sun so its been good, há há, but Elder Horrocks hates the rain, há há, its pretty funny cuz I Love it"

"I gave a talk in church yesterday tôo and it was great, há há, theres something about giving a talk that I Just Love now, but i talked too long, like 20 minutes! Há há and didnt leave any time for the next Guy, oops.. but the Bishop asked me to talk about the birth of the Savior and Christmas and it was great cuz i was able to share experiences of Christmas’s at home and my first Christmas on the mission and how it really helped me see the true meaning of Christmas and feel more of the Christmas Spirit through remembering not only about the birth of our Savior, but his whole life and especially his atoning sacrifice.. I AM so grateful for the opportunity that i had to give this talk.. i talked about the importance of serving others and about how we always made donuts and the other dang good twist cream cheese thing  há há.. and i talked about the Christmas Carol and how Ebenezer Scrooge found the true meaning of Christmas and i talked about how Grandpa would always read Luke chapter 2 and we would always complain, há há, but how i AM so Grateful for him and for always reading it to remember the true meaning of Christmas.. "

"I absolutely Love to study and it seems like we never have enough time to study and it goes by so fast in the morning.. there is always so much more to learn and it is great"

FOURTH AREA: Two baptisms for Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Max was called to be a district leader in Rio Grande do Sul "because of his enthusiasm for the work and his dedication to the Gospel, the Lord has extended this new call. He has already shown that he knows how to teach by the Spirit and to let the Lord lead in His work. Now he will have the opportunity to influence others by his example of obedience and humility."

"We had such na amazing baptism on sat. Night.. this week was crazy but all of the stress and everything was worth it, há há.. of course it was, it was amazing.. we had the baptisms of Jelguer and Diogo together and they are amazing.. one of Pres. Swenson’s counselors came from Pelotas to interview them on fri and they both passed and he sat us down after and said they were ready and was impressed how far they have come.. theres no way he can be as impressed as I am.. they have come so so far and completely changed their lives and are so amazing and i am just so grateful for the opportunity that i have to teach them about the Gospel and share my testimony with them, we all have such a strong friendship.. I had the opportunity to baptize Diogo and a ward missionary, Elder Oliveira, or irmão Rudi baptized Jelguer and it was so great and such a spiritual baptism.. Jelguer had to be baptized twice and Diogo only once so it was great, há há and after the baptism all of the men together with Jelguer and Diogo sang Elders of Israel and it was so amazing.. for the first time on my mission, both of the converts bore there own testimonies after the baptism and it was so so amazing and so spiritually powerful.. "

"I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and living and we are so lucky to have the fulness.. i know that our Savior lives and we have a loving Father in Heaven that lives.. i love you all so much! have a great week!! "

FOURTH AREA: Service and Baptisms

2009-11-24T11:54:00.001-08:00

"I found Norman’s twin Brazilian sister, ha ha, almost identical, she's awesome and reminds me of Norman and loves me just like Norm, ha ha.. She is Iraci’s dog"

(I think she looks WAY more like Milo, though)

Iraci's dog

Milo

Norm & Howard

"the baptisms were two from the ward that were 8, named Dionatan and Mariane, the daughter of Irmã Iraci, and also the other elders baptized a 14 year old boy named Diordiani and hes great and the baptism was amazing and almost the whole ward was there and Mariane wanted me to baptize her and so I was so grateful for the opportunity and it was great."

"so we ate lunch and taught Emilia and her fam this week and it was great.. its so amazing to see how far she has come and how much of a change I have witnessed in her and how the gospel and blessed her life so so much, she is amazing and already talks about serving a mission, I think I already told you guys. It makes me so so happy"

Max's Zone

Making cookies

FOURTH AREA: A Rainy Week in Rio

2009-11-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Another regular week as a missionary.

November 2-6, 2009

It's going to get hotter as they move into summer, but this week it rained almost every day.

E. Max and E. Horrocks are still working with some choice investigators and eating!

"we ate at a great churrascaria ( a restaurant with Brazilian barbecue) and it was by far one of the best meals I have had in my life""I also sent a pic of our area, just one of the roads so you can see how it is."

FOURTH AREA: Mission Conference

2009-11-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

MISSION CONFERENCE WITH ELDER SCOTT IN PORTO ALEGRE

October 31, 2009

"This week was amazing and this weekend was probably the most amazing experience I have had in my whole life. We went a day early on Fri morn for Porto Alegre cuz I had an appointment with the doctor, but we missed it (it’s a long story) and so Fri night in Porto Alegre we just helped the secretaries out to get ready fo the conf. and we slept in the office and it was good to be with Elder Watts again for a night and see how he's doin. (He's still the financial secretary) So, yeah, we woke up on Sat. and we had to be seated by 8:10 and Elder Scott came about 8:30. He came with Jay Jensen of the Presidency of the 70 and Ulysses S. Soares, the Brasil Area Pres.

It was so amazing.. it was the entire mission for the first time and it was so good to see all of my comps. Especially Elder Bischoff! Man, I just love all my comps and they were all there and this is Elder Jones’ last transfer! Crazy..

As soon as they walked in we all stood and the Spirit just became so much stronger and a completely peaceful feeling came over my whole body, I cant explain it really.. so we all took turns and we all shook his hand and told them our names and where we are from and as I shook his hand and introduced myself, he just looked me right in the eye and with his soft voice that I love he just paused and said, “ wonderful” and gave a lil smile.. then we had a training with him about how to best present the BOM and use it in our teaching and then Pres and Sister talked followed by Pres. Soares and Pres. Jensen and they were all amazing and Elder Scott ended and it was the most amazing experience I have ever been a part of.

He bore his testimony as a living apostle of the Savior and bore his testimony that Jesus Christ lives and he ended saying that he knows because he knows the Savior personally.. wow.. at that moment the Spirit sort of just took hold of me and my whole body trembled and I was almost brought to tears.. I cant put it into words.. then we went right to the closing hymn which was I Know That My Redeemer Lives, and the Spirit was just so strong and so amazing and I am just so so grateful for the experience.

My testimony was strengthened so much more and continues to grow each and every day.. there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ lives and is guiding this, his true church on the earth this day through living prophets. I know that the BOM is true and contains the fullness of the Gospel and all that we need to do to find happiness in this life and to return to live with our Father in Heaven and our family forever and ever.. for this I am so grateful and so grateful for my testimony and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.."

They also had a chance to go to the Temple while they were in Porto Alegre.

"Um abraço! Tchau!!" 

FOURTH AREA: *Rio Grande with E. Horrocks 10/14/09

2009-11-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

NEW COMPANION

E. Horrocks from Pocatello, ID!

"[My new companion is] Elder Horrocks and he has 5 months on the mish and he reminds me a lot of how i was.. it is so great to work with him and i am so grateful for the opportunity.. He's from Pocatello, Idaho and wanna know somethin crazy? His older bro served on the same mission and i remember seein pics of him and his name on the records in the the area book in Cavalhada.. its so cool.. he finished about 2 years ago so it hasnt been long.. but hes awesome and a great comp and great missionary already and we are already such great friends and we get along great and i feel that we work great together."

THREE STORIES FROM RIO GRANDE
#1 "So, we were walking down a street in our area the other day this last week and these two teenage boys on their bikes stopped us and asked if we are "Mormons" and we started talking to em and they were really interested and we taught them the 1st lesson right there in the street and it was amazing and they were so surprised to hear about the restored church and gospel and that there is a living prophet.. the problem is they said they would come to church yesterday and didnt along with everybody else except one.. Rogerio finally came to church and he loved it! "

#2 "So, it was dang funny on sat. we were walking to an appointment in the afternoon after lunch and we could here this really loud religious music and we turned the corner and in front of a church there was a ton of ppl out front and all in the street and there was a guy yelling and preachin in a microphone with huge speakers and a choir singing and ppl dressed up in all sorts of costumes and we just walked right right threw the middle and just thinkin about how is looked makes me laugh, ha ha.. imagine, two white as can be american mormon missionaries walking right threw a convention or something of another church, ha ha.. man, i cant lie, i felt really cool and it was dang funny how every single person was staring at us and the looks that we got.. and i swear that as we passed by the preacher dude yelling, he got even louder and he was just staring right at me and i just smiled back and kept walking, ha ha, it was so awesome, i wish you all could have seen it.."

#3 "So, yesterday I had an amazing spiritual experience - we taught Nilzair and her parents listened together for the second time (member they're not members) and the spirit was SO strong with us and it was one of the most spiritual lessons i have had on my mission and i KNOW that they all felt it and it was just such an amazing experience and they cant deny that spirit that they felt.. afterwards, Nilzair asked me to give her a blessing of comfort and that sweet spirit guided me completely and it was a miracle and an amazing experience.. we left running for home completely filled with the spirit and i cant even explained how i felt."

Max will be Max

"So, the food is just amazing here, ha ha, just so ya know, i love eating and its so weird that i'm not huge, i eat SO much for lunch everyday and it is just so good, every single day.. i love beans and rice and all of the food here.. this week we 2 huge chickens that were SO good and all spiced perfect and we had potato salad thats amazing and the desserts are amazing too, man, yesterday we had one of the best cakes i have ever had.. ha ha it was 2 layers of chocolate and two layers of white with choc. mousse in between the chocolate and this coconut frosting in between the white and with frosting on top, wow, i cant do it justice, ha ha, just know that the food is amazing and i am loving eat.. so it is officially spring here and heating up.."

PICTURES FROM ELDER MAX & HORROCKS IN RIO:

FOURTH AREA: Service Project

2009-11-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

OCTOBER 12, 2009

"So, today hás been awesome.. this morning we had a huge service project. It was the “Helping Hands” thing and so there were so so many ppl there to help and we were at this place that is like an old fokes home and a homeless shelter I think and there was ppl working in all different parts. I started out in this yard pullin weeds and cuttin grass and it was sweet to get to work with my hands again for a change, it took me right back to before the mish as a gardener, há há, remember that?! So yeah, it was sweet, we just worked in the yard the whole time and there were ppl fixing wheelchairs and weeding and doing recycling things and it was so sweet to be a part of and maybe we’ll be in the Ensign, há há, that’d be sweet.. "

FUNNY

"There's this old guy that comes to church alone every week and hes been a member for abour 10 years but fell away and recently returns but the problem is that every single month he bears his testimony but its not really a testimony – he just goes up there and every time ends up yelling almost and preaching to everybody about how they need to pray more for the poor and needy.. yeah, its really weird but the Bishop talks to him almost every week and he just doesnt change.. há há, sorry i just had to tell ya bout him.."

FOURTH AREA: Working Hard

2009-11-05T20:01:00.000-08:00

Max is working hard with Elder Bischoff in Rio Grande.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009

"So we had Suelma's baptism on Saturday (Sept. 26, 2009) and it was so amazing.. after such a stressful week, it was a miracle to see it happen and to be a part of it.. i had the opportunity to baptize her and i was so grateful, it was such a spiritual baptism.. her daughter Jessica came too!!! but she didnt come to church yesterday!! man!! nobody else in the fam came to the baptism or church, [but] it was such a spiritual baptism, i think the most spiritual on my mission so far"

OCTOBER 5, 2009

He was able to go to General Conference (Oct. 3-4, 2009) because a lot of his investigators went, this is a list of who went:

Saturday morning: Jelguer & Iraci ("He’s getting married to a member of the church that fell away but they are both going together now and we are teaching her daughter and granddaughter too, they all live together.. it’s a really long story, ha ha, but he is great and progressing and they are ready to get married and so here in about a month they will be married and he will be baptized along with the lady’s 8 year old daughter, she is so cute and so smart – her name is Mariane and the moms name is Iraci. Her granddaughter lives there too – her name is Eduarda and she is 7 and so cute and smart too, ha ha.. so yeah, sat. was great cuz Jelguer and Iraci came)

Sunday: " We had a bus to pick up everyone in our ward and guess who came?! Jessica!!!! Ha ha, finally!! Remember, Suelma’s daughter? She loved it too and Suelma came and also remember Emilia? Shes 16 and was baptized a while ago.. she is so strong in the church now and her mom isn’t baptized yet and her older sis too and they all came to conf. together! Jelguer went again and also another one of our investigators named Rogerio. We stopped teaching him cuz he never came to church but we thought we’d stop by and invite him to conf. on sat and Sunday he showed up!! He loved it too!!! So as you can see, so many miracles have been happening in our area and it was a great week! "

"[This is] me on the roof of a brother’s house in are ward – we did a service project at his house sat. morn and it was great. We fixed a leak in that big water tank on the roof and then we moved a bunch of bricks from his front yard to back and also moved a pile of rocks, it was sweet and nice to help him out and to work with my hands once again for a change."

"[This is] me with the two young dudes is sweet huh? Ha ha, between conf. sessions we had a mtg. with the zone leaders and we left with those two guys to do contacts in the street and it was sweet and on the way back, Elder Bischoff took this pic and its sweet, ha ha.. "

"I'm also sending one of me and Elder B. with the daughter of the guy we did the service project for, her name is Flavia and she is so cute and funny."

FOURTH AREA: Pictures

2009-09-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of random pictures

FOURTH AREA: Zone Conference

2009-09-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

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.. "

FOURTH AREA: One Year Mark

2009-09-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

ONE YEAR - HUMP DAYSEPTEMBER 17, 2009

Areas Elder Kirschman has served in:

1. Brazil MTC with E. Watts - 9/17/08-11/19/08

2. Cristal with Elder Jones - 11/19/08-12/31/08

3. Office with E. Fernandes - 12/31/08-2/4/09

4. Cavalhada with E. Headley - 2/4/09-3/24/09

Cavalhada with E. Piccin - 3/24/09-6/9/09

Cavalhada with E. Romeiro - 6/9/09-7/21/09

5. Rio Grande with E. Biscoff - 7/21/09-Present

What the rest of the Kirschman's did on Max's year mark. . .

Braza Grill Brazillian Cuisine in SLC, UT

FOURTH AREA: Work and Rewards

2009-08-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Ola from Rio Grande, BRAZIL

(no mission "fat face" to be seen! )

(Max ordered a special-made leather scripture case. It turned out beautiful!)

August 3, 2009
"There is just so much work to be done and we are killing ourselves doing it, ha ha, our area is huge and we just walk all day cuz we don't have money for the bus but it is good cuz i hopefully wont come home like the plum girl on willy wonka, ha ha.. so am I officially mission weird yet? Ha ha, jk.. so the mission is just going and it is so amazing. I feel so so blessed and lucky to be a part of this most important work on earth and to witness miracles each and everyday."

"We ate lunch with an investigator and after, the lesson was one of the most spiritually powerful lessons I have had on the mission so far, it was amazing. We taught about baptism and confirmation and the lady smokes a ton so we're helping her but her daughter's baptism is marked for the 15th of August and she's great."

The following is a story that happened in Cavalhada with E. Romeiro around July 4, 2009:

"I want to tell you the story that I have waited so long to tell. So, when I was in Cavalhada about a month ago with E. Romeiro we were teaching one night and almost left an area but felt to try a few more addresses that we had and ended up teaching a girl that's 21 I think named Denise and it was amazing and the Spirit was definitely there. So towards the end of the lesson she told us that right before we showed up she was crying in her room beggin Heavenly Father in prayer for help and just as she finished she heard our clapping.. it was crazy cuz I have heard so many stories like this but its the first time that it has happened to me and it was amazing and strengthened my testimony."

Tchau!

FOURTH AREA: Rio Grande with E. Biscoff 7/21/09 to 10/14/09

2009-07-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Max finally got transferred from Cavalhada on July 21, 2009. He's in a new area called Rio Grande, which is about four hours south of Cavalhada. His companion is Elder Bischoff from Rexburg, Idaho.

"So, I finally went south and left Porto Alegre. I am in Rio Grande, the city, and its completely different, a whole new world once again, ha ha.. so its crazy cuz i'm with another american, his name is Elder Bischoff and he's from Rexburg, Idaho, but his fam moved to salt lake while he was already on the mish.. he's way cool and teaches so well. He has about a year and 4 months here so only about 6 months ahead of me. Man, its been hard and frustrating cuz hes kind of lazy so i've gotta help him out a lil bit.. but he is such a great missionary, he just needs a little push"

"We are in the center of Rio Grande right now and its a pretty cool little town and i will be sure to take lots of pics :) Our area is just south of the center of the city and now the biggest area in the mission - its about 33 miles long! ha ha! look it up on google earth and it'll be sweet :) so i heard that Rio Grande has the longest beach in the world! Can you believe that? I also heard that its pretty ugly in the winter and i havent been there yet but we'll go one p day and get pics. Its freezing here! Ha ha, it has been a really cold week but its always better cold than hot i say :) and i'm from Logan, UT so i'm used to it :)"

"We were greatly blessed with a baptism this week. Her name is Tuane and she is a 16 year old girl. She's way sweet and so nice and quiet and it was such a spiritual baptism. She cried after with her friend and I felt the spirit so strong during the whole meeting. We are teaching her older brother, Tiago and he's 17 and way cool too. We are teaching his friend too, Anderson and hes 18 and Tiago came to church yesterday and went last week too and so his baptism might be this saturday.. so i'm gonna send a pic of the baptism :) This area was two but they joined and now it is just us in two areas and so we have a ton of great investigators and it is such a great area with a ton of work to be done so we are just running now all day and i am lovin it and excited for the challenge" Tiago, Anderson, Tuane (in purple coat), E. Biscoff (in all white), E. Kirschman, and mom

THIRD AREA: Last Week in Cavalhada

2009-07-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Last Week in Cavalhada.

Max is being transferred out of Cavalhada. After six months and many friends, investigators and converts he is leaving to see new places and meet new people.

"Oh man i haven't told you yet, ha, i just found out that i'm getting transferred tom, but i already knew it pretty much so it wasnt much of a surprise, but still it'll be hard gettin used to a new area, but part of me is excited too because i think i'll be goin to another city in the mission cuz with almost 11 months i havent left Porto Alegre yet, but you know how much i love it here.. so thats all we know, i have no idea where i'll be goin until the bus station tom (Tuesday July 21, 2009), crazy huh?

Thanks to the Kerns' for being Max's "family"! For all of the churrasco and fun! What a great area.

(Lulu Kerns)

"Our churrasco that we had last week with Isabel and Volnei. . . . . . and the young guy with me is Viniscius, our investigator and it's not a gang sign he's doin, it means peace"

"Raquel's baptism (her name is pronounced Hakel) she is so cute. . . . . . and look at the baby boy, he's so funny and so dang cute! His name is Artur which is Arthur in english I think." "A pic of Brasilian money, "the real", pronounced Hay-al.. and then check out my first pair of shoes, they are down to the insole, worn all the way threw! Sweet as huh?! I stopped using them a while back and I'm already way into my 2nd pair :) ha, but dont worry cuz i can find dang cheap shoes here in Brasil, so dont worry about sendin them"

"There's us with another fam in our ward, André and Cristiane and their lil boy, Pedro."

This picture is a mystery)

Adeus. Foi um experiance maravilhoso.

THIRD AREA: New President

2009-07-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

"The one pic is of me in Gaucho clothing, ha, member the Brasilian cowboys? and the other is of me on Rodrigos brand new motorcycle, sweet as huh? Rodrigo is the husband of the couple that will be married on the 20th of July and baptized on the 22nd!! Member them? They are a part of the whole fam that will be baptized and the two baptisms we had last week. Rodrigo and Fernanda have a son thats 10 too named Murilo and i just love the kid :) They will all be baptized together with Rodrigos younger sister Analise too. So we are really excited for them, they are an amazing family. And I really want to come back here in a year for the sealing of the entire family, it would be absolutely amazing. Missionaries are usually allowed to do this I guess so i'm super excited. We're doin all we can to help them make that their ultimate goal altogether here in a year."

"So new pres this week and he's so awesome! ha ha, hes so dang funny and seems way cool. He got here on Wed. morn and Friday we had a zone conference again for him and his wife to introduce themselves. He hugged every missionary right at first, ha ha.. He served in the exact same chapel that we have conferences in 35 years ago on his mission, crazy huh? He hasnt spoken portuguese for 35 years but he already speaks better than me! ha ha, dang it! :) jk.. his wife is awesome too and so so nice - she just started learning port. a month ago and so doesnt speak alot but speaks really well for only a month. They have 3 sons that are all married and one daughter that is at BYU-Idaho and they said that she'll come here for Christmas and stay for 5 or 6 months with them. So yeah, they are just here alone for now and have a grandbaby on the way and they are really funny but know when to be serious too and their testimonies are so powerful."

THIRD AREA: Two more baptisms - June 28, 2009!

2009-06-29T14:16:00.001-07:00

Max and Elder Romeiro are working hard in the mission field and are reaping the blessings of the scriptures: "Seek and ye shall find" (Luke 11:9), and "the field is white all ready to harvest" (D&C 33:7). The field truly is white and ready to harvest. . .

"So we had two suprise baptisms yesterday, ha ha, can you believe it? It was amazing.. so this is what happened: ya know the fam we're teaching? So we were teachin them this last week and we decided beforehand to invite the young son, junior thats 10 and the husband of the daughter, Stefano thats about 35 to be baptized on the 4th of July because we felt they were ready and after talking with them, we found out that the best day would be Sunday for Stefano because of work and so they said, why dont we do it this sunday night?! ha ha! and after talking some more we figured because of the confirmation, to do it in the morning before church and so we did at 8 in da mornin and it was great. I had the opportunity to baptize both of them and it was such an amazing experiece for us all :)"

Max and Elder Johnson

Elder Piccin, Sister Evangelista, and Elder Kirschman

THIRD AREA * Cavalhada with E. Romeiro * 6/9/09 to 7/21/09

2009-06-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

Max got a new companion on June 9, 2009. He is STILL in the same area, Cavalhada, now with Elder Romeiro:

THIRD AREA: Last week with Elder Piccin

2009-06-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

Max and Elder Piccin have been working in Cavalhada together since March 24, 2009 - Here are some pictures from their last week together:

"I sent a pic of my zone - Porto Alegre South"
"I also sent a pic of us with Isabel and Volnei so you can finally see what they look like."
"Me and Elder Piccin and Guilherme at Guilherme's baptism. It was on Sat. morn (June 6, 2009) because the primary had an activity right before and so we planned it together right after and so the whole primary was there and the Young Women were there too so there were a lot of people and it was amazing. Guilherme is so awesome and has so much knowledge about the Gospel already :) I was lucky enough to get to baptize him and the water heater was fixed so the water was warm this time :)"
"I also sent a pic from our FHE mon. night. We had it at the Kern's house with Glaura and Alex and it went great!"

"We were walkin down a road and asked a lady if there was a road that connected the one we were on and another one that we had an investigator and she told us yeah and so we took it and it ended up bein so far away and so we lost about an hour just walkin and thats were i got that pic was at the top of this hill but we got our street contacts done on the way and it all worked out because the lady, her name is Nelí was still at home and it was a very spiritual lesson."
"I also sent some pics from the temple! Oh man it was so amazing, there is no better place on earth than inside of the temples. We went last wed., just me and E. Piccin and it was absolutely amazing and we got to go again today with our zone and another zone and it was so amazing once again!!! It is such a beautiful temple and i just love it."

THIRD AREA: Working Hard

2009-05-26T13:48:00.001-07:00

Max and Elder Piccin has been working hard in Cavalhada. They had Elida's baptism on Saturday night, and possibly three more on Saturday.

"Me and Elder Piccin sang again with Melissa and Caroline Kern, "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" and I felt the Spirit so strong and it was a very spiritual baptism, Elida's mom Leonilda was crying right before she was baptized. Leonilda was baptized about 3 years ago but she went inactive and so we are hoping that she will stay active with Elida now :) they are a great lil family.. oh man, ha ha, so Leonilda has this lil boy named Nicholas and hes about 4 and hes crazy, ha ha, during the whole baptism he was running around and yelling and screaming and no one could stop him, ha ha, its the same thing during all of our lessons and in sacrament mtg. too. I gave a quick message about baptism cuz the lady that was supposed to couldnt come but I am so greatful that I was able to. I just shared one of my fave stories in the BOM when Almas at the waters of Mormon with the people in Mosiah 18: 8-10. I love this part of the BOM. I just substituted the waters of Mormon for the baptismal font and read it to her and bore testimony of baptism and the Gospel. Man, I just love this Gospel and am so greatful for the opportunity I have to share it with everybody and bear testimony everyday."

(Max and Elder Piccin with Melissa and Caroline Kern)

"We might have 3 baptisms this Sat.! If everything goes right :) We have Guilherme for sure and hopefully Fernando and Junior. I havent told you about Guilherme (pronounced Gillyermee, its William in Portuguese) There is the sweetest old lady in our ward named Miguelina and she has been caring for him for I dont know how long and this week he will legally be her son. . . He is the sweetest lil boy and I love him and hes 11 and ready to be baptized. He comes to church everyweek with Miguelina and hes so awesome and just an amazing kid. "

"Oh did I tell you we finally got a bishop last week?! yeah so we are so glad and relieved cuz its Elton!! Have I told you about Elton Saucedo? He's like our dad here on the mish and him and his wife are amazing, his wife's name is Marisa."

Another week down - 68 to go!

THIRD AREA: Happy Mother's Day - May 10, 2009

2009-05-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

Max called home from the Kerns' on Sunday, May 10, 2009. Everyone was there to talk to him! It was great to hear his voice - it makes the distance between us close. He seems so excited about the work and is definitely in missionary mode. We are proud of you Max!

We were able to talk for an hour and here are a few things that were said:

Max and Elder Piccin live in the best apartment on the mission. He usually eats hot sandwiches (meat, cheese & bread) with cold bananas and juice for breakfast. He recently found Brazilian oatmeal - which is a lot like flavored malt-o-meal (he likes the strawberry). Rice and beans are had with every meal, and they also have a lot of pasta. Chussurro (Brazilian barbecue) is the favorite food, and he has even tried chicken hearts!

He said that this area he's in right now, Cavalhada, saved his mission but he suspects he'll be leaving on the next transfer.The Kerns' family. Max's home away from home.

Luciana - the Kerns' youngest daughter, who is four. Evelyn thought it was great that Uncle Max has a four year old friend in Brazil. She laughed and laughed when Max told her they call her Lulu.

Juliane - was baptized the day before we talked.

Apparently everyone in Brazil is either a fan of the "red" soccer team or the "blue" soccer team. Max likes the blue, but attending games are against the rules. Apparently the games get really messy. Adam and Emily thought the funniest part of the whole conversation was talking about the copy center and Max kept calling it the "Sheerox" instead of Xerox (Zerox), no matter how hard they tried to correct him, he didn't realize he was saying it wrong. He apparently is becoming more fluent in Portuguese, comes with living with a native companion.
The greatest thing was hearing his voice and how happy he sounds. After our Christmas conversation, I think most of us were worried or concerned or sad, but now he is an awesome missionary filled with the Spirit and yearning to teach! Evelyn was asked what Max is doing in Brazil and she answered "teaching the people about Jesus" That is what he is doing. People need to be taught about Jesus, to come to know Christ and to feel of the power of the Gospel and its truth, Max is an instrument in the Lord's hand to bring people to Christ.

THIRD AREA: Another baptism - May 9, 2009!

2009-05-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just a short update from Porto Alegre. . .

"So this week has been another great one and me and Elder Piccin have been greatly blessed. We have a baptism on Saturday and the girl's name is Juliane and she's 21 and she's amazing and her faith is incredible."

Max and Elder Piccin with Juliane on her baptism day - Sat. May 9, 2009

We can't wait to talk to Max on Mother's Day! The work is progressing and the Church is true!

THIRD AREA * Cavalhada with E. Piccin *3/24/09 to 6/9/09

2009-05-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Max got a new companion on March 24, 2009. He is still in the same area, Cavalhada, just with Elder Piccin from São Paulo instead of Elder Headley :

"We had transfers on Tues. and it was one of the hardest things i've had to do on the mission to say goodbye to my comp. and friend, Elder Headley, boy was it hard, ha ha.. I learned so much with him and he taught me so so much. He is my brother now and I know that we'll be friends forever and chill when I get home. We went through so much together and he was with me through the hardest times on my mission. I could never thank him enough or thank my Heavenly Father enough for bringin us together as companions when I needed it the most. . .
My new comp's name is Elder Piccin and he's from São Paulo and awesome and an amazing missionary. We get along great and already have a strong friendship like me and Elder Headley. The work has been goin amazing too. It has been hard and frustrating because I have to show him around the area and lead and introduce him to everybody but it is so worth it and it has been great work this past week. "

(View of Cavalhada)

Just a few people in Max's life during March and April of 2009

Isabel and Volnei

March 16, 2009

"So yesterday after church we taught with a young man in our ward named Leonardo - hes 18 and a recent convert and is so awesome and is gettin ready for a mission. He had a couple people for us to visit and we went to this one house of a young couple and their daughter thats about 5 i think and the dad wasnt home so we just talked to the lady, Isabel, for little bit and set up and appointment for Wed. and she was really excited and they went to church a couple o times a while back and we felt really really good about them"

March 30, 2009

"So remember Isabel and Volnei, I'm pretty sure that I told ya bout em? Last monday night we had a family home evening with Isabel and their daughter, Aline, with the Kern family and it was so amazing. Caroline Kern, the 18 year old daughter plays the piano amazingly so she played and we all sang and the Spirit was SO strong all night and I know that Isabel felt it :) So we went back on saturday and taught Isabel and Volnei and their daughter about the plan of salvation and it went so so good and they just love everything with the church and they all came yesterday again! The problem is is that they're not married so we're goin back on Thurs and we're gonna set a goal with them for marriage because they already accepted baptism! "

April 6, 2009

"we taught Isabel and Volnei yesterday too with the 2nd counselor in the bishopric about the Law of Chastity and Eternal Marriage and it was amazing. We set a goal for marriage for the 16th of May so i really hope they can get everything worked out and become an eternal family. They are so special and I am so grateful for meeting them and being able to teach them."

"So I don't think I told you guys, but we cant go to Conference unless we have investigators there with us... On sat. Isabel and Volnei came to the morn session and it was great and I really think they liked it.. Isabel asked me who was speaking during Pres. Monson's opening address and I whispered, "o profeta" and she was just like, wow.. it was awesome."

April 13, 2009

"So we marked an appointment with Isabel and Volnei last night and were really excited, but they werent home dang it so we've gotta pass by there this week and find out about there wedding, it is so complicated in Brazil, haha, seriously"

Kerns'

(the member family that has taken Max in)

Apr. 13, 2009

"Oh! so guess what?! We had a Churrasco with the Kern family on Saturday and it blew my mind!! Remember churrasco, a brazilian barbecue, holy crud it was amazing! you all would have died!! ha ha, more meat then you could ever imagine and just so much flavor and so tender, whew! :) ha ha, sorry, I had to tell you that.. that fam is truly amazing, they have helped me out alot here by making us feel so welcome in their home and a part of the fam. We had two lunches with members fall through this week and Denise Kern was right there as the backup and so we ate there 3 days in a row this last week! ha! it was awesome."

Maures

April 13, 2009

"We have been teaching the boyfriend of a member lady and he is so great and ready to be baptized this next sat but the problem is is that he lives in the Porto Alegre North Mission (about an hour away) but he comes down every weekend and comes to church and we teach him and we taught him the 4 main commandments yesterday and he is so ready but we talked to Pres about it and he has to talk with the other mission pres and find out about it and he hasn't got back to him so we will ask him tom at a Leader Mtg. that we have :) It would be amazing and a priviledge to see his baptism, his name is Maures . . .

Apr 20, 2009

"So as you can see in the pics we had a baptism on sat!! It was amazing. Remember Maures? He's the fiancee of a member in our ward and we didnt think we'd be able to baptize him but talked to Pres. and were able to and it was amazing. His future bro in law baptized him, hes the other guy in the pic, hes also the 2nd counselor in the bishopric. Hes awesome, his name is Marcelo Pereira. Maures is amazing. Me and Elder Headley started teachin him last transfer and his fiancee (her name is Viviane Pereira) told him about the church and he agreed to have us come and teach him. Over the last few weeks we witnessed a change in him and witnessed him gain a testimony and watched his testimony grow everytime we taught him and he accepted everything so good with so much faith and i'm just so grateful for the opportunity I had to teach him and watch him grow, hes amazing. It's been a while since my last baptism and so it was just so amazing to witness it and feel of the Spirit so strong just testifying to me and everybody there of the truthfulness of the Gospel."

Juliane

Apr 20, 2009

"Did I tell you about Juliane? Remember the girl that came to General Conf. by herself on the bus and couldn't find the chapel so went home? Oh man, we felt so bad.. We have been teaching her a lot and she is amazing. We taught her the Word of Wisdom yesterday and she only drinks coffee and said she would straight up stop yesterday, her faith is amazing. She couldn't come to church again yesterday because her mom was sick and couldn't be alone so we remarked her baptism for the 9th of May and she is ready, she already wants to be baptized! She already has a testimony of the BOM and Joseph Smith and it just keeps growing, its amazing :) I just can't express the happiness that comes from seeing people change their lives and gain testimonies of the restored Gospel. . . . "

April 27, 2009

"Sunday was stake conf. and a special broadcast just for the south of brazil and Pres. Uchdorf talked with Elder Christofferson and two other speakers and it was amazing and we had 5 investigators there and one was Juliane!!! She came! :) so her baptism is still marked and she is amazing. "

THIRD AREA: 6 Months

2009-03-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

MAX HAS BEEN IN BRAZIL FOR SIX MONTHS!

THIRD AREA * Cavalhada with E. Headley 2/4/09 to 3/24/09

2009-02-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

Max is now in an area called Cavalhada. His new companion is Elder Headley from Arizona.

THE GOOD:
#1 week of Feb. 9: "I am in a new area called Cavalhada and its about 25 min from the office and right next to Cristal, my first area. My new companion is so awesome, E. Headley. He's from Phoenix, Arizona and the friggin man, ha ha.. he played baseball in college at eastern arizona and so hes dang stinkin good and so we share our love for baseball and get along great and teach so good together. man, i love workin with him, his testimony is so powerful and he is an amazing missionary and he has already helped me out so much. So the work is going great here! I love this area and workin with Headley and all the members here are so awesome. my first night here we went and visited a family (the Kearns') in the ward of a couple and their 4 girls and they are so nice and awesome and so strong in the church."

The Kerns

#2 - week of Feb. 9: "One guy named Adriano is my favorite, ha, hes so funny. So we were walkin across the street and he was walkin next to us and i started talkin to him and we set up an appointment for sat so sat we went to his house and started teachin him and it couldnt have gone any better. He was so into it and kept asking ?s and during the first vision he kept sayin "really?" and he was so excited and i could just tell he has been searching for the truth and he is just such a nice guy, ya know? Hes a really big guy and reminds me of a Tongan or Hawaiian guy that is always happy and smiling :) ha ha, i love him. and so we taught him and when we gave him the BOM he was like a little kid on Christmas morning and so excited and said he will read the whole thing and was flippin through it and kept askin bout Moroni and the plates and Joseph Smith and lookin at the pics. . ."

#3 week of Feb. 25: "Did i tell ya bout Oreovaldo? Man he is so good and I feel really good about him too :) so found him at home again last week and taught him the importance of the BOM and bout 3 Nephi 11 and it went great and he said he read it and loved it and said he'll pray now to know that its true so i hope he did! "

It has been Carnival this past week and Max said that Cavalhada was pretty much a ghost town, everyone was on vacation or at the beach, so the work was pretty slow going for a couple of days.

THE NOT SO GOOD:
#1 - week of Feb. 17: "So we had a few (investigators)that we were pickin up on Sunday morn and the one lady said she couldn't come cuz her feet hurt from workin all week and the daughter of another investigator said she already left to church so we were excited and hurriedly sped walk to the chapel but she wasnt there and so we waited for a while and no one showed up so we went to a payphone across the street and called everyone again, but nobody answered. So then we're just like, K, this is a joke, lets friggin go pick everysingle one of em up! ha ha.. so we made the rounds and nobody was home so we went back to church with our heads hangin low, ha ha, it sucked and we were so dang bummed, man oh man.. so we are gonna do every stinkin thing we can to help our investigators this week and I feel great about a lot of them!

#2 week of Feb. 25: "so this last sunday was a bummer again cuz we did all we could do get our investigators at church again and guess what?! yup, not a one, man its so frustrating so this week we are tryin new things and gonna have ta switch it up and do somethin different to get our investigators at church and progressing. I hope ta have some great news next monday! :)"

#3 week of Feb. 25: "remember Adriano I told ya bout? He was doin so good and we were on our way to his house and so excited to teach him again and we saw him out front as we were crossin the road and watched him walk inside and we got there and clapped out front the gate and a lady came to the door and said that he wasnt home so we were like what the heck? Why would he have her lie that he wasnt home ya know? and we said we'd stop by later that night so we did and he came to the door but didnt even come to the gate to greet us and just said he didnt have anytime right now and was busy and we asked when we could come back and he said he didnt know and so we left and were just in shock like what the crud happened ya know, it sucked. You can never be too sure with your investigators. So that was last week and we have stopped by everyday since then and called too cuz we have his number and nothin so we're just gonna keep on tryin.. so thats sad huh?"

THE FUNNY:
week of Feb 25: Max woke up to use the bathroom and says "i didnt put my glasses on and i had no idea what time it was but the sun was already startin to come up so i knew it was almost time ta wake up and when i got done i was walkin back into our bedroom and i saw somethin move across the floor in front of me but it was still pretty dark and ya know how bad my eyesight is, ha ha, so i figured it was just a dust bunny gettin blown by the wind but as i got closer it started runnin towards my bed and it was fast! ha ha and i was freakin cuz i thought it was a huge as spider so i flipped the light on and said, "Headley theres somethin on the floor" ha ha, and i moved my suitcase and there was a huge as cockroach and it was fast as crap and ran behind my bed and i couldn't kill it wit my shoe so we spent the next half hour or so tryin to find it and kill it and we finally did! ha ha man it was crazy, ha, anyways so that was an interesting story :)

"My testimony of the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon and our Savior grow every single day i am here and I am SO SO grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve right now. . . I can honestly tell you all that I really do know that this church is the only true church on the earth today and it really is Christ's church, the same church He himself organized and set up when He lived here. We have the fulness of His gospel and how great is that?!"

SECOND AREA * Office with E. Fernandes 12/31/08 - 2/4/09

2009-02-03T16:42:00.000-08:00

MISSION OFFICE

December 31, 2008 through February 4, 2009
Max got transfered to the mission office on December 31, 2008. His companion is Elder Fernandes from Salvador.

Port/Beach & Skate Park in Porto Alegre

Elders Kirschman & Fernandes, Elders Robertson & Godoy (from Holiday, UT and Brazil respectively), Elders Maruji & Ritter (from Washingtom and Sau Paulo repectively) got to go to the port in Porto Alegre for a day and they saw the biggest skate park (Max was stoked) and the port - it was a fun outing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAX! - Mom made a photo blanket for Max for his birthday! All of the Elders were jealous.

The Elders got to go to the Temple and to downtown Porto Alegre. Here's an excerpt from his Jan. 31, 2009 letter:

"Oh man! on Wednesday we finally went to the temple!!! It was SO awesome and so amazing. i'm sorry but pics do not do it justice, it is so much more beautiful in real life and its up on this hill overlookin the city and its bout 25 min from the office. the grounds were gorgeous, with so many flowers and palm trees and the temple is amazing and the inside was even sweeter. its not even 9 years old - it opened in 2000 and it is so so nice. it was so nice to be able to feel the happiness and peace that comes from bein in the temple, the Spirit is always so strong, no matter what and its just what i needed. it was crazy in portuguese but i found that i understood a lot more than i thought i would and normally do in normal conversation and it was such a neat experience :) i hope we can go back soon. oh lemme tell ya bout the pics before i forget too - so last p day we went to downtown POA (thats Porto Alegre, ha ha) and went to that huge Cathedral and it was sweet and i got some pics of downtown and that statue in front of the cathedral in a park and of the temple.. hope you like :)"

FIRST AREA * Cristal with E. Jones 11/19/08 - 12/31/08

2009-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

I MADE IT TO PORTO ALEGRE !!!!!
Max's first area was in Cristal, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, BRAZIL with Elder Jones.

Here is an excerpt from a letter he sent after leaving the MTC:
"We went to the mission home and ate a great meal then wrote letters home and went straight to the mission office and got our new comps and were off.. luckily i have a sweet first area and its right outside the city, its like a suburb, like sandy to salt lake, its called Cristal. it was about a half hour bus ride and we got off and dropped my luggage off at our apartment and went straight to work :) it was crazy, it all become really real, really fast! ha ha.. boy have i been humbled this last week too, i got culture shocked so hard and reality punched me in the face, hard! ha ha.. My comps name is Elder Jones and he's from St. George and we get along great, he is really cool so that is sweet and luckily he speaks English :) but all day its all Portuguese :) ha ha its crazy but I learn more everyday! hes been out 11 months and he's completely fluent so i am super excited! :) he has been in this area for 3 months and we have a ward so it is great!! Church yesterday was sweet, its weird how similar yet different it is from the good ole US of A :) all of the members are so nice and way fun and sweet!"

Elder Jones and Elder Kirschman had a baptism set up for December 6, 2008 with Igor. Igor (in the blue shirt) was twelve and Max was able to confirm him:

". . . so he wanted E. Jones to baptize him and me to confirm him! :) im not gonna lie, I was pretty dang nervous but was really excited and grateful for the opportunity.. E. jones has been out a year and still has never confirmed anyone so it was a rare priviledge :) yesterday in Sac. Mtg I did it and it went so good and my heart was beating out of my chest - you can never prepare for the moment in front of people, thats for sure, just like singin in the CTM :) - so i was way nervous but comforted by the Spirit and felt the Spirit so strong and it was an amazing experience."

Max served with Elder Jones from the end of November through December 31, 2008. He was then transfered to the mission office.

MTC * 9/17/08 - 11/19/08

2009-02-03T15:28:00.000-08:00

Max left Utah on September 17, 2008 and flew to the MTC in Brazil.

"I have been so homesick and it isall so overwhelming but it will get better, I hope :) The language is harder than I thought, but thats pretty much how every language is prob. It's crazy how much we have learned already! But I feel like I'm behind most ofthe other Elders in my district, it's insane how much they know already, butI am workin my hardest and I know it will come. It's just different for everybody, but everybody gets it sooner or later.. "

"Jake's right, the MTC is pretty much like jail, ha ha.. we spend about 10 hours a day in a tiny classroom and spend half the time on language study and half the time on Preach My Gospel. We have two teachers named Irmao Guilhermeand Irmao Suares (Irmao means brother in Portuguese) they are both Brazilian and served their missions in Sao Paulo and they're only 22 and 23 so they're way cool. My companions name is Elder Watts and he's from Minnesota and we get along ok but to be completely honest hes very weird and kinda bugs me ha ha but hes not so bad.. and we're in a room with two other Elders that are way cool so its all good!"

"oh yeah today we went to the Campinas Temple which is about an hour and a half away and we did a session so that was awesome! The newbies go to Campinas and after a few weeks, we go to the Sao Paulo Temple so I'm excited!"