SIXTH AREA: Testimony of fasting

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."


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"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! :)"


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"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

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

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

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

"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

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

"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."