Email 12/25/17

Merry Christmas to you all too. My week has been excellent. First things first, Elder Fuenteabla arrived here. He is the companion of Elder Maea. We have a rather unusual, but interesting situation of having no Brazilian missionaries in our house. To make it even more fun, there are a bunch of people here who are from Bolivia. I have photos from one of their parties that they on occasion have.

We also had a baptism that happened this last Saturday. The Branch Mission Leader here, Adauto, was the one who baptized her. I don´t remember her name, but we will be visiting her this next Thursday. Christmas morning was pleasant and the members here were nice enough to give us 'Élderes' a gift basket, filled with goodies. I enjoyed talking with you all yesterday. Other than that, I think I talked about everything in the video chat. Thank you for the photos, videos, puns, spiritual thought and the support. 🎄

Email 12/18/17

Hey. My week was great.  On Thursday we carpooled with Casal Silva and arrived in Várzea Grande. Elder Aguleira and I stayed in the house of the Varzea Grande 1 Elders. I got to visit the church house of Mapim for a little while. We had the opportunity of attending the baptism of two youth who are children of a man that we have been teaching. They were baptized by a priest in the ward on Saturday.  We attended the Confirmation yesterday. We had our Christmas Conference this last Friday. I have some photos of the Christmas Conference in Drive. I enjoyed it. I got to sing in a choir composed of four zones of missionaries of Matto Grosso. I don't know if I will be able to get the video, but if you would like to search for it, it is on Facebook somewhere. I have in Drive a file called "General Mission Things" that has the roster of missionaries for a few transfers. It has all the information of who are in the photos.

The baptism of Jarme has not yet happened yet, but we will be working on it. I will be staying in Caceres for the next six weeks. I am grateful I get to stay here for a little while longer. I like the Branch here.

The video chat will probably happen at 3 or 4 o'clock my time. I don't know what time it will be in Salt Lake at that time. Oh I didn't know that the package had fees. I will probably be able to pay them. I don't know if I will be able to pick up the package until after Christmas. It was hinted to me that I will have to wait until later.

Coleson got back. I remember when I was in school with him. Wow the home teachers came before the end of the month, that's an accomplishment.  Thank you for the puns. I didn't know what lucrative meant, I had to look it up. I get it now. That is clever. Thank you for the thought. Talk to you next week. tchau 🎅🎄🎁📦

To see the video of the choir, go to:  https://oliveirambc.blogspot.com/

Email 12/11/17

My week was great, although it was a bit different from most other weeks. Monday was our normal P-day, until we found out that Elder Borges would be leaving for Cuiabá for an emergency the next day. We spent the night with Casal Silva and afterwards helped him pack a bit. Tuesday Elder Borges left in the morning. Afterwards Elder Aguilera, Elder Maea, and I spent our time at the Hospital trying to get in and give a blessing to someone there. We spent the majority of the afternoon waiting there to get in. Later we had a meeting with the Branch Mission Leader. Wednesday I spent my time in a trio and we visited several investigators. Thursday we did pretty much the same thing as Wednesday, save that we visited a recent convert, Luis-Felipe. He and his wife gave us popcorn to eat and we watched "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of The Restoration" with them. He hadn't seen it yet. Friday we succeeded in cleaning the house well in the morning. Later we waited at the Bus Station for Elder Monson, another American; who would be here until Monday morning. Saturday I was with Elder Aguilera whilst Elder Monson was with Elder Maea. We tried to visit an inactive member, but they ended up not being home and later Casal Silva helped us and we went to visit one of their investigators who lived rather far from city center. The Family we visited gave us a fruit called Jaca and also gave us some mangoes. After that we visited an investigator whose mother had died last week. She was asleep when we arrived so we talked with her family members. Later we went to the market to buy food for the Sabbath and we ended up running into some members from Varzea Grande. Sunday was the best day of the week. In the Morning we had Church like always. Later we had lunch with Luis-Felipe. We watched "The Work and the Glory Part Three." After that we spent our time at the church house preparing for an activity. That evening we enjoyed a choral performance by the branch with some the Relief Society, Elders Quorum and Primary as well the youth participating. I enjoyed the experience. Elder Monson came here to Cacerés primarily for this. He played the piano. Many investigators attended as well as others. The members who I ran into previously were there. I sat next to them. The choir sang various Christmas carols and hymns. I didn't have my camera at the time, sorry. I did´t have an opportunity to return to the house to get it. Today Elder Monson left. That is my week.

Jarme, the man we were intending on baptizing yesterday; was not baptized. He has a problem with setting dates for things. Maybe this Saturday. We will be having lunch with his family during the week.

I am feeling a lot more comfortable with the language. People are saying that I am speaking better.

Yep I nearly have one year. What a year.

That reminds me they will be having a Santa visit the members here soon at the church house.

I miss you all as well. Thank you for the Spiritual Thought. I have a few photos, but not many. I will have more next week. We have our Christmas Conference this next Friday. Till next week.🎅🎄 Tchau.

Email 12/4/17

My week was great. We visited several of the investigators we have and we have been spending a good amount of time with Casal Silva. The weather has been rather rainy lately. This is good, for the most part. It just makes doing things like laundry more of a challenge. I am grateful for it though. It is cooler here whenever we have rain.

My area is improving. We had 100 people attend sacrament meeting this last Sunday for the branch. We had a baptism this last weekend. His name is Reginaldo and he is the husband of a member we have lunch with every Thursday. My companion baptized him and I helped give the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We have a baptismal date with one other man here who is in a very similar situation to that of Reginaldo. All of his immediate family are members like Reginaldo. We hope to have the opportunity of helping him be baptized as well. His name is Jarme. My week has been a good one. This last Saturday was also the Birthday of Sister Silva.  Things are going good, but the mission is struggling. The whole mission only had two baptism this last week.

I have been doing better health-wise thank you for asking. The suggestions that Jaron gave were helpful. Thank you for sending them.

Voice Male. I like that music group. I have a bunch of their music and the missionaries here say that it is really good. I have been asked on several occasions if I could share it, but it is on the Ipod shuffle. I would have to do that on the computer at home, otherwise it would likely erase everything.

I saw the photos of the Harry Potter store. I like them. You said that you were looking at Grandpa house. Are you planning on moving? That´s right the First Presidency Christmas devotional was Yesterday. I didn´t remember that. Thank you for the puns, photos, and the humongous spiritual thought. I may have time to read it.  😃

Email 11/27/17

I didn´t pass out, but I was not feeling good. Generally I eat plenty of crackers and/or peanuts when I am in the house. I think the problem was the heat; also sometimes the members do not put salt in their meals and I get sleepy easily later during the day. Yes, I am improving with taking care of myself gradually. I am doing better now. Are you all well health wise?

My week was pretty good. We found a few less active members here and learned that they have many less active members here, some of whom attended sacrament meeting yesterday. The chapel was full. Besides the less active members, we had five investigators who attended. Sorry I have no pictures of this. I forgot the camera in the house.

I like that my new area has an abundance of mangoes and it is mango season. I was told that nobody goes hungry during this season.

Saturday was a good day, mostly because I got to go on splits with Elder Maea. Talking with another American about things definitely helped with some of the problems I have been having. Speaking of haircuts, I may need to get one soon as well. Sounds like Grandpa is struggling. I like the photos. They are very good.  I only have one photo from this last week and it is of the map of Cáceres. I also was able to find some photos on President and Sister Oliviera's site. I added them to the "general mission things" file. Thank you for this email. Thank you for the puns. They happen to have their own type here. One they have is "Sinto Muito, usa cinto" which means: 'sorry use your seat-belt.' Thank you for the spiritual thought. I love you all. Tchau 👋

Email 11/20/17

Thank you I will wait for it (Christmas package). My week was pretty good. I went to the hospital this last Tuesday, because my pressure was down. I think that meant blood pressure. They said that I got it because of being in the sun a lot. My investigators are doing alright. One of the families left for Bolivia two Saturdays ago and didn´t return until Tuesday or Wednesday of this last week. We visited some of them this week. It was rather slow with the work and there was a lot of rain this week. I think That I am improving much (in the language). Casal (couple) Silva say that I write well and can understand well but I still have difficulties speaking well. Jonah is getting braces, he better brace for it. Looks like Jeffrey is staying busy. Looks like dad is staying happy. You have been having a lot of great activities That is excellent. The Spackman´s are moving? Well shoot. That´s right Thanksgiving is coming up. I might actually celebrate it here. 🦃 Thank you for the e-mail. I have a few photos for this week. We spent most of our time proselyting.

I am feeling better. My blood pressure is improving. I learned a trick from them. They told me to put salt under my tongue and it seems to work. I will continue try to keep eating at least three meals a day. I usually don´t have a problem with drinking sufficient water. Thank you for your concern mom. 🍖🍟🚰🍹 😃

Thank you. tchau😎

Email 11/13/17

I am doing well, thank you for asking. My companion Elder Aguilera is a very good missionary. I think that I will learn more with him. Our investigators, some of them; are progressing. We still need to visit some of them before we will have any good results. I hope to be able to do better with Elder Aguilera. I could use a thumb drive with a bunch of the bible videos I have downloaded onto the laptop I used to have. I would prefer that it have sufficient gigabytes to handle music and videos, in case if I were to have need of both. Elder Villa-lobos had one that had videos and from what I could see, it would a useful tool. I hope that Jeffrey does well in that play. Thank you for telling me of your week. Sounds like you are all still doing well. Monday we spent most of day preparing Elder Villa-lobos to depart for Peru. He departed the next morning for Cuiabá and made it to Peru later in the week. Elder Borges, the Brazileiro from Goias, received a new companion. His name is Elder Maea and he is from Bountiful and has Polynesian ancestry. I am grateful he is here. We had something called a "Serão" which in their language means 'overtime' and they use it to name any other meeting other than those that happen on Sunday. This happened, because of something that is happening throughout Brazil. Members of the seventy are visiting each state in Brazil and are holding an activity for youth to introduce them to Missionary Work. This will be happening soon. President Oliviera was here in Cáceres with his wife concerning this "Serão", so we cleaned the house well just in case they happened to come and make an inspection. Luckily they didn´t come and check. 🤗 Thank you for the jokes and the spiritual thought. I remember reading it (the spiritual thought) in the October Liahona under Young Adults. Those are good stories that we should remember.

Email 11/06/17

My week has been alright. This was my last week with my companion Elder Villalobos. On Tuesday we had an exposition at a local Supermarket and we ended up having much success. During the rest of the week I was going on splits with either Elder Borges or Elder Aguilera to proselyte. I enjoyed visiting a less active member and bearing my testimony to some people I met with Elder Borges. I am grateful to have had that opportunity. We also attended a birthday party for the son of one of our investigators.  Elder Villalobos is leaving Cáceres either today or tomorrow. I have liked my time with him for the most part. My new companion will be Elder Aguilera. My work has been a bit slow, but we have been having more of our investigators attend sacrament meeting. The families we have been teaching attended last week and yesterday. I am grateful that the Lord helped get them to come. I like Aguilera. He is rather chill, but now that he is our district leader, we may progress more with the pesquisadors that we have.

I went to choir on Sunday last week and also yesterday. We have been practicing for when the Mission President will come here on Saturday. The photos I have are from when we visited a members house on P-day. On Halloween we had major rain sufficient to make a small river in the street. We have rain again today, but unfortunately my clothes are on the line I will have to wait for the sun.

I like that dad is having them (siblings) ask gospel questions in FHE. I remember seeing a trailer for the Thor movie through the window of a store. I see that Loki, Hulk, and others will be in it. I forgot to mention something. A week or two ago, we also had daylight savings.  They do it similarly here, but not at the same time as you do. I instead lost an hour of sleep and we were late for Sacrament meeting. Thank you for the jokes, they´re good PUN-ishment. I like that you still include them.  The photos are pretty good. Thank you. Thank you for the spiritual missionary work thought. Till next week. Tchau.

Email 10/30/17

My week has been pretty great. Monday was pretty normal. We went to the members house, to which we frequent usually every P-day here; at the home of a very nice member who happens to also be rich. I have some photos of her home in Drive. Her name is Eudete. She is less active which makes it all the better. It is going a lot better with the investigators that we have been teaching. We had nine of them visit sacrament meeting and many less active members came as well. This is a miracle considering that this is a small branch that needs more development. Cáceres is a somewhat big city, but the lord has it handled in sending three companionships to work here.

My companion Elder VillaLobos is returning home to Lima Peru next week. This P-day is the last I will spend with him. I learned some things with him. He is a pretty good companion. If I haven´t said so already I will say so now that I am and will be his only American companion in the field.

We had heavy rain here this last Saturday. Elder Aguilera and Elder Borges had a baptism that day, although neither one of them baptized. A member baptized the man, but it still counts as their baptism where numbers are concerned.

I will ponder about that package, but for now just know I will need plenty of Origami paper to start and definitely some Wonka candy including, but not limited to, Nerds. I could also use another memory card like the one that Dad provided for me before I left. I unintentionally gave it to Elder AraVena when I received the new camera and wanted to put the other to another. I wish I thought it through better, but I was lucky that the Lord provided me with another memory card. The difference between the one Dad gave me and the one I have is the one I have doesn´t need an adapter. I would also be pleased if I received four double AA rechargeable batteries and four AAA rechargeable as well. The one I have will with time become less than sufficient on account of them beginning to die. I did receive the question about the pants. I have responded concerning it in the other email.

Dad went to Texas? Awesome. Was he near to the locale in which the hurricane hit?  That sounds great compared to some of the other weeks that we have been having. I do have a question for Jostan and Jeffrey: Have they been reading the Bible Dictionary and Guide to the Scriptures as I suggested?  Thanks for the jokes, spiritual thought, and for the photos. I hope you continue to have a good week too. 😀

Email 10/23/17

Hey, my week was pretty good. We had our Zone Conference this last Tuesday. It was a lot better than any we have had in the past. I think that it was because President Oliveira started to teach us a bunch of things from institute that we didn´t know before instead of the normal stuff. I learned that a serpent is symbolic of the trinity. He also explained much about the dispensations of the gospel and told that there are seven.

I like my new area, but sadly the only buses they have here are to and from cities. we have to walk or get rides here. I like my district here in this branch. I am still having problems with sending photos, but I have some that are downloading quick enough.

Sounds like [you had] a normal crazy week. Good job. Thank you for the spiritual thought.

This week after the Zone Conference was pretty good. We had some rain this last Friday, which is very good for this city. Especially since mango season is coming in. Sunday was good. Some less active members showed up and one of our investigators made it there,  Thank you for the email. 😁

Jarrek with his companion Elder Villalobos.

Email 10/16/17

My week has been pretty good. We were actually able to find people to teach. This last p-day was enjoyable. We had fun playing soccer with Elder Silva, the Brazilian in the senior couple; and the other Elders here. Tuesday we had a family home evening with one of the families that we are teaching. The name of the head of the household is Rafael. We are teaching him and other members in his immediate family, as well as some of his extended family. Wednesday we visited another one of our prominent investigators, Elenir. She is an elderly woman who is interested in what we are teaching. She has been nice enough to provide us with coconut juice which, surprisingly, is much better than the actual coconut. Thursday I ended up going on splits with the Brazilian in our group, Elder Borges.  I like him. We met several people that day and Elder Borges will be taking up most of them with his companion, Elder Aguilera. Friday I ended up going on splits again with Elder Borges. I enjoyed it as well. Saturday I met a new family that Elder Villalobos had not yet shown me yet. We talked and Elder Villalobos invited one of them to go to church with us and she did. Sunday we spent our time resting. Sundays here are terrible for proselyting. That night we visited the same family we visited the previous day. They listened to the lesson and one or two of them have a baptismal date. I will be visiting them on Wednesday. Today we will be leaving Cáceres to go to Cuiabá to have our zone conference. Tuesday will be the conference and I will be going on splits with one of our Zone Leaders for Wednesday. Thank you for the weekly report and the jokes the photos, as well as that spiritual thought. I have been having great trouble uploading pictures ever since I arrived here. The computers are not the same as in Cuiabá. It will take me a while to find a solution to the problem. Talk to you next week. 😁

Email 10/09/17

Hey, my week has been pretty good. I like my new area and my new companion is much more righteous than some of my previous ones have been. He is more just and he is very well experienced. My new area is a bit difficult to figure out, but I will work on figuring it out with time. We only have a map in our house and so it takes time for us to find where we need to go without help from a member. We are doing alright with the work, but we need to continue looking to find people to teach. It will not be as easy to find people here as it has hitherto been in other areas, but I know that the Lord will still help me. I have settled in pretty good. I am not as yet a senior companion. I know not if I will become one. I have been a junior during the whole duration of my time here.

Email 10/02/17

Hey. I was able to understand more (of General Conference) than the last time I listened to it in Portuguese, though I still had a hard time getting everything that they were saying. I do not have as yet a favorite talk, but I may the next time I listen to the talks. I like the tie pin. I used it in one of the pictures that I am sending you in drive. I liked the photos of the Scales and Tails. Jemma is braver than me. I don´t even enjoy small spiders, let alone big ones. Oh Jemma can be funny.  Sounds like you had an excellent week. If you have a problem with too much Conference candy, there is never an excess of Conference candy here in Cáceres.

To start, I arrived here last Monday at 10-ish and had enough time to get home and choose a bed and have the necessities taken out of my suit cases. Tuesday we spent most of the day in the house organizing our things and that night we attended something called and exhibition or show. It was held in a square close to the bus station where I arrived. In this Branch we have senior missionaries who help us with the work. I remember them from when I was with Elder Silva they came and visited to inspect our house. Their names are also Silva, but they are both Brazilian. At the exhibition we had a table with plenty of pamphlets and Books of Mormon. I enjoyed it with my new companion Elder Villalobos and Elder Aguilera. Elder Aguilera is from Chile. Wednesday, Elder Aguilera´s companion arrived at the bus station. His name is Elder Borges and he is a Brazilian. I find it interesting that the Lord has put four Elders from four different countries in the same place. This will be interesting. Thursday we spent most of the day with a member who just arrived here and she was nice enough to buy us Subway. We received our money for the mission and our reimbursements for our light and water bills. We bought groceries and house supplies Friday morning and had a service project that afternoon which lasted until around 5-ish, but we didn't get back to the house until 6-ish, because it was so far and they don´t have a bus system here other than the one they have to get from city to city. Saturday and Sunday we enjoyed General Conference with the small amount of members we have. I still liked it. Til next week. Tchau.

Jarrek's new companion (by the light switch) Elder Villalobos, also Elders Aguilera and Elder Borges.

Email 09/25/17

I liked the blanket (the one sent in the package he received last week). I like how thin it is, it will work. I haven`t been transferred as yet. I will be transferring today for my new Area Càceres. My new companion's name is Élder Villalobos. He is another Peruvian. I will be leaving at six tonight.  I don`t have much time to do this so I will try and keep this short. I had an excellent week. I got to spend my last bit of time here with the people I wanted to the most.  I loved my time here in Várzea Grande. I met and was able to share the gospel with so many. I will miss many people here. I hope that I will be able to return here in the future.

I like the news from home, and don`t worry I have been receiving knowledge of the calamities that are upon the earth; from time to time. I will miss many of the families that I have been teaching and visiting.

I have been told that it (new area) is an excellent area. I think that I will enjoy it. The only problem I have now is getting ready in time. I have a hair cut scheduled at three. Lucky I have already packed.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/C%C3%A1ceres+-+State+of+Mato+Grosso,+78200-000,+Brazil/@-16.3833639,-59.0383028,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x939a5589b35ef77f:0xc44da2f19737a002!8m2!3d-16.0768867!4d-57.6822654?hl=en

Elders: Nelson, Santos, W.Silva, Silveira, Cunha, Campos, Reis, and Dayton; ( not necessarily in that order); Sisters Paiva and Bitencourt.

Email 09/18/17

My week was pretty good. It has been alright with my companion. We did get to meet a good family in one of the extreme parts of our area. They already knew the missionaries that were here before me. They accepted Books of Mormon, gave us dinner, and paid for our bus ride back. I was very grateful for that experience. My investigators are doing alright. One is getting closer. His name is Celso and he is the Husband of Ranata and the Father of Lucas. He is in some the photos I have in drive. One of my favorite Brazilian foods would have to be their BBQ or Churrasco. I like it. I love their fruit. Their pastries are great as well.

I received the package this last Friday. I enjoyed the snacks and am using the socks. Thank you for the high quality socks. I so far have only four pairs of socks that have holes all the rest are still good. The Lord has been preserving my clothes that I need.

Sounds like dads foot is better. That is great that you were sustained to another office.  Thank you for letting me know about Sister Freitas. I will pray for her. I found out this last Friday at the Zone Conference for the Cuiabá Stake that I will be transferring next week. I will let you know then where I will be going.  I love you too.

Email 09/11/17

My week has been fine comparatively, but there is something I haven´t sufficiently mentioned in the past. During my time here in Brazil and at other times before the mission I have been seeing many red harvest moons. I saw one this last Saturday that was nearly full and especially red. Concerning the hurricanes, I have heard of only Texas and Florida. I heard nothing of the fires and earthquakes, but I was shown pictures of the Texas hurricane. I just read an 8.1 earthquake is the one you were talking about that hit Mexico. Wow. Wildfires, and I saw that there were various other earthquakes in other places. These are all fulfilling Matthew 24, right now.

I had a case of muscle pain due to sleep in a bad position, I had to have something called GELO rubbed and massaged on it. I feel better now. João-Victor was happy enough to massage it for me. I will put the photos I need to put in into drive. Thank you for the information. I hope that Dad will be alright. How is the rest of the family holding up? From what the family of João-Victor have shown me on Facebook they appear to be doing fine.

I do have one question to ask. Just a thought. Have you read all of the Joseph Smith Translations within the appendix of the Bible? I have been reading many of them and I have learned much. I would suggest if you haven´t read all of them yet, that you would. Some of it will even help you with understanding my patriarchal blessing. I love the ones that are not in the appendix and are scattered throughout the Bible itself. In the Portuguese version they have the translations in the appendix of the Triple combination and in the appendix of the Bible. They are very helpful for me personally and for giving to my companions. They have helped me much in the past and are still helping me.

I have been struggling a bit in mind lately. I remember when I was in São Paulo, just before my whole district left for their several missions, we decided to give each other priesthood blessings. I enjoyed the experience and I found it interesting when I gave one to my friend Elder Barnes. I didn´t understand most of what I said and I was a bit surprised when he got up and shook my hand immediately after the blessing. He was a great guy. In my blessing I received a very important message. The Spirit said through the Elder something along the lines of this: "It is going to be hard, but know that you will be able to do miracles. The lord has had me help many a people in receiving the Gospel and I have given a number of blessings in the which the recipients have been healed, but I am getting a little concerned that I have not as yet done others. I am very grateful for the ones I have had the opportunity to perform, but I was hoping that they would be greater than they have hitherto been. I will keep waiting on the Lord for this. Maybe he plans to have me do them later on. One of the reasons why it was hard in Rondonopolis was because the Lord needed to have me suffer in order to prepare me for the future. If you reread the Joseph Smith Translation in Hebrews 11, you will understand at least one of the reasons why I had to suffer in Rondonopolis. Just know that I know that the Lord was pleased with my endurance. I wish to keep going and overcome my problems I have. I don´t know exactly how hard this past time has been for you and the Family, but I do now know why it has been happening. The kind that I am having now are not too great for me to handle at this present time. The Mission is struggling at the moment, but I hope that we will do better in the future. I am greatly happy to know that you and the family are being blessed. I will keep trying to keep my spirit up.

 Thank you for the E-mails. They were very helpful. If you have any questions just ask.

Email 09/04/17

 I had a somewhat slow week, but we did have English class twice again. One thing I do need to mention is something that happened this last Thursday. One of our investigators, Renata had a heart attack. Élder W. Silva and I were on our way to the Mission Office to pick up any and all packages for us that were there. We found out that we would have to return later in the day, due to the Élders that attend the office were doing a service project. As we were returning we got the call that she had that heart attack and we went to the hospital in our area. Lucky for her she was at work in her hair salon with her husband Celso when it happened. We arrived and gave her a priesthood blessing. After that we went to Almoço. We returned later to the Office and I received the Oragami you sent me. I have already used it. Thank you for sending it. It must have arrived just after the last Zone Conference or so. Later that day we went back to her Cabeleireiro (hair stylist) place to check up on how she (Renata) was doing seeing as we are not permitted to frequent the hospital often. Too our surprise, she was perfectly fine. The Lord healed her. The priesthood blessings do have virtue, and at times very fast virtue. I am grateful for this experience.

Speaking of Dentist appointments, what do you think I should do concerning that? I have not yet visited a dentist hear in Brazil. Do you think that I should go to one soon or wait until later?

Yes! Spence is going on a mission. Four corners is good. I wonder how he is feelings seeing as he is going to be cornered for two years. He has more states in his mission than me. I found out about the hurricane just a moment ago on Lds.org. I will have to study that later on. Thank you for the spiritual thought and the jokes. Have a good week.

Açaí. It is a very common and very delicious fruit dessert. It had banana, condensed milk and powdered milk in it.

Email 8/28/17

Thank you Mom for another great email. I have been having interesting weeks ever since I got here to Brazil, but just know the Lord is taking good care of me, and it sounds from the many emails I have received from you that he has been blessing you well; which I am grateful for. A solar eclipse, that is awesome.  I didn´t know that that was happening. It is fulfilling the signs of the times. Since I have arrived here in my mission I have seen many blood red moons. The Lord gave them as a sign to his faithful children that the day of his advent is nigh at hand. Thank you for telling me that the sun became as sackloth. That´s another sign the Lord has provided for us. This week was a good week. On Tuesday we had English class again and a hot dog activity. Their hot dogs aren't bad. Wednesday we visited a very nice woman named Eva. She is very interested in our message and is reading the Book of Mormon. Thursday I had splits with an Elder Da Silva.  He is a good missionary and we visited a few good families. Friday we had a district meeting and that night we had another English class. Saturday we attended another baptism and my companion was the one who baptized. Her name is Yris and she is a member of the São Matues Branch. She was confirmed yesterday by Elder W. Silva, my companion.  My new companion is a responsible person with records, so far as I can tell. My investigators are doing alright. I have plenty of photos that I put into Drive for you to see. I am grateful for the information and news that you give me from week to week. The Lord has been providing for my temporal needs as he promised he would do for his Elders in the Doctrine and Covenants. Thank you for the Jokes and the Thought. The information from home is very helpful. I have needed it to keep me safe. The fact that you are alright is giving me good indications that I am doing well. Just know that Satan will try as he can to tempt me to break my covenants.  In my Patriarchal Blessing it mentions "Know that Satan is real, and that it is his desire to tempt you and persuade you to violate Sacred covenants, but if you will stay close to the church, your parents, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ you will be able to rise above any of his temptations." You sending me emails is helping me keep my covenants. I am grateful the Lord is still helping me. Thank you for listening to him, when he gives you promptings to do things for me. Thank you for the emails. Até Mais.

Email 08/21/17

Thank you for letting me know about Great Grampa giving up the ghost. I received a bunch of information from Grammy about this in her email. I had forgotten that Great Grandpa served in the Korean War. I can view the video (you sent).  The main problem is finding a computer with sound that works. I will have to view it next week. Yes, Jeffrey is starting the High School Experience. I hope he is ready. Thank you for this information. I am happy to hear that so many of the family could be gathered at one time.

The importance of missionary work is great. The Lords need it to happen to save the righteous and condemn the wicked. Without missionary work the judgments that the Lord wishes to send on the wicked would not be just seeing as they do not as yet have sufficient knowledge to condemn them; but on a lighter note it is needed to gather the Lord's elect from the four corners of the earth. The blessings from fulfilling missionary work are tremendous. As it says in my Patriarchal Blessing: "As I accept and fulfill responsibilities within the priesthood, I will be approved and worthy of the blessings of Heaven." I have been already receiving many blessings as I have been fulfilling my responsibilities with the priesthood, I have been called to fulfill. I have grown much since I left our house on Nickel way. The Lord gave me much light and truth, since then until now. I am understanding the scriptures even better than I was before.

Things are going pretty well. Our investigators are progressing. We had two baptisms this last Saturday in our ward. They were investigators of Elder Mendez's and mine before he transferred to his new area. He came back with his new companion and baptized one of them. Their names are Renata, and her son Lucas. The Father of the family has not as yet accepted the invitation to be baptized, but he is still attending church meetings with his wife and son. We will be need to visit them more and persuade him to be baptized little by little. The Lord is still blessing me for my endurance in Rondonópolis. I am very grateful he was keeping watch over me. I need to continue enduring for in the future the tribulation will only get greater on the elect until it becomes so great that the Lord must shorten those days in righteousness, or no flesh would be saved; but for the righteous' sake those days shall be shortened.

My new companion, Élder W. Silva, is from the tribe of Judah. This may make things a bit interesting considering the fact that our tribes were historically rivals, but so far he has been chill. I am grateful for the variety of companions I have had.

I forgot to mention I finally baked my birthday cake and I have photos in Drive. I hope you find it a little amusing. I know the Brazileiros found it a bit. We did our best with the resources we had. It turned out delicious. Thank you for sending it to me. I may be able to eat the pasta during the duration between now and the end of the transfer.

Thank you for the scripture. I have been thinking about another scripture, from time to time, within the Bible dictionary under shewbread; the last line. I like it. Thank you for the photos. I hope you are taking well the passing of your Grandfather to the world of spirits. He will definitely do well as a missionary. I will miss our Grandpa. Até mais.

Email 08/14/17

I am well. I had a pretty good week with Elder Mendez. Sadly this was my last week with Elder Mendez as a companion here in Mapim. He is getting transferred, but I am not. I will be staying here for six more weeks with my new companion Elder W. Silva. He is a Brazileiro and he is from Belém, the capital of the State of Pará.

We had rain yesterday, finally, after several weeks we received rain. We had no cloud in the sky for a while. We had another Baptism this last Saturday. Rafael, the little Brother of João Victor, was the one who got baptized.  Rafael´s Uncle, who is already a member, baptized him.  I have photos in Google drive for you to enjoy. Yesterday we went proselyting with one of the members of our ward. He took us in his car for the sake of the rain and we successfully taught four families. I may, in the future, have the opportunity to teach them again with Elder W. Silva.

I am sad to hear that Great Grandpa Kartchner is dying. I see that Jaron and Tharon are there.  That´s awesome that Spencer is nearly to Elder and will be starting his work in the vineyard soon. I hope he is ready spiritually. I found that that is more important than any of the others. Although I was prepared emotionally, I was not very prepared secularly well. I should have studied better and more.

Many people have been getting sick lately, even here in Varzea Grande.  I got a hair cut this last week. A member of the São Mateus Ward did it for us. She is the one that has done it the last few times and she is an expert at it. To top it off she does it for free.

Thank you for the jokes they were a good PUNishment. Thank you for the thought. The Pictures are great.  If have any questions just ask. Tchau.

Email 08/07/17

My week has been good. Me and my companion have been working trying to convince and teach one of João Victor's brothers, Rafael. Things have been going well.  He received the lessons and understood well. I gave him a Book of Mormon and he and his brothers are still attending church. I do remember meeting someone while I was with them. A man was in their store in front of their house buying beer and I felt that it was a good idea to give him something. I decided to give him a pamphlet or two and also a Book of Mormon. He was so grateful for this that he gave me his sweater. I tried to refuse seeing as I have what I need sweater-wise and he is a poor man, but he insisted. He also decided to buy us a soda.

I was not given a blanket when I got here. I may be given a blanket in these areas (Campo Grande or Ponta Pora where the weather is very cold). It is likely that I will be sent to these areas.  A fleece blanket would be good.

This week will probably be my last in this area seeing as I have been here for three transfers, but if not I will let you know next week. Tchau.

Email 07/31/17

My week was excellent. I attended a few activities at the church house, met a new family, and...... I BAPTIZED someone this week. His name is João Victor Frances De Almeida. I helped confirm him the next day. My investigators are doing pretty good. We still need to visit them a lot more and get them to come to church before they will improve greatly. I usually have one (zone conference) every two weeks. I have not as yet talked with, met, nor taught any aboriginal people. I hope that you will be pleased that I now have one ordinance performed and have now had the opportunity to help at least two enter the path to the kingdom of God. I have pictures of him and his family. My companion and I hope to help his brothers and possibly others be baptized as well. Thank you for your prayers for me.

Email 07/24/17

My week was pretty good. I had that zone conference.  The cold weather, that was shown in the pictures I sent last week; lasted for two days and half afterwards. The zone conference went well. During it I learned that President Oliviera´s mother is dying. It is so sad that he has to suffer not being with her. I also learned that some of the missionaries are getting very trunky. I didn´t receive the package yet. They said that they hadn´t received it yet and they hadn´t. I will just have to wait until the next Zone Conference and see. Thank you for the jokes. They are getting better and better. I have forgotten to tell you, I have a few families that I have been visiting. Many people here are Catholic, but I thinks these families are from some other religion similar to it, but nonetheless they are good people. One family is very conveniently close to our house and it is enjoyable to visit them. They have provided us with dinner on several occasions and it has been nice to visit them. The name of the woman of the house is Solange. They have met the missionaries before, and were delighted to meet us when we first found them. We found them while we were trying to visit another one of the families we have to visit. They live right next to this family. One thing I find interesting is how they pray. It is similar to the manner in which we pray in the Temple. I am beginning to understand more and more how significant the Apostasy really was. Nevertheless they are good people and we will be visiting them again tonight. I love the people here. I am grateful that I could have the opportunity to spend time with them for three transfers. Other than that things have been kind of slow here.

I forgot to tell you another story of another family we visit often. This family is predominantly Catholic. They like us and the missionaries in general. Jossy, one of the members of this family, was baptized a member while I was with Elder Silva. We go over there a few nights a week and they normally attend church. Jossy has three sons, that I know of, and they all have potential to be baptized, but I don´t know if we will be the ones to do so. This last Saturday we were there and they decided to have me dance the Lambada. They mostly did it, because they thought that it would funny and it most definitely was. I really hope they don´t put that video on Facebook. It was interesting learning how to dance that, somewhat. I will definitely need to practice a lot more in order to get good at that dance.

One thing that is good news is something our Mission President mentioned in the Zone Conference. He said that our mission has less missionaries than all the other missions in Brazil and yet we still have good numbers for baptisms, investigators who attend Sacrament Meeting, baptismal dates, etc. Thank you for writing me. If you or any of the family have questions, just ask. Tchau.

Email 07/17/17

I am doing great actually. We are having a cool, misty, and almost rainy day here right now. It is actually cold enough for a sweater. My week has been pretty good. I went to several activities this week at the church house. I neglected to to mention that I am helping teach two English classes now with the help of another American. He is from Spanish Fork, Utah. (Elder Dayton) He and his companion both know English. His companion is from São Paulo. My companion is doing well. I have the opportunity to help him learn English every so often. He is way better than my previous companion. I like this. I have now had two Brazilian companions and two Spanish speaking companions. The language is improving well, but I will still have to keep learning even by study and also by faith in order to get fluent enough to teach better. I have been having trouble with giving messages at almoços (lunches). I definitely need to keep studying with my companion. We have been having a steady amount of investigators frequenting Sacrament Meeting. Other than the cold weather we get at times, things tend to stay the same. There has been a lot of construction going on here in Cuiabá, and I remember that in Rondonópolis they had the same happening. When Elder Brown came here, to spend the last few days of his mission in his favorite area; he mentioned it was rather important. All throughout Matto Grosso there have been fires. They have been burning the matto or weeds. That which Elder D. Todd Christofferson foretold about Brazil soon having improvement is being fulfilled (something along the lines of that). I have not yet been able to bake my cake. Don´t worry it´s fine, I still haven't been able to make the pasta either. Maybe I will be able to do so later on. My next Zone Conference will be on Thursday. I will probably receive the package then. I forgot about Independence Day, but don´t worry the Lord didn´t forget me.  I had an enjoyable activity that day.

Great you got more Kindle fires. I bet the little ones like that. Is Jeffrey the President of the Teachers Quorum? (He's a counselor.)  Wow; (Great-grandpa) 88 that is an accomplishment to typewrite about. I am glad to hear that Grandpa is still kicking. We have a member here that is 90 something and she still walks around and attends the Church activities. I hope that Alex and Jeffrey had a great time. Alex is good guy. At West Side Matters do they ever play "I'm so pretty" from West Side Story? That´s good that Jemma and Julia got their hair cut. It is far healthier for everybody when they don´t do that themselves. I hope the job you did cut it. That is impressive that you still find time to go to concerts and dates. Even with what has been happening. Thank you for continuing to go to the temple.

National Ice cream day shouldn´t be too hard to celebrate, they have ice cream everywhere and anywhere there is enough people to have a town. Oh good you just talk about topics that concern the west side of the Valley; such as whether the Jets or Sharks will win the football game or not. I hope the west side of the valley is still doing well. Oh got it. Teresa did their hair, that´s good. She does an excellent job, that does cut it. Jesseca cut her hair too. It must me hair-editary. Thanks for bearing my humor. Thank you for the jokes. And the great Spiritual Thought. I love you all. 😊

Email 07/10/17

Hey. My week was good. My investigators are improving. The Lord is helping us well. One family, the Family of Eliete; came to church this last Sunday. I was informed by my previous companion Élder Santos that the young man that I confirmed in Rondonópolis, has received the priesthood and is continuing. He may be able to serve a mission eventually. Elder Santos said that things in Rondonópolis improved after I left.  They had five baptisms there after I left. He also told me that many people there missed me. I am grateful that area was my first, even though it was difficult. I have not yet received the package you sent. I may need to wait until our next zone conference to receive it. Thank you for sending it.  I actually had forgotten that it was Independence day, whoops. That was Patriotic. I guess I am becoming more and more a Brasileiro as time goes by. I love it here in Varzea Grande. There are many good people here. I am grateful that I could stay here for one more transfer. That is excellent that you got to enjoy yourselves on Independence Day. Yep with the humidity I could say the same about here; temperature wise though it is still less. I am very grateful the Lord sent me to Cuiabà during Winter. It has been tolerable temperature wise. Jostan got a hair cut. I got one too, two weeks ago. Here in Varzea Grande, the Mapim Ward:  the Lord has blessed the Missionaries here with a member that is willing to give the missionaries haircuts for free. Ever since the Missionaries from Varzea Grande found out this they started getting their hair cut there as well. I like that Jaylen is staying in Cub Scouts. That is excellent that Jostan is still spending time with the Priests. Fishing is good. I hope he doesn´t get hooked. I am, in a way; a fisher too.  I haven´t had rain for a while either, which is a blessing in many senses of the word, but I still like rain.  I didn´t take very many pictures this week, but I may take more today.  By the way, a member from the Varzea Grande 1st Ward said that she wanted your email. Just to let you know if you receive an email from Brazil you weren´t expecting. She is a very good member. Obrigado. Tchau.

Email 07/03/17

My week has been great. I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting another missionary who is going home. His name is Elder Brown and he is the one in the newer photos I have taken. He is from North Carolina and will be going home tomorrow. He chose to come here to the Mapim ward because of the many people here he found to be special. My investigators are alright.  I didn´t have very many opportunities to visit them this week. We have been contacting referrals a lot lately. We haven´t had an opportunity to visit them since the week before last week. I may be able to visit them more this week. My Portuguese is improving gradually, but the members are saying that I am doing a lot better. The experience with Elder Brown was a good spiritual experience. It is sad to hear that Jemma scraped her knees, but she'll learn from that experience; I know I did when I had them.Yeah I hope that family reunion will be great. Good luck with your foot problem. If it gets worse just try and walk it off.  Thank for the email. Until next week. Tchau.

Email 06/26/17

I am doing great actually. I really like my new companion. I have still not been able to bake my cake, but I found one of the problems. The pan I need is in a member's house. Elder Silva and I accidentally left it there. We´ll probably have an opportunity to get it back this or the following week depending on whether we go to that member's house or not. My companion is a good person and he not only knows how to clean well, but likes to; so our house is finally approaching adequately clean. He has many good ideas that have been solving some of the more annoying problems that have appeared in our house. The number of Americans in our mission? I am uncertain about that. Considering there are 110 missionaries here and there are usually Brazilians and Americans paired up, as well as others from various other countries; I would say there are around 45 to 50 more or less.  I will probably never pair up with an American companion, here; but if I do I will definitely let you know. It is very likely I will have companions from any country other than America, but I could. Most of the Americans that come here, specifically Varzea Grande; are from Utah.  Just to let you know we received more pesquisadores this week. We have received 22 new ones since Elder Mendez arrived. Até mais.

Email 06/19/17

I am doing alright. My companion left yesterday for Cuiabá and will stay there until tomorrow. He will be leaving for Peru on Tuesday. My new companion's name is Elder Mendez. He is a good missionary so far as I can tell. I will still need to get to know him better. I didn´t know that there even was a Brazilian valentines day. I do know about Corpus Cristus, though.  Happy Father's Day to dad. My week was good. I had splits with an Elder and we visited some of our investigators. One family is improving, but we need to continue to visit them. The night that I had splits, me and my companion visited them and when we arrived, we found that they were watching "The Other Side of Heaven." They were very enthusiastic and said that they might go to church the following Sunday, but they didn´t. We need to keep visiting them. My Birthday was good, but the fourteenth was good too. On the fourteenth a member took us to Cuiabá to see a water show. The Lord blessed us with seeing this. I have a video, but I am having trouble uploading it. The sixteenth was nice because there was a little thing for Elder Silva that happened that day. My new companion is from Bolivia.

I have not had the opportunity to bake the cake yet, but I may during this following week. Last week was too occupied.  Thank you for the cake.

Email 6/12/17

My week has been alright. I thought that it was great to chat with you on Monday as well. I got all the packages including Grammy's things. I will be expecting your other package. Thanks for all the snacks in the other one. The cards were great and the things that Jostan and my other siblings said were great. Yep I have been out for six months already. I will be busy that day (birthday) with activities, seeing as my companion is leaving next Sunday and I will be receiving a new companion. Moab that is rather far south. I hope they have fun. Jonah and Jaylen getting shots that reminds me of last Wednesday, when I got another Flu shot. That day was busy. I am happy to hear you all went to Lagoon. Thanks for the Joke. We have not been having very much success with our pesquisadors, but I am grateful that the Lord is helping some of our pesquisadors to attend church. I hope that we will be able to do better in the future. I will keep trying to have good weeks.  Thank you for the spiritual thought. ☺Tchau.

Email/Chat 06/05/17

My week has been very good compared to weeks in the past. I am finally becoming able to improve. I had extreme opposition in improving in anything during the first part of my time here, but the Lord has helped me and is still helping me solve the problems that were keeping me from doing well. The thing that was going on last Monday is this: We needed to go to Cuiabá for the day. We had several reasons for being there. My Companion and other missionaries planned the day. They gained permission for us to eat at a restaurant, but the main reason why we were there is because my companion needed to find a good briefcase for him to take with him on the plane. He will be using it on the 20th to go home seeing he has finished his time here. Even after we were there for a while he still didn´t find what he wanted, a low price for the briefcase; so, we returned to Arzea Grande and he tried again to shop here. He eventually found what he wanted and by three O´clock we were ready to return home. He suggested that we come back here seeing as we had no other plans for the day, but I declined seeing as it costs me 4 reals an hour to use the computers here and I had already used a good 10 reals. I realize now that I could have returned and tried to see if any of you were available for a chat, but reasoned that it was not likely. This is, in short; why I didn’t have time to chat with you last week for very long.

I have not received the package you sent yet but I may receive it this Thursday seeing as there is going to be a zone conference and usually during this time President Oliveira hands out bug spray and tries to sell his "Missão Brasil Cuiabá" marked bags and merchandise. I will probably receive it then, seeing I just read that the tracking report says it was delivered to the Mission Home; but if not I will be able to tell you next week what occurred.

The language is coming along but I need to keep studying well. The language is very complex for me in my perspective, but I know that the Lord will continue to help me. The hardest thing to adjust to is not necessarily the language, but the hardest thing for me is knowing what the heck everyone is thinking. Their customs for what is ethically wrong and what is right are nearly opposite to that which I know. When they try to let me know I am doing something wrong they use sarcasm, thinking that everyone, no matter their heritage and background, will understand. They will not give me the information I need and so this is one of the reasons I have been having such a hard time with the language and everything in general. I have been needing to figure these things out on my own; though I know this good for me, it only makes things even more complicated in a situation where improvement is wanted quickly from my leaders. I am very grateful for this experience so far here. I have learned much and will keep going. So my Portuguese is getting better.

My investigators are fine but we are still having trouble getting any of them to want to go to church and read the scriptures. I still have so much to learn. We had an opportunity this last week to meet with one of the families we hadn´t visited for a while.  They were doing fine, but their daughter was having trouble and I guess this is one purpose why the Lord had us meet her in the Grocery Store. We haven´t seen them since but we may in the future. One family is starting to become promising, but slowly. The mother’s name is Eliete and she has several children. They are friendly enough to let us come and talk with them. Others that we have just started teaching are slowly getting interested.

Till next week, Tchau.

Email 05/29/17

Hey. I am doing great. My week went pretty good. We had an experience where we went the church house to celebrate the birthdays of all members that have birthdays in May. I have pictures from that that I will upload. My companion is doing good; but I just found out that he is going to be leaving for home in June. He will strangely enough be taking a different route to his home land. I will explain that more next week. I am happy to hear that Jostan graduated from high school. I am sorry that Dad has a cold. I remember that our ward transferred back to the Stake Center. I bet that was a wonderful reunion. Thank you for the good story. That is true that the Lord will protect that which is his own. Even if he has to damn others in their efforts to harm that which his own. The only power that anyone can have over God's children is the power that God gives them. I remember when the Lord was talking with Pontius Pilate. He said, in essence, you can have no power over me save it be given you of my Father. It is the same with Faithful saints of his church and anything else that is his. He will protect that which is his own. He has done so for me. Thanks for the Missionary jokes and the Great Story. I hope to able to chat with you more next week. Thanks tchau.