I am
doing well. The Language is coming better. I have been having trouble with the grammar,
but the Lord is helping me preach and teach. Yesterday I had the opportunity to
meet five in one house. On Saturday I had the opportunity to meet a very intelligent
man named Max he was nice and gave me and my companheiro cookies and water. Please
thank the Snarrs for the donation (toward his mission). Awesome that Jaylen had
his birthday and reached double digits. It´s
good to hear that Jeffrey gave a talk in sacrament meeting. He´ll need the
practice if he wants to be ready. Oh, something I forgot to tell you last week.
I gave a talk in the local Capella (Church House) last week on Sunday. They
asked me to talk on Faith. I think that it went somewhat well, because the
members of the ward told me how much they liked my talk afterwards. I am doing
better now that I am starting to take no thought for my life. The holy ghost
reminds me of scriptures when I need them. That is awesome to hear that Jonah
is so close to becoming a deacon and receiving his Faith in God award as well. Would
you please dad that he can have and use my laptop. I know I should have taken
care of this before, but better late than never. Tell Jonah that I am having
fun sharing the Gospel and doing other Missionary Work. Thanks for the jokes. I
wish you all well. I had the opportunity to move to a new house this last Friday.
This house is much better. I am grateful for the blessings the Lord has given
me. Tchau.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Monday, February 20, 2017
Email 02/20/17
To start off please tell Jeffrey that I am sorry for
neglecting to give him my password to Starcraft through email, but I hope you
were able to get it anyway. I am thinking that you are talking about my
companion in the field, if so; he doesn’t speak a lick of fluent English, but
he knows many words and knows about the History of the United States a bit. He
also knows about Trump. Trump is very unpopular down here. At least it looks
that way. Other than Elder Novaes there are four others Elders Soares, Aravena,
Silva, and Gomez in our house. Aravena is Chilean. Silva is Peruvian, but has
Brazilian ancestors. Meu Portuguese é ótimo. Mies ou Menos. If you are
interested I am gaining much light and truth here. The Lord is being merciful
to me. Without this light and truth, the Lord is giving me I would have a lot
of trouble surviving. I have difficulties giving you examples now, but I may be
better able to later on. Oh yeah I
forgot that it was Valentine’s day. I am glad to hear that you all enjoyed Valentine’s
day. I wish Jeffrey luck with his friend who is a girl. Awesome to hear that
Jaylen is going into scouts maybe he will be able to do better than I did. I
like that Jemma is giving not only you, but also Brin a break. Mom, you went to
the Dentist, ah that bites. I hope Julia and Jemma keep being happy. It’s good
to hear that you are having opportunities to attend the Temple. Wow, Jeffrey
must be really good at Science in order to be able to go to the District
Science fair. I am glad that members of the ward are staying busy. Excellent joke
from Dad. I miss Jemma as well. Tell Jonah that I am trying to always do some
form of Missionary work (See Missionary Work in the Guide to the Scriptures)
but if he was referring to what most people use to refer to missionary work,
which is of course Proselyting; I eat, sleep, study, listen to the music that
my house members have and my own when possible; as well as doing most anything
else that is needful. I try not to waste a minute. I have seen many different
types of birds and other animals, if that is what Jostan is referring to; but I
do see hundreds of different types of cookies when I am at the grocery store;
but seriously I did get to visit an investigator who used to or is still
operating a Circus here in Rondonopolis. He showed us pictures of Lions and
acrobats in his Circus. Thank you for the thought about judging, but I have one
of my own about it. In this life we have to judge. We can obey the scripture,
Go ye out from among the wicked without judging. The key to judging correctly
is doing it righteously; see true to the Faith under Judging others. Don´t get
me wrong I agree with President Uctdorf one hundred percent. Judging others
incorrectly and unrighteously is wrong, but judging righteously is right; when justified.
I am doing fine thanks to the help Heavenly Father gives me through infinitely
many sources. I love you all. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Email 02/13/17
Hey everyone. It´s great to have time to update you all
today. This week was a little weird we did very little proselyting. Mostly
because of a complicated situation with a few of the members of my district in
my house. I ended up being in a trio for three or four days while the other
three in my house went to Cuiabá. We were able to enjoy going to each other’s
areas. Although it was annoying to have to take three buses; one to go to
Almoço (Lunch), a second to return to the first bus stop and a third to go to a
pesquisadors (investigators) house. Other than that it was a pretty normal
week. I am happy to hear that Jostan is working on his driving. I am glad Mom
is having time to relax and enjoy time with her sister-in-law. Speaking of rain,
it is raining off and on here in Rondonopolis. I am grateful mom had me buy
that umbrella and rain coat. Thank you for the Jemma humor. Ah, that was good.
Dad’s joke was even better. I do want to tell you I met a return missionary
here in Rondonopolis. His name is Ben. He is from Oregon State and went on his
mission here. I am guessing he met his wife here or somewhere else in his
mission. He was an awesome help and gave me some respite from Portuguese,
because I could speak English with him. He also gave me a few pieces of paper
with a bunch of helpful tips, such as slang and common phrases that would not
normally make sense without knowing the language already. One example is Beleza
which means alright, Fica de Boa means chill out. E aí means what’s up. Negócios
means stuff. A lot of the language depends entirely on context. Para can mean
by, to, for, etc. I did accidently forget to tell you all about an experience I
had on the plane coming to Cuiabá. I sat next to a man that was lives in Matto
Grosso somewhere and he started to talk and inquire of me concerning the
church, and wouldn’t you know it; he was fluent in English. His name was Marcos
and he asked some simple questions like what is the difference between your
church and protestants for example. I didn’t have resources, except for the Articles
of Faith in my scriptures; to answer his question. So I used that. He read a few and said that the second one
made a lot of sense. After that point he didn’t talk much, but I did have the
opportunity to give him the church website LDS.org as a reference for more
information on our church. Sorry I forgot to tell you this story before.
Concerning souvenirs, I need a list from mom or dad of souvenirs you want. All
I really need is some ideas. Mostly because I don’t have a lot of room in my suitcase
for a lot of stuff, and I don’t know what you’d really want. Concerning what
Jeffrey said about Third Nephi 11, I happened to have already read that
scripture this week in Portuguese, but nonetheless I will still read it. Tell
Jonah that I am enjoying my time here. I am learning more and more about how to
be a real missionary. If any of you have questions just ask. Till next week,
Falou.
Jarrek and his companion Elder Novaes.
Jarrek's companion and other elders in his house.
Sao Paulo, Brazil Temple.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Email 02/06/17
My week has been a good week. I am keeping very busy and learning quite a
lot. I am learning a lot of Portuguese and plenty about the culture here in Brazil.
I am liking my first area here in Rondonopolis. It rains every so often, so I
am grateful for my umbrella. Me and my companion are teaching at least two
people a day, depending on the day. We usually always tract. I am doing better
with the language. God is helping me understand them and speak to them and
teach them. Are the names of the Sisters in my district named Sister Kahr and
Sister Atkinson? I am sorry you were in a minor accident, but I am glad to hear
that you and Jemma are alright. I am also happy to hear that Jemma is healthy. It
is good that Jeffrey is staying busy. It is great that Jeffrey is participating in plays. I am happy to hear you obtained pictures from my mission president. It
is good to hear that Jemma is developing more and more. Thank you for the
scriptures and the thought I will try to use it well in my mission. I would
update you all with how many Books of Mormon I have given out, but I don’t
exactly know how many. We don’t really record that here; but I do know at least
how many lessons we have taught. It’s around thirty-three. If you want my
mission pictures just go to box.com and you will find them there. If you need
the password, just ask. On another note, the members and people in general here
are very nice. Last week, when my district and I left for that conference about
the schedule change for missionaries; I had the opportunity to meet an inactive
member in the street. I was just singing a Portuguese hymn and he was walking
along by me. He then started to sing along with me. I found out that he lives
in Curitiba, but would be in Rondonopolis for a little while. My companion and
I talked with him for a while and he left, I probably will not see him again,
but it was nice meeting him. Concerning the conference, I liked the changes
that were made to the missionary schedule throughout the world. My mission
president adjusted the schedule for us and we now get up at seven and our time
is more free for us to choose what we do. I am very grateful for this and I
hope to use it to its full potential. Well until next week. Tchau.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
First Pictures from Cuiaba
Jarrek with his President and Sister Oliveira after his arrival in Cuiaba. Also picture with other missionaries who arrived at the same time.
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