watermelon in winter

Sometimes I feel like I understand the Lord's plan for me.  Or that I have a pretty good idea of what my life holds in the future.  Then what I think is rattled, and new ideas and opportunities come up, changing the course of the rest of my life.  Sometimes it's mind-boggling, not knowing how from one minute to the next, things could change.  But it is exciting!  I am in a very exciting time of my life right now, making HUGE decisions, and am in the process of figuring out when I can graduate...hopefully December 2013.  This will determine a few different things.  My summer plans depend on this, as do other things.  And life is so wonderful!  This last week and a half has been so full of new things! Like the announcement made at conference that young men can go on missions at 18 years old, and young women at 19.  This is HUGE.  This is AWESOME.  This is going to make SUCH a HUGE difference in the missionary force worldwide, a...

I found out yesterday. I'm emailing on a Tuesday afternoon because yesterday we had a Pday with all the Sisters. It was fantastic. Good food, good lessons, awesome message from Sister Moreira, fantastic ideas from President Moreira, and wonderful company of some of the best people I know. I would send pictures, but I don't have my camera's cable...I forgot to bring it with me. Our day today started with interviews with President. It was fantastic. I truly have the best mission president there is. I have learned so much with him in the 11 months I've been on the mission. Today, I had some questions, and we got talking abuot some other doctrines and principles....it was a great conversation. He helped me with some things that are going on here in the area, and then I got a blessing from him afterwards. I'd call it a good start to the day! This last week was insanely busy, with one of the craziest weekends I've ever seen. We ran after a bunch of people, and in t...

So today has kind of a melancholy note to it....transfers are tomorrow, and 5 hours from now, I'll find out where I'm going, if I'm staying with Sister Frame, or if she is going somewhere. Or if the area is closing. I'd cry if that happened. I don't think that's very likely though. Anyway, so this last week was completely destroyed. Literally every appointment (except maybe 2 or 3) fell through. So we spent a lot of time running around, and then didn't have any new investigators in church yesterday, even though we have some great new ones. We taught some friends of Mauro (remember him?), who are FANTASTIC and so prepared. It's amazing to see how the Lord truly prepares people to hear the gospel. We also taught Claudimere a few times at 9:30am., which destroys our study time, but it's the only time he has. So that's been intersting. Also, remember zone conference last week? I think I forgot to mention that at the beginning, there are always a c...

We are the life coaches here. Woohoo. This week was insane. There's no other word for it. I felt all kinds of things, from pure frustration to joy like none other. I guess that's a part of this work though. So, let me tell you some things. :) We had a ton of rain this week. This was good, seeing as the city hasn't had rain in like a month. So it rained, and we walked aroudn in the rain and got drenched and got filthy. And know how I love the rain at home? Here, it is horrible. There is not even the nice smell that I like, and there are rivers of dirt and waterfalls of filth running down the street. I always heard about the water that runs down the streets here during the rain, and I was reminded again of that this week. But you reach a point when it doesn't even matter, because you are wet and dirty, so all is good. :) The only unfortunate part of the rain is that no one opens the door to you, and no one is in the street with whom you can talk. Anyway, so it rained...

Oi queridos! Funny story. I was writing a letter last night, in English, but everything I wanted to say sounded better in Portuguese. So the letter ended up sounding ridiculous. Haha. Oh well. Just give me a few minutes to get used to English again, and maybe this email will make some sense. :) Okay so NOW my quick overview. We taught a bunch of lessons, invited a ton of people to be baptized, walked even more than not, and slept a little. Oh and ate a ton cuz that's what we do. :) Monday, we had FHE with José, who is a member of the church, but his family is not. We taught his wife the first lesson, even though she had no interest, and invited her to pray about it. We've followed up with her a bunch of times, and though she says she's prayed, she also says she's felt nothing. This is why we need to pray with faith, and really want to know the truth and receive answers. She's a good woman; I hope some day her heart softens and she sees the truth that is literall...

Let me tell you about my week...one day at a time. Last Monday after email, we went out to lunch at a tiny cheap restaurant, a bit far from our house. We spent a bunch of time there, and ended up getting back a few minutes after the soccer game had started...oops! But it was interesting, because we saw the traffic (a whole new level of insanity, if you can imagine it) right before the game as people tried to get home to watch it, and then when it started, it was completely dead on the streets. Stores were closed, there was no traffic outside our house (a really nice break!), and it was fairly quiet, except for the goals Brazil scored! :) Tuesday....we had a district meeting. We got burned for some things that were out of our control, which can be frustrating. It was good to see our friends in the office though! Afterwards, we went to visit Praxedes, remember the one we inherited from the Elders? We've been working with her for a few weeks, but she has to make a decision, and we...

Helllooooooooooooo family! As for news. First of all, last week was transfers. We spent all of Monday with the Elders in our area, because we knew there would be some changes, but didn't know exactly what. We all thought Lee Dee would be transferred out for sure, cuz he already had two transfers here. Anyway, finally the call came that evening....sure enough, there were big changes. Sister Frame and I both stayed here in Vila Industrial (WOOOHOOO!!!!!), and the other Vila Industrial area was closed, and the Elders were both transferred out. Elder Lee Dee is in the interior now, and Elder Paul is on the beach (boa sorte). So that was Monday night...then we realized that we hbasically had to combine two areas, so now we have all our investigators, and those of the Elders, which means we spend a TON of time walking, because everyone lives forever away from each other, and we aren't rich, so we can't take the bus everywhere. So...we use our lamborfeeties. However, it is wonde...

Dear family, SO much to write this week! Last week was full of ups and downs again...this work is intense, let me tell you. But I should start at the beginning. With something I forgot to mention in my email last week. We have a washing machine finally! I have never been so thankful in my life for a washing machine!!! Anyway, Tuesday we went to the Temple. And that had all kinds of new experiences for me. We had to take the bus, then the metro, then another bus to get there. And let me tell you about the metro. I don't know how many of you have ever been in a mosh pit at the front of a concert, but I have once, and it was insane, and all I wanted was to escape. Anyway, the metro was kinda like that. It was so packed that when the doors opened, people literally poured out, whether they wanted to or not. It was a fight, and I think I broke every mission rule in that 6-stop ride. Here's another way to put it...I didn't have to hold on to anything to keep from falling...the...

Hellloooooooooooooooooooooo family! So guess what. This weekend was so full of miracles, I can hardly remember the rest of the week. Seriously. It was amazing. Miracles happen in this work, every single day, and some days are more full of them than others. :) First of all, last week I received a bunch of letters, which was great! We also had our last district meeting of the transfer last week, and three people from our zone are going home tomorrow...it's crazy. One of our ZL's, Elder Sell, as well as Sister Ribeiro, and one of the secretaries, Elder Fonseca. So it was good to see them all one more time last week, take a bunch of pictures, sign notebooks, etc. I've only been here a short time, but already I have made some pretty good friends! After the meeting, Sister Frame and I ate lunch with the secretaries at a rodizio...so if any of you talk to Elton Luz on facebook, let him know that I've already done as he asked me to, and eaten at a rodizio. :) It was the fir...

Welp, I have a smaller list than usual of things to write. As for the awesomeness of the week... zone conference was great. President Moreira is fantastic. I learned so much! Here's a HUGE miracle from the week, that we heard about on Thursday, I think. Our dear Maria Lucia was in the hospital a couple times this week, sick, and we finally cought up with her at home on Thursday. And remember how she was having a hard time quitting smoking and drinking coffee? Well, something changed while she was in the hospital, and now, the smell of cigarettes literally makes her sick. SHE DOES NOT SMOKE or drink coffee ANYMORE!!!!! We're really praying to see her baptized this weekend. This was a HUGE HUGE HUGE miracle!!!!!! This week, I took comfort in D&C 100. I know the Lord is watching over you all, and that brings me comfort. It was really hard to hear about Uncle Eddie and be this far away, but I know that it's all in the Lord's timing. I know that as I work hard down he...

(NOTE:  Received 5/31/2010) HElllllloooooooooo family! This was an interesting week. Had ups and downs like none other before, and was definitely a trial of faith. But some things I learned: first, always ALWAYS listen to the Spirit, even when you think what you say isn't important or doesn't matter. Cuz if you don't say it, there could be unexpected consequences. Also, I learned that we really do have power and authority, which is something I need to remember as we are teaching and talking about repentance and such like that. Also, keep the commandments. When you do something wrong, repent quickly. It's simple, and it's a gift from the Lord to have repentance and the Atonement in our lives. So first thing to write about is our baptism. It ended up not happening. Turns out, Mauro needs a little more time to prepare. I'd love to see his baptism, but I don't know what will happen with transfers and such, so who knows if I will even be here. That was actu...

(NOTE:  Received May 24, 2010) ...but it doesn't really work that well. Oi minha querida família!! Last Monday night, we had a fun surprise! The other two elders in our area live with two more elders, Elder Nóbrega and Elder B. Almeida. Anyway, those two aren't even in our zone, so we don't see them much, but are friends with them. Last Monday, Elder Lee Dee invited us to a noite familiar (Family Home Evening) with him and Elder Paul, and one of their investigators, and Rute and her family. So we got there, way before the Elders, and called them. They told us they were close, and to go in and wait for them with the family. So we did. Then they walked in with Elder Nóbrega and B. Almeida, instead of an investigator! That was awesome. The investigator really was going to go, but backed out last second. So we partied there and watched part of conference...that was interesting, in Portuguese. Tuesday was district meeting, which means MAIL! I got a letter from Pops, and ...

Hellooooooo family! I'm going to write this really quickly.  First of all, I have officially learned to do laundry by hand! I did it last week...it takes a lot of time, especially getting stuff to dry on cold humid days, which describes all of last week. The hardest part is just when I have to wring all the water out of the clothes. But it's a good experience. :) Last Tuesday at district meeting, I got a stack of letters and a package! It was like Christmas! There is also an Elder in my mission who I know from the CTM , who looks like Obama. It's funny. I didn't know he was going to be in the same mission as me until I saw him here. Also on Tuesday (I think), I saw a bus that was jacked up, because it was broken. The front end was off the ground...it was totally weird! But pretty cool. I didn't have my camera though. :( We taught English to someone last week. We helped her with the alphabet and such...and it makes me rea lly glad that I am NOT learning Engl...

(NOTE:  Received May 10, 20100 Helloooooo family! Long time no talk, eh? I loved talking to you yesterday! That was so good. It gave me a lot more motivation to work harder, that's for sure. I got a blessing last week, and in it was promised that my family will be taken care of and blessed as I serve the Lord down here. I know that's true, and right now, I am working hard not for me, but for you. Each and every one of you. Blessings come every day. The big ones take time to come, but keep pressing forward conitnually, as the people holding the iron rod did. Remember, those who continually held the rod got to the fruit, despite being laughed at and tempted to let go. On another note, I was going to tell you all something about the cars here. I know I've talked about it before, but now i see it more as I am out every day. So, there are a ton of trashy cars here. Somehow, though I don't know how, none of the cars have dents! They are just old, rusty, and beaten to deat...

(NOTE:  Received May 5, 20100 Greetings from the muito grande area of Vila Industrial! I am still in the city. My companion is Sister Frame, and I like her very much! This is going to be a quick email without a ton of information, because I already wrote a letter letter yesterday for you that has way more details about my last week at the CTM. I hope I get around to mailing that soon..probably on Pday, Monday. I get to write today because I basically didn't have a Pday this week, and I guess we have to email every week or something. And this Sunday is Mothers Day so we can talk on the phone! So, I took a ton of pictures the last few days at the CTM, so I should get you some of those maybe next week or something. That would be fun! Pops, know how you like to pick on the new missionary to pray...always? Well, I now am on the receiving end of that! I have prayed a few times already at people's houses, and it's only been half a day! I guess today we have district meeting late...

(NOTE:  Received on April 27, 2010) I have no time today, pretty much. So...here goes a lot of randomness. Last Tuesday, after emailing, my comps and I went to a grocery store, just to check it out. Observations: They have an aisle for rice and beans, just like we do for cereal. I didn't know there were that many different kinds of rice and beans. And cereal is basically none. And I was pretty excited to see they have pints of Haagen-daas ice cream...except not really, after I checked out the price, because it costs R$17.90 for a pint, which is like a little more than half that in American dollars. They also had Kinder eggs and Kinder chocolates...yes, of course I bought and enjoyed some!!! Last Tuesday night, we went out in the dark after gym time, and cleaned the streets. Because Elder Nelson was coming on Thursday, and apparently we wanted the street around the CTM to be trash-free. Wishful thinking, if you ask me! But it was pretty fun. It was great. :) Also, Tuesday, I. Lo...

(NOTE:  Received April 20, 2010) Parabéns, família! So...here's the big news first. Thursday will be a BIG day for us here...because Elder Russell M. Nelson is coming! We are going to have a devotional with him, and guess who gets to play the piano for choir!!! Yeah, if you guessed Sister Ogden, you're correct. I'm so excited! I need to think of questions to ask him, because we are probably all going to get a chance to meet him, and there will´probably be a question and answer section of the meeting. There's a slight chance the Elder Holland will come with him, which would be AMAZING. No one really knows either way though. So that's the big news. :) So let me just get started on the rest of this email. My English has gotten weird sometimes. :) My goal is to get home fluent in Portuguese and having a rough time with English. Yup. So let me start with stuff about my amazing district. We are the biggest district at the CTM right now, with 13 missionaries. We just...

(NOTE:  Received April 13, 2010) Hello! Guess what!  It's Pday!  Hooray!  And I got three letters on the same day last week...all from the Snyders!  Cool, huh!  They love me.  So first, about this email.  I decided to stay at the MTC today to email, so that I can try sending pictures again. I think it will work this time, actually. First of all...Last Tuesday, I was walking around after gym with my district, and we were looking at the pictures on the wall here.  They have pictures from a bunch of the Brazil missions, as well as the Provo and Chicago missions.  So whenever I look at them, there is always a part of me that wonders if maybe I know someone.  This time... I did!  And you do too!  I found a picture of Michael Orr on his mission!  I took a picture of the picture.  Funny.  But it was awesome.  I got so excited, my district probably thought I was even crazier than they already think I a...

(NOTE:  Received April 6, 2010) Hello family, and friends too! So this week has fewer stories than the usual. We get to go proselyting in a few days, so we've been a lot more focused lately. In some ways. I'm really pushing myself harder than usual this week, that's for sure. I've only got 4 weeks left here, and have so much yet to learn! A few days ago, we were teaching some lessons, and we asked one of the Zone Leaders if we could practice teaching him. We ended up throwing away our original plan, and we sat with him for over an hour, while he helped us learn how to be better missionaries and answer tough questions. He was really encouraging while we were discouraged. He told us that the language is not our problem, because every time we figure out how to say something in English we translate it quickly and easily to Portuguese. So my problem right now is know how to be a missionary, really. I need to learn how to better answer questions and how to connect bette...

We received the following pictures from Karen's Branch President down at the MTC.