February 23rd....What?!?!

Olá Familia,

This week has gone pretty well. We had a good Sunday with a lot of different meetings. They really don´t believe in spare time around here. But that might be a good thing. Monday I had my first ´´split´´ with a Brazilian missionary. It went well though because there was also another American in our companionship to translate. haha. For those Divisions we just teach another companionship so it is pretty low stress. And the other missionaries help you get your point across. We were also supposed to have a devotional with the area authority but he cancelled last minute so we only heard from the CTM president. He seems nice but he still scares me. haha. One of the Elders in our district also tried to eat 25 rolls in a sitting. Elder DeYoung eats rolls with every meal so a couple elders decided to have a little competition. They decided to bet their lantes which are the little snack bags we get at 8:30 each night. They are usually pretty good, and have some crackers, a candy, and a juice box. So, anyway Elder DeYoung filled his whole tray with rolls and butter cups and started downing them. When he hit 20 Elder Stevenson ,his companion, started pacing and looking for bags. haha. A lot of missionaries were watching though so he kept going. When he hit 23 and a half though, he stood up slapped the table and they took off down the hall. He ended up losing his stomach but the did make it to the bathroom. haha. I think that was Wednesday and he is still getting over the ´´roll incident´´. haha. The rest of the week flew by and not much happened. Today though we are meeting up with our Irmãos outside and we are going to Burger King! So we are all excited for that. haha. Hopefully it isn't too bad. haha. 

I had a great opportunity to read the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon this week, while trying to study more about charity and the love of Christ. A couple verses that stood out to me were in Mosiah 4:17-19.

    17. Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just-

    18. But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repent thereof that which he hath done he perishethforever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.

    19. For behold, are we not all beggars?...

I have been thinking about how I have been justifying myself for years about not giving to the homeless we see everywhere. I always thought that they could just go get a job, or the money they get they use for drugs or alcohol. And that may be the case for some of them, but i t is not our place to judge them. It is our place to serve them. One thing I think is an easy fix for me, is just to carry around a candy bar, in my bag. And whenever I see someone in need I at least have something to give them. When we have problems with ourselves that we are trying to fix, attitudes that need changing, and views to correct, the best way to do it is through service. I testify that when we start helping and serving those around us, our problems and burdens will get lighter, and we will have a greater love for those around us. Even if it is small and simple, we will receive blessings, We do not know completely what others are going through and we don't need to. But we are asked to develop a Christlike love for everyone. Members, or non members, rich or poor, happy or sad. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Amo Voce,

Elder Child

It's Friday!!

Olá Everybody!

This last week was really good! On Monday four members of our district in Provo left for Brasil. We left around 6:30 in the morning and arrived the next day around 9:30 am. Tuesday we took a nap and relaxed before we had some orientation meetings with all the new missionaries. We were the only ones from Provo so we all ready knew the rules. haha. However, they are a lot more strict here with the rules, such as ``no jumping for volleyball or basketball``, no emailing pictures, and only 45 minutes to email your family every week. Even Elder Sugden complained about it. haha. My companion is Elder Beardall, is from Virginia, and is a little different. So for some reason Heavenly Father wants me to learn patience. haha. The food is always good, but it is also always rice and beans. So i still have to get used to that. haha. We did have pizza one night and that just made me wish for rice and beans. The MTC has the theory right but missing some of the ingredients. So they have the crust, then cheese, then mystery meat topping, then about a quarter cup of oil puddled around it. It didn't taste too bad once you poured the oil off but still no spices and no tomato sauce. But the Brazilians say that it is only bad and the CTM and that real Brazilian pizza is good, but I guess we will see. haha.  The weather is always about the same, warm with a whole lot of moistness. Let me say that again, moistness. It is pretty humid 100% of the day. But we do have ac in our class room and a fan in our dorm so it doesn't get to bad. haha. We always have to wear our shoes or sandals because i guess that last week there was a sister who was bare foot in her room and ended up getting some kind of infection. Because of the wifi reliability here I am unable to send any pictures until i leave, so i am starting a pile haha. We have a cool view from our room, and we can see quite a few nice buildings but still a lot of shacks and broken up buildings, but no shooting yet. haha. Today we got to leave the compound and walk the streets to see a little bit of the culture and do a little shopping, I brought back a pretty cool blue tie, Brasil soccer  jersey, and a couple .45 pens, so like 15 cents USD. A lot of the candy and food though doesn´t seem much cheaper than the US. But that will change for me when i get out to my area.  The district we joined already had 3 Elders and 1 sister, so we doubled there numbers. haha. They are all really nice and are American, so we are not too behind them in the language aspect. haha.  All the devotionals, and meetings are in Português so we have to wear the little headset things all the time, they work pretty well for about half the meeting then they turn to static, when someone says a joke. So that is fun. haha. We also do a lot more teaching here so we teach two investigators every day, we have TRC once a week, and splits 3 times a week. so we are a lot more busy down here, which is weird because we thought we were busy in Provo. haha. Sorry for the spelling errors, i have to use a Portugues key board and haven't gotten used to it yet. haha. Well i have to get off now, but I hope everyone had a great week and is doing well. Amo você! Tchau!

- Elder Child

Your Missionary Has Arrived!

Dear Parents,

Sister Martins Silva and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us! We will surely take good care of your missionary.                                                                                                     

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a physician to care for their health needs. We are also happy to report that the MTC food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

Pres. João Roberto Martins Silva and Sister Maria Lucia Martins Silva

I got there!

Hey!

So we got to the airport in New York, and they didn't have call phones. So sorry I wasn't able to call. But at least we had that conversation earlier.  P day is on Friday for our district and we only have 45 minutes to email, so it may take a couple weeks to reply to some of them. But don´t worry mom I will mail you first. haha. Our district is joining with an existing one down here, and i will be getting a new companion also. Hopefully, someone speaks inlges. haha. It is also a way different time down here, 12:30 pm here and 7:30 am back in Idaho so that is fun. haha. Well they don´t give us much time so I better get going, can´t wait to write you guys on Friday! Love you guys!

- Elder Child

Hey!

So real fast I get to email you guys since I will be traveling over p-day. I will be able to call you sometime during the journey. ha ha. We have a layover in New York at 6 pm until 7:43. Then we arrive in Brazil 8:20 in Tuesday morning. I will probably call in New York, if I am able to, which I think we are allowed one per trip. so fingers crossed. haha. If not I will let you know asap! Thank you guys so much. LOVE YOU!!!!! I will send pics next email!!

- Elder Child

We got our Flight plans!!!!!!!! Our whole district leaves February 12 and will be there the next day at 8:20 n the morning. One layover! One more week to enjoy the cold, then I'll be 6,000 miles away! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Ola!

This last week was real fun. Our zone was asked to help host the new missionaries coming in on Wednesday and we really enjoyed it. One Elder that I hosted is actually in our zone and in the dorm right next to mine. haha. His name is Elder Parke and is from Las Vegas, a pretty nice guy even if he wears socks and flip flops. haha. We must've done a good job because we were asked to do it again this week. haha. Our district tried our luck with the barber shop today. And I kind of feel like a sheered sheep. But it does look good.  Everyone here is enjoying the warm weather in Provo, except Elder Arispuro, who misses seeing the snow on the ground. haha. The Portuguese is still coming along but it is getting a little harder because we now have two teachers, so we have breakfast, a 4 1/2 hour language class, lunch, another 4 1/2 hour language class, dinner, then 3 hours of study time. So they definitely keep us busy. haha. It is cool though because I can finally pray in Portuguese, they are short, but that just means they have room to grow. haha. We also had an impromptu lesson where we had to teach another member of our district the restoration in 5 min, 2 min, 1 min, and 30 seconds. It went pretty well even though I don't think any of my sentences made sense. The Teachers are really nice though and keep reminding us that everyone will learn at different paces so not to get discouraged. haha. Especially when one member in our district is basically already fluent. Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and we could share our testimony in our native language so I had to take that opportunity, it was great to be able to testify and someone understand. haha. We also had some in Spanish and even one in Tongan. The rest of our Sabbath included several other meetings, mission conference, choir practice, devotional, and a movie before we had to go to bed. This weeks movie was How to Recognize the Spirit, by Elder Bednar. Another great talk that he spoke at the MTC a few years go. The gist of it was answering the question, "How do I tell if it is the Spirit, or just me?" The reality is that it doesn't really matter. As long as you are trying to do your best, being a good boy or a good girl, keep your covenants, obeying the commandments, it doesn't matter. He told us to stop worrying about it. Our lives will be directed and we will be in the right place at the right time. We can't just sit around and wait for revelation to tell us where to go. We will be directed as we show our faith and trust is God. So that is some more great advice that I am trying to follow. Being a good boy, keeping my covenants, obeying the commandments, and trusting in the Lord that I will learn the things that I will need to, and end up where I will need to serve. Even if that means a temporary reassignment, until the Brazilian Government gets back from their vacation. haha. No word yet from my Visa, but if i do get it i may not have time to write next week, so don't freak out mom! Haha. Love you guys! And thank you for your support!

Tchau,

Elder Child

PS: Thank you guys so much for the Cake and the Package! You should be getting a letter about the package in a few days. The cake came unmarked so sorry i didn't mention it my letter. haha. LOVE YOU GUYS TONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 week after drop off

So Allysha was able to stay in Utah after we dropped off Jake and visit with her family for the week before they dropped off Nathan the following week.  When Jake said he was going to have the opportunity to be a host missionary we were wondering if Allysha would be able to see him...well, guess what...Is this picture so sweet!

Ola meu Familia (e amigos), 

This week has been CRAZY!!! From day one it has been busy. We start everyday with breakfast, of course, then class until lunch, lunch, then class and study time until 5 which is dinner. Followed by study time until we have to be back in our residence by 9. Then repeat. It fries your brain but you really have to do your best to learn the language as fast as you can. The language by the way is similar to spanish but i still have trouble understanding it. Elder Arispuro, my companion, attended a spanish ward growing up in California, but says that he only understands about half. So that is comforting haha. The other Elders in my district are cool too. Elder Smith is from Middleton, Idaho, and Elder Sugden is from Alabama. haha. Elder S has a super deep voice not unlike Herman Munster and is very punctual with everything, which is good. haha. He already has exact obedience with everything so that is fun. haha. He and Elder Smith are already the new Zone leaders, because around 20 missionaries left from our zone this morning. So there are only 10 or so of us in the zone until Wednesday, then we have 22 scheduled to come in. We also have host duty this week so we will be escorting the new missionaries around, so hopefully i will be able to see some family friends. haha. A funny experience this week was during our study time. In our room there is one wall that is made up of windows and since I sit closest to it I find myself looking it a lot. Friday night there was a basketball game across the street so i was watching all the people walk by the building, I had my head on the window. Then down below a couple of people looked up, saw me, and waved. I couldn't help myself so I slowly raised my hand and put it on the window and slowly backed away. haha. We all laughed about that pretty good haha. Sunday is cool too. The services were in Portuguese so you really have no idea what is going on but you can still feel the spirit. We also have had the opportunity to teach an investigator twice already and we have another one tonight. Its amazing to see the progress on our Portuguese each time we teach a lesson. 

 Last night was movie night and we all watched the Character of Christ by Elder Bednar. If you haven't watched it you need to do so. The other missionaries are saying that it is on YouTube. It is around 2 hours but definitely the most eye opening talk I have ever heard. I encourage you all to watch it when you have the time, maybe tonight for FHE. It basically gives amazing examples of how Christlike Christ was, and how we can follow his example and always turn outward when the natural man would turn inwards.  It is very inspiring and i hope you will make time for Elder Bednar's message.

Pictures will be in a separate email.

Sua Amigo,

Elder Child

                   The first photo is of the elders in my district after we went to the temple this morning.​ 

The second one is all of the stuff the leaving elders left us. mostly food, but also a couple lint rollers haha.