12 Sep 2011 - Jardim América Area (Dad)

[Our stake will be fasting for rain next Fast Sunday.] Fasting for rain? No then you guys won't break the record! :) Is it really that bad? You stay inside all day, I bet you don't even realize that it is hot outside.

I bought a camera already. It was the cheapest that I could find, that wasn't a piece of junk. I got a discount for paying in cash and I persuaded the lady to do it for less. Well kind of...I told her I had to go and get my money and she said No No!! I'll take off 20 more! I guess she thought I was running away to buy somewhere else. Oh well discounts! It's usually the opposite, when they see an American the price magically doubles. It's a kodak, it's pretty cool. I got it for R$320. Too bad I bought it before the dollar went up 10 cents darn. Everyone tells me that the US is plummeting into despair, but as long as the dollar keeps going up I'm good. I already have all my pictures backed up on my USB and DVDs, maybe one day I'll send them.

[I told him about an experience I had in Nicaragua teaching a group of argumentative college kids where I ended up just stopping, bearing my testimony, and leaving.] Those college kids never want to listen to anything. They think they are soo smart :) Once again the area is hard and it is hard to keep my chin up when everything is not working out at all. We try and try and nothing happens and all the members just turn their heads and don't pay attention. It's been awhile since I've had baptisms, which is rare here. Baptisms makes the work so much easier, it's so much more fun to work and do stuff when you actually meet your goal. I'm just chugging along, but who knows what will happen. Sometimes Satan tells me that I can't do it, that I don't know enough yet to help the people etc. I have to say that sometimez I believe him. It's hard but I'm praying and waiting.

5 Sep 2011 - Jardim América Area (Dad)

[Fort Worth currently in second place on 100 degree day record for year, but finally dropped below 100.] Living it up in the heat. Texas is getting cooler and Fortaleza starts the dry season, the best of all seasons. Too bad I switched my shoes, the ones with the holes didn't work too well in the rainy season. Good bye to the rain until December.

 

I have some bad news....remember the bat attack a month ago? It happened again. This time it was an angry mother bat trying to save her child. The other one was random bats falling from the ceiling. My companion was acting all manly because he didn't know the dangers of bats like I do ;) He thought it was a bird. When he saw that it was a bat he screamed and dove on the ground and army crawled everywhere. This bat flew and swooped at us, definitely going for the eyes. Finally we got it out but then we realized that it had a baby inside. So we got the baby on the broomstick and cracked the door open and stuck out the broomstick... Whew. This is clearly the most dangerous mission of them all. I can only imagine the jaguar attacks that the elders have to deal with in the Amazons ;)

 

This week we had an investigator ask us why we didn't tell miracles and crazy cool things and why we all say the same thing during fast and testimony meeting. We tried to explain to them why but they didn't really understand. They assumed that stories like that would be more powerful to convert people. We talked about Jesus and how people saw Him do miracles and still didn't believe. The crazy old lady that insists on battling every word I say was there babbling on for hours. Sometimes you just want to throw garden chairs at people like that, but I can't.... So I was praying and asking that the Lord would help me bear a powerful, simple testimony to show them the power that it has. So He helped me and I did just that. It was wonderful. They all just went silent as a bore my simple testimony that I know without a doubt that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet called of God. I know these things because My Almighty Father in Heaven revealed these things to me through His Holy Spirit. No miracles or grandiose things testified that to me. I was told! The Holy Spirit gave me that certainty. Oh how I know it is true and nothing is greater than that! This is the true Church that Jesus Christ put upon this Earth. That is my testimony, I embrace it, I share it, I try every day to increase it, I need it.

28 Aug 2011 - Jardim América Area (Dad)

Man I was hoping that football season started already. Is this the year that BYU is going to play Texas?  I hear from a kid here from Oklahoma that OU is ranked #1. I'm assuming they will still play the traditional game against Uof U.

 

Hey ask grandma if they know any Bromley's from Concord. I think they lived there but now they live in Danville. I assume you know where that is since you grew up in Concord. There is a missionary from there here with me. His parents names are David and Debbie. DO IT.

 

This was a good week. We have a few families that were are trying to help out. This area has a lot of families in fact. It's a lot nicer to work and baptize families. It's every missionary's dream! I don't have much to say this week. We had Zone Conference and President burned all of us because some missionaries are rebelling under the new command. He told us that a General Authority is coming to visit the missoin too so that is cool. They haven't 'closed the deal' so he doesn't know who is coming yet or when. Well that's my boring news of the week.

21 Aug 2011 - Jardim América Area (Dad)

[In answer to your questions from last week: Michael says he drove a delivery truck at BYU on snow, so apparently that qualifies him for winter driving. CC stands for Comfort Coupe. Go figure, since a coupe is a two-door and the CC is not. They claim it is like a coupe because of its raked roof. Marketing folk. Hey, VW is the same company that has had a Thing, Beetle, Rabbit, Golf. So CC doesn't sound so bad in comparison. I don't know exactly what the missionary that I mentioned who brought goodies back from Brazil brought. I remember mention of a jaguar or something like that. Maybe you could bring a pet poison arrow frog or piranha.] Delivery truck...van same thing. I'll bet they handle the same in the snow. Oh I see a lot of Golfs here in Brazil. They even have a Gol here too. They are both equally as ugly. Well I won't be bringing back any Jaguar pelts but maybe I can bring some rugged city rat pelts home. They have myths that some of these lakes around here have piranha, but I doubt it. They also tell me they find huge snakes in the lakes too. Personally I doubt anything can live in the trash dumps err lakes that they have here. The rivers and streams are really sewage....

 

Did football season start yet?!?!

 

[I mentioned I walked the trails on the summer ski slope during our visit to Solitude while Michael rode a mountain bike.] How do you go mountain biking without a bike? He flies down the mountain in 4 minutes and you have to walk all the way down? They ride double on the bikes here. In fact they can usually fit 4-5 on the bike. If it's on a motorcycle I like to call them 'eternal families' because the whole family will die together and go to heaven together. (you can probably exclude that last part from the blog post ) >:) [Oops. ;-)] Too bad you didn't get any footage of him sliding down the mountain face first for about 3 feet. That's real mountain biking.

 

[Michael and I drove straight through from Fort Worth to Salt Lake City, with a three hour nap at a Wyoming truck parking area.] Never send two tight fists on a road trip together. They won't stop to sleep or to eat anything. Watch out, those Wyoming truck stops are shady places. [No chipmunk hunting like Jeffrey did on his "man trip," just sandwiches for us.] Well eating chipmunks would have made the trip better, but you can try that on the way back home.

 

My new area is rich, bling bling and for some reason all the members are asking me for dollars even though they have gold watches and Ipods (which are extremely expensive here ) In my last much poorer areas nobody asked me for money....rich people jeeze. Speaking of extremely expensive...I looked at the cameras here and cameras with AA batteries are R$ 300ish and if I want to upgrade to lithium battery thats a R$500- R$700 camera. It would be cheaper to send disposable cameras from America.

 

Being senior is a lot different. When I was a junior I wasn't really worried about anything and I just let my senior do his thing. I have to think a lot more now and I feel a lot more responsible for our numbers and everything. It's really good though. It has definitely made me a more humble person. I think about the investigators and I'm praying for help always. Praying so I can teach the people the right things and that the Lord may guide me. It's hard enough being in this area, but now I'm responsible for everything ;) It's fine though, I feel like I'm doing everything that I can.

14 Aug 2011 - Jardim América Area (Mom)

The week was a good week. It was a little sad since it was my last week in the area. Transfers again! I'm in Jardim América with Elder R. Santos. He too is from São Paulo, like almost everyone else. The area is small which is good; I don't have to walk as much. I don't know much about him yet. Oh yeah I'm Senior now...took me a while but I finally made it. I'm just chugging along. I loved my last area so much and I was only there for 5 weeks. It is definitely one of the my favorite places in the whole entire world.

[I am excited because one of the little boys from summer school has been transferred to Park Glen Elementary. He reminds me so much of you.] Does he have a chili bowl hair cut? If not, he's just an impostor! That's cool though, little kids are really cool. When you work with them it is easy to see why we need to become more like them. Oh I just remembered something. Evan's mom went back to school to become a teacher and she is old. She still got hired though, so there is hope for you. I think she teaches 2nd grade or something. Today we had transfers and a family from the ward took me to the chapel. They brought the little kids. The poor little kids were crying when they had to say goodbye. Then their mom started crying and even the dad. They are the 1st people that have done that, well at least that I saw. I love them so much. They were already crying on Saturday when I told them I would leave. The little 5 year old boy kept asking when I was going to leave. He wanted me to spin him too (I pick them up and spin them). Poor kids. I say it a lot, but as I have more time on the mission I learn to love the people more. I was only there for 5 weeks and I love them as much as the other people that I knew for 4.5 months. The love I have for them is indescribable! I'm happy, happier than I have ever been. I love 'em.

14 Aug 2011 - Jardim América Area (Dad)

[I mentioned someone in the ward said their son brought back some cool stuff from Brazil.] What did he get from Brazil? I've got some cool key chains and some soccer shirts. Someone gave me a cup with a lid so I could keep it in my backpack. Does that meet the cool standard? I'll go shopping near the end of my mission. I hear Havaianas (flip-flops) are popular in America now. They are only $5 here. I got some with little Brazilian flag on them. Those are a little more expensive though.

I didn't get a new camera yet, I can only go on P-day since the store was out of my area.

Good news is that I got transferred and there is a super walmart-like store here. So I should be able to get a camera there. My new companion is from São Paulo. He's got 6 months....yep I'm a senior. Took me 1 year and 2 months...kids in my group are ZL and Assistants already. Ugly duckling anyone? Just kidding. I'm happy for them. Were are in Jardim América....it's weird because it looks nothing like an american garden here...My last area was hard to leave. They are great people and I love them so much. One of my favorite families in the whole world took me to the chapel for transfers. The 2 little kids, ages 5 and 8, were crying when I went to say goodbye. Then their parents started to tear up. I tried to be manly but they got a few tears out of me. They are special people and I'll miss them. I can feel a bit of the love that Christ feels for all of us when I think of these people. Yesterday they invited me to bear my testimony and it was going well. I told them God loved them. I told them that Jesus loved them. As soon as I said that I loved them, I just couldn't speak. It came out of nowhere and I got all choked up. This is the Lord's work. I do love it here, I love the Gospel, and I love God's chosen people of Fortaleza, Brazil. I know this is the best place ever. I hope I can get better so I can be a better senior, a better Jeffrey, and a better missionary.

7 Aug 2011 - Jardim Castelão Area (Mom)

[Today Paul LeFleur bore his testimony and likened life to his experience at the beach this past week. He got caught in a riptide while in Florida. He said it is like life. You try hard and still end up going backward. But as long as you are trying as hard as you can, you make it back to shore. He said he had a boggy board, which would be the Holy Ghost. Adversity (riptide) comes out of nowhere and if we have the skills we can overcome it..] My last companion was telling me about rip tides and stuff like that. He is from Corpus Christi so he use to surf and stuff like that. So his analogy makes sense to me :) It's a good one though. I thought of one one of these days, but in my old age I have forgotten it :) We are challenged by the Prophets and stuff to think of real life examples to help us teach so that the people can understand better. If I ever teach a surfer, maybe I'll use that analogy. I might have to learn some new vocab though...