Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 8:52 AM
Actually, rainy season was when I started in Anapolis. We´re going into dry season, but the clouds fill the skies every day with promise of a drop or two, which would be really nice. In Jundiai, we don´t have too much a problem with mud, but in the other half of my area, Alvorada, we have a huge problem with it.
I thought it was cold Sunday evening, but then we saw a thermometer which read 29 degrees! Which is about 84 back home. Can you imagine? I thought it was perfect weather, when in the old days I would die from the heat!
Life is often times like a drama here in Jundiai. Honestly, someone has to pick up on the idea of making at least an Anime about Missionary Work. Because this has to be the crazy time of my life. Every week somebody´s girlfriend ditched him, or someone else is dating, or there´s some Elder drooling about some Sister. (And hey, Sister Riggs, the Texan Sister, is "gente fina" as we say down here. (good folk.)) It´s always drama here on the mission.
And of course South America wasn´t hard hit! As Elder Nelson said on Wednesday, "This land is a chosen land, reserved for the seed of Joseph," and "The Gathering of Israel has begun, the Book of Mormon is the sign, and you are the ones chosen to bring Scattered Israel home."
My package hasn´t arrived yet. We have until the 11th for it to get here. After that, I don´t know when I´ll see it. But don´t worry about Mother´s day, as I´ll still be here in Anapolis. Speaking of which, I was thinking I´d call home around 3 PM here, which ought to be around 9 AM back home, right? But maybe I´ll be able to call at 8 or 9 PM, depending on when everyone is free. The reason?
The 9th of May is Mother´s Day here, and as a special present to our Mom´s, we´re getting ready a great huge baptismal ceremony in the whole city. We´re thinking of starting around 6 PM here (12 Noon) and it ought to go about an hour. This way, our city finally rises up on the map and we can all celebrate mother´s day, giving our Father in Heaven these new converts.
Sadly for you, Mom, this is going to be my last phone call on the mission. The 9th will be the last you´ll all hear my voice until I´m home safe in the airport. I believe the 26th is the official end of my mission, so the 27th is travel day and the 28th the day I get home. I don´t know how releasing a missionary works, but someone let the Stake President know I don´t want to keep my badge on until the 9th, when my licence expires.
As for Brazilian holidays, you´ve never seen a nation so bent on partying like the Brazilians. Serious. Remember that the Aztec´s partied two weeks at the end of the year? Their descendants party from December until after Carnaval.
You can make something with beans if you´d like, but it´s not necessary. I´ll surely want to eat a lot of beans and rice, and will have to adjust to the American custom of heavy dinners instead of heavy lunches. But you know how it is. Mom´s cooking is always best.
Since I don´t need my room until the end of the year, it´s totally okay. These days we´re painting our house, and I have to say, it´s not as easy, nor so hard, as it seems. We only have 3 rooms to paint, and we painted one today. By Mother´s day, we ought to be more or less done.
Oh, and just so everyone can get excited, I´m going to send a letter every week (money permitting) from now on. I´ll be acting on the advice of a very good friend of mine, one Elder Nelson. As I haven´t the time to describe everything today, I´ll send what happened in a letter. Elder Nelson, however, gave a condition. These letters have to be read with the family present. So whenever there´s a little time, call Megan, Colin, and Dad, sit them down, and read my letters home, okay? This is something an Apostle sent me to do, but it only works if you´re all listening when someone reads the letters. It´s part of the promise.
Love you all lots, gotta, go!
-Bryan
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Another Email - 4/20/10
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:43 AM
There are days when it´s hard for me to believe that spark still exists in some people. There are days when, honestly, I don´t have patience for some of the people I meet. I can´t believe, sometimes, the things I see men who are older, and ought to know better than I how to respectfully treat others, doing. It´s one thing when someone doesn´t want to hear. That´s frequent, and there are a good number of people who know how to respectfully excuse themselves from any committment with God, or His servants. But I often find myself tested in patience when someone, proclaiming loudly to be religious, proceeds to profane the name of the very Lord they claim to serve.
For example, one day we stopped to talk with an old man, sitting outside in the shade. No sooner had we said hello, than he replied "I´m catholic, and I don´t want to change." We responded that no one had even mentioned religion, and kindly asked him to point us in the direction of where we were going. He played the silent game and, used to this, we offered him the last chance, asking again. He simply got up said "I´m gonna go now." and took his chair with him.
I´ll be honest. This kind of thing ticks me off. I felt somewhat like James and John, who wanted to call down fire on the cities which rejected the Lord. However, I´ve always got to remind myself, it´s not I, but the Lord, who will judge them.
There are, also, many good people, who are willing to listen. Every day we find someone new who, even if they´ve just a small particle of faith, we try and take them as far as their faith will allow, and try to raise their faith up. An excellent example is Eliana, who we baptized during General Conference, who now invites her family to come and visit the church on Sunday, or Ireno, called Bishop, the neighbor of one of the sisters in our ward, who we´ve been calling out to church for a good time now.
The secret of Missionary work is this: Seek out the good, and leave the bad where you found it. Grampa always taught about rocks that ought to be left where their found. That´s what the bad part of the world is. But those who really want hear, those are the ones whose memory we´ll carry home with us. Who wants to hear, those are the ones Our Father will carry back home to Him.
If President´s putting me with people to straighten them out, I don´t think so. Rather, I think he´s putting ME with people, to straighten ME out, haha. Usually President only sends Missionaries to do such wacky things when they´re APs, as I´m not, I just take care of the city where President puts me. Until now, things are going fairly well, though we´ve still got a good fight to fight before the end of the month.
Speaking of which, I´ve got to send off my report to President Tobias now, so that everything can be put in order, then I have to run after a few forms. Oh, and, if time lasts, we´ve got to paint the house, haha.
There are days when it´s hard for me to believe that spark still exists in some people. There are days when, honestly, I don´t have patience for some of the people I meet. I can´t believe, sometimes, the things I see men who are older, and ought to know better than I how to respectfully treat others, doing. It´s one thing when someone doesn´t want to hear. That´s frequent, and there are a good number of people who know how to respectfully excuse themselves from any committment with God, or His servants. But I often find myself tested in patience when someone, proclaiming loudly to be religious, proceeds to profane the name of the very Lord they claim to serve.
For example, one day we stopped to talk with an old man, sitting outside in the shade. No sooner had we said hello, than he replied "I´m catholic, and I don´t want to change." We responded that no one had even mentioned religion, and kindly asked him to point us in the direction of where we were going. He played the silent game and, used to this, we offered him the last chance, asking again. He simply got up said "I´m gonna go now." and took his chair with him.
I´ll be honest. This kind of thing ticks me off. I felt somewhat like James and John, who wanted to call down fire on the cities which rejected the Lord. However, I´ve always got to remind myself, it´s not I, but the Lord, who will judge them.
There are, also, many good people, who are willing to listen. Every day we find someone new who, even if they´ve just a small particle of faith, we try and take them as far as their faith will allow, and try to raise their faith up. An excellent example is Eliana, who we baptized during General Conference, who now invites her family to come and visit the church on Sunday, or Ireno, called Bishop, the neighbor of one of the sisters in our ward, who we´ve been calling out to church for a good time now.
The secret of Missionary work is this: Seek out the good, and leave the bad where you found it. Grampa always taught about rocks that ought to be left where their found. That´s what the bad part of the world is. But those who really want hear, those are the ones whose memory we´ll carry home with us. Who wants to hear, those are the ones Our Father will carry back home to Him.
If President´s putting me with people to straighten them out, I don´t think so. Rather, I think he´s putting ME with people, to straighten ME out, haha. Usually President only sends Missionaries to do such wacky things when they´re APs, as I´m not, I just take care of the city where President puts me. Until now, things are going fairly well, though we´ve still got a good fight to fight before the end of the month.
Speaking of which, I´ve got to send off my report to President Tobias now, so that everything can be put in order, then I have to run after a few forms. Oh, and, if time lasts, we´ve got to paint the house, haha.
Email - 4/20/10
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2010 7:10 AM
It finally started to rain again in Anapolis! We passed almost two weeks without any rain here, and let me tell you, it got to be pretty darn dry here. I don´t know which was worse, walking around down-town with the blazing pavement and the glass from the buildings reflecting, or wandering the jungle at the edge of town with all that freaking jungle heat.
This week, we got the Swine-Flu Shot! Yay! Now I can´t die from it! It was actually pretty cool. All over town there are tiny little neighborhood hospitals, right, as if this were a Korean Drama and you could carry your soon-to-be girlfriend on your shoulders to the hospital, and during the week they did a campaign to innoculate the greatest number possible of persons from 20-29 years of age, so we went and got our shots, and I didn´t even cry!
The nurses also had a lot of fun as soon as they saw my documents and found out I was an American. I guess they could tell I wasn´t sure if my documents would count, and joked around with me, telling me that I´d have to fill out a bunch of forms, haha.
Well, until now, I haven´t received my package. We´ve got all this week, next week, and the week after next for it to arrive, then it´s transfer time again. Funny how quickly transfers come now adays, huh? When I started my mission, they would take FOREVER, and now it´s like a blink. Granted that the April-May transfer is always the 5 week transfer, but hey, what can you do?
I? Catch someone? Never! Catching is for Pokémon. I only fish, not catch, people. I´m only saying, it´s important to take a night of the week, sit down, and talk about the gospel. I believe that doing that, we can all strengthen ourselves far more in the gospel. It was one of the things I most observed during this last general conference.
I talked with Sister Tobias about it, and she says it´s more likely my eyes are just being irritated because of the dryness, and that I only need to buy a certain medicine. I will have to get new glasses, but since it´ll only be a year in June, and I come home in October, there´s no real reason for me to renew on the mission, unless it becomes really bad.
Hey, when I get home, the harvest will be pretty much over, huh? You´ll have to can some stuff because I´m seriously dying to eat a dinner that isn´t rice, beans, spaghetti, tomato salad, fried beef, chicken, with the occasional mashed potatos. Not that I don´t like Brazilian food, nor that it´s ALWAYS the same, in fact, I really, really do like rice with beans, and could honestly go the rest of my days eating the two (provided variations were made), but seriously, no matter how much you focus in the work, and lose yourself in the Lord, and put off the Natural Man, NO MAN ESCAPES THE LONGING FOR MOM´S COOKING.
Funny that the title of that movie really doesn´t translate. "The Middle of the World" in Portuguese is "O Meio do Mundo" and "O Caminho das Nuvens" Is "The Way of the Clouds". But I bet the film probably wasn´t too great. Brazilians are the first to admit they put more effort into their "Novellas" than films.
I dunno if I´ll sound like a Brazilian when I get home. It´s funny, actually, there are a lot of people who tell me I speak well enough to fool most people, especially since, for an American, I don´t look the part (Brazilian conception of how an American looks: Colin or Matt, not Bryan. Or rather, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, pale skin, and, preferably tall as well. None of this dark hair, brown eyes. Add in the tan I gained down here, I don´t look one bit like most people think an american looks.) The problem is that, when I speak quickly, I wind up confusing a lot of sounds and words. I have a decent knowledge of how to speak, but pronunciation is one of the hardest parts.
Hey, wait a minute, Katie has dark hair. As far as I remember, her husband does, too. How come this kid is blonde? Oh silly Barney family genetics!
Tomorrow Élder Russel M. Nelson, Élder Claúdio M. Costa, and Stanley G. Ellis are going to be in Goiania, and we´re going to be there! I´m super excited. It isn´t every mission in the world that receives three general authorities in one week! I can´t wait to be there and see and hear from them. It´s going to be so great.
We´re running around like crazy ducks today to get everything ready. To have the van in order, to have our Zone ready, to have all our clothes and papers and scriptures all neat and tidy so that, tomorrow, we can receive a prophet in the quality of a prophet.
This is gonna be an awesome week.
Love,
Bryan
It finally started to rain again in Anapolis! We passed almost two weeks without any rain here, and let me tell you, it got to be pretty darn dry here. I don´t know which was worse, walking around down-town with the blazing pavement and the glass from the buildings reflecting, or wandering the jungle at the edge of town with all that freaking jungle heat.
This week, we got the Swine-Flu Shot! Yay! Now I can´t die from it! It was actually pretty cool. All over town there are tiny little neighborhood hospitals, right, as if this were a Korean Drama and you could carry your soon-to-be girlfriend on your shoulders to the hospital, and during the week they did a campaign to innoculate the greatest number possible of persons from 20-29 years of age, so we went and got our shots, and I didn´t even cry!
The nurses also had a lot of fun as soon as they saw my documents and found out I was an American. I guess they could tell I wasn´t sure if my documents would count, and joked around with me, telling me that I´d have to fill out a bunch of forms, haha.
Well, until now, I haven´t received my package. We´ve got all this week, next week, and the week after next for it to arrive, then it´s transfer time again. Funny how quickly transfers come now adays, huh? When I started my mission, they would take FOREVER, and now it´s like a blink. Granted that the April-May transfer is always the 5 week transfer, but hey, what can you do?
I? Catch someone? Never! Catching is for Pokémon. I only fish, not catch, people. I´m only saying, it´s important to take a night of the week, sit down, and talk about the gospel. I believe that doing that, we can all strengthen ourselves far more in the gospel. It was one of the things I most observed during this last general conference.
I talked with Sister Tobias about it, and she says it´s more likely my eyes are just being irritated because of the dryness, and that I only need to buy a certain medicine. I will have to get new glasses, but since it´ll only be a year in June, and I come home in October, there´s no real reason for me to renew on the mission, unless it becomes really bad.
Hey, when I get home, the harvest will be pretty much over, huh? You´ll have to can some stuff because I´m seriously dying to eat a dinner that isn´t rice, beans, spaghetti, tomato salad, fried beef, chicken, with the occasional mashed potatos. Not that I don´t like Brazilian food, nor that it´s ALWAYS the same, in fact, I really, really do like rice with beans, and could honestly go the rest of my days eating the two (provided variations were made), but seriously, no matter how much you focus in the work, and lose yourself in the Lord, and put off the Natural Man, NO MAN ESCAPES THE LONGING FOR MOM´S COOKING.
Funny that the title of that movie really doesn´t translate. "The Middle of the World" in Portuguese is "O Meio do Mundo" and "O Caminho das Nuvens" Is "The Way of the Clouds". But I bet the film probably wasn´t too great. Brazilians are the first to admit they put more effort into their "Novellas" than films.
I dunno if I´ll sound like a Brazilian when I get home. It´s funny, actually, there are a lot of people who tell me I speak well enough to fool most people, especially since, for an American, I don´t look the part (Brazilian conception of how an American looks: Colin or Matt, not Bryan. Or rather, Blonde hair, Blue eyes, pale skin, and, preferably tall as well. None of this dark hair, brown eyes. Add in the tan I gained down here, I don´t look one bit like most people think an american looks.) The problem is that, when I speak quickly, I wind up confusing a lot of sounds and words. I have a decent knowledge of how to speak, but pronunciation is one of the hardest parts.
Hey, wait a minute, Katie has dark hair. As far as I remember, her husband does, too. How come this kid is blonde? Oh silly Barney family genetics!
Tomorrow Élder Russel M. Nelson, Élder Claúdio M. Costa, and Stanley G. Ellis are going to be in Goiania, and we´re going to be there! I´m super excited. It isn´t every mission in the world that receives three general authorities in one week! I can´t wait to be there and see and hear from them. It´s going to be so great.
We´re running around like crazy ducks today to get everything ready. To have the van in order, to have our Zone ready, to have all our clothes and papers and scriptures all neat and tidy so that, tomorrow, we can receive a prophet in the quality of a prophet.
This is gonna be an awesome week.
Love,
Bryan
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Email - 4/13/10
Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 8:04 AM
Packages arrive generally without problem. What I´ve seen done until now. They arrive in the post office, and the post office sends a little notice to my house, then I have to go and find the box. The reason packages shouldn´t go to the office anymore is because at Christmas time there were so many the filled the office to over-flowing.
Elder Vitorino is my 17th companion since November 5th, 2008. Until now, only Elders Eliason and Barbosa stayed more than 6 weeks with me. Elder Lalli holds the record for least time, having stayed a mere week. I just hope these things aren´t a reflection of dating afterwards, huh? No girl sticking with me more than six weeks, yikes!
Elder Holland´s talks are always my favorites in General Conference, ever since I started really paying attention to Conference. One of my after mission goals is to watch Conference in the Conference Center next year. For now, I´ll have to content myself with the fact that Russel M. Nelson, Claudio M. Costa and Stanley G. Ellis are going to visit our mission next week. I´m super excited to see these three holy men in our missions, and to receive the blessings and instructions that they will bring with them. I have to prepare a lot, because, well, that´s what it says in Matthew 10:41. He who receiveth a Prophet in the quality of a prophet, receives a prophet´s reward.
Wow, sounds like things are kinda busy back home, huh? Katie´s got a job, Colin´s studying, Megan´s studying, Dad working like crazy, and the prodigal son who ran off to Brazil. At least there´s Chingu to snuggle up to, right?
Ah-ha! I caught you now, Barney family. What night in the week are you guys doing Family Home Evening, then? It´s one of the things I´ve learned on the Mission is essential. I think it was Elder Costa or President Packer who talked about it last October. Family Home Evening is more important than Breakfast, yo!
I guess Chingu´s not really that great a conversationalist, huh? But hey, in 7 months I´ll be around to help out on Monday nights and eat with you. I´m not in any school at the moment, nor do I have a job, nor any other appointment, so here in 7 months, you can count on my company.
I found out this week something funny. Pres. and Sis. Tobias don´t accept calls from Missionaries on Mondays and Fridays, because Monday is Family Home Evening, and Friday is Date Night! Haha. It´s so funny to think about Pres. and Sis. out on a date.
Oh, and I think I have to trade glasses, my eyes are hurting a lot again these days.
But outside that, I´m all cool.
Love,
Bryan
Packages arrive generally without problem. What I´ve seen done until now. They arrive in the post office, and the post office sends a little notice to my house, then I have to go and find the box. The reason packages shouldn´t go to the office anymore is because at Christmas time there were so many the filled the office to over-flowing.
Elder Vitorino is my 17th companion since November 5th, 2008. Until now, only Elders Eliason and Barbosa stayed more than 6 weeks with me. Elder Lalli holds the record for least time, having stayed a mere week. I just hope these things aren´t a reflection of dating afterwards, huh? No girl sticking with me more than six weeks, yikes!
Elder Holland´s talks are always my favorites in General Conference, ever since I started really paying attention to Conference. One of my after mission goals is to watch Conference in the Conference Center next year. For now, I´ll have to content myself with the fact that Russel M. Nelson, Claudio M. Costa and Stanley G. Ellis are going to visit our mission next week. I´m super excited to see these three holy men in our missions, and to receive the blessings and instructions that they will bring with them. I have to prepare a lot, because, well, that´s what it says in Matthew 10:41. He who receiveth a Prophet in the quality of a prophet, receives a prophet´s reward.
Wow, sounds like things are kinda busy back home, huh? Katie´s got a job, Colin´s studying, Megan´s studying, Dad working like crazy, and the prodigal son who ran off to Brazil. At least there´s Chingu to snuggle up to, right?
Ah-ha! I caught you now, Barney family. What night in the week are you guys doing Family Home Evening, then? It´s one of the things I´ve learned on the Mission is essential. I think it was Elder Costa or President Packer who talked about it last October. Family Home Evening is more important than Breakfast, yo!
I guess Chingu´s not really that great a conversationalist, huh? But hey, in 7 months I´ll be around to help out on Monday nights and eat with you. I´m not in any school at the moment, nor do I have a job, nor any other appointment, so here in 7 months, you can count on my company.
I found out this week something funny. Pres. and Sis. Tobias don´t accept calls from Missionaries on Mondays and Fridays, because Monday is Family Home Evening, and Friday is Date Night! Haha. It´s so funny to think about Pres. and Sis. out on a date.
Oh, and I think I have to trade glasses, my eyes are hurting a lot again these days.
But outside that, I´m all cool.
Love,
Bryan
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Another Email - 4/6/10
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 10:37 AM
Wow, here the weather continues normal. SUPER HOT, then SUPER WET. Anapolis you can tell it´ll rain when it gets really hot. The hotter it is, the more it´ll rain. And when it rains strong, there´s nothing to do but hide in some little corner and wait for it to pass, or go looking for the house of someone you know or are teaching, and wait it out there. And they call this "Autumn/Winter".
It´s great to hear that the Elders are doing such an excellent job of bringing families to the Church back home. These days we are being taught more and more to focus on bringing families to the Church, and not just individuals. After all, Salvation might come Individually, but Exaltation comes in Family. I´m glad to hear that your weekend went so well. Mine was excellent, too! Eliana was baptized between sessions of General Conference, and it was truly a spiritual ceremony. All the Elders present sang, "Nearer My God to Thee." It was very cool.
It´s been interesting serving here in Anapolis, and I look forward to this transfer here as well. Elder Vitorino is a newer missionary, and he´s really excited to get on the work, full of faith and the spirit, this is sure to be a great five weeks. Certainly there is a family waiting here to hear our message. Pres. Tobias talked recently about how, in all of our callings to teach, whether they be as parents, as missionaries, or as simply primary or home teachers, every person we teach we teach because we had combined with them in the pre-mortal life to do so. Of course, if, by unworthiness, we don´t teach someone, that, too, will frustrate these antemortal covenants we made.
You don´t need to worry about me losing focus here, haha. I´ve got to be at the top of my game in the next few months, to help prepare the mission for the transition of presidents, and also so that I can come home and say that I worked faithfully to save myself and to save others during these two years.
Love,
Bryan
Wow, here the weather continues normal. SUPER HOT, then SUPER WET. Anapolis you can tell it´ll rain when it gets really hot. The hotter it is, the more it´ll rain. And when it rains strong, there´s nothing to do but hide in some little corner and wait for it to pass, or go looking for the house of someone you know or are teaching, and wait it out there. And they call this "Autumn/Winter".
It´s great to hear that the Elders are doing such an excellent job of bringing families to the Church back home. These days we are being taught more and more to focus on bringing families to the Church, and not just individuals. After all, Salvation might come Individually, but Exaltation comes in Family. I´m glad to hear that your weekend went so well. Mine was excellent, too! Eliana was baptized between sessions of General Conference, and it was truly a spiritual ceremony. All the Elders present sang, "Nearer My God to Thee." It was very cool.
It´s been interesting serving here in Anapolis, and I look forward to this transfer here as well. Elder Vitorino is a newer missionary, and he´s really excited to get on the work, full of faith and the spirit, this is sure to be a great five weeks. Certainly there is a family waiting here to hear our message. Pres. Tobias talked recently about how, in all of our callings to teach, whether they be as parents, as missionaries, or as simply primary or home teachers, every person we teach we teach because we had combined with them in the pre-mortal life to do so. Of course, if, by unworthiness, we don´t teach someone, that, too, will frustrate these antemortal covenants we made.
You don´t need to worry about me losing focus here, haha. I´ve got to be at the top of my game in the next few months, to help prepare the mission for the transition of presidents, and also so that I can come home and say that I worked faithfully to save myself and to save others during these two years.
Love,
Bryan
Email - 4/6/10
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 7:05 AM
Well, big news, huh?
I was NOT transferred, haha! I´m entering into my 5th transfer in Anapolis, which means I´ll have more or less 7 months at the end of this transfer. The bad news is that Elder Lalli WAS transferred, and that it´ll probably be a good while before I see him again. Which sucks, since in the single week we were together, we got to be really good friends. Elder Carlos was transferred to Balneario, in Goiania (it´s the ward on the other side of Jardim Curitiba, where I served.) and Elder Dutra is going home. He sends many thank yous for the aftershave, as it proved to be of a higher quality than what you can buy around here.
My new companion´s name is Elder Vitorino, I´ll see him a bit later today. Probably I´ll send you an e-mail later today, since I have to log on again to send one to Pres. Tobias (I forgot my numbers at home, haha.) Elder Vitorino is my 17th companion in the mission. President doesn´t seem to like to leave me with anyone for much time, haha. I´ve only had 2 companions in the whole mission stay more than 6 weeks with me!
I did, indeed, get my package. Thank you so much for the photos! It´s so weird to see pictures from home. The whole world has gone on in one direction, while I went on in another. I´ve been getting letters from my friends too, and, well, it´s weird, really. Katie´s married. Megan and Colin in college, Jessica´s a farm girl, and she says she´s lost some 20 pounds (how will I recognize her?) Or, for that matter, how will I recognize Dad? Don´t tell him, but his mustache is whiter. Sharelle finally got a job, Kelsey and Josh are doing who knows what.
And here I am, like always, off in my own dream world, which is so utterly different, yet so utterly similar. It´ll be hard to leave Brazil, as this place, I don´t know how to describe it, but it´s become a part of me. Portuguese comes far more naturally to my mind than English, rice and beans are necessary at lunch time, and I honestly can´t say I really remember things like Sacrament Prayers and Scripture Mastery in English anymore. All the knowledge I acquired in 12 years of schooling doesn´t compare, even in the slightest, to what I´ve gained on the Mission. I honestly doubt that, any one, knowing what a Mission really brings to your life, would never choose anything over it.
This Sunday, at 3 in the afternoon, so around 9 o´clock back home, we had the baptismal services for Eliana. It was really one of the most spiritual baptisms I´ve ever been to. Her boyfriend said the opening prayer, her best friend in the church said the closing.Her cousin was there to watch. During the interval after the baptism but before the close, we watched a brief musical video about Jesus Christ, and at the end, all the Elders who were present in the Chapel at the Conference sang "Nearer My God to Thee (Mais Perto Quero Estar)". This is the first time I baptize someone during General Conference, and it was absolutely worth the work and wait. This weekend was definitely one of the best in my life.
A new family in the ward, huh? That´s awesome! Here in Brazil we´re working really, really hard to find families to baptize, so that the Church, which is rapidly growing in membership, can also rapidly expand in Priesthood power and authority. I felt touched by the talk offered at conference about honoring fathers. It was interesting for us to reflect that, though Elder Nelson of the Twelve will be visiting this month, there is no missionary in the city who far, far sooner, would love to see his own father.
But if you didn´t watch Saturday afternoon, you missed Elder Holland´s talk! Elder Holland´s talk, like always, was AWESOME. But you can always just read Jacob 2 and it´ll be the same thing. We didn´t get to see the Priesthood Session because it wasn´t going to be in our chapel, only downtown, and there was no way we could get there, get to lunch, and then to the Sunday Session on time if we tried. So we stayed home.
It was excellent for us to be able to see Conference in English. I really believe in what was said in Conference this year. In William Tynsdale´s day, and even as far back as in Mormon´s day, men and women were tortured and killed and slaughtered to have Scriptures in their hands, that they could read and touch. People were scripturally illiterate then because the scriptures were withheld. Today we have so many, many scriptures, and all of them easily accessible in our own languages, and yet people are still scripturally illiterate, not because they can´t read the scriptures, but because they won´t!
I love General Conference. It´s truly a marvelous thing. It´s one of the things that most shows the truth of this church. That the Prophets and Apostles and other anointed of the Lord call all the Church in all the world together, and teach them that which God would that they know.
I´ve got to split for now, but I hope your Easter was excellent. Mine surely was.
Love,
Bryan
Well, big news, huh?
I was NOT transferred, haha! I´m entering into my 5th transfer in Anapolis, which means I´ll have more or less 7 months at the end of this transfer. The bad news is that Elder Lalli WAS transferred, and that it´ll probably be a good while before I see him again. Which sucks, since in the single week we were together, we got to be really good friends. Elder Carlos was transferred to Balneario, in Goiania (it´s the ward on the other side of Jardim Curitiba, where I served.) and Elder Dutra is going home. He sends many thank yous for the aftershave, as it proved to be of a higher quality than what you can buy around here.
My new companion´s name is Elder Vitorino, I´ll see him a bit later today. Probably I´ll send you an e-mail later today, since I have to log on again to send one to Pres. Tobias (I forgot my numbers at home, haha.) Elder Vitorino is my 17th companion in the mission. President doesn´t seem to like to leave me with anyone for much time, haha. I´ve only had 2 companions in the whole mission stay more than 6 weeks with me!
I did, indeed, get my package. Thank you so much for the photos! It´s so weird to see pictures from home. The whole world has gone on in one direction, while I went on in another. I´ve been getting letters from my friends too, and, well, it´s weird, really. Katie´s married. Megan and Colin in college, Jessica´s a farm girl, and she says she´s lost some 20 pounds (how will I recognize her?) Or, for that matter, how will I recognize Dad? Don´t tell him, but his mustache is whiter. Sharelle finally got a job, Kelsey and Josh are doing who knows what.
And here I am, like always, off in my own dream world, which is so utterly different, yet so utterly similar. It´ll be hard to leave Brazil, as this place, I don´t know how to describe it, but it´s become a part of me. Portuguese comes far more naturally to my mind than English, rice and beans are necessary at lunch time, and I honestly can´t say I really remember things like Sacrament Prayers and Scripture Mastery in English anymore. All the knowledge I acquired in 12 years of schooling doesn´t compare, even in the slightest, to what I´ve gained on the Mission. I honestly doubt that, any one, knowing what a Mission really brings to your life, would never choose anything over it.
This Sunday, at 3 in the afternoon, so around 9 o´clock back home, we had the baptismal services for Eliana. It was really one of the most spiritual baptisms I´ve ever been to. Her boyfriend said the opening prayer, her best friend in the church said the closing.Her cousin was there to watch. During the interval after the baptism but before the close, we watched a brief musical video about Jesus Christ, and at the end, all the Elders who were present in the Chapel at the Conference sang "Nearer My God to Thee (Mais Perto Quero Estar)". This is the first time I baptize someone during General Conference, and it was absolutely worth the work and wait. This weekend was definitely one of the best in my life.
A new family in the ward, huh? That´s awesome! Here in Brazil we´re working really, really hard to find families to baptize, so that the Church, which is rapidly growing in membership, can also rapidly expand in Priesthood power and authority. I felt touched by the talk offered at conference about honoring fathers. It was interesting for us to reflect that, though Elder Nelson of the Twelve will be visiting this month, there is no missionary in the city who far, far sooner, would love to see his own father.
But if you didn´t watch Saturday afternoon, you missed Elder Holland´s talk! Elder Holland´s talk, like always, was AWESOME. But you can always just read Jacob 2 and it´ll be the same thing. We didn´t get to see the Priesthood Session because it wasn´t going to be in our chapel, only downtown, and there was no way we could get there, get to lunch, and then to the Sunday Session on time if we tried. So we stayed home.
It was excellent for us to be able to see Conference in English. I really believe in what was said in Conference this year. In William Tynsdale´s day, and even as far back as in Mormon´s day, men and women were tortured and killed and slaughtered to have Scriptures in their hands, that they could read and touch. People were scripturally illiterate then because the scriptures were withheld. Today we have so many, many scriptures, and all of them easily accessible in our own languages, and yet people are still scripturally illiterate, not because they can´t read the scriptures, but because they won´t!
I love General Conference. It´s truly a marvelous thing. It´s one of the things that most shows the truth of this church. That the Prophets and Apostles and other anointed of the Lord call all the Church in all the world together, and teach them that which God would that they know.
I´ve got to split for now, but I hope your Easter was excellent. Mine surely was.
Love,
Bryan
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