January 24th, 2011

Pres Prud is good.  It has been freaking hot this last week with a few very big rainstorms.  Some days it will rain all day and other days no.  Some days we will wake up and it is raining.  We walk to church in the rain, pick up our investigators in the rain. and then after church it stops raining and is 105 degrees the rest of the day.  (This is what happened to us yesterday.)

Teaching things are going good.  Juliana, we are set to baptize her on Saturday.  On Friday we taught her about priesthood blessings.  She said she would think about it and pray about it.  Yesterday she asked us to give her a blessing and it was such a wonderful experience.  I had the opportunity to give the blessing and during it the spirit was so so so strong.  I have so much faith in Juliana, I feel so strong she will be able to beat this addiction that she has.

Carol is doing great also.  She is dating a less active member, but his kids family is way strong in the church.  She has been coming to church with them for a very long time, but hasn't felt ready to be baptized.  She has been progressing a ton.  We challenged her to be baptized on Saturday and she accepted our challenge!

We are, also, teaching a lady named Madalena.  She is the step mom of a kid who just left on his mission.  She is way cool,  she just needs to stop drinking coffee and get married.  Also, we found Daira on Saturday and she came to church with us on Sunday.  She has a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation, which is very, very good.

Yes, Mom, I am really safe here in Pres Prud.  I have never felt afraid or been in a situation that was bad for me.  The Brazillions really have a lot of respect for us as missionaries.  They are very kind.

Thank you for everything. I am truly so grateful for opportunity I have been given to be here in Brazil.

January 17, 2011



Esterla, Marcio, Carol, Luiz, Madalena, Juliana, Camila, Elder Van Orden and Me



We have not been affected by the flooding, most of the rain has been on the coast and not inland.  So, we haven't had to worry yet.  The last two days have been over 110 degrees, so yeah, I'm dying of heat.  Haha
This week was really good.  We had a Family Home Evening with Juliana and Carol and it was way good.  Sister Madalena gave a solid message about obedience to the commandments.  The next day we did the pre-baptism interview with Juliana. We found out that she has a problem with smoking and she has been afraid to tell us.  She told us she had been smoking 20 cigarettes a day and now was down to ten, she has really been trying to quit on her own.  We told her we were here to help her.  On Friday she could only smoke 5, Saturday 4, Sunday 3, today 2 and tomorrow will be her last one ever.  She has been doing great!!!  It is awesome, I truly feel like she will stop smoking for the rest of her life!  She has a testimony of everything.  With Carol we just need to help her feel that she is ready and help her recognize her answer from Heavenly Father that this is the true church of Jesus Christ here on the earth.  We are still working hard and trying to find new investigators.
Transfers are next week and this is the first time since I got to Pres Prud that I don't want to be transferred.  I feel like my work here is not done yet, I am hoping I will be able to stay.  I have never felt like this before transfers.  Hopefully, we can accomplish a lot this week before transfers.  I know things will work out right and the Lord will put me where I need to be.
Everything with me and Elder Van Orden is good, nothing to much between us.  Elder Alves still gets on my nerves, but I am just letting him be and not letting it affect me.
I love you all.  Thanks for all the help and support.

January 10th, 2011

I am doing good and everything is dandy  here in Pres Prud.  This week was a pretty fun week.  On Monday, we taught Carol again and it went very well.  Afterwards we made french toast with Peanut Butter and Maple Syrup.  The family loved it.  Everything with Juliana is going somewhat good.  Her goal is to be baptized, but she has something holding her back and she doesn't want to tell us about it.  We are going to keep working with her because she is so ready and we just need her to let us help her with what is holding her back.  We are having a family night on Tuesday and she is coming with us.  I think it will be good for her to make some more friends in the ward and just have some fun with some good people.  This will probably be my last transfer here.  I hope we can get them committed to be baptized before I go, because I feel like they are so ready.
I kind of have an EMO haircut right now.  We found a place to get our haircut. It is a beauty school and it only cost like 50 cents in US money.  But sometimes it is a little uneven.  Haha

I finally got my last two Christmas packages.  The air hockey game is awesome.  I love the ties, I have so many ties now!

January 3rd, 2011

Hello.  I am doing great.  New Years was kind of lame for us.  We had to be home before 9pm.  So we, all the missionaries in my house, went up to the roof and played UNO until midnight waiting for the huge firework celebration that they have here in Brazil every year.
We made the brownies that you sent with Juliana and they were amazing!  And we put up the awesome pink Christmas tree and hung the snowflake lights in our apartment.  The Tech Decks are very cool and keeping me entertained.  My companion got a sweet tie for Christmas, it was a SF Giants tie.  I would like an ATL Braves tie.  Haha
Last P-Day we played Brazilian Football (Soccer.)  Elder Galdino thinks I get a little intense.  But I just play goalie, so I don't have the opportunity to do something stupid to another missionary.  Haha
Juliana is progressing like none other.  On Saturday we left her some scriptures about baptism to read.  We didn't tell her they were about baptism, just that she needed to read them and think about them during testimony meeting.  And she totally did!!  Hopefully she will be baptized here really soon, that would make me super happy!  We are going back to her house to teach her on Tuesday and I think it is going to go great.
That was my week.  Really other than that, we are just trying really hard to find some more people that want to hear the gospel and are ready to progress.
Thank you so much for everything, I love you all so much.

December 20th, 2010

Elder Dean, Elder Staats, Elder Hodges, Me and Sister Beach
MTC District 

The Solanges Family

My Palmital Dad

My Marilia Moms

I am doing great here in Brazil, This past week was a good one for me.  We went to Marilia and stayed there for two days, which was awesome because I got to visit with people from Palmital.  I was able to get a few pictures of my favorite people.  The conference with Elder Araujo was way good and helped me out a ton.  He talked on how we can build our faith.  It was a very spiritual meeting and it was great to be there.  While in Marilia I was able to see Elders Hodges, Dean and Staats again.  I hadn't seen Elder Dean since I left the MTC, so that was cool.  I also got to see Sister Beach, which was nice as well.  I didn't get transferred, nobody in Pres Prud was transferred this time.  But because one of the AP's was really smart, none of the missionaries in Pres Prud will be getting any type of package or letter for Christmas.  We will have to wait until someone goes to Londrina. 
Things are actually going quite well with our investigators.  Some are more receptive than others.  Yesterday we had seven investigators come to church!!  We had this kid and his stepmom and stepsister.  This lady named Iracir, she brought 3 of her grandchildren and Juliana.  Iracir we found on Friday and she came to church and loved it!  I think the person I was most happy to see at church was Juliana.  We have been teaching her for a few weeks and she is really progressing.  I hope so much she will continue on this path.  The other Elders are having a baptism, we are hoping Juliana can come to the baptism and see how she feels during it.  It should be some good stuff!  Yesterday I had to give a talk on the fly, they forgot to ask anyone to give talks.  It was a little hard, but I think it went well.
I love you all and can't wait to talk to you on Saturday!

December 13th, 2010

This Wednesday Elder Araujo, from the seventies,  is coming to the mission to speak at a conference.  I am so excited because I will be going to Marilia and staying in the house in the area Palmital.  I finally get to go back to my first area!!  Hopefully, I will get to see some of the people from there.
Things with our investigators are like good and then bad and then good again. We found out that Guilherme's drinking problem is worse than we thought.  He actually slept a day in the street this week and come home totally hammered.  It is sad because he is only 19 and has had such a hard life.  I think he really wants to change, but doesn't know how.  Our other investigator, Juliana, is really cool.  During the Plan of Salvation lesson, she just started crying.  She told us that she did not know that she would actually be able to see her parents again.  We are teaching a lady named Carol who is dating a less active member.  She came to church last week with his family, even though he didn't come.  We have taught her a couple of times, but it wasn't until yesterday that I noticed how truly interested she seems in the church.
I haven't been very good at writing letters, tell Grandma and the Lamb's thanks for the birthday packages and I will try to write a letter.
Elder Galdino said he got a Christmas package from you.  But nothing for me yet.  Haha.  I still have hope I will get mine in time.  Transfers are tomorrow and who knows what will happen.  If I am still here I am going to the Branch Presidents house for Christmas and will have you call me there.  But I could get transferred.  I'll let you know next week.
Can't wait to talk to you!  I love you all.

December 6th, 2010

Rainy Brazil

I am great here in Pres. Prud.  Everything is going good and a few of our investigators are progressing a ton.  We are still having trouble getting them to church.  Yesterday, Guiherme couldn't come because he was helping his uncle build a house and Edna didn't come because she was feeling sick.  Samara and her mom, Maria Helena came.  It was Samara's 2nd time and Maria's 1st.  Maria Helena liked Relief Society and the Gospel Principles class, but not really Sacrament Mtg because no one shouted "Glory" or "Hallelujah"!  She is a very religious lady and a tad bit crazy.  Also, this guy named Vino came.  Him and his friend, Vanderson, past by the church and asked how they could find out more about the church.  It just so happens that Vanderson's mom is a member.  It is way cool.  But it is hard to teach them because they work a lot and live far away.  We will definitely figure out a way to teach them soon.
There is, also, a less active member who has stopped coming to church when he was denied the priesthood because he is a Mason.  He is a 33rd degree Mason (which is the highest rank) and the Chief of Police.  We are going to try and help him get back into the church.
Other than that this week wasn't great.  We haven't been able to teach a lot because the weather is so crazy.  It was on average 95 degrees and everyday this week it would downpour on us.  There wasn't one day we didn't get rained on.  It doesn't help the work, because no one wants to open the gate for us.  They don;t want to get soaking wet.
Everything is going OK with Elder Alves.  We do live in the same apartment, but I don;t have to be his comp.  The thing that makes it the most difficult is he is such a hypocrite now.  Everything he argued with me about and got mad at me for, he does now.  Sometimes when I look at him I just want to hit him.  I don't like the feeling that I get at all,  hopefully it will get better.
There is one thing you could do for me, I would like some more socks.  Mine have been magically disappearing.
Love you all.

November 29th, 2010

Elder Ghormley is getting transferred!

I can't believe it has been so cold in Utah.  Mom, I would give anything right now to be able to be somewhere it is cold.  It is soooooo hot here.
Thanksgiving was really good.  We had it with Bia and Guy.  Guy is an American, so Bia made us a real Thanksgiving dinner.  Except we had chicken instead of turkey (turkey is way to expensive). But we had real mashed potatoes with gravy, something that Brazil knows nothing about. And lasagna, which was the only weird part about it.  You guys had 12 pies?  Man, i wanted some chocolate pie on thanksgiving so bad. Haha. So the other day we were listening to Christmas music, but it just doesn't not feel like Christmas season when you are sweating like none other!
This week things were a lot better.  The young man, Guilherme, is getting way interested and told us that he needs a church in his life.  It seems like he is in a rough situation and I really want to help him find a way to better it.  Also we are teaching a lady named Edna, who talks like none other.  It is very hard to teach a lesson that isn't an hour long.  But yesterday, we read 3 Nephi 11 with her and as we talked about the baptism part, she was like "I think that once I visit I will know better, but I think I want to be baptized and follow this church."  I was like WHAT?!?!?!!  It was so awesome; she is a way good person, she prays every night and is reading the Book of Mormon.  I'm not sure if I will, but I truly hope I stay here one more transfer.  Transfers end the 11th or 12th.  I don't want to leave yet, because if I do I will not see these good people get baptized.  Back to some investigators.  So, Juliana we went back to talk to her again and she actually was taught by the missionaries 13 years ago.  But now she has a lot more desire to understand.  When we taught her the Book of Mormon she couldn't wait to start reading it.  so that should be pretty good.
So, now some sad news of the week.  We are having another emergency transfer.  My new friend that I made out here, Elder Ghormley, is going to be transferred.  It really sucks, because we have become such good friends.  And his replacement does NOT make me happy.  His replacement is....Elder Alves..., I was not happy to hear that name again.  I guess we will see how that goes.  At least he is not my companion, and
Elder Van Orden and I get along really well.
I love you all so, so much.

HUMP DAY

Made it through my first year!!

Elder Ghormley and I made this shirt in honor of
all my companions.



You can't burn a shirt without a little lighter fluid.



Shirts make a way better fire than ties!

Year one officially finished!

November 14th, 2010

I can't believe that my one year mark is here on Thursday.  Today for P-day I am going to get my shirt ready for the burning.  Haha
So, this week Vera and Gildo called me and said they don't want to change their religion. But they would still like us to come over and chit chat.  That made me feel way sad and kind of mad, they both know that this is the true church but because they have been in theirs for so long, they won't make the change.  This happened with 2 others people this week as well.  Marcelo has started avoiding us again and his friend doesn't know what is going on with him.  I am feeling frustrated, annoyed and sad.  I don't know what else we can do for them.  I know I need to remember that it is our responsibility to give them a chance to hear the gospel, but it is their responsibility to accept it.
On Sunday I was asked to give a talk about the important part members play in missionary work.  I told them that we can't do everything by ourselves, we are just two Americans who don't speak the language perfectly and we need their help.  The Branch President told me it was exactly what the members needed to hear.
I can't believe what the Jazz have been doing lately!  They are just crazy!!!
Thanks for everything. I love you all.

November 7th, 2010



So funny story, this morning I went to take a shower.  Before I did, I thought to myself why is this annoying piece of paper here in the door that doesn't allow the door to shut correctly.  I think I will take it out.  I took it out and turned the handle a couple of times, everything was good.  Then I shut the door and tried to open it and well, this time it wouldn't open.  I yelled to Elder Ghormley to open it from the other side, that didn't work either.  We spent the next hour (includes taking a shower) trying to open the door.  In the end, we had to take the hinges off the door and the door off the wall.  It was an interesting experience.
I have come to hate the weather in Brazil, because it is just stupid.  One day we are dying of heat, then the next day it rains a freaking ton all day, then the next day it is super hot again and humid.  It is no fun! 
This week has been kind of difficult, a couple of days were just straight up bad.  Tuesday was some sort of holiday.  Nobody was home and if they were home, they were drunk.  We didn't teach a single person that whole day.  On Wednesday, Elder Ghormley's comp went to Londrina for a conference and so we worked in a threesome.  It is always stressful to be in a threesome.  We did work in a new area which could be really good, but it is a little bit far away.  It should be a good idea to try and work there, though.
It sounds like you had a good testimony.  Fast and testimony was good here, too.  It is funny, I think we have a couple of members that only come to church on Fast Sunday to bear their testimonies.  They are always those really interesting ones that you really don't understand.  I was the last one to bear my testimony and I truly felt something different about this one.  I felt like I gave my true testimony, not just the one everybody has and says.  It was a cool experience, several members told me it was a good one.
I sent home a pic with my new pillowcase.  Can you tell the YW thanks for me!
I love you all so, so much.

Happy Halloween



I know, I have really hairy feet.








So first off, I believe that Brazil has never heard of Halloween in its life and that is just sad.  I think this was the most I have thought about home in a long time, because I love the Halloween season.  All of the scary movies that come out, including my favorite the last SAW movie.  Which was one of the last movies I saw before I left.  But I know this is where I need to be, so I will just keep on keeping on.

This week was a pretty decent week, nothing like super amazing happened.  It was super freaking hot!! And not only that, it decide to rain on us the whole week.  I don't like HOT, HUMID, RAINY weather.  It is just not me at all.
Funny story...Remember the picture of my feet, where they were all super ugly and infected looking?  Yeah, I found out I have athlete's foot.  My the top part of my sandals that I wear in the shower would never get dried out and so the goo was making my feet infected.  Remember how I hate flip flops?  Well, I still hate them, but I had to by a pair to wear in the shower.  I have had  them about a week and my feet are getting better.  I still don't like them, but they are cool glow-in-the-dark!

This week we have taught a ton of people that all seem to have potential, but we are still struggling with getting them to come to church.  Marcelo didn't come to church yesterday and I don't know why!!  We did have one investigator, Samara, come to church yesterday.  But for some reason the branch president decided he wanted to talk to her, they had a like 25 minute talk on I have know idea what.  Now, she isn't sure what to think about the church.  We taught Vera and Gildo the WOW and they said they would totally try to follow it.  They were even going to come to church today and then there kids came from Curbito for the weekend, so they couldn't come.  Guilherme, the guy with the depressed mom, we challenged him to read the BofM.  He said he thought it was way interesting and he would keep reading it.  That would be totally sweet, but we will see how that goes.

Today is transfers and it looks like I will be staying with my comp for at least one more transfer.  I hope I stay here through Thanksgiving because I totally marked our lunch with a lady named Bia.  She lived in the US for 20 years and has an American husband, so that would be an awesome lunch I think. But, yeah, that was my exciting week.

I can't believe the Jazz lost to the Suns.  Elder Ghormley is from Arizona and he is giving me crap now.

I don't have much time left because I was kind of lazy today and now my time is running out.  But I love you all so so so much and I miss you all so much.

October 25th, 2010

Hello! Mom, thanks for the advice about not getting caught up in the numbers.  I have learned that that is really hard to do in our mission.  Elder Ghormely and I have actually stayed up many nights talking about this.  A lot of missionaries here don't care if afterwords the person goes inactive or not, they just want the number of baptisms to go higher.  I truly care about these people.  I hate seeing other people give up on them so easily.  I am trying my hardest to find a way that I can shoe these people that what they are feeling while we teach them is the Holy Ghost telling them it is the truth.  Thanks for the help, mom.
This week my comp and I just worked our butts off!!  We had quite a good week, but still can;t find someone that is like perfect.  After every first lesson, we ask the person how they feel about baptism and if they would like to set a date as a goal to work towards.  We didn't have one person that would set a goal, I think that was the annoying part about this week.  We did teach a lot of people that seem to have a lot of potential.  We taught Fabio and he said he couldn't believe Joseph Smith was a prophet because he had like 20 wives.  So, we explained the situation about that and then taught him the Book of Mormon.  I think it could help him out a ton.  We also found a mother and son.  The mom has been really depressed, but she said that she felt something different from the first time we talked to her.  We are still teaching Vera and Gildo (the slipper people) they are way cool, but they work on Saturdays and Sundays and can't come to church.  Gildo's brother passed away this week.  We were able to reteach him the Plan of Salvation and that he would be able to see his brother again.  It really helped him out a ton.  We are teaching this crazy lady, Marialena, she is just wacky.  But she does everything we ask her, minus going to church.  She wants someone to go with her, hopefully next week we can work that out.
We are teaching this kid, Guilherme.  He is the best friend of the branch presidents son who is on a mission and I had met him in the CTM.  Guilherme is way cool.  He is really a thinker and isn't sure about God.  We asked him to pray about our message.  He said that he did, but he didn't really think he had asked in faith.  We taught him a good lesson and I think he understood the importance about asking with a true desire to know the truth.
At church I was super sad because none of our investigators decided to come.  But then, out of nowhere, Marcelo showed up.  I was so excited, my comp was just confused as I was trying to explain to him in half English/half Portuguese that Marcelo has shown up.  It had been about 4 weeks since the last time he came.  I was super nervous because I had to teach the Gospel Principles class and the lesson was my "favorite subject", the Law of Chastity.  A friend of Marcelo's was there and he is a returned missionary, he helped Marcelo understand,  It went really well.
The weather here is totally bipolar.  It will be super hot during the day, then all of the sudden it starts raining and then goes back to super hot.  It is just making me mad.
Me and my comp are getting along good when it comes to like being friends and stuff.  It is nice to have someone that can relate to American stuff.  I did learn that he likes to watch lil kid cartoons and he understands a lot of my random Sponge Bob quotes.  Also, he watches How I Met Your Mother, that just made things so good. Haha
I can't believe Bryson's comp won't let them eat at the members homes.  The is truly the greatest thing.  When you get to know the members you gain trust in them and they gain trust in you.  A lot of the members don't help the missionaries because they don't think they can trust them to teach people they know.  I think that is why we eat at their house's, to develop a relationship and find out if they have any friends that they would like us to visit. 
Thank you so much for everything, I love you all so, so much.

October 18th, 2010

Hello, I am doing great here in Pres Prud.  Things with our investigators are going about the same, they are all super, super flaky and I just don't know how I can change that.  It is strange to get a new comp in the middle of a transfer,  you are not quite prepared for it.  My new comp is good.  His name is Elder Van Orden, he is from St. George and seems pretty cool.  He speaks the language pretty good for his second transfer, so that is good.  this week was just rough because I had to take on a whole new list of responsibilities and well, it just wasn';t a great week.  We did a ton of walking and contacting people, but we don't have a strong area that we can go to everyday.  I worry about my comp a little. Sometimes he seems like he doesn't really care about the people, he just wants to baptize and make sure he has high numbers.  I noticed this while we were doing contacts ans talking to people.  He wasn't interested in returning to that persons house if they didn't seem like the perfect contact.  Maybe that's why he got transferred here, to learn a little more patients in this harder area.

We had interviews with Pres. Tavares on Saturday.  That went very well.  He told me that he has a lot of confidence in me and thinks that I am a great missionary.  That made me feel happy.  I also gave my first baptismal interview and I was nervous.  I didn't help that he didn't pass because of certain things that he did in his life, but yeah.

I have no idea what has happened with Marcello and Vivian, both of them have like vanished.  Elder Van Orden wants to just cut them, but I am not ready to do that.  They both have so much potential. 

I received my package.  I was so excited for the Heyward jersey, it is awesome.  The shoes are also wonderful.  I took a picture of them next to my old ones, it is really quite hilarious.

October 12th, 2010

Everything in Pres Prud is good, I am getting a new companion tomorrow.  This morning we received a phone to tell us we were having an emergency transfer today.  Elder Almeida was transferred to Foz.  My new comp is getting here tomorrow morning, his name is Elder Van Orden.  I am a little nervous because he is an American and this is his second transfer.  It looks like I may have to do most of the talking.  But I am super excited for this experience that I have been given now.
This past week was quite interesting.  We had so many strong investigators that, well, just don't want to go to church.  It is kind of nerve wracking when that happens, you don't know how much more you can do for them if they won't come to church.  That Vivian that we taught was so strong, but in the end she didn't want to come to church, so it has made things very difficult.  She even told us that she know the church was true, she knew the second we gave her a Book of Mormon.  I need to find a way to help her.  Marcello has liked disappeared.  He has always been hard to teach because he works a ton.  But now he has a girl friend and we haven't talked to him in a couple weeks.  Vera and Gildo (the slipper lady) are also having a hard time coming to church.  Things have been hard for a while and Pres. Tavares has talked about closing the area is things don't pick up.  It is hard because we have so many good contacts, who know they have been taught the truth, but they don;t want to do their part.  We really need to step up the work here.
My day with Elder Galdino was way good.  He helped me out a ton.  He did get his package from you and was really happy and excited about it.
No!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe the Braves are out of the playoffs. oh well, next year.  Now I have to root for SF and Texas.
I can't believe that I am having my 1st Halloween out of the house, but it's all good.
Big news:  My P-Day is now Monday.  Tell everyone.
I love you guys so, so much!

October 6th, 2010

This week was way amazing for me, I had so many good experiences.  First would be conference weekend.  I loved a lot of the talks.  I think the one that helped me the most was President Uchtdorf's talk about needing to slow down our lives.  It truly helped me, he said the four most important relationships in our lives are with God, our families, our fellowmen, and ourselves.  Ourselves, this one was the one that hit me.  I am one of those people that argues with myself about things, I can bring myself down by not being positive or expecting too much of myself.  This talk helped me to understand how I can help myself become better and happier.

Elder Galdino got here last night and will be here until Thursday.  I get to spend the day with him on Thursday, which should be awesome. He has been my favorite and best companion.  He is definitely one of my best friends now. 

This week was good.  We were in a trio until Saturday, which really is just annoying, because we have to work two areas.  On Monday Elder Almeida and I changed how we are going to work the area.  This area has been very difficult for a while, for that reason we have changed how we are going to work so that we can receive the blessings from our Heavenly Father.  I think that we already have.  Monday, we walked a butt load to a referral that was brought to us from a different city.  This guy named Bonatto and he asked us how did we know his name.  But, he was really accepting and friendly with us.  He loved the message we brought, he was all like come on Saturday so you can teach my wife about this too.  It was a good experience and I think it will be a blessing for us.  The other blessing we received really changed my thought process about my mission and life.  We went to a referral, Vivian, but the address did not exist.  The member who gave it to us said there most be something wrong, because Vivian was so interested in hearing about the gospel.  We went back and planned on knocking every door until we found her.  Funny part of the story, we were on the wrong street the whole time.  But, we found her house and taught her the first lesson.  Elder Almeida taught the first part and I taught about Joseph Smith.  As I was teaching the spirit was so strong, stronger than I have ever felt in my entire life.  As I explained about the first vision, she just said "Wow."  I knew in that moment that she felt the spirit, that this was something that she wants in her life. I truly know this is the true church of Jesus Christ.  That He called a 14 year old boy, Joseph Smith, to restore His gospel on the earth.  I am so thankful, really, for this opportunity I have been given.  I know for sure that this is where I should be and that I have been called of God to be here.

Haha, I can't believe BYU lost to Utah State.  Why is it that the year I'm not that there in the states is the year that BYU is totally sucking and the Utes are dominating?  But it's all good.

I love you so much.  I am so thankful for everything that was given to me in my life and for this wonderful experience that I have been living right now.

September 30th, 2010

I am doing just great.  This week was pretty good, nothing special happened.  The Mt Dew did not have as much carbonation as it normally does, but it was so good.  I have already drank all of them. Haha.
So, I guess Elder Alves has been causing a lot of problems with his companions.  He was put with Elder Franco and they only lasted four days together.
Yes, I did forget my planner again, sorry.  But I will do my best to remember what happened this week.  It finally rained in a Pres Prud.  It hadn't rained for like 4 months, so it was truly needed by the people here.  But it didn't just rained, it freakin' poured.  I don't know if I have ever seen rain like that before.
On Thursday we were able to teach our new family; Vladamir, Luciane, Bia and Clara.  They are a way awesome family and are really interested in the gospel.  Their son is a foreign exchange student in Manti, Utah and is going to church with the family he is living with.  They couldn't come to church with us because they already had an appointment, but hopefully they should be coming to conference.  Which would be sweet!!  The lady who makes the slippers is a very interesting lady.  It is hard to know if she really wants to learn about the gospel, or just wants someone to sit and talk with.  Marcelo is doing way good, but it is hard to teach him because he is super busy.  he didn't come to church this Sunday because he works at the mall and they had a huge sale on Sunday.  But after the sale was over he still wanted to come, it shows that he still wants to progress more in the gospel, which is awesome. 
The last couple of weeks we have been in a trio.  Elder Ghormley's comp had to go to a conference, so we have been stuck with him.  It is difficult working two areas.  Elder Miller got transferred last week, which sucked because I liked him a lot.  But the new kid is Elder Fernandes is in our apartment now.  He was in my first district in my first area, which is awesome.
That is cool that Bryson is in France, keep me updated on how he is doing out there.
I love you guys so, so, so much!

September 22, 2010

I think this is the first time transfer day snuck up on me.  I am staying in Pres Prud with Elder Almeida.  I forgot my planner at the house, I will do my best to remember what happened this last week.
So, we having been teaching this guy named Marcelo.  Everyone lesson we have with with is super freaking spiritual.  I think he will be baptized before the next transfer.  I hope he doesn't end up with some problems with the Law of Chastity.  That is often a problem.  We found this married couple, Gildo and Vera.  It just so happens Vera makes slippers,  she made me two awesome pairs.  They are a great family, we will see how it goes with them.  We have only taught them one time, so we don't know much about them yet.  Saturday we went out and did contacts in the street with some of the members.  We only had three people show up, not a big success.  On Sunday we had lunch at the District Pres.'s house, the 2nd counselor was there, also.  I had to give the message.  I was a bit nervous, but it was good.  Monday was the day I took everyone out to eat at a churrascaria.  It was some good stuff, except for the price at the end. Haha  It cost me about 222 reais, but it was a nice and wonderful thing to so.
It is hard to feel like a Brazilian, because everyone always reminds me I am an American.  I have started dreaming in Portuguese some of the time.

I love you all so much.

September 14th, 2010

So, I had a good week.  Minus the fact that I have to wait until next Wednesday to get my packages, but I'm hoping it's worth the wait.  I can't believe that I am 20, the funny thing is, everyone 20 was the only age they actually felt different, but for me I still feel the same. Haha  It was not only my birthday, but also Pres Prud's birthday.  I was just a big party here.
This week I don't have anything too exciting to talk about, this will be like a normal email.  Haha  The coolest thing we did this week was on Saturday.  We had a Mini-MTC with all the young-ens in our branch.  It was a really good experience.  We taught them a good way to contact people on the street and how they can talk to anyone about the gospel.  We went out to the square in the center and talked with people.  It went really well and they seemed to really like it, which was good.

The spiritual thing of the week is Marcelo.  He is one of our investigators who is just awesome.  I had to teach him the lesson on the WOW and he just accepted it like it was nothing.  It was awesome, he will definitely be baptized.
Sorry this letter is a little bit lame, I am so tired and not in the mood to be writing a letter.  This morning we went and played soccer.  All I have to say is I thought basketball had the biggest whiners, but I was wrong.  It is definitely soccer.  Today everyone was complaining about something except for the two Americans who had never played soccer in their entire lives.
But that was my week, not to exciting...but it was good.
I love you all.

September 8, 2010

This Week:

Wednesday:  Last p-day was really boring, everyone was just super tired.  After we emailed, everybody just went back home and slept. Haha  We were able to teach Antonio the other day, but he is so like not caring anymore.  I think that we are going to have to cut him.

Thursday:  Was a really awesome day.  We taught two lessons, that were both super spiritual.  The first was with Valeria, she is the daughter of a recent convert.  She was telling us about her life and how she just wants to change.  She is getting on the right path, her only problem is getting her to come to church.  Afterwords we taught Marcelo, he is a friend of a guy in the branch.  He told us his life experience and how he hasn't truly felt happy in a long time until now.  He knows he will be baptized, he just needs to feel 100% prepared.  After teaching him we went and played volleyball with the ward.  I totally dominate at volleyball I have decided.  It's awesome.

Friday:  We walked a ton this day, but it was a good day.  We taught Maria Eugena.  She is the mom of our 2nd counselor, she is way cool but a little flaky at times.  After teaching her we went back to the church.  We were suppose to have some people there to teach, but they didn't come.  So instead we just went and played soccer with everybody.  My team was suppose to be the weakest team, but we did the best.  I played goalie which made everyone laugh at first.  They didn't think an American could play goalie.  Well, all I have to say is I proved them wrong. Haha

Saturday:  This was our day that we found the perfect family!! Married 17 years, 2 kids.  Lesson goes perfect,  they say they want to be baptized and everything.  But we try to go back afterwards and they aren't home, try again another day and still aren't home.  It sucks because the spirit was so strong in the lesson with them.  I hope we find them again soon.

Sunday:  I need to talk about lunch.  We had lunch at our Branch President's house, it was super cool.  I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time.  He has a 12 year old daughter named Bia.  She was just talking, talking the whole time.  She reminded me of a girl version of Colin, haha.  I don't know how to explain exactly what she said.  But she was way funny.

Monday:  This was the day my comp got really irritated.  I'm not sure why, I think it has to do with the flakiness of our investigators.  So I am just trying to let him chillax a little.  But at night we had a FHE and I gave a lesson about baptism using strawberry juice and this stuff you use to wash clothes (don't know the name in English). But it was really cool because the clothes washer stuff makes the juice turn clear.  It explains the importance of baptism really well.

**I guess Colton was not familiar with Clorox before he got to Brazil.

Tuesday:  Yesterday all 6 missionaries worked in the same area.  I worked with Elder Ribero, who is pretty much the fastest talker in the world!!!  It was hard for me to understand him, but we went to visit some of his investigators and it went quite well.  That night we had a Brazilian BBQ, Churrasco.  We had some good beef, chicken, sausage and good old chicken hearts.  It reminded me of Tucano's with out the pineapple.

Mom, golfing is never fun unless Brian gets mad and throws a club or two.  At least he let you drive the golf cart, just don't let him push you out.

Hey, I promised all the elders in my district that on September 20th I would take them to the best barbecue place in Pres Prud.  Can you make sure I have money to cover that.  I can't believe you have sent me 10 packages since I have been in Brazil.  I feel so loved, I think you should go for the record.

I love you all so so so much.