Dear Dad,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I did remember how old you are as well :P. I really don't have a lot of time to write this week because P-days are crazy, but I wanted to send you at least a little note on your Birthday.
I really appreciate all you've done for me, especially that you've always helped me to be focused on serving a mission. Really this mission means everything to me, and you were the force behind me always helping me to get here. Thank you for the best present of my life, and I hope you know that I'll always love you.
Love,
Elder Henry
Dear Mom,
This has been the weekend of Birthdays! With Bailey I know 5 people that had a birthday this weekend. We had I (one of our investigators) Birthday on the 7th, Sherry on the 8th, Bailey and Alessandra on the 9th, and finally Dad today :). I'm sitting in the house of one of our investigators using the computer while Elder Roman gets his hair cut, so if this E-mail gets cut a little short, I'll finish up later, just means I'm getting a hair cut :p.
That's crazy that Lindy is way out in the middle of Europe. I wonder if she is farther from Washington than I am. I talk about our week a little more later, but it was kind of a let everything explode in your face and find out what happens kind of week. Also its raining today.
So our week wasn't too horrible last week, but it was a challenging one. Luckily it ended on a good note. We also started teaching a young man by the name of L. He's 20 and we found him through our English Class that I give every Saturday. He went to church for the first time yesterday and liked it, and also is reading the Book of Mormon.
The reason last week was rough for us was, A) it rained a lot, B) most of our investigators weren't progressing so we ended up walking around a lot instead of sitting and teaching people. Also Elder Roman and I had a couple debacles, but we cured those up quickly. I'm grateful to have a companion that when we do get upset with each other, we talk it out quick and forgive each other within 15 minutes.
Probably the highlight of the week was yesterday at Alessandra's 10th Birthday party. She and her brother, Alessandro (crazy Brasilians lol), have become my good little buddies ;). We just have to help P to put down the one cigarette she smokes per day. Very frustrating this whole Tobacco deal. I've attached some photos of the party.
Actually I tried, but the computer I'm using doesn't want to work because it has an old slow version of Internet Explorer (yuck!). I'll send them next week on a better computer.
Anyway hope your week goes well, I love you and pray for you always.
Love,
Elder Henry
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Elder Henry in Gravatai 9/4/12
Note from Mom: I use initials instead of names to keep from offending anyone hopefully! Also, I just love seeing through his letters as he grows to love the people and his companions whereever he serves (and there have been so many areas already!). It makes me so happy from the inside out!
Dear Dad,
Its so funny, I was so scared to be a missionary before the mission. I think back on the experiences I had with the Browns, and remember all the times I thought to myself, hmm maybe I should go visit Brother Brown, but then didn't go because I was scared. Now I realize how AWESOME it would be for a member to just randomly show up and talk with one of my recent converts or investigators. I'm glad what little I did had an impact on their lives :).
Spencer is doing full-time Clark huh? Smart kid, there isn't a day that goes by I regret doing Running Start. Such a blessing, two years of college for FREE. Just make sure you don't screw up your grades Spence! You have to get into BYU with Sherry and I.
Is the Doctor (Dr. Who) the same still or did he have a change this season? It hasn't died off any has it? Or is it still as great as the first time we watched it?
Hope you are enjoying a nice day off. This Friday is Independence day for Brasil so I really have no idea what it will be like.
Lots of Love,
Elder Henry
Dear Mom,
You can let Tori know that she's right, there are no such things as screen doors here :P.
Our areas here are much bigger geographically, and more people live in smaller spaces here. Our ward covers about the same size as our stake (minus Ridgefield) so its much easier for members to share the gospel with friends and co-workers. Also here they don't hold very firm to the rules of boundaries when it comes to family, they just go where their family is, although usually the family all lives on the same city block.
How crazy, Elder Clark has a baby (Jenna and Brett Clark). I'm starting to feel the fact that I've been gone from home for a long time. Yesterday I went to an investigators house, who's son was playing League of Legends, and I thought, "Great! I can talk to him about the game and ease him into talking about the Gospel", until I realized that the game had changed so much in a year or so that I really had nothing to talk to him about...
Fruits are so much cheaper here. 66 cents per pound is expensive here. Usually I buy fruits (Oranges, Tangerines, Apples, etc.) for 1 real per Kilo, or about 22 cents per pound. I love Brasil!
One of the members gave me their cell phone to talk to someone (because here in Brasil the church doesn't give the missionaries an unlimited plan like they do in the states) and it had a touch screen. I felt like such a loser because I didn't understand how to use it, I was pressing all the wrong buttons and everything pretty much exploded in my hand. Tori's going to have to teach me how to use this touch screen non-sense when I get home with her tablet.
Neither you nor dad told me who the Ducks were playing against. How come USC is number one again? Do the Ducks have the depth they need to support all the injuries they are going to have this season?
The only other thing I desire from my Christmas package is Toffee, but I really have no idea if it will last ~2 months in freight :P. Probably I'll have to go without this year. From everything I've heard summer here is going to be scalding hot. Around 35-42 degrees Celsius. I'm not looking forward to it...
So our week was pretty normal. We ended up cutting a bunch of people that weren't progressing and went back to finding new's. We were trying the normal methods to find and really nothing was working out the way I wanted it to, so we asked our district how we should go about finding people. Like the States, knocking doors is ineffective and makes me cry (metaphorically speaking). In response to our question our district leader, Elder Cefalo, told us about an idea President Pavan had given him a year or so ago. Go put out a table in the middle of a park with a sign that says, FREE STUFF. When people come to grab the DVDs of the church, Books of Mormon, Pamphlets that we have, get their address and tell them you will deliver it to their door. So we thought, lets give it a try.
Of course we had your regular hobo's that see the word FREE and ask for stuff, and your bible bashers, but we actually had a couple really good contacts that came from Tabling. One is named J, and she asked us for video Lamb of God. We delivered it to her last Saturday and talked about the restoration. She then told us about how she never walks by where we were and how she felt prompted by the Spirit to walk by our table. Absolutely incredible! We asked her to read the Book of Mormon and she accepted. We are going back tomorrow to talk with her again.
Also a less active member of the church saw us sitting out in the Park, came up to us and asked us, "when is church?" Then yesterday at church she was there. I couldn't believe the success we saw after just 2 hours sitting in a park with a sign that says free stuff on it.
We also have a baptism marked this Sunday. We are helping her quit smoking and she already gave up coffee (which is huge here, much more so than in the States). Unfortunately her son was sick yesterday and couldn't make it to church, but this Sunday she'll be there again for her baptism :).
Really there is nothing better in this work than to see someone accept the truth, and repent of their sins. Such a burden is lifted from the person, and the Atonement of Christ is allowed to settle into their lives. I feel so blessed to be a servant of the Lord in this work, because I have the privilege to see people change and grow and live happily with their families for all eternity. What a Privilege :).
Anyways that's pretty much our week. We were invited to speak at an Seventh Day Adventist school this morning for their religion class. It was interesting, to say the least, but a very friendly atmosphere overall. Out of all the other religions out there that I've come to know in my time as a missionary, the Adventists are one of my favorites.
Send my love to everyone in the Saint Johns ward, especially the Brown Family.
I love you,
Elder Henry
Dear Dad,
Its so funny, I was so scared to be a missionary before the mission. I think back on the experiences I had with the Browns, and remember all the times I thought to myself, hmm maybe I should go visit Brother Brown, but then didn't go because I was scared. Now I realize how AWESOME it would be for a member to just randomly show up and talk with one of my recent converts or investigators. I'm glad what little I did had an impact on their lives :).
Spencer is doing full-time Clark huh? Smart kid, there isn't a day that goes by I regret doing Running Start. Such a blessing, two years of college for FREE. Just make sure you don't screw up your grades Spence! You have to get into BYU with Sherry and I.
Is the Doctor (Dr. Who) the same still or did he have a change this season? It hasn't died off any has it? Or is it still as great as the first time we watched it?
Hope you are enjoying a nice day off. This Friday is Independence day for Brasil so I really have no idea what it will be like.
Lots of Love,
Elder Henry
Dear Mom,
You can let Tori know that she's right, there are no such things as screen doors here :P.
Our areas here are much bigger geographically, and more people live in smaller spaces here. Our ward covers about the same size as our stake (minus Ridgefield) so its much easier for members to share the gospel with friends and co-workers. Also here they don't hold very firm to the rules of boundaries when it comes to family, they just go where their family is, although usually the family all lives on the same city block.
How crazy, Elder Clark has a baby (Jenna and Brett Clark). I'm starting to feel the fact that I've been gone from home for a long time. Yesterday I went to an investigators house, who's son was playing League of Legends, and I thought, "Great! I can talk to him about the game and ease him into talking about the Gospel", until I realized that the game had changed so much in a year or so that I really had nothing to talk to him about...
Fruits are so much cheaper here. 66 cents per pound is expensive here. Usually I buy fruits (Oranges, Tangerines, Apples, etc.) for 1 real per Kilo, or about 22 cents per pound. I love Brasil!
One of the members gave me their cell phone to talk to someone (because here in Brasil the church doesn't give the missionaries an unlimited plan like they do in the states) and it had a touch screen. I felt like such a loser because I didn't understand how to use it, I was pressing all the wrong buttons and everything pretty much exploded in my hand. Tori's going to have to teach me how to use this touch screen non-sense when I get home with her tablet.
Neither you nor dad told me who the Ducks were playing against. How come USC is number one again? Do the Ducks have the depth they need to support all the injuries they are going to have this season?
The only other thing I desire from my Christmas package is Toffee, but I really have no idea if it will last ~2 months in freight :P. Probably I'll have to go without this year. From everything I've heard summer here is going to be scalding hot. Around 35-42 degrees Celsius. I'm not looking forward to it...
So our week was pretty normal. We ended up cutting a bunch of people that weren't progressing and went back to finding new's. We were trying the normal methods to find and really nothing was working out the way I wanted it to, so we asked our district how we should go about finding people. Like the States, knocking doors is ineffective and makes me cry (metaphorically speaking). In response to our question our district leader, Elder Cefalo, told us about an idea President Pavan had given him a year or so ago. Go put out a table in the middle of a park with a sign that says, FREE STUFF. When people come to grab the DVDs of the church, Books of Mormon, Pamphlets that we have, get their address and tell them you will deliver it to their door. So we thought, lets give it a try.
Of course we had your regular hobo's that see the word FREE and ask for stuff, and your bible bashers, but we actually had a couple really good contacts that came from Tabling. One is named J, and she asked us for video Lamb of God. We delivered it to her last Saturday and talked about the restoration. She then told us about how she never walks by where we were and how she felt prompted by the Spirit to walk by our table. Absolutely incredible! We asked her to read the Book of Mormon and she accepted. We are going back tomorrow to talk with her again.
Also a less active member of the church saw us sitting out in the Park, came up to us and asked us, "when is church?" Then yesterday at church she was there. I couldn't believe the success we saw after just 2 hours sitting in a park with a sign that says free stuff on it.
We also have a baptism marked this Sunday. We are helping her quit smoking and she already gave up coffee (which is huge here, much more so than in the States). Unfortunately her son was sick yesterday and couldn't make it to church, but this Sunday she'll be there again for her baptism :).
Really there is nothing better in this work than to see someone accept the truth, and repent of their sins. Such a burden is lifted from the person, and the Atonement of Christ is allowed to settle into their lives. I feel so blessed to be a servant of the Lord in this work, because I have the privilege to see people change and grow and live happily with their families for all eternity. What a Privilege :).
Anyways that's pretty much our week. We were invited to speak at an Seventh Day Adventist school this morning for their religion class. It was interesting, to say the least, but a very friendly atmosphere overall. Out of all the other religions out there that I've come to know in my time as a missionary, the Adventists are one of my favorites.
Send my love to everyone in the Saint Johns ward, especially the Brown Family.
I love you,
Elder Henry
Monday, September 3, 2012
Adventures with Sherry: Tender Mercies When the Car Breaks Down & Grandpa goes to the Hospital
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| Sherry's hair before (it hasn't been this long since middle school) |
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| Kierstin Sherry and Sasha together for the first time in 2 years! |
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| I have no idea what this Cat and Mouse game is about lol |
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| Sher Bear and Gran Gran |
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| In one of her new outfits |
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| With her #1, Sam Marrott |
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| A bit of a brotherly fight between Sam and Ben over Sherry haha--she dumped Ben for Sam a couple years ago so she caused this sibling rivalry, tsk tsk |
The day Sherry went home all started out nicely, with delicious strawberry waffles made by Daddy. Who went to play basketball (even though he "wasn't going to"). After we ate breakfast I decided that we should check all the signals in the Subaru before Spencer's driver license test. So I went out to where it was parked right behind the truck, and started checking the signals, and the front blinkers weren't working! This is a little over an hour before Spencer's Test! So Dad comes out and starts trying to figure out what is going on and getting into the wires to find the problem and so forth. After a few minutes of this we decided I better get Spence ready and take him to practice in the Beast (our Toyota Sequoia 8 passenger SUV). So we leave about 10:15 to help him get comfortable with The Beast which he rarely drives and he's doing awesome. I feel great like he will pass it anyway. Then Dad calls around 10:45 after we are at the DMV and says the blinkers worked the whole time, they are just recessed in the front bumper underneath, where we could not see them because of how it was parked. So Spencer goes to take his test. He starts out good but very nervous. About 10 min later he comes back and finds me with a yellow paper. He failed. He stopped at a sidewalk before taking a left, a jogger started coming toward him, and he was worried that he was too far into the sidewalk, started to back up, and didn't check to see if anyone was behind him, the person behind him honked, and he automatically failed. Poor kid! It is all Sherry's fault, of course, since we wanted to send her back with Elmo but she is tired of having people judge her for having an unusual and economically thrifty car, plus wanted to be able to take her roommates to the Brigham City Temple Open House.
So Sherry takes off in the Subaru for Provo. A couple hours later we get a phone call. It is Sherry and the car is vibrating really funny. Dad told her to slow down, and plan to go to Les Schwab in Hermiston which is around 50 miles away at this point. She calls back a half hour later and it was really being awful so she pulled over at an exit, then the car would not start. Fortunately for her, Grandpa & Grandma Nichols were in Hermiston for an LDS Reception for Grandma's nephew's son (they are LDS too). I had talked to them the week before because I kept feeling prompted to call them. So I called them and my dad answered and said they would go pick up Sherry. I guess I called him right after she first called, then we gave her his number and had her call them when the car died.
Grandpa & Grandma went and picked up Sherry and Trisha, meanwhile Dad went and rented a car towing trailer from U-Haul to pick up the Subaru, and I drove Elmo so Sherry could get back to Provo since school was starting Monday (this was Saturday if I didn't mention that already). DEEP BREATH. So we make the three hour trek and finally get to the Subaru, I put the few of Sherry's things into Elmo that she didn't grab (smart girl) and Daddy pulls up. He backs up toward the white car and we decide we had better see if it will start. Yup it started right up and he drove it onto the trailer. So I start driving toward Hermiston and Sherry, and my dad calls me. "Rollyce is taking me to the hospital, we think I had a mini stroke, and the girls are at our hotel." I asked him to repeat because I didn't think I heard him right. So I call Dad, then Sherry, then Spencer, then Aunt Vikki, and let them all know what is going on to get some prayers happening. At this point I realize that the white car was supposed to break down so we could be there for my dad and Grandma Nichols. We got the girls on the road (they didn't get to Boise where her friend Jacob Strain saved them by letting them have his room until after midnight, since it was almost 8pm by this time). Then we headed to the hospital. Sure enough, Grandpa had a mini stroke and they ran a bunch of tests to see what was going on. He is doing awesome and they found a 70% blockage in one of his carotid arteries, so he will be having a consultation with a neurologist Monday then surgery of some type. Happy ending there, happy ending for Sherry, and Damon has checked on the Subaru now and it looks like a happy ending--there was a big lump on one of the tires (it was old), and maybe something came loose to do with the alternator or a fuse and that is why it wouldn't start. Plus he realized it will be easy to replace the struts which it needs. (the repairs only ended up costing a little over $200).
The Lord's Hand is absolutely in our lives, even in the tiny little minutia of living here on earth. He truly cares about each of us, His children even in our little life here on Earth with billions of other children of God!
Sherry is safely back at BYU, super busy with all of her classes (various performance classes that sound like a jumble but all fit together perfectly, plus a Physics of Sound class, New Testament and German), voice lessons, and working at Heritage central building. My dad is fighting with the stupid doctors offices to get his treatment, apparently the hospital should have just transferred him so he could get things rolling instead of playing "I need your records, you need a different type of doctor, but your Primary Care has to refer you, I need your records but we can't read a CD..." Wow. Hope he doesn't have another stroke and all of them get Owned.
PS I couldn't resist sharing a couple more pics from her photo session with Heather. She wore little makeup for acting headshots so she would be a "blank slate" for directors to see they could work with. So lovely.
Monday, August 27, 2012
August 27th, Gravataí
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| Family Home Evening with Ivo and his family and a family in the ward. The kid to the left in the black shirt is a good friend of mine Nicolas. He returned from his mission about a month ago and has been helping us out a bunch. He also learned English on the mission and loves to practice with me. |
Dear Mom & Dad,
What a weekend! Sounds like you guys had quite the ride, and I'm glad everyone made it home safe and sound. Send Grandpa & Grandma Nichols my love, and let him know I'm praying for him. I'm glad everything turned out for the best, and that you can see the Lord's hand in everything.
So now we have big Bear and little Bear in the family? How will we be able to distinguish between the two?! They can't both have the same nickname :P. I had no idea Sherry was so into snowboarding. I really want to pick up skiing when I get home, and I'll have ex-comps willing to help me out. How crazy, Sherry will be skiing on the Alps 2013-2014. Bah!
A new senior couple has agreed to bring me a years supply of medicine in their bags so we don't have to worry about shipping it in, and I have enough to last me until they arrive.
So my week kind of turned out the same way as your weekend. We had a lot of stuff just blow up in our face, but nothing really was damaged. We didn't coordinate very well with the ward last week.
First on Thursday, we brought a bunch of Young Men to play soccer at the church, but the ward wasn't there. They had told us every Tuesday and Thursday we will have activities at the church. Turns out Thursday last week all the Adults went to the temple, so no one was there to coordinate the activity. We had a handful of unhappy young men on our hand, but nothing too serious.
Our Second boo boo happened on Saturday. We had a big Choir Festival at our chapel last Saturday, and they had announced this for several Sundays in a row. Elder Roman and I decided it really wouldn't be a very productive proselyting activity as most of the people would be from outside our area. So we had planned on just going out and working, since Saturday night is a good night to catch people at home. Turns out our Bishop had different plans.
Soon after the Baptism on Saturday (actually during the Baptism) The Bishop yanked Elder Roman away to usher people into the chapel. Poor Elder Roman didn't even get to see the Baptism :(. Afterwards we turned to leave and a couple of members begged and pleaded for us to stay but we had already marked commitments with investigators. This did not detour our members from their purpose of convincing us to stay. So we ended up rescheduling with our investigators and spending the time with the members. We ended up not really doing all that much for 2 hours on a Saturday night, and the event ended at 9:30 so we ended up getting home late. But our Bishop loves us, the members adore us, and they are helping us to find the elect, so in the end everything works out great :D.
Finally this morning we went to the church to pick up some groceries that we had left in the Chapel on Saturday. Turns out someone decided they needed them more than the missionaries and snatched them up. Now I know I can't leave stuff in the church >.>.
Anyway aside from this, the work is actually going along great! We had an investigator, P, come to church for the first time this week, and she loved it! She has already read the entire Book of Mormon and is reading the teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I've never met an investigator so golden in my life! She loved church and is preparing to be baptized on Sep. 8th (Sherry's Birthday!). Of course we were super excited to see L Baptised, she really moved a lot in her life to accept the restored gospel. The work is moving along great, and have many other investigators with great potential to join the Church.
Looks like time is running thin, so I'll wrap this up. I love you, I'm glad everything worked out for the best this weekend. Hope you and Dad are ready for school to start back up here in a week or two. Thank you for writing me.
Love,
Elder Henry
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| The New Chapel at night |
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| An overview of Gravataí with our new chapel right in the center :) |
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| Elder Roman's Birthday, and Irmã Jove (we used to live at her house) |
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| Le and her mom Lo (Le in White her Mom, Lo, is sitting down) at the baptism. You can see my Chalkboard Display from my free English Class in the background. (names abbreviated for privacy) |
Monday, August 20, 2012
Transfers--finally not transferring!
Dear Mom,
We got the transfer news today and both Elder Roman and I will be staying for one more transfer together. I'm excited, but surprised, because every transfer of my mission either I or my companion have been transferred except for Elder Galke, but our first transfer together was only 4 weeks because of the emergency transfer soooo I was actually expecting Elder Roman to hit the road. I'm excited though because Elder Roman will be able to stay with me for our baptisms coming up :).
So what Sister Wright told me to tell you is to send a package with melatonin, I'll keep looking, but the only melatonin we found so far was in Porto Alegre and costs 60$ which is absolutely ridiculous when it costs 3-4$ in the states but may be our only option. Essentially its not considered a medicine or drug here, but is classified as a vitamin supplement (which is exactly how it is in the states), so the pharmacies don't carry the stuff. I've looked in only two supplement stores and the both didn't have it, but have 3 more leads that I'll try today. I don't know why the stuff is illegal to import, or why its so expensive, but Brasil is full of crazy laws. Yesterday I learned that according to Brasilian law, if you kill someone and then stay hidden for 24 hours, the law can't hold you responsible for the murder so you go home free. What a crazy country this is...
I'm not too worried about Tori looking all grown up and going to dances, mainly because Tori is Spencer's responsibility, I had Sherry to watch after :P.
That's way crazy that Steven Shirley is married! How crazy! At first I thought you said that he was going to be married, then I realized that you said you went to his wedding reception. How weird, I'm going to come home one day and everyone will be married 0.0.
I hope the Ducks don't go to the national championship with a sophomore QB. Partly because they will most likely loose, and partly because I want to be able to watch!
Gravataí is pretty awesome, we had a pretty awesome week to finish up the transfer. We had 9 investigators at church yesterday, and have two baptisms lined up for this Saturday :). I and his family (L, L, R), L (47), Luisa (9), Brian (14), G (longtime investigator) and V(another elongtime investigator...).
We met L last Saturday and she's going to be baptised this Saturday. Essentially what happened is her mom went less active, didn't baptise her, but is active now and wants her to be baptised. Not really a great story, but hey a baptism is a baptism. She's super cute, and absolutely loves our visits :).
L (just baptised lady) is still going strong, she actually brought 4 people with her to church yesterday. How crazy is that! I've never had an investigator so excited about the gospel, she really reminds me a lot of Lynn, and how she received a witness of the gospel, and now is going strong. We taught her the Word of Wisdom last week, and she decided to give up coffee to be able to be baptised. I'm super excited for this weekend :).
B is a young man that we met actually a few weeks ago but started teaching him last week. He's the friend of the son of a former investigator. We invited him to play soccer at the new chapel, and he loved being there with all the young men. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he's read all the way to chapter 8 already. I'm super excited for him, but also a little nervous because we haven't talked with his parents yet. From what he's said his parents don't really like churches, but we will see what comes of it.
Ivo and Lucimara will be married here soon and the baptism of their whole family will follow. Ivo really reminds me of Bro. Gonsalves, they both had family problems before the gospel, and then missionaries and the church entered, and now their family is becoming more and more united.
I'm so excited for the Brown family! That's so awesome that they will all be sealed here soon. Anyways I think that's pretty much it for now. I love you bunches, and send my hello to everyone in the ward.
We got the transfer news today and both Elder Roman and I will be staying for one more transfer together. I'm excited, but surprised, because every transfer of my mission either I or my companion have been transferred except for Elder Galke, but our first transfer together was only 4 weeks because of the emergency transfer soooo I was actually expecting Elder Roman to hit the road. I'm excited though because Elder Roman will be able to stay with me for our baptisms coming up :).
So what Sister Wright told me to tell you is to send a package with melatonin, I'll keep looking, but the only melatonin we found so far was in Porto Alegre and costs 60$ which is absolutely ridiculous when it costs 3-4$ in the states but may be our only option. Essentially its not considered a medicine or drug here, but is classified as a vitamin supplement (which is exactly how it is in the states), so the pharmacies don't carry the stuff. I've looked in only two supplement stores and the both didn't have it, but have 3 more leads that I'll try today. I don't know why the stuff is illegal to import, or why its so expensive, but Brasil is full of crazy laws. Yesterday I learned that according to Brasilian law, if you kill someone and then stay hidden for 24 hours, the law can't hold you responsible for the murder so you go home free. What a crazy country this is...
I'm not too worried about Tori looking all grown up and going to dances, mainly because Tori is Spencer's responsibility, I had Sherry to watch after :P.
That's way crazy that Steven Shirley is married! How crazy! At first I thought you said that he was going to be married, then I realized that you said you went to his wedding reception. How weird, I'm going to come home one day and everyone will be married 0.0.
I hope the Ducks don't go to the national championship with a sophomore QB. Partly because they will most likely loose, and partly because I want to be able to watch!
Gravataí is pretty awesome, we had a pretty awesome week to finish up the transfer. We had 9 investigators at church yesterday, and have two baptisms lined up for this Saturday :). I and his family (L, L, R), L (47), Luisa (9), Brian (14), G (longtime investigator) and V(another elongtime investigator...).
We met L last Saturday and she's going to be baptised this Saturday. Essentially what happened is her mom went less active, didn't baptise her, but is active now and wants her to be baptised. Not really a great story, but hey a baptism is a baptism. She's super cute, and absolutely loves our visits :).
L (just baptised lady) is still going strong, she actually brought 4 people with her to church yesterday. How crazy is that! I've never had an investigator so excited about the gospel, she really reminds me a lot of Lynn, and how she received a witness of the gospel, and now is going strong. We taught her the Word of Wisdom last week, and she decided to give up coffee to be able to be baptised. I'm super excited for this weekend :).
B is a young man that we met actually a few weeks ago but started teaching him last week. He's the friend of the son of a former investigator. We invited him to play soccer at the new chapel, and he loved being there with all the young men. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he's read all the way to chapter 8 already. I'm super excited for him, but also a little nervous because we haven't talked with his parents yet. From what he's said his parents don't really like churches, but we will see what comes of it.
Ivo and Lucimara will be married here soon and the baptism of their whole family will follow. Ivo really reminds me of Bro. Gonsalves, they both had family problems before the gospel, and then missionaries and the church entered, and now their family is becoming more and more united.
I'm so excited for the Brown family! That's so awesome that they will all be sealed here soon. Anyways I think that's pretty much it for now. I love you bunches, and send my hello to everyone in the ward.
Dear Dad,
I completely agree. Monday is a much better P-day day than Tuesday.
So is Sherry disappointed she'll be losing Elmo, or excited for the new
Subaru? She is so spoiled to have a car at college you know :P. Some
people have to WALK everywhere or take a BUS :P. Don't get a sound system
too good, or I might get jealous you know...
There really is nothing better than a Gym in a Chapel to get non-members to
the church. I took for granted all the times that I brought a friend to
one of our Chapels, because it was so normal to me, but now as a missionary
I think, look at all these Young Men bringing tons of people to the chapel
to play Soccer! What awesome missionaries! Its so hard for missionaries
to bring someone to the chapel, and yet the young men bring them in by the
10's and 20's. Actually last Thursday we had 50 young men at the chapel,
of which 30 were non-members. The whole neighborhood around the church is
all pumped about the new activities at the church. I'm sure many baptisms
will follow, hopefully of families :).
I completely agree. Monday is a much better P-day day than Tuesday.
So is Sherry disappointed she'll be losing Elmo, or excited for the new
Subaru? She is so spoiled to have a car at college you know :P. Some
people have to WALK everywhere or take a BUS :P. Don't get a sound system
too good, or I might get jealous you know...
There really is nothing better than a Gym in a Chapel to get non-members to
the church. I took for granted all the times that I brought a friend to
one of our Chapels, because it was so normal to me, but now as a missionary
I think, look at all these Young Men bringing tons of people to the chapel
to play Soccer! What awesome missionaries! Its so hard for missionaries
to bring someone to the chapel, and yet the young men bring them in by the
10's and 20's. Actually last Thursday we had 50 young men at the chapel,
of which 30 were non-members. The whole neighborhood around the church is
all pumped about the new activities at the church. I'm sure many baptisms
will follow, hopefully of families :).
Love,
Elder Henry
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Gravataí 8/14/12
Dear Dad,
That's super exciting news about lithium ions in the truck :). Not quite a Tesla, but a huge upgrade from the 10-15 mile range we were getting. Speaking of Electric Cars, how are the new production line EV's holding up? Are they selling well or looking like another flop?
The new sports court they have at the new chapel has a basketball court, so I took the liberty of purchasing a basketball to put it to good use. Speaking of which I spent quite a bit of money this past week and wanted to let you know where your money is going,
Tuesday I bought some books from the temple as well as a couple DVD's. Including a hymnal for Elder Roman for his birthday, I believe the total came to around $35-40.
Monday I bought some contact solution (20 dollars a bottle down here!), as well as medicine that the doctor in São Paulo recommended for me. Today I bought a basketball and a pump for another 20 dollars.
I believe that's everything, sounds like you are enjoying the last bit of summer break. Here in 2 or 3 weeks everything will be back to school and in the grind once more. I love you and thanks for writing.
Dear Mom,
So the open house at the Chapel went just about as well as I expected it to be. The first day, Thursday, pretty much only members showed up, I only talked with one or two non-members, but somehow other people were there that I didn't end up talking with. Friday was a lot busier, and we had a good amount of members and non-members show up. We actually had an opportunity to teach a lesson or two at the chapel, which was fun. Saturday was the dedication and went well. The new chapel was FULL of people, mostly members, but a lot of less active members and a couple of investigators as well. I couldn't tell you what was actually said though, the Stake President here has an awful habit of mumbling his words, and we were sitting way at the back.
Unfortunately I brought my camera to the dedication, but forgot to check the battery level before heading over. After pulling it out to take pictures, I found out the battery was dead -.-'.
I'm jealous you can hop into a nice cool pool of water, its steaming hot outside, somewhere between 28-30 degrees (C of course). A pool sounds like a grand time.
The work here is really starting to progress, we have a good teaching pool and a good amount of people who really show a desire to learn and act. We had a really neat experience with one of our investigators, L. this past weekend. She came to church for the first time, and she received a testimony of the gospel. She felt something at church she had never felt before, (I.E. the Holy Ghost) and she told us yesterday that she there is nothing more important to her now than to continue firm in the church. She has a baptismal date for the 25th of August, quite the miracle. I don't know if I told you how we found her, but I'll tell you again.
We were teaching her Mother, who really wasn't progressing at all. We actually had returned that day to tell her that we weren't coming back. In the middle of the lesson, L. pokes in her head (I had no idea she lived in the same house at the time) and asks if she can sit in and listen. Of course we responded yes! She then went on to tell us how she had heard about the Church on a television program (somebody named Dr. Ray) and she really wanted to know more about the church, but didn't know how to find out more. Then just days later we show up with exactly what she wanted, from there she began to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and when she went to church for the first time, she received a witness of the truth :). Its been an amazing experience all around.
I. and his wife are going to go to the cartório (place where you sign marriage papers) this Friday to be married. I'm really excited for their baptism as well (which will take a little bit of time, but I have some to spare). I'm just sad for Elder Roman because we have 5 baptisms coming up and Transfers are next Tuesday. Probably he'll be leaving and I'll be receiving a new companion. We'll see though.
Today is Elder Roman's Birthday, he turned 20 today so we celebrated by going to a member's house for lunch. Only problem is the oven was all out of propane (instead of gas pipes here, we use propane tanks inside the house) so the meat didn't cook! We waited for 2 hours and the meat still wasn't done. By the time we figured out what had happened, we had to get going, but we had a nice little Torta de amendoim (Peanut Pie) which was delicious :).
Also big news, starting next week all P-days will be on Monday instead of Tuesday. So make sure to write on Sunday nights or Monday mornings.
I love you all so much, thank you for writing me,
Love,
Elder Henry
That's super exciting news about lithium ions in the truck :). Not quite a Tesla, but a huge upgrade from the 10-15 mile range we were getting. Speaking of Electric Cars, how are the new production line EV's holding up? Are they selling well or looking like another flop?
The new sports court they have at the new chapel has a basketball court, so I took the liberty of purchasing a basketball to put it to good use. Speaking of which I spent quite a bit of money this past week and wanted to let you know where your money is going,
Tuesday I bought some books from the temple as well as a couple DVD's. Including a hymnal for Elder Roman for his birthday, I believe the total came to around $35-40.
Monday I bought some contact solution (20 dollars a bottle down here!), as well as medicine that the doctor in São Paulo recommended for me. Today I bought a basketball and a pump for another 20 dollars.
I believe that's everything, sounds like you are enjoying the last bit of summer break. Here in 2 or 3 weeks everything will be back to school and in the grind once more. I love you and thanks for writing.
Dear Mom,
So the open house at the Chapel went just about as well as I expected it to be. The first day, Thursday, pretty much only members showed up, I only talked with one or two non-members, but somehow other people were there that I didn't end up talking with. Friday was a lot busier, and we had a good amount of members and non-members show up. We actually had an opportunity to teach a lesson or two at the chapel, which was fun. Saturday was the dedication and went well. The new chapel was FULL of people, mostly members, but a lot of less active members and a couple of investigators as well. I couldn't tell you what was actually said though, the Stake President here has an awful habit of mumbling his words, and we were sitting way at the back.
Unfortunately I brought my camera to the dedication, but forgot to check the battery level before heading over. After pulling it out to take pictures, I found out the battery was dead -.-'.
I'm jealous you can hop into a nice cool pool of water, its steaming hot outside, somewhere between 28-30 degrees (C of course). A pool sounds like a grand time.
The work here is really starting to progress, we have a good teaching pool and a good amount of people who really show a desire to learn and act. We had a really neat experience with one of our investigators, L. this past weekend. She came to church for the first time, and she received a testimony of the gospel. She felt something at church she had never felt before, (I.E. the Holy Ghost) and she told us yesterday that she there is nothing more important to her now than to continue firm in the church. She has a baptismal date for the 25th of August, quite the miracle. I don't know if I told you how we found her, but I'll tell you again.
We were teaching her Mother, who really wasn't progressing at all. We actually had returned that day to tell her that we weren't coming back. In the middle of the lesson, L. pokes in her head (I had no idea she lived in the same house at the time) and asks if she can sit in and listen. Of course we responded yes! She then went on to tell us how she had heard about the Church on a television program (somebody named Dr. Ray) and she really wanted to know more about the church, but didn't know how to find out more. Then just days later we show up with exactly what she wanted, from there she began to read the Book of Mormon, pray, and when she went to church for the first time, she received a witness of the truth :). Its been an amazing experience all around.
I. and his wife are going to go to the cartório (place where you sign marriage papers) this Friday to be married. I'm really excited for their baptism as well (which will take a little bit of time, but I have some to spare). I'm just sad for Elder Roman because we have 5 baptisms coming up and Transfers are next Tuesday. Probably he'll be leaving and I'll be receiving a new companion. We'll see though.
Today is Elder Roman's Birthday, he turned 20 today so we celebrated by going to a member's house for lunch. Only problem is the oven was all out of propane (instead of gas pipes here, we use propane tanks inside the house) so the meat didn't cook! We waited for 2 hours and the meat still wasn't done. By the time we figured out what had happened, we had to get going, but we had a nice little Torta de amendoim (Peanut Pie) which was delicious :).
Also big news, starting next week all P-days will be on Monday instead of Tuesday. So make sure to write on Sunday nights or Monday mornings.
I love you all so much, thank you for writing me,
Love,
Elder Henry
Saturday, August 11, 2012
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