67th Week Out, Week 15 Mondubim, "Our Mission Baptized 308 People This Month!"

Dear family and friends this week was super great! To start off the week we went to the Cartorio and lined up a date for Rosi and Wellington to be married legally and baptized on the 30^th of June! They brought their 2 sons to church this week, and one of their sons is just living together with his girlfriend who is pregnant so we will try helping to marry their son as well! We are still working with our other family Emanuel and Isabel to be married as well but they have had to update their documents and some other things but we will be marking a date legally with them as well here very soon! Their son was confirmed a member this Sunday. It was funny this Sunday as we were in sacrament meeting as the power went out! We had 2 baptisms this week! For 2 Brothers Leandro and Hebert. And they are ALWAYS in the street flying kites and having kite wars with all the other boys in Mondubim. Leandro is 11 and Hebert is 8 they are neighbors to Wellington and Rosi who will be married. Our mission baptized 308 people this month!! I love you all and thank you for all the love and support!

Impressions of Mondubim Brasil

- Here in Brasil there is no gas lines, no water lines, etc. everyone buys those propane tanks and has an oven fueled by propane and everyone buys 20-liter water bottles for the week. As for the sewage…. Well I just won't get started with that one… HA just let it run wild and free!

66th Week Out, Week 14 Mondubim, "I Love To Share The Gospel."

Dear family and friends, This week was one of those seeing the fruits of your labors. We worked hard all week long and we had 2 baptisms this Week one is for a man named Jeanne who is 16 years old he was prepared to be baptized before we even met him pretty much all we had to do was bring him to church and that was it.  He told us he could truly feel each of the lessons we taught him where true so I know heavenly father prepared him for us. We found him 1 day just walking in the road and I felt like I should talk with him but he was in a metal shop working so I didn’t want to disturb him but I did it anyways and it was worth it. Our other baptism was for a boy named Izequiel who is 8 and we baptized him because he is the son of one of the 2 famalies we are preparing to marry and baptize. Did I forget to mention that? well if I did we have 2 families we are preparing to baptize 1 is the parents of Gabriel who was baptized 2 weeks ago and the other is the parents of Izequiel who was baptized today! we have already been to the hosue of these 2 famalies with the bishop to set up their legal marriage. So it was wonderful this Sunday as we had 9 investigators at church, 10 Recent converts, And 3 less-actives that came in all by themselves! As I sat in sacrament meeting I felt so blessed to be an instrument in the lords hand to help bring all of these people to church. I have learned that I LOVE to share with others the gospel of Jesus Christ, I truly love to share it! I am so grateful for the opportunity to be serving a mission that is changing my life in ways I never thought possible. I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Mondubim Brasil  -During summer break here EVERYONE is flying kites that they have made from parchment paper and bamboo. What they do is they have wars with them in the sky and everyone is trying to cut eachothers line. When one happens to cut the line of another kite and the kite begins to fall and land theres like 20 kids that swarm and try to win themselves a new kite! It’s the funniest thing you see, you know when you're at school and EVERYONE starts running and forming a circle because theres a fight well here everyone does that for a falling kite.

65th Week Out, Week 13 Mondubim, "Investigators Have Challenges"

Dear family and friends this week was a lot of work we had 3 baptisms all lined up and all 3 of them fell, let me explain. So the first 1 that fell his name is Alison and I don't even know why he fell because Saturday night he tells us that he's excited to be baptized tomorrow morning and then tomorrow morning we pass by and find out he went on a trip to another city and didn't even tell us and his dad said he only comes back tomorrow but we saw him in the road that night...... yup and the other was 2 brothers (David and Danubiu) we were going to baptize the mom signed their papers saying they could be baptized and then from nothing we show up at her house Friday and the mom starts going crazy and was like I don't want you guys talking with my kids and don't come back, she kicked us out of the house and then ran inside her house and would not come back and talk to us.... but her sons came out and talked with us and this kid is intelligent man he's the smartest 14 year old I have ever met and he tells us how hes been reading the Book of Mormon and he has been praying to be baptized this Sunday and he started crying because he wanted so be baptized and we were like alright man dont you worry were going to come back here with some people that can talk with your mom (the sisters!) so Saturday we stopped by this woman's house with the sisters (Sister Andrews and Sister Bento) and David let the sisters in (we didn't even go in we stayed outside)  and he went to go get his mom and when she entered the room she's like UM NO NO NO HOW DID YOU GET IN  MY HOUSE? and she PUSHES are you getting this? FORCES BY HAND the sisters out of her house WOW this woman is NUTS! she pushed THE SISTERS! I was stunned I didn't believe my eyes but yup that was my week... anyways I know this week will be better! I love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Brasil

-So I love the people here it's like this; you get into some strangers house and he will let you sit in his chair and he will sit on the ground because he doesn't have others he will get you a fan because its' so hot here and he won't even put it on rotating to get him to he will just put the stream of air on you, he will ask you if you would like water and you say yes and then he comes back with food and juice or soda.

64th Week Out, Week 12 Mondubim, "Visit to the Hospital"

Dear family and friends This week was just another week I had to go to the Federal Police to renew my visa because it's expired. The Federal Police is all the way in the other mission. I met up with all the missionaries of my group that came to my mission because we all had to renew our Visas, when we got there we entered a door that had a sign that said estrangeiros (strangers) and there was people from all over japan, Germany,Africa, etc. anyways that took all day and the rest of the week I got sick again and had to go to the hospital. and let me explain to you how the hospitals here in Brasil are. ALSO that I went to the most expensive hospital available to my in my mission, took like 2 hours to get there by car! so we got there and went to the emergency area  and took like 1 hour to serve me and there was like NO ONE waiting! So the woman finally attended to me after forever and passed like 4 IVys (however you spell it) for me to take and I took them all,and in a couple hours finished, and she came and looked and just passed by me, turns out she went to lunch and I was like hey can you guys take this needle out of me so I can go home now and they were like no she needs to check and make sure everything's ok and I was like oh ok can you call her and they were like no she went to lunch so I sat there in a chair for 2 hours waiting and she finally comes back its 2 o clock and I haven't eaten anything all day! I'm starving at this point and when this woman finally shows up she has the nerve to ask me if I wanted to take another IV i was like WOMAN take this needle out IM LEAVING hahahaha. Anyways I'm hoping for a better week! love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

-Impressions of Brasil

-DON'T go to the hospital because they are not there for you... they are there to get paid sadly...

63rd Week Out, Week 11 Mondubim, "No Transfer...will continue to Train"

This week I was walking in the street and I see a soccer ball in the middle of the road, there was no one in the road so I figured I would at least shoot the ball over to the side of the road, and when I kicked the ball it didn't move and found out it was filled with rocks and sand... then all the kids started to come out from their houses and laugh at me hahahha lol that was good... We had a baptism for a kid named Gabriel, he is 16 years old. I found him when I was in between appointments, I felt impressed that I should talk with him as We walked by him that night, and I almost didn't talk with him I walked by him and 5 seconds later I stopped went back to talk with him. He had a problem with smoking so I gave him a blessing that he would be cured from this desire to smoke, we fasted for him this week and he has not touched a cigarette since and never will again, he was baptized Sunday after stake conference. His parents who we are also teaching came to church with him and they arent married so we will be working with this family to mary them and baptize them here in a month or 2. Transfer calls came and looks like I will be staying here! I'm grateful for another transfer here in Mondubim Me and my comp are best friends! I would gladly stay another! I Love you all and thank you for all your love and support!

Impressions of Mondubim Brasil

-People grab huge leaves from the tropical trees and walk with them on their heads to shade them because it's so freaking hot here!