Campos - Week Ten

Well, this week was pretty hectic. So, we didn't have any baptisms this week, but we remarked for the 8th. Cristiani was still using drugs and stuff but we're helping her a lot and I'm pretty confident that she'll be ready on the 8th. Chayene is excited and wants to start going to Seminary with one of the young women we brought to her house. Awesome. So everything is going along there. 

My new comanion is pretty cool, but he says stuff like, "There are two types of rules ... " Basically he thinks some of the rules are silly, which I don't like, because obedience and diligence are two of the most important principles on the mission. But, we're working well together. 

We are teaching a 78 year old man named Gervasio, who likes to read so we gave him a Book of Mormon. He says that he reads it all the time, and we even saw him sitting outside with the book in his hands, but I'm not sure how much desire he really has. We'll see. 

We also started teaching a woman named Genilsa, who has potential. We just need to go back and see if she is keeping commitments. 

I'm a little stressed here in Campos. Some times I feel like I'm the only one here working hard to find, teach, and baptise people here, but also we don't have much support from the members so we're doing everything alone. But i'ts part of the work.  I know that if I do the best that I can, the Lord will bless me. If I keep doing what I know is right, I know that eventually, I will find success. 

Oh and here in Campos, I'm pretty sure seasons don't exist. If i'ts winter here right now, it feels a lot like summer. 

Well, I love you all, thanks for all the support. I'm trying my best to be a good missionary. Thanks for everything mom and dad. Looks like everything is going great there.

And it would be cool to get letters from people...haha.

Alright thanks for everything. 

Campos - Week Nine

Hey mom. 

No that's not weird, and mostly everyone calls me oodemanz or something like that, because, as zack's mission has already proven, people who don't speak English can't say our name. 

Anyway, this week was a little different for good and bad. 

The good part, was that we had a lot more help from the members this week, so this Sunday, we should have 3 baptisms! Wooo! And we had people at church this week! WOOO!  And yeah everything has been pretty good this week, everything normal, everything great.

Cristiani went to church this week and loved it. She and her family, well part of it anyway, should be getting baptised this week, I'm a little worried but I think it'll all work out. If not there's always the week after. 

We've been working pretty hard this week, our number of contacts was pretty low =( but the ward seems to be getting more excited with the work especially with this new program that President made, to rescue those people who have fallen away. Inactivity in Brazil is ridiculious. Theres maybe 150ish members active, and 600ish members total. Wut?

But yeah, the bad part of the week happened yesterday and today. I will be travelling to Vitoria today, 4 hours on a bus there, and 4 hours back to get a new companion. Elder J. Sousa (my companion) elbowed Elder F. Santana in the FACE on Sunday, in the middle of the street, going to lunch. It was rather unexpected. So everything eventually was resolved, and I have to trade companions in an emergency transfer. Lame. But oh well, there s nothing that I can do. 

Well that's about it. The photos are in a square in downtown campos. Pretty sweet. 

Soo yeah. Love you all.  Happy Fathers Day, Dad! 

Thanks for everything fam. Maybe I'll get my other shoe today.. haha

LOVE. peace out. 

Campos - Week Eight

Riley in his apartment making his "double chin face"!

Hey family!

So this week was all right. It started out pretty good but then kinda went downhill. Anyway, we now have 4 baptism dates marked, 3 with the family of Cristiani. We are teaching her husband José and daughter Sheyeni. They are progressing well and are excited for their baptism date on the 24th. We also are teaching a Julius Caesar, who is pretty cool. He had some issues in the past, I don't know exactly what, but he was in prison for a while and he is really looking to change his life and follow the right path.

This week was harder because we didn't really do our contacts until the last day, so we were lacking people to visit at times, and it seemed like no one was ever home.

The best part of the week was the temple dedication on Sunday. The Manaus temple is pretty cool. Before the session, they had a slide show of the temple with a few others and the rooms inside. The Spirit was pretty strong, just with the slideshow! The temple was dedicated by Elder Uctdorf, and Elder Cook was there too. Elder Uctdorf gave a talk and so did two of the members of the area presidency. It was pretty neat. well. yeah.

We had a meeting that was pretty productive with the bishop this week. the members here aren't really excited to do much. The weekly activites dont have very many people, but the bishop and I came up with some ideas to help get more people. The bishop is a really great guy, the sad thing is that he is pretty much doing everything by himself.

Well that's pretty much my week. Wasn't very exciting. I cut my hair. and yeah.

Sounds like you all are having fun with summer there. That's cool that you went to record at Disneyland. Well, there were some holidays here that made it harder to work, and there's always soccer happening. Everybody here was pretty depressed that they lost to Argentina. Messi basically won by himself.

Love you all! Miss you! Keep being awesome!

Campos - Week Seven

Hey fam!

So this week was pretty good. Sorry I forgot to tell you that I got that package last week. haha now I just have to wait for one more shoe.

This week was pretty awesome, but we still have some things to improve here. The new zone leaders put in standards of excellence for our goals, which are pretty dang high. They wanted us to have 40 lessons total this week which is more than I've ever done. But we came pretty close this week. We had 38. so close. But also they wanted 20 lessons with a member which is the hardest part. This week we had a division with the zone leaders, went pretty good, marked a baptism date! And then  the next day, the new traveling assistants were here so we had 3 missionaries and we had another really good day, We found some investigators with potential this week.

So with the lady that we started teaching, Cristiani, she is an awesome investigator. We marked a baptism date with her and with her daughter, Shayani, and we will try to baptize the whole family! She just loves the Book of Mormon, she knows that our message is true, she just has an awesome testimony already. People have tried to tell her bad things about the Church but she strongly defends it already. She said she has found a great peace in reading the Book of Mormon. So cool. She and her daughter, and hopefully her husband and her two boys will all be baptized on the 24th. we're really  looking forward to it.

This Sunday was pretty cool. It was a stake conference, and it was a broadcast to some of the stakes here in Brazil. Elder Neil A Anderson spoke and so did the prophet! It was pretty cool. One thing that is kinda annoying is that we can't bring investigators to church this week because it will be the dedication of the Manaus temple. And there wont be sacrament meeting. Lame, but cool at the same time!

So that was pretty much my week. We worked a lot this week, had success, we are improving our work here, but we can still be better. I like this area, and I think the mission is great!

So that's about it for me! Oh and the photo is my district.