It feels like one of those nights we won't be sleeping (Lyman's Version)

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde Irmãos e Irmãs! Amigos e família!

This week seriously flew by. I can’t believe I've already seen 171 beetles. I woke up on Saturday thinking it was Thursday. It was really disorienting. I'm really starting to enjoy what I'm doing, and so the time just goes.

Since the transfer, I've been master of the keys. I feel powerful jingling around a big ring just to open the church building. It’s pretty fun.

On pday we went to the beach. It was perfect weather for the beach. I got lots of good photos, and we climbed out on the rocky bank and had a few little mermaid moments. There was a stone tower we climbed that gave some sick views. But, I did get sunburned. A nice watch and farmers tan has come of it, though.

Later, when we went to the market and I splurged a bit. I have been frugal with my money, so it wasn’t setting back too bad, but I got a kilogram of whey Protein powder, some peanut butter, bananas, oatmeal, chocolate powder, milk, eggs, and chicken.

That night, I made a bomb protein shake. Its ingredients are above, excluding eggs and chicken. The next night, after we returned, I made about three liters of it and put it all in a reused soda bottle. That's what my breakfast is. It's amazing for after my workouts, and I usually have it slowly as I start my studies. I bought more stuff today to make another batch when my current runs out.

On Wednesday, we went to visit an inactive member, and there was a dog waiting outside the door. We rang the doorbell and clapped and called, but no one was home, so we pet the dog a little. THEN HE STOLE MY BOOK OF MORMON. I ran after him and got it back. He did manage to take and keep the pamphlet I had put inside. We named him Alfredo.

On Friday, we had lunch at the stake presidents apartment. On the way there, the bus had to back up in order to make way for another bus on a very narrow street. The driver backed right into a cement telephone pole. Unfortunately, the bus survived with only scratches and scrapes, but it still counts as a car crash. That night, we returned to the stake presidents apartment complex for a ward family night. He rented out a common area for us to make food and have the activity. It was an amazing lesson on faith from Hebrews 11.

But then we had a serious scare. Not for the meeting, but for us missionaries. We were told that the elders who live in the closest apartment to us were gonna have to move in the next few days. Their landlord is doing renovations. What that would mean is that my comp and I would be transferred to another area. The other Elders would stay in our apartment.

Then next day I started packing. It was explained to me that it was almost certain that we would be transferred. I put my money, clothes, some food, and more in the bag.

When we saw the other elders that day, they explained that there was a miscommunication and that they still have another 3 weeks until the move out. This means I may not be transferred, and that another apartment will probably be secured before anything needs to change. Nothing is certain, and so look out for that in the future, I'll let you know.

The packing actually ended up being a tender mercy, as I had a lot of things out that I didn’t really need. Those things have stayed packed, and my shelves are a lot less cluttered. It was nice to have everything in its space, and space for everything.

Sunday was stake conference, and we got to see everyone in our zone. It was awesome to see Elder Smith and others whom I had missed. We went to lunch, and afterwards on the bus home, my comp had a migraine. We got home and he laid down while I called out appointments to postpone. He took some medicine and Laid down. Unfortunately, he was out the rest of the evening. He woke about 7 and felt better. During the 4 hours at home I got a two hour study sesh and a two hour work out. It was an amazing time. We were going to go out, but we got a call from the other elders that they were coming over. When they arrived, they had blankets and pillows. Apparently it was a pday eve sleepover. From experience today, their apartment was fine, and so this was to be an elective sleepover. I'm pretty sure that's not allowed, but when my comp is the district leader, and the comps of the other two greenie elders are the zone leaders, there's really not much you can do. I cooked some food and did some studying while they (with exception to one) played card games. I went to bed on time and asked nicely for them then to be quiet. Didn't happen. I tried to just go to sleep ignoring the noise, but that's wasn’t possible. At midnight I had had enough. I called one of the Elders at the table and told them very assertively that they had two options, complete silence or sleep. It felt pretty good to say only that and then hang up. There was peace after that, and everyone went to bed. I hope my sharp reproof will be enough to discourage this activity in the future. There might have been someone God needed us to meet during those two hours we should have been working.

Well that's it from this week, I hope the story from Sunday night doesn’t make it seem like I'm not enjoying the work. I really do, it is full of tender mercies and I know God helps me as I try to be obedient. It was just a crazy story that I will allow to be repeated.

SummaRio:

1. I got sunburned at the beach and it made for nice clean tan lines.

2. I splurged at the market and got ingredients for a protein shake.

3. A made a protein shake, it was amazing, and I then made enough for the rest of the week.

4. We got a scare when a miscommunication caused me to think I'd be emergency transferred.

5. The subsequent packing ended up helping me out away things I didn’t need.

6. During stake conference, I got to see some dearly missed Elders. It was so much fun.

7. My comp had a migraine and so while he slept it off I got a sick pump and some good reading in.

8. That night, other elders came over for "pday eve". It’s not a thing, and the sleepover implied is even more not a thing. I didn’t sleep well, as they were up playing cards til past midnight.

Tender mercy: During the adult session of Stake Conference, a recent convert who was baptized just before I arrived shared her testimony. I have been to her and her husband's house many times and grown to see the savior's love for them. She said something in her testimony that I remember teaching her about. She gave me a look when she said it. Although I was yet in the CTM when she was baptized, her conversion story still included me. It touched me deeply to see the love the Lord has for her. It helped me to realize that I'm not here to baptize. That is an important part, but if I went home now, not yet having performed a baptism, I would have succeeded. This is because I strengthened the testimony of at least one. That is why I am here.

Spiritual Thought:

Mark 12:

41 ¶ And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

This woman worked all her days to come up with two mites. The rich worked less, and came up with more. The Lord regarded the woman's mites as greater than the multitude of coins given by the rich.

It may be easy to attribute the greater value of the woman's mites to a simple mathematical percentage. The woman gave 100%, while the rich gave a lesser percentage. This is not the full truth. The woman did not only give all her living, it says, but she gave all that she had. The rich likely had food abundantly available at their homes, while the woman would wander home wondering about dinner. The woman sacrificed what could have been food and nourishment for one or more meals, while the rich sacrificed what was only laying around. This woman sacrificed ALL she had to serve the Lord. As should we. And as we sacrifice things to the Lord, He will open our eyes to the straight, narrow, and infinitely worth-it path of righteousness. Keep trekking in the Lord's footprints!

Tchau pessoal!

Photos:

1. Minecraft Bible

2. Christmas lights (because anybody who is anybody knows Christmas starts November 1st)(No, it doesn’t start after thanksgiving, that is just the intermission)(how ignorant you are for thinking the world waits until America is done stuffing turkeys to Celebrate the birth of the Most important person to ever live on the earth)

3. Brazilian school buses

4. Blurry picture of a sick lowered truck

5. Our street (I spy a vw beetle)

6. When the other elders ditch district run

Think about the place where you first met me

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa Tarde! Coé!

Don't bother trying to translate coé, it's slang. Probably equivalent to "sup". How are you guys? Recently, I've added quite a few new people in my email list, so I'll quickly reintroduce myself.

So I'm Elder Mackrory (the fifth). I am called to serve in the Rio de Janeiro North mission in Brasil. I started this last August, and I'll finish July 2025. It’s not exactly two years, but that’s just how the logistics worked out. It's really only two weeks short of the full two years. I just finished my first transfer in the field, and its freaking awesome. I write an email every week, and the subject line is always a line from a Taylor Swift song that has something to do with the events of the week. It's just a fun thing I do to keep up my Swiftie status while I can't listen to her music. I also include a short summary at the end of my email because I understand that not everyone has time to read my long emails, especially other missionaries. One other typical thing of my emails is the Fusca count. Fusca is the Brasileiro word for VW beetle. There's tons of them here. So far I’ve seen 144 classic (1970's) fuscas. I've also seen 2 modern fuscas, but I'm not sure if I should include those. After the SummaRio, there is a spiritual thought and tender mercy of the week. Photos finish off the email. Enjoy!

As I said, I just finished my first transfer. I'll be staying in the area, but Elder Nascimento was transferred. I learned a lot from Elder Nascimento. The three days of transfers were kinda crazy. My district and the adjacent district met at our chapel for the zoom meeting. Afterwards, everyone was signing things. I signed flags, jerseys, journals, and more. Nascimento and I went about the rest of our day as normal. Thursday was filled with visiting members and investigators and saying goodbye to Elder Nascimento. On Friday I said goodbye and spent the day on a split with Elder Humerez. That night we picked up Elder Avelino from the bus station. It was late, so we just went to bed when we arrived home.

The next day we went to the supermarket to get food for Avelino and some cleaning supplies that we were apparently lacking. We spent probably like two hours clearing out trash and wiping the floor. To me it seemed pretty clean before, but I guess Avelino likes to live in a house that exceeds Brasilian standards of cleanliness. Now, I think about the place where Elder Avelino first met me and I wonder how I even lived in such a dump.

The Language is progressing nicely. Elder Avelino says I am fluent, but that’s definitely not true. I can speak pretty well and about most subjects. My vocabulary is still very limited, and so I'm having to improvise things since I don't know the exact word. For example, I forgot the word for elbow. So I ended up saying "arm knee". I did not know the word for wood, so I said "tree brick". Soap turned into "clean juice". Comb turned into "hair broom". Stuff like that. Something that I'm proud of is my accent. I've been told by many Brasileiros including my comp who said that I only sound like a gringo because of my choppy speaking and limited vocabulary, but that the way I pronounce words is perfect.

 

My comp and I practice our Portuguese and English when we walk. When we chat, he speaks in English while I correct him, and I respond in Portuguese, while he corrects me. It’s pretty cool.

Thats pretty much it this week, really just transfers and language practice.

SummaRio:

1. To the many new people added to my email list: welcome all. I hope you enjoy the weekly updates.

2. I just finished my first transfer. I was with Elder Nascimento and now I'm with Elder Avelino

3. Elder Avelino likes a clean house (so do I) so we dee cleaned the house and got rid of so much stuff.

4. The language is progressing nicely. Elder Avelino says I am fluent and my accent is very good. But I am definitely not fluent. I have to describe things in different and creative ways in order to make up for a lack of vocabulary.

5. My comp and I have conversations in two languages at once to practice. It's pretty cool.

Spiritual Thought:

Matthew 13

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

With this being said, here’s a parable of actual events:

Before Elder Avelino and I cleaned the apartment, a broken chair and broken suitcase sat in front of an unused armoire that contained scriptures and other gospel books of missionaries past. When he and I cleaned the apartment, the chair and suitcase were thrown out, and the scriptures and gospel literature were organized and moved to a more accessible location.

Everything either has a perfected place in the Kingdom of Heaven, or no place. Contemplate which things in your life either have a perfected place or no place in your journey back to the Lord's presence.

Tender Mercy: During my split with Elder Humerez, we crossed a bridge with really scenic views. I planned to take a photo when we crossed. But as we stepped onto the bridge, Elder Humerez asked me why I wanted to become a missionary. I gave him my answer and my testimony and forgot to take the photo. Afterwards, I had a realization. Although Rio de Janeiro is very scenic and a good vacation destination, I'm not here for that. I'm here to serve the Lord and bring all those willing unto Him. In the moment that I forgot to take the photo, I was focused on what was most important. While photos will help me remember this time, it is not why I'm here. It was just a cool testimony builder with some cool symbolism.

Tchau gente! Deus abençoe!

Photos:

-Banana flavored peanut butter

-my chalk drawing

-teaching the most stiff-necked people I've met

-cute pink car

-Harley

-Me and a Bird ft. Elder Robison (miss you)

-quail eggs at the supermarket

Late Zone Conference and Rip to Elder Khilabok

 (Elder Putnam)

Due to some complications in the mission we had Zone conference very late in the transfer. We spent like 3 days in our area this week because of that and visa work. Nonetheless, it was a very good week.

We have a potential 4 new friends, if we can stay in contact with them all.

One is a referral who has already finished 1st and 2nd Nephi (we haven’t even had a lesson with him). He's spent some time in the states where he learned about the church and has some friends who are members.

Next is someone who a member brought to church. The member has been teaching this friend themselves for a little bit. Its minorly frustrating, but she is very excited about coming to church. She will bring her family to game night on Tuesday too. It’ll be exciting.

A random dude just showed up to church yesterday, and while talking to him, we found out that Elder Beebe had invited him to church when he was available. So he came. That hardly happens. W

Then there’s Artis. He said he's down to meet again when he has time. We also have several contacts for people who have mild interest.

Overall though on the week, we had a great go. Zone conference was fun and uplifting. It was Elder Khilabok's last one. Es raudāšu. He is super cool and a great example to all the other missionaries. I fed him some cake (wedding style) and in response Matias did the same to me. Only he got in trouble from his mom. Directly after lunch (with cake still on my face) President asked me to be a zone leader. I thought he was gonna chastise me and tell me that I need to set a better example, but he didn’t. He just informed me about a little smudge I had on my forehead. What a guy.

In the finding activity I was with Elder Brady which was fun, but we didn’t find anyone unfortunately. Maja (president's 9 year old daughter) made me a bracelet out of rainbow loom.

I hurt my ankle but its better now. Thats the main news.

This next week Elder Leonard will finally get to Latvia so I’ll get to start training with him. Super excited. might prank him a bit.

building was looking spooky when we got back from Rīga.

With their Range Rovers and their Jaquars

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa noite gente!

We'll start by saying the beetle count is up to 117. I want to create a spreadsheet to see how things change when I go to my next area, or when other variables take effect.

Today I saw a Range Rover and a Jaguar in the same five minutes. It was crazy.

First off, last week I made a mistake. Today is the last pday of the transfer. I will find out if anything happens on Wednesday. I'll let you know.

On Pday we didn’t really do much, just kind of hung around. It was nice to be able to relax, but I like to be doing things.

This week seemed really fast. Not a whole lot out of the ordinary happened, and so this email I think will be small, but that's what I told myself last week.

It’s been cloudy, but steadily getting warmer. I it doesn’t get much hotter than this though, otherwise all my collars are going to be solid brown by Christmas.

On Tuesday we had a really cool lesson with a less active member and her friends, they loved the message and accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon. Afterwards, there was a Honda CBR in the parking garage. I don't know bikes as well as I know cars, but I know this is a nice bike, especially for Brasileiro standards. That night we had pizza with members.

In Brasil, the pizza is different. They put all sorts of stuff on pizza. Some things make me wonder why Americans argue about pineapples. For example, I had a slice that had cream of milk instead of tomato sauce. It also had hardboiled egg slices. It was actually one of the worst things I’ve ever eaten. A few tears later, I got it down without a scene. Then I watched the member smother their own piece in mayo. I have not witnessed a greater sin. Whether you like pineapple or not, let's unite against this abomination. Most of the pizza I’ve had here has been good, but this one stood out. Anyway, the night was saved. Brasileiro tradition for pizza night is a dessert pizza after the main course. I mentioned this in a previous email. This time, we had chocolate strawberry. It was freaking amazing. It reminded me of the description of Alma the Younger's repentance process in Mosiah 27, and Alma 36. The torment that came from a knowledge of his sins was truly bitter, but the joy of being forgiven was greater than the magnitude of his pain. Such was the joy of this pizza.

That night I also saw a cursed lightning McQueen toy car. It was labeled with the number 98, had awkwardly pursed lips, had no eyes, and said "racing car" instead of Rusteze. It was also just funny looking in general.

Here, fruit trees are everywhere. My comp and I pig out on Acerola, Pitanga, and another berry that I don't remember the name of. I have seen many coconut filled palm trees and banana trees. The banana bunches all have a downward facing purple flower at the bottom. When I asked about it, my comp explained if full, but what I got was: it has something to do with how bananas get water, and without it, the bananas die. It’s called the heart. You should probably do your own research on it; I’ve just seen it, and likely misunderstood what my comp said.

My ability to understand is a lot better. I’m getting about 60-70 percent of the words, but the tenses screw me up, so I’m only getting about 30-40% of the meaning. And sometimes I hear a word and think "I know that one!" And then I miss the rest of the sentence. In strictly gospel conversation, though, I pretty much get it all. My speaking is also much better, I can speak my mind on most things, and improvise a lesson. This week has been a huge boost in confidence and ability.

On Saturday I fed a horse. It was pretty funny because it was spooked by my comp. We also passed by an abandoned plaza. It looked like it just never finished construction. It had a place for an artificial river, skate park, jungle gym, and a few other cool bits.

Tender Mercy: We have an investigator family who is pretty close to baptism. They have a 7 year old boy who bore his testimony during the primary program. He said he wants to be baptized and said he knows the Book of Mormon is true. He didn't stutter, get nervous, and spoke like an experienced orator. His testimony, though short, was powerful. It touched me, and his father who was next to me had glossy eyes. It was awesome to see the spirit witness to everyone the truth of this strong boy's witness.

Spiritual Thought:

John 3:23-24

23 ¶ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all things.

3 Nephi 19:35

35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief

Christ established His church on faith. It is written that you receive no witness until after the trial of faith. The basis of His miracles was faith. The greater the faith, the greater the miracle. He understood that the people in Jerusalem based their belief in Him was based solely on physical witness, and not in faith. Therefore, he did not perform any miracles at that time. In the Americas, greater miracles were wrought because their faith was greater than that of the Jews. If you have faith, miracles will be wrought in your life. Exercise you faith in Christ, and He will show you why you have faith. How can you exercise faith this week?

SummaRio:

1. 117 Beetles

2. This week flew by

3. It’s getting warmer

4. I saw a super cool bike after a lesson

5. Pizza here is different; sometimes there are some atrocious sins committed to the name of pizza.

6. I saw a cursed Lightning McQueen

7. Fruit trees are everywhere and I so I eat all day long

8. I fed a horse and walked through an abandoned plaza

9. I'm understanding a lot better, but there’s still a ton to be learned.

Photos

1. Flowers

2. Harry Potter in Portuguese (Half-Blood Prince translates to "mystery of the prince")

3. The horse

4. Abandoned plaza

5. Cursed lightning McQueen

6. Strawberry chocolate pizza

7. Mountain sunset

8. More flowers

Note: there will be more pictures of me in the next one, I don't really like selfies so I'll work on that.

Valew!

Exchanges with Elder Khilabok

 (Elder Putnam)

This past week we had a lot going on.

For the record: I got transferred down to Liepaja about 4 weeks ago. I'm in a trio with Elder Beebe who was in the MTC with me, and Elder Ivester, who is being trained by Elder Beebe. We are waiting on Elder Leonard to get visa stuff, but he'll be here in 2 weeks to be my greenie. We've been running Liepāja for the past bit. The members like us, we have friends who we are teaching, and there’s a new family in the branch. Very good things.

Monday we met with Jacky. She’s married to a member and is preparing for baptism. We don’t have her teaching records just because of complications in the mission right now, but those will come through in a few weeks. She’s pretty shy, but she is accepting everything that we teach her.

On Tuesday we had a surprise lesson with a Latvian from Daugavpils. He's crazy. Like really interesting person. He goes off on so many tangents. Lai Dievs viņu svētī. yfm? Such an odd lesson. It didn’t help that it was through zoom.

On Wednesday we had exchanges with Elder Argyle. Hes a vibe. we made pelmeņi feast, which is my favorite thing to do for dinner. super easy, super straight forward. very unifying. We also played Catan with them elders. Elder Ivester won.

On Thursday we had English club and it was good because people actually showed up! We did some service for Vincents, whose a super old, super spiritual dude. He gave us chocolate. But this week I decided to give up chocolate for health reasons (Elder Khilabok said I looked fat). That night, the aforementioned elder with his companion, Elder Maxwell arrived for exchanges. I was with Elder Khilabok and Elder Ivester. We kinda went crazy on finding the next day. It was so good. we almost got a member involved too. We found and invited 3 people to church. 2 of them came and are down to meet up again. We also met with a different friend who knew Elder Vehar. Sooo... we know what that means.

Exchanges ended well on Saturday morning. but then we moved into a different apartment. we spent the entire day moving and cleaning both apartments.

Because of our diligence this past week we were blessed with a wonderful Sunday. Sacrament meeting went by well and then Sunday School was slightly better. We are moving into this next week with solid momentum.

Small Spiritual/Language thought for this week:

Alma 27 talks about the people of Ammon who, fleeing from the attacking Lamanites, sought shelter with the Nephites. The Nephites gladly accept them giving them a land. In verse 27 we learn about their relations a little bit.

"27 And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end."

I had read this verse and other verses before but I had never before considered: What is zeal? So I did a little study on it. In the gospel library, it is linked to diligence and earnestness. But if we dive a little deeper, the Latvian translation is "dedzība." dedzīgs, is like fervent, or firey. "They were distinguished for their [fieriness] towards God and, and also towards men. I love that translation. firey. Let us all strive to be more firey towards God and towards men. If there is anything I want to be right now it’s a dedzīgs misionārs.

Been saying "yes" instead of "no"

 (Elder Mackrory)

Opa! Tudo Bem?

Everything here moves so fast. The speaking, the bikes, the days, the weeks, etc. It is hard to believe that this is the last Pday before transfers. I don't know if I'll get a new companion or not, I can see it going both ways. When I started this transfer I thought that I would definitely get a new companion after the first 6 weeks, because I thought that's how training works. A week ago, I heard that only happens if there's a problem with the companionship. Now, I've heard it can go both ways regardless of how the relationship is. I really don't know, and I'm excited to see what changes in our zone.

You guys have no idea how many times I've said "sim" (yes) when I have no idea what was just said to me. It's gotten better, and I can usually get enough out of what they said to give a closer answer, but sometimes they give me strange looks and I wonder if we will have police outside our house the next morning. I really hope I don't incriminate myself, I can't go back to jail.

This week was so cool! It actually snowed. Not a significant amount as to gather on the ground, and honestly not even enough to make the ground wet, but it snowed. I decided to wear my jacket that morning because I love to wear my jacket. When we went outside, I felt on my face rain, but there was no rain in sight. I took a closer look, and discovered the smallest snowflakes I've ever seen, they more looked like dust particles. But it snowed. I didn't think I'd see snow until late 2025. it was a good thing I wore my jacket, as it rained a little in the afternoon.

It has actually been really cool this week. like temperature-wise. It hasn't gotten above 24, and is usually 21-22. I wish I wore my jacket more because this coming week will be hotter.

I bought some variously flavored wafer snacks last week. I've been keeping them in my bag for when I need a snack and it has been amazing. I think my favorite flavor so far is strawberry. It makes it really easy to bear the last three hours of proselyting because I am not overcome with hunger. Speaking of hunger, Portuguese goes not have a word for hungry. they just say "with hunger", like "tô com fome".

I went on a divisão with Elder Schmuhl from the CTM. He is in my district now too, so I see him often, but it was cool to actually get to work with him. His area includes my house, so I wasn't too disoriented trying to navigate a new area. He and I are both American, and this is a huge talking point for Brazilians. Like America with Spanish, everybody here knows basic American words like "hello" "what's up" "thank you" "good bye". Many people will say to me in a very think Brazilian accent, "What's up, dude?" It's actually the funniest thing. But I can't laugh because they're not saying it ironically. Anyway, the divisão with Schmuhl was awesome. We made the plan for the day, including two lessons. We couldn't find the house, as the numbering system is almost nonexistent. We asked a guy who was loitering if he knew, and he laughed with us about the terrible numbering system. We were able to share a little bit about our missionary purpose with him, and he seemed very intrigued. we got his number. When we found the house (It was on a different street), the person who we planned to teach was not there, but another person was. They were at first resistant to listen because she was under the impression that our church teaches everything in a different way. We assured her that we believe many things the same, and gave her the example of faith. Elder Schmuhl explained faith really well, but it literally doesn't translate well. In Portuguese, Faith is Fé. He explained that just like fé has two letters, it has two parts. F stands for fazer (the verb "to make" or "to do"). He explained that we need to act in order for our faith to be real. É stands for esperança (hope). Because we can't know or see all things, we need to have hope that they are true, and that the God does see and know all. It was really cool to see her visibly realize the commonality we shared. Next we went to a different area and bought some popcorn. we were walking to find a place to sit and eat, when we were stopped by a man who spoke a lot of English. Like I said, being American is a big talking point. He mentioned he had been taught by the missionaries before, but didn't understand how the Book of Mormon fit into history and how he didn't understand the premise of the book. We were able to explain it perfectly to him, as the words we didn't know in Portuguese, he understood in English. He was really excited about it now, and wondered if there videos he could watch (I know, right?). We shared with him the Book of Mormon app, which has all the Book of Mormon Videos, the audiobook, and more. It's rare that a person we meet is interested in the gospel, and even less rare that they're excited. This was so cool and made we really excited for when I'm fluent and able to perfectly explain things to people who do not speak English, and motivated to work towards that. We later got another contact from a family who likewise approached us about our American looks. He and his family were interested and intrigued by the church's English classes every week. We had a family night a bit later, which is basically dinner and a message. They had a very young daughter around the age of 4 who was very hesitant towards us. She wouldn't even tell us her name. Just cutely cower behind her mother. As the night progressed, she warmed up to us. By the end, she asked if I could play with her. She gave me puppy eyes, so I couldn't say no. I really enjoyed playing with her. Not sure what we were doing, but she was having a good time, and that is what matters. I really love love live character development. Following Ice Cream and a spiritual thought, we left (to the toddlers dismay) and went to get Acai. It was a great ending to a great day. It is really cool to see that when you have faith in the lord's plan, he will bring people to you. Both of our lessons fell out, but the people we met during the time we would have been teaching showed us that the Lord's plan is always the best one.

Spiritual thought: I decided to write down a list of good attributes that I wanted to develop. I decided then to write how Christ exemplified each one. This has been really fun so far, since a lot of the attributes, while good, are not typically associated with Christ. It has been cool to see that He has exemplified everything Good. One that recently stumped me for a while was Faith. This should be easy right? But the time in Christ's live when he would have needed the most faith, the time that he was growing in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man, is summed up in less words than this sentence has. Then, while studying for a different attribute, it came to me. Immediately following His baptism, Christ fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. Fasting shows Heavenly Father that you are willing and ready to receive further light and knowledge because you have decided to go without food for a time. This is a very strong show of faith. Even Christ, a person who lived without sin, needed to have faith, and found the need to constantly exercise it. How much more then do we need to do so, seeing that we are imperfect beings? What is a way you can exercise faith this week?

Tender Mercy: on one family night this week, I was passing a rugby ball around with the father. Later, on the bus, I came to notice that my tag was missing from my jacket. This was really worrying to me, as we had to run to catch the bus. I thought that it had fallen off during this run. In this case, it would have likely been lost forever. But we got a message later that night from the member who found my tag in their yard. It must have been knocked off from rugby. Although it was never really lost, the message came at a time when I was most worried, and a bit scared. It is humbling to see how much an omniscient God cares so much for the little things.

SummaRio:

1. Transfers are coming up; I'm not sure if I get a new companion. I'm happy both ways

2. I say "sim" a lot and I probably shouldn't

3. It snowed. Not a lot. most people wouldn't consider it snow, but there were snowflakes in the air

4. It has not been very hot this week. A lot of overcast days and temperatures around 21-22 degrees centrigrade.

5. I went on a divisão with Elder Schmuhl from the CTM. It was really cool to see the day unfold the Lord's way, and not in our own way. You gotta go with the flow.

Photos:

1. Think Celestial

2. A Painting if Lehi and the tree of life by one of our investigators

3. Purple flowers

4. Real guava

5. Red flower

6. Neighborhood; oftentimes the address will have the color of the house with the number which makes things easier unless you're colorblind

7. Beautiful temple art at a member's house

8. Ocean view

Oh my goodness! I totally forgot the most important part of my emails! The beetle count is now up to 89. I saw a half beetle. This time it was the top half that was missing. I guess it makes sense that every beetle has the back bottom quarter, since that's where the engine is.

Tchau gente!

Elder Mackrory

Don't you think nineteen's too young

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia amigos e família!

The Beetle count is up to 60.5. I can’t wait to see another half of a beetle. Here, they call the VW Beetle the Fusca.

This week has been full of ups and down. Mostly ups, but a few notable downs. I was told by many people that the mission would be the hardest thing I had ever done. It's true. It's not so hard as to make me want to come home, but hard enough that I am learning so much. It's truly incredible what the Lord can do with a willing heart. If you are struggling to understand what you are being taught in school, if work has you bogged down, or any other situation, pray. Pray for help from your Heavenly Father. He wants to help you out. As you magnify your faith by praying for help and then putting in the work, the Lord will magnify your efforts.

This week started off amazing. It was P-day and we went to the beach. Not only were we at the beach, but it was also perfect weather. Overcast and 24 degrees. We didn't go in the water, but it was super fun to play with an American football and with the other missionaries. It was genuinely pure glee. It then started to rain. We all ran under cover and one elder forgot his socks in the sand. After it stopped coming down hard, I went back out to the beach to snap the coolest photo I've taken on the mission. Coolest Pday yet.

Tuesday I went on a divisão with Elder Zúñiga. He is from Chile, just north of Santiago. I don't remember the name of his city, but it's one of the ones that got a temple in the last conference. He's an amazing missionary and we had a blast. For lunch he taught a lesson about the atonement. As Zúñiga passed out dessert, he would ask if the person wanted dessert. Regardless of the answer, I had to do 10 pushups. Not everyone wanted dessert, but those that did could only have it if I completed the 10 pushups. I ended up doing 70 pushups in the span of about 3 minutes. We taught a lesson to a woman named Isabela who was really interested. She participated intently and the lesson became more of a discussion that we led. It was awesome. 

The next day was a lot of street contacting, I don’t remember much.

My birthday was pretty sick. After lunch we had cake, and although I don't like coconuts it was pretty good. Then for dinner we also had cake. This one was amazing. Photo attached. Also it was really cool because I noticed that I’m participating more in door to door things. We had a lesson yesterday with a person that I contacted without the help of my comp. It was so cool.

The next day was Zone conference. It was pretty sick. I got to see those in my zone as well as in the neighboring zone. It was awesome and it made me realize how blessed I am. Some elders had never even heard of churrasco. I have it about weekly. I'm going to one right now. I’m really grateful to be in a nice area so I can focus on the language entirely. One thing I’m particularly grateful for is having my own bathroom. That is practically unheard of in the mission.

I had a thought. I've heard it is estimated that a gorilla can bench somewhere in the zone of 4000 lbs. I assume that means the average gorilla. What if you trained it to bench? Gave him one for treat for each plate he loads one the bar. Make him work out daily. I would estimate that the average human can bench come where between 100 and 150 lbs. The world record is somewhere near 1000. By that math, I want to see a gorilla bench somewhere around 40,000 lbs. Is that possible or is there an asymptote that no muscle, bone, or ligament can withstand can cross? Would the graph follow an exponential decay or a logistic kinda thing or something entirely different?

Anyway, Those are the highlights of the week, hope yall are doing well, don’t hesitate to reach out. I love hearing from all of you.

Spiritual thought: in Portuguese, there are two words for the verb "to know": Conhecer and Saber. Conhencer is used for a familiarity or for relationships. Saber is used for information and facts. John 17:3 says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". Here, "know" is translated at "conhecer". Eternal life is not to have memorized all the events of Christ's life, all His appearances in the Old Testament, Book of Mormon, and in other scriptures. It is understanding motive, understanding attributes, and understanding doctrine. And how do we understand the doctrine? See John 17:3 for that one. I urge you to not only read the scriptures, but to study them and I can promise you will be blessed.

Tender Mercy: Saturday was a crummy day. It was rainy and so no one wanted to talk. Both of our appointments fell through. It just sucked. But that day I was on a divisão with Elder Robison. I love my comp, he's genuinely so awesome, but this day was only bearable because I was able to have full conversations in English with Elder Robison. It was amazing that the day that would have sucked Anyway, that I was placed with someone who I could understand fully and confide in.

SummaRio:

1. Pday was freaking amazing; we went to the beach and it rained. Genuinely so fun.

2. On my birthday we had two cakes in one day.

3. Zone conference was fun because I got to see more people from the MTC (Heyy Elder Roberts and Owen)

4. I wonder how much a gorilla could bench with training and incentives

Photos: I've tried to get these in a correct order but they never follow what I want

1. Maçã grande?

2. Chocolate cake

3. The busses here have perelli tires, are built by Mercedes, and are painted suspiciously similar to Petronas.

4. Genuinely the sickest photo of my mission so far

5. Beach weather

6. The Ramen is funny here

7. Zone conference (I wasn't ready)