Wherever you stray, I follow

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia pessoal!

Hey y'all, it's been a quick week. It was a really good week. Is there another way to start an email other than “its been good and fast”? I'm open to suggestions because this is getting old. There are only so many ways to reword that.

Anyways, we saw 10 VW bugs this week bringing the total to 574.

Not a whole lot happened each day, so I'll give you the non-chronological order of events:

Basically all our lessons ended with the invitation to watch conference, so planning was really easy.

We finished up a lesson and started to leave when their dog started to follow us. I didn't think much of it because really it's a neighborhood dog, but she continued to follow us out of the neighborhood and sat with us in our lessons. At the end of the day we happened to have a few more minutes so we went back to deliver the dog. Our friend thought it was the most hilarious thing. It was pretty funny.

The next day the same thing happened.

General Conference happened! It was amazing to hear the words of the prophet, the apostles, and other general authorities. Here, we watched each session in a different place. It was really cool. The first lesson we watched at a members house right after lunch, and then next session at an investigators house with hot dogs (pronounced hotchy doggies). At night we watched at home. Sunday Afternoon we watched at the chapel and in the evening we watched at a members house. Lots of travel but so worth It. I was especially impressed this conference at the number of references to President Nelson's words. It shows just how important the prophet's words are, and just how applicable they are now, even if the citation is old. The prophet is shown a grander perspective that we can view.

Other than that, we basically did our usual rounds. No incredible breakthroughs, nothing terribly sad, just same old same old. But it's awesome. I've recently picked up my scripture study and it's incredible to see the difference spiritually. But not just that. I've been flying through the old Testament recently. And I've been able to use the stories in my teaching to demonstrate a principle. Sometimes, I've found, it's better to use a scripture story than a verse to teach.

 

Tender mercy: We were walking to our next appointment, and I saw a man sitting in his yard just doing nothing, and I felt prompted to go talk to him. We were very late and so I pushed the thought out of my mind. But it kept returning. Again and again until I just told Elder Kjar we had to go back. so we went back and talked to this Guy who was really nice and accepted a Book of Mormon and is excited to read. We'll see how it goes. But it was nice to see the results of following a prompting of the spirit.

Scripture Thought:

Mosiah 2:41

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

True, lasting joy comes only through living the commandments of God. He knows all. He has given us His commandments for this purpose. They are not given to restrict us. The kite's string was never designed to hold back the kite. In truth, the kite could not get off the ground without the string.

Fotos:

1. Classic gang graffiti that I love but can't take a picture because someone will kill me so I drew it up at the church

2. Conference with Juarez and Hot dogs

3. Caldo de Cana (sugar cane juice)

4. Natureza

5. HOMENS TRABALHANDO

6. Knock off jeep

7. One year ago today

He is Risen! Viņš ir Augšāmcēlies!

 (Elder Putnam)

Easter is one of my favorite Holidays now.

I was reminded this season of a Russian orthodox Easter tradition. On the morning of Easter, the first time you great everyone, you say "He is risen." to which the person being addressed says, "Truly He is Risen." Latvians don't seem to like it that much but its something that I want to take home. So next Easter, greet everyone on Easter morning by saying "He is Risen."

Elder Putnam

Honey I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde a todos! Feliz Páscoa! Ele vive!

This week wasn't even real. It was really successful and efficiently spent, which unfortunately means I don't remember anything. Perhaps I'll keep it short.

Weekly Highlights:

-we watched “The Other Side of Heaven 2” and it was pretty good. Well actually we watched “O Outro Lado do Céu 2”.

-it's holy week so our favorite bakery was closed most of the time

-it’s been really cold here. Like it gets down to 70°F at night. It's been wonderful to use a jacket and sleep with a blanket.

-we upgraded our fan. It's really powerful, but German engineering is really complicated and maintenance is really expensive.

-I saw 15 fuscas! Brings the total to 564. Good week.

-we had zone conference this week and it turns out that my name has been spreading through the sisters as “The Elder who likes Taylor Swift” so that's great. It'd be nice if I was “The Elder who works really hard”, though.

-It took us an hour and a half to call an Uber from zone conference.

-we got a panini press and it's a game changer. I complained about the gross panini sandwiches at the CTM, but these are amazing sandwiches. Perhaps my tongue has lowered its standard. Not mad about it.

-our lunch appointment fell through, so we made corn dogs from scratch.

-I got a bucket of water dumped on my head because of a challenge that the zone made. If you marked a baptism date, you could choose someone in the zone to get a bucket of water dumped on their head. I got chosen.

-Brick happened

-On Sunday I was allowed to talk to my family briefly, so I made sure to call right after church got out so I could say hi to friends too. I got to share with them my testimony and it was really cool. Shout-out to Koko, Drew, Brener, and Preston.

-got mistaken for Jahovah's Witness more than usual

-Got called “Ken” for the 4th time

-a gang member took a photo of us, so next time we go into that neighborhood, we will either be shot dead or we'll basically be in the gang. We'll see. We have lunch there this week.

I would really like to share my experience that I had this year with Easter. In Brasil, the Easter celebration is extended real to be the entire Holy Week because of the catholic tradition. It's wonderful. Full of chocolate and happy faces. But it gave me the opportunity to have more time to ponder on the event leading up the resurrection of our Lord. Especially His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Golgotha.

About a month ago, I found a talk given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. It's called “None Were with Him” from the April 2009 general conference. It's now become my favorite discourse. It taught me many things about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I felt His love for me. I felt that what He did, He did out of love. There is no greater truth than “God loves you”. But there is no truth of greater significance than “Jesus Christ lives”. Because He lives, we will all live again. We can be comforted in all moments, no matter how much it feels like no one understands. He understands. We will never be left without aid. “Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.” I testify with all my heart, might, mind, and strength that Jesus Christ lives. He knows each and every one of you because he experienced every sorrow, sickness, and suffering. He was the firstfruits of them that slept, and we will all eventually do the same. Search for the truth, pray to know of it, and apply its invitations, and by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved in the Kingdom of God.

Little Tender mercy to leave you guys with: In a lunch appointment, I shared my testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and my testimony of this aspect of the gospel grew to beyond my capacity to express. Testifying of the truth brings the truth to all, not just to those who are taught.

Tchau Tchau, vai com Deus,

Elder Mackrory

Fotos:

1. Volkswagen ventilador

2. Road work ahead? Uh yeah! I sure hope it does!

3. Sunset

4. Balde de água

5. Favorite Easter quote

The whole school is rolling fake dice

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde a todos! Como vai?

Pday finally arrived! This week actually felt long. Since last week we switched pday to Friday, it was 10 days straight of doing work. I love the work, but 10 days is a lot.

On Monday we did work. It was hot, but we did it. For those of you who don't know, Brasil just went through A record heat, hitting Rio very hard. Last Sunday it got up to 144 degrees. Very hot.

Tuesday was the beginning of the rain. We were just doing our rounds, visiting people and teaching them. Then it started to rain. So we started to speed walk to the chapel for some shelter. Then the rain let up on the way and we decided to visit another friend instead of go to the chapel. It ended up being a really powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon and they committed to reading together. during the lesson, it started to pour. When we ended the lesson, they offered to let us stay and wait out the rain. We kindly declined saying the chapel was close. Big mistake. We started running from pavilion to pavilion trying to be less soaked. Under one pavilion, a car pulls up and opens the back door for us. We thought “great! Someone's giving us a ride!” It happens more often than you would think. Random people. So we get in, and he goes, “Fernanda?”. Nope. We just got in Fernanda's Uber. So we quickly got out and started running again. Within seconds we arrive in eyeshot of a very drunk/high/whatever lady. She's got a big bottle of liquor in on hand and she's trying to stop us with her other hand. Waving her finger and stumbling around trying to block the entire road. So we just keep running. We run past her and she starts after us. Pretty fast. So we pick up the pace, Elder Kjar almost eats pavement, and we arrive at the chapel looking like we just came from a swim. We chilled at the chapel drying off and when the rain stopped and the road drained, we went to go get açaí. Pretty good day.

Wednesday was pretty normal, a little rainy.

Thursday was pretty cool. We met Bernardo a few days ago while he was on a run. He was not moving remotely fast, and so I felt kind bad passing him walking. But then he picked up the speed a but later and passed us again and stopped to talk. In English. He's got a Colombian accent, but pretty good English. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Hindi. He asked about what we do and all and it was pretty cool. We said by and that was it. Then on Wednesday he stopped us again, this time in his car, and invited us over to teach his family. We asked him if he had any gospel questions so that we could choose principles to teach and make it meaningful to him. He said “teach the creation for the kids”. We thought, oh that's cool he has young kids. So we prepare. When we show up, it's a school. And we're teaching 40 kids. It was pretty cool. But definitely not what I was expecting. They asked questions about America and our missions and all that, but they paid attention during the lesson. Bernardo's wife was there and did a formal “thank you”. She said “Elder Mackrory, thank you so much for this, you have only been here 7 months and already understand how to speak, and we can understand you. Elder Kjar, thank you so much as well, you are trying”. It was pretty funny for the two of us. Elder Kjar speaks well, people just get inside their own heads because of his blonde hair and such. Afterwards we had cake and coke and I got to talk to Bernardo's actual kids, who are 17 and 21. They were raised in India, and have English as their first language. They sound like Americans. It was pretty cool. Can't wait to teach them in English.

On Friday the rain made it pretty impossible to work, so we ended up having to stay at lunch for 4 hours. We watched a movie that I really liked. It taught that belief comes before seeing, and that seeing is not believing. pretty cool.

On Saturday, we had a pretty cool lesson with Igor. We taught him the plan of salvation. It was a telephone lesson, and so I couldn't draw it out like I like to. So later, after the lesson, I drew up a design and sent it to him. He loved it. But the design was not very esthetic. So I decided to redo it.

On Sunday, the rain kept us inside again, and so I had time to draw up a really nice plan of salvation. Ill attach it below.

We saw 12 fuscas this week, bringing us to 549.

SummarRio:

It been a long week

It was very hot.

Then it was very rainy and we got in someone else's uber and escaped from a drunk lady while the streets became rivers.

On Thursday we taught about 40 kids at a school. We were under the impression that we would be teaching a family.

We taught the plan of salvation over the phone and I drew up a design to send to our friend

I redrew it on Sunday to make it really nice.

Spiritual thought:

Matthew 13

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

Jesus Christ taught that the kingdom of heaven is worth more than everything we have. Obtaining it is our whole objective here on earth. But how do we obtain such a pearl of great price? The answer is simple. Follow Christ's example and teachings. Faith, repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Be kind, serviceable, and humble. In these things, we not only have the promise that the next life will be in eternal Joy, but also that this life here can be full of that same eternal joy. Christ wants you as part of His sheep. He cares for you and pleads for your well-being with The Father.

Tender mercy: on Tuesday, we were cold and wet after returning To the chapel. While there, we met with the building maintenance guy, who said that he bought pizza and coke for us and it was in the fridge. Warm pizza and fresh coke was just the thing to raise our wet spirits. The Lord surely sends angels Here on earth, even to deliver pizza.

Tchau Tchau! Boa semana pra vocês! (I promise I'll get back to all of your emails soon)

Fotos:

O Plano de Salvação

Random Door (leads to nowhere)

Not the Washington monument

Gym view

Spider

Like the shoulder I gave you in the street

 (Elder Mackrory)

Fala Meus amigos! Tranquilão?

This week was packed with cool things. I saw eleven fiscas, bringing the total to 537. You should know that today is not my pday. Friday was. This is pre-written. except for the parts between Friday and today. It's weird to write in the future. Let's get into it.

Last pday we decided to take it slow. We've been visiting cool spots around Rio, and as awesome as that is, it's nice to have a day at home. So that was nice.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were filled with lessons and spiders. We had a service project on Wednesday morning, where I likely saw 40 spiders, many of which were larger than an Oreo. One of them had a fancy butt and another one liked to lay reclined. Got some good closeups. Throughout the week I saw many more spiders, some cute, some less cute.

Friday was pday. It was amazing. We got to ride the train. It was pretty fun. Eventually we arrived. At the temple. It was even more amazing. We got there a little early and so we ate our packed lunch in the church building adjacent. We spent about 4 hours inside. It's incredible how close you can feel the Lord's presence in His house. Truly all those who come unto Him will receive rest. We came out sight at sunset and oh my goodness it was so pretty.

Saturday I got hit by a bus. Actually. It was really funny. Don't worry the bus is fine. Unfortunately my shirt has some black scuffs on it. So here's how it went. I was crossing the street at a corner and I forgot to look (tip: always look even if it’s a small street that no one ever turns into). I took two steps into the road when a bus arrived in the corner of my sight. It was turning into the road I was crossing. The front missed me by a few feet, but the middle of the bus knocked me pretty hard. let me paint the picture. You know those signs on semitrucks that say “this vehicle makes wide turns” and shows a car running into the side? I'm that car. So anyway the bus hits me pretty good square on the shoulder. I didn't get knocked off my feet, but I did stagger for about 6 feet in the opposite direction. The bus riders and driver were all shook. Eyes and mouth WIDE. In their minds they just witnessed death. The bus slams to a stop and the door opens and the driver is asking me if I'm ok. With a smile and a double thumbs up I tell him I'm all good. With a few more reassuring words and admittance of fault, the bus goes on its way. Then Elder Kjar and I laughed the whole way to our lesson.

Now that I've said that, the rest of the week doesn't even matter. It was really really hot on Sunday. Like 45 Celsius or something.

SummaRio:

11 fuscas, 537 total

Saw tons of spiders and taught lots of lessons

Went to the temple on Friday

Got hit by a bus (go read)

It was hot

Tender mercy: The Temple. For me, the role of the temple that I find more connection with is the title “House of Learning”. I always go in with questions and always leave with answers and study ideas. That's just how I worship: Learning. This time, I was really confused because I didn't have specific questions, no real concerns, just a desire to go to the temple. Upon entering and participating in the temple work, I saw why I was there. The titles “House of Peace” and “House of Love” were emphasized to me. My experience at the temple was very different and very necessary. The love our Heavenly Father has for me has never been clearer. The peace of the gospel was never stronger.

Spiritual Thought:

Isaiah 43:1-2

1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

God does not love you based on your success, your looks, your ability, or any earthly trait. He loves you because of your Heavenly traits. You are all spirit children of your Heavenly Father and he loves you because you are his. He will never leave you alone. Even when it feels like nothing is going right, and nobody knows, He knows. He is directing. Trust in Him and His path for you will be illuminated.

Fotos:

Cool plant

Spider

Temple

Temple with Elder Kjar and I

Cool car

Spider

Spider

Spider

Spider

I think its best if we both stay

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde pessoal! Tudo bem?

This week gets a high five. Really great week. Let's get going. I saw 10 fuscas this week for a total of 526. This week was transfers, I'll let you know what happened. But we gotta start from the beginning.

On pday we went to the Cachoeiras, or as I like to call them “água quedas”. We went with the Elders from Piabetá because the waterfalls are in their area. It was nice to see Élder Owen before he got transferred. It was a lot of fun. It started out with a hike, so I decided to go full Brazilian and wear flip-flops. Worked out great actually. No problems. I did however burn the tops of my feet. Then we went to a really cheap açaí place where 1 litre is R$15. So naturally everyone got a litre. I didn't finish it and took it home instead and ate it throughout the week. When we got home I made my favorite South African desert, Milk Tart. It's really easy so I'll be making it a lot more. When I finished making it, Élder Sousa Silva said that it's a Brazilian desert. So that's nice.

On Tuesday I had a division with Élder Rojas, who was transferred here when I got here. After a good day of work, we hit the supermarket for a drink. Holy moly I'd never been in a supermarket this big. Last week I said the same thing but this was on a different level. Normally the supermarkets are about the size of your average Albertson’s or Aldi’s. This was a full on Costco. When I got back with Élder Kjar, we went to the Birthday party of Juarez, one of our investigators. He's awesome. The only one that shows up to English class and actually studies. He loves to learn, especially about the Gospel. I smell a baptism.

On Wednesday we got transfer news, aaaaaand: I'm staying! And so is Élder Kjar! He's the first companion with whom I've spent more than 6 weeks. It's gonna be great. But transfer news was insane. Of the 80 or so companionships in the mission, only 6 stayed together. The entire mission just got turned upside down. Actually, Élder Patterson and Élder Sousa Silva stayed together too! Our house feels like we're halfway through a 13 week transfer. Usually during transfer week, numbers (lessons, new people, lessons with members etc.) are really low because 3 days are spent either packing bags, traveling, or saying goodbye to members. Elder Kjar and I don't have to worry about that, so we decided right then and there to win district council. Not that that is our motivation, but our numbers are gonna be insane.

Thursday we had Sandra with us and we went around contacting people that we visited on that one fateful Thursday and it was great. João, who went to church and then had tons of doubts, received us well and he considered coming to church again and accepting the lessons. Later that night we did not have our English class because no one came (Juarez had a genuine excuse). We just did our weekly planning instead.

Friday was pretty unremarkable, just lessons walking. Saturday we visited Iraci who has a baptismal date. We talked about the covenant she's planning to make and she actually was really excited. She also remembered her baptismal date which is rare. Really excited for her. We also visited Maria and she had questions about the plan of salvation. We haven't taught her about the plan of salvation. She just has good questions and is reading and retaining the Book of Mormon.

On Sunday, we had lunch with a member of the Bishopric and his family. Last time we were there they asked about American lunches. I told them that sandwiches were pretty standard and that bread in general was bigger. So they took that to mean that bread is one of the main courses. It's not exactly true, but I won't complain about bread. It's was really good and the Brother made lots of dad jokes that don't translate well into English, so I'll just let you guys imagine how funny they were. We then went out to a section of our area (safe area) where there weren't a lot of people on our records. We did some street contacting that was really successful. We even met an inactive member who does not have a Bible, so we are coming back sometime this week to give her one that we have in the house. We sent her a picture of the Bible and she CHANGED IT TO BE HER PROFILE PIC. So somebody is excited about the Bible. She also speaks really formally and with correct grammar which is refreshing and rare.

That's it everyone, hope y’all are recovering well from daylight savings. Tough life.

SummaRio:

10 fuscas, 526 total

We went to the waterfalls for pday and I did the hike in flip flops

On Tuesday I went on a division with Élder Rojas and went to a humongous supermarket. Absolutely huge.

Élder Kjar and I are both staying in this area for another 6 weeks! More than 90% of the mission changed, and we stayed. Pretty wild.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were filled with lessons and good progress.

On Sunday we had bread for lunch and found someone who does not have a Bible (I didn't know that was allowed in Brasil).

Tender mercy: on Sunday it was really hot. No wind, high humidity, and sun. Awful. I did not want to work. But I put my head down and got to work and then after that I didn't notice the heat, and we had cloud cover for most of the time. It was also a tender mercy that almost every house we visited offered us water. This actually happens quite often. I'm not very good at wording things like this to sound powerful, but when it is 100° and 100% humidity and you don't think it's a problem, the Lord is with you.

Spiritual thought: A brother in our ward talked about Faith in Sacrament meeting. He likened faith to a canoe in a lake. Having hope for better times and knowing that Christ is our savior is one oar. But with just this, what is rowing going to do? You will just go in circles. As soon as you act on that faith, as soon as you do something to demonstrate that faith, you add a second oar. Now you're getting somewhere. Now that you know this analogy, you have one oar, but what are you going to do about getting that second oar? How do you use works to make your faith real?

Tchau Tchau valeu!

Elder Mackrory

Fotos:

1. Super crazy sick bike we found

2. TAKIS CAME TO BRASIL

3. Flowers

4. Super crazy sick spider I found

5. Street pigs

6. Tub of açaí

7. Look at my calf- I mean the waterfall

8. Waterfall with the boys

9. Waterfall

Escape this town for a little while

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia meus fechamentos!

This week has easily been the fastest week of the mission so far. I'm pretty sure I went to bed on Wednesday and woke up on Saturday. But, it's been quite a good week as far as VW bugs go! I saw 15 this week, bringing the total to 516.

On pday, we did something very cool. Saracuruna has nothing fun to do. There's some stairs that are blue and that's about it. I've seen the stairs and they don't look like much more than blue stairs. So we went with some members, and left the mission boundaries for a bit (don't worry president said it's chill) and then came back and visited Sugarloaf mountain, Copacabana, and we were gonna go see Cristo, but the cloud cover was so bad there was no visibility and so it wouldn't be worth it. I did get to see a statue of Ayrton Senna, the greatest racing driver of all time.

Tuesday and Wednesday there wasn't a whole lot that was special. Lessons, contacts, sports night, açaí, the usual. I did however find a Vasco da Gama (they're my favorite team from Rio) jersey for R$25. Steal.

On Thursday we were going about our usual visits and some kids stopped us in the street. They wanted to show us their drawings. I told them I liked to draw too and showed them a picture of my “WindForce 1” shoe drawing. Then they all demanded that I draw it again. So I drew them a 30 second version. Then they all wanted their own. I can't say no to kids. So I drew up like 6 shoes. I thought they were pretty bad, but the kids were blown away. All the while Élder Kjar teaches one or two of them to make a paper airplane.

On Friday we had mission tour. Unfortunately it doesn't mean we tour every area in the mission and have fun. It means one of the area presidency comes and gives a devotional for two days. On Thursday, we were on zoom while the other half of the mission was in person. On Friday it was the other way around. Elder Koch, who spoke, actually gave a talk in this last general conference. We got to the chapel early for the devotional, and so Élder Kjar and I decided to go to the supermarket across the street just to look around. It's absolutely huge. There was a lady stocking the shelves wearing a Takis t-shirt. So I asked her where the Takis were. She said they don't have them, but they are coming to Brasil soon. Miracle. The Lord is gracious. His tender mercies are upon all the children of men.

On Saturday we had a lesson pretty cool. On Friday we had training on promising blessings as we're supposed to. This was something that neither of my trainers did, and so I had never tried it. In this lesson, I did it. It was really powerful. We also had a Ward activity where we shared a cool game to demonstrate the Plan of Salvation. For the activity, we bought a few varieties of cookies to have for those in paradise. One variety was really cheap so I didn't think much of it. Upon trying it, I found it is pretty much shortbread. So we're going back for those. Perhaps make a shortbread crust and then some pie.

Sunday was pretty cool. On our way to a lesson after church, we found a street market that sold every fruit you've ever heard of and some more. For really good prices. Too bad it's the sabbath.

I didn't have a lot of time to write today, we got a banger of a pday today. I'll write and include the pictures next week.

SummaRio:

516 fuscas total, 15 this week

We went to Sugarloaf mountain, Copacabana, and almost Christ the Redeemer. Was lit.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty uneventful but I got a sick jersey for dirt cheap

I drew like 6 shoes for some kids in the street while my companion taught them paper airplanes

TAKIS ARE COMING TO BRASIL

Saturday I learned to promise blessings and found shortbread cookies. A good day.

Found a sick street market with the best prices on the day when I shouldn't buy anything

Spiritual Thought: when writing this email, the number 516 (see paragraph 1) seemed familiar to me. I said, that's a scripture reference somewhere. So then I looked and remembered Matthew 5:16. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” Christ said that we are the light of the world. The good works we do bring spiritual light to those around us and give hope and joy in Christ and in our Heavenly Father. I invite each of you to let your light shine this week by giving smiles, holding the door, giving thanks, and saying kind words. Light the world.

Tender Mercy: after the mission tour, everyone was in the church gymnasium chatting and finishing up lunch. I was pretty spent socially so I decided to go play the piano in the chapel instead of making small talk. I didn't realize how much I just needed a half hour of playing and softly singing hymns. Literally all my stress from people, learning Portuguese, people were teaching, and everything else just left. The only thing I felt was the presence of the Holy Ghost and the pure joy the truths of the Gospel bring. Just peace.

Fotos:

1. Vasco gang

2. Pão de Açúcar

3. Copacabana

4. Senna, the greatest racing driver of all time

5. Major road work in our area

6. Also Copacabana, but this time it's a selfie

7. Another beach idk

8. Açaí with Élder Kjar