MTC: Just about done and dusted

 (Sister Cummings)

Hey y'all!

This week was absolutely AMAZING and went by SO quickly! It's all kind of a blur.

Lately, our district has gotten really into playing pickleball in the mornings which has been such a blast but I get wayy too competitive. Not the best sport when you're trying to be Christlike.

Anyways, this week is also the last week of the MTC! People from my district start leaving to the field TOMORROW. Which is just so crazy and so absolutely sad. My companion, Sister Martin, and are the last to leave and we don't leave until Saturday so we just get to stay here and watch everybody leave. Which is super depressing but also so exciting! They're all going to be amazing missionaries!

Okay let's get to the good stuff; the Jesus stuff.

This week, I was reading in 3 Nephi Chapter 5 where the Nephites all repent and turn to Christ and in verse 3 it states:

"Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night."

The word that stuck out to me here is the word, "forsake". The dictionary defines this word as:

"To leave someone or something who needs or counts on you."

This stuck out to because their sins needed them, Satan needed them. The influence of being needed is one of the strongest influences in a relationship. To leave someone who depends on you is one of the hardest things I feel like you can do. But, these Nephites were able to do it, they were able to free themselves from the dependent nature of sin and find themselves free, independent, and agentic again. This all happened through Christ. I think this is amazing.

To conclude, I am so thankful for the strength that comes from my Savior as well as the freedom that comes from turning away from sin and turning to Him. This is how we repent and this is how we change. I just love Jesus.

I see Jesus in all y'all!

Love Sister Cummings

PS. If any of y'all have any advice, what's the best way to teach someone who is really intelligent and wants to know the deep doctrine about everything and um, you kinda don't know the deep doctrine all that well?

Its getting cold, Ive got my big coat on

 (Elder Mackrory)

Fala pessoal! Tudo bem?

It's been an interesting week, vamos lá. According to some miracle or otherwise, I saw 19 fuscas this week for a total of 664. That hasn't happened since the last slow week in my last area. But let's get going.

On pday last week, my companion and I decided to spend the day chilling at the church, since the Wi-Fi is really good. After that, we had a family night with a member of the bishopric and his family. Good time. During the 3 hours We spent in the streets, I saw 7 fuscas. I was like woah hey a fusca. Woah hey another one. Woah wait a third one? And they just kept showing up.

During the week, not many out-of-the-ordinary, worthy-of-the-email things happened. It's a strange feeling to have a fully productive week and not remember a single thing. It did rain a bit, which hindered our finding techniques, but outside of that just the usual daily schedule. At least not enough to write paragraphs upon paragraphs.

-it got down to 66 this week and I was absolutely freezing. Jacket and long sleeves and still shivering. When I come back it's gonna be awful. Before I left, the summer in New Mexico started early and got hot. I remember a week or two where it stayed above 100⁰ every day. Then I arrived in Rio at the start of the Summer. If 66 is the lowest it gets during the winter here, I'll be living in summer for a total of two and a half years before I dive right into Utah winter. Gonna be a real smooth transition.

-on Sunday we stayed for almost an hour and a half after church finalizing the records of Camila, Miguel, and Sheila. Both Camila and Sheila got interviewed for temple recommends, and got them. Oh yeah and Miguel and Sheila got confirmed during the church service too.

-lunch On Sunday was really interesting. The brother who hosted us showed us his new phone (Samsung 24 Ultra) and some of the new features. His cameras are better than my eyes. He can film in 8k and get quality photos at 100x zoom. He also showed us a bunch of features that as a future engineering student really appealed to me, such as customization and compatibility with windows. Needless to say, some of y'all might be sending me green texts when I get back.

So actually I lied, paragraphs just come. But it was a good, fun, and spiritually uplifting week.

SummaRio:

19 fuscas 664 total

On pday we just chilled and I saw 7 fuscas

It rained a bit finally

It got really cold. 66⁰F. The winter after I get back is going to be awful

We had a lot to do on Sunday getting membership records sorted out and temple recommend interviews with Bishop

At lunch on Sunday I was convinced that android phones are better

Tender Mercy:

This whole transfer. I haven't ever lived with anyone finished their mission before. This Thursday, Elder de Oliveira hoes home. It has been awesome to learn from him. He has a gift to speak with the power of the Holy Ghost and explain things in a way that is easy to understand. Those two things happen at exactly the same time because they are the same thing. That's something I realized this transfer to a fuller amount because of Elder de Oliveira. Clarity of mind is what the Spirit brings.

Spiritual thought:

God sees immeasurable potential in each one of us. But Satan does too. God has prepared the way for us to return to Him, but Satan has prepared another way for you too. The difference is that in order to follow God's path, we need to search for it. Satan's plan is ever before us. It is only by following God's commanded precepts that we will know His path.

Matthew 7:

7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened

Tchau for now,

Elder Mackrory

Fotos:

1. Faith in the Father, may the adversary fall (but it rhymes, also bad Portuguese grammar)

2. Teaching prayer in English class

3. Soap quoting song of Solomon is funny

4. Just some food?

5. Better food, I've yet to ask for the other photos of that night, ill get them next week

Elder Renlund Dapped me up!

 (Elder Putnam)

OK, we had several things happen this past week the crowning jewel of which was Elder Renlund's visit to Rīga and the Baltics in general.

At the beginning of the week we were told to avoid all sorts of activities at the church, but we had a ton of lessons planned so we did them all outdoors. Our most progressing friend Edžus came and we talked about the yoke of Christ with him. He really liked the message. Then he came to Elder Renlund's devotional and had to leave 3 minutes in to his talk. that was such an L. But he came to church and hit it off with the members which is so great.

We invited the ends of Latvia to come to Elder Renlund's devotional and there were a ton of people that came. It was awesome.

Before the actual devotional though, we had our own discussion with him as a body of missionaries. He encouraged us to stay focused on the sacrament which was the thing that stuck out to me the most. When greeting us he shook all of our hands and asked us our name and where we are from. Of course I had to be interesting and said I was from Saudi Arabia. When he heard that he turned the handshake to a bro grip, said "good to have you here" and thus I dapped up an Apostle.

Then in the general session, I went with our investigator to shake hands with him again and Elder Renlund, cause of course you want all of your friends to have the chance to shake an apostle's hand. When I went up this time Elder Renlund told me "thank you". I was like, "for what?" and he was like "you have a countenance." I was like what??? I’ve never been told that before and to hear it from an apostle was just out of this world.

As for later events of the week, I went to get my new visa. We also had transfers. To my great surprise, I got transferred again. This time to my old companions Elder Beebe and Elder Leonard. It'll be a fun companionship and I hope they can teach me how to do Facebook work more effectively.

In summary, We had a week that felt like two. It will be very difficult to forget it.

For a spiritual thought, I will leave behind my most favorite thoughts from this past week. First: Satan doesn’t have any power unless we give him power. This goes along well with one of my favorite scriptures: D&C 93:39 " And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience..." Similarly to how our faith and testimonies can be strengthened through obedience, through disobedience, Satan chips at and wears down our testimonies, our light and our truth.

On Saturday night, ponder and consider what you will think about during the sacrament. I think this one is so good. It brings to mind the temple. Often when we have questions or when we are seeking revelation or peace, we go to the temple. And we plan what we are seeking to find in the temple. The same can go for the sacrament. I tried that this week and realized that I have a lot more to improve upon. I can definitely get better at making my sacrament meetings more meaningful, which he encouraged us to do as we prepare to return home. For me, that’s in 2 transfers.

I guess I'll have to see you all then!

He said, "Let's get out of this town."

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde amados!

How's life? How are things? I'm running out of transitions from greetings to the email. Alright then. 10 fuscas this week. Total 645. Let's get going.

This week we left mission boundaries 3 times. But don't worry, all were mission president approved. Kinda crazy.

On Tuesday, we taught an awesome lesson with Sheila's daughter Esther. She read a little bit of the Book of Mórmon and had marked some things she wanted to discuss. We taught the restoration to her, and she was perpetually mind-blown. It was great. Her questions were more observations. “Oh so that's why…” “...makes so much sense now!”

On Wednesday we needed to go to Elder Tacuche's glasses appointment. So we left mission boundaries, went to the appointment, accidentally taught the gospel at the glasses store, and went back for lunch. After our normal missionary activities, we went to a milkshake place with a super cool inactive member to finish the night.

Thursday, we finally had someone show up to English class! He speaks English pretty well, just doesn't get a lot of opportunities to speak it. I actually found it difficult to speak English because it takes a while for my brain to completely switch. I learned a bit of English too, being put on the spot to explain grammar.

On Friday we had zone conference. We left early in the morning (leaving mission boundaries) to get to another zone which is pretty much separated from the rest. It was awesome to see Elder Patterson, DeWitt, and Westover from the MTC as well as a few other friends. Afterwards, we went home (leaving mission boundaries).

At zone conference, I was planning to talk to the mission Technology secretary about getting my phone switched. My phone has been taking 10 hours to charge and 5 hours to die. Not good for working. It just so happened that the secretary had an extra phone on hand and we made the switch. Thankfully that day I had my SD card inserted, so I was able to retain all my photos. Now my phone charges in two hours! It's incredible to once again be only slightly below par.

On Saturday we had a ward mother's day activity in which I was featured to sing “Can't help falling in Love” karaoke with the coolest member of the bishopric (you already know). It was pretty cool. We also had a family knight to celebrate Elder de Oliveira’s 21st birthday. Lots of cake.

On Sunday we were going to give the sacrament to a sick member, but he wasn't able to receive us at the time, so instead we knocked some doors and had an 83% success rate. Of 6 people we talked to, 5 of them are interested and have a lesson marked. Turns out the question “Do you have faith in Jesus Christ?” is a really good way to find out if someone has faith in Jesus Christ.

For those keeping track, yes, yesterday was supposed to he the confirmation of Miguel. He was sick. But no problem, it will happen next week with Sheila's confirmation. Nothing to worry about.

SummaRio:

10 fuscas, 645 total

We left mission boundaries 3 times this week

Awesome lesson with Sheila's daughter Esther

Left mission boundaries for an eye doctor appointment for Elder Tacuche

Someone showed up to English class!

Left the mission boundaries to go to Zone conference and to return

Switched out my phone

Sang karaoke for the ward mother's day party

Found super success knocking doors on Sunday

Tender Mercy:

We have had a serious lack of social Media referrals recently, and last night, the sister missionaries send us a message asking if we can help with an area that gets 20+ a day. I enjoy having something to do at every moment, so when we have a second so sit down, I like to check for referrals, but there haven't been nearly any these last 4 weeks. Sometimes it just feels nice to have things to do.

Spiritual thought:

Simple one phrase: Do what is right

1. Do what is right; the day-dawn is breaking, Hailing a future of freedom and light. Angels above us are silent notes taking Of ev’ry action; then do what is right!

2. Do what is right; the shackles are falling. Chains of the bondsmen no longer are bright; Lightened by hope, soon they’ll cease to be galling. Truth goeth onward; then do what is right!  

3. Do what is right; be faithful and fearless. Onward, press onward, the goal is in sight. Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless. Blessings await you in doing what’s right!

  [Chorus] Do what is right; let the consequence follow. Battle for freedom in spirit and might; And with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow. God will protect you; then do what is right!

Até próximo!

Elder Mackrory

1. Cosecha's milkshakes

2. Conferência de Zona

3. Carro legal

4. Nossa área

5. Aranha grandona

1st P-day Woot woot

 (Sister Cummings)

Hey y'all!

I don't quite know how I want to do these things so bear with me until I eventually figure it out.

I want to keep these brief so that y'all actually read them. Sorry for callin’ some of y'all out but I'm just being realistic.

Anyways, this week has been AMAZING. Hard but AMAZING. I absolutely love my district and my companion. They feel like family and the Elders definitely act like they're my brothers. Which is nice but like a little annoying sometimes if you know what having brothers is like. BUT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

I just want to tell y'all every single thing that happened this week but I can’t. However, one thing that I do want to share is something that I learned about Christ's Atonement this week:

So, during personal study on Sunday I was studying in Preach My Gospel (Y'ALL NEED TO READ IT, IT'S SO AMAZING) and I came across this sentence about the Atonement of Christ which says:

"He invites, 'Come unto me,' and as we do, He gives us rest, hope, strength, perspective, and healing"

The portion of this sentence that stuck out to me was the word "perspective". I feel like most of the time you hear phrases like, "the healing power of the Atonement" or the "strengthening power of the Atonement" but not the "perspective changing power of the Atonement". But it's JUST AS TRUE as those other phrases. When we come unto Christ, and utilize His love and Atonement for us,

It allows us to align our minds with the Savior, it helps us to view other's as well as ourselves more similar to the way that the Savior views us. He changes our perspective.

To end, I just want to profess my love for my Savior and His sacrifice that He made for me and for you and for every single person on this Earth. He loves you, He died for you, and He's always there to help you in any way you need it.

I love y'all!

- Sister Cummings

Here's some pics:

I called my mom, she said it was for the best

 (Elder Mackrory)

Fala galera! Feliz Dia das Mães!

Another week in the books. Not a super eventful week, except for the weekend. We saw only 9 vw bugs, to a total of 635.

Some highlights:

-I went on a division with Elder Klein. He's from Rio Grande do Sul. His family is ok; they live on a big hill, but they are still without water and energy. Please pray for the state of Rio Grande do Sul. A vast majority of the population is displaced.

-we got super cheap açaí

-For Sheila's baptism interview, she brought her daughter, and we were able to teach her a few things and mark her baptism date for the 2nd of next month. That is after transfer day, so I likely won't be here for that.

-on Sunday for lunch, we had churrasco and I got to try grilling cheese. It doesn’t melt, just gets this nice crispy crust and it's incredible. It's surprisingly good with molasses.

-this week was the baptisms of Sheila and Miguel! Miguel is the son of Camila, who was baptized last week. He has 8 years, and was unsure of baptism until he came to primary and loved it! He gave his testimony on the pulpit and said he wants to be an “Elder”. Sheila has been taught since I was in the MTC. She is really busy with work, and so it's difficult to mark with her. But when we do teach her, it's incredible. We invited her to be baptized about a month ago, and now it's finally happened! She was crying basically the whole time, but no one could really tell because she had just come out of the water.

Tender mercy: Saturday we marked with our district leader for the interviews of Miguel and Sheila. Although Miguel didn't show up. We tried contacting Camila through any means possible. No responses, nor were the messages sending. We were pretty much worried the entire evening. Especially since it was Saturday and the baptism was Sunday. After prayers and waiting, we wet home, kinda lost hope. Then, halfway home, we get a message from Camila. Her phone died and she had to take her aunt to the hospital (don't worry, when health care is free, you go to the hospital if you sneeze). In the morning, we were able to do the interview and everything worked out just fine.

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is my own personal development. The mission is incredible for quick personal development. I mentioned this a lot during my first transfer and how I'm growing into being my dad. Mannerisms, appearance, and other things. As a guy, it's quite easy to compare myself to my dad. But recently I've been seeing things differently. I've been seeing how I've grown to be more like my mother. She is a person full of Christlike love and charity. A mother who cares for her children individually and equally. A person who seeks to help all, according to their needs. All these qualities are qualities that a dedicated missionary seeks. Her example brings myself and others to Christ. I am incredibly grateful to be able to talk with her every week. In nine months away from home, I feel like I have grown closer to my mother than ever before. Although I miss her dearly, as I make decisions that make me more like her, I feel myself growing closer to her and to the Savior.

She has taught me how to be. The Book of Mormon contains a story that adequately describes the greatest lesson I learned from my mother. In the Book of Alma, we read an account of 2060 young men fighting for the freedom of their God, religion, freedom, peace, and families. These young men had never fought before, but the teachings of their mothers rang in their ears:

“Now [these young men] never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” It says later in the story, “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.”

Because of the teachings of my beloved mother, I do not doubt the power of God. I do not doubt that the Lord is with me. Although I am not perfect in observing the commandments with exactness, I try every day. I strive every day to be more like my Savior, following the example of my mother. God lives, he loves us, and he knows us individually and perfectly. As we look to Him in our struggles AND triumphs, we will be lifted up to like Him at the last day. I testify of these things with all my heart, might, mind, and strength in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Fotos:

-Me and Miguel

-Sheila and us

-Miguel and us

-baptismal invites

-me next to a fusca with a cool view behind (the camera didn't get the view)

Clear blue water, high tide came and brought you in

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde gente!

This week was unlike any other. It was feeling so slow, and then I woke up and it was Saturday. Unreal. We saw 11 fuscas, bringing us to 626. A lot of people have asked me, so I'll answer it here: Do I count every time I see a fusca, or just every new one? The answer is something in the middle. I am familiar with a few fuscas in my area that don't move and are just there. There's also some personalized ones that are impossible to mistake for a different fusca. Those ones I do not count more than once. But if a blue fusca passes on the road one day, and I also see a blue fusca the next day, I still count it both times, even with the chance that it's a repeat. Basically, unless I can verify with certainty that I have seen that very fusca, I count it again.

This week was not very full of news until this weekend. Just lessons, lunches, and long walks. We've seen significant progress from Sheila, Camila, and Miguel.

On Saturday we left from lunch (deep in gang territory) and started to walk back to the chapel. About halfway out of gang territory, we get stopped by two gang members on their dirt bikes. For Elders Kjar, Schmuhl, and Patterson who are reading this, it's right by that abandoned soccer field in cangulo. Anyway, one bike stopped on front of us and the other on our side. At this point I'm wondering if Elder Tacuche and I will still be companions when we get to the spirit world here in a bit. They started with the usual “who are you” “what are you doing here” “are you American” “are you Jahovah's Witness” and I answered with the usual “were missionaries” “we preach the gospel” “yes” “no''. They said Oh that's chill I know where your church is do you want a ride? So we respectfully declined and they left.

Later on the walk, as we leave gang territory, we meet these guys again. They're just having some beers and chilling out. They call us over and offer us some water. so we have some water and chat for a minute, when our old investigator walks of his house. I said “Hey Manoel, it's been a while!”. Our motorcycle friends are confused and tell me that his name is not Manoel. I don't remember what it was, but it wasn't that. So in the 3-4 weeks we taught him, he completely lied about his name. That's cool. Anyway, not-Manoel walks up to me and says “hey dear” (very drunk) and gives me a big ol’ kiss on the forehead. Yeah. Not cool. So we left and got to the chapel just fine and I washed my hands and face very thoroughly.

At the chapel, we needed to fill the font (foreshadowing). I turn on the tap and wait an hour. I looked in, and it's barely 4-5 inches deep. So by that timing, we'd be there until 11pm. So I started filling buckets at other taps and dumping them in. Then we found two 5 gallon drinking water containers. So I spent the next 3 hours hauling water around the church. I was very exhausted, but we finally got the font filled by 7pm.

Sunday morning we got to church and it was great and we had 4 of our friends show up! Afterwards we had the baptism of Camila. She's awesome, I talked about her earlier. She's pretty well known in the ward, and so we were planning to have the meeting in the baptism room, but like 80% of the ward stayed to watch, so we did it in the Sacrament Hall. a little bit later, she was baptized (I didn't mess up on the words) and she shared her testimony (holy moly that was great). I gave her a triple combination (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price) that was in pretty much new condition, just collecting dust in our house. She was smiling ear to ear.

Now let's talk about Miguel. He's Camila's 8 year old son. He would have been baptized with her, but he was at another family event last week. Following advice from my mission president, we postponed just his baptism to next week. He was unsure this last week anyway, and now he's determined to follow his Mom's example. It's better this way anyway. Anyway, today was his first day in primary with the other kids. After running around with them after the baptism, he stopped for breath next to me. I asked him if he was making friends. He said “yeah, I made three Today!” And showed me three on his fingers (so freaking cute). Then I asked, “So how many do you have now?” And he thought for a moment and said “4!” And showed me again 4 on his hand. So I asked, “who's number 4?” And with a smile and a hop he said “you!” and looked at my tag and said “Elder Macaroni!”. Guys you have no idea how much my heart melted for this kid. I can't stand nicknames or mispronunciations, unless it's little kids. I'm ok with little Liz calling me Elder Moroni. Oh man, it was a good day. Another nice side effect: Sheila is super pumped for her baptism next week too since she watched Camila's. Valeu Elder Kjar

SummaRio:

11 fuscas, 626 total

Not too much happened during the week

On Saturday we spent 5 hours filling the font and hauling buckets of water to do so.

Sunday was the baptism of Camila!

Miguel broke his own cuteness record by calling me his friend.

Tender mercy:

After filling the font, I was super exhausted. Then randomly the maintenance guy shows up with pizza and coke for us. Out of nowhere. It was the best pizza I've had in Brasil. Easily a 6/10. And it was exactly what I needed to release some stress and cool down.

Spiritual thought:

“I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions—every day. I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day” - President Russell M. Nelson

The Book of Mormon, when studied with prayer and faith, is the greatest tool to invite the Holy Spirit into your lives, and in inviting him into your life, your questions are answered, your decisions are better, and your doubts become faith. I've found the answer to all of life's Difficulties lies in putting God first through prayerful study of the Book of Mormon.

See yall next week!

Fotos:

1. Tiny Jesus Van

2. Chalkboard (don't worry I redesigned it to be better, just didn't take a picture)

3. Real açaí fruit

4. Churrasco

5. BATISMOOO

6. Meme