Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia galera! Como foi a sua semana? A minha foi incrível. No sábado, eu não vera fuscas o suficiente pra chegar aos 1000. Mas o Senhor me abençoou. No sábado e domingo eu vi 14 fuscas! Talvez isso seja o recorde de dois dias. Em total, vi 31 fuscas, totalizando 1009!!

Also this week I ended my teenage years. It's a real shame that I've gotta act like an adult now.

Last pday we took it slow, cleaning the house and going to the store. Just normal pday things. On Tuesday we had district council in lagomar, and we had to take a bus that cost R$17,30. Then we took that same bus back to Macabú. We then started our normal activities. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday were pretty normal days, but they were full of finding new people and lots of success in doing so.

On Friday we had zone conference. Presidente first got up and spoke about goals. And he had me sparkle-eyed. Why, you ask? Because he pulled out his ✨️spreadsheet✨️ for goal setting and goal tracking. This thing is set by month, and automatically sets the calendar in order, with space to add like 10 goals, which can be reported in binary or in base 10. The spreadsheets averages, shows graphs, points out tendencies, and much more. And this spreadsheet has been active since 2014. It's incredible and I've never wanted something so bad in my life. So that is my plan today. I'm going to make a goal spreadsheet. That day on the way home I tried to do something, but was completely stumped by the coding. I thought at first that I'm just rusty, but then I realized that I was trying to write English functions (they don't work when your phone is in Portuguese). So then things started to smooth themselves out when I started writing “Se” statements instead of “If” statements.

That night we had a family night with Cleiton, who is what missionaries call an “eternigator”. Basically an investigator who takes forever to do anything, but loves to have the missionaries over. His wife was baptized over a year ago and their children are all in primary. We don't do a whole lot with him since he's not really progressing. But since I'm new here we decided to use my newness to try to reactivate his interest. When we showed up, we started talking and he mentioned he's gone a week without breaking the word of wisdom, just because he felt that it was the right thing to do. During that week, he felt the need to be baptized. Guys repentance works and miracles are real and happen. Now that the Spirit has done His part, now it's time for us to do ours.

On Saturday we had a normal day. It was actually a great day. Let me tell you why. Not because it was my birthday, because it wasn't (I’ll explain later). There were lots of things that happened. First, we had an amazing lunch at Cleitons house, then we went to some recent converts house. Great lesson there, and as we left, something weird was happening. On the ground, There were lots of big ants. Like an inch long or bigger. Some of them had wings. When I say there were lots of them, I mean like there were enough that I could have stepped on one in every step if I wanted to. So there's lots of kids in the street with an empty 2 litre bottle “hunting” the ants. They grab the ants and put them in the bottles. And the bottles are being filled. Bugs don't gross me out. But what Elder Mena said is that these ants, called tanajuras, come out once a year and die. What people do is grab them before they die, tear off the rear section of their body and fry it up and serve it as part of the farofa. Nasty. I am not a fan of crunchy ant butt. I got some good pictures of these disgusting creatures.

That night we actually had a terrible experience. Absolutely crushing to the heart. I won't go into it. I left that lesson feeling kinda sick and distraught. As we got home it was time to start my fast, and I was just feeling helpless and pained. As I knelt down to pray, I began to offer up my worries and burdens to the Lord. I don't know how long the prayer lasted, but as I started to finish, I felt an immense peace “as exceeding as was my pain”. I stood up feeling exactly opposite to the way I knelt down. I felt an extreme trust in the Lord and an understanding of the love He has for me and for the people we had taught. I knew everything would be alright. So for my birthday, I received the greatest gift I have ever received: An unwavering testimony of prayer and fasting. I gained a greater trust in the Savior and a greater understanding of His love for each one of His children. I know now for a surety that the Atonement is not only for our sins, but for all burdens, sicknesses, and pains. The Lord is not reluctant to give us access to His power, He wants to give us access to it.

Like I said, Sunday was a pretty normal day. But there was one thing that was remarkable. As the day unfolded, I watched each of the things I prayer for work out. We taught the same family which left me so distraught, this time with the environment completely changed. It was a joyous lesson. During the day, things just worked out and I saw the Lord's hand in all of it. How grateful I am to be a part of the marvelous work and a wonder, and to be feeling to sing the song of redeeming love. This work is His work, no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done. There's no better language to describe my joy here than that of the prophets.

Well that's it. Here's a tender mercy:

Waiting at the bus station in macaé after zone conference, I remembered a sister who owned a restaurant at the station. She provided the food for the conference, so I went to thank her for the food. Turns out she remembered me from when I was in Cavaleiros and gave me and my comp a cup of some of the best guava juice there is. Then she invited us over to lunch for stake conference. So it was good to see her again and get lunch and a cup of guava juice.

Spiritual thought: one thing that my mission president emphasized at zone conference was the importance of making and keeping commitments. He talked about our covenant commitments, our commitment to be a missionary, and in general the appointments we mark with people. He said that as we dedicate ourselves to God completely, He gives us forgiveness. This is why baptism is “for the remission of sins” when it seems like repentance is right there. I there learned that repentance is a change of heart, and making and keeping covenants is how we obtain retain remission of sins. Cool thought that really helped me to understand the relationship between repentance and baptism.

Fotos

1-4: the gross grilling ants

5-7: my beautiful area

8-9 my beautiful companion (feat. The chapel)

10: 300 days on duolingo

I got kissed

 (Sister Cummings)

Hey howdy y'all!

Sorry my emails lately have been so short and non-eventful! I'm going to try to repent by giving y'all a good one today!

So, what happened this week?

The first thing of note that happened this week is that our district had it's "last hoorah" by having dinner with President Standley and his family on Tuesday night! It. was. a. party. We love the Standleys so much. They legitimately feel like family. We laughed BUNCHES. Shared crazy embarrassing stories and jammed to music. It was yeehaw, to say the least.

The next thing that happened this week was that we did bunches of service this last Thursday and it was pretty normal work except for the one lady that had all six of us missionaries rip up all the grass in her front lawn by HAND. She refused to let us use a lawnmower so we legit hand-picked a WHOLE yard. It was kind of insane.

The last event of importance was that transfers happened this last Thursday night and Sister Nybo and I somehow thought it was at 8:30 instead of 8:00 and by the time we realized our mistake and joined the zoom call, President was already way past calling out our assignments so we had NO IDEA if we had been transferred. It was crazy. But spoiler alert, we weren't transferred and Sister Nybo and I are STOKED. We absolutely LOVE being companions.

Actually just kidding, THIS is the last even of importance. Yesterday, I got to drive ALL DAY. I LOVE driving so much. It's actually my favorite thing in this world other than Jesus, and my family and music, and actually lots of other things but that doesn't matter. Moral of the story, I just love driving. So, shout out to Sister Walters for getting the vid so that we could use y'all's car. It was yeehaw.

If you want to hear about how I got kissed on the mish, click the link at the bottom of the email and watch the vlog I made. TRIGGER WARNING if you're afraid of old men without teeth, don't watch.

Okay, I hope that was enough details for y'all but now it's time for the spiritual thought:

" If you want to be like Jesus, remember He had a wilderness, a Gethsemane, and a Judas"

^ I read that the other day somewhere on Facebook and I have just kept thinking about it. Our lives are difficult and sometimes it may seem like we're the only ones struggling but that's false y'all! Christ has struggled too and understands your pain to a perfect extent. Turn to Him. He's legit so amazing!

I love y'all!

Sister Cummings

Now I've read all the books beside your bed

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia meus amados amigos e familiares! Belezinha?

Essa semana foi louco, nem sei aonde começar. Mas tenho certeza de uma coisa. Vimos, pela primeira vez desde Janeiro, mais do que 30 fuscas! Vimos 32, levando o total a ser 978. Eu acho que semana que vem vamos chegar aos 1000 fuscas! Vamos que vamos!

Let's start at the beginning. Pday was great. In the morning we got transfer news. Against my thoughts, I'm being transferred! My new area is Conceição de Macabú. My new companion is Elder Mena. He's awesome. He's from Ecuador, but he's been living for the past 12 years in the northeast of Brasil. So that means he's the perfect companion for learning Spanish from Portuguese, since he knows both languages very well. I spent the next hours packing my bags. I don't like that it is often necessary to pack 2 times, once for everything else, and twice for the things you need to you between the first packing and leaving. So I packed 1 time. That night I slept in my dress pants and shirt on a mattress without sheets or pillow. Wasn't as bad as I thought. Of course I left out my essential toiletries, but those just went in my small proselyting bag. That night we had a lesson with one of the Argentinian families we're teaching. For the first time since starting to learn Spanish, I led the lesson! In fact, I kinda dominated the conversation and didn't even realize it. Elder Flores gave a testimony and we said the last prayer.

On Tuesday we moved district council up an hour to be able to make our lunch appointment. We barely made lunch. But it was worth it because the lunch was incredible and the company better. We lunched with the other Argentinian family we're teaching. We then rushed from place to place, teaching and visiting. At last, we passed by the bank to take out money. Waiting for the van, some members passed by and gave us a ride home. Turns out the reason there's no big apartment buildings in Búzios is because it's a law that you can't build higher than the second floor. Weird. We than lied an Uber with all my bags and headed to Cabo Frio for the night. We decided that we wouldn't show up at the house, but at the chapel. There was a ward cake competition, and I was determined to eat cake. We showed up 40 minutes and so naturally just in time for the opening prayer. Good cake and hot dogs. The road home was rough and I opted to carry the giant suitcase on my shoulder instead of pushing it and breaking a wheel. I thought because I carried a sousaphone on my shoulder for hours at a time that a suitcase for 15 minutes would be nothing. But when the suitcase is 70 pounds it's a different story. The travel took 20-25 minutes and I got home sweating buckets. Good times. Got a solid 4 hours of sleep and got up before the sun to catch the bus to Rio.

The bus ride was great, and I finished reading the Bible! Such a great book. Highly recommend. And it means that I reached my goal to read all the standard works before my 20th birthday. I also started reading the teachings of Brigham Young. Super good! He teaching the gospel with such beautiful simplicity. Upon arriving in the mission office, got to meet lots of good friends and make some new ones. I had heard lots of things about my new area. Some say it's the hole of the mission and nothing ever happens. Others say it's the area with the most success. So basically it's an area that depends heavily on the missionaries that are there and the effort they put forth. So I'm excited that I'm going to an area with lots of success. My new area is in the Macaé stake and when stake conference happens, I'll be able to see lots of friends from the Cavaleiros ward. On the way there, Elder Humerez, Mena, Robison and I talked about conference. I put forth my guess of 17 temples being announced. The bus actually passed by a my old area and I was jaw to the floor the entire time. We passed by the old Macaé house, the central terminal and the 1001 terminal. The bus made a quick stop there and I descended real quick and got to chat for a second with Elder Patterson. Elder Mena and I stayed on the bus and it took us beyond the end of the world to Macabú. We got home exhausted and went straight to bed right after just a few unpacking things.

Thursday was up and doing things. We went to the store at exactly 8am and got our things for until pday and ran another errand. Back home I did more unpacking while my comp contacted our appointments for the day. We studied a bit, cooked and ate lunch, and left for our activities. We met some recent converts, members, investigators and basically I got a tour of the whole city. During our walking I got to practice some more Spanish and my comp practiced English as well. We got home exhausted.

Friday was basically the same thing except we had in person lunch. We also taught our 9 year old recent convert about the pre-mortal life and we did a practice where he taught us the doctrine. Kids learn really well if you make them teach. It's also really useful to know what they really retained.

Saturday was a spiritual banquet. Obviously we had conference, which we watched at a members house during lunch. after the session we had to zip back the chapel and teach a lesson to the friend of one of the youth in the branch. The friend's baby was super cute and was super interested in stealing my tag. The two of them ended up watching conference with us that evening and I confess that I paid more attention on the baby that I should have. It's ok, though. I can rewatch conference and the baby was really cute.

Sunday we had lunch early and then zipped back to the chapel to open it up for members to watch. Guess how many members came? 1. And he was only there to open up the locked closet where the TV is kept. After the session, we went over to a new friends house and tried to give her a Book of Mormon. She refused it and went inside without saying a word. Then she came back out with a dusty Book of Mormon with the names of two Elders who served in Macabú like 4 years ago. So we invited her to read and watch general conference. We'll be over to her house tomorrow, we will see how things went.

Spiritual thought: Guys. general conference was so freaking good. I felt rejuvenated and ready to face the evils of the day. Although it was not simply because the messages were gratifying and peaceful, but because each of them invited change. Moroni 7:13 reads, “...that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve Him, is inspired of God.” Goodness and truth are not passive. They incite action on the part of the listener. This conference, we sustain our prophets and leaders. It's easy to lift up your arm in support, but the true way to sustain our leaders is to follow their teachings. They teach nothing but that which has been or is being revealed by God. Go and put into action all the precepts of the speakers. Rewatch, relisten, and reread the discourses and think about how it directly applies to you. Then go and do. That's it guys. It's so simple.

Tender mercy: These last few days have been quite breezy and cool here in Macabu, which is contrary to the norm. It gave me the excitement that I needed to hit the ground running and get to work.

Fotos:

1. This kind of fruit grows on the bark

2. My new area is so pretty

3. The River of January (its actually a bay)

4. Our investigator's Porsche

5. A conferência dá sono

I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didnt though

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde família e amigos! Espero que todos estejam bem. Essa semana batemos o recorde de fuscas nessa área! Vimos 26, acreditam? 946 é o total.

This week was incredible, just you wait. We'll start with pday. We stayed at home, but we did a pretty thorough cleaning. I got to return most emails I had in my email inbox. I made sure to respond to all of them before writing this one, so if you've sent me an email and I haven't responded, please send me another email, because I've not seen it.

My district last week met and superseded their goal, and so I made pancakes for them again. This time, I made them beforehand and just heated them up on Tuesday morning. Everyone in the district had received money for lunch, so we cooked together. I learned some valuable lessons on how to make good cheap food. I also learned how loyal Brazilians are to rice. They made rice, but the meal didn't have anything that went well with rice, but we still ate it anyway because it's a sin to eat a meal without rice. We then started a division (are they called exchanges in the states?), and I spent the day and night with Elder Murphy. He's super lit. We had a good time and learned a lot.

On Wednesday, we had some confusion about ending the division. On Tuesday, we agreed to end the division em Cabo Frio. Somehow, that was misinterpreted as ending the division in Búzios. So in the morning, the four of us switch areas. Elder Murphy and I came to Cabo Frio, and Elder Flores and Elder Albernaz went to Búzios. It's really annoying. Anyways, we worked things out, and they came back to Cabo Frio, and we finally ended the division. That afternoon, we visited Leia and família. We were able to remark their baptism dates and mark Kezia's baptism date. The father is still thinking about it, but he's supportive of the rest of them.

On Thursday we had a lesson with the part member family we usually meet with on Mondays. Their kids are sick, so we gave them some priesthood blessings. It was the first time I've given a priesthood blessing in Spanish. I think it went pretty well.

On Friday we had quite the day. A family that is being taught by the sisters needed to be interviewed. I don't like online interviews, and so we went in person. It's just that I didn't realize how far it really is. We got to the bus stop about 15 minutes early. This is the only bus that goes directly there. The map says it's delayed, so we wait about 20 minutes and it doesn't come. I look on the map again, and it says the bus was canceled and the next one will pass in two hours. Awesome. So, being tight on schedule already, we book it to another bus stop and catch a bus that will take us halfway there. A second bus took us all the way there. We arrived, shoved down some subpar subway, and headed to the interviews. The family is awesome, and each interview was something special. The interviews did take longer than we expected, and so we had to rush to the bus stop. Somehow, the mother of the family called up a friend and arranged a ride for us to get to the bus stop on time. We got to the stop early and when the time rolled around, the bus didn't show up and now it's canceled. At this particular bus stop, it's very far from any other bus stop and only the direct bus passes. We wait a bit and out of nowhere the bus shows up. We rush to get our things and jump on the bus. When I got around to pay, I realized a terrible fact. My phone was still laying on the bench at the bus stop. So, we got off just as soon as we got on and ran about a mile to the bus stop to get the phone and prevent it from getting stolen or wet (it was starting to rain). So at that point the next bus was scheduled at 10:30pm and not even reliably, so I called a very expensive Uber that hurt my wallet. Good thing I listened to Síster Dutsons counsel to have a reserve fund. We arrived at home finally.

On Saturday we had an equally Exhausting day, but this time for good reasons. After lunch we made use of the fact we're in a far neighborhood to contact everyone who had interest. We stopped by this store to ask for a house number we couldn't find, and when we told him the name and house number, he said “That's me! Are you guys here about the Book of Mormon?” Guys miracles are real. We chatted with him and gave him a copy of the book. Later, on the same street, we passed by this family and something told me we should stop there. So we did and taught this family who is very interested! On to the next planned lesson, we stopped by and met the guy's wife, who's never been home, but she now is interested. Then we booked it over to a plaza and met with a young lady interested in the Book of Mormon! She said she likes to read and never heard of this book before. So we explained the premise and the story of the restoration. She was like “Wow. This is incredible. I'm even more interested now.” And then she said something that made me think “yeah right” but hey ya never know. She said “how about when I finish it at the end of the week I tell you guys how it went?” So we told her about the importance of not only reading, but pondering as well and she said “ok well maybe it'll take me more than a week”. So we'll see where this goes. Then we booked it back home to grab a Book of Mormon for our next visit because we ran out. Somehow we made it to the next appointment on time (54 minutes of travel was reduced to 30) and taught this guy and his wife. They are super interested as well and have time to read. In Búzios, the average week we find around 5-6 new people to teach. Saturday, however, we found 8. You're welcome Elder Smith. Cuide delas por favor.

Sunday we had another Sacrament meeting in Cabo Frio to sustain the new leadership. Why these changes have taken over a month to make is beyond me but that's not for me to judge. Remember the train wreck of a lesson that happened last week? Well this Sunday we were able to clear up all his questions and discuss his actual needs. It was really refreshing.

Tender mercy: On Sunday coming home from the lesson we actually bumped into the young woman who said she'd read the Book of Mormon in a week. It was really good because she had some doubts about something she said clashed with what she knew in the Bible, and I got confused because she cited the verse from memory and it was indeed against the correct doctrine, but then we opened the book and read the verse again and turns out she just misread it. But the fact that we were there at the moment she had a doubt was a demonstration to me that God watches over His children and helps them help each other.

Spiritual thought: this week, I finished reading “Saints: Volume 1” and “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith”. Reading these books at the same time was actually something really cool because Saints has more story details that helped me understand more of the context behind the revelations that Joseph Smith received. After reading them, I realized my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the restoration as a whole had grown tremendously. I know without a doubt, with all firmness in mind and heart that he was a prophet of God, that he was called by the Same and saw the Same, standing with Christ at His right side. His ministry was one marked with complete dedication to keeping the commandments of God and seeing to that prophecy be fulfilled. I believe that as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints it is essential to have a testimony of his work to restore the church. The last chapter of the book of his teachings is called ““Praise to the Man”: Latter-day Prophets Bear Witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith”. I invite all to read this chapter and then, after reading, add your own testimony of the Joseph Smith and his prophetic calling.

Chapter 47: “Praise to the Man”: Latter-day Prophets Bear Witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-47?lang=eng

1. Super cool membro

2. I think this is where Moses got the 10 condiments

3. Average size banana

4. Sou uma ímã de pintinhos

5. It's mango seasooooon

6. Crazy rules about how to correctly use the word "maybe"

7. "I'm cold" means "I need a hug" in Elder speak.

8. District lunch

9. Eating out with members

Supa Short Pt2

 (Sister Cummings)

This pday has BLOWN by and I don't have much more time but I had an amazing week! So much happened! But I can't remember a single thing!

We performed in church again yesterday so I'll attach the recording for that as my spiritual thought

I love y'all SO MUCH. Have a good one!

-Sister Cummings

Yay Service!

 (Sister Cummings)

Hey howdy y'all!

This week was such a blessing!

The biggest highlight from this week was that President Lund of the Young Men's General Presidency came and did a devotional for the whole mission! It was inspiring and just what I needed!

Another blessing from this week is that Friday we got to do two different service projects and we were able to get someone to come to church from each project! Finding through service works!

Lastly, I got to go to the temple on Saturday!! It was for my mission bestie's endowment! It was incredible!!! Go to the temple y'all!!

For the Spiritual stuff, I'm just going to pick a random verse from my Book of Mormon and it's this:

Alma 58:10-11

10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.

 11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

I know that these verses are talking about actual battle and war but they so easily apply to the trials and battles we face in this life. When we pray and turn to our Heavenly Father and have the humility to ask Him for help, He will help us. There's been sooo many times just in this last week where He has helped me in this way so my invitation for y'all this week is to pray! Pray! Pray! Oh, and pray!

I love y'all! Tell me about y'all's weeks!

-Sister Cummings

We hit the Sunday matinee

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia amados amigos e familiares! Essa semana foi novamente cheia se aprendizado e fuscas. Vimos 20, totalizando 931.

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates in my last email. This ones a long one to make up for last week. On pday we went to arraial, a nearby tourist town. We did a little hike and went to the beach. Lots of travel and left little time to write. But it was super cool and had beautiful beaches and bays.

Notable things that happened last week:

-had district council on Friday due to interviews on the same day

-had district conference, where we became a ward. Kind of. The whole process of what actually happens is complicated. We're part of a different stake now and the district to which we belonged no longer exists. We are now a group of a ward instead of an independent branch. Some people see all of this as a step back because usually branches are created to become wards because of rapid growth. But the church here is not growing super fast, so it's better that we have less units, and more united units. Lots of drama with members here but it's OK we're working on that.

Alright. This week,

On Tuesday I had a division with the goated Elder Erekson. He's super chill and a hard worker. Rare combo, but it's lit. We also had district council and Elder Flores and I gave a really cool training on the Book of Mormon. I learned a lot and felt the spirit.

On Wednesday we had a really cool lesson with my favorite Argentine family. They all have testimonies really strong about the Book of Mormon and are motivated to learn more and keep on the progression toward baptism.

Thursday we had lunch with some members who usually just send us money. Super great lunch, amazing. But the thing that was cool was the fact that this dude has a sword. He was part of the navy, and so it's more of a decorative and ceremonial sword, so it isn't sharp, but it's still really cool.

On Friday a miracle happened. Elder César, previously known as Mariano, gave us a reference just as he left for the CTM. It's Brazilian custom to make decorative goodbyes, quoting scripture and pronounce fancy blessings. It's cool actually. When he was saying goodbye to this family and they quoted a scripture from Alma. Elder César was like “wait a minute, from where do you know that?” And they were like “oh these two young men showed up at my house and left this book with me like 8 months ago”. So Elder César hits us up and says “yo there's this family that wants to be taught but doesn't know how to find you guys” and so we look them up, and sure enough, 8 months ago this family was taught and then for some reason the missionaries stopped teaching them. I get in contact with the missionaries who taught them, and find out that the last lesson with them, the pastor of the local church was there and stayed chill during the lesson, but talked all sorts of crap and nonsense and the family asked that the missionaries stop coming. That the missionaries did, but when we texted them on Friday, they were overjoyed to mark with us. That night we visited them and they explained the whole story from their perspective. The pastor did say all sorts of crap to stop the missionaries then, but it also backfired on him because the family said that they felt so bad about what he said that they stopped going to his church. The only reason they didn't ask for the missionaries back is because they were embarrassed. But they kept reading the book of Mormon as a family, praying, and living the standards the missionaries had taught. We didn't teach them much this night, it was more to get to know them and what they need, but I was shocked at one thing. Yes their story is unique and unexpected, but that wasn't what grabbed my attention. I'll give some background.

For those reading this who aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, something that is interesting about us is that we can recognize each other with somewhere around 75% accuracy. Put two members of the church who don't know each other at a party, and it's a good bet that by the end of the party they've found each other and became friends. Some can say that it's because we have similar diets and therefore we generally look similar, but I believe that it's something more than physical appearance. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts a large emphasis on acting in a Christlike way. We try to act as Christ would act. It's not to say that no other denomination does this, but that the way we define “Christlike” is uniformly understood by members of the church. Our behavior contains minute mannerisms and ways of talking and interacting that gives off a “light” of sorts that we recognize in ourselves and others.

Alright, background over. This family is unique. Why did they leave me shocked? They have “cara de membro”. I thought “Wow, they look like members of the church”. Their dedication to the things the missionaries taught is unlike any I've seen. They live the principles of the gospel with such an exactness that their countenances shone. They emphasize personal study of the scriptures and unity in the family, some of the church's principle teachings.

Saturday. Ready for this? We were able to remark with this marvelous family for Saturday and when we showed up, we got straight to the point. Next month, if everything goes right, all four of them will be baptized. The date we set looks a little early, but it's possible, and we'll be doing everything we can to make it happen. I have nothing to do but this work and to thank God for the care He has shown this family and the opportunity He has given me to be a part of their spiritual journey.

Sunday. Ready for this again? So actually this family had some trouble coming to church (actually valid reasons for not coming). But this day was nonetheless very interesting and unexpected. We had church in the afternoon for some reason. We thought it was because our newly called bishop was gonna make tons of callings and had to also be present at another meeting, but then no one was called. I gave a talk (18 hour notice). I was told 15 minutes and got to pulpit with 30 minutes to fill, being the last speaker. To my surprise, I did it. Pro-tip: quote so many scriptures that you only end up having to speak for half the time. Don't just explain the doctrine, Bear testimony of every principle. Do these things and your talk in church will be much easier to give. Right after church, a member I didn't know, but that apparently attends the neighboring congregation, asked us if we had any lessons in the evening. We had one, so we invited him to participate. Not sure if this was a mistake or not. He gave us a ride to his house, we had cake and talked about our plans for the lesson. He told him that the intent of the lesson was to reinforce was has already been taught because it had been a while. He said “OK, sounds great. I have a system that worked great on my mission for teaching this”. So I asked “great! What is it?” He said “you're gonna love it”. Again, I asked “I bet! How does it work?” “It's gonna be great. You guys will baptize so much with this system”. So basically he wouldn't tell us his plan no matter how many ways I invented to ask the same question. So I'm worried a bit, but we're in too deep to say “we’ll take it from here, thanks anyways”. Like come on! We're eating cake at his house and then say “nah we're good”. So we're just gonna bite our tongue and hope his system is as good as he says. We get to the lesson and he pulls out his laptop and started to present the lesson he prepared alone. He started of great, quoting scriptures and giving simple truths. But it was clear he did not want our help. But the friend were teaching is eating it up, so we're OK with it. As the lesson continues, I realize that his system so special is just the same system we use with more words. Oversimplified and overcomplicated at the same time. I managed to fit a few words in here and there, but this dude did not ever look like he was finishing soon. After about an hour and a bit, he goes “and that's It. Any questions?” “nope, I understood everything” responded our friend. So definitely our friend has questions and understood very little. We left the lesson in awe. This man, alone, took 75 minutes to teach what we get done in 15 minutes. The missionaries did not teach a lesson with a member participating. The member taught a lesson with the missionaries participating. Exhausting. Guys, if you're ever accompanying the missionaries, just follow what they say and bear simple testimony. Let them do the teaching. Maybe you served a mission before, but they're serving now and have the systems that have been refined so much since you were in the field. Don't worry, our friend sent us a message this morning saying he loved the visit and wants to mark again, but we will definitely have to answer a million questions and revisit every principle we covered. Rant finished. Cake was really good though. That's a win.

That's it this week. Hope everyone enjoyed this roller-coaster of an email.

Tender mercy: Honestly the message our friend sent us this morning. I lost a bit of sleep worrying that he wouldn't want us back. He has such a desire to know the truth and has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I'm at ease now. Questions I can handle. Actually enjoy killing doubt because when doubt is quenched, what comes in its place? Faith and understanding, some of my favorite things.

Spiritual thought: when the Savior comes again, He will call His elect. According to His Word, the elect are those who believe in Him and hearken to His voice. Let us all say as Samuel of old, “Speak, Thy servant heareth” Let us with joy and exactness follow His commands. In this there is safety and peace. This week, seek the Lord’s voice in study and prayer. Seek to know how you can more exactly keep His commandments and repent of your shortcomings. In this there is joy. Not as the world giveth, but as He gives, eternally. Hearken to His voice, and watch your life be free of all worries about the future and past. Watch your problems disappear. Not because they stop existing, but because they stop being problems; they become opportunities to learn, grow, and teach. Go now, and fulfill His commandments. In conclusion, Fear God, and keep His commandments. This is the whole duty of each man, woman, and child.

Fotos: there will be a second email because there's a dumb limit on the total size of files I can send on one email.

1. Que bicho

2. Sword

3. Tereré, my new favorite drink (did you know this kind of straw is called a bomb? Looks like I'm gonna bring a bomb to the airport in a little less than a year)

4. My teaching area

5. Arraial pday

6. Flower

7. Horse

8. Don't share this foto. CV is the biggest gang in Rio.

9. Meme

10. I'm dengue's worst enemy (killed like 15 mostquitos in a row)

11. Pineapple after a long day goes hard

12. Dog