You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom dia todo mundo!

A few exciting things happened this week. It flew by. We'll start by saying that the beetle count is up to 228.

Early this week, we took a street contact for someone called Raquel. We took the contact in Portuguese. That might seem obvious, but it's important later. I texted her a few times during the week, with no response. No big deal, we can just visit her. But then she responded. In English. I texted back asking if she would prefer to speak in English, to which she affirmed and said she spoke French or English. It's a little weird that Portuguese wasn't an option. But I was excited to perhaps teach someone in English. It would give my Brazilian comp some perspective on how American greenies feel, haha. Since it was just a street contact, I explained a little about our purpose as missionaries and asked to meet with her. She confirmed her interest and said her name was Thomas. Wait. I checked the number again, and it turns out it was not a Brazilian number. So it turns out I had not been speaking to a Brazilian, but to another person somewhere in the world. We texted back and forth some more, and HE said he lived in Benin, Africa. Whoa. I was not expecting that. I wasn't sure what to do, but then I remembered that I have a friend who is actually serving in Benin. Since I don’t know how to send a reference across continents through the missionary app, I just sent him an email. Thomas confirmed that the friends I had mentioned had already contacted him. So good job being on top of things, Elder Cowden! The whole thing was crazy and it was awesome to talk about our faith and do missionary work in English. I'm even more glad that I was able to get him in contact with the missionaries in his own area. Super cool experience. It did feel like 3 steps of "I know a guy," though.

Overall, this week has been really cool. The heat wave has ended. I was able to wear my jacket a few times.

For the last few days, we have been helping the elders of Macaé move their things (desks, beds, fridge, stove, etc.) to a storage container until they can move into a new apartment. They've found one, and I think they are in the process of securing a contract. The house is impossible to organize. It's a huge mess. It's not dirty, but there are just things everywhere.

We had a meeting with a member who talked about goals. One thing that stood out to me was that you can't just set a goal. You have to plan it too. For example, my goal is to do 5 pushups for every page of Jesus The Christ. Do I make the pushups after each page, or all at once after the reading? Or do I make the pushups before I read and only read as many pages as I did pushups for? Without a plan, the goal is difficult to accomplish. Without a plan, the brain defaults to the easiest method, which for this goal would mean heavy procrastination. It was a really cool concept, and though it wasn't directly gospel related, the spirit was really strong in the room.

Thanksgiving was this week obviously, but nobody cares about it here. The only thing that was different was that I got to talk to my uncle in Portuguese. He served in Brazil, so it was pretty cool to talk to him in a different way than ever before.

On Saturday, it was Elder Rojas's birthday, so we went to go get ice cream that night. He brought two cakes and some sparklers for candles. It was pretty cool. The cake was super rich, and I have no idea how anyone could finish their cake and ice cream. I didn't get ice cream, and it was crazy filling. Then we went to Dominos and got pizza. It was a really fun night. Until we got home. We took two Ubers for the eight of us. Since we had to drop the sisters off at their apartment, our Uber was a little later than the other elders. When we arrived, the Elders were rushing us inside. They seemed pretty spooked. When we asked what happened, they told us of the massive drug deal happening 30 feet from our front door. There was a white van (no windows) that pulled up and people surrounded it reaching for all the regular drug places (wheel well, gas cap, bumper, etc.) There were other people just standing around guarding it. They were dressed normally, but it was explained to me that they all had guns. If we had stayed out much longer, they likely would have taken our phones at gunpoint. It would have been a sick story, but I wouldn't be able to tell it since I wouldn't have a phone.

Well that’s really it from me, hope you guys are doing well.

Tchau!

SummaRio:

1. We made a contact and put the wrong number down, but the person who responded was interested so I sent the reference to the elders there. He is from Benin, Africa.

2. The heat wave is over and I got to wear my jacket again

3. We helped the Elders of Macaé move their furniture to a storage container while they wait on a new house. The house we live in right now is way crowded and impossible to organize.

4. We had a meeting with a member where he explained that a goal without a plan is just an idea.

5. Thanksgiving was nonexistent, but I got to talk to my uncle in Portuguese.

6. There was a crazy drug deal outside our apartment after we celebrated Elder Rojas's birthday.

Tender mercy:

I got an email from a dear friend who I haven't talked to in a long time. It was an awesome email and lifted my spirits when I was feeling down.

Spiritual Thought:

Luke 15: 4-5

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, UNTIL HE FIND IT?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

There ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep Him from getting to you. If you need His healing power, call on Heavenly Father in His name, and no matter where you are, no matter how far, don’t worry. Call on Heavenly Father in His name and He will be there in a hurry, you won’t have to worry.

Photos:

- in Brasil we have a knockoff jeep called a Troller. This one was decked out to look like a CAT digger.

-the beach

-my comp stole my phone

-Hollywood???

-I can't stand this street (sorry, that's a terrible joke)

-a flower

-the cakes we had and Elder Rojas

-I am learning useful Portuguese with Duolingo

-the Duolingo mustache guy is very lonely. He often says similar things.

Throw one up to the Elder Khilabok

 (Elder Putnam)

Elder Khilabok would be so proud of us. We did such great work the past few days.

On thanksgiving night, we spent time with the district. I butchered the turkey and it turned out so dry. Elder Leonard came in clutch with the Hawaiian BBQ sauce though. We made orange rolls (a Putnam thanksgiving classic) and delivered them to some branch members. We were able to give some blessings as well and Ernests even accompanied us with his friend. Thanksgiving closed off nicely.

On Friday we had two member lessons and talked about the Second Coming with the Blūmi. President Blūms thinks that his kids are gonna serve missions in the millennium (his oldest is 12) so definitely get ready, cause according to a random member in Latvia, it’s coming soon. But we saw a rainbow about a week ago, though so its chill. Elder Bednar though?

Saturday I got sick. But then I recovered and went to church on Sunday.

Sunday we had a pretty cool experience. About a month ago we ran into a girl on the street who didn't believe in God. We told her to try pray every night for a week and then for a week not to pray. Treat it like an experiment and look for miracles in her life. Well, we ran into a different girl who didn’t believe in God and as we were talking to her the first girl came up with a small group of friends and basically just bore her testimony and thanked us. So much so that the second girl wanted to take up the same experiment. We also recognized the other friends in that group, dapped em up, and invited them to church. Such a vibe.

God is good. He directs our paths. And He keeps His promises.

Looking at a good pday today, hopefully some Catan. We'll see how it all plays out.

til next time

 - Elders Putniņš

We could let our friends crash in the living room

 (Elder Mackrory)

Fala pessoal!

Well, I do like the awkward "well it’s been a good week!" Intro, so we'll start with that.

Well, it's been a good week. The work has been slow for a few reasons. I'll explain further down, but I've had lots of time to study and reflect. This email will be long, so buckle up.

One reason is that my companion came down with some sort of cold on Tuesday, so he has had body aches. We weren't able to work Tuesday or Wednesday other than cell phone contacting. It might have been related to his migraine last week. But both days allowed me to have many hours essentially to myself to study.

During high school, I seldom studied. I hated going over the same material that we covered the same day. It seemed pointless. Especially English. Why was I required to take 12 years of it when I'm already fluent? If anything, I should study another language. Learning Portuguese has taught me more about English than I've been taught in any recent English class. Anyway, I seldom studied because I wasn't learning anything new. I would prefer to self-teach myself and then go to school to receive help and be assessed. Now, everything is different. I love to study. When I reread scriptures, I'm not reading them to reinforce stories or memorize references. I'm reading to apply that story to my life right now and to the lives of those I teach. Those things are always changing, and so the same passage of scripture means something completely different when read a second, third, or another time. That is why the story of Adam and Eve that occurred thousands of years ago still applies in our day.

Those days at home, I also got some very good workouts in. Since coming to the field, I've pretty much worked out every day. I've seen tons of strength increase, and recently, it has been visible. Apart from daily exercise, I also do pushups from my reading goal. I've finished the 1325 make-up ones, and so the 5 pushups a page is very easy, so I've started mixing in more difficult variations: one-arm, diamond, archer, and pike Each of them focuses on a slightly different muscle group. With all of them, I will be able to have balanced growth.

On Wednesday night (Elder Avelino was feeling better), we helped the Elders of Macaé move some stuff to their next house (it happened). This is fine except for one thing. Their next house is ours. I and Elder Avelino aren't being transferred, but there will now be 6 Elders in an apartment that would be crowded with 4. That afternoon, we found out, and I moved my desk into my room and consolidated a lot of my stuff. I like the setup better since I'm able to have my desk adjacent to my bed instead of in another room. We carried fans and mattresses and suitcases my foot the mile to our house. It took many trips to complete, and we grabbed the bare minimum. Then, once we were settled, I found out that the AP's would be staying at our place for the night, making the total 8. It was insane.

On Thursday, we had Zone Council. The Assistants to the president were in town for splits and so it was pretty cool to have them here. One of them was recently called from our district last transfer, so it was fun to catch up. The other AP is from Portugal and has an interesting accent. He used words that are equivalent to "thee," thou", and "thy" that are a little strange in Brazil, but very common in Portugal. His English is very good, but it caught me off guard because the first time I heard him speak it, he said (in a perfect American accent) "we gotta bounce." It was kinda weird not gonna lie.

Friday, we had a Zone conference. Zone conferences consist of two zones as opposed to zone council, which is just one. I caught up with Elders Smith, Robison, Owen, and Roberts. It was also super fun to talk to people who arrived in the field two weeks ago. We had a churrasco and açaí. It was pretty freaking awesome. We also got a bunch of people to ironically wear the fattest tie they had. It was gloriously tacky. We might have even convinced president to get on board with it next time. To the Elders in my mission reading this, I'll need your help to secure this tradition we want to start.

Zone conference was two hours away, and so we had about 4 hours on the bus. I counted a total of 12 beetles in one day, making a new daily record, and bringing the total to 200 exactly.

After zone conference, our district hit up speedburger. Taylor swift recently had her Eras Tour here in Rio and so they put that on the news. It was pretty cool. It makes sense that it was on the news, as it’s the most important thing to happen here since the dedication of the temple. But I think it made the news because of record heat. According to one member, there were some places that got up to 59⁰C.

About the housing situation: We don't know for sure. The mission hasn't secured a new apartment yet, and it could be the rest of the transfer. Although that is pretty dreary, I hope I stay another transfer. The members here are pretty rich and so Christmas is probably gonna go hard.

I moved rooms to be in the same room as my clothes. We're three to a room right now, so that is important. Incidentally, it made me closer to the fan, so I haven’t been sleeping hot since then.

On Saturday, I had a split with Elder Rojas. He is from Mexico, but he lived in the US for a few years so he's pretty much fluent in English. What I learned is that Spanish is remarkably similar to Portuguese. He taught me some rules for converting Portuguese words into Spanish, so now I know a ton of Spanish words.

SummaRio:

1. My comp started the week out sick, so I got lots of study and workout time.

2. Speaking of study, I actually enjoy studying now. In school, studying was boring because I wasn't learning anything. Now, that is really the whole purpose.

3. I'm introducing a lot of new variations of pushups to continue to push myself on a goal that has become easy.

4. We helped the Elders of Macaé move. Into our house. We are trying to make 6 people fit in our tiny apartment. And on top of that the AP's slept over. 8 people in a two person apartment.

5. One of the AP's is from Portugal and has an interesting accent.

6. Zone conference was super fun. I got to catch up with CTM friends and make new friends.

7. The Fusca count is at 200.

8. It's really hot in Rio. The Eras Tour made the news as it should, but I think it was on because of the extreme heat.

9. The Elders of Macaé will likely stay with us the rest of the transfer.

10. I went on a split with Elder Rojas who is from Mexico. I learned a lot of Spanish.

 

Tender Mercy:

When Elder Avelino was sick, the sisters brought us açaí! It was a nice and simple pick-me-up. That's all.

Spiritual Thought:

2 Corinthians 4:17

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

If you find yourself in a tight spot, in the depths of the darkest trial, or just a stinky day, know that that thing will pass, and when you emerge, you will have a greater understanding and experience. Jesus Christ has descended below all things. There is nothing the has happened, is happening, or will happen that he has not experienced the feelings for. Look to him and be comforted. Pray to Heavenly Father and act in faith to get through the tough times. In the words of a dear friend, "tough times never last. Only tough people last. "

Photos:

-super sick truck (possibly in a previous email, I've seen it around before)

-the entire music industry in one photo

-flower

-bus selfish with Elder Rojas

-A Cidade Macaé

-random street that I thought was nice looking

-out of focus fighter jet on the bus ride to zone conference

-zone conf (feat. President)

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

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa tarde Irmãos e Irmãs! Amigos e família!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SummaRio:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spiritual Thought:

Mark 12:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tchau pessoal!

Photos:

1. Minecraft Bible

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

3. Brazilian school buses

4. Blurry picture of a sick lowered truck

5. Our street (I spy a vw beetle)

6. When the other elders ditch district run

Think about the place where you first met me

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa Tarde! Coé!

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

SummaRio:

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

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

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

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

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

Spiritual Thought:

Matthew 13

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tchau gente! Deus abençoe!

Photos:

-Banana flavored peanut butter

-my chalk drawing

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

-cute pink car

-Harley

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

-quail eggs at the supermarket

Late Zone Conference and Rip to Elder Khilabok

 (Elder Putnam)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

building was looking spooky when we got back from Rīga.

With their Range Rovers and their Jaquars

 (Elder Mackrory)

Boa noite gente!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spiritual Thought:

John 3:23-24

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

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

3 Nephi 19:35

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

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

SummaRio:

1. 117 Beetles

2. This week flew by

3. It’s getting warmer

4. I saw a super cool bike after a lesson

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

6. I saw a cursed Lightning McQueen

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

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

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

Photos

1. Flowers

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

3. The horse

4. Abandoned plaza

5. Cursed lightning McQueen

6. Strawberry chocolate pizza

7. Mountain sunset

8. More flowers

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

Valew!