"Never going back again"

Well, well, well. Looks like the Guzy family had a rough week just chillin in Powell eh? I don´t know how all you guys survived with that much play time! Hahaha. It sounded like a rockin trip and I am sure you guys had a blast. I have never been to Powell so I wouldn´t know but..... I am sure you all had fun. I am more jealous about the fact that the 3rd Danger Day in the Park is coming up.... I am dying to be at that just because I have only been to one.

    

This week was a pretty interesting week. It was the last week of the transfer and we were all set to work super hard to finish the transfer out strong but I guess someone else had plans for us. Now this will probably sound worse than it was but.... that is okay. Things were going great until Wednesday night when I started feeling a little sick to my stomach. I didn´t think too much about it because I thought it was just gas and I went to sleep. Then I woke up at like 4:30 the next morning just ridiculously sick and throwing up and all that good stuff and couldn´t get back to sleep. I must have eaten something bad but we don´t know what because all the other guys in the house at the same things I did. So I spent the whole morning throwing up and all that stuff and then because of that I got dehydrated and couldn´t even keep water down... Mom you should remember this situation. I ended up going to the hospital and getting like 3 IVs and just having to kick it there for awhile until I was good to go. It really wasn´t as bad as it probably sounds but at the same time it wasn´t the best thing in the world. The one place I never wanted to go on my mission was the hospital. I just don´t like hospitals in general and here in Brasil it just seems more sketchy. My plan is to never go back to one. I am all good now though and am feeling much better. We did end up teaching a lesson though while we were in the hospital. It was fun because I was all tubed up and there was another guy next to me and we just started talking and we ended up teaching him a bit. There is always a way to teach... Always.

    

Other stuff that happened this week were transfers. The only change that affected us is that Elder Gage, the one who knows Linds, is leaving. It is a bummer to see him go, but I am sure I will see him later. Also we had one of our investigators hide from us this week when we tried to teach her again. She legit hide behind a light post in the street and told her daughter to tell us that she wasn´t at home. She ended up stepping out too early and we saw her and she got all embarrassed.... Just tell me you're not interested, it makes things so much easier!! Also, I have been thinking about my mission in Oregon a lot this week. My two favorite missionaries from there are going home tomorrow and I have been reading about my time there in my journal and it just makes me laugh. Time is going by so fast. I loved that mission so much and I really just wanna go back and visit the people there. I don´t know why I loved it so much..... I just did. I hope the work there is still going strong and they are baptizing a lot.

   

That pretty much sums it all up here on my side of things. I hope you all have another great week and everything you guys have planned goes smoothly. Ry, I am still just so happy for you and I can´t wait to hear about your time at the best place in the world. I hope you all like the pics I am finally sending. You can´t really see how short my hair is in the one picture and I will let you guess on how I got the other one :) Have a great week, I love you, and Stay Sweet!

"Bald......"

So I am trying to decide if I want to send you guys the picture of the baptism this week or not.... I will explain why. I got my hair cut this week and it was..... an experience that I won´t be able to forget for at least six weeks... because by then I will probably have hair again. Yeah, I got completely buzzed and it is ridiculous. It is mostly my fault because I wanted it short but not this short. But... it will grow back fast though, right? I am just bugged because everyone is making jokes now that I am in the "Army of the Lord" or silly jokes like that.... I will get them all back somehow.. I am trying to get the picture to send but the card reader you guys sent is getting bad I think. I can buy another one here for super cheap so don´t worry.
   
Other then the whole hair issue, we had a pretty busy week here. We had an awesome baptism on Saturday of a women named Maria Quiteria and she is so rad. Her 17 year old son was baptized right before we came into the area and he actually ended up baptizing her and it was a really cool night. They both were just so happy and so ready for it. Her son's name is John and he is super smart about the Gospel already. We took him out on splits with us this last week and we honestly almost let him teach by himself. He is going to be a sweet missionary someday and is already seriously preparing for it. I want to get him a copy of PMG so he can study that. I am sure we have one lying around the house somewhere. The ZL´s who live with us also baptized this week so I spent a lot of time in the area doing baptism interviews and those are quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do. It is so awesome to see the testimonies of these people and how they respond with so much conviction to all the questions. I love it.
   
We also had a pretty niffty little experience on Sunday. We are teaching this young woman who is a member of an evangelical church here and she invited us to go to a Bible study with her early Sunday morning. It was really pretty interesting and the people there were really nice. We went there just to learn and listen but in the end we had a little bit of time to talk about what we believe and we just bore our testimonies simply. We actually ended up talking with the Pastor after for like ten minutes as well and he said some really good things about the work missionaries do. All in all it was fun except one thing.... our gator who invited us totally bailed on us later that day to come to church with us! Ah! Hahaha maybe my bald head scared her away. We are gonna keep teaching her of course, but I was pretty bummed out when she didn´t show. She is an awesome girl though. She really understands the Bible really well and she listens with real intent. She isn´t just listening because we are talking, she is listening because she wants to learn and it rocks.
  
So what do you guys want to hear more about? Day to day stuff or what? I am not really sure what to write because the day to day stuff you all know how it is. Just give me a few ideas so I can actually write letters with a bit more substance. I hope you guys are liking the letters though. I am sorry that I don´t have the picture in this e-mail but it will come I promise. Just don´t get mad at me Mom..... and Eliza.... Hahahaha I love you all so much and hope you had a great week and everyone was safe. I miss you all!!! Stay sweet...


Elder Big Deal

P.S. The mission has a FB page now if you wanna check it out and see pics of the mission. the name is; Missão Brasil Maceió. It is most likely in Portuguese but I think Google Chrome has a "Gift of Tongues" application so you guys can change it to English.

"My Head is Going to Explode.........."

So... In all honesty I have no idea how to even start this e-mail. I just got done reading all of yours and I will admit I am very sad that Grandpa Dale passed away. I don´t really have too many outstanding memories with him, but I do remember that with me at least, he was always pleasant and always had some little funny thing to teach me. Weird things that aren´t even important but things I haven´t forgotten for some reason. Like I said a few e-mails back, he was also one there at my baptism. I will really miss him but I know that the Plan of Salvation is such a real thing and I know that there is more after this life. I sound like such a missionary what is this? Haha I did also get the e-mail from Mom and I feel a little left out.... but I am over it. I am also here to talk with any of you if you want as well. :) 
   
This week was a pretty solid week here in Aracaju. We mostly just knocked a lot of doors and tried to find new people to teach so there isn´t really anything too exciting there. We did have a big blessing yesterday of a family coming to church with us. It is a family we honestly found in our first contact here in the area and finally came to church. They really liked it but we didn´t have a lot of time to talk to them because we had interviews with the Pres yesterday! We are planning on going there tonight and marking their baptisms though... So pumped :)
    
My interview with Pres. Gonzaga was awesome this time around. It finally felt like it was a conversation with him and I could actually get my thoughts out instead of being all jumbled up. It was good talking to him though. He burned me a bit on some stuff that in reality I know I need to be better at. He just gave me a little fire to get started. We actually talked about marriage for a lot of the time too.. It was funny yet weird at the same time because I just feel like I am actually growing up now.... He really just likes to talk with his missionaries and would always have interviews if he could. I am already excited for the next one.
    
That pretty much sums things up here on my end though. I am still here and happy but I am missing the family a bit more than usual right now. It is normal though around this time so it is all good :) I hope everything works out with all the trips and things this week and everyone is safe in their travels. Ry, I am stoked that you loved Utah State and are ready to go up there. You really have such a great chance in front of you. I wish you all an awesome week with tons and tons of blessings. I love you all so much... stay fly...

Love,
Elder Big Deal

P.S. I am looking for fun District Meeting ideas, do you have any? And I forgot the USb thing to send pictures again.. Sorry :(

"Small World......"

That is awesome about Lindsay knowing Elder Gage! The world really is such a small place when you are a member of the Church. He is an awesome missionary and a super hard worker. We get along really well and in reality the whole house does. It is fun that our house is a focused house. We all like to do the work, but then at the same time we know how to laugh and be friends with each other, not just four elders living in the same house. On the topic of small world though, Mom, you might be getting a call here pretty soon from a lady who lives in West Jordan. We were at church yesterday and we had a Brazilian lady who grew up here, but now lives in Utah, visit us. She is really nice and speaks both English and Portuguese well. It is funny though, because she now has an American accent when she speaks Portuguese and she was impressed by how I almost sound Brazilian. One day I will get there. But she took a few pictures with me and asked for your number, so just be ready for that alright? Crud... I forgot her name. Hahahaha
   
This week was honestly just an average missionary week. We had some cool things happen and some lame things go down. We had marked about 10 people to come to church with us.. all of them but 1 fell through. I am just getting tired of hearing the same excuses all the time. I just don't understand how everyone in our area can have a birthday every Sunday or something like that. It just kills me, but it is all a part of the process right? I just get bugged because these amazing people don´t understand the blessings that are waiting for them at church. The spirit they will feel there really will be so much better than any party they could go to. Yeah I know I am not the best example of this too before the mission, but now I am seeing the importance of church. I just get bugged because I really do just love these people... And seeing them not get the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for them just bums me out ya know?!
   
We also had a really long discussion this week with a man from another religion. It was interesting because I can honestly say this is the first time when it was a talk, not a battle, with a person like him on doctrine. It was really neat to actually sit down and understand a little more about why he believes what he believes. It also was a big testimony builder of how true the Church really is. The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn´t something that should be confusing or really difficult to understand. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, that is why he gave us the Gospel how it is. Simple. The Gospel of Christ includes 5 simple things we need to do to be happy. Yeah those five things can be difficult at times, but if it was all happy-go-lucky, what would we learn? All in all, I love the Gospel of Christ and I am so grateful that it was really restored by a prophet who was called of God. He didn´t decide to be a prophet one day, he was literally called and chosen of God.
   
It sounds like everyone had a good week back at home and things are still going well. Tan I loved the video you sent and she is adorable... I love her already :) I am glad no one got caught on fire during the fourth of July and I hope the hamburgers were delicious! We didn´t do anything here because... it isn´t a holiday and I am a Brazilian now so.... Yeah! Have another great week and I hope you all know that I am happy and healthy here and that this mission is a blast!


Elder Big Deal!


The picture is the face I make when I think about eternity, hence the looking at the watch. And good luck at SOAR Ry!!!!!!!!

"Capitao Guzzao"

So I don´t know if it is revelation or just our family being really goofy, but it seems to me like everyone was getting super rad nicknames this past week. I am still just crackin up over Dangers, I mean, "DAVID BRUCE GUZY- MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE!"  Hahahaha It only fits my dad and that is for sure. But I will be honest Mom, I love the nickname "ZZ" for you. I think it will be perfect :) I also got a knew nickname this week hence the subject line and I will explain more about it later. It sounds like this past week was a blast for everyone and finally a little bit of relaxation time which is much needed for you guys right? Do you guys wanna share some of that time with me? It would be really really cool... I am glad camp went well and everyone liked the America tribute. You will have to show it to me when I get back or else I think I will just stay Brazilian forever! Happy birthday to Ian as well. I really hope you are finally out of your training pants! :) I was talking with someone about Harry Potter for some reason during this week and I remembered "Potter Puppet Pals" and when Harry says, "Lose some weight before you hug me Ron", and I just started laughing so hard. Good times on Sunday afternoons with the fam!
   
This week here was a pretty normal average week. But overall was a good week. It is still a bit of a struggle opening the area but it is getting better now that we know the ward members more and our way around at least. One fun thing about this past week was I gave my first district meeting... And I feel like I completely bombed. The other members of the district said I did fine and they liked the training, but I still have a few little problems with the language. Like when it is me talking for a long time I forget what tense I am in sometimes and stuff like that. It will get better though :) I gave the training on working hard every day and not just working for that day. We are working that day so that in two weeks that person we contacted or that lesson we taught can be baptized. It was fun and the district helped a lot. 
   
I have been thinking a lot lately about how a mission changes after the year mark. Not that there really is a major change, but some differences do come. The first like year of a mission is seriously almost just getting used to the life style, learning how to teach, learning a language, or stuff like that. And it is a really difficult part of the mission for sure. But I think the second half of the mish is difficult in different ways because by then you know how to do all those things. The second year seems to be dealing with a lot more things like dealing with temptations to break rules and getting over trunkiness and stuff like that. Really enduring to the end ya know? I dunno if this is right but these are just some of the feelings and thoughts I have been having. That was my little rant for the week but now I think I will answer those questions Mom sent.
     
Questions to be answered:  

How does your new area most differ from your other areas? It is hard to get people to go to church here because it is far away. The Church has land here to build a chapel closer, but we just need more members now... That is my job right? 

What is the best thing about being a DL? I love making the calls every Thursday and Sunday night. It is a blast to just talk with my district and hear their needs and funny stories of the week.   

What is the worst thing about being a DL? So far, teaching district meetings alone. I just don´t like teaching alone anymore. There is so much more power when two people are teaching. It is like the Bible and the BOM. One is good but the two together are amazing.

What new food have you tried recently? Honestly, nothing new really. The food here is always just the same. We did make hot chocolate this past week and it was so delicious. It was raining a ton but it made me so Christmas trunky... Hahaha 

Are there any sisters in your district? Yesh! There is on companionship and they are great. One is a fairly new sister who just got finished working in Feitosa, my first area, and so we are always talking about the members and work there.  

How do the members help you most w/missionary work? That is one thing about this ward that is amazing. They are extremely missionary minded. The youth love to do splits with us and we are legit trying to plan time for all of them. They are good teachers and helpers too. The ward mission leader is very focused as well and is fairly new so he is pumped to get started. 

What can you tell us about your new comp? He is rad. He is honestly just like O-lex. He is from the most Southern part of Brasil and he loves to long board and is just a very relaxed kinda person. He is a great teacher and is honestly ready to be a senior already I just kinda help him make decisions. He is a big blessing actually.  

How about the other elders you're living with? They are awesome. Elder Costa is from the same place as my comp and he is one of my best friends in the mission. He helped me out a lot when he was my DL is Viçosa and is just really funny. His companion is Elder Gage from Washington and he is cool too. He went to BYU before the mission and has yet to be converted to the true college in Utah... It will all come with time :)

And that brings us to now! Hahaha I hope you all have another great week and just know... I really am just dying to hold little Hazel. She looks adorable in the pictures and I know my time will come to play with her. But until then I will just stay happy here in this amazingly beautiful country that I honestly think I grew up in secretly... I love you all so so much and will keep you in my prayers. Stay sweet!


Elder Capitão Guzzão ( That is what my district calls me... I am not sure why...)

"Open Game........."

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am an uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahaha I am so happy I can´t even explain it! She looks adorable in the pictures and I wouldn´t lie, I am dying to be there with you all! Ah I am so happy! This week is just perfect already! :) :)I am so happy everything went smoothly and everyone is here and healthy. I don´t even no what else to say about the situation... I am just happy. That is all you need to know :)
  
This past week here was pretty wild for me as well. I got transferred wayyy down to the other state of our mission and I am now a district leader. I am down in the city of Aracaju, the capital of the state of Sergipe. It is right under Alagoas so it should be pretty easy to find on the map. I am already liking it here a lot and my new companion, Elder Mattos from Rio Grande do Sul, is super cool. He just got finished being trained and is a really good at teaching. We will do really good work here once we find out where our investigators live because we are opening the area. That was the challenge for this week. I have never opened an area before and I had no idea how to get started. Luckily the members here are super missionary focused and were out walking with us and showing us the ropes. I am excited for this next week ahead because we will actually be able to work and not just wander in the streets lost, like we did last week. 
   
Our house he is really cool here as well. I need to get some pics of it for you guys but it is pretty spacious and we live with the LZ´s as well which is fun. One of them is a good friend of mine and was my district leader awhile back so he is going to give me some pointers on how to teach district meetings well and all that dubstep. ( I put dubstep cause I really don´t like jazz too much). We did have a bit of excitement here this weekend because it was São João here. It is pretty much just like the Fourth of July but more wild cause the fireworks don´t go in the air they go into the streets and everyone has big bonfires out in front of their houses. It was actually really cool looking, but I didn´t get any pics of it because we had to go in early because it is dangerous because of the fireworks. But it was still really cool to see and it really made me miss campfires up in the mountains. Mmmmhhmm mountains.
   
Church here is also interesting cause it starts at 3:00 in the afternoon. Yeah it eats up our Sunday, but it makes it a little easier to bring people to church I hope. It did throw me off a bit though. I will try to get a picture of the chapel here and send it to you guys. It is huge and there is a nice fresh soccer court in front of it. :) We also have a sand court in front of our house and we go and kick the ball around in the morning for work out time. Such a tender mercy. 
   
I think that sums everything up though... I am still just freaking out that I have a niece now. I can´t stop thinking about her.... and how she doesn´t have a name :p I guess I will just have one more surprise waiting for me next week. I hope everything goes well this week and we all continue to be so grateful for all the blessings we have in our lives. I know this church and gospel are true. And this new Little girl Guzy is just one more testimony of that to me. I am so happy we have a loving Heavenly Father who trusts us enough with His other children. I miss you all but like always.... Stay sweet.

Elder Big Uncle ( In Portuguese the word for big uncle is "Tiuzão" so rad!