"Average week -- kinda hahha"

Hello to my family that is neat and awesome! I loved the e-mails I got from all of you and I am glad that Thanksgiving and Hazel's blessing were really good experiences for everyone. I am a little weirded out that you guys didn´t go bowling, to be honest, but I understand that it just isn´t the same when it isn´t at Teton Lanes and playing for quarters!

So to answer your question mom..... here you go,

MTC, 9 weeks, with Peterson and Gabel

Albany, 7 weeks, with Fristrup, Thompson/Tillick 

Medford, 5 weeks, with Sadler

Feitosa, 12 weeks, with Pinto

Viçosa, 23 weeks, with Shokes, Amorim, Guerra

Cententario, 12 weeks, with Mattos

Brasilia, 4 weeks, with Keen

Boa Vista, Current, with McCloskey, Pájaro

Wow.... I am old. I hope you can understand all of that too. If you want any more information just let me know. I have most of it written down already. I don´t know if you guys share stats and things at the MML hahahaha. That would be pretty funny though. I don´t have anything really specific for you to say to them, but let B-MILL know that it would be cool if he just happened to show up during or Skype call.... :) Speaking of which! Seeing as how Christmas is on my P-day this year we can pretty much plan to Skype on that day if it works for everyone. Don´t worry, I know how to get it to work this time so we won´t just sit there looking at each other awkwardly for... a half an hour hahaha. Good times. Can you believe this is pretty much my last call? Because the next one will be two days before I come home... I don´t even know what I am going to do that day.

   

So I am just going to give you a little run down of what happened this week in my life... I hope you are all ready for this. Monday, P-day was awesome - played volley ball. Tuesday, one of the missionaries who lives in the house with us decided he wanted to run away.... he jumped over the fence and just left full speed. We had a member help us try to find him but after about a half an hour he came back and said he just wanted to go for a run and get some air.... I sat him down and practically interviewed him and now things are all square and he already talked with Pres. Wednesday, Zone Conference!!! It was awesome. President was really funny and it was just a good time. The mission is doing really really well right now so we are all very excited about the work. I love working close to Pres though. I say this almost every letter, but it is so awesome. Thursday, normal work day. Friday, all of our district leaders had baptismal interviews so we had to plan our day super carefully and had to travel in the bus lots.... boo! But it all worked out and the people were baptized! Hooray! Saturday, normal work day everyone fell through, we walked a lot. Sunday, drunk guy came into the church during sacrament meeting screaming/crying that he wanted to see miracles. We had to sit him down and give him a talk and help him find his way out. Also there was a bat that was flying around the building and all the little kids were freaking out and the teenagers were saying, "It´s Edward!!" (Twilight) but we all know he never turns into a bat. It just made me think of that Office episode when Dwight catches the bat on Meredeth's head and Jim acts like he is turning into a vampire. Life is awesome :)

   

To be quite honest with you..... That is pretty much what my life has been for the last........ 12 weeks. I love it. I just can´t explain to you how much I am loving my mission right now. Yesh there are TONS of things I miss back at home but let´s be real here... When will I ever get to help drunk guys in Portuguese or listen to my inspired mission pres in the same week?! Never!!! I am so happy I am here and I love you all so much and these last 6 months are going to fly by... Just you watch!! I am healthy and happy and the Church is still true..... Have a good week :) Stay sweet...

Elder Bat Deal (this one was clever :p)

Oh yeah! and on Thanksgiving we had a DL buy non-alcholic beer for his district and called me after he bought to see if they could drink it..... The kid is going places.

Public Transportation

Oh my heavens.... I can´t even tell you how past the limit I am with public transportation. Ugh having a car in the mission and before was such a HUGE blessing. I honestly spend 70% of my time of the week on a stinkin bus packed to the brim with tons and tons of people. It is a killer... That is why I am writing to you so late tonight and why this letter is going to be horribly short, because I still have to pass our numbers... 

Ah! We went in to Farol to play some more volley ball today and on the way home there was a big accident on the main road in Maceió that everyone and their dog, horse, scooter, and car uses. The traffic was horrible. I am good though and just really tired as always. I can honestly say i have never been so tired in my life as I have been these last couple of weeks. Yesh, I still have energy to joke around and of course work, but I am to the point that if I stop for too long it will be near impossible to get going again.... And I am sure it is only going to get worse as more time passes by. I just gotta keep working is all. That is the big secret to the mission I think. Everything goes better. You find more, teach more, baptize more, and the secret blessing of time passing oh so much faster. 

I love you all so much and I am sorry that this is such a stinky letter... I love you and the Church is true! I am sure Mr. B-MILL can tell all of you that now! I wish I could be there for his homecoming so bad!!! Good Luck B!!!!!!!!!

Elder Big Deal

"Winter"

  
Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is so much snow in Utah! I have completely forgotten that snow even exists!! Has anyone already hit the slopes?? What did you all do for passes this year? Has someone already used my blue coat..... Ian! Hahahaha I blame everything on you when it comes to clothes :) I was talking about Bomberman 64 today with one of the assistants and it made me miss you. Have you beaten it yet? Sweetest game ever....... I hope everyone is liking the snow though and lil Hazel stays all bundled up and adorable!

   

We had an average week here. just busy busy busy. We had Zone Counsel this week with Pres and it was a blast. I honestly love working close to him and his wife. They are amazing people and really understand what their purpose is as the mission couple here. They do what is right exactly when they need to do it and they don´t look back. Our meeting was very inspiring and I feel like I learned a lot that I need to start applying in my own area, not just the zone. One thing that I really liked about the meeting though was that after it had ended I randomly just got to sit down with Pres and Sister for like a half and hour and just talk with them. It was really interesting because it felt like it was the first time that I really opened up to him about what I think about the mission and how we can try to do things better. I am not going to lie, I was a little nervous and intimidated at first which was....interesting because that isn´t very common with me to be nervous when talking with people. I just felt that every word I said was being listened to very carefully. It was a good feeling at the same time. He really is so interesting in uplifting missionary input. I say uplifting because there is PLENTY of missionary input, but usually it is just ridiculous. I just love having this relationship with him and hope to keep having more chances to work with him during the rest of the mission.

   

I heard the news about Obama getting elected again and it shocked me pretty bad. It actually shocked the majority of the people here actually. Brasil had made it sound like that Mitt had a really really good chance and I got all excited about it. I just wish I could have actually voted.... But I am so out of the political loop right now that I couldn´t even tell you what is going on over there in the states.... Speaking of the states, good ol´ Elder Miller is coming home next week.... I still can´t believe it. Time has flown by!! It seems like just yesterday that I was watching his farewell talk and bawling my eyes out. Don´t let Bro Peterson read that. I am so stoked for Elder B-Mill and I better get some pictures..... :)

    

I am really tired though and sunburned because we played some awesome volleyball today and I just wanna go "relax" a bit. I hope at least ONE person in the family goes out and plays in the snow this week and that you ALL stay safe. I miss you all a lot.... no joke, but I will be back soon :) Love you all and have a great week!!! :)

Elder Big Deal!

"T-ranch Happy Birthday"

  
T-ranch HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOOODE!!! I know that there is no better way then spending a birthday playing the sickest new Halo game ever cause that is pretty much what I did when Reach came out. Good times. Let me know how many headshots you get on Tanner and hammerwacks on Ian. Hahahaha I miss my brothers....

   

So you guys already know what i am going to say, this week was so busy.Once again.... and always. It is a good busy though so I am happy. My comp was a little sick in the start of last week so we didn´t get anything done on Tuesday so that just put us in more of a rush for the rest of the week. He is feeling better though now and we are both just as happy as ever. Elder Pájaro is honestly just one of my favorite people in the mission and now we are comps so it is awesome! It is just constant laughing on the road and we just have a really solid teaching flow together. I love having a comp that is just as stoked about the work as I am.

   

Speaking of the work... We had a baptism this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!! My heavens it has been awhile since I have had a baptism and it felt so good to get back into the water. His name is Alan and he is wild. We are trying to teach his whole family but it is really hard to find everyone in the house at the same time and he and his sister were always there so they progressed the quickest. Except the fact his sister doesn´t go to church and you can´t baptize people who don´t go to church! It is all good though. I think with the baptism of her little brother it got her excited about it too, so we will see how that goes! We have a lot of really good people that we are teaching right now and a few other baptisms marked for this week. I love when the work is like this, it is such a blessing. I just wake up every day actually just pumped to go work. So nice...

  

That is pretty much the majority of the week though... It was really hot here this week which is kinda bad because it is not even Summer yet, so that will be interesting when it comes. I can´t believe that it is almost Summer again.... where in the world does time go? I hope you like the pictures... the pic with all the kids is dark but I think if you take it into photoshop you can BRIGHTON (that was my high school!) it up a little bit. Have a wonderful week all of you and play lots of Halo, be safe, read the BoM, and never forget the Church is true.... It is so true. I love you all!! Stay sweet....

Elder Big Deal

"Halloween Tree"

  
I am just laughing here in my seat right now thinking about all of you watching Garfeild Halloween. That is honestly one of the best traditions ever if you ask me. That scary old pirate guy who steals their candy is for sure one of the funniest characters ever. Did you also get around to watching Halloween Tree?? I was thinking about that movie the other day and I don´t even have anyone near me to quote it with... What a shame.

  

On the other hand though, this week was ridiculous. Lately it seems all my weeks are ridiculous. I honestly am just so busy I don´t even have time to think straight. I love it though, because I honestly feel so focused. I feel like I am just always thinking about some deep gospel topic or some better way to make contacts and inspired questions. It is a good feeling to have. The week was busy because one, I got my new comp. I am going to answer Mom´s awesome questions right now then fill in the blanks later.

What's your new comp's name and where is he from, how long has he been out, etc? His name is Roberto Pájaro and he is from São Paulo. He has been out a year and 6/7 months. (The transfer before mine) and he is a blast. We have been friends for awhile because he worked in the mission office for 7 1/2 months and I got to know him really well because I called him a lot when I was in Viçosa and for other things. We are just having a blast together. It is nice to be back with another Brazilian too.

Have you had any people be more interested in the Church because of the exposure due to the US Presidential election? Not really. I don´t even know anything about the election. People ask me if I would vote for him and I just say " I have no idea what is going on there anymore so I dunno" Hahaha

We had some great conversations at the missionary  mom lunch earlier this week.  Is there anything you want me to say to them or ask them or share with them? Obviously tell them that I am a Big Deal. :D Really though just tell them that I am Brazilian and that I miss my friends a lot but I feel so cool knowing that I have a friend working every single hour of the day in the work of the Lord. I can´t believe Jake and Jordan are home... B-MILL is next!!

What do you like best about this new area? It is a branch with a lot of young people. I feel like I am back in Viçosa a bit and Viçosa is where I believe I grew up the most as a missionary and person. My comp is also the bees knees.

What is most different about this area compared to your other areas? I can see the beach and lots of airplanes.... Those kinda trunk me out though. There are also more then 30 different churches just on one road here... It is like Utah but not all of them are the same.... and true.

What's your weather like now? Hot. Really really hot.

What's your apartment situation, (number of missionaries, location etc)? We have one other companionship with us and the house is great. Really clean, a alot of space, two bathrooms/showers, and lots of lizards.

If I were to send one book, what would you like it to be? Hahaha oh boy this is a tough one.... Is temple and Cosmos a big book? I just worried about the weight is all. Maybe Doctrines of salvation 2 or The Pathway to Perfection by Joseph Fielding Smith.... or The Miracle of Forgiveness.

Well those questions pretty much just wrote my whole e-mail for me. We had our baptism for this week fall through again, which was really a bummer. I spent over an hour with her talking about the benefits and blessings of the Church, but she still didn´t quite understand the importance of baptism. That just shows there is still room for improvement with my teaching skills... I am really excited to get to know this Brazilian lady who lives in our ward. Do you know if she still speaks Portuguese?? Where did she live if she lived here in Brasil?? What team does she cheer for?

I better get going. I still have tons to do and very little time... It kills me how in the start of the mission it felt like the days would never end and now they end way too quickly..... I just gotta make it last that is all. I will get that picture for you soon Mom sorry!! Love you and stay fly! :)

Elder Big Deal

P.S. Did Danger make an awesome Micheal Jackson joke about the Thriller performance?? I can´t tell you how much I miss his jokes... Danger you would be a hit here in Brasil just to let you know.

"Already Gone...."

Hello family!!
    
So to just get started with the news quick, Elder McCloskey is getting transferred....I am pretty bummed about it because we legit got along so well and probably had the funniest two weeks since I have been here in Brasil. He taught me a lot about the importance of obedience as a ZL and a lot about the area Boa Vista. The people really are going to miss him here and I hope I can create the same type of relationship with them and we can keep growing together. I get my new comp tomorrow so you guys have to wait one more week to find out who he is.
     
I already love this place though. It is not SUPER dangerous, but we have the most dangerous neighborhood in Brasil in our Zone so that is pretty neat. Mom this is one of the reasons I haven´t gotten that pic yet, just because I don´t like walking around with my camera. I will get it this week though for sure. Speaking of being in Brasil, this Thursday I will have 1 year here!! Crazy I know. I can´t believe how fast it has gone by and it still feels like I am new here for some reason. Yeah I have the language down and all that stuff, but I just still feel.... young hahaha.
    
Really not too much out of the norm happened here this week. We just did tons and tons of finding because their teaching group had just ended right when I got here and it was time to start contacting again. It seems like I always do that though hahaha. We did find some really solid potentials though and there are a few referral families I am excited to work with, so there is plenty to do here. One funny thing though about this week was early this morning we decided to go play some basket ball at the church and run to get there.... I am 100% positive I have lost any talent that I once had before the mission.... With any sport. Haha. I just got tired quick and made a fool of myself on the court. I don´t even wanna know what has happened to my Halo and Guitar Hero skills.... It is gonna be ugly. It did feel really good to run again though and I hope to get back into it when I get back home.
     
I really can´t think of what else to talk about.... As for a Christmas package the first things that came to mind were Got2BGlued hair gel and Beef Jerky. Both would be greatly enjoyed. I would ask for more books (Doctrines of Salvation I, II, III) but once again I am scared my bags will weigh too much because of all the books I have read. I have read over 20 books in my mission about gospel topics and that is not including the Standard Works. I love how much I have learned... I sometimes try to write it to you guys during my e-mails but I just can´t get it to sound right yet.... The Church is true though, that is all you need to know. :) I have to get going though cause Big Mac has to pack his bags and cut his hair still. I love you all and I am still blown away by that 7,000 missionary applications this past week. So cool. RY, be really excited. Have you already started your papers?? Just remember, you can´t leave until after May 15th 2013. Like a week after that I think I will let you go though :) Stay Sweet!!

Elder Big Deal

"Zoned Out"

Sounds like the ward "survived" the big changes and to be honest, I am excited that I will pretty much be coming back to the same ward that I left. I have noticed that out here... how much I really love the ward I have back at home. I will miss calling it, "the 10th ward", but now our ward just sounds like a bigger deal. Which I am fine with :)

  

I am sure you all have questions about where I am now and things, actually I know you do because Mom sent me a huge list. So I will answer her questions, then fill in the blanks a little bit after :)

Soooooooo where did you get transferred? I am now a Zone Leader in Boa Vista. It is back in Maceió and I can see the coastline in pretty much any part of my area!

Why? Still not a hundred percent sure on this one because the other elder who was here before was doing really well with my current comp. Maybe the area just needed a change... I am not sure.

What are you doing there? I am a ZL now which is a whole new bear to wrestle. I had to give a zone meeting my second day here and most of the zone didn´t even know there was a transfer. I love it though and we have three really strong districts here and a lot of good elders. There are no sisters here because this area is a bit more dangerous.

Who is your new comp and where is he from? My new comp is an American (really weird being with an American again, it has been almost a year), named Chase McCloskey from Provo Utah and he is awesome. We get along really great already and he is helping me get the hang of things. He has two transfers left and has a chance of getting transfered this next week because we have real transfers now.  

Are you living w/other elders? Yesh! One Brazilian who is training a brand new American misionary!! Oh my heck I love it. I have never been around a fresh greenie American and oh boy is it a hoot!  

What is your new area like? (walking a lot still, or in the city using public transportation? Hahaha dangerous. I saw a guy get hit by a car Saturday. It is also really beautiful because we can see the ocean from pretty much anywhere. We work with a branch that is growing quite rapidly, which is neat. They are really baptism focused, so this area is gonna be fun!

In all honestly that pretty much sums up what I had to tell you all this week... I am loving the new area and trying to learn it as quickly as possible because in reality McCloskey will probably get transfered next week. He already has three in this area and has already spent six months in just one area. I don´t think Pres would do that to him again. I am going to miss him though, if he does get transferred. I don´t know how to explain it. but we just got along so well and so quickly. I call him Mike Wasowski (Monsters Inc.) Sometimes :)

  

Ryley, I wanna hear about your mission ideas and when you can actually start putting your papers in. I am honestly so excited for you.I know so many other young women who are just stoked to get started and helping in the work. These sister missionaries will do so many miracles... I just know it! 

I hope you guys had a great week traveling, some of you, and the rest was just nice and relaxed. What Conference talks did you all like the most?? Stay sweet....

Elder Big Deal