"It always rains on Sunday....."

Hello to my family that is cooler than dinosaurs, (that is a pretty big deal by the way)!
   
Wow, this week was awesome! I finally really got to get out and explore our area a bit and let me tell you, it is huge!! We cover not only part of the city of Arapiraca, but also some of the surrounding little cities! We legit have lunch 45 minutes away by bus sometimes. It is awesome, but at the same time it can be a time-waster. I am just finally happy to have so much space to work in. I loved Centenario but it was a really small area. 
   
We met and talked with some cool people this week. I dunno, the work just seemed to flow really well. We weren´t all crazy and trying to work a million miles per hour, we just took things slow and really relaxed and ended up doing a lot of really good solid work. We marked lots of baptism dates, which was a big relief because it had been a while since I had had anything solid, but I really feel that this area is going to be that "miracle area".  We only had one bummer thing happen this week and that was that once again no one came to church. We even went with a member and his car (because it was raining--every Sunday it rains!!) to go find them, but it still didn´t go down... There is always next week though, right? The bishop here is really focused on what he wants done and is not scared to get up in your face about it. I like it because it gives me a chance to show that I just might have turned into a responsible young man! Neat huh?! 
    
Speaking of almost being a responsible young man, not only am I learning lots of nifty tricks and treats about the Gospel out here on my mission, but I am also learning how to fix/buy a lot of things! We had our washing machine break this week so we had to go into the center and buy a new one and all that jazz. Little did we know that we would be the ones to set it all up! Yep, we had to get it all hooked up and everything and it turned out to be pretty fun. I just like how I can do all this stuff in Portuguese now without even thinking, where as a few years back I couldn´t even do this stuff in English! Also, our shower broke! This week was honestly just a hoot. The shower wasn´t too hard to fix, but it was a little more risky because we didn´t wanna get shocked. It all turned out good though. Yay for learning!
    
That is it though. I am happy, my comp is awesome, the area is sweet, and the Church is true. The only thing I could honestly complain about from this week is that still, even after almost a year in this beautiful country, I can´t agree with corn, peas, ketchup, and tuna on pizza. It just doesn´t work for me. I am glad you all had a good week and that everyone is healthy and happy.  I loved the pics of little Hazel last week ps :) Danger, you forgot to mention who won in the golf tourny! 

I love you all so much and I hope you have another great week filled with learning and laughter. Oh! and that you are all excited about General Conf. here pretty soon! Yay for living prophets and apostles! Stay sweet...


Elder Big Deal 

"Brasilla!!!"

Well hey!!
    
It sounds like the Guzy family all had a great last week and a really fun Sunday night. I miss our Sunday night game nights and sitting around the kitchen table quoting movies. "There is no eating puzzles in the house... and surely we don´t jump on the bed!" (Rocket Man) Hahahaha best movie ever invented! So I just have to tell you guys this, the LAN house I am at is FREEZING. The guy has the air conditioning on full blast and I honestly can´t even type.... I haven´t been this cold in a long time. It is weird hahaha.
    
So transfers were a blast. It was really fun to see everyone again and talk with some of my buddies. I actually saw all of my past comps. They are all doing well and they're excited to go to their new areas as well. I ended up getting transferred to Arapiraca which is the name of the city, but I work in the area called brasilia. It is way in the interior of alagoas and is pretty rocking. My area and ward are great. It is a pretty relaxed and open environment, and it just feels good to be back in kind of a smaller city, like Viçosa. My new comp is Elder Thomas Keen from, once again, Rio Grande do Sul. I swear I am getting followed by missionaries from that state. It is all good though because they are generally really funny and cook really good food. We will get along great. I am still a DL and excited about that. Our house here is super rad. We live above some members and it is just us in the house. I have no idea why but I honestly feel like I am in a cabin when I am home though. There is just this nice little breeze that comes in through the windows that reminds of mountains and stuff., but then I look outside and it is all palm trees and sunshine. Talk about the best of both worlds (chillin out take it slow, then we rock out the show!). Mountain breeze and palm trees! 
   

The only issue about the house is that in the entire city there is no water for usually three days a week. Luckily in the house we live in the member has a pump so we always have water but it is quite the adventure getting it to start. I have a video of it but it´s not letting me send it so I will just send you a picture of the bathroom and explain later. All in all, I am pretty stinkin stoked to be here. My comp is excited about the work, my area is huge, and there is so much potential here. I have a feeling I am really going to like it here.
   

I hope you all the like the pictures I am sending. One is of the beach on our way to Maceió... mmmmm. The others are of the view from my house, my new Zone (no sisters), and our bathroom. Mom don´t worry, I am working on getting that picture for you. Do you want it with like member kids or just a whole big group of whoever I can find?? Well. I am freezing so I am probably gonna run but I love and miss you all tons! Stay sweet...

Elder Big Deal
P.S. When does the Y play USU??

Hello people that I love a lot!

Well I guess to start off I better say thank you all so so much for the birthday wishes!! I honestly can´t believe how fast time is zippin ( ZIPPO!!) by. I remember this time last year when I was back in good ol´Albany Oregon! I don´t really have too much planned for my birthday because.... I am getting transferred! Yep! And the only thing I know for sure is that I am heading back to Alagoas which will be fun to be closer to Pres again. It is honestly like I came down here for a summer vacation. I really liked my time here and the friends I made but this last transfer was easily the hardest transfer I have had in the mission. I am excited for tomorrow to find out where I am going and oh yeah, it is my birthday!! Hooray! :) I am pretty sure my new comp and I will hit up a Rodizo with the b-day money and I am already just pumped on it :) Also, I would like to thank a certain special someone for the best birthday package in the world!! You know who you are and you know that you are awesome!! :D Elder Mattos, my current comp, will be staying here in Centenario and I am going to miss him lots. He is so funny and we got along great.
   
On to other topics! The work this week was all over the place. I spent tons of time in the ZL´s area helping them out because one of them kinda died because he goes home tomorrow. It was so much work working in both areas, but also a lot of fun and tons of good planning. The only thing that stunk was our baptism for this week fell through :( His name is Thomas and we had been working with him since we got here and he had been to church already and made friends then and everything he just wouldn´t accept a date. We finally set a date with him during the week for this past Sunday and he seemed so stoked on it.... I thought. It turns out when we went to go bring him to church he "went on a trip with his friends and won´t be back until tomorrow". Super bummed out. Elder Mattos will keep working with him so hopefully that will work out. That pretty much sums up our week though.
    

I can´t even start to tell you how stoked I am on USU beating Utah. That is why the Aggies are the dopest ever. Ry, thanks so much for the e-mail and for telling me how life is up there. It sounds like you are just loving it and I remember doing ALL (Hahaha) of those things too. Best school ever! Mom, I really like the idea with the hand-written letters and I think it would be nice if I started writing you guys a little more personally as well. Also... My release date is May 14th. We have two transfers of only five weeks here every year so that is why I come home two weeks early. Thank you all once again for the birthday wishes and making fun of my awesome tan line... You know you are all jealous :p Have a great week with everything that you have planned. Know that I love you all so much :) Who won in golf by the way?? Stay sweet....

Elder 21

P.S. The pictures are of a litle figurine a member made of me.... Pretty neat right?

Can someone teach me how to rotate these dang photos?

"The Wise Indian Returns..."

So... If the photos work I am just going to send those because I wrote a whole e-mail to you guys then the computer had a fit and deleted it... I am fed up with this LAN House! This week was awesome though. I am writing a little late because we just got back from our Zone activity which was a blast and that is what the pictures are of. I wore the legendary wilderness shirt today and I think it was a hit besides the fact I looked like a big redneck! As of right now it looks like the pics are working so... hooray! The activity was a blast though. We played a lot of volleyball, had an awesome treasure hunt, a Brazilian bbq (like Rodizo), and a water balloon fight! Sucha good time :) Speaking of pictures, thank you all so much for the pictures you all sent me. I loved them! Grandma looks great and it was nice to see her. Trent's beard is pretty much the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life and I am dying with jealousy. I can´t even grow a beard though hahaha. And of course, little Hazel is just adorable as ever.

  

This week was a really good week here in the district. They kept me super busy and I barely had time to work in my own area this week. It was a nice break - not gonna lie. But I did 10 baptismal interviews this week which was fun. Those are my favorite things about being a DL and doing 10 was just super. It was interesting because I had been kinda bummed out because Elder Mattos and I have been working really hard and not seeing the blessings in our area, but then I opened my eyes and saw the blessing that were happening in the district. Sometimes our example of hard work will give other missionaries the drive to work harder and find more people. As a missionary I am here to see other people get more blessings from our Heavenly Father and I usually think of that as investigators but in reality, it can be anyone I come in contact with! I love my district and I am super happy for how hard they worked this last week :)

   

We will also find out who will be getting transferred this Saturday and I am excited, but at the same time a little bummed. I don´t talk about Elder Mattos a ton but he is an awesome guy. He is still pretty new in the mission so he is learning a lot still, but he takes it well and just keeps working. I enjoyed my time with him, but it is more than likely one of us will get moved. I will let you guys know what happens next week with transfers, deal? I will be 21 next week.... weird huh? I still don´t believe it! Have a great week and thank you all once again for the pics and letters! Stay sweet....

Elder Guzão

P.S. We got robbed this week! We put our towels out to line dry, like we always do, but while we were out working some guy came by and reached through our gate and stole mine and my comp's towels. Ridiculous right? Good thing I had another one though. And I hope you like the pics. One is of Elder Mattos cooking the meat... It was awesome!

"Go to church!!!"

So to start off this letter I will already tell you that I don´t have too much to really say about this last week. The zone hadn´t been doing so hot so, last Tuesday we had a zone meeting to try and get everyone fired up again. It was a great meeting and it got us all stoked to work super hard this week. And that is what we did, it just doesn´t look like it in the numbers. It was one of those weeks of knocking tons of doors without results, appointments falling through, and no one accepting a date. We had marked for 18 people to come to church with us yesterday, not one came. We even passed their houses. In all honesty it was just one of those weeks of trials and really trying to show our faith to the Lord that we want to baptize here in this area. I know that trials mean growth and experience and maturity, all these amazing qualities, but as always, during that time or trouble, it is rough. I am mostly just bummed about the people not going to church. It kills me. Nothing makes me happier then seeing people in church. You literally see a change in the person when they are there.  I love it. It is also a way to see the results of our work. But, this is the life of a missionary right? Bad days, bad weeks, heck, even bad transfers happen, but I just need to keep trying to better my work and increase my desire to do the work. It is hard to do, but possible. As a quick side note, more than likely, one of us will be getting transferred here in two weeks (when I will be 21, gross) I am fine if I stay or go but who knows what will happen?
  
On a happier note! I loved all of your e-mails today. That was honestly a big big boost for me. It was great to hear from Trent and Ry and I can´t thank you enough for the jokes! Also, Mom and Dad, now that you two just have TONS of time on your hands :p your letters are awesome. I love this whole talking about the gospel with you guys. It is nice to be taught instead of teaching sometimes hahaha. It is also fun because we are pretty much at the same point in the BOM and I love hearing your comments on things. I also like hearing about what is going on back at home in every bodys' lives. The pictures were also really cool. Ian, I won´t lie that jacket is pretty algebraic! Hahaha. Once again, sorry for the kinda blah letter. Next week will be better, I promise. Please give my best to Bill and I hope you all have another good week! Stay Sweet.

Elder Big Deal

"Hi my name is............"

Elder Guzy and this is my friend... Ah! I honestly have not made so many contacts in my life! Usually I like making contacts and talking with people in the streets, but that is legit all we did this week. Trying to find new people to teach is not nearly as fun as teaching someone, but you gotta find to teach right? Luckily, we did find some more good new people and mark a couple of baptisms. Which reminds me, that is awesome about that young girl getting baptized!! It is also good to know that no matter where you are in the world, finding people to help with the actual meeting is hard. Mom, 99% of our baptisms are like the one you had this week. So stressful! But it all comes together in the end and the Spirit is so strong usually that the person doesn´t even notice the little mistakes. 

  

Besides just making tons of contacts this week we had Zone Conference as well and it was awesome. I always forget how much I like hearing from President and Sister Gonzaga. They are both so funny and creepily remind me of Mom and Dad. We talked a lot about numbers and trying to plan better and I ended up learning some good things. We also talked about overcoming carnal desires which is interesting because we, as in Mom, Dad, and I, have been studying that lately. He gave some good input and got us all excited again for the daily battle of "Bed or Baptism". Things are still going really great in our house with waking up on time but it was a good reminder.

   

I really don´t have a lot of other stuff to talk about... We were pretty bummed yesterday because the family we are teaching right now bailed on church. I think that is one reason a mission is hard on the heart. Every week you work and work and work and pray and pray and pray til Sunday comes and your heart gets broken when they don´t come. But there is  a reason for everything. Maybe they weren´t supposed to be there this Sunday because the next Sunday will be the lesson they need to hear. You never know.

   

I am sorry this letter is pretty lame. Ry, I am jealous. That is all. :p Mom thank you for the pictures you sent and I am stoked the Danger Dave Party went well this year. I will never miss one again.... Oh what happiness!! :) Have a great week family, be safe, and know that I love and miss you all. Stay Sweet....

Elder Big Deal

"More than a good word"

Beleza gente! :)
    
It sounds like another great relaxing week for you all and I am happy things are going great back at home. I am even more excited that Ry is already pretty much up at USU. Ah... I know I talk about this every letter but Ry, I am so happy for you. I am sure you are probably feeling a little nervous and maybe under prepared, but that is alright. I would expect you to feel like that but I also hope you are just full of excitement. You really have such a great opportunity in front of you up there. Have fun Ry, make it a blast. I am not one to really talk about studying and good grades, but focus on your school work. It is so easy to get distracted up there. But once again, I can´t say much about this, I mean come on, my last semester I took bowling, racqet ball, and gymnastics. Rough life eh? But there are tons of times you can study. In between class and in the mornings is when I studied the most. Find what works best for you and just run with it. 
    
My week here was pretty stinkin average....a lot of running around trying to find new people to teach. The problem is we have a few really amazing gators who are progressing really well but very slowly at the same time. We have a couple that we are trying to help get married and they are so awesome. They legit just eat up everything we teach. We are planning to watch the movie... heck I dunno the name of it in English, "Together Forever". You know that one from way back when Mom and Danger served missions? When Dad was comps with Moses I think it was.. Hahaha :) They have awhile still before they can get baptized, more than likely I won´t even be in this area, but I know that they will. I just feel it every time we teach there. But I am so happy to have real progressing investigators but at the same time we need to keep trying to find people who are ready to hear our message now. I know this area has people who are ready to be baptized... I just gotta find um.
   
It is interesting doing this kind of work though, because we talk to a lot of different types of people, but still hear a lot of... the same excuses I guess. It makes me sad because people here think that the church that is true is the one that is closest to your house or the one with the pastor who screams the loudest. (trust me there are tons of them) But by reading books like Spiritual Roots, Believing Christ, Articles of Faith, and a whole list of others I have learned that church is more then just a place to hear the word of God. Church needs to be a place where the word of God is taught, understood, and applied. The church really is the Lord´s university for us. A place where we can take our families and really understand our purpose here and how we can leave things behind that only give us pleasure and small amounts of happiness and in turn receive unimaginable amounts of joy. I don´t know how to explain it all, but it just hit me this week during my studies that there is so much more to a church than people talking about principles and miracles, it is a place for applying and bettering our lives. I hope you guys are understanding this in the right way. I just learn a little bit more every day how true this church really is, I am still working on trying to explain it though haha.
  
I don´t think I have anything else to say.... I am mad at this LAN House because the USB ports are so lame. Sometimes the recognize your card other times they don´t.... Today is a day when they didn´t... meh :( Mom, I was think about things I need and I came up with pretty much Got2bglued gel and.... a whole other list of books but I am not gonna ask for them because my suitcase is getting pretty heavy. I hope you all have another great week and are excited for school to start up again. The other day we were helping a kid do math and I honestly died... I can´t do simple algebra anymore. I have no idea how I am going to survive in college when I get back... Good thing I will have a smart sister close right? Tender mercy!! Stay sweet...

Elder Big Deal