This week was great, in short.
In long, it was very , very, very great.
I can´t go into absurd amounts of detail because of the time, but I´ll describe the big stuff.
First of all, Sons of Promise already existed before we started it. I saw a religious group called Filhos da Promessa and just about died. I´m sure their wives love them.
Second, we had 2 baptisms this Sunday! My goal is to get sent home because of hypothermia from being in the baptismal font so much. Actually, my goal is to just baptize and baptize, and come home much later.
We baptized Claudecir da Luz (14 years old, awesome kid; very easy to teach and he commited to everything. Lives in a very humble house - there is literally dirt and mess everywhere, but his house is clean.I need to take some pictures of Boa Vista - it´ll be a shock to some people.) and Dieke Star da Vale da Silva (his name sounds like a blockbuster movie; great kid, very excited to do baptisms for the dead).
One thing that has absolutely been amazing here has been the surprise of the members at our baptizing. Whenever we talk to our Bishop (Bispo Amarál) he asks ´how many´and we tell him. He always gives us the eyebrows raised when we tell him. So far I´ve had the privelage to baptize 9 people, 3 actually in the water with them. It´s awesome. There is literally nothing like it on Earth. You can literally see the spiritual, physical, and mental change take place in them. I think I should like to do this more...and I shall. We have 4 more scheduled for this Sunday.
One thing that I have learned here is to not compare yourself to anyone. As anyone who knows me at all will say, I am a very, very competitive person, almost to a fault at times. This can be a great blessing in the mission and can also be a huge blunder. If you start to compare yourself to others and get down on yourself because of their success, you are being selfish. We need to just work, just invite, and just baptize. If we do that, we are doing just fine.
It has been raining here non-stop, and that gets old. In Oregon it rains consistently, but just a little. Here it rains whenever it darn well pleases and rains with a purpose. We were standing under a bus stop covering and still soaked last week. Welcome to Brasil, Elder Brown.
Seriously, 1/6 of the mission has passed, and honestly I think there hasn´t been a day wasted. There have been hard days, days where we didn´t teach anything, days where no one was home or even on the street, but we persevered. I know that we will continue to see the miracles as we continue to work and go forward. I love you all and pray for you all.
Now SEND ME LETTERS!
(and remember that there´s a slight delay because of the excellent postal system, so it´ll be a while before I get it and before I respond).
Love you all - batizar, batizar, batizar!!!
Elder Brown
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Oi!
HI everyone, hope all is well with all of you.
I will try to talk a little more about the specific, day to day things that are going on here per request of the Poppa.
So, here was the week:
After the temple, we headed home and spent about 30 seconds resting and then it was back to work. We then headed onto the street to do some good ol contacting. Every day we need to talk to at least 30 new people and gain at least 10 addresses to find them later on and start teaching them. This is always a little interesting, and the first contact of the day is always hardest. Anyway, we contacted for a while and then it was off to the Amaral´s to teach their son. They are all active members, and the only reason we´re teaching Vítor Amaral is because the dad is a very big supporter of missionary work and wanted his son to receive the Palestras (discussions, more or less) before baptism. The only problem is they live a million miles away. Luckily, Elder Brown is a genious and scheduled for him to pick us up, thus saving the tender and easily bruised rear-end of Elder Duarte. We got there and taught his about the Plan of Salvation and it went really well. He is a freakin smart little kid and reads better than almost all of our adult investigators – his parents are great.
At the end of each day, we plan for the next day (about 30 minutes), I update the area book (very nicely and organized, unlike some of the schloobs here) and Elder Duarte calls the District to see if they died during the day. None have been lost so far. We also write in our journals, shower, and get ready for bed, maybe read Jesus o Cristo a little. Then it´s bedtime 10:30!
The one thing that has frustrated me here is the simple fact that some Elders just don´t understand how to be completely obedient. When it says to wake up at 6:30, you don´t wake up ], say your prayer, and hit the pillow again. You GET UP! I have resisted the urge to do loud Ukranian grunts during my daily pushups to wake some of the others up, but it´s hard sometimes to be the only one keeping all the rules. I shall not falter – I shall continue – I shall baptize weekly. Anyway, that was Wednesday (quarta-feira).
Thursdays (quinta-feira) E.D. has a meeting with the LZ´s ( in their area, in the center of Curitiba – Ala 2 (Second Ward)) and I get to practice teaching lessons and stuff with the other Junior companions. We got a new Elder in our zone, Elder McLoughlin. I´m not the newest Elder anymore! He came from Provo and his Portuguese is...not fluent yet. It´s nice to know how far I´ve been able to come in just a few short months. Thank you Gif t of Tongues! After the meeting we returned to Santa and had lunch on the other side of town. Unfortunately, she didn´t have any food and just gave us a few Reals to buy some ourselves. This always stinks, and happens quite often. So we went to the store, bought some food, and went home and ate. After, we taught Fátima (an old lady that lives on our street) the 3rd lesson, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We tried to teach some of our neighbors whose addresses we got from contacting, but no one was home. We then hiked it to Boa Vista (about a 30 minute walk in the freezing 100 degree, 80% humidity, rain on/rainoff weather. Yeah, the weather is nuts here. More about that later.) Taught Jackeline (a 16 year old girl who lives in a very humble house with her brothers, Claudecir and another brother, sister, Daiane, and mom, Teresina. They all have problems with the Word of Wisdom and going to church, but they are great and will be baptized)and also taught Bete´s family about the Word of Wisdom, which was ok but they are a little attached to their coffee and cigs (for now...muahahaha). We then taught Vítor Amaral again at his house, and then went home after contacting some more. A hard day, with not many people home, but ok nonetheless – we worked hard.
Sexta-Feira (Friday) was ok. Had a meeting with Irmão Rafaél, our awesome ward mission leader, about our investigators. Then had the weekly planning session – always a million laughs – then lunch in Irmã Daysi´s house! Taught Marina ( a blind lady who lives with her 2 kids; very awesome) about Alma 32 and after that, went to Ala 4, area of the Sisters in our Distict (Sister Pond and Sister Nickel). They are both new to our district and they rock – I got to sing with Sister Pond in a few solos during the Christmas concert. Anyway, they live veeery far away and the interviews, though really awesome for a really awesome family, meant that we returned home at 11:30 pm (or 23:30 here...weird, I know.). Not fun to lose sleep, but I´d lose more sleep for a baptism.
Sábado was very completely wet and insane. We had a lot of interviews to do and we had a split with the LZs, which was great. In the end, we had only 3 baptisms on Sunday, but the other three really will happen.
I don´t have much more time, so here´s the sum-up of the rest. Sunday Felipe, Cirlane, and Yannick were baptized! They aren´t a family, but they´re familys will follow and they will be very strong in the church. Felipe was a perfect investigator – a free baptism, as it were. Yannick was the guy who stopped us on the street and asked to be baptized, and Cirlane has been na inv. For a long time, but her and her husband, Edson, just got married and she just quit smoking – truly two miracles. Edson will hopefully baptized this week and hopefully we will have 4 baptisms this week!
Other than that, the last couple days have been very wet and hard. Lots of rain in short periods of time. BUT, we´re working and loving it very much a lot.
I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that the mission is EXACTLY where I need to be, and that there isn´t anything else on Earth I´d rather be doing. Baptizing is awesome! I plan on doing it a little more, say another 200 times, on my mission. I know that the numbers don´t mean everything.
Love you all, and hope the pictures came through. For all those who wrote, know that I did read and love your letters, but can´t specifically respond to each one. Thanks for all that all of you do, and know that I will continue to do my best for all of you, for the people here, and for the Lord.
Elder Brown, Curitiba Brasil
I will try to talk a little more about the specific, day to day things that are going on here per request of the Poppa.
So, here was the week:
After the temple, we headed home and spent about 30 seconds resting and then it was back to work. We then headed onto the street to do some good ol contacting. Every day we need to talk to at least 30 new people and gain at least 10 addresses to find them later on and start teaching them. This is always a little interesting, and the first contact of the day is always hardest. Anyway, we contacted for a while and then it was off to the Amaral´s to teach their son. They are all active members, and the only reason we´re teaching Vítor Amaral is because the dad is a very big supporter of missionary work and wanted his son to receive the Palestras (discussions, more or less) before baptism. The only problem is they live a million miles away. Luckily, Elder Brown is a genious and scheduled for him to pick us up, thus saving the tender and easily bruised rear-end of Elder Duarte. We got there and taught his about the Plan of Salvation and it went really well. He is a freakin smart little kid and reads better than almost all of our adult investigators – his parents are great.
At the end of each day, we plan for the next day (about 30 minutes), I update the area book (very nicely and organized, unlike some of the schloobs here) and Elder Duarte calls the District to see if they died during the day. None have been lost so far. We also write in our journals, shower, and get ready for bed, maybe read Jesus o Cristo a little. Then it´s bedtime 10:30!
The one thing that has frustrated me here is the simple fact that some Elders just don´t understand how to be completely obedient. When it says to wake up at 6:30, you don´t wake up ], say your prayer, and hit the pillow again. You GET UP! I have resisted the urge to do loud Ukranian grunts during my daily pushups to wake some of the others up, but it´s hard sometimes to be the only one keeping all the rules. I shall not falter – I shall continue – I shall baptize weekly. Anyway, that was Wednesday (quarta-feira).
Thursdays (quinta-feira) E.D. has a meeting with the LZ´s ( in their area, in the center of Curitiba – Ala 2 (Second Ward)) and I get to practice teaching lessons and stuff with the other Junior companions. We got a new Elder in our zone, Elder McLoughlin. I´m not the newest Elder anymore! He came from Provo and his Portuguese is...not fluent yet. It´s nice to know how far I´ve been able to come in just a few short months. Thank you Gif t of Tongues! After the meeting we returned to Santa and had lunch on the other side of town. Unfortunately, she didn´t have any food and just gave us a few Reals to buy some ourselves. This always stinks, and happens quite often. So we went to the store, bought some food, and went home and ate. After, we taught Fátima (an old lady that lives on our street) the 3rd lesson, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We tried to teach some of our neighbors whose addresses we got from contacting, but no one was home. We then hiked it to Boa Vista (about a 30 minute walk in the freezing 100 degree, 80% humidity, rain on/rainoff weather. Yeah, the weather is nuts here. More about that later.) Taught Jackeline (a 16 year old girl who lives in a very humble house with her brothers, Claudecir and another brother, sister, Daiane, and mom, Teresina. They all have problems with the Word of Wisdom and going to church, but they are great and will be baptized)and also taught Bete´s family about the Word of Wisdom, which was ok but they are a little attached to their coffee and cigs (for now...muahahaha). We then taught Vítor Amaral again at his house, and then went home after contacting some more. A hard day, with not many people home, but ok nonetheless – we worked hard.
Sexta-Feira (Friday) was ok. Had a meeting with Irmão Rafaél, our awesome ward mission leader, about our investigators. Then had the weekly planning session – always a million laughs – then lunch in Irmã Daysi´s house! Taught Marina ( a blind lady who lives with her 2 kids; very awesome) about Alma 32 and after that, went to Ala 4, area of the Sisters in our Distict (Sister Pond and Sister Nickel). They are both new to our district and they rock – I got to sing with Sister Pond in a few solos during the Christmas concert. Anyway, they live veeery far away and the interviews, though really awesome for a really awesome family, meant that we returned home at 11:30 pm (or 23:30 here...weird, I know.). Not fun to lose sleep, but I´d lose more sleep for a baptism.
Sábado was very completely wet and insane. We had a lot of interviews to do and we had a split with the LZs, which was great. In the end, we had only 3 baptisms on Sunday, but the other three really will happen.
I don´t have much more time, so here´s the sum-up of the rest. Sunday Felipe, Cirlane, and Yannick were baptized! They aren´t a family, but they´re familys will follow and they will be very strong in the church. Felipe was a perfect investigator – a free baptism, as it were. Yannick was the guy who stopped us on the street and asked to be baptized, and Cirlane has been na inv. For a long time, but her and her husband, Edson, just got married and she just quit smoking – truly two miracles. Edson will hopefully baptized this week and hopefully we will have 4 baptisms this week!
Other than that, the last couple days have been very wet and hard. Lots of rain in short periods of time. BUT, we´re working and loving it very much a lot.
I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that the mission is EXACTLY where I need to be, and that there isn´t anything else on Earth I´d rather be doing. Baptizing is awesome! I plan on doing it a little more, say another 200 times, on my mission. I know that the numbers don´t mean everything.
Love you all, and hope the pictures came through. For all those who wrote, know that I did read and love your letters, but can´t specifically respond to each one. Thanks for all that all of you do, and know that I will continue to do my best for all of you, for the people here, and for the Lord.
Elder Brown, Curitiba Brasil
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Oi gente
Oi gente, todo bom? Bem.
This week has been nuts. Yesterday we taught 9 lessons (to clarify, 5 is the standard of excellence for every day) and had the fire in the bones and on the necks, being so toasty warm here. We literally felt the effect of what hard work and excitement can do for your attitude about the mission - our contacts were better and more effective, lessons were smoother, had more of the Spirit, and everything else s falling into place.
As many may know, for a good part of my life I was very interested in getting numbers and getting recognition - I was almost more worried about myself doing well than for instance the team or the class. This is wrong, and as I have been here I have been trying diligently to fix this aspect of my personality and make it a strength. One thing I have learned about numbers is this: they will come if you work and don´t think about them. That´s the funny thing; the people who really want high numbers and just think about it won´t generally earn them, and those who really are earning them through good, honest, diligent work will get them, and they won´t give it too much thought, just keep on going.
If all goes well, and it should, we should have 6 BAPTISMS on Sunday!!!! This is nuts as well. We are being rewarded for our work and it feels great and empowering. Even when we´re walking in Boa Vista on a very hot day (in January hehe. Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere.) and climbing and descending thousands of vertical feet, we still feel the blood pumping to do our very best.
I´ve learned a lot about prayer here. When you say a prayer, you need to be specific. If you want something, you need to ask for it specifically, make a covenant with your HF to do something for it, and then go and earn it. If you do these things, He will ALWAYS bless you with WHATEVER you might need, big or small. It might not always be in the way we think, but it will happen. For example, last week stank. It stank! There was no one on the street to contact, everyone was at the beach and not home, and if they were home they didn´t want anything to do with the Mormons. I got a little down because we wanted to work, but it seemed like we weren´t being allowed. THis week: yes. We´re working like mad dogs, teaching tons of lessons and getting lots of people excited about the Gospel. WHY? Because we prayed specifically for people to be home. THEN, we went and found them. Even if they were waaaay over there down the valley over the river and through the Jungle, we found them and taught them. Like Dad said, miracles really do happen, Daily.
I have also learned something about trusting and loving the other Elders. For my first transfer, one of the other Elders who lived in our house drove me crazy. I wanted to accidentally drop him off a cliff and yell ´good riddance to bad wubbish´. Obviously, that´s against the rules, but I noticed that some of the time when I could´ve been thinking about wholesome and spiritually uplifting things I was thinking about how I needed this Elder to be destroyed. This isn´t what Jesus would do, and I knew it. He was recently transferred and it´s now much better in our house, but I will make a better effort to love the Elders, even if they really do deserve to be pile drived into the ground.
I really love this area! There are so many to be baptized and the ward is really getting excited because of the success we´re having. I know that Missionary Work is ordained of God, and that we bless the lives of generations through our hard work and dedication. I will send pictures as soon as I get my parcel from the USA. Love you all, and um abraço com fogo nos ossos!
Elder Brown
Santa Felicidade, Curitiba Iguaçu, Curitiba, Brazil, South America, Southern Hemisphere, Earth, etc.
This week has been nuts. Yesterday we taught 9 lessons (to clarify, 5 is the standard of excellence for every day) and had the fire in the bones and on the necks, being so toasty warm here. We literally felt the effect of what hard work and excitement can do for your attitude about the mission - our contacts were better and more effective, lessons were smoother, had more of the Spirit, and everything else s falling into place.
As many may know, for a good part of my life I was very interested in getting numbers and getting recognition - I was almost more worried about myself doing well than for instance the team or the class. This is wrong, and as I have been here I have been trying diligently to fix this aspect of my personality and make it a strength. One thing I have learned about numbers is this: they will come if you work and don´t think about them. That´s the funny thing; the people who really want high numbers and just think about it won´t generally earn them, and those who really are earning them through good, honest, diligent work will get them, and they won´t give it too much thought, just keep on going.
If all goes well, and it should, we should have 6 BAPTISMS on Sunday!!!! This is nuts as well. We are being rewarded for our work and it feels great and empowering. Even when we´re walking in Boa Vista on a very hot day (in January hehe. Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere.) and climbing and descending thousands of vertical feet, we still feel the blood pumping to do our very best.
I´ve learned a lot about prayer here. When you say a prayer, you need to be specific. If you want something, you need to ask for it specifically, make a covenant with your HF to do something for it, and then go and earn it. If you do these things, He will ALWAYS bless you with WHATEVER you might need, big or small. It might not always be in the way we think, but it will happen. For example, last week stank. It stank! There was no one on the street to contact, everyone was at the beach and not home, and if they were home they didn´t want anything to do with the Mormons. I got a little down because we wanted to work, but it seemed like we weren´t being allowed. THis week: yes. We´re working like mad dogs, teaching tons of lessons and getting lots of people excited about the Gospel. WHY? Because we prayed specifically for people to be home. THEN, we went and found them. Even if they were waaaay over there down the valley over the river and through the Jungle, we found them and taught them. Like Dad said, miracles really do happen, Daily.
I have also learned something about trusting and loving the other Elders. For my first transfer, one of the other Elders who lived in our house drove me crazy. I wanted to accidentally drop him off a cliff and yell ´good riddance to bad wubbish´. Obviously, that´s against the rules, but I noticed that some of the time when I could´ve been thinking about wholesome and spiritually uplifting things I was thinking about how I needed this Elder to be destroyed. This isn´t what Jesus would do, and I knew it. He was recently transferred and it´s now much better in our house, but I will make a better effort to love the Elders, even if they really do deserve to be pile drived into the ground.
I really love this area! There are so many to be baptized and the ward is really getting excited because of the success we´re having. I know that Missionary Work is ordained of God, and that we bless the lives of generations through our hard work and dedication. I will send pictures as soon as I get my parcel from the USA. Love you all, and um abraço com fogo nos ossos!
Elder Brown
Santa Felicidade, Curitiba Iguaçu, Curitiba, Brazil, South America, Southern Hemisphere, Earth, etc.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Family Letter!
To start off, here is Elder Duarte´s family´s email:
Mãe: azenildaduarte@yahoo.com.br
Pai: valdiduarte@yahoo.com.br
Let´s not let him down - I know ya´ll will do your best!
It really is so nice to hear (well, read) all of your emails. It is an amazing experience to be here to also know that we are praying for each other daily.
Awesome for the geuniea pigs and Peter´s first wrestling match! I bet the forfeit made him feel like He-Man (But there were none brave enough that could challenge this monster of a man...:) ) Por Dad´s request, I´ll try to write more specfically on what is actually happening day -to-day here - obviously it´s impossibly to relay everything, but we can try, right?
Basically, these last 2 weeks stank for teaching because of Christmas and New Years (Happy 2010! ALready?!?), and it´s not a fun feeling to be walking and walking and working and trying to teach people, but no one is home, no one wants to hear, and the pile of excuses are enormous.
One thing I would like to share is the hilarious act of contacting in the street. I would like to let it be known that I have been yelled at, sworn at, kissed on the forehead, Biblebashed (pathetically..that poor Evangelical lady didn´t know that her church wasn´t true), and also found many people to teach and baptize.
This week something extraordinary happened: we were returning from Super Dip, a local grocery strore, our arms laden with goodies (soap, shampoo, and crappy cookies to bide the hunger). We were almost to our street when a car careened towards us and stopped at our side. I was ready to go into Destructo-boy mode but that wasnt´t necessary. The window rolled down and a man and his girlfriend appeared. The man spoke: Oi Elderes, Eu quero me batizar! (I want to be baptized!) I half thought he was kidding and so I think I had an incredulous look on my face. He continued: I´ve heard all the lessons and I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Can I be baptized this weekend? I need to be baptized as fast as possible! It was insane! This kind of thing you just hear about, but it would never actually happen to you or me, right? Wrong! Miracles happen, daily.
The weird part was this: I was feeling very badly that day because we had tried to teach and do our part, but ended p not teaching any lessons. Also it had rained a lot and ruined plans for a service project to paint a lady´s house in the ward. Not a good day. After the store, we were heading home, a little sad and frustrated in the cloudy, Oregon-like atmosphere. BUt then, BAM!!! His Baptism will be on Monday! Next week, if all goes well, we will have 5 baptisms! It´s nuts! BUt it´s great.
Also, there is a dog that lives next door that I think I mentioned to Peter. It is literally the spawn of Satan. Every time we pass, it gets up and starts running like a madman, trying to get through this little hole in the wall to kill us. I think Satan works through dogs to kill missionaries, but it's a good thing that the mission supplies us with shotguns. Just kidding. HOwitzers.
Next week will be longer, but know that I love you and will continue to do my best. Love you all!
Elder Brown
Mãe: azenildaduarte@yahoo.com.br
Pai: valdiduarte@yahoo.com.br
Let´s not let him down - I know ya´ll will do your best!
It really is so nice to hear (well, read) all of your emails. It is an amazing experience to be here to also know that we are praying for each other daily.
Awesome for the geuniea pigs and Peter´s first wrestling match! I bet the forfeit made him feel like He-Man (But there were none brave enough that could challenge this monster of a man...:) ) Por Dad´s request, I´ll try to write more specfically on what is actually happening day -to-day here - obviously it´s impossibly to relay everything, but we can try, right?
Basically, these last 2 weeks stank for teaching because of Christmas and New Years (Happy 2010! ALready?!?), and it´s not a fun feeling to be walking and walking and working and trying to teach people, but no one is home, no one wants to hear, and the pile of excuses are enormous.
One thing I would like to share is the hilarious act of contacting in the street. I would like to let it be known that I have been yelled at, sworn at, kissed on the forehead, Biblebashed (pathetically..that poor Evangelical lady didn´t know that her church wasn´t true), and also found many people to teach and baptize.
This week something extraordinary happened: we were returning from Super Dip, a local grocery strore, our arms laden with goodies (soap, shampoo, and crappy cookies to bide the hunger). We were almost to our street when a car careened towards us and stopped at our side. I was ready to go into Destructo-boy mode but that wasnt´t necessary. The window rolled down and a man and his girlfriend appeared. The man spoke: Oi Elderes, Eu quero me batizar! (I want to be baptized!) I half thought he was kidding and so I think I had an incredulous look on my face. He continued: I´ve heard all the lessons and I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Can I be baptized this weekend? I need to be baptized as fast as possible! It was insane! This kind of thing you just hear about, but it would never actually happen to you or me, right? Wrong! Miracles happen, daily.
The weird part was this: I was feeling very badly that day because we had tried to teach and do our part, but ended p not teaching any lessons. Also it had rained a lot and ruined plans for a service project to paint a lady´s house in the ward. Not a good day. After the store, we were heading home, a little sad and frustrated in the cloudy, Oregon-like atmosphere. BUt then, BAM!!! His Baptism will be on Monday! Next week, if all goes well, we will have 5 baptisms! It´s nuts! BUt it´s great.
Also, there is a dog that lives next door that I think I mentioned to Peter. It is literally the spawn of Satan. Every time we pass, it gets up and starts running like a madman, trying to get through this little hole in the wall to kill us. I think Satan works through dogs to kill missionaries, but it's a good thing that the mission supplies us with shotguns. Just kidding. HOwitzers.
Next week will be longer, but know that I love you and will continue to do my best. Love you all!
Elder Brown
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Quase Natal!! AII!!
Quase Natal!! AII!!
Oi gente,
This week has been a little more than crazy. With all the choir performances we´ve had, it´s been difficult to work full days and feel good about the stuff we did, but I know this is only a small part of the year and we´ll miss it when it´s gone.
I´ve begun to learn about other aspects of the mission, namely transfers and people leaving to go home, etc. It´s really kind of strange when you get to know someone well and develop a great friendship, and then the next week they´re back in the states, their two years done. It really does pass by faster than I even thought it would.
Portuguese is coming. Thank goodness for the awesome gift of Tongues. Without it, this would be a funny (or rather, funnier) experience.
I´m going to be in Santa Felicidade for another transfer with Elder Duarte, and we´re really excited to continue the work here. We have one goal: divide the ward!!! We´ve baptized 4 people (more than was in the rest of the previous year) and have more on the way. It really is a blessing to be in a place where people get baptized, not somewhere like China where Jesus Christ was just some guy who lived in Jerusalem.
I want to thank the members of the Alpharetta Ward (or whatever it´s called now after the division) for the totally awesome package and notes. I will definitely be needing to walk more after eating all that chocolate and using all the chapstick. Also, we don´t have a microwave, so maybe that could be the next present. Just kidding; please don´t send a microwave. Thanks again!
One thing is especially interesting about the mission: you really learn to deal with rejection like never before, with all the people telling you to die and burn in heck (has only happened once), having the neighbor´s dog actually try to rip out your jugular vein, and the like. I´m sure dates will be easy after the rejections here.
I have a testimony about this gospel. I know He lives. NEVER deny that, any of you! ALWAYS do your best and you´ll never have any regrets. Keep on going and things will always improve - we just need a good attitude, hard work, and a smile.
Fogo nos ossas, e Feliz Natal por todos!
Elder Brown
Oi gente,
This week has been a little more than crazy. With all the choir performances we´ve had, it´s been difficult to work full days and feel good about the stuff we did, but I know this is only a small part of the year and we´ll miss it when it´s gone.
I´ve begun to learn about other aspects of the mission, namely transfers and people leaving to go home, etc. It´s really kind of strange when you get to know someone well and develop a great friendship, and then the next week they´re back in the states, their two years done. It really does pass by faster than I even thought it would.
Portuguese is coming. Thank goodness for the awesome gift of Tongues. Without it, this would be a funny (or rather, funnier) experience.
I´m going to be in Santa Felicidade for another transfer with Elder Duarte, and we´re really excited to continue the work here. We have one goal: divide the ward!!! We´ve baptized 4 people (more than was in the rest of the previous year) and have more on the way. It really is a blessing to be in a place where people get baptized, not somewhere like China where Jesus Christ was just some guy who lived in Jerusalem.
I want to thank the members of the Alpharetta Ward (or whatever it´s called now after the division) for the totally awesome package and notes. I will definitely be needing to walk more after eating all that chocolate and using all the chapstick. Also, we don´t have a microwave, so maybe that could be the next present. Just kidding; please don´t send a microwave. Thanks again!
One thing is especially interesting about the mission: you really learn to deal with rejection like never before, with all the people telling you to die and burn in heck (has only happened once), having the neighbor´s dog actually try to rip out your jugular vein, and the like. I´m sure dates will be easy after the rejections here.
I have a testimony about this gospel. I know He lives. NEVER deny that, any of you! ALWAYS do your best and you´ll never have any regrets. Keep on going and things will always improve - we just need a good attitude, hard work, and a smile.
Fogo nos ossas, e Feliz Natal por todos!
Elder Brown
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Quase Natal! Aiaiai!!!
Hello hello everyone, hope everything is snappy fresh.
Things are going very well here in Curitiba. Busy, insane, and almost always hectic and pressed, but good. I am learning more and more daily about how to really deal with pressure and adversity and use it in a meaningful and effective way.
First of all, we had a baptism on Sunday (Jennifer Carolyne dos Santos Falcão, 10 years old, girl) and another on Tuesday (Afrânio Gianini Kansas Cenra, 20 years old, man). Baptisms really are freaking awesome! There is a reason why we want people to be baptized and I´m learning more about that daily. I have a goal to baptize at least one person every week of my mission, and so far only my first week and one other haven´t had one. We will have at least 2 more on Sunday.
I would like to share on thing that I have learned that I think will help all those who are wondering how to learn to learn, teach, and serve better, whether in the mission field or not. There are three things we need to do, and they are successive: Obey, Go and Do, Love. I´ll explain: -When we Obey, strictly, almost Nazi-like, we will have the Spirit with us. If we don´t obey, we won´t. It´s almost too simple, but some missionaries just can´t figure out why they aren´t having success. When we have the Spirit, it will teach the people that what we are teaching is true. Also, when we obey we will receive confirmation that we really are doing our part
- When we Go and Do, we carry that Spirit with us to the people that we teach. Then they will feel something different within them and wonder what it is. Also, when we Go and Do, instead of Sit and Stew (remember John Bytheway), there will be no trunkiness, there will be no homesickness, there will be no whining and crying little boys and girls. There will only be good missionaries.
- When we Love, people will understand why we are here and want to follow us – or rather, the Savior – to Baptism and beyond. People can understand when they are loved and when they are not. Love cannot ever possibly be artificial, and when true love is expressed and felt it is a miracle to behold. Also, when we love, the people will love us back, and we will receive yet another confirmation that the things we are doing and the Gospel we are preaching is true.
Those are the Three Things. I think unless I learn another huge thing out here (which I don´t think I will...not! Sucka!) I would like to use this topic for my homecoming talk. Let´s not worry about that now, though; lots to do between now and then.
In other news, Brazil is another country. Seriously. The team here in Curitiba, Coxa (which means thigh, like on your leg. Yeah, it´s not quite as intimidating as the Dragons or the Axé-Murderers, but ya know.), lost the other day. Nothing really bad happened, just some busses were lit on fire in the middle of the road and some people in my área blew up a bus stop. Yep. Good stuff. I´ve also seen more jiggling midriffs and awkward cut-lines than I´ve ever wanted to see. But I´ve also met some of the nicest, most humble people in my life here. There is a Sister in the Ward, Irmã Daysi, who is probably the best member missionary I´ve ever seen. We taught 30 lessons last week (which is a LOT, and hard, but great) and probably about half were with her. This translated to a lot of lessons with a member and a place on the record books for the week! Woo hoo! I know that records aren´t why we´re here, but they sure are a great incentive.
Also, Portuguese is coming rapidly. I was talking the other day with some of the other Elders and one of them asked how long I had been in the field. When I told him less than a month he about fell over. There are some Elders here who have been here over 6 months and I feel like I´m already clipping their heels. One thing that is very important, though, is to remember why this is happening. It isn´t because of me or my greatness. It´s because I decided to be obedient, work hard, and let the gift of tongues do its work. I´m about able to understand everything people say and getting better at expressing myself.
One thing that has been a little frustrating has been study time, or more accurately the lack thereof. Since my companion is the DL, I have to go to a lot of meetings with him and that takes away some time. Also, choir has been a little nuts. We only have it during Christmas, and I can see why. We basically don´t have PDay – we have Choir day. And I have been a little scared because I have a rather large part in our program; I´m singing O Holy Night, Be Still my Soul, and I Wonder When He Comes Again with a Soprano Sister from Ponta Grossa. It´s been more than a little intimidating, especially with O Holy Night, but the faith and trust that President Araújo has shown in me has been miraculous. He has quite an amazing voice – we sang a song together during choir practice and we blended very well. I´m excited to be able to sing for the mission.
Another thing I´ve learned here is to not compare yourself to others. This is something that I´ve had to work on a lot here. It´s very difficult not to get down on yourself when you can´t speak the language, can´t sing as well as you´d like, or hearing about others who were so much better. I have learned that if you “thrust in your sickle with your might”, you will be qualified to the work (See D&C 4). My voice has improved (it´s much more manly now; I can really belt the big notes and the vibrato has finally arrived in its glory), the Portuguese is coming daily, and I can feel a physical and spiritual change in the increased strength of my testimony. I was thinking the other day after we taught the Plan of Salvation, and it occurred to me – it will actually happen! Wow! I have a testimony of this Gospel. Pray when you want to speak with God, and listen and Read the Scriptures when you want to hear Him answer. I love you all more than a lot.
Elder Jacob Brown, Brazil Curitiba, Área Santa Felicidade
Things are going very well here in Curitiba. Busy, insane, and almost always hectic and pressed, but good. I am learning more and more daily about how to really deal with pressure and adversity and use it in a meaningful and effective way.
First of all, we had a baptism on Sunday (Jennifer Carolyne dos Santos Falcão, 10 years old, girl) and another on Tuesday (Afrânio Gianini Kansas Cenra, 20 years old, man). Baptisms really are freaking awesome! There is a reason why we want people to be baptized and I´m learning more about that daily. I have a goal to baptize at least one person every week of my mission, and so far only my first week and one other haven´t had one. We will have at least 2 more on Sunday.
I would like to share on thing that I have learned that I think will help all those who are wondering how to learn to learn, teach, and serve better, whether in the mission field or not. There are three things we need to do, and they are successive: Obey, Go and Do, Love. I´ll explain: -When we Obey, strictly, almost Nazi-like, we will have the Spirit with us. If we don´t obey, we won´t. It´s almost too simple, but some missionaries just can´t figure out why they aren´t having success. When we have the Spirit, it will teach the people that what we are teaching is true. Also, when we obey we will receive confirmation that we really are doing our part
- When we Go and Do, we carry that Spirit with us to the people that we teach. Then they will feel something different within them and wonder what it is. Also, when we Go and Do, instead of Sit and Stew (remember John Bytheway), there will be no trunkiness, there will be no homesickness, there will be no whining and crying little boys and girls. There will only be good missionaries.
- When we Love, people will understand why we are here and want to follow us – or rather, the Savior – to Baptism and beyond. People can understand when they are loved and when they are not. Love cannot ever possibly be artificial, and when true love is expressed and felt it is a miracle to behold. Also, when we love, the people will love us back, and we will receive yet another confirmation that the things we are doing and the Gospel we are preaching is true.
Those are the Three Things. I think unless I learn another huge thing out here (which I don´t think I will...not! Sucka!) I would like to use this topic for my homecoming talk. Let´s not worry about that now, though; lots to do between now and then.
In other news, Brazil is another country. Seriously. The team here in Curitiba, Coxa (which means thigh, like on your leg. Yeah, it´s not quite as intimidating as the Dragons or the Axé-Murderers, but ya know.), lost the other day. Nothing really bad happened, just some busses were lit on fire in the middle of the road and some people in my área blew up a bus stop. Yep. Good stuff. I´ve also seen more jiggling midriffs and awkward cut-lines than I´ve ever wanted to see. But I´ve also met some of the nicest, most humble people in my life here. There is a Sister in the Ward, Irmã Daysi, who is probably the best member missionary I´ve ever seen. We taught 30 lessons last week (which is a LOT, and hard, but great) and probably about half were with her. This translated to a lot of lessons with a member and a place on the record books for the week! Woo hoo! I know that records aren´t why we´re here, but they sure are a great incentive.
Also, Portuguese is coming rapidly. I was talking the other day with some of the other Elders and one of them asked how long I had been in the field. When I told him less than a month he about fell over. There are some Elders here who have been here over 6 months and I feel like I´m already clipping their heels. One thing that is very important, though, is to remember why this is happening. It isn´t because of me or my greatness. It´s because I decided to be obedient, work hard, and let the gift of tongues do its work. I´m about able to understand everything people say and getting better at expressing myself.
One thing that has been a little frustrating has been study time, or more accurately the lack thereof. Since my companion is the DL, I have to go to a lot of meetings with him and that takes away some time. Also, choir has been a little nuts. We only have it during Christmas, and I can see why. We basically don´t have PDay – we have Choir day. And I have been a little scared because I have a rather large part in our program; I´m singing O Holy Night, Be Still my Soul, and I Wonder When He Comes Again with a Soprano Sister from Ponta Grossa. It´s been more than a little intimidating, especially with O Holy Night, but the faith and trust that President Araújo has shown in me has been miraculous. He has quite an amazing voice – we sang a song together during choir practice and we blended very well. I´m excited to be able to sing for the mission.
Another thing I´ve learned here is to not compare yourself to others. This is something that I´ve had to work on a lot here. It´s very difficult not to get down on yourself when you can´t speak the language, can´t sing as well as you´d like, or hearing about others who were so much better. I have learned that if you “thrust in your sickle with your might”, you will be qualified to the work (See D&C 4). My voice has improved (it´s much more manly now; I can really belt the big notes and the vibrato has finally arrived in its glory), the Portuguese is coming daily, and I can feel a physical and spiritual change in the increased strength of my testimony. I was thinking the other day after we taught the Plan of Salvation, and it occurred to me – it will actually happen! Wow! I have a testimony of this Gospel. Pray when you want to speak with God, and listen and Read the Scriptures when you want to hear Him answer. I love you all more than a lot.
Elder Jacob Brown, Brazil Curitiba, Área Santa Felicidade
Thursday, December 10, 2009
One Month in the field!
Oi gente, eu espero que todo bem com vocês,
(Hi guys, I hope all is well with you,)
This last week has been amazing. Although we didn’t get to have a baptism on Sunday, we are making up for it with at least 2 this week. We have a goal to baptize every week and so far we’ve been doing well.
We have two investigators that we just met this week - Afránio and Eduardo - who are getting baptized. Afránio is 20 and has already been to church 4 times before receiving the missionaries. He is a freaking stud. He bore his testimony last Sunday and isn´t even a member of the church! (YET) We shared the first 2 lessons with him and he nearly cried for the strength of the Spirit. We also shared the Word of Wisdom, and he instantly took the earring out of his ear and it hasn’t been there since. He also instantly committed to quitting coffee, something that prevents many, MANY people from getting baptized. He is going to serve a mission and bring many to the Gospel.
Eduardo and his family are a little different. Eduardo is extremely excited to get baptized and already chose to have me baptize him. This is pretty awesome and we are thrilled. The only problem is that the rest of his family is not active but all baptized. We have two goals with this family: baptism and retention. It Will happen! We taught the Word of Wisdom to them as well and it was a little more difficult than with Afránio; the mom, Jociane, smokes and drinks coffee. The daughter, Luciane, also smokes, drinks, and drinks alcohol. We had a challenge, but challenges are very do-able, something I have learned here. We worked with them in their house about these things for almost an hour and, finally, they gave us their coffee and cigarettes and we threw them in the trash. It was pretty cool to watch their faith turn into action through the influence of the Spirit.
We also taught another family – Teresinha, Jackeline, Claudecir, and Diane – about the Word of Wisdom (Palavra de Sabedoria) and had a similar lesson with a similar Spirit. We just have to check on them and see how they did, because they weren’t home when we checked on them yesterday.
We have already taught 12 lessons this week (a Record for us) with 8 of those with a member. Woohoo!! This Will translate to a lot of Baptisms.
Another cool experience: to adhere to the Standards of Excellence (Padrões de Excelência) we need have at least 15 contacts in the street every Day with 5 addresses recorded. While this may seem easy, in reality it takes some time and effort, and sometimes becomes very easy to lose track of. This sometimes results in miracles having to happen on Sunday, the last Day of the week. This last week, we were short on contacts because of trainings and my companion got a little sick and we had to go home to rest. We had to do over 100 contacts with over 40 addresses on Sunday, a Day when very few people are on the street (sober, that is). We did 113 contacts with over 50 addresses! Obviously, it is much better to do 15 a Day, maybe 16 or 17, and call it good. But it is Nice to know that miracles Will and can happen IF we let them and IF we have faith in Heavenly Father.
As I think I’ve already Said, I get to sing several solos in the choir for the Mission Conference. This is both a little nerve-wracking and extremely exciting. I get to sing Acalma-te o Alma Afligida (Be Still my Soul) and O Noite Santa (O Holy Night). O Holy Night is a VERY hard song to sing, and especially sing well as it is so darn high (I get to sing a high G sharp full voice...whew), but I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the Power of God and that the Savior walked on water during a storm, so I´ll be Just fine. The choir sounds really good and the conference Will be awesome.
List of investigators: Afránio, família do Eduardo (Mateus, Jociane, Luciane, and the old grumpy grandma),família da Jackeline (Teresinha, Claudecir, Diane), família do Denilson (Tatiana, Luna), família da Jéssica (Wéllington, Elizabeth), família do João (Janete, João Carlos), família do Edson (Sirlane, Denilo, Henrique, Sylvia), Clésio, Liliane and Edineia, Matilde, Inês e Jair, Marcos e Sonja. There might be more but I can’t remember.
I Love you all sôo much. I AM working my buns off here and it feels great on the back. I AM gaining a stronger testimony daily of this Gospel and of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and loves us more than we can possibly imagine. I know the Book of Mormon cannot possibly be false, no way. And I know I Love all of you, so much.
Elder Brown
(Hi guys, I hope all is well with you,)
This last week has been amazing. Although we didn’t get to have a baptism on Sunday, we are making up for it with at least 2 this week. We have a goal to baptize every week and so far we’ve been doing well.
We have two investigators that we just met this week - Afránio and Eduardo - who are getting baptized. Afránio is 20 and has already been to church 4 times before receiving the missionaries. He is a freaking stud. He bore his testimony last Sunday and isn´t even a member of the church! (YET) We shared the first 2 lessons with him and he nearly cried for the strength of the Spirit. We also shared the Word of Wisdom, and he instantly took the earring out of his ear and it hasn’t been there since. He also instantly committed to quitting coffee, something that prevents many, MANY people from getting baptized. He is going to serve a mission and bring many to the Gospel.
Eduardo and his family are a little different. Eduardo is extremely excited to get baptized and already chose to have me baptize him. This is pretty awesome and we are thrilled. The only problem is that the rest of his family is not active but all baptized. We have two goals with this family: baptism and retention. It Will happen! We taught the Word of Wisdom to them as well and it was a little more difficult than with Afránio; the mom, Jociane, smokes and drinks coffee. The daughter, Luciane, also smokes, drinks, and drinks alcohol. We had a challenge, but challenges are very do-able, something I have learned here. We worked with them in their house about these things for almost an hour and, finally, they gave us their coffee and cigarettes and we threw them in the trash. It was pretty cool to watch their faith turn into action through the influence of the Spirit.
We also taught another family – Teresinha, Jackeline, Claudecir, and Diane – about the Word of Wisdom (Palavra de Sabedoria) and had a similar lesson with a similar Spirit. We just have to check on them and see how they did, because they weren’t home when we checked on them yesterday.
We have already taught 12 lessons this week (a Record for us) with 8 of those with a member. Woohoo!! This Will translate to a lot of Baptisms.
Another cool experience: to adhere to the Standards of Excellence (Padrões de Excelência) we need have at least 15 contacts in the street every Day with 5 addresses recorded. While this may seem easy, in reality it takes some time and effort, and sometimes becomes very easy to lose track of. This sometimes results in miracles having to happen on Sunday, the last Day of the week. This last week, we were short on contacts because of trainings and my companion got a little sick and we had to go home to rest. We had to do over 100 contacts with over 40 addresses on Sunday, a Day when very few people are on the street (sober, that is). We did 113 contacts with over 50 addresses! Obviously, it is much better to do 15 a Day, maybe 16 or 17, and call it good. But it is Nice to know that miracles Will and can happen IF we let them and IF we have faith in Heavenly Father.
As I think I’ve already Said, I get to sing several solos in the choir for the Mission Conference. This is both a little nerve-wracking and extremely exciting. I get to sing Acalma-te o Alma Afligida (Be Still my Soul) and O Noite Santa (O Holy Night). O Holy Night is a VERY hard song to sing, and especially sing well as it is so darn high (I get to sing a high G sharp full voice...whew), but I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon through the Power of God and that the Savior walked on water during a storm, so I´ll be Just fine. The choir sounds really good and the conference Will be awesome.
List of investigators: Afránio, família do Eduardo (Mateus, Jociane, Luciane, and the old grumpy grandma),família da Jackeline (Teresinha, Claudecir, Diane), família do Denilson (Tatiana, Luna), família da Jéssica (Wéllington, Elizabeth), família do João (Janete, João Carlos), família do Edson (Sirlane, Denilo, Henrique, Sylvia), Clésio, Liliane and Edineia, Matilde, Inês e Jair, Marcos e Sonja. There might be more but I can’t remember.
I Love you all sôo much. I AM working my buns off here and it feels great on the back. I AM gaining a stronger testimony daily of this Gospel and of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and loves us more than we can possibly imagine. I know the Book of Mormon cannot possibly be false, no way. And I know I Love all of you, so much.
Elder Brown
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