January 18, 2011 - Letter Home

Swimmin'


Hey family! 
Yes, another week has come. A majority of our work this week was spent with Andrielle, and preparing her for baptism. She was baptized this Saturday! 

Andrielle and Us

Like always, things go wrong at baptisms, so we had to cope with an activity before the baptism going too long, the water pump needing to be fixed, the church printer not working so we couldn't print out programs, the bishop having to go somewhere else on emergency, and the food arriving late, but IT ALL WORKED OUT at the end, and Andrielle went for a swim in the baptismal font.
She was way happy! She always is! She's special! 

Andrielle and Family

Her sister and mom came, the sister, Rochelle, who I think will be baptized soon for sure. We spent a lot of time getting to know their family, and I am certain that with time, they will all be baptized. They are all almost members already. Very cool. I am excited to see what happens with them! 
Our other investigators, especially Barbara and Luciane, are doing really well and I'm excited to see what happens to them in a couple weeks.

Is it strange that I can't think of anything else worth talking about? Has anything other than walking to appointments and knocking doors and studying happened?! I'm gonna have to stoop low to get something worth communicating.

Watermelon milkshakes. Cut up a watermelon, freeze the peices, then the next day throw them in the blender with strawberry yogurt. Awesome!

The New Testament. I'm swimming fast through it all now! I'm in Collosians. Apostle Paul is awesomely eloquent at first, really getting in to the joy of passing through trials and difficulties and just being full with love and faith in Jesus Christ to keep it from getting to you. He makes it seem so easy! Unfortunately I'm finding he's getting a bit repetitive now. After New Testament I'm gonna have to choose between focusing on the Old Testament, Jesus the Christ, or the Book of Mormon again. I'm a bit torn as to what it should be.

Josh Groban. I stole a bunch of his music from another missionary and that's how I start my day every day now. Mom knew what she was listening to. Why did I ever doubt that it was cool?

I'm on to my last little package of peanut butter! What will I do without peanut butter?!

Hey Polly

Sometimes speaking badly pays off. 
Elder Cazeau stopped a street vendor one day to buy a hammock, and the guy said the price was 65 coconuts, but Elder Cazeau started talking and the guy didn't understand him and they got a little frustrated and it actually started to rain while they were there struggling to communicate (I just stood to the side because it was an important learning opportunity for Cazeau :P) 
So the guy just says that Cazeau could buy it for $30 too, just so he didnt have to leave swimming through the oncoming thunderstorm. 
Bargain! A sweet new big hammock for our apartment.

A peice of toast, butter, fried egg, lots of ketchup, and spicy flavoring salt + a cold glass of coke is the best quick snack EVER. I made one, just messing around, but ended up eating 5! At the end I added on a fried chicken patty and it got to be even more beefier. I mean... chickener.

We have a war going on in our house at showertime. Elder Cazeau started it! He sprayed me with cold water from a syringe while I was in my nice hot shower! So then I dumped a GLASS of cold water on him while HE was taking a shower. The next day, HE dumped a BUCKET of cold water on me! I don't know what I will do in revenge this time, but I'll make him swim in ice-cold water for this! Curse you Cazeau!

Oh! How did I forget! I don't know if you remember me telling you about the blessing we gave this firefighter that fell from a tree and had horrible head damages and the doctors said he wouldnt make it but we arrived to give him a blessing... He was at our house today. Got released from the hospital. He's completely back to normal. We talked a bit more: he lives right in front of the CHURCH! We got a family home evening scheduled. Woah! So awesome! He was pretty happy. That was special for us.

WELL.... I love you guys. 
7 months mark reached. I still don't like it. I love being here. I don't want to go home and face the real world, and not be able to go out and testify of Christ to people. I have fear of losing touch with my habits of prayer and scripture study. I don't know if I have what it takes to survive. I don't like to think about this but it keeps coming up. The only answer is to hold on and trust that the Lord'll take care of all of it for me :). 
That goes for all of us you know! One step in front of the other. Prayer and scripture study are important! They require effort, but not very much time. We can do that! 
Just keep swimming... swimming, swimming. Remember? 
Just keep going in the right direction and we'll get where we need to.

Baptism Cake - Soooooo good!

I love you guys! Hope you have a good week! Stay strong! Try hard and don't ever let yourself get discouraged! Alright, let's go!
Love love love,

Your Con,

Elder Carpenter

January 11, 2011 - Letter Home

Another Bend in the River


Yello! We're in the middle of January already! It's another P-day! We have a baptism coming up! The transfer's nearing the end already! I'm eating alot of peanut butter! We are teaching new cool people! I had a division in another city! I heard somebody get shot in the apartment I was sleeping in! My companion is awesome! Chimarrao is still awesome! Tereré is getting to be even MORE awesome! So many things are happening!

Alright, so let's get to business. Andrielle is coming along great, we got to meet her family, we will visit them tonight. They are an obviously elect family. The mom maybe needs a little more work but I'm convinced her two siblings, Rochelle and Roger will take the road to being baptized. This just shows that we are not alone in the work. Me and Cazeau can suffer it out and have a bunch of difficulties finding and teaching people, but suddenly these elect people just show up. It means that we just have to focus on doing our best and the work WILL go forward. What a comforting concept!

This has also proved true again as we found Luciani at a store selling Gaucho clothing. Apparently she's known the missionaries for forever because all the missionaries want to buy Gaucho clothing and she has invited them to come over but nobody every did. So we did! And we taught the first two discussions and she listened intently! She also welled up with tears and told us that she knew it was true! Her husband may not be ready, but we are excited to teach her and her daughter Barbara.

I went to Gaujuviras on a division this week with Elder Gibby, who's from my district in the CTM. It was great to hang out with him! He is my LZ. He (tried) to teach me how to do magic, bought me icecream, we played UNO, and then in the middle of the night BAM BAM BAM - seven gunshots from the apartment down the hall! We sat silent for what seemed forever, trying to hear if anything else would happen. After like 10 minutes (seemed like forever) this woman next door starts just absolutely wailing. Man, I don't want to hear that noise ever again. I can still hear it a bit. Eearg... 
But when she started crying, the apartment just wakes up and we hear everybody coming outside of their apartments, people running around, doors opening and closing. Me and Elder Gibby wisely stayed inside, just listening. We heard the police show up and an ambulance come screaming down the road and we couldn't sleep until like 2 hours later when everything somewhat slowed down. Yep, someone went down. Probably drug-related. Very sad. But I had a sigh of releif when I came back here in Esteio. It's more surburban-y here. But that was interesting!

I'm loving the package and unlike last Christmas, am savoring it contents peice by peice. My favorite thing so far is the peanut butter! It's a delicacy! Wow! I love it so much. Reeses are also great. I especially liked Kaitlin's Japanese candy! And I wear my elf hat throughout all my study time! I find the lack of circulation to my head caused by the hat makes me have strange visions. :P

I left my camera in a members house and will go get it later today. 
Downside? No photos... :(

My companion is awesome. He's a champ. It's good to have somebody that wants to learn how to teach and wants to help you to learn too. Honestly, it's been a little humbling because I think he's got alot of talents that I don't yet, even though I'm senior, but I'm learning to swallow that and just take advantage of his excitedness. It's good.

Anyway, I love you guys so much and wish I had more news and photos and stuff. I find that, maybe a little too much, my thoughts are drifting to the city and all the great things waiting for me there. I've gotta watch the day-dreaming. But it's pretty cool to imagine drifting on the streets and exploring the city with each one of you guys individually. And together as a family. It's fun to think about working and studying there. I'm pretty excited for the high-energy environment. Mom, what about community college?

The work is going forward. I'm learning new things every day. The time is going fast and I'm scared of that. I can remember companions that I had that had the same time in the mission that I have now, and I can remember them going home. Strange? Yes.

Is Nick setting off for his journey yet? I'm so excited! I can't wait to hear his stories and experiences too. I got their family letter. I loved their letters (but Zach's was especially cool, thanks Zach!) I liked hearing about Jeff too! One more new cousin to get to meet later on! I love you all so much! Have a good week! Be happy and keep going! Everything will turn out right if we merely do what we're supposed to.

Love love love,

Elder Con

January 4, 2011 - Letter Home

Knife in the Boot


Wassup evrabody! Great to be talking with you again! Has more than a week already gone by since Christmas? Are we nearing the 7th months left mark on the calendar? Am I getting super scared about that? Is Santa Claus really real? Am I getting super trunky? 4 Yeses and 1 No in there.

Old Saint Nick did pay a visit this week and landed a loaded package on my front doorstep. But from who? Upon opening I found many delicious presents that sent a good christmasy feeling into my busy missionary life. I recorded the whole experience and hope you guys can enjoy my video of ripping quickly through all of your delicately wrapped and decorated presents. :)


See it HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU2tZ1ft3SM - 1/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAuT_8JP_vg - 2/3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJsz5ObbIkA - 3/3

Enjoy! Love you guys! Thanks for the awesome christmas! 

New Years went pleasantly. We had a huge churrasco and got completly meat-sick, and they managed to cart us off in wheelbarrows to our home, where I and Bishop's mom, a little old rickety "knife in the boot" (as they say here) grandmother that lives on the first story of our house, watching fireworks until the middle of the night. It was nice. The Bishops whole family went to the beach, and they left their lil ole gram behind! So it was my duty to see the New Year start with her. 

Sweet Blurry Pic

Sweet Bridge

Sweet Horses

Sweet Statue

I forgot to mention we went the Central Park of Porto Alegre last P-day! It was awesome. Wish I had taken more photos. 
 
Anyway, Adrielle is awesome, and we invited her to be baptized on the 15th, and she accepted! Man, she is elect. It's cool when the Lord pretty much does everything for you. I am excited to meet her family, who seems to want to meet us too. Really awesome.
 
Bryan's been a bit harder to get to talk to, but we hope to play football with him later today.
 
We've found some other cool people. Adriano is the friend of an inactive young man, Junior, who is the son of a recent convert here. They started out not talking to us while we were in the visit, listening to rap really loud, but we asked them about it, and they said they composed it, and we listened and noticed it was about the Book of Revelation in the Bible, and we started to talk about the last days, and God, and figured out Adriano is a new father, and is going back to school after a life trying to get his rap gig off the ground. He always thought the Bible was interesting but never really joined up a religion. We started to talk with these outwardly rough looking teenagers but they got really interested in the 1st vision account, the Book of Mormon, and they asked us to come back later. Cool.
 
We are also going to reactivate a family of Cassiano, a recent convert here, who started to warm up to us after a long time and invited us to have lunch in their house! They are really awesome and it would be a big victory to bring them back home.
 
Anyway, things are going along just rosy on this side of the world. I'm going to download the awesome music you sent me and afterwards upload my unpacking videos! I hope you don't get too "blue"! (daba dee) ;)
 
I love you guys, love your gifts, and am so happy for your victories and efforts over there! We've gotta keep truckin! It'll all come out all right on the end. I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!!!
 
P.S. Here's an inspirational video they showed in our Zone Conference which made me bawl my eyes out in front of everyone and get super embarrassed. Enjoy!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsdfYtlLlgw

Have a super happy week everyone! LOVE!

Your Con

December 28, 2010 - Letter Home

Feliz Ano Novo!


Hey everyone! So glad to get a full inbox even after just saying goodbye to you guys. I am very happy after our awesome conference call and being able to see you guys face to face. Totally rejuvenating! I loved the photos of the Christmas festivities too. 
Honestly, I did get a bit trunky after the call and everything, but it'll fade away and I'll be able to get up momentum again. Daydreaming about living in a new city has been hitting me. I'm totally psyched! Sure there's some hard things to realize: leaving behind the awesome house and property and ward and the couple of friends that might remember me, but I think it's going to be the perfect new chapter for our family after we get back! I remember dreaming alot about living and working in the city when we visited there, and that dream is coming true! Of course it will be hard to adjust, and we have to make ourselves ready for any kind of hidden dangers that might be within the new environment, but I am very happy with the news.

The community college close by is sounding to me a very good option for right after the mission. It is hard for me to think of jumping right back into a college life that would be far from my family right after the mission, but if the community college is close, I think it would be awesome to start studying as soon as possible after we return. Dreams like going to BYU or USC can still be considered after a year or two of study. Very cool. I'm psyched! Lots of cool things to think about and plan about. Unfortunately it's these kind of things that're making me a bit unfocused right now.

So, just to share my perspective from the call, I loved it! The only thing is that I wish I could've let Brendon talk a bit more, I think he deserved it. Sorry Brendon for taking up your time. Again! I understand that it was a big deal for you guys, it being Christmas and everything, but I am comforted in the fact that we still got e-mail and another call in only 5 months! It's gonna come so quick!

Christmas Food

Second Christmas Feast

Sweet Hammock Comes with Dog

Tiara Wearing Companion

Rat Slayer

So, even though our energy is waning here, we have been blessed by the Lord to have the work go forward. The members are helping alot here in this ward. Bryan is 12 year old friend of a member here, and went to church and the ward party, and looks like he has a lot of potential. He's reading the Book of Mormon! We're gonna play soccer with him and his friends and try to teach his family too.


The members also brought Adrielle, and 18 year old girl to church, who listened SUPER intently the whole church meeting, and the family that brought her said she asked questions about the church for 2 hours afterwards. We had a family home evening with her later that night and gave her a Book of Mormon, and she started crying. Really seems like she needed a message of peace at this time in her life; seems like her family is having problems. We will teach her tonight, and it should go all well! I'm excited. So we've got things to do!

Anyway, my life is nice right now. Flowing steadily on. I am very blessed. But, I still need to ramp it up, and lengthen my stride. There is so much more to do. So much left. Can't get relaxed. I also realize I've got to prepare myself for future trials. Let's go!

I love you guys and am so proud of you for all that you are! Thank you for everything! Be strong and never give up! Know that the Lord loves you and will guide you as long as we do our little part! Here we go to 2011! You guys are the best. Until next week!

Love love love!

Elder Connor

December 21, 2010 - Letter Home

A Trade

Sweet Bike

Hey my family!

Another week has ran and slipped by. Crazyness. It's Christmas week and I can't even believe it! Is it seriously just 4 more days until Christmas? Wow. So, luckily, I am feeling the Christmas spirit because Grandma's awesome package came through and I've opened a couple things but I'm saving the rest for the big day! Thanks Grandma (especially for the cool new vitamins) :D

So, I was transferred out of Elizabeth, and to the metropolitan city of Esteio, which really is just another part of Porto Alegre. It's cool because Elder Anderson was here (my buddy from the CTM, remember him Brendon?), and had a son here (son=trained a new missionary), and now I'm his son's stepdad (or second companion). BUT, Elder Anderson went to Elizabeth to be MY son's stepdad too! So it was a big trade! Elder Anderson is the man and it's really good to know that my area (and my son) is in good hands there.

Me and Correia

Cristielle and Family

Manuel and Family

Roseangela

I had marked a baptism there with Nathan before I left, who I know a lot of you guys were praying for, and I had some fears that it wouldn't work out right, but Nathan was baptized there and so even though I wasn't present for the actual ceremony, it was a good way to leave the area and to say that all the difficulties I and Elder Correia passed through weren't in vain but actually amounted to something. A good feeling.

So my new companion is Elder Cazeau, from Twin Springs, Idaho and he's freaking awesome. Basketball star, plays the guitar like a madman, worked on a farm there before coming to the mish. Really cool guy. Especially with Americans, from experience, it's always a little weird in the first couple of days as they get accustomed with living and working habits (I think Brazilians are naturally a little more flexible and open), but from my experience from my other American companions, we're gonna be best friends and working up a storm by the end.

I am a District Leader! My setting-apart blessing is being fulfilled line-by-line! I had my first District Meeting last Thursday, which I had planned for a LONG time. I liked it. Usually here the District Leader tends to talk most of the time in front of the other missionaries, but I made a circle in our district meeting and we took turns telling spiritual experiences and discussing things we have learned and can do better. 

Super Leader Conference

I think it's really important to get the other missionaries involved and build that unity to motivate us to do better. I think they liked it.

Anyway, the ward here is AWESOME. Everybody loves the Elders and both members and non-members here are just generally more open and accepting than in other places I've been. Sweet. 
Elder Anderson baptized a BUNCH here, so there's kind of a pressure to keep up the momentum, but it seems like everyone that had potential here is already baptized so we're starting from square 1. Again. Well, I think I'm pretty good at that by now.

SOOOO!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! I will call you guys tonight at 9:30 my time. Okay? I don't know what time that is for you guys.
I can't wait for our call! Love you guys!
Con

December 13, 2010 - Letter Home

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas!


on tv, hailing, cristielle testimony, grandma package, transferred...


Coming to you from Porto Alegre, and... it's cold! It's the middle of December, which is like the middle of June in the states, and I'm using a sweater. 

At this time last year I was drenching white shirt after white shirt cuz it was baking outside. Now, I have a hope of a cold Christmas. 
Feelin' jealous yet Brendon? :D 
Rio Grande do Sul actually gets pretty hot, contrary to the myths in the rest of Brasil that it's all snow here, but right now the myth is actually coming true and I like it :)  
I went straight from the end of summer in the states to the start of summer here when I arrived, so maybe I'm deserving a little cold :)

At the beginning of this week it was hot, and we were having lunch, sweating, when suddenly in 15 minutes clouds came in and winds started up, and started a HUGE thunderstorm which hailed (which is even strange for here) hailstones the size of gumballs! Half and hour later, it all stopped and the clouds and hail and rain left as soon as it had come! I've never seen the weather change so fast. 
Rio Grande do Sul is crazy!

So, man, another transfer has really and startingly flown by, and I'm leaving Elizabeth for the second time. I remember feeling beat up leaving Boqueirao, Marau, and Rio Pardo (and Elizabeth the first time) and it's the same feeling again knocking on my door. It's another chapter of my mission closing. I have 6 more transfers in my front, and so that means that, if I'm lucky, I'll have the opportunity to go to 3 new areas. Most probably, I'll be entering my second-to-last area in the mission tomorrow. Wow. That's crazy. Here in 2 weeks I'll hit my 2/3rd point in the mission. What's happening? As much as I'm proud of what I've been able to do until now in my mission and as much as I am excited to get back home, it's pretty hard to see the majority behind me now. Whew.

This week was cool. Elizabeth, a woman we found, is really coming along well, she even fasted, and said to us that she has found faith for the first time in a life full of questions and depression. She will be baptized soon. I'm excited for her.

We are on television! The assistants had given us a reference WAY WAY far from our house, but they said it was really good so we went looking for this unknown neighboorhood where the person lived. We walked for an hour and found the entrance to the neighboorhood, which ended up being a favella. Total slums. Good thing it was day. Even though it was in the middle of the day, we went forward with courage, trying to find this reference. We ended up asking for directions, from people that were actually pretty helpful, but we ended up WAY in the middle of this favella, and after knocking on a couple doors of a dead-end street that people said belonged to this person, but we had a feeling we needed to just get out of there. We went walking calmly but quickly to leave, when suddenly a group of people came running our way, and said that someone was coming. Everybody ducked into houses as they ran by, and we almost ducked into some houses with some people nearby but felt we should just keep on going to leave. So I walk around the corner of this narrow dirt street and suddenly a cop car comes SAILING right in front of me, and I jumped out of the way, and these four cop cars absolutely full of armed and armored policemen come whailing from around the corner and down the street to where we had been knocking doors. Well the whole nieghborhood started coming out after the cop cars to see what was going on, and me and Elder Correia managed to get out of there. 
Yesterday, we found out that on the news a big drug bust had gone down on that street, and a video loop of all of it played on the news the whole day. Guess, who appears on the first few seconds of the video? Me, freaking out and dodging out of the way of the cop car that was filming the whole thing! I didnt see the video but many members saw it and called to see if we were okay. It's crazy! I'm famous!


Just to make you more scared, check the news article on the drug bust we were in the middle of. Try to figure out how to translate all of it: http://www.correiodopovo.com.br/Noticias/?Noticia=230075 

Man, yesterday was great. First of all, we had a great stake conference here, where I received a lot of answer for my own questions and the things I was going through. Very inspired. 
Secondly, and even better, we saw Cristielle and Tanara and they brought their brother, Cristiano, to church, and we had a really good visit with them after church. Man, it's so great to see Cristielle and Tanara, they are part of our family now. They are angels. I have had the opportunity to see a complete transformation in them. Everything has changed. Cristielle is working, and finally got out of the last house she was at which had a bad atmosphere, has stopped smoking completely and is staying dedicated to study and prayer. Tanara has stopped being rebellious and cutting school and is studying and conversing and smiling, which she rarely did when we first saw here. The change seems even physical. There seems to be even a glow about them. 
It is the Light of Christ, which has entered into their souls and home. After a really physically and emotionally taxing transfer, it was so great to come back and see Cristielle testify in front of us about Jesus Christ and the Church and the change it made in her life. It really really picked me up. They said that we were the angels who entered into her life and they ended up being the angels in mine. I love them. It'll be hard to say goodbye.

Anyway, we're going to lunch and I'll send personal e-mails afterwards. Man, I love you guys so much. We are going to have a great Christmas together! No matter where we are, we will always be connected. The mission is great and I'm learning alot. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that through him we can solve all of our problems and have peace and good cheer even in the lonely moments. I know that our church is the kingdom of heaven here on earth, and that it's only in this church we will be able to reach our full potential. How great this all is!

Love y'all, and Merry Christmas!
Until next week,

Elder Conman

December 7, 2010 - Letter Home

Seeds

É ai tchê! Hello everyone. Here again. Has it seriously been another week already? I feel like I'm writing you guys every other day now. This week went well. We managed to get our energy back, cut a lot of the non-progressing investigators, and went out to knocking a bunch of doors. 

We found a couple cool families! It's a really big energy-boost to see new people progressing. This week we had the Christmas Conference, which is a zone conference which happens at Christmas time where we got together with 4 zones of the mission! This means I got to see a bunch of good friends from whom I had been separated for a time. 

We got a visit from Area Presidency Seventy, Elder Asconavieta, who gave a very inspiring talk and talked alot about the effect our missions have on the rest of our lives and the rest of the lives of the people we teach... AFTER we have left the field. The seeds we plant now may seem small, but we will see them grow and multiply as the years go by. That's a good thing to remember in our families too. Missionaries aren't the only ones throwing seeds around. Anyway, we had an excellent lunch, and received a very nice pocket Bible from President and Sister. 

I was excited to get a package or letters but they didn't come! Droga. Oh well. Patience.

Sunday was really great. Cristielle had been going through a lot of problems with work and finding a place to live, and the ward has completely come around to help her find work and find housing and just be supportive in every way. Cristielle got up at testimony meeting and gave an awesome testimony, just saying that she had been in the dark for so long, without any kind of family, and that she finally had found that home that she was looking for. I'm so happy for her. 

:) 

Her testimony really lifted me up.

Thanks so much for all the photos! What great presents! I can't wait to get through my last Christmas in Brazil! I hope that I'm not transferred to another area soon, so I can celebrate with everyone here. I am also super excited for my package. 

Anyway, we had to use a different internet cafe today and it's blistering hot in here, and we're wanting to get out and under a fan with some Gaurana. I love you guys! Thank you everyone for remembering me here and helping me have a good Christmas. I hope the things I send can get there in time...

I love you all soooo much! I am so thankful for all of you! Thank you!

Until next week,

Elder Carpenter