Week 17

This has been one of the best weeks I´ve had on my mission so far. On Monday we had churrasco with Pamela. She´s one of the only female cozinheras (cook/chef) in Carazinho. She´s really good too, she made some of the best steak I´ve had. The next day my companion and I put into action the best idea we´d had this transfer. The previous Sunday we had talked with members in Church about our investigator Daniela and how her boyfriend had left her with 3 kids (ages 9, 6, and 1), no work, no money, and no food. So with the members´ help we gathered food, clothes, and toys for the kids. We were astounded at the result:

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Even visitors from a neighboring city, Passo Fundo, donated things for them. Then on Tuesday, together with the youth and leaders from the church, we stopped by her house, dropped everything off and carolled to them. That made the best gift all of us had ever given someone for Chrisatmas. Later this week we stopped by her house and were pleased to see her previously bare shelves stocked full of food. The whole family was the happiest we´d ever seen them. Her son Fayneos is 9 but after teaching him and watching the change in his maturity he seems like he´s 14.

On Friday we visited Pamela again. As always she had many questions. I always love answering them because she is so curious and hungry for more knowledge. During some of the responses I gave I could feel the Spirit´s help in assisting me answer in a way she understood. I never said anything I didn´t understand myself, but I saw the Spirit´s help in bringing to my memory the words I needed. I love being an instrument in the Lord´s hands. We set a date for her to be baptized on the 11th of January.

On Christmas day we headed over to a member´s house and Skyped our families! It was so great to see them. I´ve been blessed to have them as my family. They showed me the skimpy snow Moab had received and I showed them how I was sweating as we talked! I was also able to see by brother Chris and new sister-in-law through a double Skype call that my parents set up. At the end of the call I was asked to bear my testimony in Portuguese. 2 days later was the 4 month mark for me as a missionary in Brazil. Happy New Year!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 16

Well summer began just a few days ago! Last P-day my companion and I set up a Family Home Evening with a less-active family. While there we got to feed their parrots! We were quite excited to do that. We shared a message with them about how the 12 apostles, the Prophet, and the Priesthood makes up the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the Great Apostasy, many people picked out principles that they liked from the Bible (i.e. baptism, tithing, etc.) and constructed a church out of it. However, we have the fulness of the gospel (ALL the principles) today and can enjoy the blessings of continued revelation. This is just one of the many examples that shows how much Heavenly Father loves us and desires to bless our families. To our surprise and excitement, this family is now going to church and holding FHE on their own!

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Pamela, one of our investigators, is making leaps and bounds in her progress. She devours everything we teach her. We´ve seen such a change in her this week. Before, she sat silently listening, but now she actively participates, being motivated by the results of her own progress and is excited to learn more. We´re constantly surprised by how close her beliefs are to the church´s standards already. We know she has been prepared by the Lord beforehand. Keeping her commitments and doing her best to be prepared to be baptized, she is now down to only 2 cigarettes per day and has stopped drinking coffee and wine! She told us how what we promised is coming true: she is feeling a difference in her life because of her efforts to follow the Lord´s commandments. She is feeling the increased sensitivity to the Spirit. I was so happy when she told us how she went to the store and told the cashier that she was buying her last pack of cigarettes from him. To that he and her friends responded with their disbelief, but she replied confidently, "Just you watch, I will be a Mormon yet."

We´re very excited to Skype our families this coming Thursday for Christmas, it´s been 4 months since I left them and 8 for my companion. Merry Christmas and I hope to hear from you all next week!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 15

This week was full of different things. For starters we decided our apartment didn´t have enough Christmas spirit, so we made tons of paper snowflakes to hang around and borrowed a light-up star. Whenever we´re in the apartment we play Christmas music to add to the environment. I finally got tired of slipping all over the place in the rain because of my worn-down shoes so I found this shoe professional tucked away on a back street to fix them up. When I came to pick them up I was quite impressed: he´d put hard-core boot soles on my shoes and replaced the laces. Now I could go hiking in these shoes if I wanted! The best part was it only cost 30 bucks (60 reais). The other companionship also had a division with the Zone Leaders, so Elder Sorenson came to our city to be with the District Leader for a day. It was funny because he is from Salt Lake City so the three of us Americans started talking about all the restuarants we missed. The top 3 were Cafe Rio, Papa Murphy´s, and Golden Corral.

This is me at a member´s house this week ´helping´ them cook the churrasco (Brazilian Barbeque) for lunch. They know how to do it right!

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The highlight of the week was getting to teach one of our prized investigators, Pamela. She is the most interested investigator I´ve ever seen. Every visit she has a ton of questions about the Church for us. I always love answering them because I´m excited to share the gospel to those so eager to learn more about what I know to be true. Its truthfulness is re-affirmed to me every time I teach it. Another investigator we have is in the pits of despair because her abusive boyfriend left her with 3 kids and no way to support them. We want to do everything we can for her. We know the gospel can and will change her life. Another investigator told of how she had been having killer pains in her head and how her home had always felt filled with bad feelings. But when we first visited her, the pains stopped immediately and never returned, as well as the atmosphere in her home. She said we brought a light with us, and always felt peace and warmth when we taught her. We really hope they continue following the promptings of the Spirit and be baptized soon.

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 14

To start off the week we had a Family Home Evening with a less-active member family. My companion and I decided to cook them an American meal so we whipped up some alfredo pasta with chicken for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. They´d never had it before and loved it! They invited us back every night the rest of the month, but unfortunately we had to decline haha. After dinner we shared with them a scripture (Alma 7:10-12) and the video "He is the Gift." It was great to give them a taste of America and share a message about the reason for Christmas.

A few days later we visited a lady that had attended church with us and her less-active husband last Sunday. Last week we had challenged her to be baptized but she was very hesitant and scoffed at the idea of being baptized "so early." Then as we met with her after she had gone to church, her whole story changed. She told us something that re-affirmed our testimonies that church attendance is of paramount importance to really feel the Holy Ghost to the convincing of what we´ve already taught. That´s because church is where they can see the Church: one is hard pressed to experience a desire to join a church that he or she has not already attended. Church is where the Spirit will work on closed hearts, whispering to them that this is where they belong. What this lady said was, "As soon as I left the church meeting I wanted to go back!" That´s the most powerful experience I´ve seen yet. Right now they´re working on gettting married and after that (Hopefully I´ll still be here) she´ll be baptized.

On Thursday  we had the Mission Christmas Conference in Porto Alegre. Because I´m currently serving on the very borders of the mission, we had to travel to Passo Fundo the previous day, sleep for 2 hours, and board a bus at 2 in the morning to arrive in Porto Alegre in time for the conference at 9. During the Conference we listened to various talks and presentations by the secretaries, assistants, and the President and his wife. Sister Wright told a Christmas story, told us how much she loves us, and gave us all a little treat bag. Then right after, President Wright showed us a new certificate he´d come up with and then proceeded to lead us in singing Handel´s Messiah while the music was blasting at top volume as if he was Handel himself! I´ll never forget that, they´re the best. After that we went to the gym of the church building we were meeting in and watched each district do a short Christmas performance. Most sang a variation of a Christmas hymn, but others were quite inventive. We next ate lunch, had dessert, and returned to the chapel to watch the slideshows the secretaries had put together of the past year. Lastly we received packages that had come and made the 7 hour trip back to our area.

It was a good week! I hope the next week is wonderful for you guys, and I´ll hear from you this coming Monday.

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 13

This week had mixed success. We lost some investigators that didn´t have the desire to change and follow the example of Christ, but we also helped others to set dates of their baptisms! One of our best investigators struggles with worshipping saints (idols), and despite everything we tried to help her with she still made the decision to continue even though she had made such amazing progress. It reminded me of an addiction to drugs/smoking, and how hard it is to change. You have to have faith in Christ´s atonement to change. That´s the only lasting way to give up a habit or addiction is to turn to our Savior.

On a happier note, we set a date for this couple to get baptized on the 14th! They´ve made such wonderful progress and have been prepared by Heavenly Father to receive our message. They´re open, humble, and thirsty for what the gospel can do in their lives. It refreshes my own testimony to see their´s grow. 

On Friday we had a special Zone Meeting. We got mail (thanks to both my grandparents and cousin Kate!), and received instruction straight from Church headquarters. As Christmas approaches, they´ve come out with some exciting events that comprise their goal to have everyone in the world hear about the Church by Christmas. We were given special pass-along cards that we are to hand out for all our contacts, and informed of what the Church has lined up this coming month: They´ve already opened a new site (for us it´s natal.mormon.org but for the states I imagine it´s christmas.mormon.org) that has a new video called "Ele é o Presente" (He is the Gift). This video is now being played and promoted at all Visitor´s Centers across the globe, spread across all forms of social media including Facebook and Twitter, will be promoted at Times Square in New York on the big screen, and on December7th, this video will be the only announcement/advertisement on YouTube! The first thing everyone will see will be this video. We´ve been trained to share it with literally everyone we come across. Every contact, lesson, and conversation will be connected to it. I challenge all of you to do the same. Share it on Facebook, show it to your griends, join the Church in spreading the meaning and purpose of Christmas to the whole world. As the video itself says, Discover the Gift, Embrace the GIft, and Share the Gift.

I know the Church is true. I wouldn´t be in Brazil if it wasn´t. I wouldn´t want to be anywhere else but here for this Christmas. Jesus Chirst has broken the bands of death for us, He was sent to this world by our loving Father in Heaven to bring us back. Now let us show our gratitude by sharing this with everyone. (John 3:16) Have a wonderful week and good luck in your Christmas preparations!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 12

This last week I was transferred to Carazinho, in the Passo Fundo Zone. It is literally on the very border of the mission. It took 6 hours just to get here from headquarters in Porto Alegre. My new companion is Elder Diamond from Orem, Utah. He is also actually quite young on the mission with 6 months, only double what I have. He´s ridiculously good at cooking, teaching our investigators, and speaking Portuguese. In this city there are 2 areas, so I live in an apartment with 3 other elders, unlike my last area. This morning my companion made pancakes with buttermilk syrup. That´s the best breakfast I´ve had in 3 months! I sure lucked out, he was actually a chef for 2 different restaurants before.

During my first 2 days here we met some of the coolest people ever. They are definitely elect. With one house we just had an impression to try knocking and it turned out to be a small family where the father had been inactive for decades, wanted to return to church, has a wife and daughter, and the whole household is excited and really receptive. They live in humble circumstances which really makes a difference. Those who have an easy life with all they want don´t want to change. This daughter had an accident where something took a slice of her face years ago. Now she can only see through one eye. She has been through a lot and it has really humbled her. That family is very precious to us.

Because Brazil doesn´t have Halloween or Thanksgiving, they set up their Christmas decorations super early, sometimes in the beginning of November. We finally broke down and busted out the Christmas music yesterday! It´s quite weird to listen to while we get ready in the heat. Later today my companion will make us an awesome lunch and we´ll head over to the chapel to play soccer with some of the young men here. I´m loving this new area!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 11

Every Sunday I'm reminded of the importance of attending church. It can be a struggle to get investigators to church sometimes and it's always hard to see a recent convert become less-active. Church is the heart of this Church! We need the strengthening of our testimonies, we need to be nourished by the good word of God by inspired teachers, and most importantly, we need the cleansing power of the sacrament.

This Sunday we confirmed the young woman we baptized last week. As I sat in sacrament meeting I reflected on how she had arrived at this point. She was actually a reference from a member, which made her conversion even stronger. As members we should definitely do our part in missionary work by working with our friends. They are the most likely to be truly converted.

Well it's a new transfer tomorrow, and we just learned that I will be leaving Ivoti and heading to Porto Alegre bright and early in the morning to meet with all the other missionaries being transferred. There I will learn where my new area is and meet up with my new companion! I also had the opportunity to eat chicken heart on some pizza this past week. Elder Nielson loves it but I don't think I'll go back for seconds in the future. I wish you all well and hope you find success this coming week!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 10

This past week was absolutely full of miracles! It all started off last P-day, my birthday. Because of our planned baptism, we wanted to work extra hard to show the Lord our determination. On P-days we still have 3 hours at the end of the day to work. From what I've learned in the past few weeks is that those hours set the tone for the rest of the week. We even taught a lesson during our P-day hours, something that really opened some doors that we'd follow up later in the week. One of the visits that we made was to one of our recent converts who is on fire. It is now my belief that recent converts are the most instrumental members in future conversions. Right off the bat she updated us on those we were working with that she is friends with. Her testimony was almost palpable as she described what she had done to help our progressing investigators. Not only that, but at the conclusion of our visit she took us to her neighbors next door, having already talked to them about the church and given them a Book of Mormon! If that isn't the Lord's hand I don't know what else to call it. She is knocking our socks off. We saw the same thing happen with another convert who was to blame for 3 more baptisms of missionary age young men in another close by area. Milagres acontece! Certainly these things made up the best present I received for my birthday.

Something funny also happened on my birhtday. I was contacting a young woman when she asked me a question. We are experimenting with the baptismal contact where you straight up ask people on the street if they want to be baptized. So she asked, "Where?" Still not knowing a ton of Portuguese and speaking candidly I replied, "Na pai batismal," literally telling her how she would be baptized: in a baptismal font! My companion thought it was hilarious and he called up the Zone Leaders to tell them what had just happened.

This week on Friday I had a division (in the states it's called a companion exchange) with the district leader being with my companion in Ivoti and me traveling to Estancia Velha to be with his companion. It was cool, I got to see how other companionships do things and learned a few more cool techniques for teaching people and grabbing their attention.

Yesterday I gave my first talk in Portuguese. After doing that, a 30 minute talk in English doesn't sound so difficult. We also had the baptism of our investigator which capped the week off beautifully! That was my second on the mission and originally my companion was going to baptize her but he had to go to the hospital for an out of the blue sickness. So on short notice I baptized her. I was pretty nervous but it was such a great experience, especially because it was my first time actually being in the water. Not only that, but also saying hte words in Portuguese!

I wish you all a good week! Enjoy the cool weather, it's getting to the point where nothing here really dries because of the heat and humidity.

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 9

Well it´s been another great week! Two more intersting things about Brazil is you can´t find automatic cars. Every car, bus, and semi truck is a manual (stick shift). And the exhaust smells strongly of sulfur. Also, all businesses close and all restuarants open from 12-2 in the afternoon for lunch. Can be a poin when you´re trying to buy stuff for the week on P-day, but at the same time it brings more poep.e out into the streets where we can contact them!

My trainer, Elder Nielson from Virginia, is way awesome. I´ve learned so much from him. Little by little I´m taking over teaching more parts of the lessons that we give. It´s tough because I´m still super new with the language, but I´m catching on. I also just got a call today to give a 7 minute talk in next sacrament meeting, we´ll see how that goes! I hope my companion and I are not transferred away in 2 weeks because I´m enjoying learning the language and teaching techinques from him. He´s a genius.

One of our progressing investigators is making leaps and bounds in learning and giving up addictions to keep the commandments. We´re super excited for her and hope to baptize her soon. The only struggle she has is getting to church. The adversary always gets us in some way. Church attendance is so vital to our progression in the gospel. That´s where we renew our baptismal covenants and learn from inspired leaders and teachers. I know this church is true without a doubt.

Today is my birthday! I´m officially 19 now. Ice cream here is super expensive, and considered quite a treat to have it for dessert. The first time I had it here on a hot humid day (just the regular, cheap neopolitian stuff we have everywhere in the states), it tasted like heaven. I´ll probably get some today as a present to myself. The members have also been super awesome. I don´t know how they found out that it was my birthday, but they made some great food and made it really special.

This is the true church! Through prayer and study of the gospel all people everywhere can know too of this glorious truth. I love sharing it with all those who have open hearts and who receive us wanting to know more. I testify that Jesus Christ lives and that he restored His church through Joseph Smith. Because of what him and many other people went through, we now enjoy the blessing of the restored gospel. Share it with your family. Share it with your friends. Not just a select few need the happiness that the gospel brings, everyone needs it.

Good luck in all your endeavors and thank you for all the love and support. Até a semana que vem!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com 

Week 8

On Wednesday we had a Zone Conference where 4 of the 11 zones came to a chapel in Porto Alegre and listened to talks and presentations by the Mission President, his wife, and the assistents to the President. It was very good, we learned techniques on teaching, how to better use our time, and how to find people to teach. One of the biggest things talked about was trusting in the Spirit. The Spirit is the most important part in conversion, so we as missionaries, and others teaching the gospel, need to create the environment, be worthy of His presense, and trust that He will do the rest. It`s very hard to do because many times you want to teach your way, but trust me when I say that the Spirit knows what the investigator needs much more than we do.

After the conference it was like Christmas came early because missionaries received letters, tons of packages, and more teaching materials. Apparently there is one address here for packages, and another one for letters, something I didn`t know before. My companion received a huge package from his family containing things you can`t get here including jars of peanut butter, a new bag for his stuff, more socks, peanuts and cashews, and a gigantive thing of nutella. Let`s just say all the sisters suddenly became his best friends!

On Thursday we came back to our apartment after having a really successful day and decided to celebreate. Being missionaries and having limited funds posed a problem. However, we got inventive and threw together whatever we could find. Some sugar, lots of chocolate cereal powder, oil, popcorn seeds, and 10 minutes later, we had ourselves a party! While we were chowing down on this concoction, my companion commented that we should tell our mom`s how we were learning to be such good cooks haha.

Two things that are unique here that I failed to mention earlier are that instead of knocking on doors we clap at the gate. It looked really ridiculous when I first arrived but I`m used to it now. The other is that every city in this state is the national city of something. For instance there are cities where they are supposedly the best in the nation for grapes, leather, or shoes, and are known for their experise in their respective things. Ivoti is the national city of flowers, but if no one had told me that I would not have known haha.

I was also reflecting on my experience in the MTC compared to the actual field. To those who will be going to the MTC soon, just remember that the MTC is nothing compared to the field. You will learn a lot about a new language and a little about teaching (which is why Mission Prep is essential!), but you really learn how to be a misisonary, a representative of Jesus Christ, in the mission field. I still have a lot to learn, but I have learned so much more in the last 3 weeks than I did in the 6 weeks at the MTC.

To end I will share something funny I heard from a member this week. So there was this barber, and one day he was cutting the hair of a Catholic priest. When he stood up and searched for his wallet to pay, the barber said, "Oh don`t worry about it, I respect those who spread the love of Christ and think what you do is beautiful. Free of charge." To that the priest replied that he was very grateful and the next morning the barber found a really nice necklace with a cross on it at his door. Later he was giving a rabbi a haircut and as he stood up and searched for his wallet he said, "It`s free of charge, what you do is great, I have much respect for people that spend all their time teaching about Jesus." To that the rabnbi expressed his gratitude and the next morning the barber found a beautifully decorated gold Star of David at his door. Sometime later he gave a pair of LDS missionaries haircuts. Being very satisfied with the short cut, they reached for their wallets but the barber said, "No worries, I love seeing the gospel of Christ being preached, I think it`s awesome that you dedicate this time to do that. It`s free of charge." The missionaries thanked him for his service and went on their way. The next morning at his door the barber found 12 more missionaries!

Well it`s been a great week and I loved hearing from those that emailed me or sent me a letter. Have a great week!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 7

I can´t say how much I am thankful that I was called to serve in this country. There are people who have been prepared for the missionaries everywhere. Something that would rarely happen in the states happened to us one day as we boarded a train to head to a neighboring city. One of the maintenance ladies sweeping the floor saw us and recognized us immediately by our nametags and suits. She came right up to us and asked if we would teach her more about our church and pray for her children (as if our prayers were somehow paid more attention to by Heavenly Father or something haha). We wrote down their names and her address just before she had to leave. Give her 1 week and she´ll be the newest member of our church! The Lord certainly moves His work forward.

I have really gained appreciation for the members of the branch here. Even though many of them are poor, they take turns feeding us every lunch and making sure our needs are taken care of. Many of them remind me of my own mother. Without them we´d have a difficult time having enough to eat. They help us to spend all our attention on missionary work instead of trying to live. When I´m in their position one day, I´ll be the first  to sign up to feed the missionaries, because that is really important in missionary work. Something I´d never even thought of before.

Something cool about Brazil is that they don´t tax stuff in the store.What you see on the price tag is what you pay. However, they do tax electronics and cars heavily.

It´s funny because we somethimes refer to the missions in the states as vacations, becasue here we don´t have iPads or cars, we walk everywhere we go (sometimes up to 15 miles a day), and we don´t take an hour out of our preaching time to stop for dinner at a member´s house, we just keep working. I like that because not only does it keep me in better shape, but we get more opportunities to find and teach people at a critical time of the day.

In closing I´d like to share a scripture found in Ether 12 that has stood out to me this week. In verse 12 it says, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them." I love how Moroni uses the word ´miracle´ because I have surely seen many of those miracles manifested during the week, but it was only after we had faith and showed our faith by working hard to accompilish our goals.

Until next week! Oh and have a great Halloween, because they don´t celebreate that here!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 6

Well it´s been a long week! We received our ministerial cards last Sunday. They certify that we are representatives of Christ and are authorized to preach His gospel. I love how the last sentence says: "We invite all people to listen to his (referring to the card bearer) message." Then it´s signed by both the Prophet and the bearer. It reminds me of D&C 35:13 where it says that God calls upon the weak things of the world to thrash the nations by the power of the Spirit.

During my last weekend at the CTM, all the missionaries got to watch and listen to General Conference. You can probably imagine what it was like when it was announced that 1 of the 70´s would speak in Portuguese. It brought us a lot of joy. Althought I had many favorite talks, one of them was Elder Bednar´s during the conclusion of conference. I liked his answer to the question, "Why are members of the Church so eager to share their beliefs?" Our religeon always has been and always will be a missionary Church! We take to heart the charge to invite all to come unto Christ. The Central focus of the gospel is sharing it with others. Who, when he or she has something desirable and good, doesn´t want to share it with their neighbors? The gospel really is good news. We can be together with our families forever! Throught Atonement we can have all our burdens and sins wiped clean!

I arrived safely in my mission last week. Porto Alegre is the best! My first area is in Novo Hamburgo, with the actual city I´m working in being Ivoti. My trainer is Elder Nielson from Virginia. He´s been out for a year and 3 months and is awesome! We´re the only elders working in the area. When I arrived we got right to work doing service, street contacts, visits to less-actives, and lessons to investigators. It´s crazy and I love it. While walking home on the second day we found a huge tarantula just sitting right in the middle of the street. I´m in Brazil!

Unfortunately the public computors that we use here aren´t taken care of very well so they are often riddled with viruses. This means I won´t be able to send many pictures home for fear of corrupting my camera and flash drive. My companion already experienced this a few months ago as he attempted to do the same, and now one of his memory cards is cooked. So I don´t want to risk that, but if the oppurtunity arises and I come across a clean looking and trustworhty computer I will for sure send the best ones home!

One of the highlights of this week was my first baptism! We encountered many obstacles during the week, but in the end the Lord made it happen and we added another member to the small branch we´re working to build. It was such a great feeling to watch her begin a new life surrounded by other branch members also recently baptized.

Well it´s time to go to the temple so I will write again on Monday! I also hope to respond to all those who I haven´t responded to yet. Have a great week :)

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 5

This is my last week! I leave the CTM this coming Tuesday. Couldn't be more excited. I'm definitely not ready in terms of the language, but I'm more than ready to get out of the CTM and hit the field. During my last week here, the CTM totally switched up the schedules of all the districts because they were trying a new program. Unfortunately, that changed the day of our P-day. We're super excited for Conference tomorrrow though!

 

It's hard to believe that I've been at the CTM for almosty 6 weeks. In 4 days I'll be landing in Porto Alegre and preaching the gospel! I've heard so many good things about my area. Some of the things that I've been told by instructors that either served there or visited include:

-It's very organized and beautiful

-It's the second coldest area in Brazil (even then it typically only reaches 20 degrees F)

-They use more formal Protuguese

-The people are very aesthetic

-It's a little harder to baptize compared to the rest of Brazil (Some areas you risk pneumonia from being soaking wet in the font all day)

 

One of the scriptures that really hit me this week is in D&C 138:55-56, "I observed... the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Evern before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spiritis and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men." Us members of the church are thos noble and great ones! And we have the responsibility to share the good news of the gospel that we enjoy in our lives with everyone we meet. The missionaries do some great work, but the members are truly a key factor in bringing many souls into the church.

 

I love you all and wish you the best in the week to come! I challenge you all to invite a non-member friend to watch conference with you this weekend; get excited to hear the words of the Prophets!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 4

I'm falling in love with Brazil and her people already. Last week we took a bus to the biggest subway station in Sau Paulo and each companionship had 4 copies of the Book of Mormon and 30 minutes to place them. We couldn't proselyte in the station so we walked around the surrounding streets. There are so many people here. The first young man we talked to had a cigarette in one hand. After we parted ways he had a Book of Mormon in the other! That was the greatest feeling ever and I couldn't help smiling for the next few hours. There was an energy  inside me that felt as if I was about to burst. When we talked to our 2nd young man it hit me that I was actually communicationg with these people. Evern though I spoke with my broken 3-week-old Portuguese, they understood, and when they responded I understood. we'd been talking with our Brazilian instructors every day but this was the real deal. All 4 of the poeple we spoke with accepted the Book of Mormon and they promised to read it and call the number we provided. Each time I had them read the introduction and then I shared some of the my favorite scriptures. They were always surprised when we told them it was freee. They were so inviting and open. They would help us out when we struggled with the language and were always surprised when we told them we had come all the way from the states to live here for 2 years witout pay and that we'd only been learning Portuguese for 3 weeks. I hope they all read the book and become members.

 

We also had the opportunity to listen to a devotional by Elder Richard G. Scott broadcasted to all the MTC's around the world. Some of the things he said really stood out to me: "Don't rush through your opportunity to converse with your loving Father in Heaven. Take time to listen for His response."

"Everything good in my life has come from my decision to serve a mission. Take advantage of the time you have to devote 24 hours a day to serving the Lord."

 

Then yesterday it was our opportunity to listen to the 1st Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, Elder Causse, speak to us during the devotional. This one was special to me for 2 reasons: my companion, another elder in my distric, and I sang "Creio em Cristo" (I Believe in Christ) for the MTC which was quite an amazing experience, and because Elder Causse had visited my home ward twice before I left for my mission. After the devotional I got to shake his hand again and we were able to talk briefly before he had to leave to catch his flight. Best part about it was he recognized me! He spoke on how our weaknesses make us humble and that they are essential to being a good missionary and for obedience, charity, and success. 1 Corinthians 1:19-28 really ties into what he said.

 

I love you all as always and wish you a wonderful week!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 3

This is my halfway point at the MTC! This week I learned a lot about how to teach. The 2 years that I spent in mission prep really prepared me for this week. One of the principles I recognized from my experience in mission prep was that when we prepare lessons for investigators we should always have something we want thtme to know (saber), feel (sentir), and do (fazer). I thought of Brother and Sister Schern (my mission prep instructors) and mentally thanked them for teaching us that so I could learn faster here.

 

We found out last Sunday that we'll be prostlyting this coming Friday! We've only been here for 3 weeks and here we go to place 4 copies of the Book of Mormon in an hour. I'm so excited. Hopefully I'll be able to speak and understand them! We also learned that a few months ago there used to be a total of 6 Americans in the MTC because of Visa difficulties. Now there are over 150, more than Brazilians. Of course they come and go faster though. I feel so blessed.

 

During this week I tried to memorize many scriptures in an attempt to learn the language faster and have something to recite to investigators when we taught them a particular lesson. One of them was the 1st Vision: "Vi um pilar de luz, acima de minha cabeça, mais brilhante que o sol, que descia gradualmente sobre mim... Quando a luz poussou sobre mim, vi dois Personagems, cujo esplendor e gloria desafiam qualquer descrição, pairando no ar, acima de mim. Um Deles falou-me, chamando-me pelo nome, e disse, apontando para o outro: Este é Meu Filho Amado. Ouve-o!"

 

I am serving a mission for 2 years. For 2 years I am in another country across the globe, speaking a different language. I have left my family whom I love very much; my friends; my education; and all other opportunities including marriage, for 2 years. I serve for my God who had given me life; for the Lord Jesus Christ who is my Savior and Redeemer and has suffered for all my sins and felt all my pains; and for my family who has supported me from birth, taught me important lessons throughout my life, and never ceased to show me love through raising me with the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching me when I made countless mistakes, and being proud of my righteous actions. Now in the mission field, I represent my God, my Savior, and my family. I am here to invite all to come unto Christ, become perfected in Him, and with Him partake of all the blessings of Salvation and eternal exaltation. I have spent the last 18 years enjoying the knowledge and blessings of eternal families, and now it is my turn to preach that wonderful news to the world. I am a representative of Jesus Christ, a missionary of the CHurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How great is my calling!

 

If I don't respond to your emails or letters right away I am sorry, we are so busy we have literally no time. But you will get a response! Love you all!

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 2

Well I've been here for 2 weeks today! Couldn't be happier. I love it here, and I'm picking up the language little by little. I'm finding success in understanding the gist of what people say for the most part, and I'm working on speaking faster. I never thought of it, but when we speak English, it sounds super fast and confusing to people from other countries because we slur our words together and speak at a speed comfortable to us because we're fluent in English. It's the same here. When I first talked to someone on the streets, I thought they were speaking something other than Portuguese because it sounded so fast. But it'll come given time.

 

We enjoyed several devotionals this week, and it was interesting to hear what each speaker had to say. Many of them were missionaries who had served here many many years ago. Some of them were from the states and so every once in a while they would have to look back and ask the MTC president how to say a word in Portuguese because it had been so long since they'd served. From the past 2 weeks, the most important thing I've learned is that obedience brings blessings! More than anything, if we are exactly obedient to the commandments, counsel from leaders, and other rules, the Lord will pour out blessings on you. And for us at the MTC, we want those blessings more than anything as we attempt to learn a new language. Hope to hear from you next week!

Love,

Elder Andrew

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 1

This week has been amazing! I love it here at the CTM in Brazil. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of time here so I won't be able to say much. I hope to be able to say more about Brazil next week. I learned this week from Elder Faust that there are 2 kinds of missionaries, those who are sent to Brazil, and those who wish they had. I couldn't agree more! I won't be able to attach any pictures until I'm out of the CTM. As I have been studying the gospel and Portuguese this week, a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants stood out to me. It says, "For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administragtion of the Comforter." (D&C 90:11; see also Helaman 5:18 and 2 Nephi 31:3) I love that scripture because it really stood out to me and gave me strength this week. And for those of you who knew Elder Dawson who served in Moab a few months ago, I saw him at the MTC a few days ago because he finally got his Visa! I am very appreciative of the love and support every one has shown me, and I pray for you as well! For those who would like to write me a letter, my address at the MTC for the next 5 weeks is:

 

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Rua Padre Antònio D`Angelo, 121

Casa Verde - São Paulo, SP

02516-040

Brazil

 

Keep the faith!

~Elder Andrew

My Farewell

Thank you to everyone who came to my farewell and open house this past Sunday! It was so nice to see everyone before I leave this next week. I will be flying out of the Salt Lake airport on Tuesday the 26th and arrive at the MTC in Brazil the following day.

Here are a few facts about the Brazilian MTC (pictured above):

Presided over by: President and Sister Swenson

Home to: Excellent cafeteria, a gymnasium, walking track, weight room, and garden areas around the grounds of the MTC for outdoor study

Capacity: 646 Missionaries

Dedicated: May 1997 by Elder Russell M. Nelson

And it is the second biggest MTC as well as the largest Church-owned building outside the United States. I am excited to arrive!

In case you weren't able to make it to my farewell, here's a link to my talk.

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

The Countdown!

On April 10th I was sitting in my living room when the mailman pulled up. Just as I glanced out the window I saw him place a large white envelope in the box. He had scarcely pulled away before I was at the mailbox ripping it open and locating the letter I had been waiting several weeks for.

When I finally opened it and read the cover page, I found out that I would be serving for 2 years in the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission! I will report to the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 27th. There I will learn Portuguese for 6 weeks before arriving in my mission (Porto Alegre).

When I first received my call, I had approximately a third of a year to wait until I would finally leave. It seemed like an eternity away. Now, thanks to the arrival of my Visa, I have only 14 days left!

I express gratitude for all that has been done on my behalf that has made this possible. From childhood I have always desired to serve Heavenly Father by taking 2 years off of work, dating, and schooling to preach His gospel wherever He would send me, and now this dream is about to come to fruition! Come hear me speak in church this Sunday, August 17th, at 11am in the chapel at 475 West 400 North. I would love to see you all there!