Week 34

Today I´ve been a missionary for 8 months! About a year ago I received my call to serve. Yesterday we had dinner at the house of a really cool member. It took a while for the food to be ready but it was totally worth it. We took a picture with them because it would be potentially the last time we ate at their house due to the approaching transfer next week.

Unfortunately we weren´t able to baptize Brenda and Bruna on Sunday because their dad was a little hesitant. But we got all three of them to attend church and they loved it! We´ll try to help them make the decision this coming week.

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Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

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Week 33

We had a really rainy week! The best part of it was Sunday, when we had District Conference. The branches Santa Cruz, Campus, Venâncio Aires, Rio Pardo, and Vera Cruz participated. During the conference President Wright spoke and both him and his wife gave a beautiful musical presentation. Brenda and Bruna, our baptisms for next week, were able to attend with their grandma and I know they had a great experience. After the conference a member decided to photo bomb our picture:

The day before President Wright attended our district meetings and afterwards interviewed us. I always enjoy the interviews because I´m able to ask questions and learn how to be a better missionary. He is a powerful leader and it´s a wonderful experience to learn from him. We also received letters that had arrived for us. Thanks for all your support!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 32

Not much to report from this week. We finally located a less-active family and taught them a few lessons. The father (Henrique) is a member for quite a long time, but fell into inactiviy after the death of his wife. He has two daughters ages 9 and 10 that we are helping him teach so they can be baptized here in a few weeks. It was cool when we told him that he could baptize his own daughters after a few weeks of activity. Henrique became emotional when we commited him to work towards that goal. The only problem is that we can only teach them on Saturdays because he works a lot.

Yesterday was a great experience as Fast and Testimony meeting. I had been working on making my fasts more effective and felt very good after completing this one. I bore my testimony in church on the absolute truthfulness of the gospel. There is literally no other way to return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father. What a glorious plan that has been presented to us and how blessed we are to have the opportunity to follow our Saviour Jesus Christ!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 31

Another week in the field! Work was a little difficult this week due to the Easter Festivities. Because many people traveled and closed up shop for the week, we were hard pressed to find many people in the streets and in their houses to teach them. Despite the difficulties, we were able to get the word out about the Church´s initiative to almost the entire town.

On Thursday we taught a really cool family. They had been brought to church by some members, they enjoyed it, and we had begun to teach them afterwards. The mother had a lot of questions about the church which was refreshing after a long period of investigators who didn´t even pay attention and who simply wanted us to leave so they could get back to watching TV. Her daughters Souellen and Evelyn also listened attentively to our message. We spent some good time explaining in detail how the Church works, about the Book of Mormon, and how she could come to know of its truthfulness. On Saturday we showed up again at their house at a pre-determined time to interview them for baptism but no one was at home. Unfortunately the father is quite a bit of opposition and so it might take longer.

We enjoyed watching General Conference live at the chapel in Santa Cruz with the other members of the district. It was my first one completely in Portuguese (the last had been in English at the MTC) and I was pleased to find that I understood most of what was said. One of my favorite talks was given by Elder Nelson in the concluding session. He spoke of the importance of the Sabbath day. He gave personal experiences of his youth and used the scriptures to teach us how we can make our day of worship "delightful". It truly is a day to focus on strengthening our testimonies, set aside a portion of our time to the Lord as we do with our income, and spend time with our families.

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 30

This was the first week of my thrid transfer here in Vera Cruz. This is the first time for Élder Lemes and I to be with the same companion a second transfer. Yesterday at church all the members were expecting a new missionary but they were very happy to see us both here still. They had really grown to like us the previous transfer. In fact the branch president liked us so much he assigned us talks in church!

On Tuesday while we were planning the week, we were discussing what we could do for Maria & Sebastião to help them get married seeing as they missed the last opportunity. Right in the middle of our conversation we received a call from the business that does marriages. The lady on the phone told us of a marriage previous missionaries had arranged months ago that never ended up happening. She wanted to know what we wanted to do with the money that had been paid, and after a few minutes we were able to transfer the marriage for Maria & Sebastião.

Later in the week we faced the problem of getting their birth certificates from distant towns. While we talked about it a less-active member told us that he knew people in both of the towns and could arrange something to bring those documents here. Miracles happen!

Also during the week we found a fox living in our attic... Apparently he wasn´t privvy to the rule that only missionaries can be in the missionaries´ house!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 29

Last P-day all the elders in our zone grouped together and we visited a park in Santa Cruz famous for caves, waterfalls, ruins, and free-roaming monkeys. It was quite a cool experience. I can now say I´ve seen my first wild monkey in Brazil! During our hike around, I was impressed with how dense the forest is. It would only take 10 steps in to get lost. One of the coolest parts was that we could hear a ton of different wild birds, insects, and animals as we explored. We took with us a young man from the Vera Cruz branch who helped us around because he´d been there before.

On Thursday we visited Maria & Sebastião and found out that their marriage hadn´t happened! They missed the date scheduled and so they have to reschedule for another date. Sunday we had a good turn out at church with 3 new investigators. With the Lord´s help this branch will have a good amount of baptisms the next transfer.

Speaking of transfers Élder Lemes and I will stay in Vera Cruz for the next transfer beginning tomorrow. It´s the first time for both of us that we´ll have the same companion for 2 transfers. We´re excited to work together for another 6 weeks, and we have quite a few potential baptisms in the future. Happy Páscoa (Easter) everybody! 

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 28

This week was full of miracles. Even though I was sick in the beginning, I didn´t notice it much because we worked so hard. We made a goal to be more diligent, obedient, and have more faith the first day of the week, and the Lord blessed us right off the bat. In order to find more people to teach we scoured the area book for former investigators and for less active members. The very first day we added 15+ people to our group of promising investigators.

On Tuesday we began our plan to visit all our conrtacts, ex-investigators of previous missionaries, and less-active members in a certain neighborhood. We were very blessed to find a house of 6 that are elects for sure. They paid a lot of attention during our lesson and asked great questions. A lot of the ex-investigators were awesome as well, we´re hoping we´ll be able to work with them and help them prepare to be baptized soon.

Thursday was the weekly district meeting as usual. After it we did a division with me staying in Santa Cruz with the district leader and Élder Lemes taking the district leader´s companion to our area in Vera Cruz. During the day we found many new families to teach for Santa Cruz. One young woman was really attentive and actually asked us how she could know for herself if our message was true. I would be very surprised if she isn´t baptized this coming week. The next day we returned to our own companions and areas.

This week Élder Lemes and I were very happy to find out that Maria (baptized 5 weeks ago) and her boyfriend Sebastião will be married next week! We´re helping him to stop smoking, and his baptism will be next week if he stops. They will help out this branch a lot if they stay firm. 

On Saturday we met Maria´s daughter when we went over to visit her family. The next day she was at church with Maria almost before we were! If the marriage happens, we´ll baptize the whole family next week.

Here is my companion, Élder Lemes, and I with an American flag we found!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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Week 27

On Monday half the Zone ate at McDonalds for lunch. Man I´d never seen such high prices there. The cheapest burger there was R$20 (~8US Dollars). In Brazil it´s more of a fancy restuarant, quite the contrast to the States where they have the dollar menu. I was able to spend R$45 and still be hungry!

Wednesday we had a Zones Conference in Porto Alegre. Half of the zones were there, with the other half meeting on Thursday. We woke up at 4am to travel by bus and arrive at the designated chapel in Porto Alegre at 9. During the conference we received training and instruction to help us be better missionaries. One of the presentations was by the president of the health department for all the missionaries in Brazil. At the end both President and Sister Wright talked to us. In between their comments, Sister Wright played the violin while President Wright played the piano. It was the best rendition of "I Know My Redeemer Lives" that I´ve ever heard. I´m bummed because I will only have one more conference with them before they head home in July.

The next day my companion had a really bad stomach pain that took a while to be relieved, so we ended up spending a few day at home. After it became almost unbearable he asked me to give him a blessing, the second one he´s ever head in his life. Right after the blessing his condition improved rapidly, with the worst pain leaving immediately. Faith really works miracles. Unbelievably, when he´d improved to a point where we could return to work, I caught a nasty cold that hindered us further. 

On Sunday we were able to bring a good amount of our investigatros to church. To our surprise, Christofer (Wesley´s older brother) showed up out of nowhere and attended all the meetings without having been encouraged by anyone. We´re hoping this means he´s having a change of heart and becoming more open to what we have to teach him. He could make a good missionary and bishop someday. I hope we can help him chose the right path.

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 26

Like we did last transfer, we tried working in a new neighborhood this week. Unfortunately the results weren´t as good as we´d hoped. The majority of the houses we found there were closed up and empty, waiting for their owners to return from work much later at night. The few people we found at home that allowed us to share our message with them were disinterested, with other priorities demanding their attention. It´s true that when life is going well for us and we don´t have many problems we are generally less humble and desirous to follow our Saviour.

This week it rained almost every day again. From what I´ve been hearing from everybody, that means that it´ll finally cool down soon as Summer ends. I also hit the 6 month mark of my mission last Friday! I can´t believe a 4th of it is over already. I will be very sad when my 2 years are up.

We visited the young woman that asked us that funny question mentioned last week. Her name is Letieli, and she is cousin to one of the recent converts in the branch. She´s super humble but lacks faith. She told us one day that she doesn´t really believe in God, which is super rare in Brazil. I invited her to begin praying daily with a desire to know that He exists and promised her that He would respond. We hope she does that with a sincere heart and real intent as it says in Moroni 10:3-5. She even came to church with us yesterday, which was good as it was Fast & Testimony meeting. I´ve come to realize the importance of fasting, giving a generous fast offering, and bearing testimony the first Sunday of the month. It´s a powerful combination that really brings learning by the Spirit in a one-of-a -kind way. 

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 25

Because of the holiday Carnaval, the beginning of the week started off slow. Especially on Tuesday we were hard pressed to find anyone in the streets and in their houses. For small towns like Vera Cruz, any major holiday shuts the whole place down. It was quite an interesting feeling being the only ones walking down the streets, almost as if it were a long abandoned ghost town. However, the next day everyone returened from their vacations and everything was back to normal.

The week continued to be slower than usual due to a lot of rain, sometimes raining for 2 days in a row. Having grown up in zero percent humidity, it was quite different to experience a time when nothing dried. We´d wake up in the morning and our clothes would still be damp from the previous day of work.

We had a funny experience one day as we were answering some questions about missionary work from some of our investigators. They´d already asked about various things such as communicating with family, if we could play soccer, if we could wear regular clothes, etc. The answer to the majority of these questions was that we could on Moday, Our Preparation Day. We were with a young man (a member of the branch here) that had a hard time not talking and so they learned that we also don´t hug the opposite gender while seving these 2 years. To that one of the young women sincerely asked, "But you guys can do that too on Mondays right?" Despite trying our hardest to contain ourselves we all burst out laughing! We explained to them that no, not even on Monday can we hug haha.

Yesterday we totally forgot about Daylight Savings Time and so we showed up at the chapel an hour early. After waiting around we thought that maybe church had been cancelled somehow. It was really odd because we didn´t hear anything from the people the week before, mentioning the change in time. Despite our confusion, we were able to bring our investigators to church. Maria and her soon-to-be husband were all ready waiting for us to pass by when we went to pick them up. That was the easiest I`ve ever had it getting people to church so far!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 24

The beginning of another transfer brought me a new companion! His name is Élder Lemes, from Campinas, Brazil. I´m excited because he is my first Brazilian companion. Already he has helped me a lot with my Portuguese. So far he has a year and 7 months serving, so he´ll be returning home pretty soon. As we were talking and getting to know each other during the week, we were surprised to learn that we both want to pursue a career in aeronautical engineering, and that we´ve wanted that since the age of 4!

This week we found many new investigators, starting the very first day. Even though it poured rain both day and night for the first 2 days, we didn´t notice it much because we were hard at work. The first thing we did was present the new elder to the members here to gain their trust and help. Then we visited our investigators from the previous transfer and found many new ones on the way.

Despite their busy schedule, we were able to visit Wesley and Christofer this week. They seemed to be hesitant still so we spent a little time building trust and opening them up. It might take a while but we hope to get their parents married and baptize the whole family.

Due to the holiday Carnival, there weren´t very many people in Church yesterday. Almost everyone was traveling. As a result my companion and I taught Sunday School, blessed the sacrament, and both gave talks! It sure makes me grateful for wards when I serve in small branches.

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 23

After a long and tiring battle against the adversary, Marli was baptized this week! It was quite a surprise for us actually. We went over to her house last Monday to see how she was doing and as always, doubts and tempatations had crept into her thoughts. With the Spirit´s aid we swept them away and replaced them with a conviction of what she needed to do. To our surprise she walked into the back room and returned seconds later with all she´d need to be baptized (towel, sandals, and extra under clothing). We organized a service immediately and I baptized her the same day. The next challenge will be confirming her in church, the adversary certainly hasn´t stopped fighting against her.

This week we focused mainly on Wesley and Christorfer, 2 brothers (13 and 15) that attended church last week. They are very intelligent, already having read parts of the bible on their own. They´re hard workers, assisting their mom and dad build an extension to their house. Christofer has already said he wants to serve a mission! We had to tell him to slow down and focus on baptism first. During one of our lessons with them we asked, as we do every lesson, if there was anything we could do to help them. The mother of the 2 boys jokingly responded that her walls could us some washing. On the way back to our house Elder Garcia and I reflected on how the lesson went. While we discussed our future plans with them and how we could best aid them in coming unto Christ we received a distinct impression to take their mother´s offer, even though it was only a joke on her part, and show that members of Christ´s church practice what they preach. 

We put our plan into action the next morning, showing up on their doorstep ready to work. The surprise on their faces was pure gold! After insisting that we wouldn´t leave without doing some work, we started off by mowing and trimming their lawn. Luckily due to years of practice at home, I was able to teach Elder Garcia how to work the mower and trimmer and we made their lawn look  better than it ever has before. To finish off before we had to catch our appointment with lunch, we washed their car. That was one of the best service projects I´ve done. We felt so accomplished for doing that simple act of service, and we witnessed the results the rest of the week. They opened up and the dad began joining us each time we came over to teach. In a private conversation with us he teared up as he expressed his gratitude for what we were doing (really it´s the Spirit but he doesn´t know the difference yet) for his sons, something he said he lacks the knowlege for. He wants them to take this opportunity that already passed him by. We assured him that it hasn´t passed him by and that he is still very able and qualified for eternal life with his small family. We want to batize the 4 of them together in the near future. For now we need to work on getting them married, which can take a lot of time unfortunately.

So we just received the transfer email and I will be staying in Vera Cruz for the next 6 weeks with a new companion! The time is passing by so rapidly.

--

Elder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

Brasil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 22

I sure have a testimony of the importance of members in missionary work. Oftentimes as members we think, "What can the missionaries do for us? Why aren´t they baptizing more people?" I promise that this isn´t the way the Lord has organized successful missionary work. In Preach My Gospel (a missionary manual for every church member, leader, and missionary) we read,"Church members are essential in helping new converts remain active and faithful" (pg213). I´ve seen miracles happen when members do their part and fellowship new converts. That is because every convert needs a friend. The missionaries will be transferred sooner than you think, but the members won´t. If members want to see their own ward or branch grow, help the missionaries. If they don´t, help the missionaries anyway, they´ll see the blessings the Lord has in store. As President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, "It will be a great day when our people not only pray for the missionaries throughout the world, but ask the Lord to help them to assist the missionaries who are laboring in their own ward." We missionaries have felt the power of your prayers on our behalf, we would be hard pressed to work without them. We challenge each and every one of you to ask the Lord how you can be of assistance to the missionaries serving in your own ward, and then put those words to action. For those living in Moab, Utah, help Elders Sanders and Braun out! Treat them as you would any one of us from your ward whom you have sent out to serve in other states and countries.

Because of help we received from the members here, we baptized our investigator Maria yesterday! She was well received, and is no longer our investigator, but a member of the Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias. 

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We were also blessed in our work to have many of our other investigators attend church, with potential baptisms next week. One is a 13-year-old young man named Wesley who walked to church 2 hours early, and waited on a bus-stop bench until we showed up to unlock the chapel. He is an elect, truly humble and ready to receive the gospel. The best part is he already has friends that are members!

This week I experimented making French Toast with Buttermilk Syrup. It was a success! I was able to locate difficult ingredients and even make my own buttermilk. I brought some to our members neighbors and after inhaling what I gave them they didn´t stop questioning me for more! It´s been a great week, and I´ll hear from you all next 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

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Week 21

It´s been a great week! Last Mondy we arranged to hold a Family Home Evening with our member neighbors. For the activity I taught them how to make Chocolate Chip cookies. For not having the correct measurements (my recipe is in cups and tablespoons while they use mililiters and grams here) and substituting a few ingredients for others that are difficult to come by in Brazil, the cookies turned out very well. Some of the best ones I´ve eaten. The family also enjoyed them a lot as you can tell.

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The rest of the week had some ups and some downs, but overall was quite good. Unfortunately Marli´s baptism fell through. We tried everything in our power, even filling up the font and filling out the baptismal record, but when it came down to it, her daughter had quite the negative influence on her and she wasn´t there when we went to pick her up. The adversary´s power is real! The up side is that we found a family and two other young men that have potential to be baptized in the coming weeks. We´ll be working closely with them to prepare them to make their first covenant with the Lord.

One of the times we went over to Marli´s house to teach her, we were surprised to find her daughter´s pastor there. It´s always annoying when this happens because all they want to do is Bible-bash and try to prove how so hopelessly wrong and lost we are. As missionaries and members we know that there is a much better way to clarify doctrine and invite the Spirit to provide an environment of learning, instead of contention; that is, by bearing testimony and honestly seeking truth. We changed our plans and instead taught my favorite lesson: The Restauration. At every point he challenged us, and attempted to talk over us and spew out scriptures to try and confuse all in the room. At one point he tried saying how because he is married and we´re not that he somehow knows more about the scriptures. Of course as it always does and always will, the conflict came down to Joseph Smith. Never can anyone try to slander and discredit that man to our faces withouth being born "down in pure testimony" (Alma 4:19). We bore solemn witness of the divinity of his calling as the prophet of the last dispensation. He saw God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. Of that I testify. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the same Church that Christ himself established when He was on the Earth, was restored through Joseph Smith. Praise to that man. As has already been said, "Joseph Smith has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it" (D&C 135:3). I love the talk that was given by Elder Neil L. Andersen in this past conference titled "Joseph Smith," and I encourage all of you to study and ponder the truths found therein.

Yesterday in church we focused on Elder Ballard´s talk last conference about staying in the boat. It was funny because I´d already shown all of them my guiding pictures from the Colorado River so they all looked at me when the analogy was given. It was cool because I was able to give more insights and explain in more detail how the river works and how well the analogy applies to our journey through life. Stay in the boat!

Até o próximo semana, tchau tchau!

--

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 20

Each day feels like an eternity due to all the work we do yet at the end of each week we look back and it feels like it´s only been a few hours! We were quite blessed this week in terms of finding baptismal canidates. Starting on the first day of the week (Monday), we ran into a 50 year old lady named Marli. It was as we were waiting for the bus to another city that we began to talk with her. Turns out she had been taught by other missionaries almost 6 months ago, been to church various times, read a good amount of the Book of Mormon, and even passed an interview to be baptized. But the time hadn´t been right and the missionaries lost contact with her. Then a week ago the Lord blessed us to encounter her on here way to work. She had been through some humbling trials during those months and was now more than ready to accept the gospel. We visited her almost every day following, each time leaving her house stunned at how ready she is. As always the adversary made an appearance and has been trying to halt her progress in the form of her daughter who is a devout (a little too devout) member of the Evangelic church. She tried and succeeded a few times to cart her mother out of the house before our teaching appointments but Marli´s testimony and determination to be baptized has come out on top. If it´s the Lord´s will, she´ll be baptized this coming Saturday.

We also had the opportunity to be interviewed by President Wright this past Saturday during our District meeting. I love him and his wife even more every time I have occasion to speak with them. I´m sad because I will only have 2 more interviews with him before he leaves back home to Draper, Utah this coming July. Our new president will be José V. Campos, from Brazil at that time.

Last week my companion and I also visited the Catholic Cathedral of Santa Cruz, the main city 15 minutes away from our area, Vera Cruz. It´s quite the building, with many statues and ornate decorations. As I exited the building after touring the interior I had the thought, what a blessing it is that we have temples that dot the face of the earth. Like this Cathedral, they are open to all that wish to enter, the only requirement being worthiness and a desire to "be in the world but not of the world."

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Have a wonderful week and read the scriptures daily!

--

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 19

Unfortunately our baptisms fell through. As missionaries we can do everything just right, teach all the lessons, respond to all questions and doubts, and get people literally to the waters of baptism, but when their free will comes into play, the story changes. It´s so sad for us, because we sacrifice our time, serve them, come to love them, desire their eternal happiness, and then when it actually comes to choosing the path to the Kingdom of God they reply, "Save it for another day," or "I´m comfortable where I am right now." What they know plainly but somehow don´t comprehend is that we´re not here to simply be their friends. We didn´t leave everything in our lives for 2 years just to sight-see. We´re not getting paid to be here. We´re here because we know the secret to eternal happinesss, we have the key to eternal life with our families, and we want everyone else to join us and enjoy the wonderful opporutnity they have to follow the example of their Savior Jesus Christ.

Like I did in my previous area, we decided to try something new. We studied the map of Vera Cruz and selected 2 neighborhoods that missionaries hadn´t touched for a very long time. Starting this week we visited them and made a goal to knock on every single door and to talk with every person that we passed. It might take to the end of the transfer but we´re determined to do it. We want to make a thorough sweep through those neighborhoods and find those who are prepared to hear our message of happiness and hope. Due to rain storms every day, it was a little difficult to find and teach a lot of people but we still managed to have success.

Yesterday I gave the obligatory new-missionary-in-the-area talk during Sacrament Meeting. I´m still surprised that I can speak and communicate in a way that people can understand me. Every week I have moments when I stop and think, "Did I really just carry on a meaningful and intelligent conversation with that person?" I can see blessings from the Lord for what I´m doing here. I based my talk on 2 Tim 4:7, one of my favorite scriputres. I challenged everyone to live in such a way that at the end of their lives they would be able to echo those words spoken by Paul almost 2000 years ago.

Unfortunately we´re having problems with the computers here so I´m not able to send any pictures this week. Hopefully we´ll have it figured out by next!

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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 18

So this week I was transferred out of Carazinho and now I´m in Vera Cruz! This is the smallest and quietest town I´ve passed through so far. It only has a small branch. It´s really hard to find people walking on the streets too. But I´m now living in the only apartment in the whole mission with air conditioning! Granted it´s only for one room and it´s a little slow but it´s air conditioning nonetheless. My companion is Elder Garcia from Bolivia, and he´s been out serving for 11 months. He´s really cool and super friendly as hispanics are. He´s the first non-American companion I´ve had so far. It´s nice because he knows very little English so I´m finally forced to speak Portuguese. I´ve already seen a leap in my progress of learning the language.

Unfortunately this week I was plagued with a mix between a fever and a cold, so I had to stay home a few days due to some pains and lack of strength. On New Year´s Eve we got to stay out a little later, so we spent the evening with a member family that lives right next to us. Brazilians love New Year, they go crazy with their fireworks. The fireworks here are quite different than the ones in the States, while in the States it´s more about color, here it´s more about sound. They sure have perfected their fireworks to be loud holy cow.

Yesterday it was my opportunity to play the piano for sacrament meeting. Even though I made numerous mistakes, I´m afraid I´ve doomed myself to playing every Sunday until I´m transferred! I´m not sure if I should be thankful or not for having practiced all those years at home. This branch is sure thanking my Mom for that.

The best part of the week was getting to know our investigators. There are two young men in their 20´s that we hope to baptize in the coming weeks. Both of them are so ready too. João is 21 and newly married to his catholic wife. He is unbelievably intelligent about the gospel and remembers every little detail we teach him. He already studies the bible every day, and not just Psalms like many others. He told us yesterday that he´s conflicted in what he believes, part of him wants to believe in the Book of Mormon and part of him rejects more scriptures. But we got him to church yesterday and we know he felt the Spirit. It was a good meeting for him to attend: Fast and Testimony Meeting.

The other investigator, Marcio, has one 6 year old son and will be baptized this Friday if everything goes well. He is a physical trainer, and my companion and I are actually taking classes from him every P-day which is super cool. I´m super excited to work in this new area and I can´t believe the first week has already passed!

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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 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