the rat hunter
the rat
the forest
Nadir age 38, Talita age 13, and Joao Vitor age 8, first baptism in Ponte Nova!
Gugu, he will play football i swear it!
capivara in real life!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Pictures from Ponte
the rat hunterthe ratthe forestNadir age 38, Talita age 13, and Joao Vitor age 8, first baptism in Ponte Nova!Gugu, he will play football i swear it!capivara in real life!
Possibly the last Pday in Ponte Nova....ALREADY!?!
Well this email will be a little different than all of the other ones in the past! Because i can honestly say that 6 out of the last 7 days have been jammed packed and had at least one crazy thing happen! so i thought i would go by day by day and give you it all like that! so everyone sit back, its been a crazy week....
Wednesday May 19 - Alright so after p-day this week we went out proselyting at 6 as always and we ran into a guy that started out as just a simple street contact and he invited us in right there to hear the message! awesome! well we get into his house and we teach the lesson and it's all going great! we get to the part where we introduce the book of mormon and elder clites was carrying them that day and just happened to only have one with him and it was an english. we told him that we would bring him one in portuguese the next day and he just started talking to us fluently in english! he lived in orlando florida for 8 months and kinda toured the east coast! talk about crazy that all we had was english and he was fluent! how often does that happen! he loves the book and continues to read but we can't teach him anymore because, as of lately, he loves physical relations with women too much and won't give them up so we are just passing friends now with him! he's awesome! it's really strange to talk to a brazilian in english!
Thursday May 20 - Alright so thursday night we get back into the house from the day at about 9 o clock and we are planning for the next day and i hear a noise in the kitchen so i just knew it had to be the rat that has been pestering the house so we got our cameras ready and shut both of us in the kitchen with the prospective beast. we had chiseled a spear out of an old broom handle just in case we ever saw the rat, so we had it in hand ready to go. we set the cameras up to record and the hunt was on! elder clites had the responsibility of scaring him out of the cupboard and i would terminate so we put the plan in action! elder clites got him out of the cupboard and i took my first throw and missed. the spear was pretty much done and so we were done to using it like a baseball bat! after it him again clites got it out again and after a couple good strikes to the spine and head it was done. we killed our first brazilian rat! (see picture for size comparison) it definitely was not the biggest we've seen but not small either! after some pics we disposed of it and the kitchen has been pretty quiet since then!
Friday May 21 - This day was the day of our baptisms interviews and all day it was a bright and beautiful day! until the exact moment we knocked on their door to walk with them the mile to the church! it started POURING! the best part of the story is everyone else would have said, no way am i going. we can go later or wait a week! but this family went in the pouring rain and walked the whole mile drenched to the bone and we all just smiled the entire time! it was really hard to not smile! it was pouring!!! i was in brasil doing the missionary thang and in the pouring rain! it was awesome! my planner was drenched but everything else we kept safe in a big plastic bag!
Sunday May 23 - Sunday marked the first baptism in ponte nova for two transfers! Their story is awesome! i will send a picture of them and the stairs they live on! but last saturday a week and a half ago we were walking by these giant stairs and clites looked at me and asked what do you think is up there, to which i replied one word...elects. and we started climbing...literally climbing! we knocked on one door up there and it happened to be this family! they had accepted the missionaries 8 years ago but pushed them away. this time the mother told us she had made her decision! she knew this was right! she quit smoking, and drinking coffee and the whole family was baptized on sunday! i couldn't have been happier! There are two kinds of moments in life...the "i just did that" moment...and the "i just watced that happen" moments. everything in missionary work is the second one! i just watched 3 more elects of god start their journey and pass through the door of baptism leading to eternal life in the kingdom of god! I JUST WATCHED THAT HAPPEN! =)
Monday May 24 - We have been walking through some forest late at night lately on the way home. really, more like farm i guess, but it really is a forest. well monday night we got chased out of the forest by a bull. not even kidding! we had our own two person brazilian running of the bulls in the dark though the forest! that was an adventure! all is well. we learned when you jump the barb wire fences that you think you know, you only get minor cuts but it very well stops the bull! (sorry i didn't get pictures of that one)
Tuesday May 25 - Well this was just last night but it was still hilarious. usually we don't take dinner time but last night a member insisted so we did! as mentioned before if the food isn't deep fried its not brazilian. so we had rice and beans...surprise! and fried chicken and eggs! yum! well, needless to say grease runs through your body about as fast as grease lighting! i had to use the facilities and we were a good 30 minutes from anyone we knew so i made it to the bus station and had to pay 35 cents to use the dang toilet. so you would think all is well...well little did i know you had to pay for the tissue as well and since we are poor missionaries neither of us had any more money at all to buy some toilet paper sold by the foot. a good lesson to start carrying spare in the camelback!
It's been quite the week but it's been awesome! i've learned so much as well. first lesson i learned this week is that people really have the 3 basic questions of life. where did i come from, why am i here, and where am i going? i just always took for granted those simple knowledge's i had always been taught! so simple but so profound! i love teaching the plan of salvation and i just can't but help but think about my family! i am so, so, so, infinity so, excited to be with them forever! i know why i am here and i can't think of a better reward than eternal life with my family to work for!
second off some things in life just are hard. that's just the way that it is and there are some times very few things we can do to change that! so i would like to publicly say, just do it! there are so many times when i get out in the city and see a mountain and lunch is at the top of it and most times i think to myself i would rather just not eat because it is to hard! i see people every single day who are not willing to give up a simple vice of coffee for baptism just because it's too hard and they even know it's true. but it's just too hard! it's often very frustrating to see and hear. so i would also like to thank everyone that will read this and everyone else who has done things that were hard that helped me get here. primarily my parents...dad, thank you for sticking to what you know and doing things right even when it's tough. mom, thank you for being the person you are and doing things even when it's tough! without you doing the things that might have been just a little too tough, i would not be here! so thank you! thank you for being the strong link in my chain and holding it all together! i have alot of chains with a lot of people that make my link so strong because of it! now the lesson! just do it! continue! don't give up! it's gonna be tough! if it wasn't, how would we ever learn! just go for it! jump the hurdles and roll with the punches because life will be an obstacle course but it's all worth it! we know the outcome! just connect the chains you have right now by you so you and everyone you love can enjoy the reward togetgher!
and just one hint to help win the game... when we pray, we talk to god. but when we read the scriptures, he talks to us! follow the map he gave you! i love you all so much and i can't express the amount of hope i have for every single one of you! i want to be with all of you through it all! we are all on the front line of our own war but just take one step at a time and do the best you can in every choice! one step at a time and you win the race for the day! Thank you all!!! i love you!!
Elder Excell
P.S. To start your scripture reading this week read Numbers 22:22-35. I promise you will smile!!!
Wednesday May 19 - Alright so after p-day this week we went out proselyting at 6 as always and we ran into a guy that started out as just a simple street contact and he invited us in right there to hear the message! awesome! well we get into his house and we teach the lesson and it's all going great! we get to the part where we introduce the book of mormon and elder clites was carrying them that day and just happened to only have one with him and it was an english. we told him that we would bring him one in portuguese the next day and he just started talking to us fluently in english! he lived in orlando florida for 8 months and kinda toured the east coast! talk about crazy that all we had was english and he was fluent! how often does that happen! he loves the book and continues to read but we can't teach him anymore because, as of lately, he loves physical relations with women too much and won't give them up so we are just passing friends now with him! he's awesome! it's really strange to talk to a brazilian in english!
Thursday May 20 - Alright so thursday night we get back into the house from the day at about 9 o clock and we are planning for the next day and i hear a noise in the kitchen so i just knew it had to be the rat that has been pestering the house so we got our cameras ready and shut both of us in the kitchen with the prospective beast. we had chiseled a spear out of an old broom handle just in case we ever saw the rat, so we had it in hand ready to go. we set the cameras up to record and the hunt was on! elder clites had the responsibility of scaring him out of the cupboard and i would terminate so we put the plan in action! elder clites got him out of the cupboard and i took my first throw and missed. the spear was pretty much done and so we were done to using it like a baseball bat! after it him again clites got it out again and after a couple good strikes to the spine and head it was done. we killed our first brazilian rat! (see picture for size comparison) it definitely was not the biggest we've seen but not small either! after some pics we disposed of it and the kitchen has been pretty quiet since then!
Friday May 21 - This day was the day of our baptisms interviews and all day it was a bright and beautiful day! until the exact moment we knocked on their door to walk with them the mile to the church! it started POURING! the best part of the story is everyone else would have said, no way am i going. we can go later or wait a week! but this family went in the pouring rain and walked the whole mile drenched to the bone and we all just smiled the entire time! it was really hard to not smile! it was pouring!!! i was in brasil doing the missionary thang and in the pouring rain! it was awesome! my planner was drenched but everything else we kept safe in a big plastic bag!
Sunday May 23 - Sunday marked the first baptism in ponte nova for two transfers! Their story is awesome! i will send a picture of them and the stairs they live on! but last saturday a week and a half ago we were walking by these giant stairs and clites looked at me and asked what do you think is up there, to which i replied one word...elects. and we started climbing...literally climbing! we knocked on one door up there and it happened to be this family! they had accepted the missionaries 8 years ago but pushed them away. this time the mother told us she had made her decision! she knew this was right! she quit smoking, and drinking coffee and the whole family was baptized on sunday! i couldn't have been happier! There are two kinds of moments in life...the "i just did that" moment...and the "i just watced that happen" moments. everything in missionary work is the second one! i just watched 3 more elects of god start their journey and pass through the door of baptism leading to eternal life in the kingdom of god! I JUST WATCHED THAT HAPPEN! =)
Monday May 24 - We have been walking through some forest late at night lately on the way home. really, more like farm i guess, but it really is a forest. well monday night we got chased out of the forest by a bull. not even kidding! we had our own two person brazilian running of the bulls in the dark though the forest! that was an adventure! all is well. we learned when you jump the barb wire fences that you think you know, you only get minor cuts but it very well stops the bull! (sorry i didn't get pictures of that one)
Tuesday May 25 - Well this was just last night but it was still hilarious. usually we don't take dinner time but last night a member insisted so we did! as mentioned before if the food isn't deep fried its not brazilian. so we had rice and beans...surprise! and fried chicken and eggs! yum! well, needless to say grease runs through your body about as fast as grease lighting! i had to use the facilities and we were a good 30 minutes from anyone we knew so i made it to the bus station and had to pay 35 cents to use the dang toilet. so you would think all is well...well little did i know you had to pay for the tissue as well and since we are poor missionaries neither of us had any more money at all to buy some toilet paper sold by the foot. a good lesson to start carrying spare in the camelback!
It's been quite the week but it's been awesome! i've learned so much as well. first lesson i learned this week is that people really have the 3 basic questions of life. where did i come from, why am i here, and where am i going? i just always took for granted those simple knowledge's i had always been taught! so simple but so profound! i love teaching the plan of salvation and i just can't but help but think about my family! i am so, so, so, infinity so, excited to be with them forever! i know why i am here and i can't think of a better reward than eternal life with my family to work for!
second off some things in life just are hard. that's just the way that it is and there are some times very few things we can do to change that! so i would like to publicly say, just do it! there are so many times when i get out in the city and see a mountain and lunch is at the top of it and most times i think to myself i would rather just not eat because it is to hard! i see people every single day who are not willing to give up a simple vice of coffee for baptism just because it's too hard and they even know it's true. but it's just too hard! it's often very frustrating to see and hear. so i would also like to thank everyone that will read this and everyone else who has done things that were hard that helped me get here. primarily my parents...dad, thank you for sticking to what you know and doing things right even when it's tough. mom, thank you for being the person you are and doing things even when it's tough! without you doing the things that might have been just a little too tough, i would not be here! so thank you! thank you for being the strong link in my chain and holding it all together! i have alot of chains with a lot of people that make my link so strong because of it! now the lesson! just do it! continue! don't give up! it's gonna be tough! if it wasn't, how would we ever learn! just go for it! jump the hurdles and roll with the punches because life will be an obstacle course but it's all worth it! we know the outcome! just connect the chains you have right now by you so you and everyone you love can enjoy the reward togetgher!
and just one hint to help win the game... when we pray, we talk to god. but when we read the scriptures, he talks to us! follow the map he gave you! i love you all so much and i can't express the amount of hope i have for every single one of you! i want to be with all of you through it all! we are all on the front line of our own war but just take one step at a time and do the best you can in every choice! one step at a time and you win the race for the day! Thank you all!!! i love you!!
Elder Excell
P.S. To start your scripture reading this week read Numbers 22:22-35. I promise you will smile!!!
Q&A - May 26, 2010
1. Any sign of the first package we sent to you? If not, when is the next time you will be in BH to see if it has arrived?
i don't know because we only go to BH every 6 weeks and if one of us gets transferred then we will go next wednesday. i'm sure the first is there just fine but we aren't really allowed to ask so we'll just have to see. i'll let you know when i get it tho!
2. What is the craziest food you've eaten this week?
this week we haven't eaten really anything too crazy. i'll just explain what we eat everyday. i guess that is kinda crazy for you guys... we eat obviously rice and beans every day. with some kind of deep fried meat and also some deep fried eggs! needless to say we eat a LOT of grease!
3. What is the best thing you've cooked for yourselves this week? (I'm including a new recipe for awesome cookies - jot it down - I think you'll love them and they are super easy!!)
i made some pop corn this week in a pan. that was pretty sweet! complete with butter and salt! yum!
4. What will you be doing for p-day today?
today, being the end of the transfer, we will be cleaning the house and just writing letters like always. maybe we'll cook something? perhaps cookies now? =)
5. Do you think you'll be staying in Ponte for another transfer? Will you be excited if you get to stay?
i would love to stay here but knowing wherever i go will be where i am supposed to be is comforting enough!
6. Any questions for us?
well, i will be honest, i don't have very many questions to ask besides some of the regular favors:
1. Kenon's home address?
2. Tyson Clarks email address? Check facebook for this one...
3. What is everyones summer plans to occupy all the free time?
4. Chet and Tresa's email? i think i might have it but just in case!
5. When does UVU start Januaryish too?
6. Is Wes Dating? =)
Have a great week and here is that recipe:
1 cake mix (do they have these in Brazil?) I usually use chocolate or white or yellow but I think you can use whatever flavor.
1/3 cup vegetable oil (if you use chocolate cake mix, you need to add an extra Tbsp or so)
2 eggs
1/3 bag chocolate or peanut butter or butterscotch chips (whatever flavor you want -Are these expensive there??)
they don't have chocolate chips here but we will break up a chocolate bar! =) thanks mom!
Mix first 3 ingredients together then add the chips and bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. (Do you have an oven??) SO GOOD and really easy!! ENJOY!!
i don't know because we only go to BH every 6 weeks and if one of us gets transferred then we will go next wednesday. i'm sure the first is there just fine but we aren't really allowed to ask so we'll just have to see. i'll let you know when i get it tho!
2. What is the craziest food you've eaten this week?
this week we haven't eaten really anything too crazy. i'll just explain what we eat everyday. i guess that is kinda crazy for you guys... we eat obviously rice and beans every day. with some kind of deep fried meat and also some deep fried eggs! needless to say we eat a LOT of grease!
3. What is the best thing you've cooked for yourselves this week? (I'm including a new recipe for awesome cookies - jot it down - I think you'll love them and they are super easy!!)
i made some pop corn this week in a pan. that was pretty sweet! complete with butter and salt! yum!
4. What will you be doing for p-day today?
today, being the end of the transfer, we will be cleaning the house and just writing letters like always. maybe we'll cook something? perhaps cookies now? =)
5. Do you think you'll be staying in Ponte for another transfer? Will you be excited if you get to stay?
i would love to stay here but knowing wherever i go will be where i am supposed to be is comforting enough!
6. Any questions for us?
well, i will be honest, i don't have very many questions to ask besides some of the regular favors:
1. Kenon's home address?
2. Tyson Clarks email address? Check facebook for this one...
3. What is everyones summer plans to occupy all the free time?
4. Chet and Tresa's email? i think i might have it but just in case!
5. When does UVU start Januaryish too?
6. Is Wes Dating? =)
Have a great week and here is that recipe:
1 cake mix (do they have these in Brazil?) I usually use chocolate or white or yellow but I think you can use whatever flavor.
1/3 cup vegetable oil (if you use chocolate cake mix, you need to add an extra Tbsp or so)
2 eggs
1/3 bag chocolate or peanut butter or butterscotch chips (whatever flavor you want -Are these expensive there??)
they don't have chocolate chips here but we will break up a chocolate bar! =) thanks mom!
Mix first 3 ingredients together then add the chips and bake at 350 degrees for about 9 minutes. (Do you have an oven??) SO GOOD and really easy!! ENJOY!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Few Pics from Ponte
just doing that missionary thang!
ponte nova stairs
"i hate it when the cows get in the garage"
Blake is on the right... tell me what you think...
The Mission Life, V.19 - Ponte Nova
well, first off, i will try to start this email somehow different than i always do by saying what an awesome, fast, great, exhausting week it was and giving my deep thought from elder clites for the week that really has got my head spinning! "days are always 24 hours, weeks are always 7 days, a minute is always 60 seconds, and an hour is always 60 minutes. i´m really disturbed by the fact that a month as well as a year are just a variable amount of time. what does a year even mean!" haha i thought it was funny. its true tho.
anyway, the last week was great and exhausting as always. the life of a missionary in a nutshell. i did get the sweet opportunity to meet some sweet people this week! first was barack obama...well the white portuguese version of him anyway. this man came up to us on monday and just said (in portuguese) "barack obama needs my help... wait, scratch that... i AM barack obama!" to which we responded the best way we could think and told him he was pretty white to be obama. then his reply came back surprisingly fast that it was because he had a french uncle. (yes not just a french mother or father but that genetics of his uncle made him white.) and well off he was, on his way. talk about awesome! i met barack obama on monday! if someone could let me know if he is still black or white that would significantly decrease my nightmares at night! thanks!
i also ran into michael jackson believe it or not. don't worry, i know it sounds crazy since he died and all but really he just moved to brazil! haha! so we were teaching a woman and in walked her brother (michael jackson impersonator) dressed up to do his thing. you all need to do me a favor and on youtube, look him up. apparently if you type "machuca jackson dançando nas ruas de ponte nova" you will find him dancing on top of his vw bug. and yes this is his profession. =) i just love brazil!
lately, elder clites and i have been walking a lot or in ponte nova... hiking! anyway we decided we needed to make things more fun so now we are playing football in the streets. really we don't have a ball or pads and we are one man teams against the people of ponte nova but we still call it football. i'm going to be great in the turkey bowl at thanksgiving as a punt receiver. i can dodge 2 old ladies with purses, the standard 5 person girl gossip group, and even the 4 man construction crew with tools. it's a pretty intense game. we haven't quite worked out the scoring system yet but it's under way. but we really have been walking a ton. about 50 miles last week. do i get a 50 miler patch for that? just saying...
lately though, i have had some awesome experiences while we walk out of the city about 40 minutes down a dirt road through the forest to teach some families. we usually end up coming back at about 8:45 so its pitch black and apparently the road bank robbers would take out of town to hide out if a bank was robbed. anyway, it's enough of an experience to get your heart racing and we´ve been told to leave all personal stuff at home when we go out there just for safety but anyway... every night we pray before walking and it's amazing the comfort that brings. i can sometimes very seriously feel the angels walking beside us. dad, i have no doubt that uncle bob is walking with us through these forests. i feel so safe and feel the spirit so strong walking out of that place. its a very cool experience!
unfortunately, satan still has his hands in the work we do. it's so apparent that he doesn't want this work to happen. we had an investigator named marilda who had already been interviewed and was set to go swimming in the font sunday until we got to her house saturday night when she told us she wouldn't. we did everything possible. when i say everything i mean it. she just was afraid to live the law of chastity and quit having those "relations" with her boyfriend. what a slap to the face it felt like tho. there is seriously no worse feeling than having the person you've taught, and come to truly love, fall to the influence of others and call the saving ordinance off. it literally is hard not to cry walking out of those houses sometimes! its really tough. satan is just like the guy in high school who steals your girlfriend, and as much as you are just so so so upset with him, you have to give him some kind of props because he worked the situation so well. we left no cracks with marilda and had everything to win with nothing to lose but somehow he broke the wall! battle well fought... one foot in front of the other!
i also learned a very important lesson this week and it was a lesson pretty much titled "how to act like a grown up" - i wont include names or probably even tell much of the situation but we had some other elders here doing interviews and a scuffle kind of broke out about how someone felt mistreated and used. anyway, i had a very spiritual prompting to just keep my mouth shut and let the feelings of the elder be thrown out on the table... so i did. i learned in that moment what is really important and have made a new life goal accordingly. my life goal is in every situation or conversation, think two ways... how can i help this person now and how is this helping me eternally. it was a very big lesson in patience. most of you know that i am always up for a good debate and scuffle. if you don't, you can ask my mom and she will tell you. but i learned the other night to just do the right thing, just take the high road and be yourself but put yourself after others. we really are here on earth as a test. part of that test is to see how we can mesh with our eternal brothers and sisters. to pass the test, as difficult or simple as it may be, you answer the questions about others first and the question about yourself is last. we are here to make other people better and by doing so we make ourselves great!
last thought is from the book of mormon and to be honest i don't know the reference off the top of my head but it's where lehi is explaining to nephi his dream and the tree. well it uses the word "empurrar" in portuguese to describe how the people are heading to the tree of life. empurrar means to shove. and i thought how powerful is that... getting to the tree of life is worth shoving to get to. it made me think of black friday shopping and the doors open to toys r us and everyone wants the new, we'll say...furbie. haha. anyway the doors open and everyone is off. how to get there first? there are 18 aisles and which one is fastest? sometimes there are obstacles in your way to shove out of the way... whether it's your neighbor or extra toys on the floor you shove them out of the way. they are just like satan....wow i just compared our neighbors to satan. sorry bad metaphor. just run with it. anyway the furbie (eternal life) is worth shoving the bad things out of our life. it's worth finding for yourself. giving it to your family as a present! eternal life is worth the stress of lines and crazy ladies with purses. bottom line... no matter what, don't let anything get in your way of eternal life! it's worth everything!
anyway...i love you all so much! i am so excited to get some more letters and packages from everyone and hear how life in the states is going! i hope you all know, family, extended family, friends and everyone... i think of you often and pray for you too! i hope everyone has a great week! i love you all!! until next wednesday!
Elder Excell!
p.s. can you believe it's been 2 years since graduation as of friday! wow! where did that time go!
anyway, the last week was great and exhausting as always. the life of a missionary in a nutshell. i did get the sweet opportunity to meet some sweet people this week! first was barack obama...well the white portuguese version of him anyway. this man came up to us on monday and just said (in portuguese) "barack obama needs my help... wait, scratch that... i AM barack obama!" to which we responded the best way we could think and told him he was pretty white to be obama. then his reply came back surprisingly fast that it was because he had a french uncle. (yes not just a french mother or father but that genetics of his uncle made him white.) and well off he was, on his way. talk about awesome! i met barack obama on monday! if someone could let me know if he is still black or white that would significantly decrease my nightmares at night! thanks!
i also ran into michael jackson believe it or not. don't worry, i know it sounds crazy since he died and all but really he just moved to brazil! haha! so we were teaching a woman and in walked her brother (michael jackson impersonator) dressed up to do his thing. you all need to do me a favor and on youtube, look him up. apparently if you type "machuca jackson dançando nas ruas de ponte nova" you will find him dancing on top of his vw bug. and yes this is his profession. =) i just love brazil!
lately, elder clites and i have been walking a lot or in ponte nova... hiking! anyway we decided we needed to make things more fun so now we are playing football in the streets. really we don't have a ball or pads and we are one man teams against the people of ponte nova but we still call it football. i'm going to be great in the turkey bowl at thanksgiving as a punt receiver. i can dodge 2 old ladies with purses, the standard 5 person girl gossip group, and even the 4 man construction crew with tools. it's a pretty intense game. we haven't quite worked out the scoring system yet but it's under way. but we really have been walking a ton. about 50 miles last week. do i get a 50 miler patch for that? just saying...
lately though, i have had some awesome experiences while we walk out of the city about 40 minutes down a dirt road through the forest to teach some families. we usually end up coming back at about 8:45 so its pitch black and apparently the road bank robbers would take out of town to hide out if a bank was robbed. anyway, it's enough of an experience to get your heart racing and we´ve been told to leave all personal stuff at home when we go out there just for safety but anyway... every night we pray before walking and it's amazing the comfort that brings. i can sometimes very seriously feel the angels walking beside us. dad, i have no doubt that uncle bob is walking with us through these forests. i feel so safe and feel the spirit so strong walking out of that place. its a very cool experience!
unfortunately, satan still has his hands in the work we do. it's so apparent that he doesn't want this work to happen. we had an investigator named marilda who had already been interviewed and was set to go swimming in the font sunday until we got to her house saturday night when she told us she wouldn't. we did everything possible. when i say everything i mean it. she just was afraid to live the law of chastity and quit having those "relations" with her boyfriend. what a slap to the face it felt like tho. there is seriously no worse feeling than having the person you've taught, and come to truly love, fall to the influence of others and call the saving ordinance off. it literally is hard not to cry walking out of those houses sometimes! its really tough. satan is just like the guy in high school who steals your girlfriend, and as much as you are just so so so upset with him, you have to give him some kind of props because he worked the situation so well. we left no cracks with marilda and had everything to win with nothing to lose but somehow he broke the wall! battle well fought... one foot in front of the other!
i also learned a very important lesson this week and it was a lesson pretty much titled "how to act like a grown up" - i wont include names or probably even tell much of the situation but we had some other elders here doing interviews and a scuffle kind of broke out about how someone felt mistreated and used. anyway, i had a very spiritual prompting to just keep my mouth shut and let the feelings of the elder be thrown out on the table... so i did. i learned in that moment what is really important and have made a new life goal accordingly. my life goal is in every situation or conversation, think two ways... how can i help this person now and how is this helping me eternally. it was a very big lesson in patience. most of you know that i am always up for a good debate and scuffle. if you don't, you can ask my mom and she will tell you. but i learned the other night to just do the right thing, just take the high road and be yourself but put yourself after others. we really are here on earth as a test. part of that test is to see how we can mesh with our eternal brothers and sisters. to pass the test, as difficult or simple as it may be, you answer the questions about others first and the question about yourself is last. we are here to make other people better and by doing so we make ourselves great!
last thought is from the book of mormon and to be honest i don't know the reference off the top of my head but it's where lehi is explaining to nephi his dream and the tree. well it uses the word "empurrar" in portuguese to describe how the people are heading to the tree of life. empurrar means to shove. and i thought how powerful is that... getting to the tree of life is worth shoving to get to. it made me think of black friday shopping and the doors open to toys r us and everyone wants the new, we'll say...furbie. haha. anyway the doors open and everyone is off. how to get there first? there are 18 aisles and which one is fastest? sometimes there are obstacles in your way to shove out of the way... whether it's your neighbor or extra toys on the floor you shove them out of the way. they are just like satan....wow i just compared our neighbors to satan. sorry bad metaphor. just run with it. anyway the furbie (eternal life) is worth shoving the bad things out of our life. it's worth finding for yourself. giving it to your family as a present! eternal life is worth the stress of lines and crazy ladies with purses. bottom line... no matter what, don't let anything get in your way of eternal life! it's worth everything!
anyway...i love you all so much! i am so excited to get some more letters and packages from everyone and hear how life in the states is going! i hope you all know, family, extended family, friends and everyone... i think of you often and pray for you too! i hope everyone has a great week! i love you all!! until next wednesday!
Elder Excell!
p.s. can you believe it's been 2 years since graduation as of friday! wow! where did that time go!
Q&A - May 19, 2010
1. What is the weather like in Brazil right now? Are you past the rainy season?
we are past the rainy season and in to the winter... or brazilian winter and it's still about 70 every day but it gets down to probably 50 at night.
2. Will you tell us a little about your apartment in Ponte Nova? We heard a little about your last apartment but not much about this one.
our apartment here is actually really nice. we have a lot more room but we don't really use it. our bathroom is nice and we have a waterfall shower head which is amazing. the bathroom is even complete with a legit bidet.
3. Do the missionaries there often have problems with the missionaries before them not paying the bills? You've had 2 experiences already with it: rent in Justinopolis and water in Ponte Nova. Is this just a common thing? Do you find it frustrating?
ya, pretty common as far as i can tell. it's just one of those things you roll with as it comes. not much you can really do about it.
4. We looked up a picture of the Capivaras that you wrote about. You're right! Crazy looking! Any more weird animals that you've come across?
not yet...we haven't really seen anything crazy but we aren't really in the rain forest either. we see some sweet geckos sometimes. i still will own one when i get back. mark my words! =)
5. Have you discovered a new favorite food to eat there?
well i am just a huge fan of maracuja´ice cream... passion fruit in english. other than that i find myself craving rice and beans now. that's kinda weird considering i used to really strongly dislike it!
6. Do you ever get to play soccer or any other sports on p-days?
in brazil all sports got cut. we can't even play ping pong. i guess it was way too dangerous or something. that's been kind of a bummer because i was so excited to play with brazilians!
7. Are you still supposed to schedule time for a physical workout each day or do they just count all the miles that you walk up and down the hills as sufficient exercise?
hahaha. well i count it as sufficient enough but we still have 30 minutes every morning to work out as we wish. i usually just try to stretch and stay awake doing it!
8. Have you had any baptisms yet in Ponte Nova?
as of now, not yet, but they will come! we just do the work and heavenly father connects the dots and we are definitely doing the work!
9. What do you love most about the Brazilian people?
i love the kids. it's more the language that i love when kids speak it. they are really cute. but as far as the people as a whole, i love the bluntness they have while talking and i love the very caring attitude they have for everyone... even strangers!
10. Do you have any questions for us to answer?
1. Can i get an email address for Jodi, Gma Excell, and Travis Coles so I can send them a missionties letter?
2. I've heard of a coffee quitting technique that a post missionary came up with and i'm wondering if you can do some research and see if you can find it?
3. How's Tiger Woods doing after all his drama?
4. Who won March Madness... sorry, i know that was anciently long ago...?
5. How is Noah doing?
6. When does the semester start at ISU, USU, and BYU-I januaryish of 2012?
7. When is school over?
8. Can you send some pictures of me with friends doing normal people stuff? A lot of people think we aren't normal people and it would be awesome to just have some more pictures of me not in a shirt and tie. I have a lot with family but anything from shows to anything else you can find on my facebook. Thanks!!
we are past the rainy season and in to the winter... or brazilian winter and it's still about 70 every day but it gets down to probably 50 at night.
2. Will you tell us a little about your apartment in Ponte Nova? We heard a little about your last apartment but not much about this one.
our apartment here is actually really nice. we have a lot more room but we don't really use it. our bathroom is nice and we have a waterfall shower head which is amazing. the bathroom is even complete with a legit bidet.
3. Do the missionaries there often have problems with the missionaries before them not paying the bills? You've had 2 experiences already with it: rent in Justinopolis and water in Ponte Nova. Is this just a common thing? Do you find it frustrating?
ya, pretty common as far as i can tell. it's just one of those things you roll with as it comes. not much you can really do about it.
4. We looked up a picture of the Capivaras that you wrote about. You're right! Crazy looking! Any more weird animals that you've come across?
not yet...we haven't really seen anything crazy but we aren't really in the rain forest either. we see some sweet geckos sometimes. i still will own one when i get back. mark my words! =)
5. Have you discovered a new favorite food to eat there?
well i am just a huge fan of maracuja´ice cream... passion fruit in english. other than that i find myself craving rice and beans now. that's kinda weird considering i used to really strongly dislike it!
6. Do you ever get to play soccer or any other sports on p-days?
in brazil all sports got cut. we can't even play ping pong. i guess it was way too dangerous or something. that's been kind of a bummer because i was so excited to play with brazilians!
7. Are you still supposed to schedule time for a physical workout each day or do they just count all the miles that you walk up and down the hills as sufficient exercise?
hahaha. well i count it as sufficient enough but we still have 30 minutes every morning to work out as we wish. i usually just try to stretch and stay awake doing it!
8. Have you had any baptisms yet in Ponte Nova?
as of now, not yet, but they will come! we just do the work and heavenly father connects the dots and we are definitely doing the work!
9. What do you love most about the Brazilian people?
i love the kids. it's more the language that i love when kids speak it. they are really cute. but as far as the people as a whole, i love the bluntness they have while talking and i love the very caring attitude they have for everyone... even strangers!
10. Do you have any questions for us to answer?
1. Can i get an email address for Jodi, Gma Excell, and Travis Coles so I can send them a missionties letter?
2. I've heard of a coffee quitting technique that a post missionary came up with and i'm wondering if you can do some research and see if you can find it?
3. How's Tiger Woods doing after all his drama?
4. Who won March Madness... sorry, i know that was anciently long ago...?
5. How is Noah doing?
6. When does the semester start at ISU, USU, and BYU-I januaryish of 2012?
7. When is school over?
8. Can you send some pictures of me with friends doing normal people stuff? A lot of people think we aren't normal people and it would be awesome to just have some more pictures of me not in a shirt and tie. I have a lot with family but anything from shows to anything else you can find on my facebook. Thanks!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Few Ponte Nova Pics
sing us a song...
you're the piano man =)
down by the banks
one step at a time...
brazilian bunk beds =)
Weekly Update from the "New Point" - May 12, 2010
wow! sorry if i sound a bit frustrated in this email i will try not to but this computer is very very very frustrating to work with! every time i start to type, a new kind of error comes up but i will try to practice my christ-like attribute of patience!
anyway it's been a crazy crazy week between mothers day and calling home and zone conference a couple days later. it's been pretty busy and the week just flew by.
first off, it was so great to talk to you guys on sunday on the phone! it was so nice to just sit in the bishops office in the chapel and just talk to all of you in quick time!!
zone conference this tuesday was very awesome as well! i love them! i walk away from every conference just feeling a new desire to work harder and just keep going! it's always a landmark too to reach another zone conference, i mean i only have 16 of them and that was number 2. it was kinda cool this time too because we got to take a little road trip about 4 hours north to the big city and then spend the night with the secretaries in bh. we had about 8 missionaries in one apartment so it made for a good night of sleeping on the floor with a "sweet" mattress! so with the two days pretty much dedicated to zone conference, this week went by even faster!
but even before that we had some sweet crazy stuff happen as well. for example... saturday we got our water shut off for a bill that the previous missionaries hadn't paid. so we got to take all our stuff to the church and get ready in the bathroom. that was fun! going without water isn't my favorite but we had the problem resolved by about noon anyway.
also this week, we have a sweet investigator that we love! her name is marilda and she is 31 and lives by herself. she has 4 kids all with 4 different guys and they all live with either her dad or her mom who are split up. talk about a confusing family tree, eh? just one more reason to keep the law of chastity! =) but anyway, she is hilarious. one night when we were going to check up on her, we saw one of the gigantic rats that i was talking about earlier and so when we got to her house we told her it went on her roof which then turned into a 30 minute search for a rodent of unusual size, not only because a) she didn't believe us but also b) she is deathly afraid of them! unfortunately, the search resulted in nothing but a lot of good laughs!
anyway back to zone conference... we got new phones!! the whole mission did! how sweet is that! maybe it's not that cool for you guys but you weren't the ones carrying around bricks in your pockets while hiking in the mountains! but the huge bonus to new phones is... wait for it, wait for it..... yep sweet new killer ring tones! good ol nokia has been putting in some hours and i have to give my customer review that the new ring tones were well worth the money! way to go nokia! =)
i didn't yet receive a package which was a little bummer but i did receive 9 letters!!! wow!! i guess people do love me! so thank you to all those people who wrote me - the faithful ones and the surprise ones! i am writing you all today! or at least trying to! =)
so this week, i feel very impressed to talk about 2 things that have been on my mind! the first of which is how lucky we are to know the church and the right things to do in our life! often here we teach many drunks, beggars, high people, and all of the above. we figure every one is gonna hear the message eventually so we might as well help them out sooner rather than later! anyway, i now know how lucky i was in the united states and in the church. everyone always says how lucky we are to live in that country but i know have a stronger witness than ever of that. when you think about the poverty, the strikes, the riots, the gunshots, and all manner of iniquity that this country is so normally accustomed to, i very often think of how lucky i was to grow up away from it all! so please, all of you reading this in the big great nation of states united, in the welfare of human souls, remember the luck you were born with!
the second thing i want to say is about joseph smith the prophet. let me preface this by saying, i know this man was a man of god and was a prophet. i had a goal to read the whole book of mormon and d&c in 15 weeks and needless to say i fell short. only by two weeks but i have finished as of this week! now if any of you get a chance, i want you to all grab your book of mormon and read the last paragraph of the introduction. there you will find three things you will know by reading this book. one of them is that jospeh smith was a prophet. so i put it to the test... i read it and i realized after finishing the bom that i already knew it. that was old news. i knew it in primary that it was true. but sadly to say i didn't come to know it for myself until the mission. read section 135 of d&c and then read the hymn, praise to the man! i know with my whole heart that jospeh smith was a prophet. i know that is important to us now because without the determination of that man... without the work ethic he had, without the love he had for people, this church would not exist. this church that we are so lucky so be a part of all stems from the fact that he saw god the father and jesus christ and was given authority of god to restore everything to it's proper spot. i often think of one picture in my mind when i think of jospeh. it's from the movie of him - and the day after he gets tarred and feathered he is in church the next day (besides the fact that one of his kids died from the cold that night.) man, i skipped church because i was a little tired or had a little cold... wow! we can always continue in the work and in right choices because god will bless us. i hope that made somewhat sense to you... it did in my mind!
anyway, i need to run... but i love you all so so much! it was so great to hear from so many of you by mail and others by phone. everyone keep up the good work and just keep busy. my quote for the week..."you don't have to do anything to go to...H...E....double barbie legs."
Love you all!
Your Brazilian Elder
Elder Excell!
anyway it's been a crazy crazy week between mothers day and calling home and zone conference a couple days later. it's been pretty busy and the week just flew by.
first off, it was so great to talk to you guys on sunday on the phone! it was so nice to just sit in the bishops office in the chapel and just talk to all of you in quick time!!
zone conference this tuesday was very awesome as well! i love them! i walk away from every conference just feeling a new desire to work harder and just keep going! it's always a landmark too to reach another zone conference, i mean i only have 16 of them and that was number 2. it was kinda cool this time too because we got to take a little road trip about 4 hours north to the big city and then spend the night with the secretaries in bh. we had about 8 missionaries in one apartment so it made for a good night of sleeping on the floor with a "sweet" mattress! so with the two days pretty much dedicated to zone conference, this week went by even faster!
but even before that we had some sweet crazy stuff happen as well. for example... saturday we got our water shut off for a bill that the previous missionaries hadn't paid. so we got to take all our stuff to the church and get ready in the bathroom. that was fun! going without water isn't my favorite but we had the problem resolved by about noon anyway.
also this week, we have a sweet investigator that we love! her name is marilda and she is 31 and lives by herself. she has 4 kids all with 4 different guys and they all live with either her dad or her mom who are split up. talk about a confusing family tree, eh? just one more reason to keep the law of chastity! =) but anyway, she is hilarious. one night when we were going to check up on her, we saw one of the gigantic rats that i was talking about earlier and so when we got to her house we told her it went on her roof which then turned into a 30 minute search for a rodent of unusual size, not only because a) she didn't believe us but also b) she is deathly afraid of them! unfortunately, the search resulted in nothing but a lot of good laughs!
anyway back to zone conference... we got new phones!! the whole mission did! how sweet is that! maybe it's not that cool for you guys but you weren't the ones carrying around bricks in your pockets while hiking in the mountains! but the huge bonus to new phones is... wait for it, wait for it..... yep sweet new killer ring tones! good ol nokia has been putting in some hours and i have to give my customer review that the new ring tones were well worth the money! way to go nokia! =)
i didn't yet receive a package which was a little bummer but i did receive 9 letters!!! wow!! i guess people do love me! so thank you to all those people who wrote me - the faithful ones and the surprise ones! i am writing you all today! or at least trying to! =)
so this week, i feel very impressed to talk about 2 things that have been on my mind! the first of which is how lucky we are to know the church and the right things to do in our life! often here we teach many drunks, beggars, high people, and all of the above. we figure every one is gonna hear the message eventually so we might as well help them out sooner rather than later! anyway, i now know how lucky i was in the united states and in the church. everyone always says how lucky we are to live in that country but i know have a stronger witness than ever of that. when you think about the poverty, the strikes, the riots, the gunshots, and all manner of iniquity that this country is so normally accustomed to, i very often think of how lucky i was to grow up away from it all! so please, all of you reading this in the big great nation of states united, in the welfare of human souls, remember the luck you were born with!
the second thing i want to say is about joseph smith the prophet. let me preface this by saying, i know this man was a man of god and was a prophet. i had a goal to read the whole book of mormon and d&c in 15 weeks and needless to say i fell short. only by two weeks but i have finished as of this week! now if any of you get a chance, i want you to all grab your book of mormon and read the last paragraph of the introduction. there you will find three things you will know by reading this book. one of them is that jospeh smith was a prophet. so i put it to the test... i read it and i realized after finishing the bom that i already knew it. that was old news. i knew it in primary that it was true. but sadly to say i didn't come to know it for myself until the mission. read section 135 of d&c and then read the hymn, praise to the man! i know with my whole heart that jospeh smith was a prophet. i know that is important to us now because without the determination of that man... without the work ethic he had, without the love he had for people, this church would not exist. this church that we are so lucky so be a part of all stems from the fact that he saw god the father and jesus christ and was given authority of god to restore everything to it's proper spot. i often think of one picture in my mind when i think of jospeh. it's from the movie of him - and the day after he gets tarred and feathered he is in church the next day (besides the fact that one of his kids died from the cold that night.) man, i skipped church because i was a little tired or had a little cold... wow! we can always continue in the work and in right choices because god will bless us. i hope that made somewhat sense to you... it did in my mind!
anyway, i need to run... but i love you all so so much! it was so great to hear from so many of you by mail and others by phone. everyone keep up the good work and just keep busy. my quote for the week..."you don't have to do anything to go to...H...E....double barbie legs."
Love you all!
Your Brazilian Elder
Elder Excell!
Q&A - May 12, 2010
Not many questions this week since I just asked you about a thousand when we talked on Mother's Day (which I loved by the way!!) but do have just a few...
1. How was Zone Conference and are you totally wiped out from a couple big travel days to and from Belo?
zone conference was awesome! i always walk away from them feeling a new desire to work even harder! it's always great to get all the letters too!! =)
2. How much does it cost you to travel to Belo?
it costs about 100 reals both ways which is our whole allowance but we get reimbursed for it so it will be all good!
3. Does that leave you short on funds for the rest of the month or do you budget for travel into your allowance?
see answer above! =)
4. Did you get the package?!?! And, if so, was it still in tact?
as of now i didn't get a package but i might have a chance next sunday because president will be here so if he brings it with him i will get it... if not then at transfers i should for sure be able to get it somehow!
5. Any questions you forgot to ask us?
1. Brady´s address in campinas?
2. what exactly do you edit my letters like?
thanks for everything! this question email was a great idea!
love elder excell!
1. How was Zone Conference and are you totally wiped out from a couple big travel days to and from Belo?
zone conference was awesome! i always walk away from them feeling a new desire to work even harder! it's always great to get all the letters too!! =)
2. How much does it cost you to travel to Belo?
it costs about 100 reals both ways which is our whole allowance but we get reimbursed for it so it will be all good!
3. Does that leave you short on funds for the rest of the month or do you budget for travel into your allowance?
see answer above! =)
4. Did you get the package?!?! And, if so, was it still in tact?
as of now i didn't get a package but i might have a chance next sunday because president will be here so if he brings it with him i will get it... if not then at transfers i should for sure be able to get it somehow!
5. Any questions you forgot to ask us?
1. Brady´s address in campinas?
2. what exactly do you edit my letters like?
thanks for everything! this question email was a great idea!
love elder excell!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Week Before Mother's Day - 2010 - Ponte Nova
well first off...i am so so crazy excited to hear your voices on sunday!!! it's seriously gonna be the best! the weeks are going by so fast. i remember talking to you all in the airport and saying, well just wait 9 weeks and we can talk again...its here already!!! i don't know if time goes by as fast for all of you but it does for me. this last week flew by even faster than the last and i'm sure that will continue until i come home!
i can't say that i have too many absolutely crazy insane stories this week. i mean i do have some but none of them were crazy foods or anything. i did see my first monkey in brazil. i saw 4 of them jumping from telephone wire to house top over and over and over. the jump had to have been a good 5 feet and a good incline of another 5 feet so we can see by the pythagorean theorem they were jumping about 7.1 feet give or take a bit. =)
i also am healthy mom, but i will inform you of what normal healthy means here... haha. prepare yourself. (NOTE from Mom: This paragraph is graphic-feel free to skip) so thursday last week after lunch we had an "emergency" bathroom run and i went to the bathroom and noticed that i was releasing quite a bit of blood and it was burning. so we called sister parrella. don't worry, i just need to eat more vegetables. there is a lesson to be learned here. parents who are having trouble with their kids eating vegetables: tell them they will poop fire blood and it's not pleasant to walk with. that should inspire them. i will now be eating my vegetables more often. don't worry mom, i am healthy!!
this week we also found gollum from lord of the rings. we were teaching a lesson to her and i just kept looking at her the whole time wondering how i knew her. then i realized it was from there. the next day when we went back she was totally trashed drunk, which is normal for us to teach with, but she wet her pants so that was kinda funny! =)
everything out here just seems to be funnier on the mission. i laugh so much here. it's so easy to just be happy. when we see someone speed walking, elder clites insists that we can't have anyone beat us in a foot race so we walk as fast as we can til we pass them. other times, when we trip over something, the other companion starts to run because he thought the comp. who tripped was just trying to run. like i said... in the states it would be stupid, but here i just laugh so hard at everything. we have so much in life to be happy about. if we can't smile sometime in a day... what a miserable people we would be.
last p day we decided to cook an american feast for a member family here. i made pancakes which was a big hit and elder clites made philly steak and cheese sandwiches. they were baffled that we didn't eat beans and rice. i think they were pretty confused with that. then for desert i made no bake cookies, which is unheard of here to have cookies, so no bakes are even more just simply crazy here! they loved them tho! needless to say i copied down a few recipes for them. =) thanks mom!
so i have two thoughts this week. the first one has to do with the importance of your personal testimony about the gospel. lately, in the tiny branch here, someone has found out from the good old reliable internet that joseph smith was a mason and had a lot of wives. a lot of the members here were not knowing of those tiny little facts. that's example one... example two is one that i encounter every day. every day i have someone tell me i am stupid for my beliefs or try to argue with me about something or other. we've even been told by some members that there is a pretty good rumor going around that we carry human children heads in our backpacks! now for that lesson that i learned...there is a reason why we have the holy ghost in our lives! it is essential to this work! so what if jospeh smith was a mason... i know he had a lot of wives... but what is important... he was a prophet of god and lived his life in a manner of simply following the words of god to guide and direct the church at that time. i know this because i feel the spirit every single day when i tell people this! i felt it way before the mission! i know this church is the only true church because the spirit has witnessed it to me! for me and every other member of the church personally! make sure you have that testimony for yourself. there will come a day when it will be tested and you need to be the unshakable servant god wants you to be!
second lesson for the week is the importance of your calling in the church! i've learned we are assigned to where we need to be because heavenly father knows we need to be there. there are two kinds of people in the church... those that have a calling and want a better one or there are those who are afraid to ever get one. i am 100 percent fully confident that i was sent here for a reason at this exact time. every single one of us is in the great scheme of things, when we need to be doing what we need to do and have the callings we need to have. president uchtdorf says... cease to aspire and cease to retire. i love that! cease to wish to have the callings where you think you can help someone better and just help the people you can in the calling you have now! also cease to retire... your heavenly father has a plan for you and he loves you! that's the first words in our message. your heavenly father loves you personally and knows what's best for you. be steadfast and immovable wherever you are planted.
i'm running out of time but know that i know this gospel changes lives. example 1: our branch president used to be the town drunk.... example 2: me...(enough said) and example 3: our family. i know we would not be near as happy without the gospel in our lives. example 4: there are 58000 missionaries in the world right now... you do the math!
i love you all so much! i can't wait to talk to you on sunday! get your list of things to say! i will have about an hour! i love you all so much!
elder excell
p.s. mom and dad...you created some good eyes for me. i thank you and so do many brazilians! my blues are captivating to people who have never seen anything but brown eyes! =)
i can't say that i have too many absolutely crazy insane stories this week. i mean i do have some but none of them were crazy foods or anything. i did see my first monkey in brazil. i saw 4 of them jumping from telephone wire to house top over and over and over. the jump had to have been a good 5 feet and a good incline of another 5 feet so we can see by the pythagorean theorem they were jumping about 7.1 feet give or take a bit. =)
i also am healthy mom, but i will inform you of what normal healthy means here... haha. prepare yourself. (NOTE from Mom: This paragraph is graphic-feel free to skip) so thursday last week after lunch we had an "emergency" bathroom run and i went to the bathroom and noticed that i was releasing quite a bit of blood and it was burning. so we called sister parrella. don't worry, i just need to eat more vegetables. there is a lesson to be learned here. parents who are having trouble with their kids eating vegetables: tell them they will poop fire blood and it's not pleasant to walk with. that should inspire them. i will now be eating my vegetables more often. don't worry mom, i am healthy!!
this week we also found gollum from lord of the rings. we were teaching a lesson to her and i just kept looking at her the whole time wondering how i knew her. then i realized it was from there. the next day when we went back she was totally trashed drunk, which is normal for us to teach with, but she wet her pants so that was kinda funny! =)
everything out here just seems to be funnier on the mission. i laugh so much here. it's so easy to just be happy. when we see someone speed walking, elder clites insists that we can't have anyone beat us in a foot race so we walk as fast as we can til we pass them. other times, when we trip over something, the other companion starts to run because he thought the comp. who tripped was just trying to run. like i said... in the states it would be stupid, but here i just laugh so hard at everything. we have so much in life to be happy about. if we can't smile sometime in a day... what a miserable people we would be.
last p day we decided to cook an american feast for a member family here. i made pancakes which was a big hit and elder clites made philly steak and cheese sandwiches. they were baffled that we didn't eat beans and rice. i think they were pretty confused with that. then for desert i made no bake cookies, which is unheard of here to have cookies, so no bakes are even more just simply crazy here! they loved them tho! needless to say i copied down a few recipes for them. =) thanks mom!
so i have two thoughts this week. the first one has to do with the importance of your personal testimony about the gospel. lately, in the tiny branch here, someone has found out from the good old reliable internet that joseph smith was a mason and had a lot of wives. a lot of the members here were not knowing of those tiny little facts. that's example one... example two is one that i encounter every day. every day i have someone tell me i am stupid for my beliefs or try to argue with me about something or other. we've even been told by some members that there is a pretty good rumor going around that we carry human children heads in our backpacks! now for that lesson that i learned...there is a reason why we have the holy ghost in our lives! it is essential to this work! so what if jospeh smith was a mason... i know he had a lot of wives... but what is important... he was a prophet of god and lived his life in a manner of simply following the words of god to guide and direct the church at that time. i know this because i feel the spirit every single day when i tell people this! i felt it way before the mission! i know this church is the only true church because the spirit has witnessed it to me! for me and every other member of the church personally! make sure you have that testimony for yourself. there will come a day when it will be tested and you need to be the unshakable servant god wants you to be!
second lesson for the week is the importance of your calling in the church! i've learned we are assigned to where we need to be because heavenly father knows we need to be there. there are two kinds of people in the church... those that have a calling and want a better one or there are those who are afraid to ever get one. i am 100 percent fully confident that i was sent here for a reason at this exact time. every single one of us is in the great scheme of things, when we need to be doing what we need to do and have the callings we need to have. president uchtdorf says... cease to aspire and cease to retire. i love that! cease to wish to have the callings where you think you can help someone better and just help the people you can in the calling you have now! also cease to retire... your heavenly father has a plan for you and he loves you! that's the first words in our message. your heavenly father loves you personally and knows what's best for you. be steadfast and immovable wherever you are planted.
i'm running out of time but know that i know this gospel changes lives. example 1: our branch president used to be the town drunk.... example 2: me...(enough said) and example 3: our family. i know we would not be near as happy without the gospel in our lives. example 4: there are 58000 missionaries in the world right now... you do the math!
i love you all so much! i can't wait to talk to you on sunday! get your list of things to say! i will have about an hour! i love you all so much!
elder excell
p.s. mom and dad...you created some good eyes for me. i thank you and so do many brazilians! my blues are captivating to people who have never seen anything but brown eyes! =)
Q&A - May 5, 2010
Our questions for you. Not many because we will have the chance to talk to you Sunday!!!!!! Yay!!!!
1. Do you ever get the opportunity to play the piano there?
every once in a while. if you get the chance and feel the desire next time you send a package feel free to send some sweet lds sheet music. i would love to play as much as possible. i play in church sometimes when i get the chance.
2. Has President Parrella given you a time limit or any guidelines on your Mother's Day phone call?
not yet but as of what we know right now we will probably have an hour and i will write more about it in the big email!
3. Will you be calling us on a cell phone or a land line and will the number you give to us be for a cell phone or land line?
it will be a land line! from the chapel. we are three hours apart right now so i will be calling from here at about 8:15 to 8:45 here so it will be 5:15 to 5:45 there. does that work for you?
1. Do you ever get the opportunity to play the piano there?
every once in a while. if you get the chance and feel the desire next time you send a package feel free to send some sweet lds sheet music. i would love to play as much as possible. i play in church sometimes when i get the chance.
2. Has President Parrella given you a time limit or any guidelines on your Mother's Day phone call?
not yet but as of what we know right now we will probably have an hour and i will write more about it in the big email!
3. Will you be calling us on a cell phone or a land line and will the number you give to us be for a cell phone or land line?
it will be a land line! from the chapel. we are three hours apart right now so i will be calling from here at about 8:15 to 8:45 here so it will be 5:15 to 5:45 there. does that work for you?
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