preaching in ponte nova
the tarantula i killed
the cleaning army of helaman
last night with clites and the cool pants we got!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Pictures!
preaching in ponte novathe tarantula i killedthe cleaning army of helamanlast night with clites and the cool pants we got!
Peach Cobbler and Hammocks - Ponte Nova
wow! what a week again! the measure of time has been severely altered in my brain. was that really a week again!? anyway the time is always filled with unforgettable experiences and stories to be told, so let me tell.
it starts with the best/worst pday known to all missionary existence. its crazy how long missionaries live in houses without cleaning once. incredible. so we literally spent 5 hours cleaning last pday. we put on some bandannas, some motab, and our mean faces and went to work. we literally hauled a whole truck load of trash out of the house. it was disgusting. i regret to inform you that i did live in it for 3 months without doing anything and i don't know how, but i have repented and we did our work and we now have a home to live in that is sanitary. so yes, it wasn't much of a day of rest but it was necessary and because we worked our tails off last week we are going to go fishing all day today! a good lesson learned and a home gained.
saturday was pioneer day which really doesn't exist here or in any other place in the world besides idaho, utah, and cokeville but we celebrated. while we were walking out to visit some investigators that day, we saw a guy selling hammocks for the equivalent of ten bucks so we jumped on it and we also found some peaches (not easy to find) and we made peach cobbler while listening to some sweet pioneer music. pioneer day was definitely a win this year. the peach cobbler was awesome. we decided to even be real pioneers and hang up the hammock and sleep in them all night. needless to say we made it about 3 hours, and one extremely sore rear end later, after a collapsed hammock, we now sleep on our beds again. and yes, the rear end that hit the ground would be mine. at least the ground was clean, right?! =)
as you can see by the picture, the spiders are out and about. that was the first one that i have seen in brazil mom so you don't have to worry. i'm not fighting them off every day! the second one that i found was in someone elses garage and was really hard to get but we tried to lure it close to us with some bacon flavored chips but we didn't get it. i feel bad because this strangers garage was filled with about a bag full of these bacon flavored things and the spider didn't move. kind of a bummer but it was fun while it lasted.
today will officially be the best p day ever! we are going fishing! i hope i will be able to send you guys a sweet awesome picture of me wearing normal missionary clothes holding up some kind of treasure from the deep rio piranga! (river of the ipiranga) i'll do my best!
this week, as far as the work goes, has been etremely difficult. we have been knocking in the richest part of town and not having much success. even to the point that some days we knock on doors all day long and when we get home at night and add up the numbers we only had 2 lessons. it's rough. it reminds me much of the nephites under the command of helaman when they are just beaten down with not much back up for miles but they just keep fighting. if there is one thing i have learned lately, it's self powered perseverance. as stupid as the quote may be, dori, from finding nemo, knew what she was talking about. just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do? we swim, swim, swim. the missionary version is a bit different but the same message. just keep working, just keep working, what do we do? we work, work, work. but, if there is one thing learned from all of it... it's that heavenly father rewards us for the work we do. i have no doubt of that. we can have days where all you want to do is just go home and cry "i give up" but you don't... why? because the days that we would not teach a lesson all day when we worked our butts off... that night, at about 7 o clock, things just get rolling. we ended up with 5 lessons yesterday and yesterday was rough. 3 of the 5 came after 7:30 at night. the lesson to be learned: just keep trying. just keep working. the reward will come and it will be after your patience is tried. remember joseph smith in liberty jail... my son, peace be unto thy soul. thine adversities and afflictions shall be but a small moment but if thou wilt endure it well, god shall exalt thee on high. the reward always awaits us. we just have to show we really want it!
i love you all and i'm sorry the message is a little cut today but the fish are being caught and we're not there. seriously, thank you so much for everything that every single one of you do for me. i hit 20 years this weekend. and i can't think of a single place better to spend it than here! i love the work and the work will be done! have a great week and i can't wait to here from you all soon! love you all!
it starts with the best/worst pday known to all missionary existence. its crazy how long missionaries live in houses without cleaning once. incredible. so we literally spent 5 hours cleaning last pday. we put on some bandannas, some motab, and our mean faces and went to work. we literally hauled a whole truck load of trash out of the house. it was disgusting. i regret to inform you that i did live in it for 3 months without doing anything and i don't know how, but i have repented and we did our work and we now have a home to live in that is sanitary. so yes, it wasn't much of a day of rest but it was necessary and because we worked our tails off last week we are going to go fishing all day today! a good lesson learned and a home gained.
saturday was pioneer day which really doesn't exist here or in any other place in the world besides idaho, utah, and cokeville but we celebrated. while we were walking out to visit some investigators that day, we saw a guy selling hammocks for the equivalent of ten bucks so we jumped on it and we also found some peaches (not easy to find) and we made peach cobbler while listening to some sweet pioneer music. pioneer day was definitely a win this year. the peach cobbler was awesome. we decided to even be real pioneers and hang up the hammock and sleep in them all night. needless to say we made it about 3 hours, and one extremely sore rear end later, after a collapsed hammock, we now sleep on our beds again. and yes, the rear end that hit the ground would be mine. at least the ground was clean, right?! =)
as you can see by the picture, the spiders are out and about. that was the first one that i have seen in brazil mom so you don't have to worry. i'm not fighting them off every day! the second one that i found was in someone elses garage and was really hard to get but we tried to lure it close to us with some bacon flavored chips but we didn't get it. i feel bad because this strangers garage was filled with about a bag full of these bacon flavored things and the spider didn't move. kind of a bummer but it was fun while it lasted.
today will officially be the best p day ever! we are going fishing! i hope i will be able to send you guys a sweet awesome picture of me wearing normal missionary clothes holding up some kind of treasure from the deep rio piranga! (river of the ipiranga) i'll do my best!
this week, as far as the work goes, has been etremely difficult. we have been knocking in the richest part of town and not having much success. even to the point that some days we knock on doors all day long and when we get home at night and add up the numbers we only had 2 lessons. it's rough. it reminds me much of the nephites under the command of helaman when they are just beaten down with not much back up for miles but they just keep fighting. if there is one thing i have learned lately, it's self powered perseverance. as stupid as the quote may be, dori, from finding nemo, knew what she was talking about. just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do? we swim, swim, swim. the missionary version is a bit different but the same message. just keep working, just keep working, what do we do? we work, work, work. but, if there is one thing learned from all of it... it's that heavenly father rewards us for the work we do. i have no doubt of that. we can have days where all you want to do is just go home and cry "i give up" but you don't... why? because the days that we would not teach a lesson all day when we worked our butts off... that night, at about 7 o clock, things just get rolling. we ended up with 5 lessons yesterday and yesterday was rough. 3 of the 5 came after 7:30 at night. the lesson to be learned: just keep trying. just keep working. the reward will come and it will be after your patience is tried. remember joseph smith in liberty jail... my son, peace be unto thy soul. thine adversities and afflictions shall be but a small moment but if thou wilt endure it well, god shall exalt thee on high. the reward always awaits us. we just have to show we really want it!
i love you all and i'm sorry the message is a little cut today but the fish are being caught and we're not there. seriously, thank you so much for everything that every single one of you do for me. i hit 20 years this weekend. and i can't think of a single place better to spend it than here! i love the work and the work will be done! have a great week and i can't wait to here from you all soon! love you all!
Q&A - July 28, 2010
1. Do you have any Sister Missionaries serving in your mission?
yes, we have probably 15 sisters in the mission
2. What is Elder McGuire's first name?
daniel
3. Did you have Zone Conference yesterday or will it be next Tuesday?
we still don't know for sure but i think this tuesday that's coming...
4. Are you still going fishing today for P-day?
you bet! we are already packed and ready to go with some boiled eggs and a 12 pack of guarana!
5. What was the highlight of your week?
small highlight... broke my soccer juggling record and now have a record of 32 to beat!
6. How are all the mission "supplies" holding up that we got for you?
everything is going awesome mom! thank you so much for everything you sent!
7. Can you even believe that you are turning 20 YEARS OLD on your BIRTHDAY in just a few short days??!!??
i literally stopped in the street and looked at mcguire with such a confused look on my face and just said "my teenage years are over?" i can't believe it. i'm a big boy now?
8. Do you have any plans for celebrating your Birthday on Sunday??
well, it's sunday and fast sunday so not really... monday will be the celebration and mcguire is baking me a cake and even with frosting!
9. Do you have any idea how much your family loves you??
i think i do and then i read your letters and i think i only comprehend a fraction! i love you guys so so so much!
10. And last but not least, any more of your crazy, wacky =) questions for us this week??
this week i'm gonna be honest, my questions are very limited.
1. what's the dow and nasdac sitting at?
2. are we still in iraq?
3. will you send an apple pie and banana bread recipe and also one for salsa?
yes, we have probably 15 sisters in the mission
2. What is Elder McGuire's first name?
daniel
3. Did you have Zone Conference yesterday or will it be next Tuesday?
we still don't know for sure but i think this tuesday that's coming...
4. Are you still going fishing today for P-day?
you bet! we are already packed and ready to go with some boiled eggs and a 12 pack of guarana!
5. What was the highlight of your week?
small highlight... broke my soccer juggling record and now have a record of 32 to beat!
6. How are all the mission "supplies" holding up that we got for you?
everything is going awesome mom! thank you so much for everything you sent!
7. Can you even believe that you are turning 20 YEARS OLD on your BIRTHDAY in just a few short days??!!??
i literally stopped in the street and looked at mcguire with such a confused look on my face and just said "my teenage years are over?" i can't believe it. i'm a big boy now?
8. Do you have any plans for celebrating your Birthday on Sunday??
well, it's sunday and fast sunday so not really... monday will be the celebration and mcguire is baking me a cake and even with frosting!
9. Do you have any idea how much your family loves you??
i think i do and then i read your letters and i think i only comprehend a fraction! i love you guys so so so much!
10. And last but not least, any more of your crazy, wacky =) questions for us this week??
this week i'm gonna be honest, my questions are very limited.
1. what's the dow and nasdac sitting at?
2. are we still in iraq?
3. will you send an apple pie and banana bread recipe and also one for salsa?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Harder the Climb, the Better the View! - Ponte Nova
well, i'm not gonna lie, this week was the best week i have had in such a super, super long time and it's all because of change! i've decided that i love change! it's amazing the amount of habits you can gain in 3 months without change, and when the change comes, you realize the growth that can be made! but i am getting ahead of myself. i'll get into the change later.
this week has been great! elder mcguire and i are just hitting the work super hard with a new determination to just give the lord all we have! on sunday we both got the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting which was a great. you all know me - i love to speak in public so i jumped on the opportunity. elder mcguire gave a great talk about the obligation we all have in the church to share the happiness that we have. it gave the branch a good kick in the butt to start throwing some references our way! my talk was about the things that we have been given and all things that have been given for us and the necessity to give back to everyone that has given us something including heavenly father, christ, and the church. it went well. always room for improvement tho.
we had a lady have an epileptic attack in the middle of church. that was pretty scary. no one really knows her that well so it was pretty interesting to watch the reactions. as with all epileptic attacks, you have a little burst out and then kinda go out for about 15-20 minutes and you're back to normal. so in the middle of church this woman screams the equivalent of jesus saved me and then passed out and i just looked at mcguire and we were on the scene ready to go. we carried her out of sacrament and into the relief society room and had the branch president following us. we got the relief society president to come watch over her so we could speak and be in the meeting with our investigators and all was well. it was just awesome to see how the ward will adapt so fastly and so easily to help the needs of another.
we are still working with neide and milton to get them married. we got the paper work under way with them and now we just have to wait 1 month and 15 days to have the wedding. the uncool part of this is that i may not be able to witness this wedding if i am transferred this upcoming transfer. so yes, i have been on my knees a bit to see if heavenly father will leave me here...i guess i will just work as hard as i can and just realize i am the tool in the masters hand.
lately, i think people think we are getting skinny or something because we are just getting fed right and left! wow! i'm not even having problems with not eating because of the taste of the food but because i am so stuffed from the last house and i can't eat much more. but mom...don't worry...i'm still eating everything that's put in front of me. i just hope i don't get too blessed with an expandable stomach! =( just kidding i still weigh less then when i came! =)
we got to to watch the mormon tabernacle choir pioneer show on sunday! talk about awesome and homesick to watch video of salt lake city and hear patriotic songs and hear songs from the music man! wow! 76 trombones...i never thought that would give me homesickness! haha!
marcelo had another expo this week that was incredible and went over extremely well. it was some of his photos from the acting theater here in town. his pictures are amazing! not to mention that the theater he was working with preformed! i about had to turn away cause i liked watching theater again so much! i realized the impact that the theater has had on me and how much i love it! it was awesome to watch!
elder mcguire and i are getting a lot of the american factor lately and yes it's good and bad. elder mcguire has blue eyes too so we hear about every 30 minutes..."whoa!! mom, mom, come here there are two americans at our door with blue eyes! they have blue eyes! congratulations on your eyes!" so mom and dad...you did good work and i'm passing on the congrats to you guys! we also get bombarded by people inside of stores because we get the "rich american" stereotype. don't get me wrong, the king treatment is cool until they find out we have no money and then our new friends desert us pretty fast! pretty funny to watch.
as far as my thoughts for the week, of course i have some. firstly, as i already mentioned...change! i have realized getting a new comp after 3 months that i let some of my habits slip. and the change has brought a new determination to stretch and grow and be better. i've learned stretching is awesome. take the simple example of stretching before a good solid game of football. you stretch out nice and well and when you play you are accustomed to the stretching and you are more agile. then when the bus of a man is coming toward you, it's not too fast that you cant handle it and you have a lot less chance of injuring yourself. now, if you don't stretch out and accustom yourself to the movement, the bohemath of a man comes straight for you and when you try to move you aren't able to do so fast enough to avoid the blow of the hit. life is no different...stretch out...accustom yourself to the movement of all of life and do so thoroughly and in the right way with your trainer called the gospel. when you do so, the heman of satan may come at you and you are so strong that however he comes at you, you are ready to get out of his path. i promise he is coming and if you stretch your spiritual muscles and don't settle for the good you are doing that is inhibiting you from the better you could be doing, you can dodge any bullet he sends at you!
i testify the gospel is changing lives. i have the blessing and incredible opportunity to see it every day and i know the gospel has the ability to flip lives from their upside down state to the right state that secretly everyone wants! heavenly father knows what he's doing. thomas s monson is helping him coach the game here on earth. the game will be won by those who are ready and that are on the lords side. when the time comes be able to to say while you are running your 97 yard touchdown kick return and the opponent is headed for you "get thee behind me satan" (matt 16:23)! with the gospel and the willingness to change and be better, even tho you are as good as you are, you can break any tackle!
i love you all so much and i am so happy where i am at. always remember that the success in our lives is judged by two people...you and heavenly father...everything else is an opinion!
love you all!
elder excell!
this week has been great! elder mcguire and i are just hitting the work super hard with a new determination to just give the lord all we have! on sunday we both got the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting which was a great. you all know me - i love to speak in public so i jumped on the opportunity. elder mcguire gave a great talk about the obligation we all have in the church to share the happiness that we have. it gave the branch a good kick in the butt to start throwing some references our way! my talk was about the things that we have been given and all things that have been given for us and the necessity to give back to everyone that has given us something including heavenly father, christ, and the church. it went well. always room for improvement tho.
we had a lady have an epileptic attack in the middle of church. that was pretty scary. no one really knows her that well so it was pretty interesting to watch the reactions. as with all epileptic attacks, you have a little burst out and then kinda go out for about 15-20 minutes and you're back to normal. so in the middle of church this woman screams the equivalent of jesus saved me and then passed out and i just looked at mcguire and we were on the scene ready to go. we carried her out of sacrament and into the relief society room and had the branch president following us. we got the relief society president to come watch over her so we could speak and be in the meeting with our investigators and all was well. it was just awesome to see how the ward will adapt so fastly and so easily to help the needs of another.
we are still working with neide and milton to get them married. we got the paper work under way with them and now we just have to wait 1 month and 15 days to have the wedding. the uncool part of this is that i may not be able to witness this wedding if i am transferred this upcoming transfer. so yes, i have been on my knees a bit to see if heavenly father will leave me here...i guess i will just work as hard as i can and just realize i am the tool in the masters hand.
lately, i think people think we are getting skinny or something because we are just getting fed right and left! wow! i'm not even having problems with not eating because of the taste of the food but because i am so stuffed from the last house and i can't eat much more. but mom...don't worry...i'm still eating everything that's put in front of me. i just hope i don't get too blessed with an expandable stomach! =( just kidding i still weigh less then when i came! =)
we got to to watch the mormon tabernacle choir pioneer show on sunday! talk about awesome and homesick to watch video of salt lake city and hear patriotic songs and hear songs from the music man! wow! 76 trombones...i never thought that would give me homesickness! haha!
marcelo had another expo this week that was incredible and went over extremely well. it was some of his photos from the acting theater here in town. his pictures are amazing! not to mention that the theater he was working with preformed! i about had to turn away cause i liked watching theater again so much! i realized the impact that the theater has had on me and how much i love it! it was awesome to watch!
elder mcguire and i are getting a lot of the american factor lately and yes it's good and bad. elder mcguire has blue eyes too so we hear about every 30 minutes..."whoa!! mom, mom, come here there are two americans at our door with blue eyes! they have blue eyes! congratulations on your eyes!" so mom and dad...you did good work and i'm passing on the congrats to you guys! we also get bombarded by people inside of stores because we get the "rich american" stereotype. don't get me wrong, the king treatment is cool until they find out we have no money and then our new friends desert us pretty fast! pretty funny to watch.
as far as my thoughts for the week, of course i have some. firstly, as i already mentioned...change! i have realized getting a new comp after 3 months that i let some of my habits slip. and the change has brought a new determination to stretch and grow and be better. i've learned stretching is awesome. take the simple example of stretching before a good solid game of football. you stretch out nice and well and when you play you are accustomed to the stretching and you are more agile. then when the bus of a man is coming toward you, it's not too fast that you cant handle it and you have a lot less chance of injuring yourself. now, if you don't stretch out and accustom yourself to the movement, the bohemath of a man comes straight for you and when you try to move you aren't able to do so fast enough to avoid the blow of the hit. life is no different...stretch out...accustom yourself to the movement of all of life and do so thoroughly and in the right way with your trainer called the gospel. when you do so, the heman of satan may come at you and you are so strong that however he comes at you, you are ready to get out of his path. i promise he is coming and if you stretch your spiritual muscles and don't settle for the good you are doing that is inhibiting you from the better you could be doing, you can dodge any bullet he sends at you!
i testify the gospel is changing lives. i have the blessing and incredible opportunity to see it every day and i know the gospel has the ability to flip lives from their upside down state to the right state that secretly everyone wants! heavenly father knows what he's doing. thomas s monson is helping him coach the game here on earth. the game will be won by those who are ready and that are on the lords side. when the time comes be able to to say while you are running your 97 yard touchdown kick return and the opponent is headed for you "get thee behind me satan" (matt 16:23)! with the gospel and the willingness to change and be better, even tho you are as good as you are, you can break any tackle!
i love you all so much and i am so happy where i am at. always remember that the success in our lives is judged by two people...you and heavenly father...everything else is an opinion!
love you all!
elder excell!
Q&A - July 21, 2010
1. How are you getting along with Elder McGuire?
elder mcguire and i are getting along extremely well and i am still just super stoked to have a change and i can see the missionary life-long friendship in progress!
2. How long has Elder McGuire been out?
he has two more transfers than me so he hit his 9 month mark today actually!
3. Tell us one really cool thing about him.
he is an outdoor man. he loves the outdoors more than anyone i've met and every time we walk by the river in the middle of the city he just has to stop and look for fish. we will be going fishing next pday!
4. Did you get a package or any mail when you went to BH last week for transfers?
i didn't have a chance to make it up to the office. we all meet at the bus station and so i was in bh for about 5 minutes in total!
5. When is your next zone conference?
we are still not quite sure on the date yet but i know it will be either next tuesday or the tuesday after. my guess is the latter!
6. Are you still cooking very much for yourself? What good things have you made lately?
mcguire loves to cook! i only know because i haven't gone breakfastless yet between simple shakes to crepes this morning! i don't eat much just because lunch is so gigantic. by the time we get home the last thing i want to do is put effort into cooking because i'm usually so exhausted!
7. Are you happy to still be in Ponte Nova and do you feel that you'll still be able to find people to teach or are you feeling like you've covered the whole area?
a little of both. the area has been surface worked tho. elder mcguire has given me a new amount of fire and drive to get the work done! but i absolutely love the area. mark my words...i will cry leaving ponte nova!
8. Any questions this week for us?
alright, if these just seem ridiculous then i'm sorry but you'll see what my mind wanders about in the streets walking from place to place...
1. which band is joe satriani famous for playing for?
2. what's the current united states health care plan? i hear something got passed?
3. can you send me a photo of my baptism....thanks!!
4. i don't remember what a cherry coke logo looks like...can you send me a picture of the logo?
5. karate kid 3???? with jayden smith???? how was it?????
elder mcguire and i are getting along extremely well and i am still just super stoked to have a change and i can see the missionary life-long friendship in progress!
2. How long has Elder McGuire been out?
he has two more transfers than me so he hit his 9 month mark today actually!
3. Tell us one really cool thing about him.
he is an outdoor man. he loves the outdoors more than anyone i've met and every time we walk by the river in the middle of the city he just has to stop and look for fish. we will be going fishing next pday!
4. Did you get a package or any mail when you went to BH last week for transfers?
i didn't have a chance to make it up to the office. we all meet at the bus station and so i was in bh for about 5 minutes in total!
5. When is your next zone conference?
we are still not quite sure on the date yet but i know it will be either next tuesday or the tuesday after. my guess is the latter!
6. Are you still cooking very much for yourself? What good things have you made lately?
mcguire loves to cook! i only know because i haven't gone breakfastless yet between simple shakes to crepes this morning! i don't eat much just because lunch is so gigantic. by the time we get home the last thing i want to do is put effort into cooking because i'm usually so exhausted!
7. Are you happy to still be in Ponte Nova and do you feel that you'll still be able to find people to teach or are you feeling like you've covered the whole area?
a little of both. the area has been surface worked tho. elder mcguire has given me a new amount of fire and drive to get the work done! but i absolutely love the area. mark my words...i will cry leaving ponte nova!
8. Any questions this week for us?
alright, if these just seem ridiculous then i'm sorry but you'll see what my mind wanders about in the streets walking from place to place...
1. which band is joe satriani famous for playing for?
2. what's the current united states health care plan? i hear something got passed?
3. can you send me a photo of my baptism....thanks!!
4. i don't remember what a cherry coke logo looks like...can you send me a picture of the logo?
5. karate kid 3???? with jayden smith???? how was it?????
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Ponte Nova - Round 3
well, here i sit in ponte nova again but things have been switched up a little bit with a transfer of elder clites and a new companion. elder mcguire is my new companion and i am stoked for the transfer. we'll do real good and have some real good times! he's from bountiful utah and loves the outdoors and sports. we'll get along well!
this week has been a great week, and to be honest it was just pretty average with not to much out of the ordinary. wednesday night we had a wedding of someone in the branch and we took some investigators. it was awesome! 2 days later they were sealed for all eternity! our investigators that are getting ready to get married are stoked now because they went! this week has been pretty crazy just running around trying to finish a transfer.
i don't have much time today because of the travel time but i will leave my thoughts, of course, as always! first off, i have mathematically proven the existence of god. but first, speaking of math...we figured out this week that in a meter cubed of sand you have more grains of sand then people on the earth. pretty sweet. (we had some long walks this week) anyway back to my discovery. so as some of you are aware, in brazil, they use the metric system so we are on liters. most drinks we but are 500 milliliters. so i was thinking in my head of a 16 oz. soda would be 666.66666(to infinity) milliliters. so it led me to the thought that humans are just completely flawed and if you add 8 oz. of soda (333.3333 infinity milliliters) to 16 oz. (666.66666 infinity milliliters) you would have 24 oz. or a liter but really that's just 999.99999 infinity milliliters. so i was driven to the thought that never will things ever be the same. nothing can ever be done exactly the same twice. for example you have a dart board with an infinite amount of points and you choose the one to hit so your ratio is 1/infinity....now the part where humans give up...mathematically 1/infinity is 0. we cant even fathom the thought. but somehow this world will become celestial and literally perfect! pretty crazy! so i may have not have proven god mathematically, but i know that somehow this earth was celestial and will return that way and that means perfection to an infinite amount and we can't fathom that but someone can.
another quick thought as my time runs short today...your life is a show. god is your director and you have been told exactly how the choreographing goes to be successful but you still are the one performing. you do your best and you follow the plan that your divine director has given and you will get an applause at the end and whats more than that is you will get a "well done thou good and faithful servant". everyone who reads this...go perform your show the best way you can following the plans you were given. if you mess up there is a way to get back on beat. there is a way to finish strong. win the show for you and the director will give you notes at the end of the show and you will receive a well done! i know heavenly father knows us. he gave us a plan. he gave us his son. jesus is the christ prophesied through the whole scriptural library. joseph smith made the show a reality for you by restoring the plan god gave all his children. the church is true and there to instruct us. thomas s. monson and all other leaders are there to help us finish our show smiling and as peter said keeping the faith! i love this gospel and i love all of you!
elder excell!
this week has been a great week, and to be honest it was just pretty average with not to much out of the ordinary. wednesday night we had a wedding of someone in the branch and we took some investigators. it was awesome! 2 days later they were sealed for all eternity! our investigators that are getting ready to get married are stoked now because they went! this week has been pretty crazy just running around trying to finish a transfer.
i don't have much time today because of the travel time but i will leave my thoughts, of course, as always! first off, i have mathematically proven the existence of god. but first, speaking of math...we figured out this week that in a meter cubed of sand you have more grains of sand then people on the earth. pretty sweet. (we had some long walks this week) anyway back to my discovery. so as some of you are aware, in brazil, they use the metric system so we are on liters. most drinks we but are 500 milliliters. so i was thinking in my head of a 16 oz. soda would be 666.66666(to infinity) milliliters. so it led me to the thought that humans are just completely flawed and if you add 8 oz. of soda (333.3333 infinity milliliters) to 16 oz. (666.66666 infinity milliliters) you would have 24 oz. or a liter but really that's just 999.99999 infinity milliliters. so i was driven to the thought that never will things ever be the same. nothing can ever be done exactly the same twice. for example you have a dart board with an infinite amount of points and you choose the one to hit so your ratio is 1/infinity....now the part where humans give up...mathematically 1/infinity is 0. we cant even fathom the thought. but somehow this world will become celestial and literally perfect! pretty crazy! so i may have not have proven god mathematically, but i know that somehow this earth was celestial and will return that way and that means perfection to an infinite amount and we can't fathom that but someone can.
another quick thought as my time runs short today...your life is a show. god is your director and you have been told exactly how the choreographing goes to be successful but you still are the one performing. you do your best and you follow the plan that your divine director has given and you will get an applause at the end and whats more than that is you will get a "well done thou good and faithful servant". everyone who reads this...go perform your show the best way you can following the plans you were given. if you mess up there is a way to get back on beat. there is a way to finish strong. win the show for you and the director will give you notes at the end of the show and you will receive a well done! i know heavenly father knows us. he gave us a plan. he gave us his son. jesus is the christ prophesied through the whole scriptural library. joseph smith made the show a reality for you by restoring the plan god gave all his children. the church is true and there to instruct us. thomas s. monson and all other leaders are there to help us finish our show smiling and as peter said keeping the faith! i love this gospel and i love all of you!
elder excell!
Q&A - July 14, 2010
1. Cassidy is wondering what season it is there right now and what the temperatures are like.
right now it would be the equivalent of spring there almost which just means its about 50 at night and a good solid 80-90 during the day! pretty hot!
2. Ty and Ryan are wondering how much you pay for a gallon of milk in Brazil.
well, interesting as it may sound, you don't buy milk by the gallon here. milk here is different. it doesn't have to be refrigerated but it only keeps for 2 days after opening. also you buy it by the liter for about 1.40 reals which is approximately 70 cents!
3. I am just anxious to hear about where you are and who you are with and that you are still happy and healthy!
alright so questions this week...
1. temperature there?
2. cost of a gallon of milk?
3. what do you want to do here when you come to get me?
4. how much is a plane ride round trip to here?
5. who will be byu quarterback this year?
6. one more quote i've got for you all....your last step got you to where you are, your future steps will take you somewhere, but the only step that matters is the one you take right now. it shows your whole journey!
right now it would be the equivalent of spring there almost which just means its about 50 at night and a good solid 80-90 during the day! pretty hot!
2. Ty and Ryan are wondering how much you pay for a gallon of milk in Brazil.
well, interesting as it may sound, you don't buy milk by the gallon here. milk here is different. it doesn't have to be refrigerated but it only keeps for 2 days after opening. also you buy it by the liter for about 1.40 reals which is approximately 70 cents!
3. I am just anxious to hear about where you are and who you are with and that you are still happy and healthy!
alright so questions this week...
1. temperature there?
2. cost of a gallon of milk?
3. what do you want to do here when you come to get me?
4. how much is a plane ride round trip to here?
5. who will be byu quarterback this year?
6. one more quote i've got for you all....your last step got you to where you are, your future steps will take you somewhere, but the only step that matters is the one you take right now. it shows your whole journey!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pictures!
the rat hunters, part II (NOTE: unfortunately, the video didn't come through)
the party bus that is making more money than the catholic church... that's impressive
The softening filter of experience - Ponte Nova
well, this week was yet just another great week in the world of a missionary. pretty awesome life to be honest. i never know how to start these emails so i'm sorry that that is the best start i've got. i'll try to come up with a funny joke next time or something!
so, this week we ate something else pretty weird. it's become normal is the bad news. i really hope i like good food still when i get home. anyway, this stuff is called canjica. also known as corn soup with roasted peanuts and cinnamon rice soup stuff put together. it's good except for the texture of half hard half soft corn and peanuts that kind of have the texture of vomit coming back up. hence, we call it vomit soup. it's not bad once you get used to it.
we had another rat hunt this week! that was awesome! (see attached picture and possible video if it goes thru.) this rat was a bit smaller but definitely bigger than we needed in our house so we had to dispose. the only bad news is that this one bled a bit which was kinda gross. don't worry tho...we have yet to get to the savage level of things and start eating our kills. =)
i met the second oldest man in my life this week. it's just crazy how it was within a week of meeting the guy from noah's ark! anyway this guy is 130 years old and has 46 kids. but don't worry he only has 3 grandkids. the weird part is this guy was not inebriated. just a little crazy. always good for a good laugh tho. i'm still searching for where the magnet is on my body that attracts crazy people and drunks.
i also learned a valuable lesson of naming your children. we are working to marry an awesome couple named neide and milton who are in their mid 60's and are just like our grandma and grandpa. this week neide told us about where her name comes from. so i guess when she was born her mom had the name neide picked out already and everything was ready to go. well, in brasil, you have to register your kids after birth in the cartorio or in other words the city hall basically. so neide's, then brand new dad, took neide to the nearest city, since they lived in the country, to get registered. unfortunately, on the way he got a little sidetracked and became drunk that night and lost the paper with the childs name on it. he proceeded to the city hall with the child the next morning after having a great hangover and when asked the name of the child he couldn't remember so he responded with the name that came to mind of antonia. knowing the mother of the child was illiterate, he brought home the certificate and all was well with the new family of the child named "neide" supposedly. imagine the surprise when 5 years later the literate cousins came to town and found the childs name was antonia. but it was too late - the name had already stuck. moral of the story: don't name your child under the influence. your wife will not be happy.
so this week was fast sunday and we had a great meeting including an amazing testimony by james, the 8 year old kid who was baptized 3 months ago. he got up and in the best way an 8 year old can, he said "im so grateful to be here because my life used to be trash, but since the missionaries taught me i am clean and i am happy all the time!" wow! how simpler could it have been put! now the great lesson learned... james lives an hour and a half walking distance from the church. his parents are non members. his usual ride to church is in the district presidency who was out of town that week so james, being the great example he is, called himself a taxi and got to church sunday on his own. i almost cried seeing james get out of the taxi and pay for it himself and proceed to walk into the chapel scriptures in hand and wearing a giant smile! what an example! what a sacrifice for james to make. the sacrifice of an 8 year old was extremely touching! reminded me of abraham and issac. what a great story of sacrifice. made me ask the question to myself that i think all of us should ask frequently... am i willing to make a sacrifice to do what is right?
i've learned recently that reading the book of mormon or other books of the church is not just a "fill the bucket" technique of learning. it's not just to fill our mind with the knowledge but rather it lights the fire to just want to learn and learn and learn! i find myself with a never ending list of things i want to know and want to study. the book of mormon is incredible! and there is a whole world of knowledge out there to be gathered and once you get it, there will be more!
i also have become very familiar with the idea that our heavenly father loves us and knows us extremely well. i do have bad news with this information and knowledge i've gathered. bad news first: i regret to inform the human race that this life will be difficult. now the "great news": the gospel of jesus christ is here to stay! there is always help waiting for you if you find yourself in a rut. there is always a way to escape your pains! there is a way out physically and mentally for you to know this. first mentally. 1 cor 10:13 he will never give us more than we can handle. 1 nephi 3:7 there is a way prepared and d&c 84:88 he will send his angels round about you to help! what a great mental pacifier! now for the physical help sent to you. often times we hear the phrase "get a grip" in our world today and i would like to pass on the advice. get a grip on the iron rod. get a grip on your scriptures. they are proof that god loves you! it's interesting to me that in lehi's vision everyone is overcome by the dark mist of satan but those with a good grip on the rod will not be lost! our life has a purpose. the lessons you learn now are learned for your future opportunity. i know that christ is our life line and that he is always waiting - arms opened for us. i know that he is the only begotten of our father in heaven who loves us. he came from his celestial mansion to the telestial world to save us! what a sacrifice for him and what a great sacrifice that he gave for us! i know that jospeh smith was a prophet of god and that heavenly father and jesus christ appeared to him responding to a simple simple question of where the truth was. i know heavenly father still responds to our prayers today. i know the book of mormon is proof of gods love. i know that i am a small part in the work and glory of god. i know the truth is being spread in this dispensation that joseph smith restored and that it is not a lie. he did not die a liar. i know thomas s monson loves us and is the prophet today who speaks as the mouthpiece of god. i know this church is true and is being directed by the will of the lord and that the fight is started and the truth is spreading and changing lives everywhere. i know the fight will be won by the courageous! be on that side, i urge all of you!
i love this work and i will continue to live this gospel because i know it is the true path of eternal happiness! i love you all and i am so happy to have the family i have and the support team i do! i hope and pray that we all can have the courage to always do what is right and never give up! until next wonderful wednesday!
Elder Excell
ps. write me! =)
so, this week we ate something else pretty weird. it's become normal is the bad news. i really hope i like good food still when i get home. anyway, this stuff is called canjica. also known as corn soup with roasted peanuts and cinnamon rice soup stuff put together. it's good except for the texture of half hard half soft corn and peanuts that kind of have the texture of vomit coming back up. hence, we call it vomit soup. it's not bad once you get used to it.
we had another rat hunt this week! that was awesome! (see attached picture and possible video if it goes thru.) this rat was a bit smaller but definitely bigger than we needed in our house so we had to dispose. the only bad news is that this one bled a bit which was kinda gross. don't worry tho...we have yet to get to the savage level of things and start eating our kills. =)
i met the second oldest man in my life this week. it's just crazy how it was within a week of meeting the guy from noah's ark! anyway this guy is 130 years old and has 46 kids. but don't worry he only has 3 grandkids. the weird part is this guy was not inebriated. just a little crazy. always good for a good laugh tho. i'm still searching for where the magnet is on my body that attracts crazy people and drunks.
i also learned a valuable lesson of naming your children. we are working to marry an awesome couple named neide and milton who are in their mid 60's and are just like our grandma and grandpa. this week neide told us about where her name comes from. so i guess when she was born her mom had the name neide picked out already and everything was ready to go. well, in brasil, you have to register your kids after birth in the cartorio or in other words the city hall basically. so neide's, then brand new dad, took neide to the nearest city, since they lived in the country, to get registered. unfortunately, on the way he got a little sidetracked and became drunk that night and lost the paper with the childs name on it. he proceeded to the city hall with the child the next morning after having a great hangover and when asked the name of the child he couldn't remember so he responded with the name that came to mind of antonia. knowing the mother of the child was illiterate, he brought home the certificate and all was well with the new family of the child named "neide" supposedly. imagine the surprise when 5 years later the literate cousins came to town and found the childs name was antonia. but it was too late - the name had already stuck. moral of the story: don't name your child under the influence. your wife will not be happy.
so this week was fast sunday and we had a great meeting including an amazing testimony by james, the 8 year old kid who was baptized 3 months ago. he got up and in the best way an 8 year old can, he said "im so grateful to be here because my life used to be trash, but since the missionaries taught me i am clean and i am happy all the time!" wow! how simpler could it have been put! now the great lesson learned... james lives an hour and a half walking distance from the church. his parents are non members. his usual ride to church is in the district presidency who was out of town that week so james, being the great example he is, called himself a taxi and got to church sunday on his own. i almost cried seeing james get out of the taxi and pay for it himself and proceed to walk into the chapel scriptures in hand and wearing a giant smile! what an example! what a sacrifice for james to make. the sacrifice of an 8 year old was extremely touching! reminded me of abraham and issac. what a great story of sacrifice. made me ask the question to myself that i think all of us should ask frequently... am i willing to make a sacrifice to do what is right?
i've learned recently that reading the book of mormon or other books of the church is not just a "fill the bucket" technique of learning. it's not just to fill our mind with the knowledge but rather it lights the fire to just want to learn and learn and learn! i find myself with a never ending list of things i want to know and want to study. the book of mormon is incredible! and there is a whole world of knowledge out there to be gathered and once you get it, there will be more!
i also have become very familiar with the idea that our heavenly father loves us and knows us extremely well. i do have bad news with this information and knowledge i've gathered. bad news first: i regret to inform the human race that this life will be difficult. now the "great news": the gospel of jesus christ is here to stay! there is always help waiting for you if you find yourself in a rut. there is always a way to escape your pains! there is a way out physically and mentally for you to know this. first mentally. 1 cor 10:13 he will never give us more than we can handle. 1 nephi 3:7 there is a way prepared and d&c 84:88 he will send his angels round about you to help! what a great mental pacifier! now for the physical help sent to you. often times we hear the phrase "get a grip" in our world today and i would like to pass on the advice. get a grip on the iron rod. get a grip on your scriptures. they are proof that god loves you! it's interesting to me that in lehi's vision everyone is overcome by the dark mist of satan but those with a good grip on the rod will not be lost! our life has a purpose. the lessons you learn now are learned for your future opportunity. i know that christ is our life line and that he is always waiting - arms opened for us. i know that he is the only begotten of our father in heaven who loves us. he came from his celestial mansion to the telestial world to save us! what a sacrifice for him and what a great sacrifice that he gave for us! i know that jospeh smith was a prophet of god and that heavenly father and jesus christ appeared to him responding to a simple simple question of where the truth was. i know heavenly father still responds to our prayers today. i know the book of mormon is proof of gods love. i know that i am a small part in the work and glory of god. i know the truth is being spread in this dispensation that joseph smith restored and that it is not a lie. he did not die a liar. i know thomas s monson loves us and is the prophet today who speaks as the mouthpiece of god. i know this church is true and is being directed by the will of the lord and that the fight is started and the truth is spreading and changing lives everywhere. i know the fight will be won by the courageous! be on that side, i urge all of you!
i love this work and i will continue to live this gospel because i know it is the true path of eternal happiness! i love you all and i am so happy to have the family i have and the support team i do! i hope and pray that we all can have the courage to always do what is right and never give up! until next wonderful wednesday!
Elder Excell
ps. write me! =)
Q&A - July 7, 2010
1. Sad news - Brazil is no longer a part of the World Cup - I'm sure you know this by reactions in the street but I'm wondering how people reacted. Angry people? Riots? Or, just another day in Brazil??
well it was pretty much just a normal day in the world with a couple of sad faces. you could tell it was sad because of the tears some people shed and also upsetting by the new portuguese swear words i learned! =)
2. I've been thinking about the pictures that you send and that I post on your blog - I love that you are sending pics and I love sharing them with family and friends via your blog but I got to thinking about some of the people in the pictures with you. Are they going to have a problem with me posting their pictures for the world to see? Maybe you should just check to make sure...
i'll check but i'm sure its fine!
3. Who was the other man in the picture of Marcelo's baptism? Another person being baptized or the person who baptized him?
that is Toninho Negão which literally translates to little tony big black guy. funny name huh? we call him branco de neve or snow white. =) marcello chose him to baptize him!
4. Did you hear anything at Zone Conference about problems with Visa's being issued to new missionaries coming to Brazil? (Just as a sidenote, FYI - Brady was reassigned to serve in New York City, still speaking Portuguese, until his Visa comes through. His 9 weeks in the MTC are over and he headed to New York on Monday -Sounds like he was pretty excited to be getting out there doing the real thing.)
i haven't heard anything yet but that's crazy brady is already out. i bet that 9 weeks went faster for me than him! i remember how it is!
5. Are you staying healthy and happy?
healthy: affirmative. happy: affirmative, couldn't be happier
6. Do you have questions for us?
*1. Addresses again...Lexi Bramwell, Daniel Hansen!?
*2. Whats the price of gasoline there?
*3. This will sound ridiculous but I've been super curious....does 50 cent have a new album? He swore he wouldn't again cause kanye beat his last albm but i thought i heard a new song?
*4. You already answered this one but i was going to request a picture of the back yard so thanks for reading my mind! =)
*5. is everyone at home happy and healthy?!
well it was pretty much just a normal day in the world with a couple of sad faces. you could tell it was sad because of the tears some people shed and also upsetting by the new portuguese swear words i learned! =)
2. I've been thinking about the pictures that you send and that I post on your blog - I love that you are sending pics and I love sharing them with family and friends via your blog but I got to thinking about some of the people in the pictures with you. Are they going to have a problem with me posting their pictures for the world to see? Maybe you should just check to make sure...
i'll check but i'm sure its fine!
3. Who was the other man in the picture of Marcelo's baptism? Another person being baptized or the person who baptized him?
that is Toninho Negão which literally translates to little tony big black guy. funny name huh? we call him branco de neve or snow white. =) marcello chose him to baptize him!
4. Did you hear anything at Zone Conference about problems with Visa's being issued to new missionaries coming to Brazil? (Just as a sidenote, FYI - Brady was reassigned to serve in New York City, still speaking Portuguese, until his Visa comes through. His 9 weeks in the MTC are over and he headed to New York on Monday -Sounds like he was pretty excited to be getting out there doing the real thing.)
i haven't heard anything yet but that's crazy brady is already out. i bet that 9 weeks went faster for me than him! i remember how it is!
5. Are you staying healthy and happy?
healthy: affirmative. happy: affirmative, couldn't be happier
6. Do you have questions for us?
*1. Addresses again...Lexi Bramwell, Daniel Hansen!?
*2. Whats the price of gasoline there?
*3. This will sound ridiculous but I've been super curious....does 50 cent have a new album? He swore he wouldn't again cause kanye beat his last albm but i thought i heard a new song?
*4. You already answered this one but i was going to request a picture of the back yard so thanks for reading my mind! =)
*5. is everyone at home happy and healthy?!
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