Week 67 - 26 December 2011 Feliz Natal

FELIZ NATAL!  

It was fun talking to you guys through Skype yesterday! I know you didn’t understand a lot of things that were said haha - sorry. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to talk in English, not gonna lie. It was a bummer that it didn’t work out to talk to Rio too, but that’s okay. We’ll try it again on Mother’s Day.

As for Christmas here, it was pretty good. You know we had a goal to have 10 baptisms, but that didn’t work out so well because a lot were falling through. We had about 11 that could have been baptized, but Christmas here is a lot different than it is back home. There is so much more temptation and iniquity here. It seems like almost no one remembers the true meaning of Christmas. Everyone here just puts super duper loud music on the street, drinks like crazy, and sets off fireworks. BUT, we had two baptisms, and it went really, really well.

After the baptism, the bishop called Presidente Campos to see if he would let us stay out at the home of a family here a little later than 9 o’clock because it was Christmas. And...he let us stay there until 10:30! haha So we had a Family Home Evening there and a huge feast with tonsss of food. There are still leftovers there today haha.  We went back home and opened presents and stuff. So even though I’m far away from the family for the second Christmas already, this Christmas season made me love the Lord a lot more and also give more value for what I have to be thankful for.

Although we didn’t have a White Christmas, at least I can say that I got sunburned on Christmas Eve! Haha How many people back home has that happened to? haha jk

Love you guys!

Elder Andrus

My group from the CTM at the Christmas Party

A snake in the church building!

Feliz Natal with Suzana

Celebrating Christmas on the roof!

Week 66 - 19 December 2011 Week of Miracles

Opa! Sorry I didn’t write last week.  I ran out of time here, and we were in a little of a hurry. But no worries. Last week not much happened really. We got a lot of new investigators and have lots of people with baptismal dates. And this week that passed now was super tiring cuz we were running around all over the place and doing tons of stuff. We must have walked a good 20 kilometers or so a day haha. We have that activity this Saturday "Natal Branco," where we are planning baptisms for lots of people. We had a goal of 10.  We’re with a really big teaching group, so we are keeping busy. This week is certainly going to be a week of miracles for us… lots of fasting and praying to be able to find as many baptisms as possible.

As we were doing this, we were talking with all the members, and at lunch we asked a nice family if they knew anyone that was almost baptized but wasn’t, and they thought and showed us a lady who has a skin problem, and wasn’t baptized because she can’t enter into the water. We went there, and she is totally ready for baptism. She’s read the Book of Mormon more times than I have, and knows a lot, just that this skin problem doesn’t let her enter the water. The problem she has is very, very strange and rare, and no doctor has been able to tell what it is or cure it. I don’t know how to describe it very well haha, but yeah. We are going to try everything to help her out.  She has a grand daughter that can be baptized too. The Lord really is showing us more people everyday for us to baptize here.

So I’ve been going on exchanges with my district these past few weeks to help them out, and the other week I was at the same building that I attended when I was in Independência.  I saw Pedro there, who we baptized! He’s super active in the church still and is doing great. Seeing and talking with him after like 6 months was great. It made me so happy to see him still active and firm in the church.

Anyway, I’ve already written a lot haha. But I’m super excited to talk to you guys on Christmas! This Sunday! Let’s ´s see how good my English is now...hahaha.

Tchau!

Élder Andrus

Week 64 - 5 December 2011 Natal Branco

Hey Family!

This week was a really good week for us here in Cabanagem. The members here are helping us a lot with tons of referrals, definitely the most that I have seen in other wards. As a ward, we are preparing an activity called ''Natal Branco'', which means ''White Christmas."  And our goal is to have 10 baptisms on December 24th to have a White Christmas. The members are super excited to help us reach this goal. The mission leader is excited too, and we’re working together with the ward missionaries to go on splits with us to contact all the referrals and get 10 people to be baptized on the 24th. We’ll see how it goes!

Besides that, this week was pretty normal. We didn’t have a baptism so that was a little sad. But we’re working hard. It sure is a lot tougher being the district leader here than it was in Capanema haha. Here, I have to learn to deal with more problems with the elders and have to really receive inspiration to help them. There’s a lot more work, a lot more burning from the zone leaders, and more responsibilities, but it’s all good.

So this week, while we were walking to a recent convert's house, we were walking in a tiny but busy road where a lot of buses pass. And you know how you see people in the movies getting splashed by cars driving by and stuff? Yeah it rained about 2 hours before so the streets were pretty wet and had lots of puddles. And...as you can imagine...this lovely bus drove right past us into a puddle and splashed TONS of water on me and got me soaked....haha. It even got the Book of Mormon that I was holding wet. Elder Rodrigues was laughing so hard and tons of people on the street too hahaha. Man you’d think that things won’t happen to you in real life, but they do. hahaha  It was funny.

Well anyway, those are the few things that happened this week. Tomorrow I’ll be getting some letters hopefully! It has been a while haha.

Love you,

Élder Andrus

                                                                                             

The best soda pop in the world . . . Guarana Jesus

Week 63 - 28 November 2011 Cabanagem Ward

Hey there pessoal!

So this week, as you know I’m in my new area, Cabanagem, which actually covers some blocks in the neighboring city of Belém, called Ananindeua. It´s right next to the area where I have already worked in Independência, so I already know a little of the area.

I’m the District Leader here still, and I take care of my area and the areas of Entroncamento and Maguari. Being with six elders instead of sisters, I think this is gonna be a little more work than I had while I was in Capanema haha.

Anyway, this week we went to teach a less active family that was returning to the church. They have a son with 11 years old who hasn’t been baptized yet, so we went there, taught them and their son, and prepared him to be baptized on Sunday after church. So after sacrament meeting, the ward got together and prepared the service and everything turned out great! He’s a cool little kid, and Elder R. baptized him.

So the ward here is really cool.  I like it a lot. There is a sweet new chapel here that is super nice. I was really astonished on Sunday because I’m so used to the tiny house we have in Capanema! haha  I was almost frightened with how nice it was haha. We have our meetings at 3:30 in the afternoon, which is super late, but it’s the best time for everyone here to be able to make it.

The house here in Cabanagem is super small and not that nice...but it’ll work haha. Capanema was a lot better, but we’ll clean this place up for Christmas and decorate it all nice for the holidays.

Love you guys! Have a good week!

Élder Andrus

Last lunch in Capanema

Zone Conference - zone Castanhal

Baptism 11-27-11