Week 99 - 6 August 2012 See You Next Week!

I don’t have much time, but I have some things I wanted to tell you guys. 

This past week we had the baptism of that wonderful lady we found at the bus stop. She was super ready and was so happy after the baptism. And I had the privilege to be chosen to baptize her. Also, the next day at church, she bore her testimony in relief society of how grateful she was for us finding her and helping her. This sure was a great marking point of my mission, especially here at the end haha.

Well I’ll send pics. See you guys next week!

Elder Andrus

PS  Last night the couple missionary got stuck in the elevator with 4 other people, including 2 investigators last night....The firefighters had to come to get them out. It was crazy. Hahaha but also funny.

Week 98 - 30 July 2012 Way Cool

This weekly email will be short but sweet. Lots of cool things happened this week.  A lady who we are teaching was gonna be baptized last week, but out of nowhere she got a job offer and had to go to Belém for training. So it didn’t work out. Plus she didn't have a phone to call her so we basically just lost contact of her...but then on Friday we went over to her house to see if she’d gotten back yet. And she got back that same day! Just that she wasn't at home, she was at the beach. So what did we do? We went to the beach to look for her. The beach in the area Itupanema here is pretty big, but the Spirit was definitely with us that day cuz we found her sisters who went out to call her for us. We talked to her and she was totally excited for her baptism. On the very next day (Saturday) she was baptized. Way cool.

Also, this week we were walking on the street and talked to a lady at the bus stop. Turns out she was taught and almost baptized about 4 years ago, but her husband was murdered and had to move, and lost contact with the church. So on Sunday, she went all by herself to church super early and she’s already super happy to get baptized this Saturday on the 4th. It’s amazing how the Lord puts people in our paths even when we’re tired and at the ends of our missions haha.

Well, Love you guys. See you in 2 weeks.

Elder Andrus

Week 97 - 23 July 2012 Mais Fotos

Week 96 - 16 July 2012 Mais Fotos

Week 95 - 9 July 2012 Fotos

Week 94 - 2 July 2012 New Mission President

So this past week wasn´t the best, but it was normal. This next week we had a baptism of a girl who is the daughter of a member who was away from the church, but is coming back. Also, tonight we´re gonna be heading to Belém because tomorrow we´re gonna have our first zone conference with the new President Scisci. I´m pretty excited. We´ll be able to see his vision and his points of view. 

So as of this week, I only have one more transfer left on the mission..6 weeks. Crazy huh?! Not gonna lie I'm a little trunky, but we´re still working a lot. I don´t have much time today too...so this will be short. Also I'm really hot and sweating in the building hahah. So that´s about it. I´ll send more next week!

Love you guys!

Elder Andrus

Week 92 - 18 June 2012 Hot Showers!

Hey Fam! I don’t have much time here today, but I’d like to inform you on some stuff that happened this week as I came here to my new area in Vila dos Cabanos. This  is a really cool place, full of jungle and lots of cool stuff. It is a super calm town, which I  love. While we were walking this week, I saw wild toucan for the first time on my mission! Haha  It was sweet. We also had the chance to go to the woods to teach some families there that haven’t heard of the gospel yet. 

In the trails here, you always see rivers and crazy fruits and mega sized ants and all that cool stuff hahah. But one thing I know for sure is that I’m superrrr tired. This week seemed like it took forever. I don’t know if it was just the trip over and the transfer, but I’m sure gonna rest a lot today to get my forces back. Also, one thing that was super cool is that here in the missionaries house, they have an electric shower. So I took the first hot shower in almost 2 years! I hate cold water and was dying to get home to take a hot shower again, haha so that’s one really good thing about being here.

The branch here is really strong and soon will be turned into 2 wards. The chapel is also the nicest chapel in the state probably. It’s three stories and super nice. I actually gave a talk yesterday to introduce myself to the branch haha.  I’m glad I’m in such a nice and cool area for the last part of my mission. I think I’ll like it here.

So that’s about it. I am short on time. But I’ll send lots of pictures today :)

Love you lots!

Elder Andrus

Week 91 - 11 June 2012 Going to Barcarena

Olá! A lot of things happened this week. My other companion decided to go home early. He went home last Friday. It actually took a lot of time away from proselyting cuz we had to go to the mission office twice through the week. Then we had to work out the problem about with whom I would stay until the end of the transfer... haha. But anyway, Elder V. is my new comp. Actually, we’ll only be together until tomorrow cuz we were both transferred! I was transferred to a place called Vila dos Cabanos in a city called Barcarena, and my new companion will be Elder W. - my first (and last) American companion! Haha. This will definitely be my last area and my last comp...wow  That’s weird to think about.  I’ve heard that Vila dos Cabanos is really cool. There are a lot of rivers and stuff, and we take a boat to get there! There is also the biggest chapel in this region. I've heard it's 3 stories high. I’m excited to see it.

So I don’t know if you guys heard, but the Manaus Temple was dedicated on Sunday! We were able to watch the dedication and the ceremonies and everything! It was a really cool experience. President Uchtdorf was delegated to go with Elder Cook. Also the Celebration was pretty fun to watch on Saturday night.

Well, there was a lot of stress this week, but hopefully this next week will be better. Also, a sister here lost my camera with my memory card yesterday, so I don’t have many pics to send. But I have a few from the goodbyes to the people we’re teaching here.

Love you guys!

Élder Andrus

Week 90 - 4 June 2012 New Companion

Olá! So I’ve got a bunch of cool new things that happened this week to tell you guys! On Tuesday, we had two baptisms. One baptism was the little boy I mentioned last week. The service was packed (which is very unusual), and it was a super spiritual experience. Even though it was suuuper hot due to the amount of people there, the spirit was still really strong. Everyone cried like crazy because G. was finally being baptized. Even he couldn't stop crying.  As for the other baptism, he is a really good man, but has trouble understanding things. In the end we all prayed about it, and he was baptized. It all went smoothly. But the coooolest thing happened with him at church on Sunday. He went to church for the first time with a nice pair of pants. After he received the Holy Ghost, he went up to the front to bear his testimony for fast and testimony meeting. He bore one of the most simple and strongest testimonies I've heard from a brand new convert. He said everything right and even ended his testimony perfectly. That probably doesn't sound like such a big deal, but man it was to me. It made me so happy inside and so glad to have continued teaching him.

Also, on Wednesday, we had a Talent Show in the ward. We’ve been planning it for about a month now, and it actually turned out super well! The members loved it, and the performances were sweet! Even Elder C. and I played the song “Wonderwall” on the guitar. Haha  I played the guitar, and we sang. We didn’t practice much, but it was fun playing guitar again for the first time in two years haha.

As for the situation here, Elder C’s parents came and picked him up on Saturday. I met them and everything too. Haha it was cool. And now my new comp is Elder L. until the end of the transfer (next week). He’s from Paraguay and only has one month on the mission. He doesn’t speak much Portuguese, so it’s pretty hard to understand him haha. But it’s nice cuz I get to learn Spanish with him too! He’s really cool, but he has difficulties. I’m trying to help him a lot, but I don’t know what more I can do. I’ll only be with him one more week, but I’ll try my best. He even calls me his "Dad" here on the mission since I’m  training him too haha.

Oh, and today we had a zone service project/activity at a member’s house today. There was a barbeque and everything. It was actually pretty fun haha. Well, my time is up. 

Love you guys!

Élder Andrus

Week 89 - 28 May 2012 Feliz Aniversario Pai

Hey there! First off, I need to say Feliz Aniversário to 
Dad! Is he turning 60 yet? hahaha jk. He said he bought an iPad for himself...when I was at home he could barely even use a cell phone, and now you guys are using iPads?! Crazy how everything changes so much in just a few short years.

So this week was the last full week for Elder C. He´ll be heading out next Saturday, and I don’t really know who I’ll be with and where I’ll be. We’ll have to wait and see. But there were a few cool things that happened this week! We confirmed two baptisms for Tuesday so Elder C. can be here for them. One is a man who is a friend of the Elder´s quorum president. He sure surprised us like crazy. He’s gone to church all alone for the past weeks, and he stopped drinking coffee so he can be baptized. He even helped clean the chapel after church. So that’s cool. Also, there is a little boy who is really special. He’s been coming to church all alone for 4 years straight already (he´s only 11), but his mom has never let him get baptized. Many, many Elders have already tried really hard to get her to let him, but she doesn't like the missionaries much so she always kicked them out and said no. But, last week, we made some goals with Gabriel to show his mom the church is helping him be a better person, and then we fasted with him so his mom would let him get baptized. Yesterday at church, he came running up to us and screamed, “The fast worked. She’ll let me get baptized!" So after 4 years, he’ll finally get baptized this Tuesday! How cool huh? It’ll be cool for Elder C. to have a couple baptisms on his last week on the mish haha.

Well, we’re about to head off to Belém to the mission home to take care of some stuff. So until next week! Love you all!

Élder Andrus

Week 88 - 21 May 2012 Muitos Investigadores

Bom dia gente! So an update about this week - this week was a good one. On Tuesday, we had our last Zone Conference with President Campos. The new mission president, President Scisci, will officially be getting here on the 29th of June. Like I said on the call, I’m pretty anxious for the new president to get here. It’ll be interesting to see the difference and the changes that will occur. 

This week we had 11 investigators at church, which was great to see. We are seeing lots of good stuff happening - lots of great new investigators that actually have the desire to learn more about the church. That was a big problem here in this area this past transfer, so I’m happy to finally be able to find the people who want to learn more.

Also, something funny happened this week. You guys remember the movie Jumanji? Do you remember the part when there was a huge man-eating plant that grew like super duper fast and everything? So I was in the bathroom this week taking a shower and noticed that the drain was clogged and the water wasn’t going down. So I took off the top of the drain to see what was clogging it, and guess what I found? I found a huge plant that was growing underneath in the tubes and stuff haha - totally reminded me of Jumanji. It was like a huge, thorny vine thing. So weird.

But anyway, love you guys and can’t wait to hear from you again next week. Tchau!

Elder Andrus

Week 87 - 14 May 2012 Baptism

Hey! I don’t have too much to say cuz we talked a lot yesterday on Mother’s Day. But on Saturday we had a baptism of a 17 year old boy who started dating a girl of the church and decided to be baptized. He’s really cool and has the desire to serve a mission too. It’s great. His baptism was on Saturday morning, as well as the youth activity we had where we played baseball and other things. haha  It was great to throw the ball around a little even though my arm is super sore because of it haha. 

Anyway, this will be a short email. Thanks for the support, and it was great talking to you guys and Rio yesterday!

Love y'all!

Elder Andrus

Week 86 - 7 May 2012 Batismo na Cabanagem

Olá Família! This week I have lots of cool things to say! Haha. Lots of good and also interesting stuff happened this week. The work is going pretty well here with Elder C.  again. At church yesterday, the Bishop and the Stake Presidency announced the division of the Agulha Ward! Now I actually am officially not a missionary of the Agulha Ward anymore, but of the new ward that was formed called the Augusto Montenegro Ward. Yeah the name is a lot longer and harder to say now haha. But that sure was cool to see the ward and the area growing and to have a new ward here.

Also, even though we didn't have a baptism, at the Leadership Meeting we had on Wednesday I talked to the Elders that are in Cabanagem to see how the investigators are that I taught. They told me that M. decided to get baptized! He already bought a suit and everything! I asked to go and watch the baptism, and I got permission. I was stoked! On Saturday morning, I got a call from the zone leaders in Cabanagem. They told me that M. chose me to baptize him!

So on Saturday, Elder C. and I headed over to Cabanagem (about 30 or 40 min. away), and we had a beautiful baptismal service for him. It was sure great to see people there again. I forgot just how much I liked that area. M. is a really powerful man that will definitely help the church a lot with his service. He’s here to help and work too, so I’m super happy to  see how out fruits in the area will bless the church there. I’ll send pics.

So yeah some interesting things that happened this week -- as we were walking on the street in a pretty busy neighborhood, we looked over to a little house to the left and saw a girl on the telephone walk out of the door. I thought something was weird, but as we got closer I realized what was so weird about her - she totally wasn’t wearing a shirt...hahaha. There is another thing that happened yesterday that I  thought was hilarious, but I think I’ll save it to tell you on Mother´s Day haha.

I think that´s about it! Now we’re gonna go home and have lunch that the sisters will make for us :) haha  Can´t wait to talk to you guys on Skype. Inform Rio about the times and all so I can talk to her too please!

Amo vocês!

Elder Andrus

Elders during a division

P-day festa!