Gotta get that dirt off ya shoulders

Hey folks!

Just a quickie email, sorry I dont have time to write everything this
week, there was ALOT happen. But, I´m writing to let you know that I
will no longer be writing to everyone of you individually. In an
effort to be more obedient and to focus solely on the task at hand, I
will only be writing family members and the Mission President. I know
that through my efforts to do this I will help you more than the way I
have been doing it. I thank you all for your suppport and I love you
all. If you want to keep checking in on my weekly emails, you can go
to my blog, which I created before my mission for this very purpose.
Here is the link:
http://elderstandard.blogspot.com/

You can save it in your favorites (because I know you just LOVE to
read my emails) and voila, you are instantly plugged into the Elder
Standard pipeline.

I love you all, and I hope to see you after the mission.
Elder Standard
--
Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

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60% of the time it works everytime

Hey folks,

Today during personal study I was thinking about what I read in Jesus
The Christ about the pre-mortal council. I then pulled out my
patriarchal blessing and read and pondered. While I was thinking about
the pre-existance I thought about my choice to follow Christ. To
follow the plan of the Father. I have no clue what was said or how the
meeting was conducted, but I know that I chose to follow Christ. I
accepted to do that thousands of years ago, and it is my plan and
desire to do so now. Mate Standard will follow Christ. Before the
foundation of this world was laid I had already made my decision. I
knew the good, and I knew the bad. I dont know if I knew everything
perfectly, but I knew enough to make an everlasting and eternal
decision. I knew that this state would be tough, that it would be
almost impossibler to overcome. The stakes were so high that some of
us were not going to make it back to the presence of the Father.

But I chose anyway.

This, to me, is a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. That, in
spite of all the pain and the problems, of me constantly falling down,
that I would have a way to get back up. That I would have help and
strength beyond my own. That there would be someone bigger than all of
this to help me find my way back home. Jesus Christ is the way. The
Gospel is the way, and it was restored in our days by the prophet
Joseph Smith. Yes, I will follow Christ and do what the Saviour asks
of me. There will be no second-guessing, no what-ifs. I have made my
decision and nother under the heavens will remove me from my place.

All of you made the same decision that I made. Back before the dawn of
time. So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to continue with
your decision or will you change teams half-way through the game? On
one hand we have life, and the other death. Make the choice this very
instant, because we do not have the time to waste.

I love all of you, and I hope you choose the good part.
Elder Standard

--
Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

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no subject

Hey folks, here I am, once again.

There was ALOT that happened this week. I almost cant believe that it
all got crammed into just seven days. So, here´s a quickie backstory -

Me and my comp got into, multiple times. One day I asked him straight
up what he didnt like about me and it all came out. After everything
that he said about me I couldnt work with him anymore. It wouldnt have
been good for our investigators or our area. We had to do divisions
and I went with another Elder in his area. Of course, Presidente was
called during all of this. It wasnt until a few days later that we got
a call from him. We did a conferance and it was just me and my comp
and President on the phone. Now, President just came from the Church
Educational System, so he knows the scriptures forwards and backwards.
So, the first thing President has me and my comp do is open the
scriptures. We do a mini scripture chase with President expounding on
all of it while we flip to more scriptures. After a couple of
scriptures I got so ashamed and afraid to flip to the next one. I knew
the Lord was guiding President and He was just burning us left and
right. That was one of the most humbling days I´ve ever had in my
entire life. Near the end of the phone call President promised to us
that we will become good friends. In my usual prideful manner I just
scoffed. I thought that there was NO way that we would ever be
friends, not after everything that was said. Even after all of the
scriptures I still didnt believe that it would happen. I was doubting
all the way until President asked each of us to pray. First my
companion Elder Alves prayed, and then me, and then finally President
prayed.

And here´s the miracle.

After we prayed, Prez asked for us to forgive one another and to start
over. To look past the others faults, the differences. I just felt
this feeling of peace come over, and that everything would be ok. I
still doubted a little, but after I got off the phone with President I
went and said another prayer. One of the most fervent prayers of my
life. Asking, no, pleading with my Heavenly Father to help me to do
this. I knew it wouldnt be easy, even after talking with President,
even after praying, and for this reason I needed alot of help. I
pleaded for strength, for humility, for guidance. After the prayer the
same feeling of peace came back to me, but stronger. Now, ya´ll
remember that scripture in John, when Jesus says that He will leave
His peace, and not the peace of the world? I experienced that peace.
The peace of God is unlike anything you´ve ever felt. Because you
KNOW, without a doubt, that everything will work out, regardless of
what happens. I could have been walking to the gallows at that moment
and I wouldnt have feared a thing. I KNOW that God lives. I KNOW that
He loves us. After that moment the only thing I wanted to do was ask
forgiveness from Elder Alves and just hug him.

And, that´s exactly what we did. After that moment I knew that
everything would work out, and that the Lord was watching out for us.
This happened on friday or saturday, I cant remember right now. And,
until now, we´ve been getting along great. We´ve been teaching some
awesome families, and we had a slew of peóple in the church yesterday.

So, here´s the lesson that I learned. Once again, humility is the key.
Prayer and fasting are two of the strongest tools that we have in our
arsenal. I promise you, right now, that you if are passing through a
trial, and if you want help, then to pray and fast. I promise you that
you will recieve help and strength. I´ve been awed and amazed this
week, in more than one way.

Sei que Deus vive. Sei que Ele nos ama, e que ele fica preocupado
conosco. Sei que quando nos temos problemas em nossas vidas, Ele está
lá. Por meio da Expiação de Cristo todos nos podemos vencer nos mesmo.
Há realmente uma maneira de fortelecer-se. Há uma maneira de voltar à
presença de nosso Pai. Cristo é esta maneira. Ele é o caminho. Só por
meio Dele que nos podemos ter felicidade em nossas vidas, e, mais do
que só felicidade, mas alegria. Podemos ter paz, podemos ter a paz que
vem por meio do Espirito Santo. Esta paz que trancende qual quer outra
coisa no mundo. Sei que estas coisas são verdadeiras. Sei porque estou
vendo com meus própios olhos. Eu não posso negar as coisas que estou
vendo. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, ámem.

Elder Standard

Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

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The Flute pt.1

Hey whaddup folks!!

This week has been a rollercoaster. Sometimes I wanted to scream,
others laugh, and even at one time throw up. I´ve been learning alot
with Elder Happypants. Last week we had interviews with the President
(which I always love) and I finally got to talk to the Prez frankly
about what´s going on. I learned some very important things from the
Prez that I´ve been trying to implement in our daily grind. As far as
my comp goes, even after the interviews it dosent look like anything
has changed for the better, and it´s even gotten a little worse.

But!

I´ve got a new atitude now. Lately it seems like everything has been
falling apart. Family, mission, myself, everything. It feels like the
world is just imploding. And, I still think it is. But it´s amazing
the difference a change of mind will make in any situation. I believe,
very strongly, that if I did not have the knowledge of the Atonement
that I do, I would have crumpled. I pray every night, and I thank
Heavenly Father for the Atonement of His Son. The only thing that
keeps me going through all of this is the knowledge that Someone has
been through this before, and knows EXACTLY how I´m feeling. Jesus
Christ knows exactly what I´m passing through. Because He took upon
Himself all of my sins, all of pains, my weaknesses, He knows EXACTLY
how to help me. The Atonement is in action in my life right now, right
at this instant. I´ve learned that you can read and read and read and
study and hear millions of other people talk about something, but
until you yourself actually experiance it, it wont have the same
meaning, the same effect. I know, now more and ever, that Jesus Christ
is the divine Son of God. He is the Savior, the promised Messiah. For
us to be able to use this marvelous gift in our lives we have to be
humble, we have to repent, and we have to have faith. I´m learning so
much out here it´s unreal. I tried to imagine where I would have been
right now if I hadnt served a mission, and to be honest, it scared me.
To continue on the way that I was would have only lead to more
heartache, more pain, more sadness. But, with the tiny changes that
I´ve made, I´ve learned a better way. And I´ve still got such a long
way to go. I´m nowhere near. I havent even scratched the surface.
Freak, I´m not even on the surface to scratch it.

But I know I´ll get there.

And I´ll be able to, if I continue on the way that I am. All of us
have such great potencial. We are all Sons and Daughters of God. We
literally have royal Parenthood. There are so many better things in
store for us if we just turn to Heavenly Father and show our love for
Him. The next life is so much grander, so...gah I cant even describe
it. And yet, we are so wrapped up in this life that we cant see the
forest through the trees. We are here to prepare for the next life.
This isnt permenant by any means. Crap, just look around, we get
around 80 years and then *fwop* Mr. Death jumps from the 15 foot
highdive and does a bellyflop on you.

I guess what I want to say is, prepare today. Prepare right now. This
very instant. You literally do not have the time to waste. It dosent
matter what circumstance you find yourself in, you need to make the
best of it. Let the Atonement function in your life. Let Jesus Christ
do what He does best, let Him heal you. Let Him ease your burdens.
He´s alot stronger than anyone of us. And it´s alot harder to lift
that piano when someone put Crisco on the wooden floor. Just stop
being so gosh darn prideful.

I love all of you. Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. If you
havent read the scriptures yet today, may I suggest a couple of my
favorites -

First, some Old Testament lovín´-
Ezekiel 36:26
Isaiah 1:16,18
Now for some of that New Testament -
Matthew 11:28-30
John 14:18
Romans 12:2
Cant forget the New World stuff-
Mosiah 3:19
Alma 7:11-16
And last, but not least, some of that more recent scripture -
D&C 19:15-19

But, as far as things that happened - I had a b-day. It was only saved
by the fact that one of the other Elders that we live with, Elder Shaw
recieved his, and my favorite cake mix. So, while I was in the shower,
they made the cake super fast. It made a crappy day awesome. They also
bought me grape fanta. I also recieved an umbrella from a member when
she found out I had been walking in the rain with no umbrella. That
almost made me cry... *sniff*
And, Mom, this one´s for you - on Sunday there is the little 9 year
old girl that played the recorder flute. This is the second time and I
couldnt NOT write about it. I thought of you Mom the entire time.

Peace out homies,
Elder Standard

--
Missão Brasil Londrina
Av. Higienópolis 1100 sala 61
Londrina, PR
CEP:86020-911

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It´s hard out here for a pimp...

Hey folks, just some new updates -

 

P-day is officially moved to Monday. So, I´m hoping this will be better for ya´ll since you can write me on Sunday.

 

Also - my mission address never changes. It will always be the same unless the mission office moves.

 

But, enough of all of that! This week had it´s ups and downs. More downs than ups, but it´s cool, life is like that. My new comp is proving to be alot worse than I thought. It´s gotten to the point that I will talk to the President of the Mission about some changes that need to happen. I´ve never complained to the President about any of my comps, I´ve always tried to do my best and just deal with it, but this is hurting the work and endangering my reputation. I do not want people to link me and him (my comp) together. I do not want to be forever remebered as "that one Elder" here in Cascavel. I came here to help people, not to tear them down. I feel like I have to clean up after his messes during the lessons and that´s not the way a companionship is supposed to work. Maybe all of this is just amplified since I came from an awesome area, with awesome members, and a truly amazing companion. Elder Bower is the best companion I´ve had, and it will take alot to top that. I got closer to what I want accomplish here on the mission with him than anyone else. We worked well together, we had the same goals and the same ideas. It´s hard going from something like that to someone who stays mad at everyone all the time and only looks for ways to point out your flaws. But, if the Mission President feels like I should stay with him then I will, and I will not complain and you will not hear anymore about it. It´s just one of the harder times here on the mish. I´m grateful for it though, and I know I will come out the other side a better person. I´ve come to realize the worth of a good companionship, and how you have to work together to accomplish that. You can not be divided and win. It just does not work. You´ve got to be one in purpose. I guess that´s what I´ve learned this week. I´ve also learned that Faith is literally dead without works. I´ve seen miracles happen because of my actions and the actions of others, that, if not for the actions taken, would have resulted in nothing. Just really quick and then I´ve got to write my President -

 

A couple of weeks ago I was needing to catch a bus with some other Elders in their area. We were literally on the other side of the city, and it was a 30 minute walk to the bus station from where we were. We really needed to get on that bus to head to their area, because they had apointments at a certain time and the next bus would have screwed everything up. So, we started running. Just imagine three white guys in white shirts and ties running through the middle of a town populated by little brown people who wear flip flops and tank tops. We had about 5 minutes to get to the bus station before it left, and it seemed like it was the impossible. About halfway through the run we all lost our breath and had to stop. I was praying to God to help us regain our strength or to bless us with a miracle. We were still about 10 minutes away. I heard a voice clear as a bell that said to me "if you do not run right now you will miss the bus". I looked at the other two Elders and I knew that they had heard the same thing. We all took off and kept running. We had to help each other because we were already dying. I felt like I wanted to collapse when we we turned the corner and the bus was there, maybe 125 yards in front of us. We kept running until 75 yards, and the doors closed and it started to pull out. We yelled and waved and the driver saw us and waited for us. Now, the crazy thing is is that the bus system here is really good, and the drivers always leave on time. This certain time though, the driver was leaving 10 minutes late. I know that if we hadnt ran when we did we would have missed it. It truly made me see how much God loves us and how if He will help us with the tiny things such as a bus, then He will certainly help us with the bigger things.

 

Gotta go - I love you all!

Elder Standard

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Of two things I was certain....

One, Edward was a vampi.... Ha, Just kidding, but here´s the other thing -

Brasil is frickin Hot!!!! Holy crap. And the worst part is that we havent even hit the "hot" part yet. The girls always get excited because they think it´s Edward Cullen sparkling in the sun, but it´s really just Elder Standard glistening with sweat. All they see is this pale white guy walking down the street trying to dodge the sun and stay in the shadows.


So yeah, I got transfered again. This time to the southern part of the mission. In a town of about 300,000 people. Cascavel. It´s awesome because most of it just looks like south Houston, so I feel right at home. We stay in this awesome apartment with a hot shower and a pull up rack, even the fridge keeps things cold. And! The best part is that there´s a brand of milk here called Lactobom. It´s supposedly got a taste similar to American milk, I havent found it yet, but I know it exists. We taught this dude yesterday that already has like a year supply of Ensigns and the BYU student manuals for the BOM and D&C. I dont know how he hasnt been baptised yet, but we´ll get around to it shortly ;) My new comp is Elder Alves. I´ve worked with him in other areas before so I already know how he is. I´m only going to say one thing - I will have learned a good deal of patience by the time we part ways. It´s all cool though, I´m sure I´ll survive.

Conferance was awesome, and if you missed Elder Hollands talk repent really quick and then look it up on LDS.org. I was a big fan of Elder Christofersons talk on consecrating our lives (great minds think alike Presidente Alva). Recentely I´ve been trying to do more or less the same thing, and so his talk and others were literally an answer to prayers. I´ve learned to always go to conferance with questions because I always recieve exactly what I´m looking for. I know that those men are called of God and inspired by His Spirit to lead and guide us. There´s really not any doubt anymore. This is the exact same church that Christ established. There´s not a single thing amiss. And if anyone suspects I´ve been drinking the koolaid a little too heavy, then may I add that if that is the case, if indeed there has been a great deal of koolaid consumed by one named Elder Standard, then it is because he has recieved an answer from God Himself. I cant deny it. I would be afraid to. This work is true. I´ve said it once and I´ll say it a thousand more times. I´ll say it untill I die, and then I´ll preach it to those after this life. I hope to continue to do this work even after I´m released from my calling as an Elder in the service of the Lord. There are no ex-missionaries, the only thing that´s changed is our area. It´s just another transfer. Like Lehi, I keep in mind the importance to make these things known to everyone, so that all can have a chance to fulfill their purpose here on earth and be clothed with glory in the kingdom of God. I love you all.

Elder Mate Ricardo Martins Gonzales dos Santos Standard

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rain drops are falling on my head...

Hey everyone, this week has been nuts. I´ve been in a trio with the Elders from Osvaldo Cruz, because my comp went to a meeting in another city. This week has been non stop rain, and we´ve come home soaked to the bone every night. It´s all cool though, and we´ve been blessed for ourt efforts. We made a contact with this one kid sitting outside his house right before we were going to call it a night. He told us to come back the next day and so we did. His name is Tiago and from first contact you´d never think this kid would have any desire to learn anything about the church. He´s the complete opposite. He understood everything and accepted to be baptised without any hesitation. He offered to pray at the end of the lesson and said one of the most sincere prayers I´ve ever heard in my life. We´re going back again on Friday because I´ll be in another city until then, but everything is going great here so far. We got our shower fixed last night. I felt like I had never taken a hot shower before. There was pressure, there was hotness, it was amazing. I even wrote about it in my journal. After about 2 months of cold showers I had finally gotten used to it, but with all the rain and everything the water was just too cold.

Sorry I´ve gotta cut this short, I´ve got a bus to catch!

Love you all,
Elder Standard

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She turned me into a newt! I got better....

Hey folks,

It seems like I was just writing you, and I´m already back here again. I think I´m in ludicrous speed out here. There´s no way I can slow down. Last friday and saturday my body kinda made me though. I caught some kinda virus. It was a mix of projectile vomiting mixed with diaherrea (?). I literally just sat on the toilet and rested my chin on the sink. In between crapping I would puke, and vice versa. It was alot of fun. I lost about 6 lbs, which sucks, but I know I´ll get it back. It´s so hot here we always stop the little ice cream dude to get some kinda weird flavor. Avocado popsicles are actually pretty good. We´ve got a baptism on September 11, a kid named Marlo. He´s super excited, I´m so happy for him. His family will be baptised the week after, on day 18. They´re understanding everything that we´re teaching, despite my difficulties, they´re reading, praying, and coming to church. We´re going back tonight to teach about the Plan of Salvation, so pray that they´ll be able to understand everything! These past couple of days I´ve been having a real hard time speaking portuguese. I have no clue why. I literally havent spoken this bad since Georgia, so I´m super confused. I guess the Lord is trying to tell me something, so I just need to figure it out and learn it. I cant believe it´s already september. I hit the 8th month mark on the 30th, and it totally tripped me out. I´ll have a year in just a short span. I almost got turned into a chew toy by the the biggest dog I´ve seen in my entire life. We were walking around this corner, and this dog-monster was sitting behind the fence of this persons house. I clicked my tongue at it like I always do, and the next thing I know it´s about the leap the gate. On all four legs it was stood up to my waist, but when it was on it´s 2 hind legs it was taller than I was. I freaked out, and started running, thinking about how I´m going to jump over the neighbors fence if this thing keeps coming. It stopped short of leaping and just put it´s paws over the fence and kept bar...roaring at me. After it was all over I couldnt stop laughing, and everyone on the street was too. This one lady said "it´s a good thing you dont have a heart problem!". I completely agree with her.  OH yeah, before I forget - we made funnel cakes this week. Elder Bowers Mom sent him a recipe and so we bought all of the stuff and had at it. We were short the powdered suger, but we made due. We´re going to have a fair night at the church, we´re going to make corn dogs and funnel cakes and all that jazz. Should be fun.

So yeah, that´s about it this week. There´s no way I could even begin to write everything that happens. There´s just no way. I love you all.

Elder Standard

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Hi

Hey folks

This week has been super hot here in Tupã. Our water heater broke too, so we´ve been taking ice cold showers. It´s THE best way to wake up, which is so hard. I´ve never been so tired in my life. Literally. Not at Philmont, not working with Dad (sorry Dad), not working two jobs, nothing. I literally collapse in the bed every night. Babies dont sleep this good. We´ve been teaching alot this week, and there´s been some crazy things happen. One day we found this one guy, Luciano, it was just a normal lesson, nothing spectacular. A few days later, we were walking home and this lady comes up to us, and she was so nice it was hilarious. "I´m so sorry to bother you, I know you´re busy, but, the other day you taught my husband and I was really interested about what he was telling me. I always see ya´ll in the street but I´ve just never asked before. I´m looking for a church because I feel like there´s something missing in my life, and I dont know what it is. Do you think you could come back another day and explain about your religion?" Me and Elder Bower just kinda started at each other for a second before we responded. So we set up and appointment to come back and off we went. The day comes but nobody is home, so we come back the next day, Sunday. The whole family is home, so we gather everyone together and teach the lesson. The Spirit was so strong there and everything just went real smooth. I didnt stumble, which was nice, so they were able to understand everything. We gave her and her husband a Book of Mormon because he wanted to read it while he traveled, and gave them each seperate parts to read. He wanted to know why there´s so much suffering in the world, and she wanted to know what happens after this life. We gave him 2 Nefi chapter 2, and her Alma 40. They both accepted to be baptized, so now we just gotta get them into the church. The only problem is he travels alot, but he has Sundays off, so we´re hoping they can be there this Sunday, if she dosent have to work. That´s the hardest part of teaching here in Brasil, is that the whole world works sooooo much. Both of the parents work, sometimes two jobs each, so it´s real hard to find everyone in casa sometimes.

Sorry I dont have much time to write this week, but I figured I´d at least write the coolest thing. I love you all!

Elder Standard

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I´m trapped in a glass case of emotion

Hey folks

 

 

I got transfered again. My time with Elder Lopes was short, only a week, and then I returned back to my area in Londrina. I wasnt there even a day when I got the transfer notice. I only knew I was going to Tupã, I didnt know who my comp would be. That´s the only thing I dont like about transfers, is the comp switching. Well, that and carrying my baggage down the street, that sucks, but yeah. With the comps you never know if he´s gunna be an American, Brasilian, cool, d-bag, or what. I always get nervous at transfer times. It´s all cool though. My new comp is Elder Bower. He´s from Washington D.C., and he´s been out for 14 months. I´ve only seen a smidgen of our area, so I dont know anything about it yet, but I love our house. It´s friggin huge! There´s two bathrooms, which I´ve found to be essential in the life of a missionary. There´s nothing worse than the enemy at the gates after lunch and your comp jumped in the bathroom before you. I´ve never paniced so much in my life. I can bear any other type of pain except for stomach pain. I start sweating like a toasted cheeser (10 points if you guess that movie). But this house, graças a Deus, has two bathrooms, so everything should be copacetic. We´ve got a water purifying system, which is awesome because I forgot my little water bottle filter in Londrina. Hopefully I´ll get it back at the next Zone conferance.

 

This week has gone by sooooooooo fast. It seems like all I did was stand up, and then sit back down at the computer to write ya´ll again. It´s already August. Before I friggin know it it´ll be Christmas and I´ll have a year. It blows my mind. I´m panicking to do as much as I can because I keep having reminders of how short time is out here. When it´s in front of you it seems like forever, but when it´s behind you, it feels like a blink. I had a huge wake up call yesterday, because one of the Elders that I was living with went home. Elder LaBanc. He´s got a 30 hour flight to Japan. I´m not jealous in the least point. I kept telling him all day (for bad or for good) "Dude, youre going home!". Right now it feels like I´ve got forever, but I know it´ll pass all too quick.

 

I´ve learned alot this week. Once again, I´ve learned something huge that´s changed my mission, and my perspective about it. Elder Lopes and I were walking home one night and on our street is about 6 different churches. We kept passing them and we kept hearing all of the false doctrine that was being shouted from the pulpit by one who dosent have any authority. The worse part about it is, is that the people were shouting amens and glorias at whatever the pastor said. They were actually agreeing with him. They didnt know any better. They grow up, get baptized in the Catholic church, fall away, and if they follow any kind of religion it´s the evangelicals. At that moment I hadnt the greatest desire to be the best Elder I could to be able to help all of those people. I want to become like Nephi, in 3 Nephi 7:16-18. He preached with so much power that the people couldnt not believe his words. They knew he was right, and they even got angry with him for it. So, right now that´s my goal. I want to shake the powers of hell. I´m going to need alot of help, and I´m going to need alot of prayers from ya´ll that I´ll be able to do that. Please pray that I´ll be able to be inspired to know what to say, what to do, what to study, and anything else. I know I can do it, it´s just gunna take alot from me. I keep thinking about the final judgement, for me personally, and it scares me. Oh the mere thought makes me shudder. I know I`m going to burn. Everytime I study, everything that I´ve learned and read just shows me what a horrible person I am. It´s like every flip of the page condemns me. But, then I think of everyone else that I see on the road and I know that I could help them in some way to stand before God, with a clean conscience at the day of judgement. How selfish would it be of me to save myself, and not give others the opportunity to have what I´ve had? I cant stand the thought. I´ve gotta be able to help everyone. This is my goal. I think with my new comp I´ll be able to do this. He seems like a straight shooter, and for this I am grateful.

 

I´ve also made another goal this week. To completely give up english. I know I´m writing to you in english right now, but I figure once a week should be fine. I´m making portuguese my language. I already have a hard enough time speaking english. Every time I type a word I think of the portuguese equivelant. I keep having to delete words because I´ll be thinking in portugeuse and then accidentely type it. So, I figure if I want to change peoples lives, I better be able to speak their language, ya know? It only makes sense. I dont want to just be understood. I want to be able to say whatever I want to in portuguese. I dont know to what extent I´ll be able to accomplish this, but I know with the Lord I can do anything.

 

Anyways, I´ve gotta go. I love all of you, and thanks for everything you´ve done for me so far. God bless those of you that have sent letters. Those things mean the world to me.

 

Elder Standard

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No thank you Turkish, I´m sweet enough

Hey all, Ive got a few minutes left so I figured I´d write a quick something.

I´m off in a different area of Londrina now, with a different comp - Elder Lopes. He´s a brasilian, and he´s probably one of the best missionaries I´ve met so far. I´ve only been with him 2 days, but we´re kicking butt in this area. Him and his comp almost came to blows with each other, because his trainee is incredibly prideful and dosent want to do anything. He went out with the missionaries back home for a year before he came out here so he thinks he already knows everything. So, we traded comps at least for a couple of weeks but I´m hoping it will be for longer. I already love this area, I love the people, I love Elder Lopes, and everything is just rocking out. It´s such a change to be with someone that wants to work and knows how. I´m hoping I can sweet talk the Prez into letting me stay here. That would be awesome. The first night in this area I was taking a shower and I was shampooing my hair. I had my eyes closed because I didnt want any soap to get in while I was rinsing off. I started to feel something on my leg but I figured it was just some soap or something. It kept getting higher and higher so I hurried to rinse the soap off and as soon as I opened my eyes I look down at my thigh and there´s this huge friggin spider just staring back at me. Now, if you heard a little girl scream at about 10:05 on tuesday night you now know why. I hate spiders. Here, I´ll repeat that - I hate spiders. All the legs, the web, the eyes....oh the eyes. If there´s a world record for swiping spiders, folks - it got broke. I swiped him off, and before he hit the ground the hairy leg of doom was already raised in defense of everything holy. He was smushed, smashed, smished and ground every which way. He made like the goldfish and swirled down the drain. My heart was pumping, there was a vein popping out of my neck that I didnt know was there, I was foaming at the lips like I had just got done brushing my teeth. I was making this weird growling noise. This all happened in about .14 seconds. Can you see it? Do you get the picture? I hate spiders. Maria nos céus. So yeah, that´s the first night. Yesterday we we heading over to a investigators house over in the ghetto. We arrive, and we´re looking at the map. We go a little farther and we see something in the road. It´s just outside of the range of the street light, so it´s kinda shadowed. It looked like a dog sleeping in the road, so we start calling to it. It dosent move. We get closer, and it looks like a chicken had gotten run over. We pick up a stick and start to flip it over when as it´s flipping over we notice the face and both of us jump back about 10 feet in each others arms. Here we are, in a ghetto of Brasil, a little short black dude with a tall skinny white guy in each others arms. So, after we regained our composure, we naturally went back to investigate. We picked up the stick again and start to flip it over. We manage to get it flipped, when we notice that it´s a dolls head. We start busting up laughing and we pick it up by it´s hair. We bring it home, and now it´s sitting on the fence post. Hopefully it´ll guard us from the robbers. We´ll see.

Well, I gotta go, I love you all. I tried uploading some pics but it didnt work. Maybe next week. I´ve never eaten such wierd fruits in my life.

Godspeed,
Elder Standard

The Church is true. The organization is perfect. Maybe the people arent, but the church is. It is because it was founded by a perfect being. The fact that the church and the Book of Mormon have stood for almost 200 years after being attacked is a testament of the veracity of each. If there was a chink, or a flaw, I guarantee you it would have been found by now. This is what Isaiah was talking about in chapter 29. You have a young, unlearned man, and his fruits as a Prophet have defied the world. Joseph Smith did not write the Book of Mormon. A person only needs to read it to find out the truth. It even contains a promise at the end. Read the book. And then, ask God. Find out for yourself if the book is true. Dont rely on others. I promise you if you ask God, in the name of Christ, after studying it out in your mind, you´ll recieve an answer. If you dont want to know the truth, dont do these things. I dont know why someone would do that, but speaking from experiance, it happens quite alot. It´s like trying to cross an ocean without a map or any knowledge of how to navigate. It dosent make any sense. We have a book, that teaches people more about Christ and God, and they reject it. I´m always blown away by it. It defys all logic.

But the people that accept, and abide by it´s teachings, oh the joy they have....

Good night.

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Pics from this week

I love you all

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For the record

If you´re going to write me, do it before P-day. Most times I get on and I dont have any emails.

 

Thanks

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Chia-like, I shall grow

Let´s see what happened in my part of the world this week -

 

We got robbed. In the middle of the night. When we were all sleeping. How this happened I have no clue, because we have 2 different gates to go through before you get to the house. You wanna know what the funny part is? They only took our clothes that were on the clothesline, our shoes, and our shampoo. Oh, and my socks. They took all of my socks. I can understand everything except the shampoo. This I dont get. So, as we´ve been walking around we´ve been looking for a bum with nice hair and wearing smartwool socks. I doubt we´ll ever find our stuff though, it´s probably in Paraguay right now. The only thing I´m depressed about is that this happened so soon in my mission. I´m bound to get robbed again. It was the first time for Elder LaBanc though, and he goes home this transfer. Oh well, I guess these things happen.

 

As far as the work goes here, everything is just sailing along. We´ve just marking dates for baptism left and right. We´ve been going on divisions with the members and other missionaries all this week. We had a really good district meeting. But, our star investigator moved. When we found him he was moving that same week, so we were over there every day. Him and his family (Mom, Dad, Sister) were just eating it up. After he moved we´ve been teaching his Mom, and she came to church this Sunday along with another person that we´re teaching, Reginaldo. The only question she had was about tithing. She was amazed how we had such a nice building and how she didnt here about money or tithing once during the meetings. So we explained to her that tithing was a personal thing, and that she would never hear people asking for money or calling her out from the pulpit because she didnt pay her tithing. She´s going to keep going to church, and next week we´re hoping for her husband and daughter to come with here. The only problem is that her daughter works alot, and it´s hard to get them all at the same time. In fact, that´s probably one of the hardest things about Brasil, is that everybody works so much. At least, that´s what they tell us. The four most common excuses we here from people are;

 

"Oh, I´m never home, I´m always traveling."

"Oh, I work so much, it´s so hard to find me at home."

"Oh, I was just leaving..."

"Oh, I dont live here.."

 

With the rate that people travel or dont live here youd think this city would be completely empty. But, we learned real quick how to get around that. We mostly just say "That´s cool, we´ll try anyway." Or, "Well, we have missionaries there also, they can teach you." After that the truth comes out - "Oh well, I´m Catholic.." And our response? "That´s cool, because our message is for you, regardless of religion". Most times they run out of excuses so they just give us their address.

 

Oh well, I´ve gotta cut this short, I´ll upload some pics and then I´m outtie.

 

I love every one of you! The Church is true! God loves us! Jesus Christ is our Saviour!

Elder Standard

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It´s the Catalina Wine Mixer!

Hey folks! like always, I dont have alot of time today, since I was transfered out of nowhere! We recieved the call that I was being transfered on Sunday before church, so as soon as church was over I had to pack, say good bye to members and invesigators and then it was off to Londrina. I´m serving in the city, and it´s so different than the country. There in Jacare I could look around and know I was in Brasil, but here in Londrina, it feels like Houston. There´s a Wal-Mart, a Mcdonalds, Pizza hut. My new comp is Elder Rodriguez. He´s from California, and he´s cool so far. We like pretty much all of the same things, so at least we shouldnt be butting heads about the fact that Madonna sucks. I´m staying with the zone leaders in this little tiny house, which makes me happy. It´s a good setup, and with the zl´s always around we´ll have some help. We´re splitting an area with them, and we´re still getting everything squared away right now. So far, I love Londrina, I love the members, and we´ve got a TON of people to teach. Yesterday I went on splits with one of the ZL´s to teach this one woman. We had a member come with us, and after we got done with the lesson, her daughter comes home. To make a long story short, she sings and plays the guitar in a band that plays music very similar to one of my favorite artists, Cat Power (you should look her up, she´s awesome. I recomend "The Greatest"). So, the requirements for "Wife:Celestial type" just got a little more stringent. I have got to have a wife that sings. I dont know why I´m telling you this, other than maybe there´s some lucky lady out there that just might stumble on my blog and see my picture...

 

But on to the Good Stuff.

 

We went around finding all of the inactive members yesterday. A popular excuse here in Londrina is "they moved" or, "I dont live here, I live in a completely different state". Everybody said that yesterday. But, we found this one chick, who is sooo cool. Her name is Luciana, and she was baptized about 3 years ago. She hasnt been to church a whole bunch for certain reasons, but she was so receptive. She remebered everything about what we were talking about, and she´s going to start coming back to church. At the end, she even offered to pray, which suprised me and Elder Rodriguez. I know it dosent sound special to other people, but it´s extremely rare that someone actually offers to pray, and then prays for the Elders while they´re at it. Seriously, Londrina is like Heaven compared to Jacarezinho. But! I´m grateful for the opportunity to learn what a..... not as good area is so I can value a good area. When the Branch President of Jac. found out I was leaving and a new Elder was coming, the first thing he asked Elder Barbosa is "Does he speak better than Elder Standard?" And then, when I´m having lunch with the members here, they percieved very quickly that I wasnt the worlds best at portuguese, but they were so patient. "Dont worry about it, you´ll learn here" was what the said. I know this stuff seems simple, but it makes me so happy. I´m easy to please now. Honestly. Back home, a new gun, or 1000 rounds of ammo, and I´d be happy. Dude, here, give me some new socks. Give me a Twix (they dont have them everywhere here) and I´m happy. I´m not anywhere close to where I want to be as a person yet, but I´m happy of the steps that I´m making. Most of the stuff back that I did back home, it dosent excite me like it used to. Maybe that´ll change when I return, but it´s a friggin blessing right now. Thanks for all of the emails so far. Thanks for all of the help. I love you all. The Gospel is true, It´s been restored! We have a Prophet today that talks with God, so we dont have to worry about the future. That is such a blessing. When the rest of the world is freaking out about the future, we can remain faithful and calm for what lies ahead. God loves us, and He cares for each and every one of you. The Book of Mormon is true. I just got done reading it again, and I promise you in the name Christ that it´s true. I know these things to be true by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

 

Stay Classy,

Elder Standard

 

 

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Message about packages

From the secretaries -

 

 

"The packages are getting taxed. Tell the people sending the packages that the value of the things inside has to be less than $50. Any package with a value more that $50 will be taxed 60%."

 

If anyone is sending a package, dont be completely forthcoming on the value of everything inside.

 

Elder Standard

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Pics

8836 - is a pic of me and Elder Gunnell. Me and the LD went on splits that day in a city called Marilia. Elder Gunnell was in my district in the MTC. Out of the entire city, which consists of about 100,000 people, our two companionships happened upon each other at the same corner. What are the odds (So what was all that one in a million talk?)

 

8828- One of the members here was moving their store to another location, and we helped them. They needed some concrete broken up, and so this is a pic of me breaking concrete up. How I longed for the days of that Milwaukee jackhammer of Dad´s. This is a pic of my better side.

 

8830- No good dead goes unpunished. I was hopping over a ledge to close the gate to our residence for one of the girls that lives here (easy folks, she´s ugly) when I slipped and fell over the ledge. Nobody saw anything happen, so I continued to close the gate, take the long way around and came home to cry in the corner.

 

8832 - Now 20% more Snob!

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I´m just worried about your salvation and stuff...

Hey folks, hope you got your runnin shoes on, because I´ve got alot of ground to cover and not much time (like always). This week was interesting. The week before we had interviews with the President and I told him that I wanted him to look at our numbers, because I was going to give it everything I had, literally. So, the week comes and goes, and I´m just busting my butt to get stuff done. And, lo and behold, this was the WORST week number wise. I think I got better numbers back in Gerogia. Go figure. So, the one week where I talk big and have the Pres look at our numbers, is the one week where everything went wrong. Elder Barbosa´s Asthma started acting up, and so we couldnt do a whole lot. Then, he catches something else and gets sick. Murphy´s law was in full effect last week. But, I learned something very important - Doing your best isnt about numbers. I learned alot, and I knew that whatever happened, I had done my best, and the fault is not mine. It´s just the way things go sometimes.

 

Another thing that´s been happening lately is realizing that I´m here in Brasil. We´ll be walking down the street, and I´ll just stop and think to myself - "Holy crap, I´m in Brasil". You´d think I´d be a little more aware of that, since, ya know, I´m in Brasil and all I do is speak portuguese. But this feels like home now, and sometimes I just get complacent. Riding the bus around, looking out the window, and in some places you´d think you were in Tyler, Texas. Turn the corner and you think you´re in the Amazon. This really hit me two days ago. I was reading the conference edition of the Liahona and I just got done with Elder Richard G. Scott´s talk. I paused, looked at the page, and realized, "holy crap, I just read an entire talk in portuguese". And folks, I didnt just read it, I actually understood enough of it to glean something useful. Just 5 months ago, I was holding the Livro de Mórmon in my hands, and trying to read it, understanding nothing. Now, I´m plowing through the Livro de Mórmon, Gospel principles, and others.

 

I can hardly say what I want to in english, and now, I´m teaching people what their purpose here on the earth is in portuguese!

 

When people ask me how long I´ve been studying portuguese, they think 5-6 years. Then, when I tell them I´ve got about 5 months, they dont believe me. People that have been studying english for 8 years are suprised that I can speak as well I as can for the miniscule amount of time that I have. Dude, seriously, it´s nothing of myself. I give full credit to Heavenly Father. If anyone needs further proof that not only God lives, but that this is His church, and His work, then this is one more drop in the bucket. What do I do to study? I read books. I talk to people in the street. It´s nothing special. It wasnt a $400 program that Nasa uses. I read a book, that we hand out for free to people.

 

I know that I literally can do anything with the help of Heavenly Father. I know that if I humble myself, and have faith, I can literally do anything. In fact, I think humility is the key to almost everything. If you are humble, you can be taught. You can be instructed. Otherwise, if you try to do everything with your own power, you will plateau. You can do alot of things under your own power, but there will come a point where you can do no more. And that is where you will need help. Divine help. It´s like climbing the mountain and reaching the top is only half the journey. For the other half, you need wings.

 

----------------------

 

 

And now, for something completely different -

 

Have I ever said how much I love Texas?

 

Seriously, it´s the best state ever. And I´ll tell you why. Here in a couple of weeks, Jacarezinho, Brasil, will be having a Texas fest.

 

Here, I´ll say that one more time - Here in a couple of weeks, Jacarezinho, Brasil, will be having a Texas fest.

 

I´ll give you some background:

Jacarezinho is a tiny little town, nestled in the hills of B.F.E, Brasil. Where the only people that know about it, are the people that live here. Notwithstanding, they will have a festival to honor and celebrate the awesomeness that is Texas. You never hear about Illinois. Kentucky. Iowa. It´s always Texas. You here alot of New York, but who´s got the festival coming up? Eh?

 

It aint California folks!

 

So yes, there will be pictures, there will be shirts bought. There will be had a merry time by all. Because everyone will be united in the same thing, bowing down to the splendor of Texas. The Texan spirit has reached even that of southen Brasil.

 

So, that´s all for this week.

 

Check yo´self,

Elder Standard

 

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And beneath the man, we find his..nucleus..

Whaddup homies, I dont have alot of time to write today. Elder Lima got transfered out of nowhere, so I´m chillin here in Ourinhos with Elder Santana. We both have the same amount of time, but he´s brazilian, so he can kinda speak portugues ;P We taught a lesson last night, after getting lost. Ourinhos is a quase big town, about 100,000 people, and Elder Santana only has 12 days in the city, so we took some unplanned detours along the way. It was friggin cold too, nossa it was cold. I didnt know that I was going to be staying with Santana for the night, so I didnt bring anything. All I had was my scriptures. So yes, people, the Gospel is the most important thing in the world, but cold weather gear is nice too. Anyways, for the lesson, everything just flowed. I´ve been studying/praying hardcore for the language to come. I´ve given up on english, and it´s only portugues from here on out. Ít´s so awe-

 

Oi, this just in - I just found out who my new comp will be - Elder Barbosa. Now, if I could only find Keira Knightley I´d be set....

Back to your regularly scheduled program -

 

-some because I can see the Lord´s hand in helping me with the language. I´m showing desire, and He´s answering in kind. People, I know that God Lives, and that He is our Heavenly Father. He cares about us, and what happens to us. I know He is there, watching over every single one of you. It will always be amazing to be how the Creator of the Universe knows every single one of us by name, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. I dont want anyone to worry about my down here in Brasil. I´m being taken care of. I want for nothing. Thanks again for all that you´ve done for me, I love you all. I might get to write later, but if not, God be with you till we meet again.

 

Elder Standard

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Break the wrist, walk away

I just want to express myself through the art of dance, Mike.

 

So in about 4 days, I will hit my first landmark on the missionary timeline - 6 months. I´ve already got the tie picked out to burn and everything. I cant believe it´s already here, and time is slipping through my hands faster than I can comprehend. I waited my entire life for these 2 years, and I´m already a quarter of the way done! It´s unreal. I´m glad I at least get 2 years, instead of a year and a half like the Seesters. This week was crazy. I seriously have never used my legs this much in my life. Between soccer, walking everywhere, and learning how to dance last night (rule book dont say nothing bout dancin!). Seriously, if we´re not playing soccer with an actual ball, it´s the rocks in the street, or a coconut that fell from a tree, or some kinda trash. The goal is to kick it through your comps legs when he takes a step. I think Miles played something similar, but I´m not sure. And then, the fact that we walk everywhere. This is one of the things that I love about Brasil. Even if people have a car, they´ll still walk. There´s hardly any fat people down here, because of this. So, our little city of Jacarezinho is full of hills. It´s seriously uphill both ways (back in my day..). So, by the time Í come home, I should have a nice little keester, and a nice pair of legs. In the next package I get I need someone to send a pedometer so I can see how many miles we walk a day. And, to top it all off, I learned how to dance Forro last night (pron Foho). The church asked Elder Lima to help teach because that type of dance was created in the section of the country he´s from. Turn´s out he´s actually really good, and he´s a good teacher too, so that helped. Since I cant touch girls, I had a guy partner - easy folks, it´s only gay if you make eye contact ;) - a 15 yr old kid named Gustava (we call him Gu-Gu). So yeah, by the time we were done, my calves were friggin burnin, and then we had to walk the 2 miles (uphill) back to the apartment. I was friggin wore out.

 

 

My mother gave it to me before she died. It was her lucky machete. You can have it.

 

That same day something happened that I´ll never forget. Earlier in the day, we stopped at a members house to get some water. We had been working in the area, and our apointment fell through. So after we got the water we were chillin for a few minutes in the front yard talking to the wife, because the entire family is a member except for her. So there we were, in the front yard, when the Rurais bus goes by and drops off the workers. Rurais is a company that makes sugar cane, and they´ve got alot of sugar cane fields where we are, and alot of the people that live in Jacarezinho work for Rurais. So it was nothin special when it went by, other than the fact that it kicked up alot of dust. Next thing I know this big black guy is coming up to us. He had obviously been drinking, and he was 4 sheets to the wind by the time he got to us. He comes right up to me, and starts talking. He talked real slow, so I was able to understand him. We talked for a few seconds, and then he moves onto Elder Lima. They talk for a few seconds, and then he turns back to me. He makes out like he´s going to leave, so I offer him my hand. He takes it, and just keeps holding on. Most people here in Brasil give you the dead fish, but this dude had a death grip on my hand, and he´s just staring at me. He´s still got his machete in his left hand, and I´m thinking about what I´m gunna do if he goes ape-snit and starts swinging. Now for the ladies, I´ll give you some background. There´s an unofficial amount of time that a hand shake is supposed to last between men. It´s usually around 2.67 seconds and then the shake is over. This is universal, or so I thought. So there we are, locked hands, and so I give him the "ok, handshake´s over pal" squeeze. He´s still hanging on. I´m lost at this point. Next thing I know, he drops the machete and cradles my arm that he´s holding like a teddy bear. He just breaks down at this point. He starts to weep, and pulls me in for a hug. I´m 6´1" and this dude´s gotta be 6´4", and when he wraps his arm around me, his armpit is right under my nose. Keep in mind this dude had been working in the sugar cane fields all day and smelt like a bar. I felt like Edward Norton in Fight Club when Meatloaf pulls him in for a hug, and he´s just smothered (it´s ok Cornelius, you can cry). We do this for what felt like an eternity, and then he releases me. He continues to stare at me, and then he says "when I look in your eyes, I see Jesus". My first thought was "Yeah, you´ve had way too much to drink". He then pulls me back in for a hug, a little shorter this time, and then he takes off. Elder Lima told me this is the life of a Missionary, and that kinda stuff happens all the time. Yay. Alcohol is bad folks, mmmkay?

 

This week was also a benchmark for another reason. I realized my nothingness. It was during a lesson, and Elder Lima was teaching. This dude´s a pro, he´s like a one-man army, like Charlton Heston in "Omega Man." You ever see it? Beauty...

 

Anyways, so the thought came to me "ya know, he would probably do better teaching without me." And I realized that Elder Lima didnt need me, like I needed him. And, then another thought came to me, God dosent really need me, like I need Him. But, He knows that this will help me more than anything I could ever do, so He´s giving me this chance. It´s just like all of the commandments and the laws that He´s given us. It´s not because God likes robots that cant have any fun, it´s because He knows what the consquences would be if we didnt follow them. Like it says in 2 Nefi 26:24 - He doeth not anything, save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world. People think that Latter day Saints cant have any fun because of all of the "restrictions" that we have. Are you serious? How backwards is this? You cant seem to have fun without drinking, drugs, and sex. Three things! You only have three things! I´ve got the rest of the world!

 

Anyways folks, I´m outtie for this week.

 

Eu amo ya´ll,

Elder Standard

 

You dont have a Soul. You are a Soul. You have a Body.

C.S. Lewis

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My name is Elder Standard, and I approve this message

Whaddup folks! This is going out to everyone on the list, I want to see how everyone´s Mother´s day was. Elderes, Sisteres, Family, Friends, let me know!

 

It is friggin cold here (I can hear Miles laughing from here), and it´s hard for my hands to type these letters right now, but I´m sure I´ll manage. This week has been a roller coaster, ups and downs, and it was over before I knew it. It´s already Pday again, and I´m sitting here thinking about what I want to say to you. So, for starters - I love you, and I am grateful for everything that you´ve done for me. If you´re reading this it´s because you´ve changed my life in some way, and I wanted to continue talking to you. I am so grateful for the blessings that I´ve recieved in my family, my friends, my leaders, and my fellow missionaries. I dont know why I´ve been blessed so much, and the only thing I can come up with is because I´m supposed to help others, where much is given much is required and all that. I´ve been so blessed to be a member of the only true church on the face of the earth. To have this knowledge, that God has called another Prophet, just like He´s always done (amos 3:7), to lead and guide us. Because God is our Heavenly Father, and He loves us. He cares about us just as much as He cared about the people in ancient times. I cant understand why people would think that He would be any different now than He´s always been. They all know that He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Yet they shake their heads when we tell them that He has once again reached out to His children, and restored the sacred ordinances of Baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and others. Because without these ordinances, we cannot return to live with Him (John 3:5). People even get mad at us, people throw stuff at us on the street, spit on us, because we teach the truth. But, I guess I´m in good company, because not only has every other Apostle, every other Prophet, felt what it´s like, but the Son Of God Himself was rejected also for teaching the truth. I dont understand it. In a talk I heard from Elder Holland in the MTC he said that I will ask myself why this has to be so hard. This is the truth, we have the truth, and you´d think people would be knocking our doors to hear about it. God has called another Prophet in our day! The saving ordinances of the Gospel have been restored! We can return home to live with our Heavenly Father! And that´s not all! He´s given us soooo many tools to help us. The Book Of Mormon, which works with the Bible to create one powerful testimony of Jesus Christ, has been brought to pass to help us understand more about God, and Jesus Christ. We even tell people "Hey, dont take our word for it, ask God if what we´re saying is true, and He will answer you." Ask yourself, right now, what kind of church will teach you about something, and then tell you to pray to God if it´s true. Who else does this? Why do we do it? Because we are the true Church of Jesus Christ.

 

And yet, people dont want it. I seriously dont get it. Eternal Joy, eternal progression, eternal families are what´s promised. People can be happier than they´ve ever been, and it´s free! You dont have to pay a single dollar. In fact, we´ll even come to you. Kids, who are just starting their lives, are giving it all up, to come and teach you. I gave up everything I loved, and if you knew me, you knew how hard it was for me to do that. I gave up everything to come to Brasil, and to teach as many people as I can. If you knew me, you knew I loved three things -

 

Girls (nuff said)

Guns (I slightly prefer guns to girls because they only make noise when you want them to, and you can buy silencers when they get too loud)

Music (Norma Jean, Tool, City and Colour, Deftones, Cat Power, and others)

 

And out here, I cant flirt with girls, I cant even touch guns, and I cant listen to music. I always had music, driving, chilling, working, whatever. I always had a gun on me to, and here, I cant even carry a knife. The girls here are GORGEOUS and I cant even talk to them. Why did I do this? I even paid money to do this. I gave it all up because I know it´s true. I came out on a mission later than most, I fought real hard to be here. Some of my leaders back home had given up on me, but I never lost sight. I knew what I needed to do, and it was going to take everything that I had to make it. And the battle isnt over, it´s still raging. But I know why I´m here. I know why I´m in Brasil. I´m here because my brothers and sisters, who, having never met them, I love. I love them with all of my heart, and I would do anything for them. I want them to have the same blessings that I enjoy, and more. I know that through the Atonement (sacrifice) of Jesus Christ we can be healed of anything that´s ever happened to us. I know, personally, that Christ is our Saviour, He is our Redeemer, and His sacrifice is real. His grace is sufficient for all weaknesses. This is my message to the world. It all comes back to Jesus Christ. Everything comes back to Christ. Everything comes back to His Gospel, His sacrifice. It´s not about Mormons VS. (insert apostasy church here). It´s about right and wrong. It´s about Good vs. Evil. All this help we´ve been given, prophets, families, scriptures, it´s all here to help us accept that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. The Prophets have authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel which help us to not only return to our Heavenly Father, but the Atonement of Jesus Christ can heal everything. Families help teach the Gospel, through the scriptures we learn more about who He was, and what His purpose is. Luke 4:18 is probably my favorite scripture out of the entire new testament. Just some background, Jesus is reading from the book of Isaiah -

 

 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

 

This is Jesus Christ´ purpose. Why did He do this? Well here´s what Alma 7:11-13 says about it -

 

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

  12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

 

(emphasis mine)

 

He did this so that He can succor His people according to their infirmities. What does the word succor mean? To run to someone´s aid. Because He took upon Himself my sins, your sins, and everyone else´s sins that´s ever lived, will live, or is living, He knows how to help us. How to heal us. When someone hurts us, or when we hurt someone else, it dosent have to remain. It dosent have to be brought up again for the 1000th time, it can be washed away, and according to ezekiel 18:21-22 they wont even be mentioned! What a blessing! All of the stuff that I´m ashamed I did, that I wish I´d never done, wont even be mentioned if I repent, and turn to the Lord.

 

This is why I´m here in Brasil. This is why I gave up everything that I loved. To let others know of this knowledge. That we can be freed from our sins. They can be washed away. We dont have to hang onto them, we dont have to feel the shame and the guilt of a past mistake if we repent. It dosent matter what you´ve done, because He´s already suffered for it. in Only our Church can offer this, because only our Church has the proper Priesthood authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. This is why I wear a tie everyday, this is why I can deal with rocks being thrown at me, because I know it´s true. I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that it´s true. And the only thing you have to do to know is to pray directly to God, your Heavenly Father, if these things are true. I know that He will answer you. Because He loves us, and He wants to us to follow the path back to Him. He will not lead you astray. The way is prepared, the help is there, it just depends on you if you accept it.

 

I testify that these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Standard

 

 

 

 

 

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You had the noodle dream?!

So yeah, this entire week all of my dreams have been in portuguese. It´s trippy, but I can actually understand more in my dreams than I can when I´m awake. Most of them consist of me being home and talking to people in portuguese. I dont know where this comes from, but it´s cool none the less. Portuguese is slowly starting to take over. When I do speak in english its hard to not have a few portugese words in there unconciously. Now if I could just work on that accent. Holy cow, I have got to sound so strange to these people, because we´ll be walking down the street, and I´ll smile and wave at people and say something, and they just look and stare. This whole week has been like that, everybody just stares, all the time. I´ll smile and wave, and they just stare. Dude, I know I talk funny, but a smile and wave is universal, at least respond likewise. I seriously dont get it. It must go something like this -

 

...what is that? It looks like a person, but it´s...white?

Dude, João, check this out...it´s a person...but it´s...white

Hey Maria, get the kids, it´s a...white..person

 

*Everybody comes outside*

 

Hey look! It´s waving! How strange!

 

Honestly people, what gives? Take a picture, it´ll last longer... There will be a group of kids playing outside, and halfway down the street I can hear them talking about me. When I get closer all the talking stops and everybody just stares. As soon as I get my back to them, they start laughing. I seriously dont get it. Whatever, crack on.

 

This week has been slightly better than last. But, with the addition of stepping in something every single day. If it´s not dog crap, it´s gum, and if it´s not me, it´s Elder Lima. Everybody here owns a dog, and they run around everywhere, and crap whereever they want to. You constanly have to be on your guard. At night it´s horrible. If it´s not crap, there is always SOMETHING to trip on. The roads and side walks hear are horrible, and I am always tripping on something. It is usually in front of a pretty girl, a group of kids, or when a bus full of people is driving by.

 

Sorry folks, I lied, I was not called to the Brazil, Londrina Mission. I have been called to the "humble you quicker than being beat in a shooting match by a blind kid" mission. You cant have ANY pride on a mission. If you do, you wont for long. You´ve just got to grit your teeth, and push on. One of the hardest things for me to learn out here is humility. Dude it friggin hurts when you catch that humility bat in the teeth. When God wants you to learn something, He dosent care how bad it hurts your natural self, as long as you learn it. And it sucks for me, because I´ve got alot of pride. And I´m not saying that to be humble, it´s true, and it´s going to take alot of work to strip me of it. I know though, it will be for my good, and I will be a better person for it though. Hebrews 12:11 makes me laugh, because it´s so true.

 

So yeah, we´re steadily moving towards the baptismal dates for our families. It´s awesome because they are coming to church, and meeting the members, they have a bunch of questions afterwards, which means they´re thinking, which is always awesome. I love questions, I love to ask them and I love it when people have them. I like to get people to think. Why are you catholic/baptist/whatever, why do you believe this certain way, and so on. The majority of the time, they do something a certain way because that´s what their parents did, or that´s just what they´ve always done. We ran into some Jehovahs witness the other day. They stopped us, and after we passed around our little pamphlets I asked them why they believe the way they do. The replied with a couple of scriptures, one of which was isaiah 43:10-11. I had to wait until later that night to read what they were in english, and I couldnt believe it. They totally missed the point of verse 11. Yeah, I completely agree with you, besides Jesus Christ there is no saviour. I´d like to learn more about the j-dubs, because they dont seem any different from Jews at first glance.

 

Well, I´ve gotta go folks -

 

Oh, and real quick, out of like, 30 something people that I email every week, only 3 people responded as to what my strengths and weaknesses are. Dude, does nobody read my emails? ELDER STANDARD NEEDS HELP PEOPLE. I´m asking you because you most likely know me, and know a little about me. So, I´ll try this one more time -

 

PLEASE RESPOND AS TO WHAT MY STRENGTHS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT MY WEAKNESSES ARE. I know I´m awesome, people. Help me figure out what my weaknessess are so I can work on them. Please. I dont know how to put it anymore plain. This isnt some bullcrap request. The more I can improve myself, the better I can help other people. I´m serious about this.

 

Thanks,

Elder Standard

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Pics from this week

8520 is of the Halloween 2 poster. Rob Zombie didnt know how right he was.

8521 is me and the Branch Pres here in Jacarezinho. He is awesome, I love this man.

8533 is of Elder Lima cooking me lunch.

 

 "Hey, Elder Lima, this is awesome, what is this?"

 "Figado"

 "What´s that?"

 "Liver"

 "Oh..."

 

8540 - So this little mini hurricane came out of nowhere when we were talking back to our apt. We were in the farthest part of our area, and it just starts pouring on us. So we ran to this little bus stop awning thing, and it was completely open on both sides, so it didnt help much. It was cold, we were wet, and it was awesome. I seriously think there is nothing better than sharing a crappy situation with someone you love.

 

8541- Ok, maybe I´m smiling a little too big. Actually it looks like I´m friggin crazy, but he caught me mid laughter, whatever. When the rain stopped we started walking back and in the middle of the park I stepped into a puddle up to my shin, so the entire time back to the apt my shoe was making a squishing noise.

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I can feel it in my nuggets

Whaddup people! Sorry for not writing last week, I´m a slacker, I know. There´s been alot happened these past couple of weeks, everything from being chased by gay hookers to being crapped on. We´ve been real busy, and we´ve got a few families that are preparing to be baptized. It´s so cool to watch people change their lives and turn unto the Lord. That´s the cool thing about missionary work, all we need is 10 minutes, and if you´ve got an open mind and heart, this message will change your life. I know this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ, restored again on the earth. I´m so glad I get to share this message with everyone that I can. A mission is such a blessing and a privilage. Thanks to all of you that have helped me get here. So, in order to improve myself, I need your help. I need everyone to reply back with what you think my strengths are, and what my weaknesses are. I need you to be brutally honest. I will not hold this against you. If I get mad it´s because I´ve got pride. But, I promise I wont get mad, unless it´s some kinda bullcrap that isnt true ;) I need to be the best I can be for these people here in Brasil, so I need as much feedback on this as possible. You´ve got a week to think of something and report back.

 

So, this week has also been really hard for me, Elder Lima is getting kinda trunky and it´s making me homesick. Plus, I used to ALWAYS have music playing, where ever I was, whatever I was doing, or...whatever. And now, being here out on a mish, I hardly ever hear any kind of music, unless the neighbors are blaring their music, or we go to church and I hear hymns (yay..).

Which reminds me, weeee siiiiinnggg soooooo sllloooowwww in church. What the F people? Now, this gets kinda funny, because most times I just kinda zone out and since I´m used to a quicker pace I´m always off time. And, since I dont pronounce everything like a native, It´s really noticable when I do it. So yeah, I´m always off, on..everything. It´s great. S.O.P. now is when someone starts talking crap, usually some punk kid, I just switch to english. Then everyone else is the one with the dumb look, even my comp. Just yesterday we stopped at a members work to drop off some Book Of Mormons for him. Well there were some customers in there and when they realized who we were they started to bible bash. Now, I still cant really understand folks, so I´m just hanging out, watching the second hand tick on the clock. Then one of the dudes comes up to me because Elder Lima wont talk to him, and starts trying to do it to me. I told him a few times that I cant understand him, and one of the times he says - "it´s ok, the Holy Spirit will translate for us". And persists and talking to me. I still have no clue what he´s saying, and his friend is trying to pull him away and tell him that I cant understand. I start talking in english to him, to prove a point that I cant understand him, but he persists. Eventually they left, after the Member turned on the radio super loud and nobody could hear each other. So yeah, I cant understand other people that well, but I´m starting to be able to kinda barely almost understand Elder Lima (I said KINDA, Higgins).

 

The families that we have are awesome That same member that I talked about above gave us a referral to another family. Well, they turned out to be a dud, but their neighbors didnt, so we´ve been coming back and teaching them. It´s sooo cool because they honestly want to know the truth. They have a ton of questions, which I personally love. Because when people have questions, or doubts, it´s because they´re thinking. When people dont have anything, it´s because they´re not thinking. I´d rather someone drop a bomb of a question on us that stumps us than have someone just be spoonfed. It´s kinda dissapointing to me when I go in, teach someone, ask them if they have any questions, they say no, and then that´s it. Are you kidding me? We just told you something that is so completely different than anything you´ve ever heard, and you´re cool with that? You dont have a single question? I know with me, if someone told me something about firearms that is completely different than the current mantra at the time, I would listen, ask a ton of questions, try it if it made sense, and see if it works. Whatever, I guess.

That´s the bad thing about Brazilians, getting in their house isnt the problem, it´s getting them to commit to anything, because they want to. They dont want to make you mad, they want to be your friend, so they just say yes to everything, and never do it. So it´s rare when you actually have someone like the families that we have that actually think about what we´re saying. You cant be blunt with them, otherwise they get their feelings hurt, and if you´re too nice then they dont understand how important it is that they listen. That´s the hard part about missionary work, you´ve got to find the middle ground on everything. That´s why having the Spirit is so important. If it was left to Elder Mate P. Standard nothin would get done.

 

 Anyways folks, I´m outtie for this week. Please reply back with what you think my strengths and weaknesses are so I can work on them, kapeesh?

 

Forty Six and Two,

The Church is True,

Elder Standard

 

(Ha, pretty clever isnt it, it rhymes and everything)

 

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