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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