And lest Elder Standard should be exalted on high....

Hey folks, I´m sorry I havent written in a while. I´ve been super busy with everything, especially this week. We´ve had zone conferance, we´ve been doing a ton of divisions because of a WIA Missionary, and then I went to the hospital myself on Saturday. But, I´m back on top of the world, and the work is coming along great. Transfers are tomorrow, and my comp and I are staying. Elder Machado is an awesome Elder, and I´m glad to be working with him. He already knows soooooo much more than I did when I first started, so I dont have to worry too much, which is nice. But, the other two Elders in our house are leaving. Their area is closing and they´ll be moving to different areas. I´m glad and not. Glad, because now our house will stay cleaner and it wont have to be a battle to get a shower. But, on the other hand I love living with four missionarys. It´s alot of fun and I´ve done it just about my entire mission. During zone conferance I got to see my very first companion here on the mission, Elder Olsen. We were comps in the MTC, and then he got his visa and we havent seen each other since. So, a year later, we finally get to see each other. Plus, Elder Munk was with him, who is my brother from another mother. Literally, all of us had to have been really good friends before this life, because I literally feel joy just being around those cats. I got to see Elder Bower, my all time favorite companion, one more time because he´s assistant now and everytime I go to Londrina for something we always hang out.

 

This week was kinda hard, work wise. With everything going on and being sick and all that crap, but we´re chuggin along, and we´ve got some peeps lined up for baptism here soon. I´ll keep you updated.

 

One thing that I wanted to add is something I´ve been applying to myself alot recently. In the Book of Mormon we learn from Nephi that we should apply all scriptures to us, personally. So, I´ve been doing this alot lately, and it´s really been helping me out. One of the scriptures that really made a differance was II corinthians 12:7-10. I challenge all of you to do the same thing. It truly changes everything.

 

Angela, I´ve gotten your letters. I promise I will respond! I´m horrible with emails, and I´m even worse with hand written letters.

Ashley, I finally made that cake you sent. I ate most of it for breakfast.....That´s how we do it here in Brasil.

For all of you in Tomball, I got the Christmas letters. I appreciate it alot!

 

And for the rest of you -

 

I love you all. This work is true!!! I cant say it enough. The Book of Mormon is the word of God! This is the only true church on the face of the earth! That´s a pretty big thing to say, but I know it´s true because the Holy Ghost made it manifest to me. No power on earth can take this testimony away from me.

 

Elder Standard

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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

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

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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