Happy Thanksgiving. 11/21/11

Happy Thanksgiving :)
Well everything this past week was pretty good. Alex and Brenda are still planning on the baptism. We interviewed them yesterday and they are so legit. Alex is kind of bigger, so we had to find a batismal suit that fit him and he was all excited when he tried it on, so it was exciting. We're having members baptize them, so it is gonna be so legit. Were finishing off a family and they are so amazing. They already talk about the temple. 

Rose has a testimony so strong. She has been baring her testimony like every visit, not only to us, but to Alex and everyone. It is so cool. It makes me so dang happy.
Today I have been on the mission for 4 months. Pretty crazy huh? I'm loving it. The language is still kicking my but but I'm getting it. This past week was the exact opposite of it. It rained and was pretty cold the whole week, but we did get some fans and actually got a whole bunch of new things for our house mattresses. We're living like kings now ha ha. But ya everything here is going very well. We have a couple new families that we're teaching that are pretty cool, and we're staying busy for sure.

Wow it sounds like you are gonna have a full house this week. That will be dang fun. They don't really know what Thanksgiving is here, but this Thursday the girl who's house we will lunch at, cooks super good and so it will be pretty much a Thanksgiving meal.
The zone conference was good. The president just talked at it and said that there is some changes that are gonna happen soon, so they will be good. But it was super good. I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks left with Elder Swanson. It is nuts, and next week I have to be senior comp. All week I'm in charge of all the lessons and everything. I'm pretty nervous, but it will be fun.
That play was this week huh? That sounds like it must have been pretty dang good. ha ha Ya they kinda do look alike huh?Well I'm not 100% sure on the scripture yet. I will look and get back to you next week ok? But that is way cool that they are doing that.
Well tell everyone at Thanksgiving hi for me and that I love them. Have a good week and I will too. This week is gonna be sick {*note: sick means awesome :) haha.}. I'm very thankful for everything you do for me. Thanks.
Love,Elder Furrows
We played some soccer last p-day, and this is my first umbrella that I will have gone through in Brazil :)and these are some sweet bats that are always outside the church.

Flippen Hot! 11/14/11

Hey hey!
This week has been super good. We have been working super hard and we have had some sweet things happen. We got a baptismal date for Aléx yesterday and he will prepare to be baptized not this Saturday but the next. And we moved Brenda's to be with him too, so that is super cool. They were talking about going to the temple and everything. It was so sweet. This is what it is all about: Eternal families! And Rose was bearing her testimony to him and everything. It was just super cool. 

We had a cool zone conference that our LZ´s put on, and this week we're having another that president and the assistants will come to, so it is gonna be a sick week. This past week has been so stinking hot. I have never sweated so much in my life ha ha. It's all good though. Oh ya, our fan broke in our house and the fan in the houses in the states might only serve one purpose, but here they have 2. One, to keep you a little cool and 2, to keep the bugs off of you. So ya I have not really slept at all this past week at all but, it's all good. It is all part of the experience right? So last night was probably the hottest night, and I got in bed at ten thirty like normal, but I could not fall asleep. I was hot and I was getting attacked by bugs and what not, so about 12:30 rolls around and I'm still up and the bugs are buzzing in my ears and I'm ready to freak out, and so I get up and I move my bed into a different room with a window and then that helped a little with the heat, but then I was so itchy I couldn't sleep. So I got up cause I remembered that my comp said he had some anti-itch cream, so I go searching for it and I find this cream and it was all in Portuguese, so I just took a wild guess and put it all over my legs. Well turns out it was this cream that you put on you, you know when you get the rash thing from walking and it gets rid of the fungus, so that was all over my legs, but I slept good after 
that, so maybe it did the trick. haha. It was pretty funny. 

Well I'm loving the mission. Loving the work. Hope you have a great week. I will 
talk to you in a week.
Love, Elder Furrows
So the pics:
1- Is when we were doing some service.
2- Is me and Elder Swanson's planners. Mine is the one on the right with the tree of life and everyone following the rod, and his is the left one with the great and spacious building because this is his last one, so he is going into the world and I'm staying here. ha ha.
3- I had to clean the baptismal font.
4- And this was after the baptism. We went to their house and had some 
snacks.

Rose's Baptism! 11/7/11

Hey hey family. Well this past week was flippen sweet. We baptized Rose! It was so awesome. I was dang scared because I baptized her and her name is about a mile long, and then I had to say the prayer and everything. It was nuts, but it was so flippen cool. Then on Sunday I  stood in on her receiving the holy ghost. Oh it was so awesome. Alex is 
not getting baptized yet because he is never home, so it is hard to teach him but he will be baptized for sure in the near future. Their family is so legit. I love them! So last night we had a family night with some members and Alex and Rose and it was so amazing. The members house who we had it at are some of the coolest people in the world, and they helped us out so much. It is amazing how the members can do what they do here. 

So ya, we watched like the History of Joseph Smith movie and it was so intense and the spirit was so strong there. It was hard to contain it in their little apartment. But ya after a day like yesterday I can see what missionary work is all about. Me and Elder Swanson were just walking home and nothing could get us down, we were just content. So it was an awesome weekend. Everything went just how we 
wanted it to. Saturday morning we had a service project and cut a tree for this lady and then went to the church and cleaned the font and that 
was fun. 

So everything was just good this week. The language is coming along pretty good. We went to transfers on Tuesday and i was talking 
with a lot of the Brazilians so that was cool. We lost one of the duplas 
in our area, so now there is only 4 of us. And Elder Wilson got a new comp, Elder Espinosa. He is super cool. He doesn't really speak a lick of English, so I walk with him to lunch and it is good practice for me to talk with him. 

So this transfer we don't have any conferences or anything, so the next time I will go to Vitoria will be at the next transfer and I will be getting a new comp, probably Brazilian. Crazy 
right? But I'm excited. Elder Swanson's parents are coming to get him, so I will get to meet them. That will be way fun. But everything on the mission life is going good right now. I love it out here and I love the spirit that I feel and I love the people here. They are so amazing and 
they sacrifice so much to be members of the one true church. They will 
receive blessings so great for their willingness, I know it. I love the 
gospel and everything about the mission and this church. It is the 
perfect organization. 

Well love you guys. Hope you have a great week. Sorry that there is no pictures. My computer is messed up. I'm gonna try 
switching and see if I can send some, but if not then I will get them to you next week. Love, Elder Furrows

(He sent this after)
Here are a couple pics of the baptism. Sorry my computer is still not working and I had Elder Swanson email me these. Sorry about the 4 emails ha ha.

Update!!!

Hey Guys!! :) This is Aubree {from here} {I keep up the blog.. even though there has been some serious slacking! haha. I'm done with school so now I will catch everyone up!} 

BUT FIRST!!!!

I updated a few posts from before... the pictures were either blurry or small, so I updated them and now the pictures are normal and clear! :) to see them click here and here!

Enjoy them, and I hope you've been enjoying this blog! :)

*Aubree*

Happy Halloween! 10/31/11

Hey hey family! Well it sounds like things are still going right along back home. That's good. Happy Halloween. ha ha. Ya they don't really celebrate it down here, and it is not today. It is like the 2nd of Nov. Day of the Dead is what it is called. I think if my translations are correct. ha ha. Well I'm sure if anyone can make the whole property a spook ally, it will be Rusten. I can't believe he went to Dr. Slaughters! I don't even like to go there. ha ha. 

Ya Sheen kinda told me about the shower thing. That sounds like you had a good time. Ya Travis and I always chat back and forth. It is fun. I can't believe Austin is about ready to take off. Tell him good luck for me and give him a hug ha. I bet that music was amazing. They are both so good at playing their instruments, it would have to be. My whole group of friends huh? Who is all left still, I don't even remember? 

Ya I'm not too sure about that whole Skype thing. I'm sure that you can use mine, but we will have to be able to look it up and add each other, and I'm not sure I remember my user name and stuff, but get on and check it out. 

Ya I finally finished it. It is such a good book! It's probably one of the only books that you can read as many times as you can and learn something new each time! You got that letter huh? That is good. Ya I kinda spaced sending it til then. ha ha. 

Alright so the turtle farm was legit. It was right on the ocean and it is not really a farm. I just don't know what else to call it. It is kinda an exhibit type of deal I guess, but they have all these turtles and they tell the life story of them and how they have to make it to the ocean and just everything. It was super cool. 

So this week was a pretty dang cool week. We found this lady one day while we were knocking doors and she had just barley finished praying for guidance and help in her life, and right as she said amen we knocked her door, so that was pretty sweet right? Then we gave this other lady a blessing on the first visit for her back and that was pretty crazy, but such a cool experience. So with Rose and her family, it was a crazy week. So Wednesday we gave her the baptismal interview and she passed, and she is ready to be baptized but come Saturday we were at the church waiting for her and she was not showing up or answering her phone or anything. And finally she answered and she said that her and Alex got in a fight and she didn't want to be with him anymore and so she didn't feel as if she was in the right mind set to be baptized. So after a half hour of marriage counseling from two 20-year-olds who have never been married, we had kinda calmed her down, so we finished the night and all of us missionaries sang a song and had 

cake and everything for the baptisms and for two of the elders in my district that are leaving this week. 

Oh by the way I'm finished with my first transfer. Crazy right? So Sunday morning we went to get Rose up for church and it was like 7:30 and we went in and gave her some more marriage counsel and then told her to get ready and then we left and she still didn't show up to church and she was still mad and Alex and everything, so we went there afterwards and everything was all good. They had made up I think, and she asked us when is the soonest that she could be baptized 
so this Saturday if all goes as planned, she will be baptized and Brenda too. 

That is about all that went on this week. ha ha. It was a fun week that's for sure, and Elder Swanson and I will stay here to finish up our training. The next transfer is the 13 of Dec. and Elder Swanson's parents are coming down here to pick him up so I will get to meet them. I'm pretty excited for that. 

Well love you guys. Have a great Halloween and a great week!

Love, Elder Furrows
So the first picture is in this really crappy part of town that I thought was cool. The next two are at the sacrament meeting in Interlagos. They have the meeting on the roof, it was sweet. Then there are just some others. The last one is us making banana pancakes.

Oh Brazil.... 10/24/11

Hey! Everything this past week has been pretty dang good. Rose and Alex, her husband, came to church this week and her husband liked it a lot, but their baptismal date is for this weekend, and we're not so sure about it. They are still not sure they want to, but we're praying hard so we'll see. The only thing that they didn't like was how the sacrament meeting was so irreverent, and I'm not gonna lie, yesterday I almost went up to the pulpit to tell everyone to shut their flippin' mouths. It's frustrating sometimes cause you get everything so perfect and they come and you pray like crazy that it doesn't rain on Sunday morning so they will be willing to come cause they said if it rains they don't want to walk in the rain. So it doesn't rain and they show up and then the members screw up like that. I don't know, we're all pretty mad. We're gonna have a talk with them, but it's all good, what do you do. 

So Adonias, we dropped this week. He stopped smoking, but that was all he ever did. He wouldn't ever do anything else we told him, and just had no desire, so we had to drop him. It was kind of sad. 

So this last week I have been taking over lessons and starting and doing stuff like that, and not gonna lie, the first couple of times it was a complete failure. I sucked it up, so it's a good thing that it can only get better from there right? ;) So we taught this drunk guy this week and I thought that he was gonna kill us. We were out on his porch teaching him and he was like, "I need to grab something out of my house." And we're like, "We're almost done. Just wait two seconds." And he was all like, "No." And got up and he was like, "I just need 
to grab my 38." And I was freaking out, but he just grabbed a bible and 
we left. I'm sure he doesn't remember a thing we said to him ha ha. Then we found some other people this week who are pretty good. We're gonna go back this week and see if they kept our invites, so we'll see. Tell Rusten good work on the talk. I'm sure it was flippin' amazing, and thanks for sending a package! Love you. ;)Wow you are just a working machine in this potato harvesting deal, aren't you? haha.

Oh, one thing before I forget. The way we talk on Christmas is through Skype, so you will have to create an account or something. So this week there isn't gonna be any pictures, sorry. Last night we loaded up and came to São Mateus to come to this turtle farm thing that we're gonna do today and so I don't have my cord to plug into my computer, but next week I will for sure. 

So last night we went to the sacrament meeting of the branch in our area which is at 5 at night and it was legit. It was on top of this lady's house and it was all open and everything super cool. I will send pics next week for sure. Oh I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday for the first time on the mission. That was cool.

Well there are a lot of fruit and cool things like that. If you came here you would think that it is a city, but it is farm land to them. Where we live it's funny the reaction I get when I tell them how many people are in our city. They honestly can not fathom that, it is funny. There is not really any crazy animals that I have seen yet. No monkeys, but they say there are close by. There is a lake though that has crocs in it, so that is super cool. And yes, I eat a lot of mangoes and mango juice. It is so good! They have like 17 different types of mangoes. It is sweet.Well thanks for the support and the email. Wish me luck this week and 

pray for Rose and Alex please. They need the help. Love you guys so much!
Love, Elder Furrows

New Investigators. 10/17/11

Hey hey! How are you doing this week? Everything here is going very good. Well that snake story obviously we had to go back and take a picture and throw some stuff at it or else we just wouldn't have been satisfied with ourselves, but the coolest thing about that day was right after that happened we knocked on Rose's door and her whole family is so legit. Ya I'm definitely blessed to be here! There are a ton of missionaries that are stuck in the states or had to serve in the states for a while. ha ha. Spud harvest, you're just a working women, that's funny. I'm glad you liked it so much. It is way fun. 

Yupp I have heard that Pelligrini is doing awesome. he had 2 baptisms this past week to. that is cool you guys all went to women's conference together. Sounds like you are just having the time of your lives together, just you girls and your girls nights ha. Ya that mail strike thing is still going on. Freaking Brazilians, no just kidding ha ha. Idk, they will get there sometime. I have sent a letter every week, so don't worry. :) Ya there is a rainy season and it is right now. It is raining like crazy and then it's always super hot right after and humid, but it's all good. You know what I realized that I have never ever asked you about your mission mom! Will you tell me some stuff about it? Maybe in a letter so I have time to read it, but I want to know about it. Yupp, the people here, or the members at least, are super strong and they do give all that they can for sure!

Alright so this past week has been really cool. We had some dang good lessons and we taught Adonias, the man whose family is all members, and he is a super funny guy, but we had to get serious with him this last week and burn him, so hopefully that will help. Then Rose and her family are all way awesome. They are progressing dang good, and her husband is interested and he was all, "I prayed to know if it's true and I don't think I have gotten an answer, but I just can't stop thinking about the Book of Mormon." And so we explained to him some stuff and he is super excited to read, so that is cool. Then this last week we had our first zone conference it was so good. We left our house at 2 a.m. to catch the bus and didn't get back until the next morning at 6:30 a.m., so it was a long day, but it was way good. Then on Saturday we got permission from president to go to a soccer game to support Rose's brother who is the goalie for the city team. So we went to that. It was the cuppo do espirito santo, but they lost, but it was still way cool. 

So everything here is going really well. I have lost all the weight that I put on in the ctm, so that is good. Um besides that that is all I can think of really. Well Saturday night we were on our way back to our house and we got there like a half hour early and so we just dropped off our bags to go back out and do contacts and the first guy that passed us on his bike stopped in front of us and was like, "Where do you live?" And we're like, "Right here in this bairro." And he was all, "You realize I could kill you two right now?" And we're just like, "Crap, why didn't we just stay in the house?" And so we're all, "Sir, have you been drinking?" And he was all, "Ya a little." And then we realized he was just drunk off his butt, so we told him to go home and then he was like, "Alright, have a good night. God be with you." ha ha. That was pretty fun. 

Well hope all goes well this week now that you're gonna be super bored with no more potato harvest to do ha. Well love you. Have a good week.
Love, Elder Furrows
So these are really the only new pictures I took this week. The first one is Elder Arudjo and I. He is my district leader, and this is on the way home from zone conference. The second is at lunch one of the days where we had chicken feet soup. It was yummy. ;) ha ha Not. Then the last one is at the soccer game. That was the toilet, no door, nothing! Just a hole in the floor, and that nasty thing! It was so funny.

Many Adventures 10/10/11

Wow! That is so crazy about the doctor thing. That is such a miracle for sure! We are so blessed by the lord each and every day, and we do so much to not deserve the blessings, but yet he still sends them. It amazes me; the Lords love for us. 

Well we had to move it back because he didn't come to church yesterday, but it is still coming along. His whole family is all members, so we're not ganging up on him. 

That Rusten, I can't believe him. That is the funniest thing I have ever heard in my life. I was just laughing so hard just barley {What he's talking about here is this story (Told by my mom):Wednesday I came home from spud harvest late and there was a nice 4-wheeler in our driveway.  Rusten was asleep so I couldn't ask him about it but the next morning when I asked him he said he found it.  "Oh" I said, "and where did you find it?"  He said, "In the field behind us."  I said, "Rusten that belongs to someone. The farmer was probably discing and didn't have a ride home"  He said, "No, mom it has been there for over a week and never moved. I've watched it everyday so now it is mine." He was so happy about it.  When I insisted that was stealing and that he had to take it back he was so surprised.  He really thought he was entitled to it since no one had been on it for a week.  He was pretty ticked off at me that I would make him take it back until I told him about Angie Robison's 20 year old nephew that is serving jail time because the cops just wouldn't believe that he found the 4 wheeler. 12 year olds are not capable of being home alone after school.  As much as he thinks he is.}. I can't believe that it snowed that much to build a snowman. That is awesome. It's definitely only getting hotter here every day ha ha. Ya I can listen to that CD. The rules in our mission is that on P-days we can listen to anything, as long as it doesn't drive the spirit away, so it should be good, and you can sure send me mo-tab or Disney or any other thing that you would like that is good like that. When you send the package, I forgot to tell you but make sure you send it through USPS cause that is the only one that really works well they say, and the other ones sometimes make the mission home pay charges once they deliver them, and just make sure you write the address correct and they won't tamper with anything. They say you don't really need all the pictures of Jesus and all that stuff like people say you do, but you can do whatever you feel like ha ha. 

Yes I know. I thought that I would never get a Facebook and I'm getting one. It's crazy to me to but I won't have anything to do with it for 2 years still, so it's still like I don't even have one ha ha. I can't believe you're still slaving away out to spud harvest. I'm sure you're loving it though. It sounds like you are at least ha. 

Well everything back here has been really great. So earlier this week Elder Swanson and I were going out to knock doors in this bairro and we saw these lakes so we're like, "lets go check those out real fast." So we're walking over to them and all the sudden this snake jumps out and was almost about to bite me. I was so scared, but then after we went to this lady's house and she is super legit. It was the first time we taught her that day and she was already willing to keep all of the commitments and everything, and I invited her to be baptized on the 29th of this month. It was a little scary. It was the first person I have invited on my mission and I'm pretty sure she will be baptized. I'm hoping, but that was way cool, and then yesterday was the first Fast Sunday and I bore my testimony. I was dang scared and they said that I was beet red the whole time, but I did it anyways, so that was really cool. It's been a really good week this week. We're hoping to find a lot more new people to teach so we can get our teaching pool a lot bigger, but everything is going great. I'm loving the work and loving the people. 

Yesterday we ate lunch at this member's house that was like a ten by ten foot hut. All it had was four walls and we sat on the floor and it so amazing that these people sacrifice so much to just give us one meal. They are truly great people here. Oh ya one last thing, so we have this coconut tree in our back yard and the guy that owns our house said that they are ready, so we asked a kid in our ramo how to get the water out of them, so here is our adventure with that. It was fun, but I do not like coconut water at all ha ha. Well have a great week.  I love you all!

Love Elder Furrows

General Conference and adventures. 10/3/11

Well hello! Everything is going sweet here. I'm loving it. The language is alright.   It's a lot tougher than anticipated, but it is coming along for sure. Donna Swanson is his mom's name, and she has a Facebook. 

Well funny thing about conference. We only got about half of it in English, so that 
was kinda a bummer, but the half that we did get was so amazing. Man conference is a whole different experience on a mission. I loved it so much. Ya that is way cool. I figured you would be pretty excited about that whole temple in Wyoming ha ha. How did Rusten like priesthood? Has he passed the sacrament yet? Still working away at spud harvest huh? that's cool. 

Oh yes, maple syrup extract. I was honestly going to ask for you to send me some this week, so that's funny you asked ha. But yes, I actually have a list of stuff that I would love for you to put in this package ha: deodorant and shaving cream (but those aren't the things I really need), peanut butter, maple extract and recipe, and possibly my hair clippers if you could? Well I love all candy so anything you wanna throw in there that fits just go for it ha. Oh ya you should try to put some CDs of the band Vocal Point, those guys from BYU, in there too.

Well I work out all day. All the weight that I gained in the ctm, I lose in sweat everyday ha ha. The members feed us lunch everyday. That is the big meal. They don't really eat dinner over here, so you eat a little breakfast, a massive lunch, and then work all day, and at like 10, when you get home and all showered and planned, you can eat another little snack. 

Ya it is only soccer down here and that's all that matters. People will get in fights all the time over it. It's pretty funny, but it's cool. Nothing too crazy has happened this week. Just saw this one old man pooping in the street. ha ha It was pretty nasty. I tried to get a picture, but I couldn't in time. We have a man with a date of the 15th of this month, so we're really working with him, but the devil is strong so we make sure we see him a lot. Besides that, everything is going amazing. 

I loved conference. It is like the best boost ever. I loved the talk that Sister Elaine S Dalton gave on being a father. It was so dang good, and of course so was every other talk also. Well I love you guys. Have a great week.

Love Elder Furrows

Here are some pictures. The one of my feet is the first rain storm we had and my feet got stained black from my shoes. Our house is only the bottom level of this. There is one in there of us watching conference.

First week in the Field. 9/26/11

Hey hey family. How is everything going? It sounds like your are all having a great time. Potato harvest huh? That sounds pretty intense. I bet that is fun and of course you didn't see Aubree. She stays hidden as much as possible ha ha {By the way... Andy is lying here.. haha. I don't stay hidden. ha.}. I'm glad that Rusten had a good birthday and that he was made a deacon. That is such a blessing. Tell him congrats 
for me. 

Well it has been an eventful week. We went proceliting, that's not how you spell it but whatever ha. So we went to Paulista and we gave out all of our copies of the Book of Mormon, so that was legit. The street was so crazy and so huge. It blew my mind. So then we finished up our last couple of days at the ctm, and we headed out at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, so that was pretty dang cool. We got to Vitoria at about 10 and met up with the AP's and they took us to the chapel to meet with president and have lunch and everything. So we get there and have this meeting with all of the trainers and with the pres but we still don't know who our trainers are yet. President is really nice. So we got done with everything at the church and headed off to the bus station because that is where they do the transfers. 

So we get there and I'm expecting this quiet little meeting, but heck no! It was so dang fun. Everyone was just talking having a good time and then they called all of the new missionaries and the trainers up, so we headed up there and they start   announcing the names and my trainer is Elder Swanson. He is way legit. He is from Las Vegas and I'm his last comp that he will have on his mission, so that is pretty cool. So my first area that we're assigned to is called Linhares. It is about a 3 hour bus ride North of Vitoria and it's a smaller little town. It's pretty legit though. There are 3 duplas in our area including us, and Elder Swanson and I are in charge of the biggest area of Linhares, but it is really cool. So we got off the bus at about 9 and we didn't have a way to get home or even know where our house was for that matter, but we got a member to come get us and take us home. So we get to the house and Elder Swanson tells me that this is a really nice house and we got there and I was freaking out because it wasn't very nice, but the next day when we went to lunch at the members house, I realized that it really is and I'm very greatful to have what we have. So we have just been tracting and kinda teaching lessons and just doing the normal stuff.

It is really cool to actually be out here. The language is still pretty rough, but it is coming along good. My first Sunday was cool. Straight Portuguese except this one kid that I talked to that could speak English that is going to BYU-I. He was cool. General Conference is next weekend and we will just watch it at the church. We have a branch of about 100 members and they are all really nice, so that is awesome. So last night we had to catch a bus and take off to this other city to go do some baptismal interviews. The city is São Mateus and it was about an hour away and it was so cool. It's right by the ocean and there is this river that goes through it and it has a slave trading port and everything. It was nuts. So that was way cool except the only 
bus that came back last night was at 2 in the morning, so we got back this morning at about 3:45 and then had to walk an hour to get to our house from the bus station, so that was a good time ha ha. 

I love it here and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I hope everything is going 
well back home. Being out here has made me realize how thankful I need to be for what I have because the people here do not have much. Some of the houses are so horrible, so I'm thankful for what I have. Well have a great week. I love you guys. 

So the pictures I'm not sure what the order is of them. but the big one is my two teachers and my district at the ctm. Then there is one in Sao Mateus, and then there is one of me and Elder Brown at the ctm. He is the one who is taller. Then me and Swanson at the transfers, and then the on with all the green, and that lake looking thing is in Linhares. Love ya!

Last e-mail in the MTC! 9/14/11

Yes, the time sure does fly. Everything here is going very well. I'm loving it more and more each day, and getting more anxious every day too. I can't wait to get out in the field. ha ha Don't worry about the no email last week. No one got one except like 2 kids ha ha. 

We will fly out on Tuesday morning. We have meetings all day Monday and then we're off. 

The rice is just regular white rice. It's the beans that are so good ha. My allergies are fine. I don't have them at all, and yes please. I would love that CD. I'm sure I could find a way to play. Just wait a little bit on that and I will figure out what to do in the field. 

Ya I heard about Zack. That really sucks. Tell him I'm sorry, but that he needs to get back out there. That is cool that Krissy got married. I'm sure that was beautiful. Wayne's backyard was looking so good that last time we were there. I bet it was amazing. ha ha That is funny about Rusten's little friend. That poor kid, but I bet they had fun. Tell Rusten and JoDee happy birthday for me and that I love them so much. 

K so this week has been a pretty good week. we baptized our fake investigator on Saturday and taught some more members that same day. It's always intense doing that. Then Sunday I had to give a talk in church, so that was cool and then at the fireside that night it was really good. I got some really cool quotes that i liked. They said that "Your mission won't be successful if you don't bring at least one soul unto the gospel, and that soul is your own." So that was good, and then Monday was such a good day. We went out on the streets to place Book of Mormons and it was such a neat experience. We got out and me and Elder Brown said a prayer and we headed out and we were trying to talk to people as we walked by, but no one was really stopping and talking to us. Mainly because every Monday the Americans go out and go tracting and they know this. So we walked up to this guy sitting on the curb and started talking to him and he said he didn't like the church, so we're like "whatever" and then we went up to this lady sitting in front of the bank and started talking with her and she said she is evangelic and loves her church, but we kept being  persistent and at first she was just like laughing at us kinda, but then we bore our testimonies of it and she completely changed and she took it and seemed like she would read it. Then we talked to a couple more people and they weren't interested  until this one guy and we talked to him and the spirit was definitely talking through me because I was talking and understanding everything that he said, and then I gave it to him and it was just really cool. He seemed very interested, and then the last guy we gave one to it was just kinda the same as the first lady. So we were out there for an hour and a half and it was way cool. 

I'm so excited for Friday when we get to go for 3 hours to the down town where no one knows anything about the gospel or very few. So that's cool. I leave and I will be in Vitoria the next time you get an email from me, crazy huh? Today was a good day we went out and had lunch with our instructor and went to the temple for the last time for 22 months. I'm gonna miss it. I love this temple. It is so beautiful. 

Well I love you so much. Hope you're having a great week. Talk to you next week.

Practice for the Field. 9/6/11

Well this is kinda awkward. I get in here and no email. ha ha just kidding. It is the Brazilian Independence Day tomorrow, so they changed our P-Day to today. This week we were back to the Sao Paulo Temple and it was sweet. I was able to do initiatory today in Portuguese and it was so awesome. The Sao Paulo Temple is definitely my favorite. It is SO pretty, so that was very good and then it has just been a normal day besides that. 

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to teach members that were playing investigators, and that was so intense. It was pretty cool. As long as they were talking about gospel stuff, I could understand a lot of what they would say and then I could get my point across to them when I was teaching, so that has been a very cool thing. Then on Saturday night we got to practice doing street contacts just in the gym with the different instructors, and that was very helpful because this next Monday we're going tracting outside the ctm and then Friday of next week we get to go to Paulista, which is like the main street of Sao Paulo, and go tracting for like 3 hours, so I'm super pumped about that, but super nervous at the same time for sure. Then I will be out in the real field the next week! I have two weeks from today. 

So that was a good practice and then Sunday was a fast and testimony meeting and that was awesome. The testimonies that are born are so powerful. I love it, and then later that day the branch pres came up to Elder Pellegrini and told him to tell me that I'm the new assistant to the president so that happened also on Sunday. Pretty crazy day. Besides that nothing too crazy has happened. We challenged a district to a sweet game of volleyball tomorrow. Winner takes our teacher because they have the same night teacher that teaches us during the day so that will be intense ha ha. 

Well that's really about all. The weeks are flying by and I am pretty sure that they are only gonna start going faster. I'm loving it here. I am so happy to serve the Lord and for the opportunity that he has given me to serve in such a beautiful place as Brazil. Well hope all is well back home the next email will be better hopefully because i will have some good tracting stories to share. Love you. Thanks for everything. Here is my mission home address. You will probably want to just send all letters there from now on cause they will take too long to get here unless you send them within the next 2 or 3 days so here it is:

Avenida João Baptista Parra, 633
Salas 1501/1502
Edificio Enseada Office
Praia do Suá, Vitoria, ES
29052-123 (And I add Brazil at the bottom :D)

{So If you want to send him a letter or package, now you can if you didn't know his address :) haha.}

Feeling the Spirit Through Good Music. 8/31/11

Hey hey!
How is everything going this week? Everything here is going very good, and yes we did go to the campinas temple again this week. It was so amazing. Ya they had Sao Paulo closed for cleaning, so today was the last time that I will get that opportunity to go there. It is the prettiest temple ever. I love it there. Oh I have to tell you a story before i forget about it. So today after we went to the temple, my district decided that we would go out to eat instead of eating at the CTM, so we went to the Rodigio Grill thing and it was so dang good, and then on our way out we were standing in line to pay and I was in the back and this sweet old lady and her husband were behind us in line and I didn't realize, but my collar on my suit was sticking up in the back and the old women said as best she could in english - I know I'm not your mom but I'm going to help you out- and she reached up and fixed my collar for me and I was like, "thank you so much. I'm pretty far from home and I don't have a mother here in Brazil to look out for me." and she was just really sweet, so don't worry I'm being looked out for. That blows my mind that Rusten is already starting school. That is way cool. I bet that he is loving it.
Ya we got new companionships like 3 days after Elder Bennion left so I got put with Elder Brown, he is a stud. He definitely makes up for what I lack in the language. Speaking of which, that is coming along pretty good, so that is good. We commited our first fake investigator to baptism this last week and took away all of his coffee so that was cool.
I'm glad that you got to make it to Zack's farewell. I'm sure he really appreciated that. I can't believe that all my freinds will have gone on missions. It is such a blessing to have such great friends. I look up to every one of them so much.
So last night for devotional my district and one other one had to do prelude music for it. It was so good, we sang Abide With Me Tis Ev´n Tide and that was all in Portuguese, and then we sang Be Still My Soul and that was half and half, and then the last one was the best. It was Joseph Smith's First Prayer, but we sang it to the tune of Come Thou Fount and also the second half to If You Could High To Kolob, so that was way cool. The spirit is so easily invited into the room when you sing good music and it is always so strong when you give it your all. Well I'm glad to hear everything is going well sorry that this is so short. I love you and I love the Lord and I'm so happy to be here.

Elder Furrows