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.}

Starting to Teach Lessons! :) 8/17/11

Well I'm very glad that all is well back home. It is just another week here at the ctm, but I'm loving it more and more every single day that I am here. It is definitely a lot harder than I thought it was going to be, so I'm getting humbled, I would say every 30 seconds or so. ha ha. But it's good for me. The language is tough, but I'm getting it ok. Elder Brown and I taught our first whole lesson in portuguese this week, so that was dang intense! I have come to a realization that I need to grow up and put all my faith in the Lord if I want miracles to start happening because that is what it is going to take. So I'm praying as much as possible and putting a lot of faith in the Lord and putting forth all the effort that I can. I know that it will all work out if I put my faith in Christ. That's one thing that they make sure to teach you here. If you put your faith in Christ, then things will work out. I love it here. The spirit is always so strong and you can always feel it.

We are going to the Campenis Temple next week because they are cleaning Sao Paulo, so that is awesome.

The pic of Cam's wedding looks like it was beautiful. Tell them congrats for me. Oh ya, you are going to Cali! That's so awesome. I hope you guys make it safe and sound.

We got two new kids from Provo in our district. Elders Litchfield and Hill. One is from Oregon and the other is from Cali, and we also got some brazilian roomates. They are flippen cool! It's so fun to talk to them.

Ya that sucks about Anthany. I feel so bad for him. I hope it all works out for him. How is Todd doing? Good to hear about Charlie hope he comes around. My hand is doing so good! Only one week till I can stop wearing my brace. woot woot! I'm so ready to get it off. The doc just looked at it and asked how it felt and I said good and he sent me on my way pretty pain free.

Ya I could definitely find some way to listen to it. You can send them to me out in the field and I would love that. I am half way done with the ctm this Saturday. I'm so ready to get out of here and preach the good word, but I'm really not ready because I need to know a lot more portuguese, but it will come. Well I hope Rory's wedding goes great. Tell them congrats for me.

love,

Elder Furrows

The Lord Has A Purpose For Us. 8/10/11

Hey Mom and family and freinds! Brazil is just as amazing as it was last week. I have only grown to love the people more and more since I have been here. Wow that sounds like you guys are having a busy week back home. I hope everything worked out for you for the better. How was Cam's wedding? Ya I love getting the letter from you and the email both. I would write you hand written ones back every week, but I figure I would just be saying the same thing twice so I just email you if that's ok. But yes, keep sending both please. It is the best feeling ever when you get mail. Oh and I will send you some pictures next week in a letter so you can see some of the stuff.

Thank you for that little short story you put in your last hand written letter. That really boosted me up and Elder Pellegrini, yup that's right, he decided to stay! It is such an amazing story. The Lord knows exactly what he is doing and I gained a testimaony of that this week. He was dead set on going home last p-day and we went to talk to the mission pres and I went down there with him cause I had to, and then he was trying to call his mom and she wouldn't answer her phone, and then we went back up to the room and he was just crying and trying to figure out what he should do and then Elder Sheaperd came up to him and said, "let's talk," and they went out and talked and Elder Mathews talked to him too and those two elders are honestly sent from God for him! They where meant to be here at this time for that exact purpose. Both of them are just such great guys and they are always so encouraging and so nice, it would blow your mind. So they talked him into staying and he has been so much happier ever since, so it is awesome. The crazy thing is Elder Mathews went out last year on his mission and then went home after the first week and then came back out this year, so he could really relate to Elder Pellegrini, and he just said the right things, so it was awesome. I feel like that all happened with Elder Mathews coming home for this reason, so it's a good thing.

Well the language is coming along great I'm really starting to understand when people talk, really only when they are talking about the gospel, but I can kind of form small sentences so that is good. It is very humbling though to learn a new language, but I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world. We had the craziest thunderstorm yesterday. It was so dang loud, but it was cool. ha ha.

That's awesome that there was a moose in the backyard. I bet Beezly was all over that. ha ha. I bet Table Rock was a pretty fun hike though, so that's good. But ya, they still had a 14 foot base when I left. My hand is doing great. Everything is coming along just fine. I only have to wear that stupid brace for 2 more weeks so I am pumped to get it off. But I have an appt. with the mission doc this Sunday. He is gioing to take a look at it, so it will be good I'm sure.

That is way cool that Ernie and Bryant flew up to see you. I bet that was fun for you and them both. That stinks about Todd. I will definitely keep him in my prayers. That is crazy that there is a kid from Lyman coming. I haven't seen him yet, but maybe he came today. There is one of the instructor's here that knows Cam and I was talking to him the other day and he was all, "Hey Elder Furrows, Cameron says hi!" So that was funny. His name is Pissanya.

The new schedule is awesome. We're always super busy, so I'm tired by the end of the day, but it is sweet. I like it a lot. We're teaching a lot. One of our teachers quit this week cause he got a better job, so that kinda stinks but it's alright. We will get a new one. I love all of the elders that are on my floor they are all so flippin sweet. There are a lot that went to BYU-I, so maybe we will room together when I get home.

We had our first Fast Sunday and that was amazing. My whole branch got to bear their testimonies. All 9 of us. ha ha. But it was still way good. The spirit is always so strong here. Today we're supposed to be getting two new elders from the Provo MTC to add to our district, so that will be awesome. I am way pumped about that, and guess what! I am one third of the way done with the MTC this week. woot woot!

We had a fireside last night and it was dang good. I got a quote from it and I think it is my new favorite quote. "Obedience brings blessings, exact obedience brings miracles." I thought that was pretty dang good. Well as always temple was good and p-day was amazing. I love it here, and wouldn't trade it for the world. Hope all is well this week! Love you.

Elder Furrows