8-08-2011 the LAST Letter Home
THIS IS IT!
Well, this is it guys, the last week has finally arrived, which means that today is the day I'll send my last e-mail from the mission field. Whatever words I can put down on this computer screen, it won't be enough to fully express the emotions I am feeling right now, but I'll do my best to get it close. These last 100 weeks have been the most wonderful, life-changing weeks of my entire life. What an adventure it has been.
I believe that any seriously honest missionary would tell you that the two years we spend in prayer and sweat, the two years we sacrifice to the Lord, isn't fun. It's not as if we walk around all day, talk to everyone we see about something that could change their lives for the better and get rejected by almost everyone and because of this lifestyle is so wonderful that we smile and giggle while we do it. It's like being a pioneer. Were the pioneers dead scared at the beginning of the Great Trek of the winter dangers, the hostile indians and brutal almost never-ending desert terrain that they would have to pass through? I can bet you that the wide majority were terrified as they began their journey, and it didn't suddenly get easy 10% 20% or 50% 90% of the way through it. It was difficult and exhausting right until the moment they entered the blessed valleys of Utah. As much as we sugarcoat the huge sacrifices we make to the Lord Jesus Christ to primary kids, I think every member reaches an age when they should discover it's no picnic excursion. It's not delightful. Does that mean we should think worse of the whole "Best Two Years" experience, believe that maybe something is wrong with this ordeal the Church demands of it's young members?
Absolutely absolutely not.
Just as the pioneers reported that in the blackest, stormiest of winter days angels from heaven descended to pull their handcarts till they were rested, I testify that in the worst, most difficult days of the mission experience, angels from heaven have descended to the mission field to make miracles happen. Why they don't come more often I do not know. Why we are expected to carry any cross, however small compared to the one carried by Jesus Christ to Calvary, I do not fully understand. Many nights I have layed in my bed at night tormented with stinging questions... Why does the Lord let things be so difficult to support? Why does so much wickedness and confusion run rampant in the world today? Why is that necessary? If the Lord is so all-powerful and infinitely loving, why is our path so rocky? I have no idea and all the words of the living prophets and the apostles only give me hints of that great why... but, I have experienced enough in these two years, just enough, to know for myself that the Lord's hand is here among the Elders of His Church.
No wonder it is a commandment for us young men to serve a mission. These experiences have not just helped me in some vague manner; in hindsight I recognize that they were absolutely necessary to my eternal salvation. I have walked the hard road, I have opened my mouth to tell all who I could that endless blessings are ready for us if only we choose accept them, I have dealt with trials and obstacles at more times and places than I thought possible and the sum realization of all these experiences is that this was necessary for me. It was what I had to do. I'm proud of myself that I did it, and all the naysayers in the world can't take that from me. What was necessary to do has been finished. These have been the most worthwhile 100 weeks of my life. I can't express all of my gratitude to our Heavenly Father for helping me complete it. It was inspired. These memories and lessons will become the foundation of a new Brendon Elliott Carpenter that I never thought could be me. Thank you Heavenly Father. Eu te agradeco Pai Celestial.
I'm far from perfect, but this'll do.
As I sit here thinking of all my Heavenly Father has done for me and for those who I have aided, I realize that I cannot thank only Him, but also for all those here on Earth who have helped me on this path. I thank God that He put you all in my life, it was exactly enough to support me on this journey. All of your prayers and goodwill that you have sent me from home has kept me going until the end. Truly all of you, my friends and family, have played a huge part in this as well. Thank you for saving my life and giving me a gift I will never be able to repay. *chuckles* You guys are the best!
As much as my relatives and friends have helped, I have to thank personally by name my wonderful fantastic immediate family, the pillar of my happiness. Thank you Dad for the advice and wisdom I have received for these last two years, keeping my focus in the right places. Thank you Mom for the warming love that has kept the cold away and given me endless confidence and power. Thank you Lynsey for the jovial care I know you always have in you that has brought me smiles when they shouldn't have been allowed. Thank you Kaitlin for the sweet hugs I've felt from five thousand miles away on a daily basis. Thank you Connor for being the companion I've never tracted with, that I've never taught with, but the one that has mattered the most.
I've mentioned our Heavenly Father, my family and friends from home, but I need to quickly say a few last words for the people of Ceara Brazil, for this world I've come to know and love. We got onto a rocky start, we had our differences from the beginning, and it wasn't the easiest thing to maintain this relationship we have, but I want you to know I love you. I cherish you. I've wanted your happiness from day one and I'll never stop wanting it and that is the truth. People of Ceara Brazil, people of Juazeiro do Norte, Maracanau, Fortaleza and Caucaia, investigators, members, people that I've baptized, people that I've fought with, the good ones and the bad ones... thanks guys. Thanks for everything you taught me. I won't be the same as I was, you have changed me even though from day one I've always been trying to change you, teach you how to have happier lives. I hope you stick with the small changes I've made in you and that you keep getting better. I hope your families are touched by the Light of Jesus Christ in whatever form and that they can flourish and that your land may prosper. I honestly hope that some day I can return to a happier place. It never is easy, finding happiness, but I hope I've lightened your burdens and guided you a little bit farther down that road. Thanks again for everything, and I hope you don't forget what I tried so hard to do here. I love you.
And that's that. This is it. I'll see you all on the other side.
Adeus e obrigado por todos os peixes!
- Elder Brendon Carpenter
Well, this is it guys, the last week has finally arrived, which means that today is the day I'll send my last e-mail from the mission field. Whatever words I can put down on this computer screen, it won't be enough to fully express the emotions I am feeling right now, but I'll do my best to get it close. These last 100 weeks have been the most wonderful, life-changing weeks of my entire life. What an adventure it has been.
I believe that any seriously honest missionary would tell you that the two years we spend in prayer and sweat, the two years we sacrifice to the Lord, isn't fun. It's not as if we walk around all day, talk to everyone we see about something that could change their lives for the better and get rejected by almost everyone and because of this lifestyle is so wonderful that we smile and giggle while we do it. It's like being a pioneer. Were the pioneers dead scared at the beginning of the Great Trek of the winter dangers, the hostile indians and brutal almost never-ending desert terrain that they would have to pass through? I can bet you that the wide majority were terrified as they began their journey, and it didn't suddenly get easy 10% 20% or 50% 90% of the way through it. It was difficult and exhausting right until the moment they entered the blessed valleys of Utah. As much as we sugarcoat the huge sacrifices we make to the Lord Jesus Christ to primary kids, I think every member reaches an age when they should discover it's no picnic excursion. It's not delightful. Does that mean we should think worse of the whole "Best Two Years" experience, believe that maybe something is wrong with this ordeal the Church demands of it's young members?
Absolutely absolutely not.
Just as the pioneers reported that in the blackest, stormiest of winter days angels from heaven descended to pull their handcarts till they were rested, I testify that in the worst, most difficult days of the mission experience, angels from heaven have descended to the mission field to make miracles happen. Why they don't come more often I do not know. Why we are expected to carry any cross, however small compared to the one carried by Jesus Christ to Calvary, I do not fully understand. Many nights I have layed in my bed at night tormented with stinging questions... Why does the Lord let things be so difficult to support? Why does so much wickedness and confusion run rampant in the world today? Why is that necessary? If the Lord is so all-powerful and infinitely loving, why is our path so rocky? I have no idea and all the words of the living prophets and the apostles only give me hints of that great why... but, I have experienced enough in these two years, just enough, to know for myself that the Lord's hand is here among the Elders of His Church.
No wonder it is a commandment for us young men to serve a mission. These experiences have not just helped me in some vague manner; in hindsight I recognize that they were absolutely necessary to my eternal salvation. I have walked the hard road, I have opened my mouth to tell all who I could that endless blessings are ready for us if only we choose accept them, I have dealt with trials and obstacles at more times and places than I thought possible and the sum realization of all these experiences is that this was necessary for me. It was what I had to do. I'm proud of myself that I did it, and all the naysayers in the world can't take that from me. What was necessary to do has been finished. These have been the most worthwhile 100 weeks of my life. I can't express all of my gratitude to our Heavenly Father for helping me complete it. It was inspired. These memories and lessons will become the foundation of a new Brendon Elliott Carpenter that I never thought could be me. Thank you Heavenly Father. Eu te agradeco Pai Celestial.
I'm far from perfect, but this'll do.
As I sit here thinking of all my Heavenly Father has done for me and for those who I have aided, I realize that I cannot thank only Him, but also for all those here on Earth who have helped me on this path. I thank God that He put you all in my life, it was exactly enough to support me on this journey. All of your prayers and goodwill that you have sent me from home has kept me going until the end. Truly all of you, my friends and family, have played a huge part in this as well. Thank you for saving my life and giving me a gift I will never be able to repay. *chuckles* You guys are the best!
As much as my relatives and friends have helped, I have to thank personally by name my wonderful fantastic immediate family, the pillar of my happiness. Thank you Dad for the advice and wisdom I have received for these last two years, keeping my focus in the right places. Thank you Mom for the warming love that has kept the cold away and given me endless confidence and power. Thank you Lynsey for the jovial care I know you always have in you that has brought me smiles when they shouldn't have been allowed. Thank you Kaitlin for the sweet hugs I've felt from five thousand miles away on a daily basis. Thank you Connor for being the companion I've never tracted with, that I've never taught with, but the one that has mattered the most.
I've mentioned our Heavenly Father, my family and friends from home, but I need to quickly say a few last words for the people of Ceara Brazil, for this world I've come to know and love. We got onto a rocky start, we had our differences from the beginning, and it wasn't the easiest thing to maintain this relationship we have, but I want you to know I love you. I cherish you. I've wanted your happiness from day one and I'll never stop wanting it and that is the truth. People of Ceara Brazil, people of Juazeiro do Norte, Maracanau, Fortaleza and Caucaia, investigators, members, people that I've baptized, people that I've fought with, the good ones and the bad ones... thanks guys. Thanks for everything you taught me. I won't be the same as I was, you have changed me even though from day one I've always been trying to change you, teach you how to have happier lives. I hope you stick with the small changes I've made in you and that you keep getting better. I hope your families are touched by the Light of Jesus Christ in whatever form and that they can flourish and that your land may prosper. I honestly hope that some day I can return to a happier place. It never is easy, finding happiness, but I hope I've lightened your burdens and guided you a little bit farther down that road. Thanks again for everything, and I hope you don't forget what I tried so hard to do here. I love you.
And that's that. This is it. I'll see you all on the other side.
Adeus e obrigado por todos os peixes!
- Elder Brendon Carpenter
8-02-2011 Letter Home
 |
| The Kings Returns (to Jangurussu) and other adventures... |
 |
| My future wallpaper - Sand, coconut, scrips and little Cearense street urchins :) |
Sorry I did not get to write yesterday...
Yeah, yeah, P-Day was pretty crazy. I went back to the Fortaleza and Castelo wards in Jangurussu yesterday (will talk more about that in a bit) and when it came time to use the internet, we were really rushed and almost as soon as we got in the LANhouse (I was about getting done reading my e-mails...) the owner came in and told us he was closing up. Lame! We actually kind of got kinda mad because he gave us only a five minute warning (no signs at all telling us when they would be closing, they didn't even tell us when we came in) and like, two minutes went by and they closed the whole system down, deleting the messages we were trying to type up. Oh man on top of all the other wonderful things I'll be having when I get home (family, girlfriend, airconditioning, hot showers, carpet, paved roads) I will also have my own laptop with internet! I won't have to go through so much trouble to get a simple e-mail to the outside world. Yeah, but, I'm here now typing up a fiercely quick e-mail to you guys... the second to last or as the Brazilians would say, the PENULTIMATE (literally "second-to-last").
Let's go against chronological order here and start with yesterday! I went back to my beloved area, Jangurussu, my home in Brazil.
I will tell you, I didn't tell too many people I was coming, and some people had other important business, so sadly to say some people that I'd befriended, some people that I baptized I wasn't able to visit. :(
I feel really sad especially that I didn't get to see either of the bishops, Heverton and Eduardo and Raquelle, some people I would really have liked to see but many members promised me that they would invite them to go to the airport. But I was able to see many of my friends and it was awesome! The wards are doing great, Elder Cusick is still working there would you believe it and he's been keeping the work going great. My "Brazilian parents", Valdir and Jacinta were there and we ate lunch with them, they are doing great and their home has become a little Latter-Day Saint haven. They were really happy to see me and told me that things hadn't been the same since I'd left but they were super happy that I was ending my mission with honor.
 |
| My Brazilian Parents! Jacinta and Valdir - The saddest people to see me go, bless their hearts :) |
Yep... Jangurussu is kind of known for that, lots of crime... I'm super lucky that I've never seen anything crazy like that happen when I was there. I saw several other members and little punks that I had baptized, it hasn't changed that much. Many of the young adult members I had befriended either left already for missions or were called! Three of my best buds, Jamerson, Winston and Raquelle had already left for missions to Rio de Janeiro, Toronto Canada, and Minas Gerais respectively and I thought it was funny that their parents all reported that they were super exhausted after only a few months. Hahaha, soon the tables will turn, I will be the member and they will be the missionaries, mwahahaha! I am definitely going to send each of them a picture of me eating cookies in my pajamas sitting on the couch just to kid around with them, hehehe.
It was great to be back in Jangurussu, it has changed a bit there, different paint jobs on some of the buildings, some new things being constructed there, life moves on for the people and the neighborhood, but as I finally got on the bus to return to Caucaia, I gave it one last look, knowing that I probably wouldn't see it again for years to come. This is my home in Brazil, a small little wriggly-wraggly of suburban (Ceara-style surburban) streets where I feel I most changed, where I helped the most people, where I've left most of my heart. It was hard to finally let it go. I love Jangurussu and I can't wait to come back in a couple of years to see old friends once more.
One thing I noticed in visiting Maracanau and Jangurussu is that... it's nothing like I ever thought it would be. My whole mission I looked forward to my last transfer where I could visit my areas again and talked about it so much but in both cases I didn't have a triumphant homecoming. Friends I had left behind were still friends, generally happy and continuing with their lives, and everyone was grateful that I passed by one last time but I also think they had moved on, you know, to say that politely. Other Elders had arrived in their lives, doing the things I did, and life went on. That might seem sad but I kind of had a spiritual experience thinking about the phenomenon as I rode my bus back to Caucaia (maybe the heat just got to my head, I don't know...) We sacrifice everything for these people, and we do it for nothing. We literally are the representatives of Jesus Christ, and when people think back on what the missionaries do, I don't think they really think "Oh, Elder Carpenter, now there was a great missionary, he was awesome, he helped me so much" I am starting to see that they think more like "Oh man, that was a good missionary, one of the many great missionaries that passes through here... what a wonderful thing that we always have missionaries to help us live the Gospel of Jesus Christ". Before the mission I always thought that the Elders were like the rockstars of the Church... now I realize that the real rockstar is (and I am putting this forward seriously and reverently) Jesus Christ himself. The credit goes to the Lord, all glory goes to Him. Without Him and His influence, we wouldn't even be here doing the things we do, it's His work, it's His church. I started feeling okay that I didn't get the triumphant return I wanted with lots of hugs and kisses... what happened is how it should've happened... people smile and thank and say goodbye, but what they really remember, where they really give praise, is the influence of the Lord Jesus Christ that came into their lives because of us. I am thankful that He can be there when I leave Ceara for good, that He will always be here to guide the righteous and comfort everyone going through hard times. He is so infinitely more capable of helping than I am.
Alright, finally I'll write a bit about last week. IT WAS... well, anticlimactic, let's be serious here no beating around the bush. We know time is running out for the transfer (and for my mission...) and we were working harder than normal. We taught a lot of okaypleasant people, we taught a few really wowawesomelesson people, but come Sunday morning... rain rain rain, the rain wouldn't stop, this happening after more than an entire week without it. So there was Elder Pereira and I, walking in the rain (why have I still not bought an umbrella!) clapping doors, waking up people to get to church in the rain and it didn't end well let's just put it that way. Out of four missionaries in this city we got only one person to church. I guess that's more to ask for for many countries so I shouldn't be complaining... but, it was pretty humbling, hehe. I guess I shouldn't expect an epic climax at the end of my mission, like I'm going to baptize twenty people or anything. This isn't the movie "The Best Two Years". What climax I'll have is, well, all you guys, there to welcome me back to the Real World. The real climax is me living a wonderful blessed life after the mission. I'm good with that.
I've got to save some of this good prose for my last e-mail home, don't you think? I can't blow it all on this penultimate e-mail can I? I guess I'll steer it to a conclusion right now seeing as I've got limited time anyway.
Man, I love you guys so much, it still isn't sinking in that I am going to see so many of you, friends and family, here in less than two weeks, just like Connor said, I feel like I'll just start another transfer. I am so excited to see you all, but I'm still trying to live it up till the end. I'm taking video and pictures like crazy by the way, I only have a little more time to fill up my mission photo album and montage!! I hope you guys like what I send and don't delete anything (because I don't have hard copies with me!!).
Have a great week! I know I will!
Love,
The King of Jangurussu :)
Here is some photos ... Some don't have subtitles, self-explanatory
 |
| The family in blue: Familia Romoaldo, my good friends in Caucaia |
Hope you like???-B
7-25-2011 Letter Home
Familiar Faces
Hey everybody! Man, I can't believe that I'm only going to send two more e-mails! I've got to make these count!
My camera, unfortunately, is still in the hands of a member friend who borrowed it to take pictures of a huge international anime conference that was hosted in Brazil. Apparently he was trying to put the pictures and video of the event on a computer and the camera got a virus and now he is trying to get it fixed... he promised he'd get it to me by tomorrow. He's usually pretty responsible so I trust him about it. These next three weeks I want to take a crazy amount of pictures and video too to bring back with me.
This week was great! We are continuing to progress with Analina who seemed ready to get baptized this week but in the end we decided to wait a while. She is really liking the Book of Mormon and feeling more and more confident that the Church is true, but she always has a question here or there that we have to unravel. She is great, I'm so glad that we found her and that the lessons are going so well.
There is also another girl, Mirla, that we found in Paracuru LAST week when we passed by to see how our family there is doing. Mirla is 20-something, works in a law office, really busy with work but she was intrigued by the LDS Church when Clarisse told her she was baptized and she came over to their house when we were there to hear more and it just clicked with her. She told us that the Restoration makes more sense than she has ever heard before in another church and when we told her that we need to follow a living prophet she agreed that she needed to find the true prophet of God in order to follow him. Really just super elect, responded to all of our questions perfectly. This week we met with her again in Paracuru and taught her all of the commandments, and she told us she would follow every single one, she would stop drinking coffee and start paying tithing. Man, working in the frontier is awesome the elect people just come to you! She wants to be baptized next week.
Clarisse and Laryssa are doing great, the whole family is though they aren't able to go to Sunday every week. Every Saturday we take the long busride to their house (it's nice, it has air-conditioning! such a rarity here...), eat lunch there (which is always great) and then we leave a message and go work around their neighborhood, returning to their home two or three times to drink water or tell them about the newest investigator that we taught that has potential. We found various new people in Paracuru, none of them have heard of the Church of Jesus Christ before let alone the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, everything is brand new to these guys and they seem way more receptive than the people in Caucaia. I have a feeling that the wide majority of them I won't see baptized (let's be realistic, I've only got three more weeks here) but I feel privileged that I am leaving a good foundation for the next missionaries to begin a great work here. Who knows if when I come back to Ceara I'll find a little growing branch way out here in Paracuru, with the Bentes Family as some of it's strongest leaders? I think it's awesome that after two years dreaming of preaching in a virgin field, among people far away from the center of the Church in Fortaleza, finally in these last few weeks I've been able to get a taste of what it's like. That's a huge blessing.
What more to say about our week? Oh... I went back to Maracanau to visit everybody yesterday! I surprised them, they thought I would be passing through today, but no, we woke up early and we were able to get there for the last hour of their meetings. I was able to see a lot of old friends, Lucilene "Tia", Milena, Derick, Larissa, Bishop Santos and a lot of familiar faces. I could remember so few names, but everywhere I looked were familiar faces, members that we'd gotten to know, that had prepared lunch for us long ago. Everyone remembered me! Brazilian friendliness is awesome there were so many hugs from all directions. I was so busy hugging and catching up that I took relatively few pictures but with the bestest of my friends I was able to get both pictures and e-mail addresses, contact information. It was great to see everybody... so little changes really. A lot of the youth had grown older, taller and bigger, a couple of the young single adults have gotten married to each other, it was great. Unfortunately, the only person I baptized there, Marcilo, didn't show up that Sunday! Shoot! I really wanted to see him. But, alas, I was told that he would meet me at the airport, so I hope to see him there.
Next week I am going to head off to Jangurussu! As great as Maracanau and Caucaia have been, Jangurussu is my home in Fortaleza, my most memorable area. I'm so excited to see everybody!
I love all you guys, family and friends! You guys have no idea how much I miss you and how excited I am to come home. I can honestly testify that our Heavenly Father loves us and that our lives are wonderful journeys that allow us to more perfectly understand Him and return to His presence. I know this Church is the Church that Our Savior Jesus Christ established himself and the same blessings and experiences that we read of in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon which seem so ancient and distant can be had today through our faith in this Restored Gospel. I know our families can live together forever through this wonderful and perfect Gospel which Jesus Christ himself has taught through prophets both ancient and modern. This is His glorious work.
Love love love!
- Elder Brendon
Hey everybody! Man, I can't believe that I'm only going to send two more e-mails! I've got to make these count!
My camera, unfortunately, is still in the hands of a member friend who borrowed it to take pictures of a huge international anime conference that was hosted in Brazil. Apparently he was trying to put the pictures and video of the event on a computer and the camera got a virus and now he is trying to get it fixed... he promised he'd get it to me by tomorrow. He's usually pretty responsible so I trust him about it. These next three weeks I want to take a crazy amount of pictures and video too to bring back with me.
This week was great! We are continuing to progress with Analina who seemed ready to get baptized this week but in the end we decided to wait a while. She is really liking the Book of Mormon and feeling more and more confident that the Church is true, but she always has a question here or there that we have to unravel. She is great, I'm so glad that we found her and that the lessons are going so well.
There is also another girl, Mirla, that we found in Paracuru LAST week when we passed by to see how our family there is doing. Mirla is 20-something, works in a law office, really busy with work but she was intrigued by the LDS Church when Clarisse told her she was baptized and she came over to their house when we were there to hear more and it just clicked with her. She told us that the Restoration makes more sense than she has ever heard before in another church and when we told her that we need to follow a living prophet she agreed that she needed to find the true prophet of God in order to follow him. Really just super elect, responded to all of our questions perfectly. This week we met with her again in Paracuru and taught her all of the commandments, and she told us she would follow every single one, she would stop drinking coffee and start paying tithing. Man, working in the frontier is awesome the elect people just come to you! She wants to be baptized next week.
Clarisse and Laryssa are doing great, the whole family is though they aren't able to go to Sunday every week. Every Saturday we take the long busride to their house (it's nice, it has air-conditioning! such a rarity here...), eat lunch there (which is always great) and then we leave a message and go work around their neighborhood, returning to their home two or three times to drink water or tell them about the newest investigator that we taught that has potential. We found various new people in Paracuru, none of them have heard of the Church of Jesus Christ before let alone the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, everything is brand new to these guys and they seem way more receptive than the people in Caucaia. I have a feeling that the wide majority of them I won't see baptized (let's be realistic, I've only got three more weeks here) but I feel privileged that I am leaving a good foundation for the next missionaries to begin a great work here. Who knows if when I come back to Ceara I'll find a little growing branch way out here in Paracuru, with the Bentes Family as some of it's strongest leaders? I think it's awesome that after two years dreaming of preaching in a virgin field, among people far away from the center of the Church in Fortaleza, finally in these last few weeks I've been able to get a taste of what it's like. That's a huge blessing.
What more to say about our week? Oh... I went back to Maracanau to visit everybody yesterday! I surprised them, they thought I would be passing through today, but no, we woke up early and we were able to get there for the last hour of their meetings. I was able to see a lot of old friends, Lucilene "Tia", Milena, Derick, Larissa, Bishop Santos and a lot of familiar faces. I could remember so few names, but everywhere I looked were familiar faces, members that we'd gotten to know, that had prepared lunch for us long ago. Everyone remembered me! Brazilian friendliness is awesome there were so many hugs from all directions. I was so busy hugging and catching up that I took relatively few pictures but with the bestest of my friends I was able to get both pictures and e-mail addresses, contact information. It was great to see everybody... so little changes really. A lot of the youth had grown older, taller and bigger, a couple of the young single adults have gotten married to each other, it was great. Unfortunately, the only person I baptized there, Marcilo, didn't show up that Sunday! Shoot! I really wanted to see him. But, alas, I was told that he would meet me at the airport, so I hope to see him there.
Next week I am going to head off to Jangurussu! As great as Maracanau and Caucaia have been, Jangurussu is my home in Fortaleza, my most memorable area. I'm so excited to see everybody!
I love all you guys, family and friends! You guys have no idea how much I miss you and how excited I am to come home. I can honestly testify that our Heavenly Father loves us and that our lives are wonderful journeys that allow us to more perfectly understand Him and return to His presence. I know this Church is the Church that Our Savior Jesus Christ established himself and the same blessings and experiences that we read of in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon which seem so ancient and distant can be had today through our faith in this Restored Gospel. I know our families can live together forever through this wonderful and perfect Gospel which Jesus Christ himself has taught through prophets both ancient and modern. This is His glorious work.
Love love love!
- Elder Brendon
7-18-2011 Letter Home
O missionário épico está em fogo!
Heavenly Father is blessing us a lot here. Remember that girl Analina? It looks like she'll be baptized next week! We've got some more possibilities as well. I'm not feeling up to writing a letter today. And a member took my camera to an activity on Sunday and decided to sleep over at a friends house so I was unable to get my camera today to send pictures =/
I believe in the things you've said. So many miracles... the mission is truly miraculous. I'm trying really hard to keep up the momentum and keep excited and animated but man it's really tough. Heavenly Father is asking me to give 100% of what I got... I'm going to get back home pretty exhausted, hehe, but full of hope and ready for the future. I've gotta put on a smile and have a good attitude.
I did get a blessing from President Souza, he's an awesome leader, I think it's only that blessing that's keeping me going forward, haha.
I love you guys like crazy, I'm super excited to get back home, I am counting down as well, hehe. Give me some suggestions of pictures you want to see please! I only have a few more e-mails left to send them! You guys sound awesome. Please keep up the prayers, just keep up the awesome energy and excitement that is going on right now! I am going to need that energy a lot in four weeks.
- Your Brendon Son!
7-11-2011 Letter Home
This week was fantastic! What a miraculous end to our overall difficult transfer! Very eventful.
We received a reference in the beginning of the week straight from our new mission President - President Souza. He told us,
We received a reference in the beginning of the week straight from our new mission President - President Souza. He told us,
"Elders, there is an elect family that lives in Paracuru that have found the church on the internet and they want missionaries in their home as soon as possible. Do everything you can to go see them this week!"
So we put everything aside, called them up, marked an appointment for Saturday. Then we asked them how to get to Paracuru. We soon discovered that we would have to take a two-hour busride to get there. Paracuru is another city outside of Caucaia, way far away, officially it's not even within our area borders, it might even be considered outside of Mission Brazil Fortaleza! A small little pleasant beach-town isolated by forested wilderness, connected to civilization by only a one-lane road. Fun!
After a long two-hour busride through the rain, we arrived in Paracuru and soon met a tall young clean-cut Brazilian lad named Andrio who was totally soaked despite the fact that he was carrying two umbrellas. The two umbrellas were for us! He refused to use one. He guided us to a modest two-story home a short walk away amd we entered in to see SIX more bright, smiling faces! Antonio and Mara, the parents of Andrio, Laryssa, Andrio's wife who lives with them and Clarice, the girlfriend of Andrio's older brother, Fabio, who left for Mission Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos only a couple of weeks ago. There was also Melisa, the younger sister of Andrio who was hilarious, a cute little developmentally-impaired woman who kept on laughing for no reason at all and came to hug me. It turns out that Antonio, Mara, Fabio and Andrio had been baptized in Santarem, Para, and had gone to a ward there for many years, but they moved out to Paracuru for work (Antonio is a truck-driver) and could never localize the nearest ward. They kept their testimonies strong far away from the support system of an LDS ward, dressing in church clothes every Sunday to sing hymns, teach eachother a lesson, watch church movies and read the scriptures. They kept their tithing and fast offerings in a jar to bring to Santarem every time they visited, once every couple months. That's how their church involvement has been for the last four years. Fabio decided that it was really important that he serve a mission, so he moved back to Santarem, found a ward to attend, became active again over the space of four months, sent his papers in and left for Sao Paulo as soon as he was called. He told his girlfriend, Clarice, that he wanted her to be a member of the church before he got back, ready to be married in the temple. Clarice took the initiative, went on the internet and called the mission president to send missionaries so that she could be baptized.
And that's where we came in!
Oh man, they were so happy to see us. They just all stood around to watch us eat a huge authentic Paraense lunch they had prepared (the beef they made was sooo good, reminded me of Mongolian Beef, very delicious) for the first hour, and as we were making conversation and eating, Mara, the mother and Laryssa just burst out crying all of the sudden. They told us they never thought they'd see elders in their house and that Heavenly Father had worked a miracle in their lives. Mara even called her sister on her phone and asked us to talk to her, and her sister broke out in tears as well on the phone line. It was very emotional and spiritual. Then we sat down to teach a lesson, and Antonio tells us, "Teach these two (Laryssa and Clarice) what they need to do to be baptized. That's what you are here for."
So... we taught about the Restoration, about baptism, about the commandments and we told them that they could be baptized the next day if they went to church. We called President Souza for special authorization to baptize and confirm them on their first visit to church, seeing that it would be difficult for them to come two Sundays in a row with the distance they would have to travel.
We taught them everything and they both came to tears at the point when we asked them if they were willing to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become members of His Church. The Spirit was super strong!
Afterwards we ate a Paraense frozen pudding that was delicious and watched the movie “Charly”, I don't know if you've heard of it. Elder Pereira had never seen it and almost cried at the end, Melissa bawled at the end of it, even though she can't read and the movie was in English with Portuguese subtitles, hehehe. We had a good gospel discussion afterwards and talked about how maybe, if we could work more in the areas of Paracaru, Pecem, Sao Goncalves and other nearby little cities, we could create a branch there and then hold sacrament meeting in their house! It was a lively, spiritual discussion and we ended taking a lot of pictures (on E. Pereira's cam, :( I forgot to bring mine) ...
After a long two-hour busride through the rain, we arrived in Paracuru and soon met a tall young clean-cut Brazilian lad named Andrio who was totally soaked despite the fact that he was carrying two umbrellas. The two umbrellas were for us! He refused to use one. He guided us to a modest two-story home a short walk away amd we entered in to see SIX more bright, smiling faces! Antonio and Mara, the parents of Andrio, Laryssa, Andrio's wife who lives with them and Clarice, the girlfriend of Andrio's older brother, Fabio, who left for Mission Brazil Sao Paulo Interlagos only a couple of weeks ago. There was also Melisa, the younger sister of Andrio who was hilarious, a cute little developmentally-impaired woman who kept on laughing for no reason at all and came to hug me. It turns out that Antonio, Mara, Fabio and Andrio had been baptized in Santarem, Para, and had gone to a ward there for many years, but they moved out to Paracuru for work (Antonio is a truck-driver) and could never localize the nearest ward. They kept their testimonies strong far away from the support system of an LDS ward, dressing in church clothes every Sunday to sing hymns, teach eachother a lesson, watch church movies and read the scriptures. They kept their tithing and fast offerings in a jar to bring to Santarem every time they visited, once every couple months. That's how their church involvement has been for the last four years. Fabio decided that it was really important that he serve a mission, so he moved back to Santarem, found a ward to attend, became active again over the space of four months, sent his papers in and left for Sao Paulo as soon as he was called. He told his girlfriend, Clarice, that he wanted her to be a member of the church before he got back, ready to be married in the temple. Clarice took the initiative, went on the internet and called the mission president to send missionaries so that she could be baptized.
And that's where we came in!
Oh man, they were so happy to see us. They just all stood around to watch us eat a huge authentic Paraense lunch they had prepared (the beef they made was sooo good, reminded me of Mongolian Beef, very delicious) for the first hour, and as we were making conversation and eating, Mara, the mother and Laryssa just burst out crying all of the sudden. They told us they never thought they'd see elders in their house and that Heavenly Father had worked a miracle in their lives. Mara even called her sister on her phone and asked us to talk to her, and her sister broke out in tears as well on the phone line. It was very emotional and spiritual. Then we sat down to teach a lesson, and Antonio tells us, "Teach these two (Laryssa and Clarice) what they need to do to be baptized. That's what you are here for."
So... we taught about the Restoration, about baptism, about the commandments and we told them that they could be baptized the next day if they went to church. We called President Souza for special authorization to baptize and confirm them on their first visit to church, seeing that it would be difficult for them to come two Sundays in a row with the distance they would have to travel.
We taught them everything and they both came to tears at the point when we asked them if they were willing to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become members of His Church. The Spirit was super strong!
Afterwards we ate a Paraense frozen pudding that was delicious and watched the movie “Charly”, I don't know if you've heard of it. Elder Pereira had never seen it and almost cried at the end, Melissa bawled at the end of it, even though she can't read and the movie was in English with Portuguese subtitles, hehehe. We had a good gospel discussion afterwards and talked about how maybe, if we could work more in the areas of Paracaru, Pecem, Sao Goncalves and other nearby little cities, we could create a branch there and then hold sacrament meeting in their house! It was a lively, spiritual discussion and we ended taking a lot of pictures (on E. Pereira's cam, :( I forgot to bring mine) ...
...and we left with lots of smiles.
Yesterday, as church began we were super-happy to find that indeed the Paracuru family was there waiting for us at the church. They arrived early in a small rental car, having driven for almost two hours to get to the church. The Zone Leaders were waiting to interview them for their baptism.
We also found that two other investigators, Francieudes "Ed" (22) and Paulo-Henrique (11) successfully made it to church and were worthy and prepared to be baptized after sacrament meeting! Both have had some pre-baptismal preparation struggles, Francieude because it's difficult for him to schedule with us during the week because he works so much, and Paulo-Henrique because he loves coffee and when we first taught him he was drinking more than two liters a day! But, they had made the necessary sacrifices and were ready for baptism.
Yesterday, as church began we were super-happy to find that indeed the Paracuru family was there waiting for us at the church. They arrived early in a small rental car, having driven for almost two hours to get to the church. The Zone Leaders were waiting to interview them for their baptism.
We also found that two other investigators, Francieudes "Ed" (22) and Paulo-Henrique (11) successfully made it to church and were worthy and prepared to be baptized after sacrament meeting! Both have had some pre-baptismal preparation struggles, Francieude because it's difficult for him to schedule with us during the week because he works so much, and Paulo-Henrique because he loves coffee and when we first taught him he was drinking more than two liters a day! But, they had made the necessary sacrifices and were ready for baptism.
 |
| Antonio and Mara, the parents their son, Andrio who met us with the umbrellas Laryssa, Andrio's wife and Clarice (girlfriend to their other son, Fabio, who is on a mission) |
 |
| Laryssa and Clarice |
 |
| Francieudes "Ed" |
 |
| Paulo-Henrique |
 |
| I love these guys! |
I was very privileged with the opportunity to baptize both Francieudes, Paulo-Henrique along with Clarice, while Laryssa chose Elder Pereira! It was a lively baptismal meeting, the members prepared a special hymn for the recent-converts and there was an excellent spiritual message as well. Everyone left with smiles on their faces.
Wow! Am I blessed or what?!
After struggling this whole transfer with almost no luck, on our last week everything worked out, miracles happened and we were able to baptize four of Heavenly Father's elect children.
I love these people! I love this wonderful Gospel. It really works. If we work hard, follow the commandments, I know our Heavenly Father will bless us in the end, despite the trials we need to pass through to get there.
Oh, by the way, I got my last transfer call! Elder Pereira and I will stay here in Ala Caucaia to "mission kill" each other (since we both go home at the end of this transfer).
Wow! Am I blessed or what?!
After struggling this whole transfer with almost no luck, on our last week everything worked out, miracles happened and we were able to baptize four of Heavenly Father's elect children.
I love these people! I love this wonderful Gospel. It really works. If we work hard, follow the commandments, I know our Heavenly Father will bless us in the end, despite the trials we need to pass through to get there.
Oh, by the way, I got my last transfer call! Elder Pereira and I will stay here in Ala Caucaia to "mission kill" each other (since we both go home at the end of this transfer).
Also, we were blessed with the arrival of two new Elders, Elder Parkes and Elder Ortiz (Elder Ortiz knows Connor, he's from Passo Fundo). They'll be living and working with us in Caucaia this transfer. Elder Parkes is awesome, he's from the El Dorado Stake in El Dorado Hills! He took his endowments at the Sacramento Temple, we know a lot of the same places and like a lot of the same things. He's the first libertarian I've found on the mission like me! Whadya know!? Elder Ortiz is supercool too, a nice humble guy who loves video games (everyone is our house is a video game fanatic now! what wonderful conversations we will have, hahaha!)
One problem: no beds or desks or fans in our house for the new elders!!! What will happen tonight?!?!
We better figure something for these poor guys!
Hey, I love you guys, thank you so much for the e-mails, letters, and prayers. Five more weeks! I'm struggling to end my mission being focused and working hard and I am bound and determined to do it. Please pray for me!!! The hardest part of the race is the sprint at the end!
I love you guys!
Have a great week!!!
- Brendon
Hey Mom,
We've seen a few of the Guinea-Bisseau people over the weeks, but they are just so busy with school that it's hard to get them to commit to things. They like the church, they love us, but we just can't get them to go every Sunday to the services :/ Who knows if we'll have more success with them this week. But they are still our great friends, we always stop to chat when we pass them on the streets. Who knows if we were meant just to plant some seeds... :)
Keep praying for them.
Yes, I received your latest package! Thanks for the candy, deoderant and everything, it's exactly what I needed! You guys are so awesome! Love it!
Hey, I love you guys, thank you so much for the e-mails, letters, and prayers. Five more weeks! I'm struggling to end my mission being focused and working hard and I am bound and determined to do it. Please pray for me!!! The hardest part of the race is the sprint at the end!
I love you guys!
Have a great week!!!
- Brendon
Hey Mom,
We've seen a few of the Guinea-Bisseau people over the weeks, but they are just so busy with school that it's hard to get them to commit to things. They like the church, they love us, but we just can't get them to go every Sunday to the services :/ Who knows if we'll have more success with them this week. But they are still our great friends, we always stop to chat when we pass them on the streets. Who knows if we were meant just to plant some seeds... :)
Keep praying for them.
Yes, I received your latest package! Thanks for the candy, deoderant and everything, it's exactly what I needed! You guys are so awesome! Love it!
7-04-2011 Letter Home
I want to live in Cumbuco!
In other news we had a ward lunch activity on Saturday, then everyone started their fast together, which was pretty fun. We got some inactive members to go (free food) and they ended up going to church on Sunday as well. Good, inspired activity.
 |
| We had a ward lunch this week and I took some sneaky pictures of the bunch |
We were leaving the church last P-Day after watching a couple movies and we saw this teenager yell at us from far-away
Well, yeah, only six more weeks left. The new President, President Souza got here last Tuesday and we are all holding our breath, wondering if he'll make any big changes (no more G movies on P-Day???) Ah well, I'm leaving soon, all these worries and mission-newsbits and gossip is all seeming much less important to me lately.
Have a great week! I love you guys!
- Brendon
How to explain this new hodgepodge of pics???
Hope ya like. :D
"Elders!! Wait over here!!"
He ran away out of view and we walked over to where he was and waited for him to come back, and when he finally did he had a friend with him.
"Elders! This is Analina she wants to hear about the church!"
Turns out that he was a returned missionary from another neighboring ward that had been doing a course nearby. We asked where Analina lived and she told us she lived in Cumbuco. Vixe Maria! An hour away by bus... alright, alright, I guess we could go to your house.
So on Saturday at the agreed hour we took a bus to Cumbuco to teach her. Cumbuco is famous nationally and internationally, in Europe I guess, as one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil. I haven't seen too many beaches here, but I believe they might just be telling the truth. Cumbuco was gorgeous. What was even better is that the streets were clean, lawns were well-watered, and there were thousands of huge beautiful beach apartments and mansions to gawk at.
 |
| A supernice apartment complex |
Cumbuco is a beautiful place. It was sunny but windy and the sky was perfectly blue. Cumbuco is famous for kitesurfing, and we were able to snap a couple of photos of kitesurfers in the distance.
 |
| Cumbuco Beach -- Kitesurfing in the background! |
We got to Analina's house purely guided by the Spirit, we had no idea where she lived but we kept on asking people and we eventually found someone who knew where she lived. Her house turned out to be as beautiful as the city, and when we commented on it, she told us that Lar Doce Lar made it. Lar Doce Lar? Home Sweet Home? What is that you ask? It's Brazil's version of Let's Build You A Home, you know, that show where they build awesome houses for regular people.
 |
| Taking a picture with Analina's family and their awesome flat |
It turns out Analina is kind of a celebrity because of this, she was on TV and everything and almost all of the members recognized her when she walked into the church on Sunday. She loved the church services and marked with us for another day. She's super intelligent, she's been Catholic, Evangelical, she's studied with Jehovah's Witness and gone to the Universal Church, she's a female Joseph Smith as far as someone who keeps seeking for the truth and she loved the first message, told us that she's never heard things explained so simply as she did with our message. We hope Analina is going to be baptized too, just you guys wait!
We also ended up contacting a reference we had named , Alexsandra in Cumbuco, as well. We found the address and it... turned out to be... a giant luxury beach hotel. I was so "gosh-wowed" I didn't even remember to take pictures. We asked for Alexsandra at the front desk and it turned out that Alexsandra was the owner of the hotel. We were so nervous waiting for her to come out of her office to talk with us. She finally did and we sat at a table in the lobby and began to talk. Oh man, she was so eloquent, like the classic supersuccessful self-made Brazilian woman, she made conversation so easily you know and sometimes we felt like idiots, she had been trained to speak with the owners of huge businesses and international travelers, while we'd been trained to speak with people on the street and in the favellas. But, she was super cool. She told us that she had gone to church in the Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre (yes, I did mention my brother was serving there and she got super excited about that, asking about chimarrao and everything and if he was liking the city) and that she loved the LDS Church and wanted to go again. We gave her a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet and invited her to church and she told us she definitely would go. It turns out that the next day she called us up and told her that she had forgotten about another appointment, but that she would go to our services at the next opportunity. Really cool lesson.
We also ended up contacting a reference we had named , Alexsandra in Cumbuco, as well. We found the address and it... turned out to be... a giant luxury beach hotel. I was so "gosh-wowed" I didn't even remember to take pictures. We asked for Alexsandra at the front desk and it turned out that Alexsandra was the owner of the hotel. We were so nervous waiting for her to come out of her office to talk with us. She finally did and we sat at a table in the lobby and began to talk. Oh man, she was so eloquent, like the classic supersuccessful self-made Brazilian woman, she made conversation so easily you know and sometimes we felt like idiots, she had been trained to speak with the owners of huge businesses and international travelers, while we'd been trained to speak with people on the street and in the favellas. But, she was super cool. She told us that she had gone to church in the Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre (yes, I did mention my brother was serving there and she got super excited about that, asking about chimarrao and everything and if he was liking the city) and that she loved the LDS Church and wanted to go again. We gave her a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet and invited her to church and she told us she definitely would go. It turns out that the next day she called us up and told her that she had forgotten about another appointment, but that she would go to our services at the next opportunity. Really cool lesson.
Well, yeah, only six more weeks left. The new President, President Souza got here last Tuesday and we are all holding our breath, wondering if he'll make any big changes (no more G movies on P-Day???) Ah well, I'm leaving soon, all these worries and mission-newsbits and gossip is all seeming much less important to me lately.
Have a great week! I love you guys!
- Brendon
Um monte de fotos
How to explain this new hodgepodge of pics???
 |
| I took a quick picture of me at the bank which is always super crowded at the end of the month |
 |
| Wild hair in the wind and a robot |
 |
| Just me being adorable! |
 |
| My sister is famous!! |
6-27-2011 Letter Home
Another Whirlwind Week
This week was great! We have been teaching a lot of people, and once again we got to church without any new investigators of our own, but the members had brought six friends in total that we got to meet who were interested about the church. This week we'll be focusing on them and we'll see if some want to get baptized. We tried to get into contact with Ed, our miracle investigator, the whole week but he was always busy. It was tough... this week was a holiday week and it is possible that he went on vacation for a while. Still, there are lots of possibilities in the weeks to come. We are continuously being blessed because of our hard work and effort. I can't believe only seven more weeks remain! President Batt is returning home tomorrow, leaving all of us Elders trunkier than ever. New President will get here this week and will probably want to interview every missionary, I am looking forward to my first interview in Portuguese, since the beginning President Batt and I have always spoken English.
We had a family home evening with the Araujo Family, of which Mateus, Jessica and Teresinha were baptized recently and to show their gratitude they brought out a present for me, which turned out to be a really expensive bottle of cologne from Rio de Janeiro. Not going to lie, it is as great-smelling as it is expensive. Those guys are crazy, they shouldn't be spending so much on me! But I love them. :)
Yep, everything going great here, just truckin' along!
I love you guys! Love love love!- Brendon
Not too many interesting pics this week
Yep, everything going great here, just truckin' along!
I love you guys! Love love love!- Brendon
Not too many interesting pics this week
 |
| Lunch with the Coelho (Rabbit) Family! |
 |
| Eu sou feliz porque sou Catolico... |
 |
| Tranquil pictures outside of our apartment |
 |
| A special present from the Araujo Family |
6-20-2011 Pictures Home
 |
| Brendon gave no explanation - I am guessing an attempt at hamburgers (on a really dirty stove) |
 |
| A typical phonebooth (phoneshell) in Ceara |
 |
| Elder Pereira trying to rip out beard-hairs with honey (didn't work!) |
 |
| The Park of Peace, built by local evangelicals |
 |
| You can read the scriptures anywhere |
 |
| Drying raw chicken on the wall |
6-13-2011 Letter Home
 |
| On the side of the highway |
Every P-Day I wake up more and more exhausted, we are still working as fast and furious as possible. This week we cut a lot of people out of our teaching pool, which isn't the funnest of things to do. No one we taught this week went to church :(
Connor, even up here in the north we get the same kind of Sudden Sunday-morning Laziness Syndrome. But, we were blessed in that one of our investigators last week, Davi, was baptized, and another investigator, Joao who has been going to church for weeks and weeks finally decided to get baptized as well! That always makes the week better.
 |
| Our baptisms of the week! Davi and Joao! |
Davi is an awesome kid, he's just thirteen-years old and on our second visit he told us he prayed and felt the Holy Ghost testify to him that the Church is true. He's already read several chapters of the Book of Mormon though he's had it for only a week, which, here, is rare among the ADULTS that receive the Book of Mormon from us. He also has several friends and has asked us for three Books of Mormon and pamphlets to give to them, we'll be teaching them this week we're very excited about Davi, he's already wanting to be a missionary just ten days after his first visit to the Church! Very funny kid too, if you guys could be here to see him laugh you would absolutely love him.
Joao, sixteen-years-old has been going to church for weeks and weeks, I guess he was a former investigator of other missionaries who just decided to go to church one day and no one ever told me he was a visitor. He's been going to seminary throughout the week as well and has a ton of friends among the youth of the ward. When we figured out that he wasn't a member, we set an appointment with him and this week we walked a long, long way to his house and taught him everything over again. He agreed with all of the commitments, told us he'd stop drinking coffee, and told us he would be baptized on Sunday. Yep, doesn't get easier than that. I am so grateful that the Lord blesses us for our hard work... we've taught more than eighty people since the beginning of the transfer and none of them look like they could be baptized here in a couple weeks (maybe some later on, possibly), but the Lord has still blessed us because of our hard work and allowed us to reap a little.
 |
| Buying lunch at a local restaurant |
 |
| I took a picture of a random house |
 |
| Another random little tiny house |
 |
| Elder Pereira in the swampy neighborhood |
I love you guys!!! Have a great week! Only nine more weeks! That's one semester of school!
- Brendon
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
