June 23, 2018: Two Whole Whoppers

HELLO ALL

Well my dear readers, this week was pretty crazy to tell you the truth. Monday was the first day of the new transfer. So, we had to answer calls all day from missionaries and help them to know where they are going and what they should do to go to their new areas. First off though, We went to President´s house and had a Logistics meeting. So we had to figure out when all the missionaries would travell and who would come to the meetings in the week. Then after, we ended up going to the office to pass all of the transfer to the Zone leaders. It was really crazy. My new companion is Elder Antunes. He is from São Paulo and is a funny guy. He and Elder Rallsion got called as APs and Elder Gomes was transferred to Bom Jesus da Lapa; a new area. So at the moment we have 3 Aps and basically it is my job to train them on what they should do. 

Tuesday, we had the new missionaries arrive. So we gave trainings to them and to the Trainers. That took the whole day. It was a good meeting though. I was a little under the weather though. I am all better now, but my sinuses were going crazy.

We did a service project last week. I forgot to talk about it in my email last week. But, yeah we helped a member shovel a bunch of dirt for some reason. 

Wednesday, was a normal day. It was actually super cool. I was with Elder Antunes and Elder Gomes. (Elder Gomes only went to his area after the Mission Council... So he had to stick with us.)

It was going well. We taught some great lessons and were having a good time. We had already planned to visit certain people. However, at 4;00 I got a text from a random number saying, "Elder, I was waiting for you to call to mark a visit but you didn´t call. I finished 1 and 2 Nephi and stopped in Jacob." That took me by surprise. SO I called the number and..... It was Cida! (The family of investigators that need to get married) I marked to visit her that night. We got there and taught her. It was a great simple lesson. When we talked about what she had read, she told us that while she was at work she put on the Book of Mormon and listened to it. She loved it! She told us that during that day, while she was listening to it, she felt that 'Certanty' that it is true. I got so happy for her! I had been praying and fasting that she could get an answer from God! Now they need to just get married. She said that they are thinking about it and are willing to prepare all the documents while they do so. Anyways that was really cool and I am super happy with the progress that she has made. 

Thursday, we had a meeting with President Bangerter from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM. It was pretty crazy. We planned the Mission Council and a bunch of other stuff for when our new misison president will arrive. During the meeting, we took a break to eat lunch. We went to Burger King. President told us we could get whatever. So I got a Whopper Furioso Combo. It was pretty tasty. After everyone finished eating, President asked if any of us was still hungry and would like more. Everyone just looked at me... lol. I guess they new that I was still a little hungry. I just smiled and we all laughed and accepted and president when and asked for 5 more whopper combos. haha I felt like I was at home with the family. It reminded me of when we go to JCW´s sometimes. haha After the meeting, we went to the office and prepared all the materials for the council. That finished off the night. haha

Friday, we had the mission council. It was great. I was super tired in the morning though. So, for the first training I was kind of out of it. After lunch though, the trainings went well. It was a sad council at the end though. It was sad to basically have everyone say goodbye to President. He is a great guy. I may have gotten some hay fever during the meeting because my eyes started watering. 

But, yeah that was the week my friends. I have been preparing a talk for tomorrow at church. I will talk about Missionary Work. While preparing, I read a quote from Joseph Smith that really touched me. It said that Love isn´t just caring for oneself or just one´s family. But, it is caring for and ministering to the families around  you too. I think that is really true and important. In missionary work or Ministering, we are to love everyone! To be One, United, in Harmony with those around us. I know that is what the Savior would do. That is what we must do. I love you all! See who you can love this week!

Love,
Elder Davis

June 16, 2018: Good Evening

GOOD EVENING MY DEAR FAMILY,

Sadly, today I don´t have much time. AND frankly, I don´t really feel like writing at the moment. BUT, I will do it for you guys. 

Alright, I just sat up in the chair and man, good posture goes a long way. I am totally pumped to write you guys now. So this week was pretty sweet. It was a little crazy. Elder Gomes, the other AP, was travelling with the President to some other Zone Conferences. So, I was in a trio with my comp and his companion, Elder Rallison. It was a good experience. We just had to follow up investigators from both the areas. It was kinda hard to follow up on certain people. But, we worked hard and walked a lot. So it all worked out. Elder Rallison and Elder Lucas are great friends, which made things a little complicated during the week. The started goofing off a little bit too much and they began to lose the Spirit of the work. But, we ended up figuring all that out. 

We worked really hard this week and had some cool experiences. I think that one of the coolest parts was teaching our investigator and her family. Her name is Cida and is really cool. She isn´t married with her husband but they have 2 children. They are a great family and we have been teaching them for some time now. However, she was still searching for her answer and didn´t want to get married. We went to her house on Wednesday and we taught about the Law of Chastity with a focus on marriage. During the whole lesson, she was joking a lot and said some things about what she things about marriage. She said she is not at all willing to get married to him. But, then after most of the lesson she got all serious and asked, "Who sent you here?" We were kind of confused because we had marked the lesson with her. Then she explained that her husband and her and been talking about getting separated. She said that she had been praying to God about it the whole week and we just happened to teach her about marriage the day she was most frustrated about the situation. She told us that she was feeling that her burden was too heavy to bear. I remembered what I studied that morning, which was about the people that were imprisoned by the lamanites and had burdens that were difficult to carry. But, I studied about it in Preach my Gospel and couldn´t find the exact chapter that talked about it. I asked my companion and he was able to tell me right away because it is what he ended up studying that day too! We had no idea. But, we read it with her and it was really cool. She loved it and it really helped her learn what she needs to do to follow God´s will. So pray for them! I hope that they will be able to have the disposition to get married so I might be able to be there for it before I go home. 

We also taught about temples to another lady. She is an investigator from the other area.  It was a great lesson. She has a similar problem. She lives with a guy, isn´t married, and has 2 kids. She wants to get married and be baptized. However, he doesn´t want any of it. She loved it and it gave her an even stronger desire to be baptized. At the end, she asked if she could still get sealed to her family if her husband doesn´t get baptized.... So that was kind of sad. But, we explained about it and told her that we will work with him on it. 

Well, I was gonna write some more but I have to go right now. We have an appointment in just a bit. I love you all. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Davis

June 9, 2018: Bom Dia!!

BOM DIA!!!

How are you all? 

Life is going great here in Brasil. I just love this country. It is awesome. I would never move to live here because of the corruption in the government... But, I love this country. hahah Hopefully they win the World Cup. Which, as missionaries we can´t watch. But, it will be really crazy during the season of the World Cup. 

Mural of a dragon

Anyways, like I told you guys I would last week. I travelled to Itabuna Sunday night. I arrived Monday morning. That day we had a zone conference. It went well. It was a fun conference. Our Mission President had final interviews with the missionaries in the zone. The trainings all went well. Then after that, I took a 45 min bus ride to Ilhéus to do splits with the Elders there. I arrived and took another city bus to the Elder´s area. I stayed with Elder Castlemain and his companion. We are from the same group and are great friends. So it was nice to see him again. We had a family night with his investigators and members. It was great. We were able to feel the Spirit and edify one another. FYI I forgot my camera in the Office this whole week. So I didn´t take any pictures during the trip. Bummer. But, it was a good Monday. 

Tuesday, we woke up early and had the Ilhéus Zone Conference. It went really well. During these conferences, I gave the training on the Plan of Salvation. I had studied and created a way to teach about the purpose here on earth and the atonement from Preach my Gospel. At the end of teaching I would always open up 3 Nephi 27 19-22 to explain about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to invite the individuals to baptism. I had perfected it through teaching these various times during the 4 zone conferences I have attended this transfer. So, I did the same thing during this conference. It honestly went very well. At the end of my training, The Elder from the Senior Missionary Couple made a comment. He said, "Since I joined the church until today, I haven´t been able to understand or accept the fact that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth. Until that lad went up, taught that principle, and showed that scripture now I undestand. Thank you."   That was really cool to hear. I really like that guy and I was cool to see how the scriptures help and it shows that you are always learning no matter how old you are and how much time you have been in the church." But, either way it was a spiritual experience. 

After that I did splits with Elder Castlemain.  We left the chapel late because they were one of the last companionships to be interviewed. So I just played the piano and we sang hymns. It was fun! We then visited an investigator and then went to their home. The next morning on wednesday, I went and did splits with Elder Lee and Elder Vasconcelos. Elder Lee is the other Zone Leader in the Zone. We were able to learn new things together and fix things in his area. We also invited an investigator to be baptized and she accepted. So that was great. That night we literally ran to their apartment, grabbed my suitcase, and I hopped in a taxi to the bus station, worried that I would miss my bus. But, it all worked out and I didn´t miss it at all. 

I arrived in Salvador on Thursday in the morning. I rested a little bit because of the lack of sleep during the week. Then we got back to work in my area. Nothing happened in my area during the days I was travelling. Which, is pretty frustrating. My companion said that he would visit marked lessons and go with members... but it didn´t happen. But, he tried so it´s all good. I tried not to focus much on that and just got to work. So we did and found some cool new investigators. We also found some awesome investigators on Friday. 

Funny story... We were teaching a member´s grandma and she was telling us how she used to drink and her late husband drank and smoked a bunch. One day he came home and ordered her to get his food for him and called her an inappropriate name. She came with a knife and told him to not say that again or she would kill him. He said it... and She knifed him 10 times in the leg!!!! She was telling us this story and out of nowhere she said that like it was the most normal thing in the world!!! I was freaking scared to be in the presence of such a powerful woman... hahah She told us that she sent her husband to the hospital and told him that he couldn´t tell the Doctor what she did or she would kill him. He told the doctor that it was their dog that did all the damage..... hahah Yeah, I guess that isn´t that funny but in the moment it was funny because it was such an odd thing to hear from a tiny ol grandma. 

Anyways, that was my week! I was thinking a lot about the movie "You are special" I really liked that show. I related that to sculpting. How in a way God is sculpting us from a formless lump of clay into a beautiful masterpiece. Little by little, through trials and time we are molded to become something so much more than we can imagine!

Love you all!

Love

Elder Davis

June 2, 2018: You've Got a Friend in Me

GOOOOOOOOD MYTHICALLLL MORNINGGGGGGGGGGG!

Actually it is afternoon right now... But, it´s all good. 

How is everyone? I love you all. haha This week for me was great. 

First off we have a little bummer. Diego wasn´t baptized. He didn´t come to church on Sunday and when we went there Monday to talk with him he told us he didn´t want any more visits and that we shouldn´t come back. So 

that is to bad. I like him a lot. He was a great investigator. Hopefully things go better for him in the future. We still don´t know what motivated him to make this decision. 

Tuesday, we went to another Zone conference with the Salvador Zone. It went well. I had a great time and was able to learn new things that I should do to help my area do better. So that took up a good portion of Tuesday. I enjoy zone conferences. They are always fun. It is weird though. Our mission President is basically telling all the missionaries goodbye. I can´t believe he is already getting ready to go home. 

The rest of the week was great. We have been working really hard to find and teach new people. It has been tough to find interested investigators. But, after a lot of work and trying, God blessed us with two amazing lessons yesterday. We taught a couple named Sergio and Cida. They really enjoyed our lesson and have the strong desire to go to church. We taught him on Thursday and Friday. Yesterday we showed him the restoration video. It was really cool. He really enjoyed it and is praying to know that these things our true. 

We also taught a grandma, her granddaughter, and 2 friends. The lesson was really great. When we arrived, the grandma, Tereza, told us that her depression was acting up and her pressure was 20/10 or something. So apparently that is really bad. But, she let us in and we shared the first message with them. It was an amazing lesson. During it, she told us that God had blessed her with our visit because she was really stressed and this helped her tremendously. The Spirit was very strong and we were able to help them understand how to receive an answer from God. They all have the desire to do so and we are praying that they might receive it. 

This next week will be crazy. I will travel tomorrow to the Itabuna Zone Conference and then to the Ilhéus Zone Conference on Tuesday. It will be fun though. I am excited. 

This week, one thing that I read that really impressed me was something that Joseph Smith taught. HE taught that the basis of Mormonism is Friendship. He then explained the importance of being friends to all people and doing all we can to love, minister to, and help them. I think this is very important and has much to do with the new ministering program. I think the best thing we can do to help someone is being they true friend and like Joseph said, "Preaching to them to help them out of their difficulties"!

I love you all and invite you all to be friends with ALL those around you!

Love,

Elder Davis