Benfica 30-12-2013 (last email of 2013!)

Hello Family!!!

My birthday box hasnt come yet. Maybe this week or something. We opened some presents on Monday during P-Day, and some more Christmas Eve, and then the rest on Christmas Day, at 6 in the morning. :) Sarah, I love that pen that you sent me! It is super awesome! My other DW pen is dying, and I keep losing my normal ones! :/ Loved it!

Mom and Dad, what is Hap-pay? Duck Dynasty sounds pretty great. And the hickory almonds that I ate today, I think I died from tastyness!

Alisha and Todd, how did you know that I needed a cookbook here?! Im going to have a lot of fun with that, thank you so much!

Im preparing a training session for this weeks District meeting (yep, sou District Leader) and its on the Doctrine of Christ/our Purpose. Its been kind of difficult to see exactly what I should teach, but Ive been inspired to teach the missionaries to guide their teachings so that the focus is the Temple and not just baptism. The baptismal interview questions should be the guideline, but the goal is the Temple.

Another interesting thing is that I learned that its not being immersed in the water that makes it so we can enter Heavenly Fathers Kingdom, but its what its a symbol for, the covenant.

I now know a bit more why Temple covenants are so important, and why the blessings are so great. And thats also the reason Ive decided against pirated movies. Something small that I can easily do to be more like Christ right now. President Souza did a common interview during the transfer meeting, just read the questions out loud for everyone to think about. After the 'Be honest in all dealings with fellow men' he said that includes pirated movies. It struck me a bit, so I decided no more.

So, we are teaching a family, [name redacted] (21 years old) and [name redacted]. (18 years old) [name redacted] is from Minas Gerais, a different state, and he came here for work. Somehow he met [name redacted], I think the internet.

They are great people, they absolutely love us. When they heard that we could only stay 45 minutes in a visit, they asked if we could pass more than one time per day. :) They finally accepted that we can pass by once every day. [name redacted] always asks when they can give us lunch, and last time we visited, they made us brigadeiro! :) We just have to get them married. We're shooting for the 18th of January, but I dont think its going to happen that fast, with the 4 week wait at the cartório.

Mom, I didnt quite understand what you meant about the letter that came on Saturday. Could you give it to her?

Ah man, my time is up. Love you guys! Have an excellent time, and with Alex (or Elder Richey) a happy birthday for me when he gets back!

~Elder Wille

P.S. O nome de meu companheiro é Elder 10E. :O hahaha. Elder Tenney.

Benfica 17-12-2013

Hi family!

Well well well, I got transferred again today. 3rd transfer in a row! And even more news, Im training again! I dont know who will be my new companion yet, he gets here tomorrow. And Im opening an area to boot! Sounds like just about all my other areas! :D hahaha.

I thought about it, and there is only one area that I didnt open. Oh yes, explanation: opening an area is when the missionaries in an area are transferred out, and new ones are put in. It really hurts the progress, because the new ones have to rely on the papers that the last companionship left behind (Area Book) but sometimes it is necessary.

Some exciting news. We hit a new record of arriving missionaries. Tomorrow there will be FOURTY TWO new missionaries arriving, and only six or seven leaving. The mission now has around 180 missionaries, and when we divided the missions, we had less than 100. Its so weird! First we had one companionship working in two wards at one time, now we have two companionships for almost every ward! We created two new zones.  (Planalto and Sumaré) Its growing like crazy! So, Elder Burnham was training 3 missionaries at once, and then he died (at his sons' hands) and all three of them are training! Just after being trained! Elder Bramwell is also training, and Elder Wadsworth is a Zone Leader.

Tomorrow I will have a grand total of three sons and two grandsons. Ive got a pretty big family coming up! :) (when you train, you have a 'son' and the tree goes from there) I think that there may even be enough time to have a 4th if the Lord sees fit. O.o If I remember right, Elder Nascimento had 3 or so sons.

Mom, I'sa getting the address from Márcio Barbosa right now. :) Ele não é Élder mais. D: He will send his address to you via email. :D I thought it would be faster that way. And as for the present, I had a $20 bill floating around from international travel, so only 20 made it to him, not 25. He preferred dollars to reais, cause the dollar has more power there.

Thanks for the recipe, it didnt make it into the box. Or the postage people took it out. :( I started making root beer today, for my temporary comanion, Elder Saturnino de São Paulo. We will see how it goes!

Dad, Im so glad that you were able to use the Ancestry Ski pass! I said a special prayer that your leg would let you go. Sounds like you had a good time! :) The Christmas tree looks awesome! The spacy look really adds to it, great job! Is that silver wrapped present on the left for me?? :D

We had a bit of ice cream to go in the sandwiches too. Its on the edge of the photo. :)

Lately Ive been thinking of the things we did together, like fishing at Scofield and early morning at Powell. We have to remember to do more of that when I get back. :)

Sarah, did you get my letter yet??? How was your birthday?? What fun things did you get to do? Did Hayden take  you out somewhere cool? Is the snow just awful now? It doesnt even occur to me sometimes that its cold and snowy there! Im so used to heat and sun that to think that right now theres snow at home is weird! What are your plans for school and work and life in general? Quite a few people want to know, so I thought Id ask! :) But even more so, I just want to hear from you, and how you're doing!

Alisha and Todd, I will write you a letter, cause Im a bit short on time here, sorry!

Im attaching a photo taken at the Christmas Conference. This is the entire mission. :D Im way at the back, almost in the center.

I want to say so much more, but Ive run out of time! So much is happening, but its all good. We didnt baptize in Guadalajara, but I saw more miracles happen there than in all my other areas combined, and that made up for no baptisms. Elder Bramwell is just powerful.

Well, I gotta go now. D': Skype at 7 for you guys, I might be just a hair late, installing skype and stuff, but I will do my very best. I love you all so much, and hope you have a wonderful Christmas Holiday! Tchau todo mundo! Amo vocês!

~Elder Wille

Guadalajara B, 9-12-2013

Hello Family and Friends!

I finally got some pictures off, hope you all enjoy them! The pizza was half Portuguesa and half chicken and catupiry. I have absolutely no idea what you call it in english. Im actually not a huge fan of pannetone itself, so it was actually a chocotone, with condensed milk in it to add variety. It was tasty.

Then a few days after, when my package came (it just barely missed thanksgiving) Elder Bramwell and I went suicidal. We made ice cream sandwiches from cake with nutella. @_@ I took the first bite and already felt my arteries clogging. :D it was fabulous! and super healthy. :P hahaha

So this Sunday was kind of a bummer. We were expecting 8 people or so at church, and when we went to get them, all we found were closed doors. :( Not a single one showed up, not even Andrêza, our super eleita. Her husband got home from a dangerous night motocross event at6 in the morning. they were both too tired to go the next day.

Sarah, I got a letter written to you! Im sending it off today. :) And I want to wish you a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY this week!!! :D I cannot believe that you are 19 already! You are now old enough to serve a mission! :D hahaha. But seriously, I cant believe how much youve grown up! 

Dad, that sounds like a pain in the.... leg! :) a really nasty one too. I really miss snowboarding too, but I think youll be better than me when I get back. Im so out of practice. :S when we went with the ancestry ski pass, you had your horrible stiff board, yes? It must be super nice now, especially at brighton, but thats a HUGE bummer that you probably have to miss out on it this time. D:

 So far, I dont know if I get to use skype. Presidente Souza provavelmente vai nos dizer na conferência de natal. Oh sorry, at the Christmas conference he will probably say if we can. ;)

Its cold over there? sometimes I have to remind myself that cold still exists. :D its the hotter part of the year right now, at least I think. Fortaleza has basically four seasons: rain/pressure cooker, hot, hotter, and Nebuchadnezzers Oven. (haha, bible joke ;P) Usually at the end of the day, I have sweat dripping down my back and face. Does that remind you of somewhere? :)

A bit about school. I took english 1010 and portuguese at UVU, I think that was it. Im just hoping that I dont have to redo them at Snow.

Mom, my package came! :) but the post office nabbed elder Wadsworths package. D: that really bummed him out, and he got the notice after the window closed for picking it up.

Yep, we got suco de maracujá (passion fruit juice) it actually makes you sleepy, didyou know that?

I will try my best to get the money to Elder R Barbosa, theres not a good bank here close, just the 24 hour ones that steal about %10. But I will try my best. I can definitely get his address for the card, I hope thats not too much trouble to bounce that back.

Unfortunately, I still havent sent the package. well actually, I havent even put it together yet. D: we are always running around doing stuff. It will probably be very late, sorry! :(

Mom, I assume that the things are for making jam, but how do I got about making it? and what the heck is ultra gel? :D

well, my time is ending. alex richey gets back in about a month! that is so crazy! I will be back really soon too. Okay, gotta go, bye everyone! Until next time!

~Elder wille

Guadalajara B 2-12-2013

Hi family! Boy this week was busy! Are we really into December? I cannot believe how fast it is all going!

We had a zone conference this week, and I got a tie!

For those who dont know yet, President Souza gives a tie to every missionary who baptizes a couple, just to give incentive to baptize families. Elder Villalba got 3 (!!!) ties this time, and President Souza called him up with each one, one right after the other. It was incredible.

And I got some very trunky news. After the conference, I wanted to show a picture to President Souza, and he asked me if I already knew what day I was going home. When I said no, he looked at something on his smartphone and said I will be home on July 16th, leaving on the 15th. o.O I believe he said that he already told you guys, but its so weird knowing what day Im going home! And just after many of the aniversários, of birthday and wedding.

Elder R Barbosa is leaving I think next week on Thursday or something. Its so weird, and sad for me. On the mission, he had a huge influence on me. A lot of what I learned was from him, so hes a super good friend. I really hope I see him again after the mission.

So, Thanksgiving we ate pannetone and passionfruit juice and pizza! i took some photos for you guys to see. Im copying pictures to my new flash drive, so It will have to wait, sorry! We wanted to go all out and get ice cream and soda, but everywhere was closed at 21h20 (9:20pm) so we just went home and ate the prebought food. It was still really good. :) My package has not arrived yet. How many are coming? 4? :O

Dad, thank you so much for keeping up on my college stuff! It really means a lot to me.

A job would be really nice, so I think I will go with that option. Its good to stay busy after the mission. And I would very much like to be in the same apartment complex. :) Snow Lodge was awesome.

Talking to the counselor sounds like an excellent option. I think I have to change my major from generals back to engineering, and see if my UVU credits will pass to Snow. I hope they do, cause english 1010 is pretty standard.

Congrats on your shelves Dad! They look really awesome

Mom, I got some cooking lessons yesterday. I learned how to make Frango ao Molho (Souped chicken?) and rice with carrot shreds. :) Its super tasty, and even easier to make! I have to note all the cool foods that Im learning.

We do get an ocean breeze, but since we only have openings on one side of the house, the wind cant pass through the house. Its stifling. So, our hammocks here are a bit different from dads. theyre like a piece of fabric, no spaces. I think its a bit hotter, but I still like it.

Oh bother, my time is up. :( Love you all, hope you had a great thanksgiving! Alisha, get better soon, okay:? Love you Sarah! Hugs and beijos para todo mundo!

~Elder Wille

Note for the Maurer family: So sorry for the delay to write! But I learned how to make coxinhas this past week, and I can make them at home! :D

Happy Thanksgiving from Guadalajara 25-11-2013

Hello beloved family!

Okay, Im going to start with a story in Portuguese. Its something that happened yesterday. I copied and pasted from my letter to president souza.

Nós encontramos uma família que está super preparado para receber o evangelho. Estávamos andando, e senti a impressão de fazer um contato com uma mulher sentada na porta com a cabeça do filho dela (eu achava) e depois de um instante de hesitar, eu fiz o contato. Antes de qualquer coisa, ela nós convidou entrar e sentar. O filho em verdade era o esposo de união civil, com planos de casar o ano que vem. Conversamos, introduzimos o Livro de Mormon, e ela aceitou. Ela frequentava 15 anos na Igreja Universal, 2 anos como Testemunha de Jeová, e 3 de Católica. No fim, ela disse que ela tinha orado na Sexta-feira para que alguém da religião certo passasse e falasse trazendo paz. Foi domingo que passamos, marcamos a próxima visita amanhã.

And so! I almost have one year and 4 months, thats just crazy!!! 8 months left? where has all the time gone?

Today I got the chance to visit my first area! We needed to go to the bank, and we got permission from president souza to go there (the easiest one to find, and pretty close) and while waiting for the train to come back, I passed by França's house to say hi. He was super happy to see us, and he shared a very nice comment. He says that Ive matured a lot, that Im perceiving much more, becoming more responsible, and that my family will note a very big change in me. I thought that was super nice of him. :)

Dad, thank you so much for sending the music! It got here just fine, im going to buy a flash drive to put pictures and music and stuff. Its a cruzer blade, I think they only have them here. Its got a cool look, maybe you can see on the internet. R$25 for 8gig, how can i resist that price?? (and its not pirated either. :D)

About my packages being taped up, I think some of them have been. When I opened them, there did seem to be an excess of tape on all the openings. Maybe buy some Nossa Senhora stickers and put them on? Unless the post office people are evangelical, then theyll open it either way. :S

Im so glad to hear that the important project went faster than usual after the Honor wall.

Mom, we still dont have any fans, and last night it was so bloody hot! I couldnt get to sleep for forever. I debated splashing myself with water to help cool down, but decided against it. During the day it was pretty oven-ly too.

The hammock is a rather interesting sleeping experience. You cant sleep in it straight, it has to be an angle. For example, if the hammock is this direction | from above, you cant sleep parallel to it. You have to sleep like this |\| or |/|. or like this. Does that make sense? Its kind of hard to describe. Basically, you have to sleep at an angle on it, or youll hurt your back really bad.

Mom or Dad, could you do a big favor for me? Could you look at Snow's web page and find out when we have to register for Fall 2014? I just want a big huge heads up so I dont forget until too late.

I thought about a strange thing. Elder Alex Richey gets home in about 2 months! I cant believe how fast it has passed! Next up itll be my turn!

I have an idea for next Thanksgiving. I want to get a recipe from someone here and make something special for everyone. I know that everyone will like it. :D but I cant tell you guys, not yet.

Well, this is a pretty good letter, sorry about not writing more. I had something interesting happen at stake conference. I dont know how much I can say about it. But Im doing well, everything is just happy and hot down here! :) Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I love and miss you all! Until next time!

~Elder Wille

Here's the translation of the portuguese part, courtesy of google:

We found a family that is super prepared to receive the gospel. We were walking, and I felt the impression of making a contact with a woman sitting with her ​​head in the door of her son (I think) and after a moment's hesitation, I made contact. Before anything, she invited us in and sit down. The son indeed was the husband of civil union, with plans to marry next year. We talk, we introduce the Book of Mormon, and she accepted. She attended 15 years in the Universal Church, 2 years as a Jehovah's Witness, and 3 Catholic. In the end, she said she had prayed on Friday for someone to pass the right religion and bringing peace talk. Sunday was spent, we mark the next visit tomorrow.

Guadalajara 18-11-2013

Hi there Family and Friends!

Nothing too big to say this week. We finally got our furniture, so that was really nice. Still no fans, so we all still sleep in hammocks. Its a lot cooler than in a bed.

We dont have a propane tank (oh yeah, all their stoves are gas with a propane tank. Kinda like a barbeque, but different :P) so I cant make my delicious scones yet. The mission office will pay for one, but we have to do all the gathering and researching and stuff first. Its something like R$160 for a full tank.

Before the furniture (móveis) got here, all we had in our house for about 2 days was hammocks and bread. :) Seriously, it was great.

How was Enders Game? I actually did read that one in school. I loved the battle sequences, did they do a good job on those?

Dad, hows work going now that things are more relaxed? Whats the next big project? Any plans for home improvements? (maybe ask Tim Taylor for help: :D) Im going to put a birthday present for you in the Christmas package, Im sorry I didnt get it off sooner!

Mom, I didnt get a pooping snowman last year, I think maybe it was in the first Christmas package, the one that got lost.

And may I say that the spreadable fruit jam stuff was absolutely wonderful! Raspberry was the best one. Thank you so much for sending it! :)

What does the Bear Grylls poster say at the bottom? The bottom got cut off. :(

Alisha and Todd: What are you guys up to? Been snowboarding lately with the new snow? Theres a negative chance of snow here, Im really missing it. Actually, Im missing pretty much everything up there, but its only a bit more than 8 months away. And that is a very scary thought.

Whats new with school? Work? A question for Alisha, have any little childrens thrown up on you yet? :D Oh, I heard of something you would like. On the beaches, they sell pieces of roasted cheese on little churrasco sticks. I heard theyre pretty good.

Todd, I know you dont work with pizza anymore, but did they make chocolate pizzas at Papa Johns? With cheese? :D They do here! Or banana with cheese and cinnamon, Im not a huge fan of those ones.

Uncle Bobby and Aunt Celinda, how are you guys doing? Im doing very well here, halfway sun baked, but its good! Im loving the mission life, its so different, but it gives a good feeling.

Yo no hablo español mas, pero si yo pienso ... muito? consigo escrevir un poco. Yo olvidei quase tudo! É muito mais fácil para mim escrever em português. Ainda bem que Pedrinho serviu em Brasil, ele pode ajudar no tradução.

Eu sinto muito que vocês tiveram problemas de saúde! :( Mas fico muito feliz que vocês estão melhor. :) Mi hijo de la misión es de Argentina, ele mistura todo que él habla. Eu também. :)

And now for some english. I hope you have a fantastic holiday season. Im going to miss seeing you all at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was always a joy to see  you both. :) Happy Thanksgiving to you two!

I gotta go, they cut the time off without warning. Bye bye until next time!

~Elder Wille

Guadalajara B, (Caucaia) 11-11-2013

Yep, thats the name of my new area! I was transferred again. :/ But Ive returned to Caucaia! Its a different area, but in the same city that I started.

I spent one transfer in Montese, thats it. Unfortunately, we didnt get to baptize anyone, but thats okay cause I still learned a lot, including maybe this next thing.

I think I received a revelation about my future wife. Its a bit of a story, so here it goes:

During my first area, there was a lady who would give us lunch. She and her husband were both return missionaries. She was really nice to us, but other attitudes and actions made me think that if this is what returned Sisters are like, then I think Id rather pass. It just so happens that a sister returned in the middle of this transfer, and she was very nice to other people. I decided that what Id seen was just a personality difference, and that Sisters are okay in the end.

With that said, I moved out of Montese after just one transfer, so I must have completed my purpose. Im pretty sure that there was more than one purpose there, but Im thinking that one of them was to change my mind. That leading to the bottom line revelation: I think my wife is going to be a returned sister.

It might not seem like a lot, but thats probably exactly who I need to reach my full potential in this life. I could be wrong, but that seems like whats going to happen.

My new companion is Elder Bramwell! Its kinda awesome, cause we were house buddies in Good Garden (GOO-dji GAHR-deng) and now we are companions! Hes from Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland called Solon. Its the Kirtland Stake in terms of Church boundries. Im his step-dad (second companion)

Speaking of mission family, Elder Savaryn is training! :D :D Im going to have a grandson! And to top it all off, hes going to Boatan, my second area!

Another story, that Im seeing my Patriarchal Blessing come to pass right in front of my eyes. One of my inherited gifts is starting to come into play.

We were teaching a lady who was troubled about her son not calling while he was away. I had the distinct impression to say that if she does what shes supposed to, that her son will call that day.

A few days ago, I heard what happened. He called 40 minutes after we left, and later came home for a few days.

Quite a few things like this are happening around me, with other people. While conversing with Elder Galves, who returned home today, I learned a bit more about just how powerful children of God are. It really is scary how much power has been given to us.

About a Christmas package and presents, could you put $15-20 on my card to spend on movies? :D and the rest just hold onto for me? Im actually being serious. I can get about 1 movie per dollar.

Ah, and would it be possible to rip an Amy Grant Christmas CD (Dad, your quote is scarily accurate, how did you know I was going to ask?) and email the music to me? I asked the Assistants, and they say its okay. Im trying to make my last holidays as good as they can get. :)

So, one of my memory cards died. The slide lock on the side broke off in the Lock position, and it wont save pictures on it anymore. Luckily I can get them off, just not put them on. I left a card up there with Dad that I had just wiped, could you send that one to me in the Christmas package? thanks!

Dad, congrats on the huge success of your project! That is a huge accomplishment! I did indeed show it to Targino, and he thought it was pretty cool! I thought it was awesome too, even in just the minute or two that I got to see.

President Souza shook my hand today and told me that you guys had sent him a letter. He kinda forgot to share it with Sister Souza though. :S She will probably ask him to share it with her, but just to make sure, here is her email address too. elainesouza@onda.com.br

Well família, tempo está curto. Eu amo vocês, espero voltar tendo deixado tudo de mim aqui. Nós somos da casa de Israel. Levar o evangelho e o sacerdócio às nações é o nosso dever. Obrigado pelo apoio, eu oro por vocês todos os dias. Que Deus sempre vele e cuide de vocês em todos os momentos.

Com muito amor,

~Elder Wille

P.S. Did I make up for last week? :D