Week 29 Letter

Monday September 19, 2011

Hey family!

Another week gone in a blink of an eye.  Wow, time is passing by so fast for me.  So, this week started out great.  After I finished writing to you all last week I read the president´s letters to all of the missionaries and it was a letter really special.   Our mission has been lacking baptisms but he promised that if we all worked hard and were obedient, miracles would happen and that we would find somebody to baptize that week.  I got really excited about this and I promised my companion that we could do it because our president is called of God to lead his work here and he has the key to make such a promise.  This week I really focused and doing all that I could to find and baptize the promised person.  My companion Elder Leal doubted such a promise could be fulfilled in our area but he agreed to try the challenge with me this week and really dig in our heals and push our handcart. As the week went on, it became the most challenging week of my mission.  We had a day were we did not find anybody home even though we were working hard.  We had walked 1 and a half hours to the other side of the city for an appointment that fell through; nobody else was home and walked back for an hour and a half to another appointment that fell through.  Still, we focused on the promise.  The next day I caught a really nasty bug that threw me for a loop.  My head felt full of rocks and I was ready to throw up any moment.  We tried to work, but again, rough finding people in their houses so we visited and did service for a couple members until our night appointment with Junior, the boyfriend of the girl who was at church last Sunday with him.  Then Thursday I really felt nasty so Elder Leal made me call Sister Oliveira to get permission to buy medicine.  She ordered me to bed for the day which I really did not like, but for fear of being disobedient we stayed in the house.  Friday we started by helping a member that morning build a house.  We worked with concrete all day, mixing and hauling.  In Brasil, houses are all brick and so they use a lot of concrete to hold the bricks together.  We then worked super hard to make up for the last few days that were unsatisfying.  Saturday we continued to work hard and Sunday we baptized Junior.  It was amazing. 

 Now I have to tell his story.  Junior is 26 years old and living with another guy here in Lucas away from his family.  He is awesome and has recently turned his life around.  He was a drug attic, both buying and selling, but he stopped over a year ago and is now working as a social worker helping other men and young men give up drugs.  We passed by his house and taught him the first lesson.  What a powerful spirit was there. We always feel the spirit when we teach, but you can also feel when the spirit is being carried to their hearts and when it is entering their hearts.  He opened his heart and he learned by the spirit.  We had both thought that maybe it would be better to mark a date two week ahead for baptism, but in the lesson we both knew that we were to mark a date for baptism with him for the next Sunday.  He eagerly accepted the date to be baptized and firmly said that he wanted to be baptized with this authority and continue his life in the church of Jesus Christ.  The next lesson we invited his member girlfriend who was recently baptized to join us.  We taught the word of wisdom and it was another great lesson.  He told is that he wanted to stop smoking and drinking coffee and so we made a plan with him.  We also read from the missionary pamphlets about some of the steps that may help.  He asked us for a priesthood blessing to help him give up these substances and so we gave him a blessing.  He is so awesome.  We taught him the plan of salvation and law of chastity the next lesson.  He went out of town to see family that night, but was back Saturday night late and called us to let us know that he was back.  Sunday he went to church, had his interview, and was baptized.  He loved it and is really excited for next week to be confirmed and receive the Holy Ghost.  My other baptism Beatriz was there and she loved the baptism because it made her remember her baptism.  She also told me that baptisms were like a party in the church because everybody is so happy to see another soul come to Christ.  It was so cool to hear that from another sweet soul that I was just in the water with.  How cool is this work.  I know that this was a miracle, the miracle that was promised by my inspired mission president.  What a great week this was.  We suffered hard days and sickness, but the Lord blessed us overwhelmingly.  Junior will be a great instrument in the Lord´s hands.  I love all of you and wish you all a great week.  Tchau

Oh yeah, do you remember about the anaconda skin that I found.  So I was talking to an investigator about it and they showed me a video of the news program that was there the same day and showed the anaconda in the water, the same one that gave me the skin.  He ate a capivara that day also.  Awesome, right?  The snake turned out to be about 10 meters long.  Sweet man.  Sadly, I only found about 10 feet of skin.  Look this up in YouTube.  sucuri no cartão postal de Lucas that should find the video of the news report.  Anyways, you probably will not understand but they are saying that you should watch your you walk, keep an eye on your kids, and not be in the park at night.  The video makes it look like there are always people there because Lucas wants a tourist attraction, but in all reality, I pass through the park as a short cut every other day at least and see all of 2 people there at the most.  Hahaha but really, check it out dude, pretty cool. There are so many cool things here.  I will send a pic of a 5 foot lizard I saw this week. 

hey, good work boys on the sheep riding.  It was AWESOME!!! 

Week 28 Letter

I am doing well, how are all of you doing? Already read Dad’s letter.  It was great, as was your letter. I have the best parents in the world, don´t I?  Yeah, almost am ready to send the weekly letter, but what is Shauna doing for school this year?   She will be great!  I hope that Tony keeps a close eye on her for me.  I saw the blog, video and everything.  Dad went to the bottom, could have guessed; although Tony was close with the going to the side maneuver.  What fun.

Monday September 12, 2011

Hello family!

Well, this week was good, although we did not have a baptism.  Euriko is ready to be baptized but he left for out of town because he was offered work so he took off in a hurry to grab work but it will only last for around 20 days and afterwards he will return.  We did have 3 inactive members come to church and 2 investigators that came with them.  A young woman brought her boyfriend and I spent the church meetings with him.  Also had an inactive woman come back to church who we have been teaching with her nonmember husband.  We went to their house again after church.  She shared a powerful testimony about her conversion with the missionaries and promised us, but really it was a promise more to herself, that she is never going to leave the church again and that she has no doubt that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true, and that it is the only true church on the Earth.  I asked her why it would be important to her to see her husband baptized and how this would change their lives and she said that it would make all the difference and that she wants nothing else.  This really helped her husband think.  They are not legally married yet, although the both expressed the desire to things right and be married legally.  We later talking with the branch president and he is going to help us help them with the marriage process.  Today we have a scheduled appointment with Julio, the boyfriend of the young woman who has been less active but has been to the last 2 Sundays, one of which she shared a powerful testimony of her conversion with the missionaries that taught her.  He liked church, is at least 18, is living in Lucas alone working and studying, and is catholic and active in his church.  I am really excited to teach him today.  The other inactive member is a father to an active family.  He was baptized with the rest of his family but fell away from the church and was going to a different church closer to his house. He was at the wedding this week, (oh yeah, we had a wedding this week of 2 members and at the wedding we made a bunch of contacts with was good and I also was given the sacred duty of filming the wedding) and we invited him to church and so he came.  His family was really happy that he was there.  He has a great family.  This family was the baptism of my ex companion Elder Melo.  So, what else is going on…, I think that that is a sufficient report, at least all that I think of now.  Are teaching pool has become almost all men, which is ideal and what our mission president wants. The church needs men here in Brazil to continue to grow, but baptizing men is harder, but we are now teaching 8 men which is awesome.   We are working well, but I know that we can work harder.  Elder Leal is a great companion and the zone leaders told me that he is improving dramatically but he likes to stop when he is tired.  I am trying to take on dad´s characteristic and push when I am tired.  Give me this mountain.  I know that in wrestling practice you grow stronger after you are tired.  I think that a mission is the same thing.  I believe that if you work when you are tired God will bless you more for you efforts and demonstration of faith.  But you cannot run faster than you are able, and I am learning this principle in a different setting before, having a full time companion and not being in the leadership position in our companionship.  I will continue to try and left him up.  He really is a great guy.  He has 14 months in the mission and has just a little over 5 years in the church.  He comes from a little city with a little branch.  It is amazing that he is serving a mission and doing what he is doing.  I am so blessed to have come from the home that I came from and the setting that I lived in and the blessings of the Spirit that I am experienced.  I just hope that I am using all of my talents that I have been entrusted with and helping all of the people here that are waiting for a messenger sent from the Lord.  This messenger may have even promised in the pre-motal life, `I know that you will not be born into the gospel as I will be, but do not worry, I will bring the gospel to you in Brazil´  Missionary work is awesome.  It is the work of all work.  Whether it be on am mission, in your ward or school, or most importantly, in your home, there is no other feeling that can substitute for the joy that is felt as you bring your brothers and sisters to the security that can only be felt in the arms of their Savior and Redeemer.  I am trying to make this my work and my glory.  Is this not how you become unified with the Father?  The two great commandments are, love the lord thy god and your neighbor.  Is there a better way to show and put love into action then to help them land their souls on the right hand of God?  I believe that this is charity.  We learn in Moroni that charity is the pure love of Christ.  Charity is more than love.  It is love put into action, and the pure love of Christ was put into the action of the atonement.  He put down his life, but more, did all that possible to save every one of us.  We cannot do what he did, but we can do all that we can, all that is possible of us to help save our brothers and sisters.  In the book of Mormon I read a verse that says, and who knows but ye shall  be the means of bringing them to the savior (I cannot remember what chapter but is the chapter were Alma was praying about what to do with the members of the church that would not repent).  This is charity, and this is the work and glory of the Father, and I am trying to align my will to his as I serve my mission, which will continue long after I leave Brazil.  The gospel is amazing, and I know that it is true.  Nothing has such power and influence to change the hearts of the children of men then the Holy Ghost, who testifies of this gospel and who has testified to me that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that his church has been restored on the Earth, and that he Priesthood power has been brought back by the hands of his servants and apostles Peter, James, and John and his word and his works are continually being given to his modern day prophets.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  Oh, how I know that it is true.  I have learned for myself of its truthfulness.  I have learned for myself of the truthfulness of the powerful verse located in James 1:5.  The verse that led to the restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ.  I encourage all to learn of these truths for themselves by offering a humble prayer in faith and with a desire to know.   I share this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Shane B. Lee

My shorts  will be used.  Besides, if one does not fit, I am sure that I could sell it to a Brazilian for the incredible price of R$60 or more because not only are they basketball shorts, but b-ball shorts original from the US sell here for about $150.  It is really weird here because they have false Nike, Adidas, reebok, etc. and so to buy original it is really expensive.  They cannot believe that we really do not have false products like this.

Starter is a name brand here.  You cannot find start shoes for less than $130.  Weird, I know.  I am sure that I will get some good use out of them.  Yeah, the paper work is all for customs because they do not want people to buy iPods and ship them the Brazil.  The iPod that I bought dad with you and the kids runs over $1,000 here and to buy a decent laptop you have to spend over two thousand.  That is why there is paperwork, but for the things that I am buying should not be a lot of money to send.  Even 50 dollars to send in saving a lot of money.  I thought that things would be cheap in Brazil.  Wrong.  But, I think that it is only Brazil because in Paraguay everything is cheap and it is from the US.  They have peanut butter and root beer there. Anyways, thanks a ton.

Love you too mom, and thank you for your confidence.  I am trying to make you proud.  Have a great week!

Week 27 Letter

Monday, September 5, 2011

Hey Ali!  I cannot believe that you are going to be a freshman!  Life is so crazy!  You must be getting old; then again, I guess that I will be 20 this December which feels really weird.  Also, if it makes you feel better, i started high school when I was just over 4 feet 10 inches, so you are off to a better start them I was.  I miss getting wood with you guys.  What fun.  I can picture your finger.  I had about the same experience in the sixth grade, playing soccer during school and getting stung on the finger and it swelled up too.  I think that it is because the finger is more sensitive to bee stings or something like that.  Anyways, thanks for the email and I love you and no worries about high school, you will do great.  You are smart and everybody will like you, although I hope that Cameron and tony keep a good eye and you and the boys while I am gone.  Love you and until next time!

Hey everyone.  What a sad event that happened in Spokane this week, but I know that the spirits in heaven and his family on the other side are rejoicing.  I have already written an email on this topic that you can all read.  Serving a mission and helped me gain a vision and perspective of this life.  Both how to live in this life and what this life really is, a time to prepare to meet God, a very temporary time, but also a critical time.  Tommy did a fine job in this life, and his service will continue in the next life.  My week this week was busy.  Elder Leal and I worked more than either of us has worked on our mission.  My language has improved dramatically and I feel like I am say anything that I want.  Elder Leal is doing really well, which is a change in his mission.  He has 13 or 14 months in the mission and this transfer we have taken fire.  We did not have anyone at church this Sunday which was really a disappointment, because we worked really hard, but there was an episode that took place in between church meetings which made me think that it was a blessing that none of our investigators were there.  Sometimes, I really miss having a strong ward and stake.  Life in a branch in the middle of nowhere can be hard, but we are trying to strengthen the branch here.  We did activate a man here, which was really exciting and good.  We have been teaching his friend and at the same time, re-teaching him all of the lessons and he has changed his perspective and is excited about the gospel again.  Anyways, this week will be another good week.  I am learning and improving every day.  I am always trying to improve on the little things that make a difference and trying to grow into the missionary that God wants me to be.  Thank you for all of your prayers, I can feel them in my mission.  That is really all that I can think to write, but everything is good here and this week will be exciting.  I love all of you and have a great week.
Elder Lee

No, I have not been to Jackson´s blog, although we will email to each other every once in a while.  Alex is awesome and he will be a great missionary.  It will be a while before I go to Cuiaba unless I am transferred there, but our zone leaders are there more often so I will get the package soon after it arrives in Cuiaba so no worries.  Just remember to put a pic of Jesus on it so people do not open it and steal everything.  Thanks for all of your help. 

I hope that I am the kind of missionary that dad was.  He is my hero, but I am sure that you already knew that, huh.  I am glad that he married you too; I have the best parents in the world.  I do not know what I did right in the pre-mortal world, or what I did wrong to prove that I needed the best parents in the world, but either way I am grateful.  Thanks for everything.  Sorry if my email was short, but I really could not think of anything else to write.  It feels like I just wrote to you.  Time is going by so fast!

No, he has not got his mission call.  He did do his interviews, but he needs to wait a little longer to get more financially set because he is living off money from his dad for school and housing, and his dad is not a member of the church.  His dad is okay with him serving a mission some days and other days he does not want him to serve but finish school first, so they are trying to getting everything squared away before he leaves with money and family.  President Oliveira did the interview and Willians told me that he needs to finish another semester of school to please his dad before he can leave because President wants his dad to be happy.  Anyways, he is still really excited to serve and President is helping him.

Yeah, I just looked.  Tony is the man, I miss doing that kind of thing with him.  Well, I gotta go and get back to work, but I love you and I will write to you again soon.  Have a great week mom.  I love you!!!

Week 26 Letter

Monday, August 29, 2011

Wow, it looks like you were all having fun this week!  Dad, yeah, it was 70 once last week and everybody stayed inside and I pulled out a couple of sweaters.  For the most part, it is over 100 and it gets down to about 90 during the evening 6 00 to 9 30.  Pretty warm.  Tony, what a catch!  Dude, it was huge, although because it was caught with my spear, I am going to take at least half the credit.  Dude, that is awesome.  When I get home, we are going spear fishing man.  Dad, rice krispies hit the spot.  I am missing American food more and more.  Rice is good, but there is nothing right now like the snap crackle and pop of rice krispies.  So, I am started a new transfer.  I was really happy to stay in Lucas, because I have not baptized here and I know that there are people.  I get my new comp and things are going well.  I planned every day of this week because I know the area, so we worked like dogs.  President warned me that my new companion likes to goof around, but we had a great week and he is more excited than he has ever been on the mission.  It helped that we baptized this week too.   

I have been teaching Biatriz for 2 weeks now and her married son and his wife (not legally married though).  She is awesome and has a really strong spirit.  I have some pics so I will see if I can send them to you all.  We have been working like crazy.  We taught over 30 lessons which is great, especially for the first week of the transfer because the first day was spent traveling and we had a district meeting in Sorriso Friday so we could only work on the street from 6 30 until 9 30.  I am really excited to keep the pace up, and I think that Elder Leal has caught a little bit of me vision as well.  It is awesome.  Also, this week we took the short cut through the park and as we were walking I could have sworn that I saw a snake in the water.  As I looked closer, I pulled out a 12 foot snake skin from an anaconda.   

We then saw a park ranger and told him about it.  He said that the park and various anacondas and he was there because about 2 hours earlier somebody saw an anaconda eating a capivara (ROUS).   

He said that he saw a 12 meter anaconda earlier this month, although I think that he must have been exaggerating a little.  12 meters is huge!!!!  Anyways, life is good and the mission is great.  I looked at the blog and read all of the letters.  It was great hearing from all of you.  I do not have a lot of time today because I am using a computer of a member because we do not have any money because we had to use it on buses going from Lucas to Sorriso and back because the secretaries of the mission forgot to buy them for us but they will pay us back but we have to wait until the 1st of the month.  Anyways, I love all of you and have a great week!!!

Elder Lee

The blog was awesome!  I love you too and have a great day at the lake!

Hey, couple of things.  Everything here in Brazil is super expensive, so I think it would be much cheaper to buy some things there in the states and then ship them to me.  I am in need of a pair of shorts (basketball shorts here are over R$100!) tony can pick them out for me (basketball with pockets) and a good jump rope (the kind EV has, tony knows the kinds that I like, more like a wire then a rope) and that thumb drive and an SD card reader for a regular SD memory card.  Also, if you could send me some ankle socks (the kind that you can hardly see out of the shoe because if there is a part outside of the shoe they will get really dirty really fast here).  Thanks a ton.  You can use my card for all of this, but everything here is ridiculously expensive.  Here is Brasil they have what is called original.  Everything here is false, for example a Nike shirt.  You can buy false shirts for R$20 but to buy an original it is R$200 plus.  Crazy, right?  Well, thanks a ton.  I love you mom!!!

Week 25 Letter

Monday August 22, 2011

Hey everybody!

Well, to catch everyone up, we had a rough week of finding and teaching.  Jean was not baptized wed because he was out of town because of work.  We were informed that he would be back Saturday but we could not find him Saturday or Sunday at his house.  So we will continue to try and track him down, teach him, and baptize him.  He is a great kid and he has great desires but Satan is working in his life more than we can right now so things are complicated.  Yesterday was transfers.  Elder J Silva will go to Matto Grosso do Sul (South) and I will stay here with Elder Leal (Brazilian who I have met but do not really know.  I bought him Subway in Cuiaba in the first zone conference that I had in the mission because he was out of money).  He seems to be cool.  This transfer we are starting with 4 potential baptisms and I am set on finding much more.  There are people here looking for the truth and people that are ready to accept the gospel in their lives.  I just have to find them.  My toe is doing better mom, it hasn´t fallen off or anything.  And to answer your question mom, it gets dark here at about 6pm, but we have full daylight at 4 30 am.  Strange, right? Although to me, light at 8 pm sounds strange.  Amazing how fast you get use to a place.  It has been cold this week.  I even used a sweater the other day because it was really cold.  Ha, I just used a converter on our cell and found that it was 70 degrees F.  Yeah, I will die when i return home in Feb.  This week, I did find something that made me think of all of you.  I actually discovered ROUS´s  (Rodents Of Unusual Size)!  Yeah, I didn´t believe they existed either. lol.  But seriously.  I cannot send a pic now because of this particular lan house, but you can probably see pics of them.  I have no idea what they are called in English, but in Portuguese they are called capivara.  Look it up on Google.  They are really cool.  I say them in a park and so Elder J Silva and I went to investigate.  There was group of about 10 drinking at the river.  There were two that were really big, and one was the leader because the rest of them would follow.  I tried to get close but they all jumped in the river and started swimming.  Yeah, did not expect that.  Then they got on the dry land again and so this time, I walked up to them, but kept my distance and got on my belly and started crawling to them very slowly.  It was about 6 30 pm so it was dark and I was in black slacks and my black sweater.  I got close, but then he saw me and started making this weird growling sound.  I slowly crept closer and closer and he just stood there growling and eating grass until I was about 3 feet.  Super close.  Then he started to leave.  I was also taking pics which made him nervous.  This whole time my companion was freaking out.  He thinks that I am a crazy American.  Yeah, probably true, but I am pretty sure that they are harmless.  Just a big rat, but man are they big.  Like a rat and a pig combined.  Anyways, thought I would let you now that ROUS´s do exist, but because of the movie we all new that already.  So, how are all of you?  What is new?  I read the blog and it sounds like a fun summer.  Man, I miss our garden!  Especially eating the food.  lol.  Well, I am off to start another transfer.  I am excited and ready to get to work.  Lucas has not baptized for a while now, but this is going to change.  Anyways, until next week.  Have fun storming the castle!

Elder Lee

.

Me - Capybaras have heavy, barrel-shaped bodies and short heads with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of their body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. Adult capybaras may grow to 130 centimetres (4.3 ft) in length, and weigh up to 65 kg (140 lb).^[11][12][13] The top recorded weight is 105.4 kg (232 lbs).^[14] Capybaras have slightly webbed feet, no tail and 20 teeth.^[15] Their back legs are slightly longer than their front legs and their muzzles are blunt with eyes, nostrils, and ears on top of their head. Females are slightly heavier than males. Females average 36 to 66 kg (80 to 145 pounds), while males typically weigh about 34 to 61 kilograms (75 to 135 pounds).

Holy Crap!!  I think he should listen to his comp and keep his distance!  They are the ugliest thing I've seen.  I wouldn't have gotten 20 feet close without a fence between us.  YUK!  We just watched a you tube video of them.  Becca and Katie think they are cute.  Josh says for Shane to try and ride one.  I'm sticking with my original view – GROSS

Okay, we just watched something even worse.  An anaconda eating one of those ROUS's.  I can't believe Shane is there living where these things exist!