Wk 74 - 2012

--me, pires, and cunha

-Last goodbyes

--how things used to be....

--Christmas from Brasil

-Jesus

-Morris, me, cunha, yorgason

--me and elder olson eatin sushi

--a swiss chocolate (the rocha family had a relative visit them from
switzerland)

--a local store of lembranças

--porto das barcas

--a christmas display

--clappin doors

--Fábio and Wesley

-Viviane´s baptism

--iverson was in the hospital this past week

Area: Parnaíba
Companion: Elder Cunha

Well this week was pretty insane... or maybe that was just today...
but its been good so far! It was good to hear from you all and hear
what you are up to... I love the videos dad and mom those pics were
pretty sweet! haha thats awesome that bailey passed by.. im excited to
see him again.

Monday we played soccer....... just this time was Elder Cunha´s last p
day and we dominated! there are a lot of people that come to the
church court to play that arent members and there are some good
players... but they play king of the court style. We played for about
2 hours straight and we didnt lose one game! ive never played better
soccer in my life. i think i made at least 10 goals and i was actually
playin it up with the brasilians... it was sweet! but we were dead at
the end haha.

Well the usual routine started on tuesday with the district meeting...
last district meeting for elder Cunha. That was an awesome district
that we had here. Elder Olson gave a training about teaching people,
not lessons. After lunch i went on division with Elder Pires.. We
visited Fábio, then to his friend Wesley. Wesley wasnt home so we
talked to the mom a little... she still wont let him get baptized. We
taught a dude that moved about a week ago from Rio de janeiro... his
name is Vitor. They have a funny accent so it was cool, and elder
Pires lived in the neighboring state so it was fun for him to talk to
him... We taught viviane then went home... when we got home, we got a
call from viviane and she told elder cunha that she wanted to get
baptized! it was good news.

Wednesday we were given money to make lunch, so me and elder olson
went at it. We made rice, beans (whats a meal without it?!) I made a
mashed potatoe salad thing and he made omelets, with a little chicken
thing as well... turned out pretty good. The day was pretty rough...
we only got to teach fábio and Viviane during the day.... In between
christmas and new years, it is pretty slow moving here... especially
as missionaries.

Thursday we again taught fábio to keep him going good... he kind of
lives in a rough area with a lot of drinking, drugs, and loud reggae
music so we like to visit often to make sure he´s ok. later we had to
do a division so the zone leaders could do an interview for viviane...
i went with elder paz and my comp stayed. We went to some family night in his area. My comp
came later and we went back to viviane´s and she gave us pizza.

Friday we taught fabio and wesley again... They are quite the
characters... i just hope we can keep fabio strong. We cleaned the
baptismal font and got the baptism ready... Viviane had her neighbors
come... two little girls that have been coming to church and their
mom. The one little girl that is 10 years old whispered to me and
said, ´how can i be baptized.... i really want to´ it was cool. It was
good that viviane was setting the example for her.

Saturday we went to branch 4 real quick to say bye to Elder Yorgason
and Elder Morris... two happy guys. they are a lot of fun and made a
good part of our district. We had lunch then i went with elder olson
on division. We taught some people in his area, but it was difficult
because everyone was getting ready for new years. It got to the point
where noone was wanting anything anymore, so we bought sushi... it was
dang expensive! but totally worth it... we had a good time. We then
went to President Rocha´s who had a barbeque and gave us some food for
new years, then took us home. I got up on the roof at midnight to see
all the fireworks and stuff it was pretty cool...and the neighbors
turned on some good U2 music so it was a good start to the year haha.

Sunday we had church from 9 to 10.. just one hour like last week.

Viviane got confirmed and it was Elder Cunha´s last sunday. It was
cool because there was people who were on vacation that were there
from his last area and it was a good meeting. he bore his testimony
and i did too.. usually not something i like to do, but it was good.
It is a new year and it has been good so far. We taught viviane and
her sister one last time, then went to lunch. Lunch was pretty
interesting! it was rice, and some Cow intestine soup thing... i dont
know how to explain it... little chopped up peices of stomach and
intestine... there was a wierd smell to it and it was very chewy....
but just do it! It wasnt TOO bad... but not what i would eat everyday.
haha We taught Laís, then fabio and wesley and he gave his last
goodbye´s to everyone.

Today we had viviane´s dad drop elder cunha and me off at the bus
station at 6 30 in the morning... we had our last good byes with elder
olson and pires and we got back home and got calls about
transfers........... IM GOING BACK TO TERESINA... this time in the
presidents ward....i heard our assistents
are changing as well...

anyway im pretty sad... we gotta go pack and clean the house... Elder
Olson is going to imperatriz and elder Pires is going to teresina as
well... im gonna be a comp to some newer guy that has like 4 months..
his name is elder lima...

Have a good week and make it a good start to a new year!

Elder Smoot

Wk 73 - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

--Fabio´s baptism

-me and elder Cunha

Christmas Eve

-milk duds and popcorn. THanks!

-singing at the ward party

-me with a couple of members and Fabio drinking

Area: Parnaíba
Companion: Elder Cunha

Hey Fam! man its been a while... so lets catch up. Anything cool
happen last night? just messin. But thanks for the call, it was a lot
of fun to see everyone and talk to ya. It is weird to see home.... I
am used to a different life style here and its just funny to talk to
you guys who are in a whole different swing of things! But it was
awesome. i love you so much and wish i could be there, but i wouldnt
have been so thankful if i hadnt left on a mission. So thanks mom and
dad for being good examples to me and helping me my whole life prepare
for a mission. It is the best thing i´ve done in my life.

Ill tell you real quick about the week...It was a pretty normal week
here... not a whole lot changes here like at home... the stores and
the market were even open on sunday morning as usual.. so there isnt
much that really changes here! But this tuesday we had district
meeting as we usually do. Elder Cunha gave a training on listening to
the whisperings of the holy ghost... it was a good training and really
plays a big role in what we do. We had a good lunch at Luziano´s
little restaurant thing then we walked to the other end of town to
Fábio´s house. We marked his baptism for saturday, so we passed by
every day to see that he was progressing and ready to get baptized.
This day he told us a little about his past and how he was a druggie,
a drunk, been in some knife fights, and how he never wants it again.
and he is 18 years old. He is a humorous dude and i love visiting him
cuz its really funny. At night we went to a church activity, the
branch christmas party, and had fabio and some of his friends there,
we sang Noite Feliz for everyone, then had a good feast... it was a
good activity. We also had viviane and her sister Ana Carine there. We
walked them home and they gave us a basket of chocolate for
christmas... i started eating it when i got home and there were these
little chocolates in the shape of a bottle... the flavor said mint on
it so i threw it in my mouth and as soon as i chewed..... it was an
outburst of some cough medicine liquid that came flowing into my
mouth.... i chocked it down then read the front at the ingredients and
it had some sort of licor in it! woops.... but seriously it was the
nastiest thing ever... but the rest of the chocolate was awesome and
it wasnt their fault either.. they bought the basket already made and
so it came in the package.... funny story though.

Wednesday we met with Fabio again and this time we met his dad. His
dad is pretty cool but is more of a talker than a listener haha but
his parents are very supportive of him joining the church so its good.
Fábio then took us to his friend wesley´s house to teach him. Those
two are really funny together cuz they have a little gangster attitude
to them and its just hillarious. We ran into an old investigator named
Lester in the road and he is kinda lost... he said that the true
church of christ is in us and that our church isnt true cuz God hasnt
shown him a sign yet... it was an interesting conversation. We met a
new investigator named Laís who talked to the missionaries a little in
the other area... she is kind of an air head but a good investigator
because she reads a lot and listens well... She has a good possibility
to get baptized, but she used to be a jehovas witness so she is having
difficulty believing in some things.. but its alrigtht. Viviane
introduced a neighbor to us named Cleo with two little girls. We
taught all of them and it was good. She said that she had a friend
that passed away about 4 months ago so it set us up well for the plan
of salvation and she said she felt better after the lesson.

Thursday we taught Fábio the law of chastity, and we taught Wesley´s
whole family. Wesley is Fábio´s friend but is like 13. He lives with
his brother and his parents and we taught them all together. We talked
about family prayer and it was cool. We also taught Viviane and Ana
Carine about asking in faith to know the church is true. i think they
pretty much know by now.. .but are scared to follow the church or are
kind of lazy i dont know.. kind of like that song that you mentioned
on sunday.... Do you have room? I think that is basically what we do
on a mission... we spend the day asking people if they have time for
Christ... Majority will say they have faith in him... but few will
actually make time for him. Kinda cool.

Friday was decent. We had fábio´s interview for baptism which he
passed. He had a bunch of porn movies that he gave to his mom to throw
away... His mom said that she has waited a long time to do that...His
example is blessing his family as well. We taught Laís about the
restoration of the gospel... My comp bought a Suit to go home with.. i
guess someone stole his suit in São Luís! haha had to buy a new one to
look good going home. At night we did a quick division and i went with
elder olson to his area... we tried to visit someone who was out of
town, so we stopped at a sushi bar. (dad i thought that was funny that
you asked about it! I havent seen sushi in over a year and finally i
saw it here cuz elder olson wanted some. but we can go for sure when i
get home! i didnt like it all that much the first time, but i think i
would really like it now! My taste buds are completely different) And
i grabbed some dessert.. it was Açaí na tigela. Just a blend of Açai
with some granola on top.. pretty good!

Saturday was Christmas eve and we had a crazy day! we had lunch way
out at Jame´s house. He is a good guy getting ready to leave on a
mission and his family is awesome. But after that we had to go way to
the other end of the city and talk to Laís, then to Fábio´s to walk
with him to the baptism.. The problem was that we didnt know if anyone
was gonna go to the baptism! but luckily there were a few people that
showed up.. it was a miracle. We had the baptism after the headache of
getting it all together and at night we went with presdent rocha to
have a christmas supper. He took us home then me and elder cunha had
to visit viviane who invited us for dinner as well. ( i just about
died of eating so much) Then to antonio and osailde. It took me
forever to get everything working with the computer and dad, do you
remember how the DsL or something was down? I finally realized a cord
had fallen out of place and just wasnt plugged in... so yeah that was
dumb. Anyway we got set up and ready for christmas.

Sunday we had Church at 9 to 10ish... We walked down and brought Fábio
and wesley with us... At church Fabio was confirmed. After church we
went to viviane´s real quick, then out to lunch at irmã gorete´s
house. It was good, just really far, out by james house. It was a
super hot day so we headed home, took a shower, then went to antonio
and osailde´s house to set up skype and my comp talked first then i
talked to you! It was a good time and i love that family that let us
in during christmas. They are good people and gave us lasagna after as
well haha.

It was a good week and i love the feelings of Christmas. I cant wait
for next year cause its gonna be a good one! the best present i was
ever given was my family. I am so thankful for everything you do for
me and the sacrifice you pay so that i can be on a mission. We are
very blessed to know the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and it is
really incredible to see the change it makes in people´s lives.

Love ya. Talk to ya next year!

Elder Smoot

Wk 72 - Merry Christmas

--A Christmas tree in Piauí

--me and elder Cunha

--p day with Arthur (elder cunha´s freind from Tianguá)

--livin it up

--Everyone. Elder Olson, Arthur, Me, Elder Cunha, And Elder Pires

--im dreaming of a coke christmas

--my comp... thats the spirit

--fish... just fry them and eat em whole!

Area: Parnaíba
Companion: Elder Cunha

What a week. Each day of the mission seems like it will never end and
that the weeks never pass... but little by little it is all passing
by. Thanks for the emails and what not. i love the pics and the videos
you send... and cant wait to talk to ya on christmas! Its been a good
year.

This week was pretty normal.... just a little more christmas oriented
i guess you could say. There isnt a whole lot of christmas spirit
here, so we are trying to have a little more as we go throughout the
day. Las monday was pretty cool. If you remember joao paulo that we
baptized a month or two ago? his mom made us dinner to take home and
gave me a brasil jersey for Christmas. Their family has opened up a
lot to us and its cool because they live right in front of the church
and have had years of missionaries passing by their house.. but they
finally joined the church and the mom invites us over for lunch and
gives us food all the time... it was a pretty cool miracle i have had
in this area.

Tuesday we had the routine district meeting. This time we focused a
little more on the book of mormon. I talked about how we need to pray
to know the truth and that really noone can know the truth if they
dont pray. My comp talked about how it is the keystone of our religion
and how important that is. If they know this book is true, the rest
falls into place. and he explained how that helped him in his
conversion when he was 14 and learning about the church.. it was cool.
We talked to brendon and barbara and ended up teaching their tutor
rafael. It was a good lesson about the gospel of jesus christ and what
we need to do to return to God one day and be happy. It was a pretty
slow day... but we talked to Ciro and Vanessa (from last year) and
they are doing OK.... not awesome though. They still arent married and
are having a few problems... but i hope we can help them. We taught as
well Viviane and showed her the restauration DVD.. it went very well.

Wednesday we had lunch at James house. He is like 18 years old and
wants to leave on a mission. He is a stud, and his family are not
members.. but they gave us lunch and are really cool people.. We met
up with our new friend Fábio and his friend Wesley.. they are pretty
funny dudes but always seem like they are high on something.. but they
are super funny i dont know how to explain it.. just super chill and
way to relaxed haha. We then talked to Bruno´s mom, (bruno is a member
but the mom is not) and she gave us some cake and it was a cool visit.
She is super willing to give us lunch and stuff.... but not even a
member of the church. We then had a nice long walk across the bridge
to Thiago´s house who is a boyfriend of a member in the area... he
knows the church well, but has never been baptized..it went well but
we spent most of the time talking to his mom who is catholic.

Thursday we ate lunch at a little restaurant close to our house then
went to Joao paulo´s house to teach his friend Beth. She is like 12
years old. We went to go teach fabio but he wasnt home so we taught
his mom... then we taught joão who was close by, then we went back to
teach fabio and wesley, then wesley (who is about 12 years old)
invited us to teach his mom so we went and talked to her. We passed by
a members house, Ivanez, and she gave us some sanwhiches and we left a
message. We stopped by Irmã Lourdes house to say goodbye to jorge
lucas and joao victor´s house. They left to Brasilia to stay with
their dad for a few months. To end, we went to viviane´s and talked to
her about prayer. on the way home Joao paulo´s mom called me to pass
by and pick up food and she also gave me a new pair of flip flops!
haha she has helped us a lot.

Friday we had lunch at Jacyara´s (joao paulo´s mom)... she wanted to
give us lunch because she was going to fortaleza for christmas. WE
taught brendon and barbara, then we helped a calm and loving member
move her stuff in her house... that was sarcastic, but it was quite
the experience. She had us trade all her light bulbs and lift these
heavy plant pots... haha it was funny. We taught Joelda, Then Ciro and
Vanessa then we had to book it to Branch 4 so my comp could do an
interview for baptism. We got there late and he did the interview and
we ended up sleeping there.

Saturday morning we went back to our house, we had received money for
lunch and so Elder Pires cooked some rice, pork meat, and made french
fries, and it was a decent lunch. We visited Brendon and Barbara´s mom
who had some concerns about the baptism (them being under age have to
have the mom´s permission). she just said that she didnt see the
desire to follow the church yet. When that is there, they can get
baptized.... so thats cool. We taught Fábio again, then had the
english class.. I have made some friends there so its pretty fun. We
then had a little rehearsal with a lady in our branch haha we are
gonna sing on Tuesday for our ward party.. should be fun.

Sunday we had a good turn out of investigators. We had viviane who
brought her sister, and her neighbors who are 10 and 6 years old.
Fábio came with Wesley, then we had a couple of other kids show up.
One that has been playing soccer with us on the new church court and
the other a man that comes to english class... it was cool. It was a
hot day... like more than usual so after lunch at pres rocha´s house,
we went home real quick to take a shower... its normal to take about 3
showers a day here as part of the culture... it helps you keep cool.
But we passed at Vitor´s house real quick then at Ciro and Vanessa´s,
and then we picked up Viviane (well walked her) to the church with her
sister to watch the Christmas Devotional.. but they ended up
cancelling it....... so we practiced the music again and that was
about it.

Today has been good. we still are gonna play soccer later... we had a
cool member that served a short term mission with elder cunha in
tianguá in the state Ceará, he gave us lunch and took us in his car
around parnaíba... it was pretty cool.

Anyway, again its gonna be weird without snow and cold for
christmas.... but then again i dont know what that is!!! Love ya.

Have a Wonderful Christmas.

Elder Smoot