hey!
So to answer your questions, if I remember them all...
I am junior companion still. My companion is not all the way obedient, but it is not too bad. Not as bad as I thought it would be anyway. We get along though. it is just tough to not get too much done. But i think i am here to help him out. umm... dad, the emergency transfer was because i think an american showed up. also, it could be because there were two elders that argued pretty bad i geuss and that might have been the reason too.. I am not exactly sure. it is all just rumors. I just know that I was transferred and am here in tiangua haha. and mom, elder donizeti is still in parnaiba. tiangua is smaller than parnaiba. it is a small town with only one ward. it is close to dividing though. they shut down the chapel to knock it down and build a bigger better one. we will be having church in a rented house now. and baptisms will be in a river close by. that will be cool...
Speaking of baptisms, we will have one this coming saturday. his name is jose maria. all of his family are members, but he has always had a drinking problem, and when they all joined the church 13 years ago, he couldnt stop drinking. but 13 years later, a lady in the ward thought that he would be ready. when we got there the frist time, he had already stopped drinking for a couple of days and was definately in the right path. The spirit was very strong when we taught the plan of salvation and we invited him to be baptized. To everyones surprise, that have known him over the years, he accepted. It was very spiritual. It is my very favorite thing when some one accepts to be baptized and repent. I looked at his wife, who has been patiently waiting for 13 years for him to make the decision, and she had a great big smile on her face. Also, his daughter was very excited too. it was a very special moment for that family.
He is showing great signs of improvment and is really repenting of his sins. He joined alcoholics annonymous and is praying every night with his wife for help. Everyone feels he will be ready this saturday. It is exciting.
Your trip that you planed sounds way exciting! I am jealous. You will see a lot of great stuff! Be sure to take pictures of stuff and send them to me! I want to see what the other side of the US looks like. i hope you all have a great time there! and travel safely!
I guess I dont have much to say today... you dont need to worry about me being disobedient. I am doing my best out here. If i were disobedient, I would come home with all kinds of regrets, and I dont want that.
I love you all so much! good luck with everything in the coming week! I hope it all goes well for you! I think and pray for you all every day!
Love, Isaac
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
5.23.11 Transfered to Tiangua
Hey family..
Here is some news for ya... There was an emergency transfer on Thrusday and I was transferred to a new area! I am in Tianguá, Ceará!. It is a great city...but it is COLD!. I guess it wouldn´t be cold for you guys, but I am used to a lot hotter and Tianguá feel really cold to me. it is a litle bit higher up in elevation I think and there are hills all around. My new companion is Elder Andrade. He is from Sao Paulo too. He is known to be really disobedient. We will see how things go... I am a little nervous.. But i am excited to get to know this city and the people here.
There are 4 of us missionaries here together in one ward. The ward is close to spliting and it is a great change to be in a ward again instead of a branch. It was weird to have more then 5 people in Elders Quorum on Sunday.
It was pretty hard to say goodbye to people in parnaíba. I got to know a lot of people there. The hardest was Marcio, who I talked about last week. He was pretty sad too. I guess it would be hard to say goodbye to someone that helped change your life... It was also hard to say goodbye to Elder Donizeti. He was a great missionary and companion. speaking of him, he told me to tell you thanks in advance for the journal and book. he will be able to understand Engish.
Today for P-day we played soccer. i am no good, but I did score a goal! That is pretty good since the last time I ever played was for an indoor soccer team in 3rd grade. It wasn´t an easy goal either.. I had to get around one guy, and then get past the goalie. But i also got schooled more then one time. haha. it was pretty fun, but i still don´t like soccer.
I don´t have much to say today about me...
Dad, congrats on the marathon. Even though you didn´t get the time you wanted, you still finished a marathon, which I think is one of the studliest things.
i hope you have a good trip to Philly. I don´t know if it is this week or not cause i don´t know the days, but if it is... good luck. it sounds like a lot of driving. I am jealous that you are going to a cubs game. I don´t think you need to worry about wearing a cubs shirt because there are cubs fans everywhere. They will back you up.
Congrats Mindy on the singing performances! and on graduation! wish i could have been there for all of it.
I hope you all have a fantastic week and know that you are all loved by me!
Isaac
Here is some news for ya... There was an emergency transfer on Thrusday and I was transferred to a new area! I am in Tianguá, Ceará!. It is a great city...but it is COLD!. I guess it wouldn´t be cold for you guys, but I am used to a lot hotter and Tianguá feel really cold to me. it is a litle bit higher up in elevation I think and there are hills all around. My new companion is Elder Andrade. He is from Sao Paulo too. He is known to be really disobedient. We will see how things go... I am a little nervous.. But i am excited to get to know this city and the people here.
There are 4 of us missionaries here together in one ward. The ward is close to spliting and it is a great change to be in a ward again instead of a branch. It was weird to have more then 5 people in Elders Quorum on Sunday.
It was pretty hard to say goodbye to people in parnaíba. I got to know a lot of people there. The hardest was Marcio, who I talked about last week. He was pretty sad too. I guess it would be hard to say goodbye to someone that helped change your life... It was also hard to say goodbye to Elder Donizeti. He was a great missionary and companion. speaking of him, he told me to tell you thanks in advance for the journal and book. he will be able to understand Engish.
Today for P-day we played soccer. i am no good, but I did score a goal! That is pretty good since the last time I ever played was for an indoor soccer team in 3rd grade. It wasn´t an easy goal either.. I had to get around one guy, and then get past the goalie. But i also got schooled more then one time. haha. it was pretty fun, but i still don´t like soccer.
I don´t have much to say today about me...
Dad, congrats on the marathon. Even though you didn´t get the time you wanted, you still finished a marathon, which I think is one of the studliest things.
i hope you have a good trip to Philly. I don´t know if it is this week or not cause i don´t know the days, but if it is... good luck. it sounds like a lot of driving. I am jealous that you are going to a cubs game. I don´t think you need to worry about wearing a cubs shirt because there are cubs fans everywhere. They will back you up.
Congrats Mindy on the singing performances! and on graduation! wish i could have been there for all of it.
I hope you all have a fantastic week and know that you are all loved by me!
Isaac
Monday, May 16, 2011
5.16.11 Great Week!
Hey,
This week was a great one. Me and my comp have been having a hard time finding the desire to work as you know, but we just decided to suck it up and get goin haha. So we did. We went out everyday searching for new people to teach and we are trying to strengthen the members here too cause they are having some problems. So we just got busy. But the coolest thing that happened this week is the Lord surprised us with a baptism. this is what happened...
So on Thursday night we left a really spiritual message with Marcio about Job and how he always remained faithful and stuff. I could tell that he felt the Spirit and that what we said really applied to him. So then on Friday we got done eating lunch and Irmão Zezinho called us. (zezinho is an awesome member, not sure if i have talked about him before) Well he had been helping us teach Marcio,. and he called on Friday afternoon and told us that Marcio read in the Book of Mormon a scripture that says you have to be baptized to enter the kingdom of God. And he said that Marcio really felt that it was true and that he wanted to be baptized the next day (saturday). Me and my comp were just like WOO HOO!!!! haha. So we called President Dias because Marcio had had a problem with drugs before and President Dias told us to wait 3 months to baptize him. But we explained everything to him and President gave permission. So we went over to talk to Marcio and told him that that night he will be interviewed and we went over the baptisimal interview questions. Then he passed the interview that night, and on saturday I had the priviledge of baptizing him and on Sunday he was confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost. What a miracle. I am still wondering what exactly happened that made it possible for all of that to happen. The Lord definatly works in mysterious ways. But I am so glad I was here to see Marcio be baptized and confirmed. This week we are going to help prepare him to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood.
Miranda, congrats on graduating seminary!! You look great in your pictures.
The new stake presidency sounds like a good one. I think I know President Hathaway, but I am not sure. If it is the guy I am thinking of, then he is a great choice to be Stake President.
It sounds like Monday nights are going to be a fun day for you now. BYUI students are crazy haha. Its good that that ward is a good one.
Thanks in advance for sending the package. That is a good idea to send the stuff seperate to Elder Donizeti. He has support from home. He and his mom were baptized at the same time 2 years ago, and his dad is supportive. He gets letters and has people that write him so everything is good. He has a good family.
I would send pictures to you guys, but the computer doesn´t recognize that I have pictures on the camera. I hope I don´t have a virus on the chip. I will take it to someone who knows. and see if they can do somethin.
Everything is going great down here in Brazil. We rescued our area a little and we are going to keep goin. The work is lookin up again. I am starting to see how easy it is to be caught up in the pride cycle. Things were going really great for us in March and April and I guess we took the blessings for granted and then the Lord left us on our own and everything stopped. But now since we have decided to start working really hard, the blessings are starting to come back again. I will do everything I can to keep the blessings coming.
Good luck presenting that paper in that San Francisco Dad! you explained what the paper is about, but I don´t understand any of that haha. I hope the people you are going to talk to understand! haha.
I hope you all have a great week! I love you all very very much!
Love Isaac
This week was a great one. Me and my comp have been having a hard time finding the desire to work as you know, but we just decided to suck it up and get goin haha. So we did. We went out everyday searching for new people to teach and we are trying to strengthen the members here too cause they are having some problems. So we just got busy. But the coolest thing that happened this week is the Lord surprised us with a baptism. this is what happened...
So on Thursday night we left a really spiritual message with Marcio about Job and how he always remained faithful and stuff. I could tell that he felt the Spirit and that what we said really applied to him. So then on Friday we got done eating lunch and Irmão Zezinho called us. (zezinho is an awesome member, not sure if i have talked about him before) Well he had been helping us teach Marcio,. and he called on Friday afternoon and told us that Marcio read in the Book of Mormon a scripture that says you have to be baptized to enter the kingdom of God. And he said that Marcio really felt that it was true and that he wanted to be baptized the next day (saturday). Me and my comp were just like WOO HOO!!!! haha. So we called President Dias because Marcio had had a problem with drugs before and President Dias told us to wait 3 months to baptize him. But we explained everything to him and President gave permission. So we went over to talk to Marcio and told him that that night he will be interviewed and we went over the baptisimal interview questions. Then he passed the interview that night, and on saturday I had the priviledge of baptizing him and on Sunday he was confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost. What a miracle. I am still wondering what exactly happened that made it possible for all of that to happen. The Lord definatly works in mysterious ways. But I am so glad I was here to see Marcio be baptized and confirmed. This week we are going to help prepare him to recieve the Aaronic Priesthood.
Miranda, congrats on graduating seminary!! You look great in your pictures.
The new stake presidency sounds like a good one. I think I know President Hathaway, but I am not sure. If it is the guy I am thinking of, then he is a great choice to be Stake President.
It sounds like Monday nights are going to be a fun day for you now. BYUI students are crazy haha. Its good that that ward is a good one.
Thanks in advance for sending the package. That is a good idea to send the stuff seperate to Elder Donizeti. He has support from home. He and his mom were baptized at the same time 2 years ago, and his dad is supportive. He gets letters and has people that write him so everything is good. He has a good family.
I would send pictures to you guys, but the computer doesn´t recognize that I have pictures on the camera. I hope I don´t have a virus on the chip. I will take it to someone who knows. and see if they can do somethin.
Everything is going great down here in Brazil. We rescued our area a little and we are going to keep goin. The work is lookin up again. I am starting to see how easy it is to be caught up in the pride cycle. Things were going really great for us in March and April and I guess we took the blessings for granted and then the Lord left us on our own and everything stopped. But now since we have decided to start working really hard, the blessings are starting to come back again. I will do everything I can to keep the blessings coming.
Good luck presenting that paper in that San Francisco Dad! you explained what the paper is about, but I don´t understand any of that haha. I hope the people you are going to talk to understand! haha.
I hope you all have a great week! I love you all very very much!
Love Isaac
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
5.9.11 Three emails
I am on at the same time as you! ha. But I don´t have much to say either... I think I will just send some pictures to show you what has been going on.
And yes you can send me proactive here in packages. I have been meaning to ask cause I imagine that this sun isn´t too good for my skin and maybe it can help. I don´´t remember the password for the site...
Anyway, here comes some pictures.
I love you very much!!! have a great week!!
Isaac
well, the computer that I am using doesn´t recognize my camera or something and my pictures don´t show up... so, I won´t be sending pictures today... sorry about that..
so I will write a little more..
It was great to hear from you all! I thought after the phone call how awesome technology is... everyone was there, but in completly different parts of the world, thanks to skype and cell phones and speaker phone. I am so happy that I was able to hear everyone! You all sound great!
I forgot to tell Paige and Bailey happy mothers day! I guess I am not used to having sisters that are mom´s yet. ha. But I hope your days were great!! You are both great mothers and your children are blessed to be a part of your families. I love you both so much!
Not much happened with investigators this week because I was doing a division with another elder in his branch because Elder Donizeti was in Teresina for a training. We were able to get 6 people in church yesterday which is really good compared to the last few weeks. We had been struggling to get people to come to church, but, for some reason we were blessed yesterday...
Well, I know that the church is true. The gospel is true and it is the ONLY path that the Lord prepared for His children to return to dwell with Him. I know that the Atonement is real. It is infinite and expands to every person who walked, is walking, or will walk this earth. I know that Christ lives. Being on a mission has strengthened my testimony 100 times. It is great to be out here. I am loving it. Even if I stay in Parnaíba for the rest of my mission, I will work hard to find those that are ready for the gospel.
I love each of you so much and I hope that you all have a fantastic week!!
Love, Isaac
Hey, I forgot to ask for things that i want to have down here if they arent too much of a problem to send. i talk alot about sports and stuff with people and they all want to see a baseball and a golf ball and an american football. also, my companion really wants to read The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage... It is i guess on the banned book list here in Brazil so I was wondering if you could send it to me to give to him. Also, if it isnt a problem, try to find it in portuguese. He can read and understand english, so if you can´t find it in portugues then that is ok. But i imagine it would be easier to read in his own tounge. And he also was wondering if you could send him a journal like you sent me. they don´t sell fancy ones like that, just spiral notebooks and stuff. Don´t worry about sending a pump for the football if you send one cause i can fine one here. I hope that these things aren´t a problem, and if they are, dont worry about sending them. Just hide the book my comp wants just in case. Thank you so much!!!! we both really appreciate you!! I love you!!!
Isaac
And yes you can send me proactive here in packages. I have been meaning to ask cause I imagine that this sun isn´t too good for my skin and maybe it can help. I don´´t remember the password for the site...
Anyway, here comes some pictures.
I love you very much!!! have a great week!!
Isaac
well, the computer that I am using doesn´t recognize my camera or something and my pictures don´t show up... so, I won´t be sending pictures today... sorry about that..
so I will write a little more..
It was great to hear from you all! I thought after the phone call how awesome technology is... everyone was there, but in completly different parts of the world, thanks to skype and cell phones and speaker phone. I am so happy that I was able to hear everyone! You all sound great!
I forgot to tell Paige and Bailey happy mothers day! I guess I am not used to having sisters that are mom´s yet. ha. But I hope your days were great!! You are both great mothers and your children are blessed to be a part of your families. I love you both so much!
Not much happened with investigators this week because I was doing a division with another elder in his branch because Elder Donizeti was in Teresina for a training. We were able to get 6 people in church yesterday which is really good compared to the last few weeks. We had been struggling to get people to come to church, but, for some reason we were blessed yesterday...
Well, I know that the church is true. The gospel is true and it is the ONLY path that the Lord prepared for His children to return to dwell with Him. I know that the Atonement is real. It is infinite and expands to every person who walked, is walking, or will walk this earth. I know that Christ lives. Being on a mission has strengthened my testimony 100 times. It is great to be out here. I am loving it. Even if I stay in Parnaíba for the rest of my mission, I will work hard to find those that are ready for the gospel.
I love each of you so much and I hope that you all have a fantastic week!!
Love, Isaac
Hey, I forgot to ask for things that i want to have down here if they arent too much of a problem to send. i talk alot about sports and stuff with people and they all want to see a baseball and a golf ball and an american football. also, my companion really wants to read The Great Apostasy by James E. Talmage... It is i guess on the banned book list here in Brazil so I was wondering if you could send it to me to give to him. Also, if it isnt a problem, try to find it in portuguese. He can read and understand english, so if you can´t find it in portugues then that is ok. But i imagine it would be easier to read in his own tounge. And he also was wondering if you could send him a journal like you sent me. they don´t sell fancy ones like that, just spiral notebooks and stuff. Don´t worry about sending a pump for the football if you send one cause i can fine one here. I hope that these things aren´t a problem, and if they are, dont worry about sending them. Just hide the book my comp wants just in case. Thank you so much!!!! we both really appreciate you!! I love you!!!
Isaac
Monday, May 2, 2011
5.2.11 Still in Parnaiba
Good morning!
It seems like you all want to know if I was transferred... I wasn´t. It is lookin like I will be here for at least another 6 weeks. I don´t know for sure if all the transfers are done, but the calls to Parnaíba came late Saturday night. Both of the other elders in my district were transferred. As of now Elder Donizeti and me are still together in Ramo 2 do Parnaíba. It is getting a little tough to find things to do. It is hard to stay motivated when both of us want a transfer haha. We don´t have any problems with each other, we are both just tired of the area. But, we will find a way to stay happy.. haha.
There district conference yesterday and President Dias came up here to talk in the conference. He gave an awesome talk and said EXACTLY what one of our investigators needed to hear. It was amazing. Also, we have been helping a less active member come back to church and stop drinking. And because of his drinking problem he and his wife were going to separate. But he was there too and all of the talks seemed to be directed toward him. President Dias said something that I think was just for him. He was talking about 2 roads... The easier path, and the better path and that it is always worth it at the end of the better way. Well, he said one sentence that helped out a lot. He said, ´´In marriage, the easier way is divorce... but the better, righter way is repentance.´´ Afterward the less active member came up to us and said, can you come over today to talk about these talks?! haha. It was really great.
Our investigators are doing really great. The ones we have are having a hard time accepting baptism. One guy, Marcio, finally told us EVERYTHING and now we know how to help him.. We talked to President about what to do with him and he said in 3 months he should be ready for baptism. (he had some problems that are confidential) So we will mark his baptism for him for the first saturday in August. I could still be here for it.. haha.
Dad, congratulations on the new calling! I think I was in the 3rd stake in one of my apartments. President Eyring´s son was my stake president in the 3rd stake I think. Is he still the stake president? I went to FHE in the bishoprics houses. They were pretty fun. Most of the students are pretty fun so I am sure you will like it a lot!
Mom, for mothers day I will call home I think from a members house this time. There is a member in my branch that has a daughter living in the States and so I think I can call from there fast and then you guys can call me back like last time. I will call you the day before to let you know. But if I call from the members house, it will be at about 1 o´clock Parnaíba time. I don´t know the time difference for there... We have lunch at her house and so after lunch I will call. If her house doesn´t work out, I will go to the church again and call you... and it will be after lunch at 1ish... I don´t remember the number of the church but I will figure it out if I use the phone there.
Oh, I finally ate somethin that you guys will think is gross. I ate some cow intestines. We were talking to a member one day about food and he was naming off things that are a little weird... Then he asked if we ever have eaten cow intestines and I was like no... and he was surprised and said that it is his favorite food and that he will make it for us the next day. So on Friday we go over there and sure enough, he had cow intestines all cooked and ready for us haha. The flavor was pretty good. But they were slimey and chewy... and I couldn´t get out of my head what had passed through there before... It was hard to eat haha. I just kept puttin it in my mouth and chewed and swallowed fast... They really weren´t that bad tasting, but the texture was gross.. My comp. really liked it though haha. He ate like 3 plates haha. But I am glad I finally ate something weird.
Anyway, It sounds like things are great for you. I am glad you got my letters. I am really greatful for all of you and for all the things I have learned from each of you. I love you all SOOOO much!! Have a great week and I can´t wait to talk to you on Sunday!!!
Love Isaac
It seems like you all want to know if I was transferred... I wasn´t. It is lookin like I will be here for at least another 6 weeks. I don´t know for sure if all the transfers are done, but the calls to Parnaíba came late Saturday night. Both of the other elders in my district were transferred. As of now Elder Donizeti and me are still together in Ramo 2 do Parnaíba. It is getting a little tough to find things to do. It is hard to stay motivated when both of us want a transfer haha. We don´t have any problems with each other, we are both just tired of the area. But, we will find a way to stay happy.. haha.
There district conference yesterday and President Dias came up here to talk in the conference. He gave an awesome talk and said EXACTLY what one of our investigators needed to hear. It was amazing. Also, we have been helping a less active member come back to church and stop drinking. And because of his drinking problem he and his wife were going to separate. But he was there too and all of the talks seemed to be directed toward him. President Dias said something that I think was just for him. He was talking about 2 roads... The easier path, and the better path and that it is always worth it at the end of the better way. Well, he said one sentence that helped out a lot. He said, ´´In marriage, the easier way is divorce... but the better, righter way is repentance.´´ Afterward the less active member came up to us and said, can you come over today to talk about these talks?! haha. It was really great.
Our investigators are doing really great. The ones we have are having a hard time accepting baptism. One guy, Marcio, finally told us EVERYTHING and now we know how to help him.. We talked to President about what to do with him and he said in 3 months he should be ready for baptism. (he had some problems that are confidential) So we will mark his baptism for him for the first saturday in August. I could still be here for it.. haha.
Dad, congratulations on the new calling! I think I was in the 3rd stake in one of my apartments. President Eyring´s son was my stake president in the 3rd stake I think. Is he still the stake president? I went to FHE in the bishoprics houses. They were pretty fun. Most of the students are pretty fun so I am sure you will like it a lot!
Mom, for mothers day I will call home I think from a members house this time. There is a member in my branch that has a daughter living in the States and so I think I can call from there fast and then you guys can call me back like last time. I will call you the day before to let you know. But if I call from the members house, it will be at about 1 o´clock Parnaíba time. I don´t know the time difference for there... We have lunch at her house and so after lunch I will call. If her house doesn´t work out, I will go to the church again and call you... and it will be after lunch at 1ish... I don´t remember the number of the church but I will figure it out if I use the phone there.
Oh, I finally ate somethin that you guys will think is gross. I ate some cow intestines. We were talking to a member one day about food and he was naming off things that are a little weird... Then he asked if we ever have eaten cow intestines and I was like no... and he was surprised and said that it is his favorite food and that he will make it for us the next day. So on Friday we go over there and sure enough, he had cow intestines all cooked and ready for us haha. The flavor was pretty good. But they were slimey and chewy... and I couldn´t get out of my head what had passed through there before... It was hard to eat haha. I just kept puttin it in my mouth and chewed and swallowed fast... They really weren´t that bad tasting, but the texture was gross.. My comp. really liked it though haha. He ate like 3 plates haha. But I am glad I finally ate something weird.
Anyway, It sounds like things are great for you. I am glad you got my letters. I am really greatful for all of you and for all the things I have learned from each of you. I love you all SOOOO much!! Have a great week and I can´t wait to talk to you on Sunday!!!
Love Isaac
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