Hey family!
There is a family here that is amazing. When I woke up my comp told me that we were going to go to Irmã Cris' house. She and her family are awesome. We went over there and they played games with us, gave us presents, and told us that they were going to miss us (because more than likely at least one of us will be transferred on the 3rd). Suddenly I felt like I was at home. I looked at the 18 year old with four older sisters (two of which are married) and I saw me and I realized that he would be leaving fairly soon for the mission, and I wanted him to realize how amazing his family is. Then Irmã Cris said something about how I'm a part of the family, and I saw that I don't need to feel bad; I'm far from my family, but at the same time I'm not. I'm closer to God and I'm meeting more siblings every day.
I love you all,
Elder Page
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
20 December 2010 - email
I'm in San Martin. No, I wasn't transferred; I'm here for the P-Day Especial de Natal! We took a break from soccer, volley, water fights and me realizing how skinny I am to write e-mails.
So I pretty much love December. On Sunday (not yesterday) we met a drunk woman in front of the chapel and my comp and Elder Meyers' comp took her into the church to show her around They taught her the first lesson and she cried and asked to be baptized. I didn't really believe it because she was drunk, but I was hoping. It turned out that from that moment she didn't touch alcohol again. We taught her in her boss's house (she keeps house) and also taught the boss's daughter and the boss one time. She was baptized on Sunday and she is inviting us to teach her aunt's family! It's a miracle.
I love you all,
Elder Page
So I pretty much love December. On Sunday (not yesterday) we met a drunk woman in front of the chapel and my comp and Elder Meyers' comp took her into the church to show her around They taught her the first lesson and she cried and asked to be baptized. I didn't really believe it because she was drunk, but I was hoping. It turned out that from that moment she didn't touch alcohol again. We taught her in her boss's house (she keeps house) and also taught the boss's daughter and the boss one time. She was baptized on Sunday and she is inviting us to teach her aunt's family! It's a miracle.
I love you all,
Elder Page
Monday, December 13, 2010
13 December 2010 - email
So I've been on two divisions the last two weeks (8 out of 14 days away. Also take out 2 P-days, and one Sunday). I've only been working 3 days in our area out of a fortnight (I just love that word). But in our area Cristiane, Císera, Junior, and Tiago were baptized and confirmed and Yuri and William went to church and were confirmed (finally). It was pretty awesome. On one of the divisions I went to Camocim (a small city that doesn't have missionaries right now). President is planning on opening the area and I think he's planning on joining our area and the [zone leader's] area into one. I really want to go to Camocim next. It's almost as cold as Garanhuns (not super important, but nice), the branch leadership is really excited about missionary work, it's a small city so it's easier to learn, and (most importantly) the people there are ready! They need missionaries there! The church is a house with a makeshift baptismal font and I fell in love with this city at first sight.
My English is starting to suffer, I think. I've started dreaming in Português and random parts of my personal prayers are in Português. Elder Meyers (he keeps me sane) and I made a "very special pact" (yes, that's a quote from Psych) that after we hang up the phone on Christmas we can't talk English until we call for the next year's Christmas...yeah. I don't think that sentence made sense in English. We're not insane though, we do have exceptions:
Elder Page
My English is starting to suffer, I think. I've started dreaming in Português and random parts of my personal prayers are in Português. Elder Meyers (he keeps me sane) and I made a "very special pact" (yes, that's a quote from Psych) that after we hang up the phone on Christmas we can't talk English until we call for the next year's Christmas...yeah. I don't think that sentence made sense in English. We're not insane though, we do have exceptions:
- Talking to family (really only applies on mother's day when we call)
- Teaching English (sometimes the Americans teach classes in the chapel on Saturdays and sometimes the Brazilians want to use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and learn English)
- Training an American (or helping a greenie)
Elder Page
6 December 2010
Q: What is your apartment like? Are you sharing it with other missionaries in town (are there other missionaries in town)?
A: There are two houses in Garanhuns. Last transfer there were four missionaries (Elders Meyers, De Souza, Trindade [companion], and me) in ours and two (the LZ's (zone leaders) Lima and Liguizamon) in the other. Now we have 4 in ours ( Elders Sofiatti, Meyers, Trindade, and me) and four in the other ( Lima, Woods (LZ), Cahoon, and Ferreira. Our apartment is pretty big and has been used by elders for a long time. It was really dirty but Meyers, and Trindade, and I cleaned the apartment up and it's pretty nice now.
A: There are two houses in Garanhuns. Last transfer there were four missionaries (Elders Meyers, De Souza, Trindade [companion], and me) in ours and two (the LZ's (zone leaders) Lima and Liguizamon) in the other. Now we have 4 in ours ( Elders Sofiatti, Meyers, Trindade, and me) and four in the other ( Lima, Woods (LZ), Cahoon, and Ferreira. Our apartment is pretty big and has been used by elders for a long time. It was really dirty but Meyers, and Trindade, and I cleaned the apartment up and it's pretty nice now.
Q: Are there two wards in Garanhuns? What is your ward like? Are there a lot of members?
A: Two wards (Boa Vista [Ours and the LZ's] and Garanhuns [stake center {Cahoon and Ferreira}]) and a branch of 30 people that calls itself a ward (Barão de Nazaré [Sofiatti and Meyers]). Our ward is really awesome. It´s more or less big and the members are really active in the missionary work! There's probably about 130-150 active members (that's pretty big for here).
A: Two wards (Boa Vista [Ours and the LZ's] and Garanhuns [stake center {Cahoon and Ferreira}]) and a branch of 30 people that calls itself a ward (Barão de Nazaré [Sofiatti and Meyers]). Our ward is really awesome. It´s more or less big and the members are really active in the missionary work! There's probably about 130-150 active members (that's pretty big for here).
Q: Do you do a lot of walking? Do you have a bicycle? What is the public transportation like? Is the traffic bad?
A: I do not have a bike. A bike would get stolen within a week here so no one in Brazil uses them. I walk. A lot. Traffic depends on the area but drivers here are worse than Provo! The motos are the worst; they weave in and out of traffic and in between lanes. It's a little scary. Public transit is buses (in Recife they have a train too) of various sizes and comfort levels. We almost never use the bus (only if we're late or going to another city). So...never...Q: Do you do your own cooking? Do you get invited to eat with the members?
A: I only cook on P-day (preparation day) and if I want breakfast or dinner. We eat with the members every normal day (not P-day) for lunch because that's the largest meal of the day. In some areas the members give us money (San Martin) and in others they eat with us (Boa Vista).
A: I only cook on P-day (preparation day) and if I want breakfast or dinner. We eat with the members every normal day (not P-day) for lunch because that's the largest meal of the day. In some areas the members give us money (San Martin) and in others they eat with us (Boa Vista).
Q: What is your favorite food to eat?
A: Feijoada e macarrão. It's that bean stuff with ALL the parts of the pig inside it and noodles with tomato sauce (not very much). It sounds really weird and gross, but it's not. I promise. If anyone decides to pick me up after the mission, I will need to find a place to buy this so they can try it. Generally people eat it with rice, but I like it with noodles a lot. Lasagna here is good, but not as good as Missy's!
Q: What is the strangest - or worst - food that you have eaten?
A: Chicken hearts and pig liver. Rubbery and drier than dry...yeah it was horrible...other than weird meat and some really nasty mayonnaise the food's all good here.
Q: Are you getting used to the weather?
A: I think it's scary how used to sweating I am now. I don't even notice how wet my clothes re until I take them off at the end of the day. Also I realized (it was a long time ago, but I'm not sure if I e-mailed this already) that the white crusties that I find on my face at the end of the day is salt...not joking. I sweat so much that when I wash my face at the end of the day it's saltier than broth! "Elder Broth, now with new Devil-Destroying vitamins!!!!!"
Q: Do people ask you many questions about America? If so, what kinds of things?
A: Do they ever. I get asked so many questions about traditions and English and holidays that it's hard to tell about all of them. My comp thinks we're crazy because we put socks on the fireplace e esperamos para Papai Noel encher elas de dolces. Whoa. I'm going to leave that just because I think that was weird; I paused to think for a second and started writing in Portuguese! "and wait for Santa Claus to fill them with candy". I'm still a little weirded out right now...wow...whoa...
Q: Do people generally like Americans there?
A: Generally. For the most part people are just interested to learn. The hardest thing to explain is the food back home. Here they're used to almost every meal being basically the same: rice, beans, and meat. Just that they have hundreds of varieties of these things. The closest I got was describing a casserole and saying that that was more or less common, but in reality we eat several types of meals...
Q: How's your Portuguese coming along?
A: I think I've demonstrated that Portugues is coming along. I promise to falar com vocês em português no telefone (that time I planned it!). 19 DAYS!!!!
Q: Is it easier to speak the language when meeting someone on the street or teaching in someone's home?
A: It's way easier to talk in someone's home than on the street. For one thing they've already accepted you to some degree in the home, and on the street there's so much noise that it is often impossible to teach.
Q: What's the second language most people choose to learn?
A: English. I've helped so many people with homework or study...it's a little weird...
Q: Have you learned any cool history facts about where you're living or Recife in general?
A: In reality...no. I need to learn more.
Monday, November 29, 2010
29 November 2010 - email
So we have met some really cool people this week. We met a family of five, a dad and 4 daughters and they are so open to the gospel! The oldest daughter is friends with a really cool member and she took us to their house. We've taught them a few times, but unfortunately only 2 were able to go to church on Sunday. Also Junior is going to be baptized. His grandpa is putting things in his brother's head but we talked to his mom again and she said that if he wants to, he can be baptized. He said he wants to, he's just nervous right now.
We got told by the president that he wants us to baptize 20 people in the Boa Vista ward this transfer (if we don't he's going to remove one of the companionships). The pressure is on (not really that different, but my comp thinks this changes everything)! I just want to warn everyone who is going to serve a mission to watch your thoughts, words and deeds (Mosiah 4:30). Let your focus be on obedience and the people; numbers are not what's important. Also remember that one of the things that leads to false doctrine is pulling scriptures out of their context. Truly study the scriptures diligently with a spirit of love and not pride.
Elder Page
We got told by the president that he wants us to baptize 20 people in the Boa Vista ward this transfer (if we don't he's going to remove one of the companionships). The pressure is on (not really that different, but my comp thinks this changes everything)! I just want to warn everyone who is going to serve a mission to watch your thoughts, words and deeds (Mosiah 4:30). Let your focus be on obedience and the people; numbers are not what's important. Also remember that one of the things that leads to false doctrine is pulling scriptures out of their context. Truly study the scriptures diligently with a spirit of love and not pride.
Elder Page
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
22 November 2010 - email
So we got a call from the president on Wednesday. He told my companion to take care of me and to train me to become a senior...I really don't want to become a senior that fast, it means more responsibility and working with newer missionaries. I'm a little scared of this, but the good news is that president says he likes me, so that's always good. That means that Trindade and I are staying in Boa Vista 2! It's going to be awesome! We have so many strong investigators right now:
Aline and Tiago (+ two daughters) want to go to church are accepting the commandment without question (threw out the coffee) and are planning on going to church. She wants to get to know the church before she commits to baptism.
Adriana and her daughter were living in California. Adriana can hardly speak English and the daughter doesn't know any Portuguese. We're trying to find a class for her and we're going to teach the gospel to them in Português and English at the same time! It's going to be awesome!
Elder Page
Q: How weird is it to be headed into the holidays during the summer down there?
A: Oh my goodness it's weird. I keep thinking that soon the back to school sales are going to start and then I see Santa. It's really different because Halloween only exists if you worship the devil (I've already gotten lots of questions from members about Halloween in the states), thanksgiving (nada), and I don't know about Christmas yet. But man. It was 30 degrees yesterday (roughly 86 degrees, and, yes, I did do that in my head) at noon!
Q: How tall are you compared to the average Brazilian?
Q&A:
Q: How weird is it to be headed into the holidays during the summer down there?
A: Oh my goodness it's weird. I keep thinking that soon the back to school sales are going to start and then I see Santa. It's really different because Halloween only exists if you worship the devil (I've already gotten lots of questions from members about Halloween in the states), thanksgiving (nada), and I don't know about Christmas yet. But man. It was 30 degrees yesterday (roughly 86 degrees, and, yes, I did do that in my head) at noon!
Q: How tall are you compared to the average Brazilian?
A: How tall are you compared to the average munchkin? Actually it's not too bad. I'm considered tall but not monstrously; Brazilians are more of a mixed culture than hispanics so their hieght varies more. In our zone (before transfers) I was the second tallest (half American - half Brazilian zone of 14 elders and 2 sisters).
Q: What kinds of food do you cook for yourself there?
A: Remember ramen? Well here they have a brand called Lamen (I'm not joking), but the name of the food itself is mioju. I get eggs and cheese and sliced bread every once in a while, and once I got cereal to celebrate good news from president (see main letter). Generaly I don't eat much at home because lunch is always HUGE and they always say "Come mais, Elder!" For breakfast I usually eat oatmeal.
Q: What's your most effective door approach like?
A: Door approaches are not effective in Brazil (everyone has two gates and a front door and an angry dog, so they don't even come out to tell you to leave if they don't know you). Street contacts are better. One of the best ones is to give the a member's address and ask if they know where the house is. Then proceed to explain that we don't know the area very well because we're missionaries...(you can see where it goes from there). In the end we repeat the address back to them with a small error, if they correct us, we go to the house. If not, it's fake and we say goodbye. But in reality it's just through the members that we have success. My comp doesn't want to admit this, so if there's any way to make it look like we didn't get help from the members, we report it as such.
A: Door approaches are not effective in Brazil (everyone has two gates and a front door and an angry dog, so they don't even come out to tell you to leave if they don't know you). Street contacts are better. One of the best ones is to give the a member's address and ask if they know where the house is. Then proceed to explain that we don't know the area very well because we're missionaries...(you can see where it goes from there). In the end we repeat the address back to them with a small error, if they correct us, we go to the house. If not, it's fake and we say goodbye. But in reality it's just through the members that we have success. My comp doesn't want to admit this, so if there's any way to make it look like we didn't get help from the members, we report it as such.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
15 November 2010 - email
To answer the question of whether Brasil (I will be spelling it in Portuguese from now on, I think) is Christian I will just say that these phrases are painted, drawn, and graffiti-ed everywhere: God is faithful, Jesus - this name has power, this belongs to God, and Jesus loves you. Also one of the people's favorite lines to use when we invite them to do something is "Se deus quiser" or "If God wants". HE WANTS IT! Today we were in the park (with sloths and monkeys. No, I'm not kidding. Someone said there's Cobras there too!)
People don't have neighbors. The word neighbors implies that the houses and families are separate, not one big street-wide blob of people. So, yes, people are super involved in each others lives. Remember how the branch would start 1/2 hour late? Several meetings here have started over an hour late (not church itself, but other ones).
The city here is sprawling and our area is HUGE! It covers 5 hills, that I know of and has everything from busy city-center to quiet urban streets, from favela (shanty town) to mata (jungle/forest). The people here are receptive to a point. Most are always ready to listen, but doing something? Are you kidding me? It's a struggle to find those elect people that the Lord prepared.
We work mostly with references [referrals] from the members and neighbors of current or past investigators.
The wards here are normal, just a little irreverent (because people need to learn how to take care of their kids during the sacrament). They also have no carpet. I'm starting to forget the feel of carpet (or any hard surface) on my feet.
I love you all!
Elder Page
People don't have neighbors. The word neighbors implies that the houses and families are separate, not one big street-wide blob of people. So, yes, people are super involved in each others lives. Remember how the branch would start 1/2 hour late? Several meetings here have started over an hour late (not church itself, but other ones).
The city here is sprawling and our area is HUGE! It covers 5 hills, that I know of and has everything from busy city-center to quiet urban streets, from favela (shanty town) to mata (jungle/forest). The people here are receptive to a point. Most are always ready to listen, but doing something? Are you kidding me? It's a struggle to find those elect people that the Lord prepared.
We work mostly with references [referrals] from the members and neighbors of current or past investigators.
The wards here are normal, just a little irreverent (because people need to learn how to take care of their kids during the sacrament). They also have no carpet. I'm starting to forget the feel of carpet (or any hard surface) on my feet.
I love you all!
Elder Page
Monday, November 8, 2010
8 November 2010 - email
Things are going so well. Our recent converts are doing well! Carlos and Lude are firm in the church and Junior has a testimony that takes my breath away!
This week we started teaching a family (three half siblings and the oldest's fiancé) in Manuel Chel. It's a barrio in the middle of nowhere (about an hour's walk up and down hills from the rest of our area).
Honestly, not a lot happened and without emails to guide me I'll ramble and I'm already mailing a letter home, so...I guess I don't have much to say. I love you all!
Elder Page
Monday, November 1, 2010
1 November 2010 - email
Hello!
So, I went on division [exchanges]...AGAIN! Goodness, I spend almost as much time out of my area as in it! I went to Bom Conselho and we found a family! We were at lunch and we asked if they had any references [referrals]. They said their neighbors - so we went over there immediately and gave them the first lesson. Then, we marked [challenged] them for baptism! Woah!
CARLOS AND LUDE GOT MARRIED AND BAPTIZED!!! I'm not a 'dry missionary' anymore! I've physically baptized 4 people and 2 of them were our investigators (one of the other two was Junior, who really was our investigator, but the number had to go to the LZ's area because that's where he lives and that way the office knows what's happening in the areas). Elder Trindade baptized Carlos (who said either could baptize) and I baptized Lude (she asked for me specifically! Crazy!). I told Lude that I want to hear from them in a year to see that they are going to the temple to get married. She told me that they were already planning on it.
Junior is strong in the church too; we baptized him on Saturday. We're going to start helping his sister, Gabby (it's a nickname so I don't know how to spell it), too. The only reason she isn't baptized yet is that she is a lot more shy. But now she's opening up to us and she's read and she loves the discussions. The only things missing are church and baptism! The mom is going to be harder, because she smokes a package a day and works on Sundays, but with her two children in the church, I think we can help her!
Little Geraldo has friends in the church, but his whole family is inactive except for his father who is not a member. It would be great if you could include this little boy in your prayers; I'm pretty worried about him staying active. We baptized him on Saturday too!
So...I guess that's all I can think of writing. Assuming that I don't end up on division this week, I'll actually have time to write a letter to mail. I'm trying!
I love you all! Yes, even you.
Elder Page
So, I went on division [exchanges]...AGAIN! Goodness, I spend almost as much time out of my area as in it! I went to Bom Conselho and we found a family! We were at lunch and we asked if they had any references [referrals]. They said their neighbors - so we went over there immediately and gave them the first lesson. Then, we marked [challenged] them for baptism! Woah!
CARLOS AND LUDE GOT MARRIED AND BAPTIZED!!! I'm not a 'dry missionary' anymore! I've physically baptized 4 people and 2 of them were our investigators (one of the other two was Junior, who really was our investigator, but the number had to go to the LZ's area because that's where he lives and that way the office knows what's happening in the areas). Elder Trindade baptized Carlos (who said either could baptize) and I baptized Lude (she asked for me specifically! Crazy!). I told Lude that I want to hear from them in a year to see that they are going to the temple to get married. She told me that they were already planning on it.
Junior is strong in the church too; we baptized him on Saturday. We're going to start helping his sister, Gabby (it's a nickname so I don't know how to spell it), too. The only reason she isn't baptized yet is that she is a lot more shy. But now she's opening up to us and she's read and she loves the discussions. The only things missing are church and baptism! The mom is going to be harder, because she smokes a package a day and works on Sundays, but with her two children in the church, I think we can help her!
Little Geraldo has friends in the church, but his whole family is inactive except for his father who is not a member. It would be great if you could include this little boy in your prayers; I'm pretty worried about him staying active. We baptized him on Saturday too!
So...I guess that's all I can think of writing. Assuming that I don't end up on division this week, I'll actually have time to write a letter to mail. I'm trying!
I love you all! Yes, even you.
Elder Page
The following are pictures that David emailed:
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| Really cool sunset (for Rosie) [Sao Paolo] |
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| Me at marco zero [Recife] |
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| That's the friar statue [Recife] The following are pictures that David mailed (from Recife):    |
Thursday, October 28, 2010
25 October 2010 - email
61 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!
Just needed to do that. Christmas apparently isn't a big deal here.
This week we are going to marry Carlos and Lude and baptize them. He's still struggling a little with coffee but he's gotten a lot better. Their kids are so funny: The little girl, Laura ~1 1/2, is adorable and she is getting progressively less shy (the first day she wouldn't look at me in the eyes, now she will ET-touch my finger when we say goodbye!) and we actually got Caiu, to leave his video game and talk to us! They are an awesome family.
Just needed to do that. Christmas apparently isn't a big deal here.
This week we are going to marry Carlos and Lude and baptize them. He's still struggling a little with coffee but he's gotten a lot better. Their kids are so funny: The little girl, Laura ~1 1/2, is adorable and she is getting progressively less shy (the first day she wouldn't look at me in the eyes, now she will ET-touch my finger when we say goodbye!) and we actually got Caiu, to leave his video game and talk to us! They are an awesome family.
We're getting transferred next month (president called us already and told us where we are going...weird).
So, we got to go to Recife on Saturday and hear from Elder Oaks and Elder Godoi. It was cool because two of the things I've been trying to study (with limited success) since the CTM are Repentance and Inspiration. You guessed it, Elder Godoi talked about repentance and Elder Oaks talked about inspiration. I got to shake Elder Oak's hand and I talked to him (OK I stood up when he asked for insights on inspiration and responded, but it was still cool, right?). The spirit was really strong. It was a good boost because I'd been having a hard week. I went on a division into a group of areas two hours closer to Recife. The apartment there only got water for bathroom, shower etc. randomly. So someone would shout, "water" and everyone would race to get in line before the water ran out (I only got one shower in 4 days - but they had a bucket of water saved up so I was able to "wash"...uhhhhh, yeah). I was in different areas with different Elders every day.
I love you all!
Elder Page
So, we got to go to Recife on Saturday and hear from Elder Oaks and Elder Godoi. It was cool because two of the things I've been trying to study (with limited success) since the CTM are Repentance and Inspiration. You guessed it, Elder Godoi talked about repentance and Elder Oaks talked about inspiration. I got to shake Elder Oak's hand and I talked to him (OK I stood up when he asked for insights on inspiration and responded, but it was still cool, right?). The spirit was really strong. It was a good boost because I'd been having a hard week. I went on a division into a group of areas two hours closer to Recife. The apartment there only got water for bathroom, shower etc. randomly. So someone would shout, "water" and everyone would race to get in line before the water ran out (I only got one shower in 4 days - but they had a bucket of water saved up so I was able to "wash"...uhhhhh, yeah). I was in different areas with different Elders every day.
I love you all!
Elder Page
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
18 October 2010 - email
Well, here I am in the interior. I'm in the second farthest missionary house from the office. The farthest is in a city on the edge of the state and it's closing next week. Elder Trinidade is my new comp and he's pretty cool:
Number: 02Name: TrinidadeAge: 23 (turns 24 next month)Language(s): Portuguese...nothing elseTime on the mission: 6 MonthsHomeland: Rio Grande, Rio Grande do SulBio: He just became a senior (Subiu!) at the transfer meeting and we both came here to "open" the area. It turns out that really they just split the ward in half. He was in the army before the mission (2 years: Soldier, 3 years: Corporal). He has a strong desire to work and a pretty good respect for the rules. Also, he has little patience for poor portuguese...yeah...
So our area is HUGE! We still don't even know very much of the area. But we have some really awesome investigators:
Carlos & Lude: A couple (not married) who were being taught by missionaries. He's a barber for women only. He heard rumors about the church doing crazy things and did the logical thing; he asked a member! She explained a lot and then brought the missionaries. We are helping him to drink Cevada instead of Coffee and helping them to get married. Then it's just baptism! Wooo! And they came to church and it was all about the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity and it was all taught by their member friends in the ward!
Geraldo: His wife and one of his sons are members, but the baptisms look a little sketchy She will go back if he goes, and we are helping him to stop smoking. He agreed to accept our help and he put a calendar on his fridge of how many he is allowed a day until it reaches zero! The problem is that until this job he's doing ends (in a month) he is almost never in the house, including Sundays. But he is feeling that these things are true.
Carlos: He is pretty busy on Sundays, but he said that he would read and pray. I bore my testimony about prayer, that God wants to hear from all of us, as His children.
And many more amazing people!
We don't know many members yet, but the work is going on!
I love you all!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Bom-vindo a Boa Vista
I got transferred! It really never happens that the trainee gets transferred, but I did. We were at the bishop's mom's house when we got a call saying, "Elder Wells is staying and Elder Page is transferred!" I was not ready at all because everyone was saying, "The novinhos always stay. Don't worry about it!" I was up until 1:30 or 2 (I had to wash clothes) and I had to wake up at 5:30...sweet...
In the huge meeting in Soledade we got told who our new companions are and where we would serve. And my companion is...(drum roll please)...Elder Trindade! He's a Brazilian who has only been here for 6 months and this is his first transfer as a senior. We are also opening an area that shut 2 1/2 weeks ago because of snakes (female missionary-hunters...ewwww) and lack of baptisms. We're here to change all that.
The city that I'm in is called Garanhuns. So here I am. I got here and then started this e-mail. I probably will not get your letters as fast because I'm in the interior of the state. I heard we're one of the areas farthest from the office that is still open!
I guess I better give you some of the highlights of this last week with Elder Wells. This week was so unproductive, but at the same time it gave me hope for the future of that area. We found some members that want to help and have a lot of referrals. We also started to progress with one of our investigators; I don't know if I already talked about Adelân, but he is a member's boyfriend. And he was at first just trying to tear Nathalia away from the church, but her testimony is too strong. Elder Wells told him that we knew what he was doing and we wouldn't meet with him again until he really wanted to know if the church is true. He came to conference and he felt something. Later, he prayed and he felt a strong peace and joy We told him this was an answer but he needs a little time to recognize that fully. Well, on Sunday night, we went to Nathalia's house and with him and the whole family, we watched "Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration". It was so good, and he cried in the middle of it. If you haven't seen it, ask the missionaries if they have it and set up a family night with some non-member friends (shameless missionary advertisement). Seriously, that movie has a power I've never seen in any other movie besides "The Testaments".
I love the mission and I love you all.
Elder Page
So it's a 'little' hotter than you read on the internet?!!?
A.Yes
Are you drinking a lot of water?
A:Yes
Can you drink it from the tap?
A: NO WAY, Are you kidding? We have to buy mineral water (purified) in gallon containers.
Please tell us a little more about your companion.
A. Elder Wells is from Draper and he was baptized at 8 (his mom was a convert by his step-dad). He didn't really go to church until he turned 12 and got a strong testimony. He is a very bold elder and he just says things like they are ("You need to pray SPECIFICALLY if the Book of Mormon is true."). He's pretty awesome.
In the huge meeting in Soledade we got told who our new companions are and where we would serve. And my companion is...(drum roll please)...Elder Trindade! He's a Brazilian who has only been here for 6 months and this is his first transfer as a senior. We are also opening an area that shut 2 1/2 weeks ago because of snakes (female missionary-hunters...ewwww) and lack of baptisms. We're here to change all that.
The city that I'm in is called Garanhuns. So here I am. I got here and then started this e-mail. I probably will not get your letters as fast because I'm in the interior of the state. I heard we're one of the areas farthest from the office that is still open!
I guess I better give you some of the highlights of this last week with Elder Wells. This week was so unproductive, but at the same time it gave me hope for the future of that area. We found some members that want to help and have a lot of referrals. We also started to progress with one of our investigators; I don't know if I already talked about Adelân, but he is a member's boyfriend. And he was at first just trying to tear Nathalia away from the church, but her testimony is too strong. Elder Wells told him that we knew what he was doing and we wouldn't meet with him again until he really wanted to know if the church is true. He came to conference and he felt something. Later, he prayed and he felt a strong peace and joy We told him this was an answer but he needs a little time to recognize that fully. Well, on Sunday night, we went to Nathalia's house and with him and the whole family, we watched "Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration". It was so good, and he cried in the middle of it. If you haven't seen it, ask the missionaries if they have it and set up a family night with some non-member friends (shameless missionary advertisement). Seriously, that movie has a power I've never seen in any other movie besides "The Testaments".
I love the mission and I love you all.
Elder Page
So it's a 'little' hotter than you read on the internet?!!?
A.Yes
Are you drinking a lot of water?
A:Yes
Can you drink it from the tap?
A: NO WAY, Are you kidding? We have to buy mineral water (purified) in gallon containers.
Please tell us a little more about your companion.
A. Elder Wells is from Draper and he was baptized at 8 (his mom was a convert by his step-dad). He didn't really go to church until he turned 12 and got a strong testimony. He is a very bold elder and he just says things like they are ("You need to pray SPECIFICALLY if the Book of Mormon is true."). He's pretty awesome.
Monday, October 11, 2010
4 October 2010 - letter
I have officially already been on my mission for 1/8 of its duration. That's CRAZY! I can't believe that I;m almost on my second transfer. Things are stating to pick up here, but unless a miracle happens we won't baptize anyone this transfer. We do have some good investigators, but Satan is working overtime in this area.
I have realized a kind of funny thing. In the area we have four Catholic mothers who won't let their children be baptized. And why? Because they are "too young" to make that decision... What? I'm not sure how they reconcile that thought with infant baptism! It's always a little weird to see people with all of the puzzle pieces (that they agree on) and then reject the picture. It's like doing a dot-to-dot that draws a cat then getting excited and shouting "Look! A fish!"
The other night during a Family Home Evening a man interrupted Elder Wells and started talking about how everyone has their own path to God. I stopped him and said "Either the Book of Mormon is true or it isn't. If it isn't then you need not worry about our lesson. But if, as you said you believe, it is true that this Church is the only true Church with God's same power as was given to the apostles of old!" I thought that that was pretty clear, but he just went right back to what he had been saying.
Don't get me wrong. I love it here and the Spirit is strong. I just wish that people were more open to the gospel.
I love you all,
Elder Page
I have realized a kind of funny thing. In the area we have four Catholic mothers who won't let their children be baptized. And why? Because they are "too young" to make that decision... What? I'm not sure how they reconcile that thought with infant baptism! It's always a little weird to see people with all of the puzzle pieces (that they agree on) and then reject the picture. It's like doing a dot-to-dot that draws a cat then getting excited and shouting "Look! A fish!"
The other night during a Family Home Evening a man interrupted Elder Wells and started talking about how everyone has their own path to God. I stopped him and said "Either the Book of Mormon is true or it isn't. If it isn't then you need not worry about our lesson. But if, as you said you believe, it is true that this Church is the only true Church with God's same power as was given to the apostles of old!" I thought that that was pretty clear, but he just went right back to what he had been saying.
Don't get me wrong. I love it here and the Spirit is strong. I just wish that people were more open to the gospel.
I love you all,
Elder Page
Monday, October 4, 2010
3 October 2010 - email
Well, we had "General Conference" this weekend. I put it in quotes because they couldn't get the signal for the first session because the satellite had not been tested previously. Then they set up a TV for the three English speaking elders to watch. Then the church's sound system went out because it wasn't set up properly, so they took our TV and put it in Portuguese with a speaker hooked up. They didn't have time to do anything before 6AM priesthood session on Sunday, so we watched that in Portuguese as well. Then Elder Wells and I showed up 15 minutes before the meeting and everything was shut off and locked up. So we got into the building but we had no key. Then a member who is always angry came in and asked why we showed up so early. He didn't seem too surprised that it would start in 5 minutes. Then Elder Wells and I broke into the audio/visual room and started trying to figure out what to do. Angry man just sat in the back of the chapel shouting, "Turn it on! It's starting! Come on!". Finally Elder Wells turned and said, "Why don't you stop criticizing and help?" Then he started in on how we're rich Americans from the land of technology and we don't know how to work the A/V stuff. I was fed up by this point so I turned to him and asked, "You come from the land of Soccer, why aren't you on the International Team?" He shut up and helped us after that. And even the Stake president didn't show up until halfway through the session. I can't believe how they treat conference as if it's nothing! We can hear the PROPHET OF GOD!
Sorry this letter is kind of negative this week but I've been struggling. The amazing part is that God opened my ears and when I was feeling the spirit, I understood conference. I also learned that sometimes (if they speak that language) the speakers pre-record their talks in the other language. One guy it was obvious that he really spoke Spanish and it got me wondering if my accent sounds like his to the Brazilians.
Q: How is your health?
A:Pretty good. I gained weight in the CTM but I lost some already out here. My feet have never blistered. I only get dehydrated during fasts. All in all, I'm good.
Q: What is the weather like there? Is it going to be a hot Christmas!
A: I sweat when I sit still and there is a puddle above my belt in the back by the end of the day. And it's only getting hotter! The rain is stopping and won't come back until fall. I don't know what the temperature is because I don't have a thermometer, but it's hot!
I love you all. Keep the faith.
Elder Page
Sorry this letter is kind of negative this week but I've been struggling. The amazing part is that God opened my ears and when I was feeling the spirit, I understood conference. I also learned that sometimes (if they speak that language) the speakers pre-record their talks in the other language. One guy it was obvious that he really spoke Spanish and it got me wondering if my accent sounds like his to the Brazilians.
Q: How is your health?
A:Pretty good. I gained weight in the CTM but I lost some already out here. My feet have never blistered. I only get dehydrated during fasts. All in all, I'm good.
Q: What is the weather like there? Is it going to be a hot Christmas!
A: I sweat when I sit still and there is a puddle above my belt in the back by the end of the day. And it's only getting hotter! The rain is stopping and won't come back until fall. I don't know what the temperature is because I don't have a thermometer, but it's hot!
I love you all. Keep the faith.
Elder Page
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
27 September 2010 - email
Life is pretty slow in San Martin: the members for the most part are cool people, but really frustrating for missionary work. They'll tell us that they have a reference, but will delay, delay, delay in helping us contact them. It's really hard to get people to church too. It's kind of sad, because President is thinking about closing the area, but I know that there are people here who are ready.
Good Stuff: I went on a division with Elder Higgins in São Lourenço so that the other LZ (zone leader), Elder Francisco, could help Elder Wells find novos (new people to teach) and train him to prepare to be a DL (district leader) soon. I now appreciate San Martin more; it's flat and small. São Lourenço is HUGE (an entire city) and its all built in between and on hills. We met some amazing people there; the first night a young man asked us if he could go to our church (we were just walking past) and a few moments later a non-member woman came up to us and asked us to re-activate her son! All in all it's nice to be back with Elder Wells (he's an awesome comp), but I want to see how those people turn out...
The family I talked about finding two weeks ago (the Espirito Santos (not kidding, that's their name)) were marked for baptism on Thursday! Katia (the mom) said that she knows that this is true, and Rosinaldo prayed at the end (kneeling) and asked sincerely to receive an answer. We all felt the spirit strongly. Raylane is a little shy so I don't know how she feels, but she prayed too (repeating Elder Wells)
Funny Stuff:I think that I told you about the stray horses, but just in case I didn't: There are stray horses here. The same way that you sometimes see dogs at home eating trash or just wandering aimlessly, you have horses here (and dogs and cats still) eating trash and wandering the streets. This point was driven home when I was in São Lourenço. We were teaching in this woman's house (a nice house in the middle of a favela), when a cow just came up and lay down in front of the house, blocking the door. We were stuck there until the cow left!
Elder Page
Good Stuff: I went on a division with Elder Higgins in São Lourenço so that the other LZ (zone leader), Elder Francisco, could help Elder Wells find novos (new people to teach) and train him to prepare to be a DL (district leader) soon. I now appreciate San Martin more; it's flat and small. São Lourenço is HUGE (an entire city) and its all built in between and on hills. We met some amazing people there; the first night a young man asked us if he could go to our church (we were just walking past) and a few moments later a non-member woman came up to us and asked us to re-activate her son! All in all it's nice to be back with Elder Wells (he's an awesome comp), but I want to see how those people turn out...
The family I talked about finding two weeks ago (the Espirito Santos (not kidding, that's their name)) were marked for baptism on Thursday! Katia (the mom) said that she knows that this is true, and Rosinaldo prayed at the end (kneeling) and asked sincerely to receive an answer. We all felt the spirit strongly. Raylane is a little shy so I don't know how she feels, but she prayed too (repeating Elder Wells)
Funny Stuff:I think that I told you about the stray horses, but just in case I didn't: There are stray horses here. The same way that you sometimes see dogs at home eating trash or just wandering aimlessly, you have horses here (and dogs and cats still) eating trash and wandering the streets. This point was driven home when I was in São Lourenço. We were teaching in this woman's house (a nice house in the middle of a favela), when a cow just came up and lay down in front of the house, blocking the door. We were stuck there until the cow left!
Elder Page
Friday, September 24, 2010
Letter from Elder Page's Mission President
We received a letter written on August 31 (arrived September 23) from David's Mission President, Mário H. Emerick and his wife Regina M. G. Emerick. It said that he arrived safely in Recife and is really happy. They expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to serve with David.
There was also a picture of David with President and Sister Emerick that they took after lunch at their home.
There was also a picture of David with President and Sister Emerick that they took after lunch at their home.
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| David upon arrival in Recife with President and Sister Emerick |
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
6 September 2010 - letter
Well I'm in Recife, but you';ll know this long before you get this letter. The area I'm in is called San Martin, but it's pretty much Recife. I was told that about 80% of the mission is in Recife so I don't know how much of that map you'll use. Elder Wells showed up here about two weeks before I did so he's still learning the area too. People keep telling me that I'm doing great at the language, but I can't even string together cohesive thoughts. Usually Elder Wells has to re-explain what I just said to the people. I guess we'll see what happens.
Elder Wells is pretty awesome. He spoke Spanish before the mission and he also forgot is all really fast. It's weird because I realized the other day that I can't remember conjugations in Spanish anymore.
We have an awesome apartment here, but so far I haven't heard anything about hammocks. We have windows that overlook the garden at the chapel! It's pretty quiet (compared with the street) and the wind blows through it all the time.
I love you all,
Elder Page (pagé means indian chief)
Elder Wells is pretty awesome. He spoke Spanish before the mission and he also forgot is all really fast. It's weird because I realized the other day that I can't remember conjugations in Spanish anymore.
We have an awesome apartment here, but so far I haven't heard anything about hammocks. We have windows that overlook the garden at the chapel! It's pretty quiet (compared with the street) and the wind blows through it all the time.
I love you all,
Elder Page (pagé means indian chief)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Templo, Assembleia, e Pidei (20 September 2010 email)
Today was Pidei (that's how I'll spell it from now on). I invented the verb 'pidar' so that 'pidei' means I have 'pidar'-ed. I think the verb should mean 'to take a break' or something like that. Anyone have any better ideas? Also my dad, Elder Wells, turned 1 on Thursday, so we celebrated with several other elders in a churrascaria and looked at the beach (any desire to break the rules was quelled by the sign that said "Cuidado! Tubarão!" or in English: "Warning! Shark!"). I am so tired...
I would tell you more about the people we are teaching, but right now I can't keep them straight because we've been getting and losing them so fast. I just hope that we can help Jacleilton be baptized on Saturday. It all depends on his mother now...
I love you all!
Elder Page
I would tell you more about the people we are teaching, but right now I can't keep them straight because we've been getting and losing them so fast. I just hope that we can help Jacleilton be baptized on Saturday. It all depends on his mother now...
I love you all!
Elder Page
Friday, September 17, 2010
Gift of "tongues" and such... (17 Sep 2010 email)
So I have the gift of tongues. That's right I ate flan...and LIKED it!?!?!? The first few times it was like swallowing a little bit of death, but I started LIKING it! I am convinced of the gift of tongues now.
In portugués the holy ghost descends in the form of a PIGEON!?!?!? They don't differentiate between the types, so I just picture a nasty, fat, pigeon landing on John the Baptist's head...not cool.
So this week was like the most depressing of my life. We said goodbye to five investigators and got three Book of Mormons back. It was hard.
Good stuff:
We have Daniel, the smartest kid in the world whose dad is never home. And we have his step-mother, every time she disciplines her two-year-old and takes something from him, she says " that elder took it" because she thinks I don't understand. So now he's scared of me, Great! So we went on Saturday night trying to find his dad so someone could take him to church (we can't) and we found his mom! She is inactive and trying to reactivate, but she lives in another stake; but she told us not to leave Daniel, but to find a way to get him to church. As we were leaving, Elder Wells said, " We are going to knock every door in this neighborhood to find someone to take him to church." I had hardly agreed when a girl opened the door of the house across the street and called, "Elders". Next thing I knew we were teaching this amazing family of four. The only difficulties we have are their work schedule (crazy!), their belief that ALL things about Christ are good (no ONE church), and their view of Daniel. I really hope this all works out!
When I feel the spirit I say things I don't really know how to say and I understand. With Ailton, the minute I walked through the door I knew that his wife had talked about us. It became obvious by his responses that someone talked to him and when Elder Wells brought that up, he immediately talked about how much his wife liked us. I bore my testimony about the power of the Book of Mormon, prayer, and most of all Christ (I doubt I could do it like that in English!). We said goodbye and it was sad because he is not allowed to make his own choices because his wife tells him to lie to representatives of Christ. I can only hope that he gets another chance...
Well, I gotta go! I love you!
Elder Page
In portugués the holy ghost descends in the form of a PIGEON!?!?!? They don't differentiate between the types, so I just picture a nasty, fat, pigeon landing on John the Baptist's head...not cool.
So this week was like the most depressing of my life. We said goodbye to five investigators and got three Book of Mormons back. It was hard.
Good stuff:
We have Daniel, the smartest kid in the world whose dad is never home. And we have his step-mother, every time she disciplines her two-year-old and takes something from him, she says " that elder took it" because she thinks I don't understand. So now he's scared of me, Great! So we went on Saturday night trying to find his dad so someone could take him to church (we can't) and we found his mom! She is inactive and trying to reactivate, but she lives in another stake; but she told us not to leave Daniel, but to find a way to get him to church. As we were leaving, Elder Wells said, " We are going to knock every door in this neighborhood to find someone to take him to church." I had hardly agreed when a girl opened the door of the house across the street and called, "Elders". Next thing I knew we were teaching this amazing family of four. The only difficulties we have are their work schedule (crazy!), their belief that ALL things about Christ are good (no ONE church), and their view of Daniel. I really hope this all works out!
When I feel the spirit I say things I don't really know how to say and I understand. With Ailton, the minute I walked through the door I knew that his wife had talked about us. It became obvious by his responses that someone talked to him and when Elder Wells brought that up, he immediately talked about how much his wife liked us. I bore my testimony about the power of the Book of Mormon, prayer, and most of all Christ (I doubt I could do it like that in English!). We said goodbye and it was sad because he is not allowed to make his own choices because his wife tells him to lie to representatives of Christ. I can only hope that he gets another chance...
Well, I gotta go! I love you!
Elder Page
Monday, September 6, 2010
6 September 2010 - email
I am in Recife! We only get mail once a week when the ZL's pick it up from the office. I'm in San Martin (it's a barrio of Recife) If you look it up on google maps, you should be able to find the chapel on '21 de abril' (nome da rua) near a round about. The building to the east of and attached to the parking lot of the church is our building. Don't let the outside fool you (if you can see it, I don't know if google is updated enough), it is an VERY nice apartment. And all of our windows open up onto the church's garden, so we can avoid the noise of the weekend parties (LOUD)!
The ward here is very small, but the members are firm.Probably the best organization is the moças (young women). They are on top of it and the YW prez is planning some really good activities for missionary work. The hard thing is that the churches around here tell their member some horrible things about the church so they scare away our investigators. I really hope that we can help the people that we are teaching to feel the spirit and to come to church.
I have a 'father' now (trainer). His name is Elder Wells and he is wonderful! He spoke Spanish almost fluently before he came (like me), he forgot it all once he started learning Portuguese (like me), and he had gym in the evening at the CTM (like me)! We're practically twins!
My P-Day is Monday (segunda feira). I guess that's a little obvious since I'm writing a letter today! Today we went into Recife because we have no bancos ou correios in our area. Recife is so cool! As soon as I figure out how to, I'll send home some photos.
I'll most likely spend almost all of my time in Recife (80% of the areas are in the city). Right now I'm in San Martin (it looks Spanish not Brazilian).
Q&A:
- Does your Mission Pres. speak English? Ummm...not really...
- Do you speak Portuguese? Not really, but I can understand what people are saying. I just can't formulate sentences fast enough to respond to anything beyond: Sim or Não
OH! I need to tell you, my P-Day will be different next week because we're going to the temple! ) I can't remember if it's Thursday or Friday.
I love you (and I love being able to use the enter button!)
Story: So Elder Wells and I were walking down a street and he stopped to talk to a little kid (it's one of the bast ways to get to meet the families). Suddenly the scripture "and a little child shall lead them" from 2nd Nephi popped into my head. Next thing I knew we were teaching Daniel (9), his younger cousin (6) and their Grandmother (Ana Maria). The spirit was so strong. She prayed at the end and we told her we would pick her up for church on Sunday. On Sunday she said she couldn't go (it sounded like someone form another church had said some things...), But she hugged the Book of Mormon close and her son (20's, 30's?) said that he had read it. I guess we'll see what happens.
Elder Page
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
24 August 2010 - letter
A lot of things happened this week. Our district made a goal to practice contacting people, so we started a contact-o-rama. It was more about practice than a real competitions, but it was so much fun. We got a lot of practice and I felt really good about our preparation.
We went out on Friday and gave out copies of the Book of Mormon to people in the historic downtown of São Paulo. First, there was no one we could get to listen to us. But after a while we started to get more people to listen. Probably the best story was when we were talking to this woman and we found out that she had been investigating the church a few years ago and then she had joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses. But now she no longer attends the church and she wants to know more. So while we were talking about the Book of Mormon, a man ran up shouting “Elders! Elders! Vocês têm um Livro de Mórmon?” It turned out that he was inactive and wanted to go back to church, but he had moved and didn’t know where the chapel was. We gave him all the information we had and a Book of Mormon.
Not long after that, we ran into two Americans studying abroad. They had a returned missionary friend so they wanted to take pictures with us to send home. We gave them a Book of Mormon and promised that if they read it, they would both understand the Portuguese language and Jesus Christ better. It was really weird to be speaking English to people on the street in Brazil.
I love you all!
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| Historic downtown São Paulo (not taken by David) |
24 August 2010 - email
Today we went to a churrascaria and if the one in Portland is as good, we are so going after my mission. We got a buffet of salads etc. and then they come out with huge chunks of meat on skewers and sliced them off with huge knives (yes, I flinched a few times) while you catch them with tongs. I ate so many different types of meat I have no idea what they were. But (Rosie stop reading right now) I did eat about 5 chicken hearts, and they are surprisingly good. They're a little fattier and a little more tender than normal chicken (Rosie you can read now). It was so much fun.
I also decided that when I get back I'm going to write a book on the Armor of God (so if anyone has titles, let me know) so I got a notebook and I am going to fill it with notes and scriptures and as much stuff as I can find. I think it'll help give me a direction when I get stuck inside for carnival and study.
So, we went to Campinas again today (city set on a hill - look at the pictures of the temple and then imagine it being about a thousand times better) and then sat on the bus for forever.
I can't believe that in 8 days I will be out there preaching. I have no idea if I'll have a P-day next week soooooo...we'll see if you get mail next week. Also, if anyone sends me mail, tell them to send it to Recife (starting a week ago). I am starting to feel like I can make people really understand me in Portuguese, so I can't wait to get out into the field (I almost wrote 'campo', that's weird).
I also got a notebook that I put 'non-mission' thoughts in (quotes, funny experiences, etc.) so that I can have a few memories besides the super spiritual ones that go into my journal. I call the book "All Things That In Them Are".
Elder Page
I also decided that when I get back I'm going to write a book on the Armor of God (so if anyone has titles, let me know) so I got a notebook and I am going to fill it with notes and scriptures and as much stuff as I can find. I think it'll help give me a direction when I get stuck inside for carnival and study.
So, we went to Campinas again today (city set on a hill - look at the pictures of the temple and then imagine it being about a thousand times better) and then sat on the bus for forever.
I can't believe that in 8 days I will be out there preaching. I have no idea if I'll have a P-day next week soooooo...we'll see if you get mail next week. Also, if anyone sends me mail, tell them to send it to Recife (starting a week ago). I am starting to feel like I can make people really understand me in Portuguese, so I can't wait to get out into the field (I almost wrote 'campo', that's weird).
I also got a notebook that I put 'non-mission' thoughts in (quotes, funny experiences, etc.) so that I can have a few memories besides the super spiritual ones that go into my journal. I call the book "All Things That In Them Are".
Elder Page
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| Campinas Temple (not taken by David) |
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
17 August 2010 - letter
The English fast is done! I have now realized that I actually do know a lot more about Portuguese than I thought. I don't want this to sound arrogant, but I think I've been given a gift with languages. I've never really noticed how much grammar I just understand. The professors here have told me that I understand grammar better than some teachers. They've started calling me "Professor Pasquale" because of it. Prof. Pasquale is a tv grammar teacher kind of like the random buy who does calculus on public access at home.
Earlier this week, our district did "Super comb-over" day (we also all wore blue ties). It was fun, even though no one noticed but us. We slicked our hair to the side and every one with glasses wore them. Our district is awesome. Later that morning, Irmão Brandão told us that we were teaching the law of chastity to Brazilian sisters ...yeah... It actually wasn't very embarrassing...at least until after the practice when we found out that she said she broke both the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity the night before adn we had told her that she was good to go for her baptism the following day...yeah.
On Saturday we had our TRC (sorry I have no idea what that stands for). We were teaching real Brazilians (members) in normal clothes in a "living room" and we were filmed and corrected by the teachers watching. We got told that we did perfectly and actually the investigators got corrected! It was such a confidence booster. The only problem is that my companion doesn't seem to think that he doing as awesomely with Portuguese as he is. I need to figure out how to help him...
Today we went to the Campinas Temple (5th Endowment, 6th total) and it so much better than São Paulo (not that any temple is really better). It's one of those temples where you move from room to room. It was awesome!
I love you all!
Elder Page
Earlier this week, our district did "Super comb-over" day (we also all wore blue ties). It was fun, even though no one noticed but us. We slicked our hair to the side and every one with glasses wore them. Our district is awesome. Later that morning, Irmão Brandão told us that we were teaching the law of chastity to Brazilian sisters ...yeah... It actually wasn't very embarrassing...at least until after the practice when we found out that she said she broke both the Word of Wisdom and the law of chastity the night before adn we had told her that she was good to go for her baptism the following day...yeah.
On Saturday we had our TRC (sorry I have no idea what that stands for). We were teaching real Brazilians (members) in normal clothes in a "living room" and we were filmed and corrected by the teachers watching. We got told that we did perfectly and actually the investigators got corrected! It was such a confidence booster. The only problem is that my companion doesn't seem to think that he doing as awesomely with Portuguese as he is. I need to figure out how to help him...
Today we went to the Campinas Temple (5th Endowment, 6th total) and it so much better than São Paulo (not that any temple is really better). It's one of those temples where you move from room to room. It was awesome!
I love you all!
Elder Page
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
17 August 2010 - email
Como vocês vão?
Ummmm...so this week was insane! English fasting when so many people are speaking it is really hard. Out in the field I think it would be easier to just speak Português than it is here.
This week a lot of things happened: Elder Rogers and I aced our TRC, finished our English fast, had super-crazy comb-overs, and taught the law of chastity to native Brazilian sisters (yes, that was the first time we talked about it).
We also went to the Campinas temple today and it is pretty awesome. it's rather large and it's on the top of this hill overlooking the city and the surrounding forest (really dense). I think I told Missy that I'd email about the flavelas as soon as I saw them, so I'm sorry: I saw them on day one, but not to the scale I saw today; This whole valley was covered with the shanty houses built with plywood and tin. They're stacked on top of each other and the whole structure looks like it could come down in a hard rain. Almost all of the flavelas that I've seen are near a dump and it's hard to think of children of God living like that so close to people living in excess.
I love you all so much!
Elder Page
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| Campinas Temple (not taken by David) |
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| Flavelas (slums) (not taken by David) |
Sunday, August 15, 2010
10 August 2010 - email
Elder Rogers decided that this week he is going to be English fasting the entire week, as his companion that means that I have to as well...it's been...interesting. But I think that I am learning a lot!
I absolutely love Jesus the Christ (I only have 50ish pages left) and I can't wait to be able to study it more slowly with the scriptures. The goal that has fallen by the wayside is that of reading O Livro de Mormon; I need to get that started before the fowls of the air devour it (see Matt parable of sower). Wow! My sense of humor has totally gone bizzaro-scriptural. The other day I laughed really hard at a lame joke (loke) about Ammon that involved him "giving the king a hand"...yeah...I love you all.
Elder Page.
I absolutely love Jesus the Christ (I only have 50ish pages left) and I can't wait to be able to study it more slowly with the scriptures. The goal that has fallen by the wayside is that of reading O Livro de Mormon; I need to get that started before the fowls of the air devour it (see Matt parable of sower). Wow! My sense of humor has totally gone bizzaro-scriptural. The other day I laughed really hard at a lame joke (loke) about Ammon that involved him "giving the king a hand"...yeah...I love you all.
Elder Page.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
10 August 2010 - letter
The following is from an email David sent on 10 August 2010:
Elder Rogers decided that this week he is going to be English fasting the entire week, as his companion that means that I have to as well...it's been...interesting. But I think that I am learning a lot!
I absolutely love Jesus the Christ (I only have 50ish pages left) and I can't wait to be able to study it more slowly with the scriptures. The goal that has fallen by the wayside is that of reading O Livro de Mormon; I need to get that started before the fowls of the air devour it (see Matt parable of sower). Wow! My sense of humor has totally gone bizzaro-scriptural. The other day I laughed really hard at a lame joke (loke) about Ammon that involved him "giving the king a hand"...yeah...I love you all.
Elder Page.
The following is from a letter David mailed on 8 August 2010 (he is set up to mail it to MissionTies in Brazil and they scan and email it to us - much faster):
This week was incredible! We went proselyting on Friday (6th) and we were given two copies of the Book of Mormon each and we were sent out the front doors. Elder Rogers and I quickly learned that our Portuguese is very limited. We talked to this great spiritualist woman and invited her to the open house. Later we met Sergio in the park. He had a friend who was a member and he showed such a huge interest that we gave him a Book of Mormon and an invitation to the open house (we also got his address). Then we hit a dead spot. No one would talk to us, not even to say "Good afternoon". I was starting to get down when Elder Rogers asked if we could say a prayer. We did and the next street we walked down we saw a group of people unloading a truck. As we walked past, I opened my mouth to say "Boa Tarde" and instead I said "Podemos ajudar?". When the woman I was talking to responded like she was confused, I said "Tudo bem. Tchou!". At least that's what I thought. Instead, I said "Podemos ajudar vocês con isso?". Next thing I knew, we were unloading huge rolls of vinyl tarping and asking them if they believed in God. When we finished, we asked if we could talk to them for a few minutes about a book. We ended up giving away all three of our copies of the Book of Mormon to them! I've gotten a strong testimony of D&C 84:85 (Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man).
Friday was the best day of the mission so far. I can only hope it goes up in the future!
Elder Page
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| Street scene in São Paulo (not taken by David) |
Friday, August 13, 2010
3 August 2010 - letter
Sister Clark (wife of the mission president) is awesome. She's from the Czech Republic and she speaks seven languages, five fluently! She's like a mom for all the missionaries. I tell you this, mom, not to tell you that you are replaced, but that I am in good hands!
So last week one of my neighbors from BYU showed up! It's kind of cool because I had no idea that he was coming! It's been nice to see that our district is improving by seeing where we were a few weeks ago.
They remodeled the cafeteria, so it looks great now! It's cut the time waiting in line by half!
We started teaching in Portuguese this week and the teachers "can't understand" English. I'm finding that the language is coming faster and faster!
This Friday our district is going to be placing copies of the Book of Mormon (notice how I avoided the "Books of Mormon" v. "Book of Mormons" issue!) OUTSIDE THE CTM! GASP! I'm so excited. I got told on Saturday that my accent is fairly authentic.
Well I'm out of time, but I love you all a lot!
Elder Page
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| Sao Paulo Missionary Training Center (MTC -- or -- CTM in Portuguese) | (not taken by David) |
Thursday, August 12, 2010
27 July 2010 - letter
How are things at home? Things have been pretty good here. I've been adjusting to the routine of things. I think I'd have a really hard time if I hadn't met some of the "dork dot" missionaries. It felt good to see how far I have progressed and to help ease some of their concerns.
It's been weird saying goodbye to almost everyone on our floor. Now it's just us and a Brazilian district on our floor.
We got two Brazilian roommates three weeks ago, Elders Buarque and Jesus Santos. They were pretty awesome. Elder Jesus Santos could only say "Shut up!" so that forced us to speak Portuguese. Both of them left this morning and so we took a ton of pictures last night.
I started re-reading Jesus the Christ (I didn't finish it the first time). It's pretty amazing! He phrases things that make me think of things I've never thought of before. The way he talks about the Fall is powerful. I've never thought of interpreting "sin=death" so literally before.
Soon I'll be out on the town in São Paulo enjoying the "cold" weather. (It's 23° C out there!) It actually is starting to feel a little chilly if it's under 22° C so I'm getting used to it.
I love you all so much and I hope I didn't ramble too much!
Elder Page
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| São Paulo (not taken by David) |
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
We've started teaching in Portuguese and Friday we escape the CTM. Yeah, Elder Rogers and I have an extensive plan involving fake mustaches, and tear gas, and possibly a schizophrenic parrot! Ok really on Friday we get to go out and place copies of the Book of Mormon. I'm pretty excited but I'm worried about our Portuguese. I am starting to feel like the progress I'm making is real and not just half-memorized ramblings.
I realized that in my previous letters I have failed to adequately describe São Paulo, so here is my attempt: The streets are pretty narrow and the buildings flow with the hilly countryside (from the air you can see that the roads are like the contour lines on a map). All of the shops and stores have open fronts; I don't mean that their doors are open but that they don't have doors. Many of the larger shops have a couple of parking spaces partly inside the store itself! I've mentioned rather briefly about the roads but I don't think I did them justice. I have tremendous respect for anyone who manages to drive in Brazil; It's a little scary! Motorcycles don't have a lane, they just weave in and around traffic and the lanes are so narrow that I don't understand how we don't hit cars on the way to the temple. The worst was when our bus driver was learning how to drive a stick. End result: Three near-misses, two traffic jams (that he caused), and a partridge in a pear tree.
The people here are either really friendly or completely ignore you; If you say "bon día" to someone, be prepared for them to not look you in the eye or start talking about their grandchildren and asking what Florida and California are like!
Eu sei que O Livro de Môrmon é verdadeiro e que deus nos ama. Eu sei que esta missão vai ser difícil, mas eu sei que será o melhor manera para gastar dois anos. Eu amo todo vocês e quero enviar fotos mas não pode no CTM. Então, conserva tua rota!
PWoL: arbítrio - agency
Elder Page
This is a picture of the CTM (or MTC - Missionary Training Center) in São Paulo
I realized that in my previous letters I have failed to adequately describe São Paulo, so here is my attempt: The streets are pretty narrow and the buildings flow with the hilly countryside (from the air you can see that the roads are like the contour lines on a map). All of the shops and stores have open fronts; I don't mean that their doors are open but that they don't have doors. Many of the larger shops have a couple of parking spaces partly inside the store itself! I've mentioned rather briefly about the roads but I don't think I did them justice. I have tremendous respect for anyone who manages to drive in Brazil; It's a little scary! Motorcycles don't have a lane, they just weave in and around traffic and the lanes are so narrow that I don't understand how we don't hit cars on the way to the temple. The worst was when our bus driver was learning how to drive a stick. End result: Three near-misses, two traffic jams (that he caused), and a partridge in a pear tree.
The people here are either really friendly or completely ignore you; If you say "bon día" to someone, be prepared for them to not look you in the eye or start talking about their grandchildren and asking what Florida and California are like!
Eu sei que O Livro de Môrmon é verdadeiro e que deus nos ama. Eu sei que esta missão vai ser difícil, mas eu sei que será o melhor manera para gastar dois anos. Eu amo todo vocês e quero enviar fotos mas não pode no CTM. Então, conserva tua rota!
PWoL: arbítrio - agency
Elder Page
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Letter sent 7/20/2010
It's great here. I've memorized "Meu Propósito" (My Purpose) and "A Primeira Visão (The First Vision) . I am working on "As Regras de Fé" and D&C 4 right now. My goal is to have read through second Nefi in Portuguese before I leave and to be able to run for two miles without stopping to catch my breath or walking.
By the way, if anyone wants a good study topic, study first the armor of God in Ephesians (cross reference and TG to find more on each piece of armor) and then study "Preach My Gospel" Chapter 6 "Christlike Attributes" and put the two together. It's pretty amazing that 9 attributed fit so well into 7 pieces of armor (the sword is two is you look closely)!
Our Brazilian roommates (Elders Buarque and Jesus Santos) are amazing! They make us speak Portuguese with them even though Elder Buarque speaks English pretty well. One of the zone leaders, Irmão Pesanna, is an amazing guy. He speaks at least English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently and I have suspicions of a few others, like French. Bet every time you ask him, he says "Only Portuguese" (yes in English!).
I love you and and pray for you!
Elder Page
Email
I actually got two letters from Mom and Dad. The one that left on the 13th got here on the 23rd and the other one got here last night. If there are another letters floating out there, I haven't got them. Thanks for the picture. I'm the only person here who brought absolutely no photos, so that was good!
I found out that the grocery store near here has pear juice with soy (so it requires no refrigeration for a few days after it's been opened)! It's really good, but not as good as the fresh fruit juice that you watch them blend and strain on the corner!
I'm starting to feel a bit at home at the CTM. The routine and regularity of activities helps time pass by super fast. People here like to say, "Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days". It's true! I feel like I've been here for like two days, but It's almost been a month! I'm also having a hard time remembering what I've written in other letters and emails, so this may be a bit repetitive.
Our afternoon teacher, Irmã Cardoso is filling in for the Mission President's Secretary for a week so we have Irmão Peçanha for a while. He's sorta scary, but he's usually joking (I keep thinking that this is how people my age think of Dad) and he always makes me think really hard about what we should be doing without just telling us.
I'm learning a lot and I really do love this place. We had the pig-beans again yesterday (it's still as good as before I knew it had snouts and ears in it) and today one of the instructors told us that something was bat-meat, but I think he was joking...
Elder Page
It's great here. I've memorized "Meu Propósito" (My Purpose) and "A Primeira Visão (The First Vision) . I am working on "As Regras de Fé" and D&C 4 right now. My goal is to have read through second Nefi in Portuguese before I leave and to be able to run for two miles without stopping to catch my breath or walking.
By the way, if anyone wants a good study topic, study first the armor of God in Ephesians (cross reference and TG to find more on each piece of armor) and then study "Preach My Gospel" Chapter 6 "Christlike Attributes" and put the two together. It's pretty amazing that 9 attributed fit so well into 7 pieces of armor (the sword is two is you look closely)!
Our Brazilian roommates (Elders Buarque and Jesus Santos) are amazing! They make us speak Portuguese with them even though Elder Buarque speaks English pretty well. One of the zone leaders, Irmão Pesanna, is an amazing guy. He speaks at least English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently and I have suspicions of a few others, like French. Bet every time you ask him, he says "Only Portuguese" (yes in English!).
I love you and and pray for you!
Elder Page
I actually got two letters from Mom and Dad. The one that left on the 13th got here on the 23rd and the other one got here last night. If there are another letters floating out there, I haven't got them. Thanks for the picture. I'm the only person here who brought absolutely no photos, so that was good!
I found out that the grocery store near here has pear juice with soy (so it requires no refrigeration for a few days after it's been opened)! It's really good, but not as good as the fresh fruit juice that you watch them blend and strain on the corner!
I'm starting to feel a bit at home at the CTM. The routine and regularity of activities helps time pass by super fast. People here like to say, "Days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days". It's true! I feel like I've been here for like two days, but It's almost been a month! I'm also having a hard time remembering what I've written in other letters and emails, so this may be a bit repetitive.
Our afternoon teacher, Irmã Cardoso is filling in for the Mission President's Secretary for a week so we have Irmão Peçanha for a while. He's sorta scary, but he's usually joking (I keep thinking that this is how people my age think of Dad) and he always makes me think really hard about what we should be doing without just telling us.
I'm learning a lot and I really do love this place. We had the pig-beans again yesterday (it's still as good as before I knew it had snouts and ears in it) and today one of the instructors told us that something was bat-meat, but I think he was joking...
Elder Page
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Things here are great.
I can´t believe it! Everyone my age is going on a mission! It´s crazy, but it´s a good crazy.
This week we got moved to a different classroom because of the construction on the new gym that´s going on outside. Today, however we were able to leave again and wander the favelas of São Paulo, it was pretty awesome! We stayed close to the CTM and got some snacks and some awesome, fresh pineapple juice. It's very safe here but it's got that HUGE city vibe, you know?
I am amazed by how quickly the Lord has been helping me with Português! I can read a lot and understand more. I am reading O Livro de Mórmon and I just bought a cheap copy of El Libro de Mormón so that I can keep up my Spanish.
Letters coming to Brazil are kind of random in how long they take (5 days to 3 weeks) but letters to the states are USUALLY only about a week to ten days.
I love you so much and I can´t wait for your letters! Elder Page
I can´t believe it! Everyone my age is going on a mission! It´s crazy, but it´s a good crazy.
This week we got moved to a different classroom because of the construction on the new gym that´s going on outside. Today, however we were able to leave again and wander the favelas of São Paulo, it was pretty awesome! We stayed close to the CTM and got some snacks and some awesome, fresh pineapple juice. It's very safe here but it's got that HUGE city vibe, you know?
I am amazed by how quickly the Lord has been helping me with Português! I can read a lot and understand more. I am reading O Livro de Mórmon and I just bought a cheap copy of El Libro de Mormón so that I can keep up my Spanish.
Letters coming to Brazil are kind of random in how long they take (5 days to 3 weeks) but letters to the states are USUALLY only about a week to ten days.
I love you so much and I can´t wait for your letters! Elder Page
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Week Two
I don't have enough Portuguese to read the menu in the Cafeteria but I found out later that the food we ate had pig's feet, snout and tongue. Another Brazilian Elder tried to convince me that something else was alligator meat, but we found out that is just a kind of dry meat loaf. The food is usually pretty good, it's just a little strange. The desserts are often very sweet and the meat is salty, but the rice and beans are actually my favorite. I think that the gift of tongues has many different interpretations.
Today we went to the temple for the second time (in English of course) and it has been pouring all day. This is the first time that it has rained so far and it's crazy how much water comes down! Today we explored a bit and got wet and basically had a blast!
I am hoping that Portuguese keeps being as close to Spanish as it is. There are times that I accidentally say something in Spanish and all that gets corrected is my pronunciation!
The spirit is so strong in the CTM that I notice it more when I get depressed and my doubts drive it away. Life is a roller coaster here but I know I wouldn't have such amazing spiritual highs if it weren't for the times when Sátanas is trying his hardest. I am so thrilled to be here and every once in a while I realize, "Hey, I'm in Brazil!" I want to be out in the field even though I don't really speak the language. My companion and another Elder in my district handed out a copy of O Livro De Mormon to some people outside the tie shop today. It's these opportunities to glimpse what the field will be like that makes me want to go there. A speaker last night told us, "Brazil is not white...it is MORE than white!" So he told us to go out with our sickles and work. I am studying hard so that I will be ready when that time comes!
PWoL: Minha nossa! (Literal - My our! Slang - Oh my gosh!)
I love you so much! Yours in the faith, Elder Page
Today we went to the temple for the second time (in English of course) and it has been pouring all day. This is the first time that it has rained so far and it's crazy how much water comes down! Today we explored a bit and got wet and basically had a blast!
I am hoping that Portuguese keeps being as close to Spanish as it is. There are times that I accidentally say something in Spanish and all that gets corrected is my pronunciation!
The spirit is so strong in the CTM that I notice it more when I get depressed and my doubts drive it away. Life is a roller coaster here but I know I wouldn't have such amazing spiritual highs if it weren't for the times when Sátanas is trying his hardest. I am so thrilled to be here and every once in a while I realize, "Hey, I'm in Brazil!" I want to be out in the field even though I don't really speak the language. My companion and another Elder in my district handed out a copy of O Livro De Mormon to some people outside the tie shop today. It's these opportunities to glimpse what the field will be like that makes me want to go there. A speaker last night told us, "Brazil is not white...it is MORE than white!" So he told us to go out with our sickles and work. I am studying hard so that I will be ready when that time comes!
PWoL: Minha nossa! (Literal - My our! Slang - Oh my gosh!)
I love you so much! Yours in the faith, Elder Page
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Bom Día
First of all, it's the CTM, not the MTC. I'm not quite used to the Brazilian keyboard yet so I'm not sure how fast I can type. We'll see...So the CTM is amazing. I can't believe that I'm in Brazil! It's pretty warm here but I've been told that Recife is WAY hotter than it said it was online. The schedule here takes a while to get used to but it keeps us busy so that we can focus on the Spirit. My comp, Elder Rogers is pretty much amazing. He's like 6 foot 6 and really friendly. I think we'll work really well together. He just got called as the District Leader and our Branch President called me his "External Brain".
On the 4th we had our church meetings and they sing the Brazilian national anthem, so the Brazilian Elder next to me said "Dooon't a-wurry I weel help a-you" and off we went singing the fastest national anthem I've ever heard! He smiled and told me that it was only my first week when I asked how I did. But then we sang the Star Spangled Banner and HE was the one who was freaking out!
Our trip here was SOOOOOOO long! On the first flight I sat next to this nice woman who knew a lot about the church and we had a great conversation. The plane to São Paulo was huge! I sat next to a bilingual Brazilian girl about my age and we talked for a while before she plugged in her headphones. That plane didn't leave for almost 2 hours after it was supposed to and we spent our whole first day being told that we were so behind because of that! There are 9 elders in our district in three companionships (Barker & Hocker, Rogers & Me, and Hawkley & Andersen) and one tripanionship (Eggett, Bushman, and Crapo). Our district is an awesome group of guys! I think that we are starting to get caught up.
I haven't walked around the outside world yet, but as soon as I finish this email meu companheiro y eu are going out! P-Day is good but I almost wish I was in class learning the Portuguese right now. It comes a lot easier than I thought it would but the pronunciation is a killer; It's so close to spanish but there are SO many vowel sounds!
I love you all so much and I've decided that I am going to end each email and letter with the Portugues Word of the Letter (PWoD). Today's word is...(drumroll please)...Paralelepípedo [pah.rah.lay.lay.PEE.peh.doo] (but say it REALLY fast) it means "Cobblestone"
I love you all so much and I've decided that I am going to end each email and letter with the Portugues Word of the Letter (PWoD). Today's word is...(drumroll please)...Paralelepípedo [pah.rah.lay.lay.PEE.peh.doo] (but say it REALLY fast) it means "Cobblestone"
Elder Page (El.dehr Pah.Jee)
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We also received the following email picture:
Friday, July 2, 2010
Where is Recife, Brazil?
David will be serving in the Brazil Recife Mission. The mission comprises all but the western tip of the state of Pernambuco (shown in red below). Pernambuco is located just south of the easternmost tip of South America. Recife is the largest city in Pernambuco and is located on the coast.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
David (Elder Page) has left for Brazil!
David was set apart as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by President Fotheringham on Monday, June 29, 2010 at the Hillsboro Oregon Stake Center.
The following morning, June 29, 2010, he flew out of the Portland International Airport to Dallas, Texas where he was to meet up with other missionaries also traveling to the Sao Paolo, Brazil MTC. He was to arrive in Sao Paolo at 7:40 am on June 30th (Sao Paolo time). We received the following email today indicating that he has arrived safely.
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Dear Parents,
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His email address is david.page@myldsmail.net
The Sao Paulo MTC Address (until September):
Elder David Ensign Page
Brazil Recife Mission
Brazil MTC
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo SP
Brazil
The following morning, June 29, 2010, he flew out of the Portland International Airport to Dallas, Texas where he was to meet up with other missionaries also traveling to the Sao Paolo, Brazil MTC. He was to arrive in Sao Paolo at 7:40 am on June 30th (Sao Paolo time). We received the following email today indicating that he has arrived safely.
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Dear Parents,
We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time. We promise to take good care of your missionary.
They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.
The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.
Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.
Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”
Please accept our love,
President Donald L Clark and Sister Zaza Clark
ADDITIONAL information . . .
DO not send packages to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package can not be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you. The only other option is for us to open the package and forward the letters and photographs, giving the rest of the content of the package to the missionaries that are here.
WE Strongly eNCOURAGE sENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. The cost to get this type of correspondence is exorbitant.*************************************************************************************
His email address is david.page@myldsmail.net
The Sao Paulo MTC Address (until September):
Elder David Ensign Page
Brazil Recife Mission
Brazil MTC
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo SP
Brazil