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.

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

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: 02

Name: Trinidade

Age: 23 (turns 24 next month)

Language(s): Portuguese...nothing else

Time on the mission: 6 Months

Homeland: Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul

Bio: 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!

Elder Page

Entrance to Garanhuns (not taken by David)

Garanhuns is about 3 1/2 hours from Recife or about 160 miles southwest of Recife

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.

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

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