12 December 2011

So, hey there all you happy people!

Well life is good, but it hurts too! Saturday we "bateu laje" which is so complicated to translate that I'll leave in for the PWoL. We spent more than six hours in the sun mixing cement and toting it up to the roof. It was awful. Even with my sunscreen I burned the back of my neck pretty badly and my body STILL aches. It was fun and it gave us an opportunity to talk with several non-members. I won't be repeating THAT particular project soon. Anyway life has been good here, I've just realized that I am working and doing what the Lord wants (I'm still not perfect, I'm not saying that I am). With or without baptisms I can see the value of my work. I have learned a lot from reading the Liahona (they don't have the Ensign here). Pay attention the next time that you read an issue. Most of the stories about baptism are about the author's baptism and the missionary stories often don't mention if the person was baptized or not. They just tell experiences in which they felt the spirit and I've been feeling His influence a lot lately. I've learned that the drive to do missionary work comes from inside of me and not from results. I am so excited for Christmas and the chance to talk to you all. This year has been difficult for me but I can testify that when we seek Christ he really does come "with healing in His wings". I never really understood that phrase before; what do wings have to do with healing? Now I get it; he comes as fast as he can when we call in righteousness. What mode of transport is faster than flight? What better image to show that he is willing to descend from heaven and give us the 'balm of Gilead"? I have felt the Savior's love and it just makes me want to spread these feelings to all others. I love this place. It's hard to really describe why: there's garbage everywhere, it stinks, no one speaks my native tongue, and often the people call me a Satan-worshipper. Somehow none of this makes it hard to love Recife! I want to take so many people home with me, but I'll have to settle for internet and letters. I guess I've got it better than a lot of returned missionaries. Well, this letter is starting to ramble and get weird, so I guess I'll end it here.

I love you all and I'm excited/horrified that I'll be home in little more than six months.

Elder Page

5 December 2011

Well, I hope that all is merry and jolly there. Here, I find it so odd that their Christmas cards and decorations have snow when almost no one here has ever seen snow and it's THE MIDDLE OF THE RIDICULOUSLY HOT SUMMER! I guess some things are world-wide, but it's weird to see drawings of snowmen painted on buildings (almost so hot that the paint just melts off!) when they don't even have any idea of how much work it takes to make one. The descriptions of what they think walking in the snow is like is actually quite funny; they describe it like walking through knee-high dust! Even my companions from the south (WAY south) have said that the most that they've ever seen is frost...not the same thing (although it is IS pretty Oregonian).

So yesterday we sang in a missionary choir "Quando o Anjo Proclamo" (The First Noel) at a choral fireside in Recife. Because of this I got a good chunk of time to talk to Elder Apeland (we took the same bus coming back). He's doing well. I think that he would be a cool companion because he has a desire to do what's right and he already speaks Portuguese well for an American who got stuck in the states. His area is also the only chapel that I've heard of that has couches (it's a pretty rich area...), so he got pretty surprised when I explained about how several wards don't even have chapels. He's a pretty cool guy. I'm certain that we met on some committee, but neither one of us remembers.

Anyway, I love you all!

Elder Page

28 November 2011

So this thanksgiving was pretty awesome! I'll get the sadder news out of the way first: no baptisms.

Anyway, on Thursday we were all a little frustrated and sad. So I spent a sizable amount of my mission money (I'm almost out until the 30th) buying food. We made couscous for dinner (it's REALLY common here) with eggs and hotdog-style sausage in tomato sauce, all mixed together. Everyone had two liters of juice. Then we ate popcorn and since salted popcorn without butter is weird, we put a salty flavored thing used to soften meat (it was all we had, okay!). And to top it off, I made a brownie (not nasty like my birthday; this time I made it) and one of the other elders bought Neapolitan ice cream. I made everyone list things they were grateful for before they could eat anything and we repeated the action several times during the evening. It wasn't exactly like finding a giant turkey and cooking it ourselves, but it was the best that my little ability in the kitchen could do. It was pretty awesome. By the way, I am impressed by the speed that I am writing this e-mail. I still don't know how to type and this keyboard is really worn out so you can't see most of the letters, but somehow, I almost never mess up. I'm just that cool!

Other than that, things are quiet here. All four of us stayed in the transfer and we are all praying to not have a mini-transfer (right before Christmas, come on!). I am hoping that we can start finding people who we can baptize because it's gotten slow, but God has blessed us a lot. I just want to move (my neighbor is going to drive me crazy!). Anyway, life is good here and I hope that all is good there. I love you all!

Elder Page

21 November 2011 - email

Olá família!

Como vocês estão? Aqui tudo está muito bom. Estamos fazendo muito aqui e o trabalho está melhorando bastante. We had 14 investigators in church yesterday. It's kind of a miracle, so I'll go back in time to explain it:

A month ago we were walking back toward the church and the fastest way was to get a passenger bridge that goes above a metro train. By the ramp to climb up there is a small stand of fruit and the man running it called us over. He said that his name was José George and that he wanted to become active in the church. He said that he had fallen away, but that his oldest son was starting to use drugs and he was desperate to bring him back. He saw that the only way is the gospel. He feels bad that he fell away, but he wants to make up for it and bring his three sons to church. He is a very intelligent man fallen on rough times. He speaks (or spoke) English, but now he sells fruit. Their house is horribly depressing as it is open and falling apart and being built and full of broken pieces of wall and floor. They all sleep on two half broken beds. We began by talking to the bishop, but he didn't want to go there. As soon as he decided to go there and saw their potential, it was all his idea. Anyway, last week we started teaching the two younger boys and the older kind of listened, but mostly just left. The youngest, Jefferson, had a dream that their neighborhood was divided in good and bad. He and his brother Janderson "died" and went to a light where the met up with their dead cousin. He told them that it wasn't their time and a voice said that they had a great mission to fulfill. They came back and just before he woke up, he saw many shadows grabbing his other brother, Jamesson, and pulling him into the dark part of the neighborhood. I immediately thought of Nephi and I felt prompted to ask him to start reading the story of this prophet.

They both said that they want to be baptized, we just need to get them to pray (they seem to be a little embarrassed) and teach them the commandments. They and their dad brought several young men to church and we got their addresses. José will talk to their parents and find out which families we can teach. It was truly a miracle.

I love you all,

Elder Page

Find Elder Page! (This is half of the mission - he said that there are 13 zones each with 10-16 missionaries. His mission president and his wife are the couple in the center on the right. Elder and Sister Mazzagardi are next to them on the left. Elder Page is in the second row to the right of his mission president.)

14 November 2011 - email

So, Recife feels...like home. It`s weird to say that, but it`s how I feel. I no longer think it's weird the way that things happen here (usually). I guess that`s why I haven't written much in that respect for a while. The bus system, the random street vendors, the suddenly drenching rain, even the sun isn't that weird anymore.

I am used to seeing a lot of poverty. I mean a lot. There are families that we meet that all live in one room (5 of them or more) whose roof has holes and they are reforming their house while living in it. It's a humbling sight. It makes me think of the stupid things I complained about as a kid. I have seen how blessed I have been. I have never had church leaders that caused me to stumble. I have never been beaten by my parents because I was held back a year in school. I've never had to choose between education and simple survival. What`s strange is that these conditions don't really affect who the people are, just the degree of extremity. I've seen people much more loving than people at home. I've also seen cruelty that knows no limits. It's strange, because seeing this has changed me; I used to be the first to talk and I spoke so loud that everyone had to listen to me. The most-heard comments are now: "You speak really quietly. Why?" and "Why doesn't this one speak?" I don't know what it is, but I feel a peace that doesn't entirely come from me. I am a little scared because the end is approaching; I really don't want it to. I can imagine how Elder Groberg felt when he got the letter telling him that his extension was denied. You can't feel either excited or sad; it just is.

I guess what I want to say is I don't really know how to say how it's similar to home and how it's different. In my dreams there exists a mixture. Everything that is good in the two, put together. I never dream of home anymore. I also never dream of Recife. I dream of both. Man, this letter is coming out weird, but I hope that the message is getting out.

I feel a little chastised this week. I studied the Pearl of Great Price and started the Doctrine and Covenants. There are so many promises of greater scripture and greater knowledge that we have lost (as a people) by not utilizing our scriptures now. I love the scriptures. I love the Savior. I love the plan of salvation. I love the mission and if there was a way to never end, I'd do it (aside from the missing the family part). I'm am slowly losing my fear of being called to serve the Lord. It's hard, but it is so much more rewarding than anything else.

I love you all,

Elder Page

7 November 2011 - email

Hey there!

Good stuff is happening to us here. We may not have many investigators, but we are in symphony with the spirit and each other. His attitude requires patience, (I don't think he likes the US) but we are doing well. One horribly false doctrine that we are confronting right now is that God's omniscience means that he controls us. So many people have said that he knows if we'll be saved or not, so it doesn't matter what we do. We met a man like that on Saturday. He was sitting on a wall in front of his house when we passed and we both felt strongly impressed to go back and talk to him. His name is Samuel and he doesn't believe in hell, the devil, God, life after death, or really anything (Just about the first atheist I've met in Brazil). After talking to him for a while this false doctrine popped up and it was blocking him from wanting to pray. I suddenly felt inspired to grab our house keys and hold them up in front of him. "What will happen if I let go of these keys?" I asked "They will fall," he sounded a little irritated that I would ask such a stupid question. I let go of the keys and...they fell (duh). Then I pointed at him and said, "It's your fault that the keys fell!" He started a little and asked be how it was his fault. "Because you knew that they would fall, therefore, by your reasoning, your knowledge caused them to fall, not me by releasing them, or gravity for being an eternal law of physics!" "But my knowledge wouldn't change anything, it just means that I can predict what will happen!" He protested. "In the same way, God's knowledge doesn't make us sin. It simply predicts it!" (Translator's note: in Portuguese "predict" is literally "prevision" or "pre-see", kind of like "foresee" but more certain). He seemed surprised by that and started to open a bit. Unfortunately, he quickly closed off and said that he would not pray, because he would never join our church (you have to join a church to pray to God?). In the end it just became a growing experience for me.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. That He prepared this world and the amazingly perfect plan of salvation under God's watchful care, just with the purpose to "bring about the immortality and eternal life of man". I love this gospel and this mission. I love all of you and I can't wait to talk to you (48 days 'til Christmas). But at the same time I'm getting trunky. Not home-trunky but mission-trunky. I have less than eight more months to live this life and do this work every waking hour. It seems like so little.

Com carinho,

Elder Page

31 October 2011 - answers to our emails

Q. (from dad) Have you received any of our packages?

A. I got the Halloween one and I don't know if I said it, but I got one with popcorn and crystal light.

Q. (from dad) How are you doing with the language?

A. My new goal with the language is to study with no English helps. I've almost done the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price and I finished the last half of the Old Testament. While I'm doing this, I'm marking the scriptures and doing study activities (such as charting out the kings in the book of Ether). It's going well. And I'm starting to remember Spanish! Some little things just floated back into my head!

Q. (from mom) Did you get your Halloween package?

A. Oh my goodness yes!

That package was nice and we are actually celebrating Halloween today. We're all dressed up today. Since we have to wear missionary clothes, the four of us traded name tags. This year for Halloween, I'm Elder Bittencourt (ahhhhh! French!!!). I know, scary, huh?

Q. (from Rachel) Are there any foods that you miss?

A. Yeah, I miss cider. And, to be honest, everything that has to do with fall/winter. That always was my favorite time of year (two years without a winter - sounds like the title of a romance movie) and I miss it. Actually, I miss ANYTHING that has to do with apples. I used to think that my favorite fruit was cherry, but I guess that's because I never went for more than a month without an apple. The apples here are gross (all soft and tasteless). I try to make do with the other fruits that I'll miss (goiaba, acerola), but it's not the same...

Q. (from Melissa) On this day in history (October 31) 1892 the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was published. And like 100 years later you got addicted to it. You could read when you were 1 right?

A. Wow! That's cool because the other day I actually read an adventure in portuguese (The speckled band) and I was wondering just how old the stories were. I knew more or less, but...you know how bad I am at remembering dates!

Elder Larsen, Elder Hooke, Elder Wells, and Elder Page

Elder Meyers, Elder Sousa, Elder Batschi, and Elder Page

Elder Page Oct.24, 2011

(Last week David sent us an Old Testament Quiz and told us that we couldn't look up any of the answers. I guess none of us did real well ):()

YOU ALL LOST! That means you all need to chip in to buy me a blizzard!
Now, was that really so hard? I repeat, I did not use the scriptures to make the quiz.

Well, we are working here and we are starting to see some progress in these people's lives. We just haven't been able to get them to church, that's all! I'm still trying to be a good missionary, but it's hard. I always thought that the hard part of the mission was walking or opening your mouth to speak to people, but it's not. Satan pushes so much harder on me now than at any other time in my life. I'm holding up, thanks to your prayers and faith. I love you all!

Elder Page

10 October 2011 - email

HEY THERE!

So here I am in Massaranduba and I found out that we actually have TWO wards to take care of: Massaranduba and Gardim Guararapes! The areas aren't very close one to the other, but there are amazing people in them. This week we found so many cool families to begin teaching I'll wait to write more until I actually have more than their names to write. This week we met a member family of Brazilians that have been living in the united states for 15 years and recently moved back here. They are really cool and we helped paint their house this week. They have another family living with them that we are going to try to baptize.

To make up for the lack of information I decided to do what dad used to do...A QUIZ (no cheating, you can't use your scriptures. I didn't use them in making this quiz!) You have until the 24th of October when I send my E-mail...

The winner gets a blizzard (in roughly 9 months)

Elder Page's Super Scripture Challenge

1. What is Jonah's father's name?

2. In what year of the reign of the judges was the sign of Christ's birth given?

3. How many of the gospels record the event of the Savior's birth?

4. How many apostles wrote books that exist in today's bible?

5. The Holy Ghost carries the word of God ______ the hearts of the children of men. (Fill the blank)

6. How many books in the Book of Mormon?

7. How many sections (not including Official Declarations) are in the Doctrine and Covenants?

8. Who came first: Nehemiah or Ezra?

9. What was the name of the first apostle called after the Savior's death and resurrection?

10. Who was the leader of the family-tribes in the Americas just before Christ's death?

good luck - Bua-ha-ha-ha!

And, yes, I really did do this without looking at my scriptures!

Love,

Elder Page

3 October 2012

Greetings from Massaranduba!

So...umm...I was transferred...again...

Really weird because in two weeks my companion will go home, but we closed Jenipapo (Mission lingo: there are no more missionaries there). But at least I can now get a breath of fresh air and enjoy getting lost again. Let me explain this week.

So we almost had no time to work in our area, we had to do divisions with two other areas and conference ate up out time, but we marked Rayanne for baptism next Saturday! We managed to get to all of the sessions of conference without trouble and I loved it! I think it was the most inspiring conference I have ever watched and I took copious notes. Side note: President and Sister Lanius live in our stake, so they were at conference. One of the sisters' baptisms, Joice, asked me to baptize her; it was pretty cool since I didn't even meet her until the day before. I loved both of President Uchtdorf's talks and President Monson's in Priesthood session. They were truly inspired to say those things. When we got home on Sunday I got the numbers and tried to mark a division with the two other areas in my district and they started to resist. It was frustrating. Suddenly, out of the blue sky, I got the call that Elder Huish and I were transferred and that Jenipapo closed! We spent a good part of the night packing and getting ready to leave.

Now I am in Massaranduba with Elder Albuquerque (Brazilian, that's really all I know about him so far) and living with Elders Cabreira and Chaves (both Brazilian). It's going to be weird; no more English!

I love you all and I hope to have some awesome news next week! 83 days until the phone call!

Elder Page

29 September 2011 - email

Well, hello there you happy, happy people!

So this week was full of weird/funny stories, so it's better if I categorize them by every day that they happened!

MONDAY:

So we managed to get our hands on a copy of Princess Bride in english! I laughed so hard, it was amazing, all in all I don't think it was that good of an idea though (I started remembering the first time that I'd seen it and that made me a little trunky). It was fun but I think I'll wait until I can watch it with you guys to watch it again!

WEDNESDAY:

I got a letter from that family (By the way, where in the world is Chelsea Francis' letter? Where is she going? Why is it taking so long to get here?) and I think I missed a few letters because of things like this:

From Rachel: "Planes fly really low over the building where I work." Last I heard someone didn't even have a job! Congrats too, but, goodness, why do I have to find out like that!

The letter was amazing and Finley is HUGE! But it was pretty weird!

THURSDAY:

My comp talked to a young man on the street and later we met his dad. His dad is Jewish and he told us that the first synagogue in the Americas was in Recife (wouldn't he be surprised to read the Book of Mormon!) and they named the street "Rua dos Judeus" (Jew Street). Now they've remodeled the street and renamed it. What is it called today? "Rua Bom Jesus" (Good Jesus Street)! And now you know the rest of the story!

So that's it for me this week. See you next week: Same Elder Time. Same Elder E-mail.

5 September 2011 - email

I guess that this is my home here now! I stayed in the transfer with Elder Huish, so I'm going to "kill" him (send him home). I really hope to see some progress in the ward, but I have gotten a little sad in seeing people here spending too much time complaining or making excuses than working.

We have a new Ward Mission Leader, a new Ward Mission Plan, and some new investigators! I still can't believe that I've been in the same area for 5 months! Crazy! The members have told me to ask for my records to be moved because I never leave! Well, until next week!

Elder Page

22 August 2011 - email

So life is pretty much getting better here. The entire leadership of the ward is changing and the new people want to work, so I see progress on the horizon. We managed to teach some new people last week and we have some more people lined up for this week! I'm not having problems with allergies and hay fever any more so life is looking up! I have realized that I've lived here for more time than without and I'm really liking that. I hope that I stay with Elder Huish next transfer.

Well, I have to go. Sorry for the short e-mail.

Love you,

Elder Page

15 August 2011 - email

So...I really like having an American companion. It's pretty cool understanding all of the jokes he makes and the cultural references to music, movies, and life in general. it's pretty cool. I hope I get to "kill" him (Mission slang for 'be the last companion of') because then I could stay here, but It's not too likely. I'll probably get transferred in the next three weeks to another place. Here in Jenipapo it's a little slow, so I don't really have much news. I have made a new goal for study (since I managed to read the standard works in Portuguese in a year). Now I have to mark every book of scripture (for The Book of Mormon I have a goal to mark a scripture on every page!) before Christmas...we'll see...I have had this really complicated scheme of coloring the topics since I got here, but I didn't start using it until March this year. Now I've already done half of the Old Testament and half of the Book of Mormon with random scattered markings. Well, I have to go, because of the time here, but remember that I love you all!

Elder Page

8 August 2011 - email

Well hello there folks!

My companion got transferred today in the mini-transfer. We got a call at 11:20: "Umm...did we forget to call you and tell you that Elder Xavier got transferred?" Uhhh...YES! He packed his bag at top speed and we got to the transfer's chapel...and waited and waited and waited for our comps to show up (they had given up on us). So now my companion is Elder Huish (an American!). I'm still a district leader but my load got upgraded to two other areas to take care of...yikes! Now, for the first time, I am co-senior (where both companions are seniors) because Elder Huish is going to go home in 10 weeks. It's weird because I remember when he was a fairly new-ish missionary and I passed in an area after he did...I'm getting old in mission time...

Love you!

Elder Page

25 July 2011 - email

Hey there!

I did like how you sent me poems and songs because I sent one. That was kind of cool. I am dying to get that letter from Chelsea Francis and find out where she's going, why do letters sometimes take forever?

Well, I am staying in Jenipapo with Elder Xavier for another transfer, but our companionship has gotten a lot better. We finally talked things out and we are both working on our faults. I really hope to be able to help him prepare to be an excellent missionary, but I've also learned that I can't keep beating myself up when I do everything that I can and he doesn't want to. That is when it depends on his free agency!

Well, all of my good friends got transferred out of the zone, so now I have to make some new ones, that's one of the things that I like about the mission: you are forced to make new friends. If you don't, the two years are going to pass very slowly and sadly.

That family, Moisés and Beth and their daughter Mariana, that I've been visiting since I got here had some rough times this last month. They lost their job and he couldn't get a new one. That is weird because he has WAY more experience then someone his age should have. A ton of other personal things happened (it's weird how much missionaries know sometimes) and he started to go inactive. We found out later that he thought of divorce or suicide while this was happening. After trying and failing I don't know how many times, he finally got a job. The only problem was that all of the money that he had had to go to save their apartment. They had nothing to eat at home and had only eaten bread for three days. [They were also offended by the bishop.] That was the last straw and they cancelled the baptism of their daughter and decided to never set foot in the chapel again and Beth gave us her materials for seminary to give to the bishop.

I was so sad. I just went home depressed. When the other elders got home they asked what had happened and so we told them. One of the elders suggested that we all put some money in an envelope and run over to their apartment and leave it under the door. We did that hoping to help in some small way. We knew that they would know that it was us, but we have been denying it since. The next day they called me over, said that they had uncancelled the baptism of Mari and that they wanted me to baptize her. Beth took back her seminary materials and they both went to church. Both have decided that on a personal level, they won't have anything to do with the bishop, but respect his calling in the church. It was one of the most amazing signs of genuine conversion that I have seen. And my testimony of the power of a little service given has grown immensely.

God then blessed us with seven new investigators in the chapel. I believe that he was testing us to see how we would act.

I love you all!

Elder Page

18 July 2011 - email

It actually felt a little cold this week!

Hey there all you beautiful people...and the people who I usually write...I'm kidding, gosh!

So this week was a lot of rain and it got cold in the mornings! I also forgot to tell you that today we would listen to a seventy! Elder Mazzagarti spoke to us (his accent is really weird: he says R's like R's and not like H's!) and it was really good. He talked a lot about our calling being sent from God and how we need to talk to everyone we see on the street. He said that he found out that he has had every leadership calling from bishop to seventy and he still feels like a new member! He was very dynamic and gave us some homework to study.

Wagner went to church finally and stayed the whole time. He is still really iffy about baptism but at least he's reading the scriptures and praying again. If he keeps doing that, the spirit will touch him and he'll be baptized for sure. We also met a really nice family, I just don't know about their 'real intent' to search for the truth, but we're going to visit them tomorrow.

I have started noticing what makes the difference between the lazy elders, the really uptight ones, and the really good ones: it's all about attitude. The lazy elders think, "How bad can I be without getting in too much trouble?" This attitude leads to disrespect of the leaders, self-righteousness, anger at those who follow the rules, and overall failure in the true purpose of the mission. These elders have a nick name here: GH or "Glória dos Homens" "Glory of Men"

The up-tight elders think, "How good do I have to be?" Which leads to judgemental behavior and pride. These elders have a nick name too: Crentão "Big believer"

And the really good elders think, "I want to be valiant!" Which leads to success and happiness. Now I just have to put that in practice. These elders have a name too: Representatives of Jesus Christ.

Elder Page

11 July 2011

Hey Family,

So this week we met the new President and his wife! It was pretty awesome! She spoke first and she is an amazing person. She is super-animated and their story as a couple is amazing! He is more serious, but I think it's because he's starting and he wants to show that he wants obedience from the missionaries.

Elder Page

27 June 2011 - email

Hey!

So I got some new white shirts today! Wooo! Clothing that fits! Today is my Hump-day (and Mom's birthday; HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) which means that I am going to that Churrascaria again (I remember when it was hard to spell that word!) and this time I'm training, not being trained.

So, for a week we were living (against rules, because of some major lack of communication) in a house with six elders. It was crazy. The elders from Macazeira moved out. Now I'm the only elder that cleans the house and I'm the one that complains the least about how dirty the house is (what?).

We marked Wagner for baptism this Saturday. He's awesome and has already told his mom that he wants to serve a mission.

Not much of interest happened this week because of São João (Saint John - a holiday) and all of the drinking. This holiday is a little weird. First of all it is a festival of the country (like hillbillies/hicks not farmers) and corn...lots of corn. Everyone (even the little kids) dresses up in straw hats old overalls and paints their faces like they´re hicks. Then on top of that for one night everyone lights a ton of fires. When we asked people why they do that and where the tradition came from, a man said, "It's a tradition that comes from many years!" ... Thank you for the definition of 'tradition'! It turns out that it's something about São Pedro being celebrated at the same time and he has the keys to the heavens. They send up the smoke to make it hot so that he'll send rain to cool down...Is it just me or does that sound super-pagan?

Anyway, I don't have much patience for stuff like that. But it explains why our week was sooooo slooooow...

I love you all, and less than six months until I talk to you again on the phone!

Elder Page

20 June 2011 - email

Hey there,

So my companion's name is Elder Xavier. He's from São Paulo and he's pretty excited about the mission. He's going through first-month-trunkiness (most elders pass that), but he wants to do everything. He already knows how to bring the spirit into a lesson. I just have to help him learn the techniques. The new program for training new missionaries is a twelve week program (which makes it likely that I will be here for another three months).

I don't think I told you, but I'm also a District Leader now. Yeah, talk about throwing everything at you at once: New comp, new training method, new trainer, new district leader, new ward mission leader, etc. It's a lot! Thankfully my district is small (me and one other area) and they are hard-working, obedient missionaries.

Well, that pretty much describes this whole week; running up and down with a new missionary showing him everything and trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing. I remember what that was like, needing to trust that your comp knew everything. (Elder Wells was good at that. Two weeks in the area and he pretended pretty good.) New missionaries already have too much to worry about without their trainer showing discomfort or uncertainty.


Elder Page

6 June 2011 - email

Hey yáll,

So we're still working on Camila and Estela's baptisms, but it's come to a near stand-still until Raul does something, so we're working more with other people right now. That left us with very few things to do, so we started trying to get new investigators.

Then almost all of our investigators fell through with every appointment and commitment, so we had to take about 7 people off of the teaching list. I was pretty down in the dumps and Elder Sousa was too. So we decided to fast for the area to progress and that the people would soften their hearts to the message. So we started.

Then out of the blue 10 people went to church! 2 were investigators that went to the wrong chapel, two were Estela and Camila, 3 were investigators that we had given up on, one was Caroline the eternal investigator (AKA "dry Mormon"), and two were relatives of a really active girl whose family we are trying to re-activate.

Then after church we taught and all but marked three new investigators for baptism (they just want to get the answer before mark the date, but they agreed that receiving the answer they will follow!)

I am super happy except for one thing: transfers are coming! One of us will be transferred; I have never heard of two Elders staying as companions for more than 2 transfers, so either I'll stay or he will. I really would like to train, but I am sad to see this time end. One more week! We'll have to use it well!

Elder Page

30 May 2011 - email

Hey there!

So...we had another one of those weeks where at the end I can say that it was the most upliftingly depressing (yeah, that doesn't make sense) of the mission. So we had Estela and Camila marked for baptism and they were excited. Then on Tuesday Estela told us that she didn't want to be baptized; I'm still not 100% sure what it is, but I think it's because she doesn't really have any friends that she knows in the church and is relying on logic rather than praying to know if the church is true. We read through the baptismal interview questions and even she said that she was ready. Then Camila was the most perfectly ready, excited young woman I've ever seen...

Then when we had gotten both to pass the interview and Estela was feeling better about the baptism, the mom and dad got involved. The mom misunderstood that if her daughter gets baptized that she will not be able to visit her on Sunday anymore. (She seems to think that she has to be locked inside all day)

To make a long story short they weren't baptized. We are trying to talk to the parents and clear up the concerns. I have to go now, but I love you all. Bye!

Elder Page

Elder 'Skinny' Page - he has lost some weight (nearly 50 lbs.!)

David with giant Q-tip

Elder Page - after a fall in the mud

23 May 2011 - email

Family! (Oh, and you too.)

So, life is good here. I don't know if I've told you but Elder Meyers (the same Elder from the interior) and his new trainee, Elder Batschi (BAT-chee he's American) moved in with us. Elder Batschi came to the São Paulo CTM from the Provo MTC and then got here in the transfer. Elder Meyers received a call to go to the office with Elder Casuccio and we were told to cancel our appointments and clean the appartment. Reginaldo (the man that takes care of our apartments) showed up and we took out a ton of trash (broken beds and fans) and he brought new stuff.

Anyway we marked (set) another baptism this week. Tamires is a member's neice and she accepted the invitation!

Well, I have to go, but I love you!

Elder Page

16 May 2011 - email

David has missed sending much in his emails for the past month. We talked to him on Mothers Day and he sounds good and is in good health and very happy

Hi family,

So we marked (set) two baptisms on Sunday! There's a really cool member in our ward and he is living with his mom while doing surgery (Raul) and Estela (his mom) and Camila (his niece of 15) have been listening to the discussions. On Sunday they went to church and we talked to them and their baptisms are marked (set) for the 28th! They both said that they were planning on getting baptized when we asked, but the date worried them a little. We will be visiting them soon!

Elder Meyers' companion was transferred (he is my American friend from the interior) and now he's training and living in the same house as us (greenie American, but he speaks really well). My comp has gotten even more determined to learn English because of this.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you (or maybe I did...I don't remember). I've been teaching a physics and English class in the church on Tuesday nights. It's a little weird.

So life goes on and I am starting feel weird because I need to start showing new missionaries what the mission is, but I feel like I'm still learning. I feel like I've been here for about two months, but I'm quickly approaching 11. I don't want it to pass this quickly because there is so much to do!

Anyway, I'm feeling bad because of the lack of letters I've been sending. I need to get better at this. I also have a hard time with my journal, but I'm forcing myself to do that one. (I've heard of too many stories where wives met their husbands reading the missionary journal!).

Keep the faith and give a missionary a referral.

Elder Page

18 April 2011 - email

SO! How is it in sunny Oregon? (adapt this sentence in your head if you're not there, thanks!)

Here it's raining like crazy! Some of the roads here actually turn into rivers! Today was a lot better so we went to the center and wandered around for a while.

This week we did a division with our LZ (Zone Leaders for those of you non-Brazilian missionaries) and my ZL is, guess...YEP! Elder Wells! [Elder Wells was David's 1st companion when he arrived in Recife from the MTC] We had a fairly typical day here (not much more than walking from one fallen appointment to the next) and we stopped to have a long discussion about the area. We prayed and we just started talking. We came up with this:

1. The leadership of the ward doesn't know how to work with missionaries (the area was closed for over a year!), so we need to guide them by the hand.

2. I let my fear of failure control me. I need to focus on the spirit and strive to follow his council and not MY ideas.

3. My comp lets his love of people control him. He needs to let investigators that don't want anything alone.

4. We need to organize and plan better and more rapidly.

To meet all of these we have created a notebook of the area and are filling it with information of all of the leadership and the area (map, contacts, etc). It's going to be awesome!

Funny aside: Here in Pernambuco when people would say "whoops" or "oh-no" in English, they say "Eita bixiga" which translates to (more or less) "Wuh-oh bladder". My comp and I were in an area really far from home and we both needed to use the bathroom so we tried to find a member, but they weren't at home. Another member lives close by so we started walking there and my comp started half-dancing. He said, "I can't stop dancing!" At the same time I stumbled and, without thinking, I said "Eita bixiga!" We both burst out laughing (which just made it worse) because it sounded like I was saying that I didn't need to dance, because - "Wuh-oh bladder!" Trust me, it was really funny.

Elder Page

11 April 2011 - email

HEY Y'ALL!

So I've got good news and awesome news!

Good News:
So I got a call saying that I was transferred. We went to the office and I my comp hadn't gotten there yet, so President interviewed me (my new zone already got interviewed). President told me that I had passed through a few tough companions and he wanted to give me a break.

Great News:
He told me that I would be a senior companion to Elder Sousa (he was in UR-7 when I was in Várzea) one of the coolest new missionaries that I know. He's super obedient, and loves the investigators. I'm in Jenipapo. It's been closed for about a year (with missionaries doing visits like I was in Vàrzea) so the memebers have a ton of referrals and the bishop is super-excited to have missionaries (in 5 days he's visited houses with us two nights and he has two jobs!). There are some amazing people here. A funny thing is that there is a large neighborhood named Côrrego de Jenipapo and several others with the name Côrrego which means literally "creek" but colloquially it means gutter, because many gutters resemble disgusting creeks filled with fecal matter.

My comp is awesome.

Write me letters.

Keep the faith.

Another sentence.

That wasn't a sentence, but a phrase.

I love you all!

Elder Page

21 March 2011 - email

I am still in São Lourenço! I'm still with Elder Lima! We didn't get transferred and new missionaries didn't get transferred here.

I really thought that we'd get more missionaries here (the area is really going great!) Right now we're helping two couples get married and several youths to be baptized.

I found out more about Josanilda this week! She told us that when she was still in spiritualism she went to visit her sister in São Paulo for the first time and the night before she dreamed that she was in the São Paulo airport and no one was there to take her to her sister's house. She began to get nervous and worried about where she should go, or what she should do. Suddenly two  tall men dressed completely in white walked up to her and one asked if she would like to go to her sister's house. She said, "Yes, but I don't know the way." The man told her not to worry, that they would guide her. When she got to her sister's house she woke up. And she said that when she got to São Paulo (she had never seen anything there before) her sister was there and as they walked to her sister's house, she recognized all of the streets. She felt a peace that told her that God would take care of her. Then her sister invited her to visit the church on Sunday. She went and the lesson was about eternal families. This was something that no other church teaches and that she had secretly desired for years and years. From this moment she began to separate from spiritualism, but it took her a year to visit the church again. She decided that she would go to church again and she had a dream again. This time her aunt who was very sick died and she had to tell her aunt that it was her time, but that she (Josanilda) had work to do in this life. She felt strongly that she had to go visit the church of her sister again. She went there and met us (two men dressed in white shirts that reminded her of the dream in São Paulo) and she heard again the same lesson about eternal families that she had heard last year. She decided instantly that she would be baptized, she just waited until she felt that she was prepared. I am so happy to have been a part of that process. Now her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend are getting ready!

You know how everyone at home says that cold weather causes colds? Well here it's HOT weather! I don't know what to do with all of the superstitions I've heard by now. I guess I should just hole up in my house and curl up into the fetal position. All this time I just thought sickness was caused by bacteria!

Elder Page.

14 March 2011 - email

I found myself getting a new comp on Monday: Elder Lima! He knows the area and he's a hard worker. I think that this is going to be a good time here!

Josanilda got baptized! It was amazing! She was calm, and when I lowered her into the water she was so serene. She also got up in front with no prompting and bore her testimony while crying and looking directly into my eyes the whole time. We had to call president about her baptism and he told us that she was exactly his 7000th baptism! He was excited because we've been writing to him about her and calling him about her. Her daughter is exactly where her mom was a week and a half ago; she wants to be baptized, but "something's missing" (IE: deciding to be baptized). They are a family that I'll never forget. Her husband came too! And we're going to try to work with her daughter's boyfriend now. They are all such wonderful people that it's hard to not hug Josanilda!

I think that president is going to split the area here in two and send two more missionaries (Lima as senior of one duo, and me of the other) by the way he was talking in the interview. I am really happy now and I really can't wait to meet more people like Josanilda. Help the missionaries. And if you're not a member and you're reading this, give a moment's thought to listening to their message. Think of a skinny, brown David Page working in the hot Brazilian sun if that helps you. [David said that he gained some weight in the MTC, but has lost ~50 lbs since!]

Stay strong,
Elder Page

28 February 2011 - email

Hey there!

I hate carnival.

Just thought I'd get that out. It hasn't even started yet and I've already seen evidence of every one of the ten commandments being broken in public in the same place. What's even more ridiculous is that it's considered preparation for holy week. It's like a set of mathematical equations:

• Holy Week = No sin for a week.
• Carnival = Sin of a week and a half piled into half of a week.
• Carnival + Holy Week = Week and a half of time = Week and a half of sin

Carnival is from two words meaning "Festival of the flesh"! And to make things worse, the city center is close to our house!

Other than that, a lot of good is happening here:

We baptized three cousins on Saturday. Mateus (10), Laiane (11), and Laiz (12) are excited to go to church, but a little shy. The youth here have an encampment that they do here during Carnival so the girls were invited (Mateus is too young). It's kind of like EFY, but planned to cover the time of Carnival. There's no such thing as Boy Scouts here and it's easy to see that the lack of that program has taken it's toll; almost no young men are preparing for missions. I am becoming more and more appreciative of the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouting program prepares young men for the mission and later life.

Elder Pajé (yeah I found out that the real word is with 'j' and not 'g', but almost no one knows that!)

21 February 2011 - email

I'm serving in São Laurenço da Mata. It's huge! And it is amost ready to split into two wards. All we have to do is fully activate the "I go to church 1 Sunday of 3" people!

I've been reading the Old Testament with a lot of help from the bible dictionary and the intensity of the symbolism in the sacrifices in Leviticus is amazing! Last time I read this book, I wasn't paying attention and I didn't quite understand that different parts of the animals were used in different parts of the sacrifice. The blood, as a symbol of life's power, was spilt, sprinkled, or placed (pay attention to when each action is done). The fat a symbol of richness was offered to the lord along with the kidneys and the caul above the liver (what is a caul? please e-mail me if you know!). The shoulder or breast (the best meat) was sometimes burned, sometimes eaten by the high priest (D&C 1:38 anyone? It is "by the mouth of [his] servants"!) I still get confused by some parts of Genesis, so if anyone has insights, help me: Angels having babies with women? Giants? Noah got drunk? The whole 'trick' with the birthright of Jacob? And did Joseph really not harbor anything (his brothers traveled like 4 times from Canaan to Egypt and back!).

In the Book of Mormon, I've been studying the attributes of Captain Moroni (for my Armor of God book!). Really cool! Take each thing that is said about him and use the Topical Guide and Index to find more!

Elder Page

8 February 2011 - email

Hey Family! Oh, and friends who are reading this. And people who I don't really know that well but know my family members and for some reason feel thus obligated to read the scrambled ramblings of a scattered 19-year-old teaching Brazilians the truth. Hmmm...I think that's everyone.

 

So there's some weird Brazilian traditions and superstitions that I don't think I've written about, and since it's been really slow this week, I'll catch up some lost time.

 

WATER:

 

So here it's a superstition that cold water makes you sick. Drink it. Bathe in it. Touch it. Look at it. Any of these things can cause you to get the flu or "pass bad" (Brazilian for really bad diarrhea. Sorry, I decided to be frank). I'm not sure how many times I've drunk warm water here, but I've realized that its worse than hot water. No wonder God spews lukewarm people from out of his mouth!

 

On the other hand I had a comp (Trindade) who told me that drinking warm water or hot water was bad for your intestines. Hmmm, so all of the studies saying that it helps are wrong. And can you explain why you drink chimarrão (a very bitter, very hot tea)...

 

BODY AND FOOD:

 

"I was really active and did a lot of sports when I was younger and that cleans out your pores, so I think that's why I don't have body hair!" ... ... WAIT! Hair comes from clogged pores! Does that mean that zits are genetic?

 

The 'gum stays in your stomach for 20 years and gives you cancer' thing is also pretty big here. Makes no sense, but sure. You'd die of clogged colon long before dying of cancer, but sure, it's true.

 

So almost everyone here loves farofa. They like to put it in their beans and rice, on their meat, salad, etc. What exactly is farofa? FLOUR. DEEP. FRIED. FLOUR! Sometimes it's mixed with vegetables and little bits of meat so I can see it being used. But sometimes they just put flour. Just flour!

 

 

Well, that's all for now!

 

Elder Page

14 February 2011 - email

Várzea closed! It was frustrating because we we're receiving referrals and we had two families to teach and baptize!

Now I'm in São Laurenço da Mata (where I went on division my first transfer) with Elder Santos. He's also from Rio Grande do Sul, but he's a lot more friendly and interactive than Trindade. He said that we already have baptisms marked for this weekend! I'm really excited because this is the area that about ten weeks ago baptized 15 people in one week!

Wow. I think someday I'll laugh at this story, but right now it's horrible for me:

Our last day in Várzea we had nothing to do after church. My comp served in the area that's situated on the tops of several hills and valleys close to our area (UR-7) and he wanted to say good bye to some people and explain more about the investigators that we have to the elders there (they'll be helping out in Várzea every once in a while).

When we finished that it was about 8:30ish so we went to a member's house that is in front of the bus terminal and talked to them while we waited. Before we realized it, it was 9:50 and my comp had to talk with the LZ's. A member came running up to us and told us that the buses were stopped because there was a pre-carnival party in the streets; they were only going to a different stop and turning around. We walked to the stop and right after we got there it started pouring like none other. We waited forever, but the buses were only going up, not down and our phone stops working after 10:30. Finally we picked up a bus and went to a member's house to get dry and wait for the buses to start again at four am. I couldn't sleep, trying to figure out if there was something I could have done differently and stood at the window staring at the rain for hours. At 4 I woke up my comp and, after a lot of convincing, we left and got the bus. When we got home (4:25ish) we were drenched (the bus doesn't stop very close to our house and the streets were flooding) and none of our things were packed and the house was a mess. I took a shower (cold, because the hot water scalds in this house), packed my things and packed up a load of garbage. The only things left unpacked were my bed sheets. Then when we went to leave a member came up to us and said, "I paid for this taxi for you!" which was really cool, but ended up that the buses were running fast now and normal traffic was slow. So we showed up late for the transfer...again...

Now I'm here and I'm really tired, so tchau!

Elder Page

31 January 2011 - email

Things are really starting to look up here; we've got a heap of new investigators, the bishop talked about home teaching for fifth Sunday, and the interview with President was awesome!

First the investigators: We received a ton of references (referrals) from the same family, and they are some cool people. A family! A FAMILY! They seem pretty cool, but I think it could be a little slow at first with them, but it'll pick up speed.
We're also teaching an inactive member's girlfriend; she went to church, but she's scared to receive an answer that will change her life. We're trying to help her understand that answers from God aren't anything to fear.

In the interview with President he said that he's worried about the number of children getting baptized and the low number of men and families. He offered to help us teach Jane (JAW-nee, not JAYN) Hélio's wife, so that she'll get married and he can get baptized. He also warned us to not baptize anyone under the age of 12 before calling him.
In the personal interview he told me that he's been thinking about making me financial secretary. I don't know if I told you this, but just about every missionary since the CTM has told me that I'll be the financial secretary. I couldn't help it; I started laughing when he asked me if that would be alright with me. I then had to explain why I was laughing. It was good. He told me that maybe I'd return to Boa Vista (Apparently Elder Lima, my ZL (Zone Leader) from there wants to return and end his mission there with me!) and then I'd get put as the secretary.
He's not sure if it'll happen while he's still President or with the new one, so it's not certain whether it'll happen or not. It was weird; I thought we'd talk more about how I was doing in my study or something, but it was just "This is my plan for you. What do you think..."

I've been thinking that if people put the same effort into understanding the rest of the New Testament that they put into Revelation, they'd see exactly where the truth is. Revelation isn't meant to be understood perfectly until it happens (at least that's the way it looks to me). But the doctrine is very clear in the rest of the New Testament. I wish every investigator would read 1 Corinthians and Hebrews. They are both clear and powerful: We are children of God, we are born to learn the gospel and live it, we die, we are resurrected, we inherit a kingdom of glory, and the authority of God is given (not earned). I have come to love a scripture in Jarom that explains the purpose of scripture (Jar 1:2). Also reading about the conversion of King Lamoni and his father thinking, "What did the missionaries teach knowing that if they taught the wrong thing they'd be cast out or killed¿" (Sorry this computer doesn't have a question mark, but I found out how to make the upside down one...)

I hope all is well there. Here it's great!

Elder Page

24 January 2011 - email

So this week was cool. We baptized Lúcio. He's the son of some inactive members we helped activate. The only sad thing was that his dad didn't feel totally ready to baptize his son (he feels that he has some real repenting to do). But Lúcio said that he'd rather be baptized now than wait for his dad to prepare. His dad was a little sad I guess but it looked like he took it well. Elder Marcos Jr baptized him and Lúcio started to cry. He said that he felt something strong when he entered the water. Later we went to his grandma's house (she's not a member) and she started to sob uncontrollably. She just kept saying over and over, "É as coisas que eles trazem. As coisas que eles têm" (It's the things they bring. The things they have.) I felt my testimony grow, because she's blind; she couldn't even see us but she felt the spirit so strongly that she couldn't help but cry. The only thing impeding her baptism is that she's incapable of deciding because she has some mental deficiency and falls under the 'innocent as a little child' category.

Also four people showed up in the church and they just appeared out of thin air! An inactive man brought his non member girlfriend and one of the young men preparing for his mission brought two friends to church.

We met with the girlfriend after church and the spirit was very strong. In her prayer she asked God to give her curiosity and the answers to continue investigating this church that is "so different than hers". Then she said that the church was much more explained than hers; I think that means that it makes more sense to her. All four of us were trying not to cry by the end of the prayer and she said, "Well, I tried". TRIED! It was one of the most beautiful prayers I've ever heard!

Life is good here. I'm studying the New testament right now and the more that I read the more I understand that the whole conflict of grace v. works only arose because people stopped reading all of the Epistles together. When you read them like this, it's easy to see how the instruction changes depending on the problems of the person. Problems arise when we try to just read one epistle over and over or even just one verse. Grace is attained, in some degree, without any effort at all. To gain it's full effect, we need to have our hearts turned completely to Christ. It is impossible to do this without following his commandments, including baptism by someone who has authority. God does not just fill in the gaps; he builds the entire bridge, but we need to cross it. Read 2 Corinthians and Galatians together (they're both fairly short) and you'll already see the difference in tone that I'm talking about.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Elder Page

17 January 2011 - email

Hey family!
So, I found out that this ward has more that 800 inactive members! Do your home and visiting teaching people! That's almost 90% inactivity! It's really hard to be motivated as a missionary to find and baptize people when the ward is cold (not open and friendly or helpful). Please, don't let your wards turn into this. So much power of missionary work is in the hands of members; don't slacken! Look for referrals to give. Go on divisions with the missionaries. Be warm in church to anyone you don't recognize. And most of all: DO YOUR HOME AND VISIT TEACHING!!!

We met an inactive family this week. They are inactive because of the three things a new member needs (if you don't know what they are, feel bad and look it up!) 1 and 2 are lacking. She is returning to church just because she wants her family to have 3. It looks like the dad will baptize the son this week.

I don't have much time to write.
I love you,
Elder Page

PWoL: Tartaruga - Turtle

3 January 2011 - email

Hey family!

So, I got transferred again. I'm with Elder Marcos Jr. (who just changed which name is on his name tag, so everyone calls him Santos Jr.) in Várzea. I don't know any details yet, so that'll have to wait. It's really hot here. I really got used to the interior and the cold nights. At least there's only about a transfer left of High Summer.

So last week was a week of miracles.

1. I decided not to buy food on P-Day. I'm not totally sure why, but I didn't buy any. Then the energy in the house went out (because the person in charge of emailing a photo of the bills to the office forgot) and hadn't come back by the time that I left the apartment.

2. On Thursday we were looking for a teenage boy that we taught on the street. The directions to find his house were really vague but I thought that I knew where the house was. A house across the street from the gas station with the second floor under construction. We went there and the only person at home was a man of 20 named Eliton. He invited us in and told us that he didn't know the young man we were looking for, but that he wanted to hear more. We taught him the Restoration and when we left him with the invitation to read and pray, he asked about baptism before we could! He said that he had prayed and asked God for guidance an then we had showed up at his door! He did a lot of things wrong in his life, but he has truly repented. The only thing missing is baptism! He will be baptized on Saturday, but I'm not there.

3. Aurora (will write more next time) decided to be baptized!

4. I got a new comp!

I love you all so much!

Elder Page