Well this has been a great week. We had some cool things this week. First, we had a christmas devotional with President Lanius. All of the zones had 1 person speak, then everybody sang a song. It was really cool. The spirit was strong. And i only messed up on the piano 1 time.... oops. But afterwards we had lunch... Wow... It was the thanksgiving meal that i had missed... turkey out the wahzoo.... They even had gravy!! I didn't even know that existed here!
So, have I told you guys about ...... and .......? They´re a couple we´ve been teaching for some time now. They know the Book of MOrmon is true, but he was just looking for the "certainty" that it was really true. Well anyways, we fasted that they could recognize its true. And yesterday they came to church!! Their baptism is marked for this Saturday... I´m dreaming of a white Christmas... haha. Its going to be soooooo great. I love you all. Have a merry christmas. I love ya
Elder Tracy
Monday, December 19, 2011
December 12, 2011 Letter
Ya, so the woman i told you about, She´s great. We´ve really been focusing on her. But this week we had two experiences with her. First it turns out that she´s not married... But she´s getting married in February... I´ve never been so dissapointed to find out that someone´s going to get married!! Why cant the people we teach already be married? Wouldn't that be easier?... But, she´s great. We also taught the Word of Wisdom. It just so happened that that day she was having a headache... and a lesson about a law of health, and how she could be healthier and happier was just what she needed... Interesting how things turn out perfectly....
We also are teaching a boy named ...... He´s 10 years old... He doesn't know how to read, but he´s a great kid. He lives in Nova Goiana, an area really far away(which by the way we go to everyday). But he comes to church alone... He comes to activities during the week. And yesterday was stake conference, the bus to go the stake center left at 7:30, and he woke up way early to go. He´s great. I think we´ll have his baptism this weekend. Wish us luck.
Ya, stake conference. President Eyring was there! And Elder Cook! haha it was a satelite transmission... But it was cool. President Eyring is funny... At the beginning there was an Elder from the Quorum of the 70 speaking in Portuguese.. Presidente Eyring just had this look of amazement... haha It was great.
Haha, Utah sucks at basketball.... Merry Christmas to me!!! hahaha
I love you all. Have a great week. Remember, the church is true.
Elder Tracy
We also are teaching a boy named ...... He´s 10 years old... He doesn't know how to read, but he´s a great kid. He lives in Nova Goiana, an area really far away(which by the way we go to everyday). But he comes to church alone... He comes to activities during the week. And yesterday was stake conference, the bus to go the stake center left at 7:30, and he woke up way early to go. He´s great. I think we´ll have his baptism this weekend. Wish us luck.
Ya, stake conference. President Eyring was there! And Elder Cook! haha it was a satelite transmission... But it was cool. President Eyring is funny... At the beginning there was an Elder from the Quorum of the 70 speaking in Portuguese.. Presidente Eyring just had this look of amazement... haha It was great.
Haha, Utah sucks at basketball.... Merry Christmas to me!!! hahaha
I love you all. Have a great week. Remember, the church is true.
Elder Tracy
December 5, 2011 Letter
Well, another week come and gone... This week was great.
So, this week was good. Elder Barbosa is training now... His companion is Elder Linton. He´s from Mona... Close to Nephi... Turns out he knows Jacob Howell... Weird huh? There are 7 billion people on this planet... It´s just crazy how small the world is, and how many people we know...
So, investigators... We taught a woman named .... She´s a stud! She knows the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet... She just didnt want to mark her baptism till after she went to church... and guess what?! She went to church yesterday!! And loved it!! So now we just go there, mark it, then do it. BAM! It´s going to be great! We´re also going to work with her husband... He "goes" to Assembleia de Deus... (By the way, do you guys know of a church in the US called Assembly of God, or something??? Because I cant think of any.. then again Im not that familiar with other religions...)
Other good news, yesterday we had 7 people at church!!!!!! It was sweet! We´re really going to work with these people this week because they´re the ones putting forth the effort to know... So, they´re ready!! Yes!!
We had an interview with President Lanius on Friday. It was great. I love him so much. He shows so much concern and love. You can really tell that he wants the best for us. Especially his hugs... My goodness... Its the best hug ever! Maybe its because i cant hug many people... But his hugs just show so much love and concern. Their great.
Well thats about it. I want you all to know that we need to be happy. We have the true gospel of Jesus Christ!! Lets help everyone else know the same thing!!! Dont worry, about a thing... Because every little thing, is gonna be alright... Because we have Jesus Christ!!!
I love you all. Elder Tracy
So, this week was good. Elder Barbosa is training now... His companion is Elder Linton. He´s from Mona... Close to Nephi... Turns out he knows Jacob Howell... Weird huh? There are 7 billion people on this planet... It´s just crazy how small the world is, and how many people we know...
So, investigators... We taught a woman named .... She´s a stud! She knows the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet... She just didnt want to mark her baptism till after she went to church... and guess what?! She went to church yesterday!! And loved it!! So now we just go there, mark it, then do it. BAM! It´s going to be great! We´re also going to work with her husband... He "goes" to Assembleia de Deus... (By the way, do you guys know of a church in the US called Assembly of God, or something??? Because I cant think of any.. then again Im not that familiar with other religions...)
Other good news, yesterday we had 7 people at church!!!!!! It was sweet! We´re really going to work with these people this week because they´re the ones putting forth the effort to know... So, they´re ready!! Yes!!
We had an interview with President Lanius on Friday. It was great. I love him so much. He shows so much concern and love. You can really tell that he wants the best for us. Especially his hugs... My goodness... Its the best hug ever! Maybe its because i cant hug many people... But his hugs just show so much love and concern. Their great.
Well thats about it. I want you all to know that we need to be happy. We have the true gospel of Jesus Christ!! Lets help everyone else know the same thing!!! Dont worry, about a thing... Because every little thing, is gonna be alright... Because we have Jesus Christ!!!
I love you all. Elder Tracy
November 28, 2011 Letter
So guys, how is everyone? This week was good for us... Kinda.. It´s really tough. We don't really have any strong investigators... Those we did have are really starting to show that they aren't interested... So that's been kinda rough...
But the good news... We found a woman who is pretty interested... She read, she just forgets to pray... But, she will. We´re going to have a family night with her tonight. That should be great.
We also found a woman carrying some buckets of water.. We helped her and then she invited us to talk with her. She´s really interested. She´s going to come to church next week...
That's about it. Goiana is going... slowly, but going for sure. Love you all. Elder Tracy
But the good news... We found a woman who is pretty interested... She read, she just forgets to pray... But, she will. We´re going to have a family night with her tonight. That should be great.
We also found a woman carrying some buckets of water.. We helped her and then she invited us to talk with her. She´s really interested. She´s going to come to church next week...
That's about it. Goiana is going... slowly, but going for sure. Love you all. Elder Tracy
November 21, 2011 Letter
Well hey guys, I had a good week. Nothing really exciting happened other than Zone Conference. It was great. President Lanius was great. I know he´s inspired because he talked about what i was needing. It was really great. Yesterday we went to the branch choir it was good to sing with everyone... Things are going great here. Love you all. Elder Tracy
November 14, 2011 Letter
Hey guys,
This last week was pretty good. Our ´invetigators´ are kinda slow, but we´re working hard. But, this last week something really cool happened. So, we´re kinda low on funds and we had to do a course online. But if we did we wouldn't have enough money to go to district meeting this week. But we decided to do it and have faith that we´d get there somehow. So we did. Did the course and went to lunch. Lunch turned out to be money.... They gave us 40 Reais, which is double of what we usually get.... But it gave us the opportunity to eat and save money for the passage to district meeting.. It was really an answer to our prayers. I know that the Lord answers our prayers, even if its something simple. I know He´s there listening and wanting to help. We just have to do our part and ask. It was great.
I hope you all know that I love you. Have a great week, and make good choices... haha
-
This last week was pretty good. Our ´invetigators´ are kinda slow, but we´re working hard. But, this last week something really cool happened. So, we´re kinda low on funds and we had to do a course online. But if we did we wouldn't have enough money to go to district meeting this week. But we decided to do it and have faith that we´d get there somehow. So we did. Did the course and went to lunch. Lunch turned out to be money.... They gave us 40 Reais, which is double of what we usually get.... But it gave us the opportunity to eat and save money for the passage to district meeting.. It was really an answer to our prayers. I know that the Lord answers our prayers, even if its something simple. I know He´s there listening and wanting to help. We just have to do our part and ask. It was great.
I hope you all know that I love you. Have a great week, and make good choices... haha
-
November 7, 2011 Letter
Hello,
So this week was really good. On Tuesday we received the challenge to baptize this week. President Lanius said that there were people in every area that were ready to be baptized. So, this week we focused on just that. We currently have nobody in our teaching group that could be baptized, so we started looking for former investigators. We asked members, looked through the area book... everything. We had a really cool experience. We had a list of people that we could visit. So, we said a prayer and asked for help. After, we both felt good about the same person. So we went there. There there is an amazing family... They are super friendly, loving, have testimonies of the book of mormon... Everything... almost. There was a problem with some of the members.... But, we both know that the Lord sent us there for a reason. Maybe it didnt end in baptism this week, but Heavenly Father knows whats best for us...
Also, yesterday we had the chance to follow the spirit again. We were walking to talk with one of the stake counselors. But, i felt like going to a house of one of our investigators... So, I did so, rather suddenly. Elder L. Ribeiro even said, `wow, what are you doing?` But we got there and started teaching her. Asking her questions and such. At the end she accepted to read the Book of Mormon and pray. She told us that she knew we were sent from God, because we taught with love while others teach with fear. She said she really appreciated the care and concern we have for her son. She told us the way to a mothers heart is through her children. And she knew that we were really there to help her. It was just a really cool experience. A great moment to realize the important of following the spirit always. To always be a disciple of Christ, because people are paying attention. It was cool.
This week was really good. I´m doing great and I hope you all are too. Love you all.
Elder Tracy
So this week was really good. On Tuesday we received the challenge to baptize this week. President Lanius said that there were people in every area that were ready to be baptized. So, this week we focused on just that. We currently have nobody in our teaching group that could be baptized, so we started looking for former investigators. We asked members, looked through the area book... everything. We had a really cool experience. We had a list of people that we could visit. So, we said a prayer and asked for help. After, we both felt good about the same person. So we went there. There there is an amazing family... They are super friendly, loving, have testimonies of the book of mormon... Everything... almost. There was a problem with some of the members.... But, we both know that the Lord sent us there for a reason. Maybe it didnt end in baptism this week, but Heavenly Father knows whats best for us...
Also, yesterday we had the chance to follow the spirit again. We were walking to talk with one of the stake counselors. But, i felt like going to a house of one of our investigators... So, I did so, rather suddenly. Elder L. Ribeiro even said, `wow, what are you doing?` But we got there and started teaching her. Asking her questions and such. At the end she accepted to read the Book of Mormon and pray. She told us that she knew we were sent from God, because we taught with love while others teach with fear. She said she really appreciated the care and concern we have for her son. She told us the way to a mothers heart is through her children. And she knew that we were really there to help her. It was just a really cool experience. A great moment to realize the important of following the spirit always. To always be a disciple of Christ, because people are paying attention. It was cool.
This week was really good. I´m doing great and I hope you all are too. Love you all.
Elder Tracy
October 31, 2011 Letter
Well, this week was the complete opposite of last week... Last week was full of miracles, faith, and baptism... this week not so much... We worked so hard, walked so much, and taught almost nothing... I dont know what it is was, or is... We´re working, trying, praying, but having very little success.. It´s been a hard week...
But it´s made me think a lot. Life isnt easy, especially on the mission. Some times it´s really hard. Even in the Book of Mormon, there are many examples of prophets who were afflicted because of the people... I feel that way right now. We´re working hard, doing all we can, but Im pretty weighed down in afflictions... But, I know life isnt going to be happy and easy all the time, even if we are doing what´s right. But when we do what´s right we qualify ourselves for that "never-ending happiness". And that´s what´s important. Maybe we´ll have times in life that are less happy than others, but while we endure to the end, we can live happily ever after.
But, just one experience to show a little of our trials... We found a woman, who accepted to be baptized on my birthday.(yay!) But we went back 2 days later, and she told us that "her" pastor talked with her and said she couldnt get baptized in our church because her name was already in that church... hmmm.... How is her name in that church if she´s never been baptized? And who is he to take away her agency, Satan?... But, things were just this way this week. It´s been tough, but we´ll get through it. We´ll come out of this stronger and more faithful.
Happy Halloween! I love you all.
But it´s made me think a lot. Life isnt easy, especially on the mission. Some times it´s really hard. Even in the Book of Mormon, there are many examples of prophets who were afflicted because of the people... I feel that way right now. We´re working hard, doing all we can, but Im pretty weighed down in afflictions... But, I know life isnt going to be happy and easy all the time, even if we are doing what´s right. But when we do what´s right we qualify ourselves for that "never-ending happiness". And that´s what´s important. Maybe we´ll have times in life that are less happy than others, but while we endure to the end, we can live happily ever after.
But, just one experience to show a little of our trials... We found a woman, who accepted to be baptized on my birthday.(yay!) But we went back 2 days later, and she told us that "her" pastor talked with her and said she couldnt get baptized in our church because her name was already in that church... hmmm.... How is her name in that church if she´s never been baptized? And who is he to take away her agency, Satan?... But, things were just this way this week. It´s been tough, but we´ll get through it. We´ll come out of this stronger and more faithful.
Happy Halloween! I love you all.
October 24, 2011 Letter
Well,
This week has been great. Training has been a new experience, but its really helping me grow a lot. His name is Elder L.(Lucas) Ribeiro. He´s from Curitiba, the same stake as President Lanius. He´s a great Elder, who´s willing to follow all the rules and always do what we should do.
This week we had an amazing experience. When he got here I was thinking of who we could baptize this week. President Lanius told us we need to baptize every week. It´s a steep goal, but not impossible. But we only had one man at church last week, ...... So, we decided to fast and pray for him. So we did. It turned out really good. The next day we went to his house and he was so happy! He told us that his day had been amazing! Everything was just going good for him. So we took that opportunity and invited him to be baptized. He said Yes! It was amazing! We´ve spent the week talking a lot with him, and yesterday was his baptism. He´s a great man, who I really think will stay strong in the church. But, the lesson I learned is the power of faith and prayer and fasting. There´s a scripture, Matt. 19, that talks about how things are impossible with men, but with God, all things are possible. It´s so true. Everything. All we need to do is have faith and turn to Him, put our trust in Him, and He´ll take care of the rest.
But this week has been great. I love training. It´s really helping me become a better missionary and a better person. Im learning a lot everyday. Sometimes I feel like Im being trained over again. Someone with the energy and spirit of a new missionary. It´s really motivating to be a better person. I love the mission. It´s amazing. I love you all, I´ll talk to you next week.
This week has been great. Training has been a new experience, but its really helping me grow a lot. His name is Elder L.(Lucas) Ribeiro. He´s from Curitiba, the same stake as President Lanius. He´s a great Elder, who´s willing to follow all the rules and always do what we should do.
This week we had an amazing experience. When he got here I was thinking of who we could baptize this week. President Lanius told us we need to baptize every week. It´s a steep goal, but not impossible. But we only had one man at church last week, ...... So, we decided to fast and pray for him. So we did. It turned out really good. The next day we went to his house and he was so happy! He told us that his day had been amazing! Everything was just going good for him. So we took that opportunity and invited him to be baptized. He said Yes! It was amazing! We´ve spent the week talking a lot with him, and yesterday was his baptism. He´s a great man, who I really think will stay strong in the church. But, the lesson I learned is the power of faith and prayer and fasting. There´s a scripture, Matt. 19, that talks about how things are impossible with men, but with God, all things are possible. It´s so true. Everything. All we need to do is have faith and turn to Him, put our trust in Him, and He´ll take care of the rest.
But this week has been great. I love training. It´s really helping me become a better missionary and a better person. Im learning a lot everyday. Sometimes I feel like Im being trained over again. Someone with the energy and spirit of a new missionary. It´s really motivating to be a better person. I love the mission. It´s amazing. I love you all, I´ll talk to you next week.
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