Aug 11th

Family plus one, (in a few hours)

Thats pretty exciting! Im talking with Jordan right now(email). Thats way exciting! I am praying for the health of Brooklyn and that it will be a happy day for all!

This week was a quick one and super rushed and tired. Saturday we worked for nearly 12 hours. We left the house early in the morning to go to another area and do a BLITZ.We had the list of the members divided up and we went around and looked who had moved and who was still active. It was pretty fun. We left when it was cool out so I didn't think to put sunblock on. When I got to the end of the day we were all super sunburnt. But it was still a fun day. Saturday we had 3 baptisms. It was pretty neat baptism. The water from the church ran out about half way through in filling the font so it was harder to baptize, but that didn't stop things. That lady that was praying for angels and we showed up...  was baptized this weekend. A lot of people told her that the Church was bad this week, but she didn't let that ruin her faith.  

I am glad to hear that you are doing that missionary class! It is so awesome to work here because the members are so excited to work also. They are always inviting and bringing friends to church. Anytime we want to bring a member on a visit, we just call and they come right away to help. This is a good lesson. If you want the missionaries to love that area, you need to help! Dont forget that we have the greatest and most important message in all the world. 

This week we talked to a woman that has been in the church with her 2 daughters for about 8 years now. She said that when she was baptized they wanted to have the missionaries over to eat. But she didn't have money. She still put her name on the calendar and hoped that by then, the Lord would bless her with money to buy food to make for the missionaries. 30 days passed by and she still didn't have money or food to give to them. So she went to the cell phone store and sold her phone so that she could make a nice meal. The money from the cell phone was enough to buy a lot of really good food! It was a special meal for the missionaries. She put her name on the calendar again for that next month because it felt so good to help the missionaries out. The 30 days passed and she didn't have money so she sold the iron and ironing board to feed the missionaries. Another month came by and she didn't know what to sell next then she got a call from a man saying that he deposited $600 reais in her account and that she was called in to work for a job she had been waiting for for 6 months. It is neat how the Lord does bless us! At times it is right away, at times it will be a little longer. But she said that in that tough time she was able to grow closer to the gospel and build her faith in Jesus Christ. 

I got your card this week! Thank you very much! I am not worried about that package. It is a good thing that you didn't send it because if it is too heavy, they will hold it in the post office till I come get it. If that happens, they charge a lot for me to take it. And if no one picks it up, they send it back. So they said that if you do send stuff send it in more than one package. They also said that if you tape a picture of Christ on the box it is more likely to pass through customs without problems.... not sure why. 

I hope you are all doing great! I am way excited to hear about the baby! I will log off a bit early today so that I can log in later this afternoon and see the pictures of the baby. 

President passed the transfers to us in the zone meeting this week and said that we will stay here. Also our branch will divide and another branch will be created. (called monte sião) (mount zion) Perfect name for a branch! 

That will be exciting about the temple grounds. Take lots of pictures! How is the fort collins temple going?

Have a super awesome week at girls camp, with the baby, and all your other activities. 

Love you lots! 

Elder Wild

Aug 4, 2014

hey family!

This week was pretty cool! We have been working super hard and finding a lot of people. We challenged a family to get married so that they can be baptized this week. This week they will receive new birth certificates and they will go get married! they are a really neat family. Also that lady that we found the other week that was praying and we knocked on her door will get baptized this week! She excepted super fast! It is all because the members are so good and they are always so welcoming to the investigators. They get them excited and give them the desire to come back every week. 

That one class that you are taking is going to happen in our branch too! I am way excited for it! It will be super good for the members! 

Transfers are not for another 2 weeks. But these days will pass by super fast! I hope that I stay! My companion too. But at times the Lord has better things for us. But I really like it here! Definitely the best area that I have passed through. The people are good, the members are really good, and everyone is always willing to help. The branch President is also super awesome! He is super motivated and he is a great leader! 

This week I learned how important seminary is! The branch president showed us why it is so important to go to seminary every day. He said, sunday there is church, monday, family home evening (no seminary because it is at night), tuesday through friday is seminary, saturday is mutual, and sunday is church again. It is neat how the church gives the youth something to do every single day to keep the youth safe. 

Also this week I learned why a stake is called a stake. I dont know if it is just a theory or real but it is pretty cool. The Branch President asked us why does there need to be 5 wards to make a stake? He said it was because when they hung Christ on the cross there were two in each hand, and one in the feet to secure Christ to the cross. So there were 5 stakes to secure Christ so that he would not fall. There needs to be at least 5 wards so that the stake will be strong and not fall too! Pretty neat huh?

This week I read Genesis and learned about the 12 tribes and all that. It is super interesting to read the old testament. It helps me explain the doctrines better when I am teaching. A lot of people here will quote verses in the Bible that don't exist. They say they hear their pastor say them all the time. hahaha

Well I hope that all goes well! I am always praying for you all! Keep reading and studying a lot! That is the best thing that we can do! 

I love you all! I hope and pray that this week will be better! 

Even when times are tough, look at the eternal prospective. Elder Buche said: In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take. 

This talk talks about how we can unleash our dormant Spirit. This should be our greatest desire. To have the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit. We we have this constant companionship we will be guided through our challenges and they will make us stronger. If we complain, we only make things worse. To have good times, there has to be bad times too. 2 nephi 2:13-15. 

Have a super week!

Elder Wild

July27th, 2014

Família! 

This week was super good! But super cold! hahaha I thought that the cold would never come! It was raining a lot and the temp. was super low! But it was a nice change. It was funny we would go to teach people and they would be all cuddled up in their biggest blankets with just their faces showing. It is pretty funny! For the baptism this week we boiled some water and mixed it in with the water that was in the baptism font. I dont think it made too much of a difference. 

This week we were really focused on how we can better follow the Spirit. We did the usual routine of praying were to knock doors and we did that. When we got to the road we didn't have any luck. But I knew that there was at least someone on that street that would let us in and accept our invitations. When we got to a door we almost just moved on but got that feeling like we should knock anyway. We knocked the door and a woman came to the door. We told her that we were missionaries of the ........ and that we had a message really special that we wanted to share with her. Then she said like what? We talked a little about prophets and apostles.... Then she asked What do I need to be saved? Then we started to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She started getting teary eyed and said that the exact moment we knocked on her door she was praying to God to send her angels to show her the way. We didn't know if we should cry with her or starting screaming in excitement! It was really awesome! She is super smart in the scriptures. She sleeps about 1 hour every day and so she studies A LOT! The good thing is that this is the true Church so there is nothing to hide or to be worry about! With only one week knowing her there is already many awesome stories! 

This sunday all the classes and meetings were perfect for her! She really loved it! The talks were nearly directly toward her! We will put her on date this week! 

This week we will go to the court house to get a family that we are teaching married. Unfortunately it will be 20 days of process time. And all the papers have to be perfect. If any of the documents are hard to read, they have to have someone mail them to them. Its a rough process, but it will all be worth it! 

wow Hawaii.... That is way awesome! hahaha That will be something that he will remember for the rest of his life! He better take a bunch of pictures. Or at least visit the temple or something! That is way awesome for him! hahaha Looks like I will have to chose my friends wisely when I get home! hahaha 

I am always praying for you and I always feel your prayers and strength! I am so grateful to hear that my family is doing so well and so strong. That is really good for a missionary to hear! Keep it up!

One of the greatest commandments to keep is to endure to the end. If we don't endure to the end it doesn't matter how much we did before we fail, because we failed. We didn't finish. If the worlds fastest runner runs a race and is ahead, but just before the finish line they stop, they wont receive recognition for being in the front during the race. They we receive regrets for not finishing in first! 

Thank you for everything! I  love you all! I am so grateful for such wonderful family and friends! 

Love, 

Elder Wild

July 20th

Thats a pretty awesome video! Thanks for sending that! 

This week was super good! We have been doing lots of work and been working with a lot of families that have been coming to church. We are pushing them to get married so that they can be baptized. Every week we have a ton of investigators in the Church, now we just have to work to get all these investigators coming back! 

We have been working with Diane and her family. They are all pretty awesome! I really like going over to their house and teaching. Their daughter was baptized this weekend and it was really awesome. They will be getting married this weekend and they will be able to be baptized shortly after. I am way excited for it! This week we found out why Diane let us in. It is pretty cool. We prayed about where to knock doors and then when we knocked her door I got the prompting to talk super excited and happy! The other day she said that she was super tired that day and she would not of let us in but because I was excited she knew that it was important. It is pretty awesome to see just listen to the spirit on how I should talk made a huge difference. 

The other baptism this week was from a little brother of our recent convert. It was pretty fun teaching him. Everyday we would have to play a game of hide and go seek for him to listen to us. It was not because he didn't want to be taught but because he thought it was funny! hahaha It was a good baptism! The mom is loving the church. She comes every week. She really wants to get baptized. She justs needs to get married first. They have almost 30 years together but it is difficult to convince the husband to get married. 

This week a missionary from the branch came home. It was super cool to see how happy his family was to see him. Everyone in the branch was super excited. There was a big party for him with lots of food, but we were fasting so we didn't eat anything. 

This week the members of Rio Verde will go to temple. Unfortunately we will never have that opportunity to go on the mission.... but they will bring me back some stuff from the visitor center. (garments and other stuff) 

This week was super hot so I bought some sunscreen. It is a bit expensive here but it is probably a tad cheaper than treatment for skin cancer. It is a good motivation to use sunscreen! 

This week I finished the Pearl of Great Price and I will start studying the Old Testament. It is really neat using studying the Bible because it strengthens my testimony on the Church. All the doctrines of the church are in the scriptures. I was reading a part in the old testament the other day and it talked about a sea of water in the tabernacle sitting on top of 12 oxen. Reading the New Testament especially strengthens my testimony on how there really was a Church of Jesus Christ in the days of Christ. The scriptures really are amazing! We can learn so much from them and they can be a solution to all our problems and answers to all our questions. 

Thank you very much for all your prayers and everything that you do for me! 

Love, 

Elder Wild

July 14th, 2014

That is super good to hear about the work in the temple! Keep it up! All the branches here in Rio Verde will go to the temple in 2 weeks. I will probably ask them to bring me back some stuff at the distribution center. It is a lot cheaper here to buy things than to have you send them. For example garments are 1.67 and that in the Real. (50cents) Its pretty cheap! 

The work here is going really good! We have found a few families this week. They have been all helping us gain some more unneeded weight. Every appointement that we have we try to run out the door but they have already premade something for us to eat. One day we ate a meal in every house that we went by. By the end of the day we felt so sick. haha but at least we are getting fed! I hear of some missions that it is hard to be full and they always have hunger. It is a blessing to be serving here. 

This week we had a meeting with the branch president. He is a really awesome guy. He told us the story about rio verde. He was baptized when the church was first starting here. He talked about how he wanted to split off from the center branch to make to Popular Branch, everyone told him that it wouldn't work and that they needed to wait some time. (at the time only had 5 priesthood holders) But they did it anyway and now Popular Branch is the strongest branch in the city with a attendance of 140 with 30 priesthood. It is super possible. If Peter could baptize 3000 in one day, why cant we baptize 80 in almost 3 months? To have miracles, we need to have faith. 

Now the Branch president has a vision of getting us qualified to be a stake so our branch has a goal of 80 baptisms in 2 1/2 months! and a attendance of 200! So these next two months will be running from appointment to appointment to not lose any time. I hope that I will stay here at least till the end of september! This is a really good area. It is super fun! 

It is really cool to see all the people excited to make a stake here. The members are always helping us out and giving references. 

This week there will be a rodeo. It is the 3rd biggest rodeo in Brazil. They have this huge stadium that they built up! We probably wont have the opportunity to attend. But we will probably hear it at night. 

Well I hope things are going well there! I love you all a lot! 

Elder Wild

July 8, 2014

Hey Family! 

Happy 4th! I bet it was pretty fun! Boating fireworks and all that! I wore a red white and blue tie on the 4th. That was about all we did for the fourth but it was still fun to remember!

This week was super good. We have been teaching this guy named Davi. We found him knocking doors. It was one of those doors that we thought well just one more door and then we will call it a night. We knocked on his door and he let us right it. He asked us about our doctrine then we taught him and he accepted to be baptized that day. He went to church and it was all good! He liked Church a lot and wanted to get baptized even more! Just that the day of the baptism interview he went to a friends house and watched a preacher film about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. He didn't want to be baptized after that. So we had to explain and show in the scriptures all the questions that he had. Before the interview he had a page of questions for us! They were all super hard but..... He got baptized the next day! 

He was super happy after the baptism! 

Also a few weeks ago we found this family that is the process of getting married! They are super awesome and they always make a really good dinner for us! The daughters of the family are these two little girls who are super funny. They were talking to their grandma about the church and invited her. Her grandma said that she already had a religion. Then the daughter asked: `Does your church have missionaries?` the grandma said`Yes`. Then the daughter said `well my missionaries visit me!` hahahaha The family is really neat! She likes to make these flipflops and she wants to make you a pair! She needs to know your shoe size... 

We had transfers this week too... but I will stay another 6 weeks here with Elder Hopkins! I am super excited! We will work pretty good together and teach well together. 

This week I have been studying the conference talks! they are so good! They are also super applicable to other people! We can use the talks for every investigator! 

I really liked the talk about the family History. I also read this week the last section in doctrine and covenants. It talked about the work in the spirit world. Joseph F. Smith talked a lot about how important the temple work is. It is really good to hear that Jenna is doing so much family history. It is something that I want to do when I get home. 

Well I am dying in this lan house right now. It  is about 100 degrees with a bunch of little kids that haven't taken a shower in a few days... so I cant think super well right now! But this week was good! We had a lot of baptisms in the branch this week! It got the members really excited to do work! 

Don't hesitate to have the missionaries come over and teach your neighbor. That is what they were called to do and why they are there! You will be so happy with the work that they will do! They will know exactly what to say too! 

Thank you very much for everything! I love you all very much and I hope that you have a super good week!  

Elder Wild

PS I took this foto at one year! I even wore the tie that I came out with! It was pretty funny to think: one year ago I was on horsetooth rock with andre and george, one year ago I was playing badmitten in the backyard, one year ago I was in the bank waiting for dad to get there, one year ago I was walking away from my family for two years.... It is pretty crazy to think that it has been one year already! 

June 30, 2014

Family, 

It was super quick week! These days always pass by so fast! We were super rushed but thats a good thing! We are still teaching a lot and bringing a lot of people to the church. This week we had district conference (stake conference) and it was super good. There were so many people that all the missionaries had to sit in the nursing room and listen to the conference. Every few minutes we would have to leave to let a mom nurse her baby. But it was a good conference. 

The World Cup still has a few weeks. We just stay in our house during the brazil games and after. After the games is worse than during because there are a lot of crazy people out on the streets still celebrating. But it is cool on game day because EVERYONE is wearing a yellow shirt. It is good to see the unity! 

This week I got the conference ensign. I love reading the talks again especially because they are so useful to apply to the people we teach and think about. In just a few days I am already into the saturday afternoon session. This is the reason why our Church is good, because the prophet sees what he needs to tell us and what can help us in that moment. It is such a blessing to have modern day revelation that talk about the problems in todays world. 

The craziest question that we got this week was that: where in the Bible does it say we have to be married in the court house? We showed him everything and every scripture that had to do with marrige and the law, but his heart was still a little stiff. hhahahaha. This is when he needs to except the council from a modern day prophet that says marrige is between a man and a women LEGALLY married! 

Way to go on the family History! I am glad that you guys are doing that! It is super important! 

When I come home that is something that I want to do different is get more into the family history. IN confernece this weekend he talked about there are two sides of rescuing. Those that are living (nonmember and less active) and those who have already passed. It will be a good feeling when we return to have our family waiting with open arms to recieve us. 

Sorry the note is so short today, but I am super glad that you guys got the package. I will try to send another in the next few weeks. 

Love you lots! Know that I pray for you and that I am so grateful for all of you! It is so awesome to be able to come to the Lan House every week and know that I have a family on the other end! Have a super good week! 

Elder Wild