Baptisms

We had a baptism of part of the family on Saturday and we will probably baptize the rest this week. This week was really hectic; we have had really crazy weather where it pours down rain for 15 minutes and creates floods. Then it stops and the sun pops up and makes everything extremely humid.

We’ve just been going, going, going!! Our zone’s goal for baptism this month is 25 and I think we need like ten more; we probably have another 3 baptisms this week, so just a few more!!

 Karolina, Bruna, and Inaiara are awesome and will help the ward out here in the young women’s group.

I sent some pictures of them.

I love you guys,

Elder Willard

Raining Bugs

We got the baptism scheduled of a family marked for this Saturday: Carol, Bruna, Inaiara, Wesly and Diogo. They are the children of a mother who is still not ready for baptism, but her children want to be. So we will focus on that for this week.

Also, Jeferson, one of our investigators, decided to get baptized, but needs to get married, but he said something really...legal. We taught the word of wisdom and after we invited him to live it he said basically, “Well..duh. I will do anything you guys say. Everything you guys say is true and right.” He knows for himself that the church is true.

Also we saw a weird phenomenon. We got home when it was very humid and dark and for some reason really bright lights were on, guiding our way home. Because of the brightness of the lights, thousands of penny size beetles were flying around the lights. As they were flying around, they would smash blindly into buildings four stories in the air and fall, hitting the ground. Most of the time they would die. So as we walked to our apartment last night, it was literally raining bugs.

I got the package, it was terrific, thanks alot mom.

Elder Willard

February

The other elders and I bought 10 liters of ice cream and we are gonna eat it today...and play a board game called Catan. Maybe Tennis again.

 

Anyway, we taught a lot of lessons this week and found a few investigators and 2 went to church, but we don't have much progress in the way of baptisms. We found two families that want to get baptized, but the parents have to get married first. Unlike in America where you can get married in a day, here the process is about a month. But the families really want to change and are willing to lay everything

aside to be baptized.

 

But all is well, I'm not doing so well at working out in the mornings, because I'm just so tired. I feel like I have a million and one things to say, but I just cant remember anything.

 

Elder Willard

How can you eat your pudding if you don't eat your meat!?‏

Well, my new companion is Elder Yopán from Santa Catarina, a state really close by. It is equal to living in Washington and getting called to Idaho. He’s very quite but has a sense of humor, a deep voice, and seems to love metal. He’s also ripped.

I’m getting used to this new area with new members, investigator, less actives and everything. We have two companionships in this ward, Elder Peters and Elder del Pino, a Canadian and a Chilean. It’s a rare district of missionaries that we outnumber the Brazilians.

But yeah there is not much going on right now.

Elder Willard

Transferred

I’m getting transferred to Pelotas, kind of a surprise. I expected to stay here and finish training my companion, Elder Nunes, but it looks like I will be shipped out tomorrow.
My companion on the other hand is been sick with a disease like chicken pox (Catapora).
He’s got red spots all over his hands and feet and scalp. He feels normal other than a sore throat, headaches, fever, diarrhea, and crazy uncontrollable itchy on the infected skin.
The doctor at the clinic said that it’s very rare to pass to other people, but it’s possible.

For that reason we have been in the apartment most of the week. Elder Nunes is starting to get spots on his face and is a little embarrassed by it. When you see members, they stop 5 feet from him and stare at his face and ask, “What...what happened..?” Poor guy.

We are pretty close to having a baptism here but yet again I will not see it...
The other problem is I bought a lot of food a few days ago and I don’t know what to do with it because of the transfer. I’m just gonna have to eat all of it.

Eu sei que nosso Salvador vive, Ele lidera á igreja dele por meio dos profetos vivos e dos apostolos. Sou grato pela oportunidade trabalhar aqui em Rio Grande, no outro lado do mundo. Com certeza, me sinto saudades de minha familia e meus amigos mas a missão vale a pena.
[I know our Savior lives, He will lead his church through prophets living and the apostles. I am grateful for the opportunity to work here in Rio Grande, across the world. Sure, I miss my family and my friends but the mission is worthwhile.]

Eu Amo vocês, Thank you for all the birthday wishes!!
Elder Willard

Mom, could you thank the Turners and the Woodingtons for the letters and packages, and of course Grandma and Grandpa.

I could buy a pistol tomorrow!‏

(Howard turned 21 on Tuesday)

As I was walking in the street today with my companion, the phone rang. It was President Castro and I about dropped the phone in fear. It's not normal for the mission president to call you out of the blue.

He just wanted to know about our relationship with the ward bishop, progress and, of course, baptisms. Last time he called me I got emergency transferred to Rio Grande and missed a baptism.

 

On the 26th Elder Bednar of the Quorum of 12 Apostles is coming to our mission. And we can't go because we live too far down south, some new rule for missionaries. So I'm a little bitter.

 

Yesterday, Dianna came to church and enjoyed it a lot, it seems. She told us last week that she knows that the church is true. She said that before we taught anything or invited her to do thing thing, her life was complete. She is feeling the influence of the holy ghost in her life and she is making changes to get ready for baptism, like keeping the law of Chastity.

 

I hope that everything is going terrific for you guys. I'm in desperate need of a haircut.

 

Happy Birthday Katie and Mom!!!

 

Elder Willard

New Year

We are really struggling in this area to get people to progress or to find people that what to hear our message. We marked 3 people to be baptized this week but none of them went to church and now it looks like they don’t want to progress at all. So we are just gonna keep working and hope somebody pops up. We are just getting discouraged. Other than that our week has been pretty normal, not much going on. We are strengthening our relationships with the members to get them involved in the work.

Zach, could you send me another video of you and your lovely wife? Frazier, are you working with the missionaries in the ward? Mom, could you send as many tenor church solos as you can to me by email or mail? The ward is asking me to sing in church but that don’t have another music than hymns with the same arrangements. Amelia could you send me pictures of you in New York?

I hope everything is going well for you guys up there

Elder Willard