And Now Parque Amazonia

 Elder Stafford! Good friend from my district in the CTM. I hadn't seen him since we arrived in the mission!

 Above and below are some great pictures from lunch the other day. Beautiful view!

Sim! I’m actually going to Parque Amazonia this time haha. I’m excited! I’ve only heard good things about the area. Also, it’s a lot safer there. I like that! I’m tired of getting robbed. This week I was on an exchange with E. Sweet, the financial secretary, and E. Zanuttini and E. Olicia, who were on the other side of the area, were assaulted. It made me mad. Anyway, the area around our house is pretty dangerous, so E. Zanuttini and I just packed everything up and moved to the house of the secretaries. I’ll stay here until the transfers end and then go to Parque Amazonia. We’ve been walking all together (the 4 secretaries and us) at night to be safer haha. I also found out who my new companion will be! I’ll save that as a surprise for next week though.

This week we got ready for the transfers. Friday we called all the missionaries who were transferred. It took a long time but was fun. It’s cool knowing where everybody is going ahead of time, being on the administrative side is a whole different experience! President Kuceki took the whole staff to Pizza Hut for lunch which was awesome! Every opportunity to eat American food is a huge blessing.

This Wednesday we’re going to have a training for all the new trainers and all the district leaders. This week I’ve been preparing for it. The focus of our part of the meeting is the importance of the ‘Preach My Gospel’ manual. As missionaries, everything we need to best fulfill our calling is found in the principles of Preach My Gospel. I remember when Elder Costa came to the CTM and spoke to us. One of the biggest things he said was that if we followed the principles of PMG, we could baptize every week. Overall, I think the missionaries here need to improve how much they study and apply what PMG teaches. Hopefully the training will inspire them to do so.

This transfer flew by, and I’m grateful for the short 6 weeks I had here in the Goiãnia Ward. While we only had one baptism, I think we did good work here. Pedro is doing well. While we used to pick him up every Sunday, he came to church on his own yesterday, on his new bike. Dusilene and José Neto are doing great. They’re coming to church every Sunday and hopefully will both accept baptism soon. The investigators we bad will now be taught by the secretaries, since no one is taking the place of E. Zanuttini and I. They’re all great missionaries and will continue to teach them well. President K. said that if they find a better house for us here, we’ll probably move back to the Goiania ward the next transfer. I’d like to, as this is the most involved ward I’ve been in yet!

This week I finished reading ‘Our Search for Happiness’ by M. Russell Ballard. Man it’s a great book! It so clearly and simply explains the beliefs of our church-a valuable tool for missionaries and members alike. If you’re reading this right now, read this book! It will answer your questions about basic Mormon belief and our great and eternal search for happiness.

I’m so grateful for this knowledge of God’s Plan of Salvation; it is such a source of peace to know where we came from, why we’re here, and where we’re going after this Earthly life. I’m so grateful for the scriptures and the words of the ancient and modern prophets—direct guidance during our mortal journey. This gospel and this church are true! This mission is the best! Jesus Christ is our Savior!

Elder Anderson