I Love the Scriptures!

 Em casa, de boa (x2)

 Staying busy 

 Sou sapo.

 Elder Antunes!

 Volte logo E. Lloyd!

 GUARANÁ JESUS!

 A galera com GUARANÁ JESUS!

 It's a pretty can isn't it

 It's a pink drink

 A good P-Day lunch (x2)

 I found peanut butter! It's natural and expensive and good.]

The football!

I have a new idea for a family activity. A few days ago the other companionship of secretaries, who serve in Parque Amazonia, were waiting in front of the chapel to meet up with a member when a man, a small child, and a woman rode up to them on a motorcycle and yelled “Passa radinho!” That’s thug language for “Give up your phone!” A family. Okay. Together. Good. Robbing. Bad. I actually don’t consider this a “wholesome recreational activity.” The elders didn’t take them seriously (how could they!? Hahahah), said they didn’t have their phone, and off went the felon family.

One day a man from Nashville showed up in the office to get a Book of Mormon for one of his Brazilian friends. Who would have through that someone from your mission, Dad, would have visited mine! A cool tender mercy of the Lord. He had a thick southern accent, which I actually kind of miss, and I found myself slipping into the southern dialect as I talked with him haha. English really is seeming foreign.

One day we were walking up our road to get to the office and saw a bombed ATM and a film crew. Apparently at four in the morning a few guys had blown it up to get the money inside and afterward they shot at a new of the nearby buildings. I went up and touched a bullet hole in one wall and in a building with a glass exterior. I saw about 20. Nossa! O Brasil e doido kk. Thankfully we were all sleeping safely and soundly.

I love the scriptures!!! After over a year on my mission I‘ve finally discovered how to really study them—feast upon the words of Christ! About a month ago I decided to study by theme. The first great theme I chose was the Savior Jesus Christ. It’s my testimony of Him that I most want to build. I started by studying a list in Preach My Gospel of Book of Mormon chapters about Him and by reading Jesus the Christ (along with Jesus, o Cristo). Last week I was inspired to study a lei—the law—and the following related subjects: justice, mercy, punishment, blessing, obedience. It’s been the greatest two weeks of study of my whole mission! Everybody go look up and read Alma 42! How absolutely amazing is the Plan of Redemption and mercy of our Heavenly Father.

We had been teaching the family of Antonio e Sueli for over a month and this week, after inviting them yet again to be baptized they became resistant and weren’t willing to progress further. It was really sad knowing that we did our best to teach the gospel and testify of its eternal blessing to a family who needs them so much and seeing them not embracing it. I hope that just months from now they will feel a desire to fully apply the restored gospel in their lives. We do what we can with the help of the Lord, but people have their agency.

On the positive side, we’re teaching two people who are awesome. Paula keeps coming to church every Sunday, is developing her testimony, and is halfway through second Nephi. Italo, whom we found on the street one day, has a big religious background and is really smart and is opening his vision to the greater perspective of Christianity that was made possible by the restoration.

Now our P-Day is Sabado! It’s changed yet again. So far it’s been great because we have another day to work in the office which we were really needing. From now on I’ll be looking forward to every Saturday to hear from you all and relate my weekly experiences. Espero que vida esteja boa nos EUA! Amo voces!

Elder Anderson

O Evangelho

 It's lan house time

 The coolest office building

 Praça Tamadaré! (x2)

 Em baixo das palmeiras

É nóis na praça!

Eu amo o evangelho de Jesus Cristo! E a Melhar coisa que ha.

By the time you all read this, Dallin will already be off to the M TC!!! Ahhhhh I’m so excited for him! He’ll love being a missionary and speaking Portuguese. This week we met a lady from Portugal in the road; the accent from there is funny and way different but understandable. Man I can’t wait to speak Portuguese with Dallin—ninguem vai entender-now kkkkk (Which means hahahaha in Portuguese).

I’ve reflected a lot on o evangelho (the gospel) of Jesus Cristo this week. It’s the greatest thing ever! Focusing my life on it is bringing me the greatest joy I’ve ever felt. I’m really, really amazed at how blessed I am. God, my Father in Heaven, created me. He sent me to Earth to a wonderful family so that I could fulfill a purpose: follow Jesus Christ through faith in Him and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, by making and keeping higher covenants, so that I could return worthily to His presence after this mortal life and live in a state of eternal happiness, progressing forever. What’s greater than this? Nothing?

I know Heavenly Father created me. He gave me my existence, for free. From the beginning, I’m already a debtor. Before my first moment of spiritual consciousness I had received a gift that I didn’t even earn. Later I was sent here to Earth (a huge, incredible planet for me to live on—another present/gift). I gained a physical body (an assembly of matter, divinely designed, that allows me to use force upon other matter, feel feelings and sense things, play soccer and golf, run and jump, eat—eating is a blessing!—setting me above all the inanimate objects and the beings of only spirit on the hierarchy of intelligences), and I continued enjoying the God-given gift of agency.  Not only do I have the ability to choose what I do, I have guidance as to what to choose—the prophets, the scriptures, prayer and revelation, Heavenly Father gives me life, let’s me choose what I want, tells me what I should choose—to follow the commandments—but he doesn’t force me to choose that yet if I do, He blesses me –immediately!—and if I continue to voluntarily keep his commandments, (and isn’t following the commandments and hereby being blessed temporarily and spiritually and being happy the easiest choice in the world?!). I will one day be let back into the presence of God, not alone but with my family, to receive eternal life. How I’m a debtor! I am nothing more than the dust—and even the dust belongs to Heavenly Father. I incite you all to search and read Mosiah 2:21-25. I just can’t fully understand how greatly God loves us.

It was a good week in the office and in the field! I’m really liking working with Elder Artunes and Elder Lagunas and Nelson, the other new secretaries. Brasil is the best! A great and safe week to all of you.

Elder Anderson

Nascer De Novo

 We happened to be eating in the same restaurant as a member from São Paulo!

 Batismo da Neide! (x3)

 Feliz aniversário Elder Mousquer!

 Missing football and reliving the glory days, haha

 The Lake of the Roses and some sweet apartment buildings

 Mãos que Ajudam!

On a rock

 Opa!

 After a successful 4 hours of distribuition

  Palm meditation

 O famoso E. Axel, our district leader

 Chimarrão—único!

 At home in my office

 TE AMO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday was Neide’s baptism! What a blessing. She is certainly one of the most faithful and good natured people I’ve had the chance to meet and teach on my mission and we as missionaries are so grateful to have been the instruments in the Lord’s hands to help her receive the restored gospel. After almost 3 months of learning about and visiting the church, she is one of the newest members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So milagres!

Ao ponderar sobre o batismo dela agora, eu gostacia de escrever um pouco sobre o principoi de “nascer de novo” que Jesus ensina em Joao 3. Translation: As I ponder about her baptism right now, I’d like to write a little about the principle of “being born again” that Jesus teaches in John 3. What a profound doctrine! My first memory of learning about the conversation between Christ and Nicodemus was when Pres. Shell taught about it at a youth conference a few years ago. Since then it has stuck out to me. Jesus discerns the thought of Nicodemus and answers his question before he asks it. In verse 5 we learn about a pre-requisite to enter into the kingdom of God—be born of the water and of the Spirit.”

This refers to the first two ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Jesus himself was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:13-17). In 2 Nephi 31, Nephi explains what it means to fulfill all righteousness and emphasizes our undeniable need for baptism by stating clearly: “and now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!” Peter preached the doctrine of birth by water and Spirit in Acts 2:38, and in Acts 8:14-17, it is explained how being born of the Spirit happens or in other words, how the gift of the Holy Ghost is received. Unlike Christ, who received the gift of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove, we normal people obtain this spiritual gift through the “laying on of hands” (or, as I am now accustomed to say it in Portuguese, imposição de mãos).

The authority of God by which the ancient apostles baptized (the power to perform the ordinances of the gospel)—the Priesthood—although taken from the Earth for centuries after the deaths of the original apostles, was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful for the restoration of the full gospel and that today I, as missionary and Priesthood holder, can perform these ordinances and enable people to reach the kingdom of God, having fulfilled the commandments to be baptized and to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. No other way to heaven and eternal happiness exists other than that which Jesus taught and personally exemplified.

Saturday I baptized Neide, and Sunday Elder Antunes confirmed her—rebirth by the water and Spirit. I am humbled and grateful to build my testimony of this doctrine on my mission through both studying it and carrying it out as an authorized servant of the Lord.

Yesterday was cool. We are having our P-Day today instead of yesterday because yesterday morning we participated in a Mormon Helping Hands (Mãos que Ajudam!) service project for the city, distributing a ton of flyers from a government campaign against drugs that offered resources for people to overcome addictions and things. In 4 hours or so each of us handed out about 500 around the city. I tried to maximize efficiency by handing out several at a time to the porters of apartment buildings for them to give to the residents. We took some pictures and had a good time.

Life is great in Brasil! Estou feliz e estou trabalhando duro. Por isso, estou feliz J . I hope you all find yourselves well, and I can’t wait to read and respond to your e-mails and see your pictures. Amo vocês!

Elder Anderson

Mudamo-nos!

Working hard or hardly working?

Elder Lima!

Só picanha!!! Picanha is the best type of meat here and this day they gave me a bunch of it in my 'marmitex' lunch woohoo!

Comendo, felizmente, picanha

In the elevator with the gang

The famous Elder Santos!

The road of the office building

Bosque do Buriti

Views from the new apartment

Lá na paisagem, o Viaduto Latif Sebba

 O Lago das Rosas de novo! (x3)

'tão indo embora :'(

Tchau Elder Sweet

Elder Didericksen!

A galera estudando

E. Antunes and I

Wow, it’s been a long time since last P-Day! It was a big and successful transfer and I’ll talk about it a little later. The audit went well and I learned a lot.

We moved! This was one of the greatest things that has happened in a while. Our old house was old, damaged, ant-ridden and had to be accessed by a few rusty gates within a sketchy corridor. Six of us missionaries were living there, and it only had one bathroom with a broken door. That night when 46 missionaries stayed there was rough kkkk (I want to make sure it’s understood: “k” in Portuguese is like “ha” in English. Therefore as I put several k’s, I’m not supporting the Ku Klux Klan but am saying “hahaha”.). Now we live in a sweet apartment! The staff had been searching for a good apartment since 2015, but Pres. Puhrer found one, signed the contract and got us moved in within three weeks. Nossa, e bom demais! It has 5 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms and so much more space than our old house that it’s difficult to know what to do with all of it. Everyone is enjoying being able to shower simultaneously. The apartment is in the middle of a ton of other buildings and we live on the 7^th floor so we have a great view. I’ll send pictures!

Today is Neide’s baptism! After about 3 months of teaching her and helping her to progress spiritually in the restored gospel, she’s ready to be baptized at 5 o’clock today. Que bencao! She is one of the most golden investigators I’ve taught and has great faith. Tons of members are excited for her baptism today, and they’ve enjoyed seeing her progress as well. Thank you all for your faithful prayers that we can find people ready for the gospel! They are answered.  

After several weeks of teaching Neide with him and months of working together in the office and field, Elder Oliveira was transferred this week to Aragarcas, and area on the edge of the mission. It’s kind of too bad that he had to leave only a few days before Neide’s baptism, but surely it’s the Lord’s plan. I‘m really happy and grateful to have a new companion. I learned a lot with E. Oliveira, but man it was a tough four months. Anyway, my new companion is E. Antunes. He’s hard-working and excited and probably the youngest executive secretary ever. He’s starting his second transfer in the field (I’m finishing his training), but with years of administrative experience in the Brazilian Air Force, he’s very qualified. I’ll be staying as the financial secretary for another transfer. Woohoo! Maybe the next transfer I’ll train someone or maybe I’ll just stay in the office for the rest of my mission kkkkk.

Brasil’s president, Dilma, was impeached this week; that’s big news. I think a majority of people here are pretty happy with that, though I haven’t heard a ton of news yet.

Happy Birthday Natalie and Dallin! You guys are getting old haha. I miss my family and friends, but I’m so happy to be here. Missao Brasil Goiania e a vida! E. Sweet and a few of my other great friends went home this week, which was sad, but one day I’ll meet up with them, just like I’ll meet up with all of you in less than a year. Until next P-Day and next June!

Elder Anderson