Christmas and stuff like that 12-29-15

right so it was good to see you fam this week on the skype call! it freaked me out just how grown up Rachel and Andria are now... like i swear they were just little kids when i left! but it was good to talk with you all and glad to know that you all got a kick out of my speaking fast! ;)

so lets get to the run down of what has been happening during my life during the holidays! so this week was a little tough to work, especially on Christmas Eve and Day... it was like freaking crazy drinking and dancing fest with fireworks at like 4 in the morning! visiting people and finding people at home was a bit rough... but good news, Islei and Mécia invited us to eat dinner at their house, it was fun. they have become like my family here, so glad they are getting married soon (the 10th) and will be baptized! on Christmas day, we went to another area in our zone where we met up with all the Elders here and we did a Churrasco, or a brazilian style barbaque! it was a hoot, we had this brazilian that said that we weren't putting enough salt on the meat, so he drowned all of it in barbecue salt.... lets just say that it was more like eating salt with meat, other than meat with some salt! but it was still fun!

We also had a Ward party this week. it was really well organized, probably the best organized event that ive seen thus far in my mission. it was great. it was a good opportunity for the recent converts and investigators get to know the members better.. Plus there was really good food!  so it was a success! 

this week we started teaching Carol. she was a reference from Aparecida, our recent convert here. she is 17 and she is super prepared to receive the Gospel. she has been keeping all the commitments that we have given her and she went to church this week too! really nice to have some one who is really progressing! her baptism is marked for the 9th of january. it is so interesting how much help it is to have Aparecida there. her testimony is so strong and it is amazing to see how her testimony has such an impact on the people we teach when she visits with us! a member can make all the difference! 

One of the cool things about being in this area so long is that i have seen so much progress in the ward, in the recent converts and stuff like that! its been so cool to see the people change their lives and live better lives because of the Gospel! makes me so grateful that i decided to go on the mission! There really is no where else i would rather be! 

well january is looking like its gonna be a good month and 2015 is looking like its gonna be a pretty good year.... 2014 passed by way to fast.. but i guess that is what happens when you love what you are doing! hope that everyone has a great new years fest and that you blow some stuff up for me!! 

 Love you all! thanks for the letters and pics!! 

Elder Ryan

Churrasco, or a brazilian style barbaque--Elder Style! 

Dinner with Islei and Mécia family on Christmas Day

3 days until Christmas! 12-22-14

soooo lets just get the important information settled right here at the beginning. so i will be calling you at about 2 or 2;30 my time.. due to the fact that we have lunch at 12, we cant call at that time! sorry fam! but that means it will be like 10 or 10;30, i think.. that is.. if my math is right! after a year of not ever doing math.. its kinda rusty! 

but anyway! lets get the jucy details of this week on paper! so to start things out, a miracle happened this week! it was friday, the last day that the courts would be open, working on wedding papers and such.. so we decided to call to see what was the position of Islei and Mécia's papers.... And they were authourized!!! finally!! so we ran to there house to give them the news and such and we marked the wedding, which will happen in the church, and the baptism for the 10th of january! super excited! this is the first family that ive ever gotten this far with! it has been so cool to see the changes that have happened in their lives and how they have made so much progress! that really is the best part of the mission, watching people change their lives! sometimes, it doesnt even seem possible for them leave the things that they have been doing wrong since childhood at times.. but that is the miracle of the gospel, to change us even when it didnt seem possible to change! 

we have been having a lot of success working here with the members. it is funny, change the bishop and it seems like a completely different ward! wouldnt mind staying here in the area if things continue to go good like they are! 

investigator wise... we have a whole bunch who are willing to learn more and want to make the church a part of their lives, but its like there just hasnt been enough time in the day for us to acompany them and teach them, help them live the commandments, help them go tp church and such! some of them that are showing good progress are jessica, Thiago, Katiele, Sandra, Mayara, Vinicius, and another Jessica! with all hope we are gonna keep teaching them! hoping that chirstmas week doesnt put us out of buisness!! haha 

had a real interesting conversation with elder Brandant this week. he has about 4 months on the mission, and ive lived with him since he got here! but we talked about how on the mission, we have to learn and become something that we werent before, that sometimes the call comes and we are completely qualified for the task, but how we need to rise to the occasion, not just try to do our best, but actually Do our best. it was really interesting! i think my whole mission has been full of these experiences! times when i didnt really know what to do, or how to do it, or why i was chosen to do it! at times i felt way under qualified and that it was a task way to overwelming for a young 19 year old kid to handle... But in those times ive learned to use and rely on a force that is way above my own. that is Jesus Christ. i think ive learned over this last year just how much work is requierred of me, and just how willing he is to help me achieve what needs to be done. Reminds me of the scripture that says that, "many are called and few are chosen" it just depends on us if we are willing to accept the call, and Do what is necessary! the conversation ended at 1 am... the next day was a tough one to say the least! but it was all worth it!

Over all things are good here in Siqueira Campos, Aracaju. its hotter than ever, and its christmas.. doesnt really seem like those two words should go together, Hot and Christmas.. but here they are real good friends! thanks so much for the letters and prayers! Love you all and cant wait to see you fam on christmas day! 

Love 

Elder Ryan

 Ryan may have been having flashbacks of all our visits to Idaho....although most of the farm equip in Idaho seems to be John Deere Green

This was a picture of Ryan and his companion Elder Lima after their Christmas phone calls last year 2013

No title for this pic...use your imagination?

christmas and transfers! 12-15-14

alright so this week was a good one! wasnt very white, but things are still looking good for the next couple weeks! so here is the run down! 

This wednesday was Chirstmas Conference! it was really good! Pres Gomes gave a really awesome talk! after being pretty lost for the last 3 months, his feet are back on the ground! starting to get better control of things! really enjoyed it! he talked about using our time to the fullest on the mission. using every moment we have to do what we will never be able to do after these two years! it reminded me of Dad's famous quote, "leave it all on the court". hoping that i can leave it all on the court this last year!! 

also in the christmas conference i threw my self into the loop of the talent show! me and a brazilian, Elder Fernandes, who speaks english, sang White Christmas!! it was so legit! had a lot of fun! i would send the video but it is way to big to send over email, but one day ya'll will see it! 

about the investigators: so this week was another tought one, of leaving the investigators and having to find new people to teach.. seems like the never ending struggle that has been happening my whole mission! haha i dont think that it will change anytime soon either!! 

Islei and Mécia got in a huge fight this week.. it was rough, scared the crap out of me! we had some pretty intense lessons about the plan of salvation and forgiveness! we had lots of help from the members which was good, really the members make all the diference! they give them the support and comfort that they need to continue on making these life changing steps in their lives! But all is better now! they were at church all dressed up nice! ill send a picture! feeling really blessed to see these changes happen in their lives and im so happy that i have been a part of it!

other investigators.. if we had some real progress with them.. i would talk about them.. but for now.. now much! 

This sunday was a really exciting one! we had a change of bishop here in the ward!! thank goodness too! the bishop was awesome, i really liked him, but he was bishop for 9 years... yeah lets just say that he was tired! but the new bishop is way legit! super excited to work with him! things are really looking up in the area! 

and that take us to the Transfer! because of the changes that took place and all the success that ive had with Gauchay, i really wanted to stay in the area! and my prayers were answered! im staying 6 more weeks here in Siqueira Campos and im supre psyched! really feeling like we are gonna have lots of sucess here!! 

Well i hope that everyone is doin well back home! miss you all and love you all!! Tem um ótimo semana!! 

Elder Ryan

Elder Ryan Islei and Mécia family and Elder Gauchay from Orem, UT

well well 12-8-14

so just to get this email started.. we baptized this week!! the start of white christmas!! the start of all the miracles that are gonna happen this month! we baptized Vitoria! it was awesome, not many people showed up for the baptism, which was a bummer but normal here in the north east! something that has always bothered me a bit was the lack of support from the members! its like they want the ward to grow, but they dont really want to do anything to help! haha but just keep working hard and hoping that the members here get the fever for a white christams as well!! 

about the investigators! we are still teaching Islei and Mecia! they are doing awesome! they go to church every week and are even giving referals and helping us teach! we are just waiting for the marriage papers to leave the court, which is a process that takes longer than non other! but should leave this week so that we can marry them and baptize them before the end of the year! about Isac, he lives in a city that doesnt have to church, so we have taught him a couple times by telephone, but if he cant come to church at least one time a month here, we cant baptize him, which is rough because it is really expensive to take a bus from his city to aracaju! so its still a work in process! Carmelita.. well she opted out, really sad because i had been teaching her for so long, but no matter how bad that i want her to accept the gospel and repent, she has to want it to! maybe some time in the future?? we had lots of success this week finding new people to teach, the most interested is named Bernadete, she is the mother of a family that is completely members, she has a bunch of church books and material and stuff. but she is marked for the 20th, she told us that the only way that she would be baptized is if it was in a river! so looks like we are gonna have to find river here that isnt poluted so that we can baptize her! ;) 

things with elder gauchay are great! and yes mom, Lisa Gauchay is his cousin! small small world right?/ i really hope that i stay one more transfer with him! especially so that i can acompany the progress of Islei and Mecia! but i already asked Pres, lets just wait and see what the lord has planned now! 

had a Zone meeting this week! it was a little rushed planning wise! but it was really good, elder Gauchay had this video clip of yoda, the "do or do not" seen when luke is on dagobah! so we passed it in our meeting! it was so legit!! Yoda is basically a prophet!! So hoping that our zone can start doing!!

heres a part in portuguesse, just for kicks! 

Realmente essa semana foi bom demais! estou muito grato por os experiencias que estou tendo aqui na missão, por todo a aprendizado quem tem acontecido essa ano passado, por o oportunidade de melhorar me próprio jeito de pensar e agir, para que eu posso fazer as coisas mais como O Salvador ia fazer! Estou grato por o sacrificio dele, e por a ajuda que ele tem me dado nessas passados 12 meses! amo todos voces e desejo um bom semana e mes pra voces!! Vamos ter um Natal branca!! 

Hey Fam: skype call, how are we gonnna plan this? what is the best day for you guys, i can on the 23, 24, 25 ,or 26?? let me know, and what is the time difference? like im pretty sure that i really messed up the time difference the last time! haha! love you all and cant wait to see you!! 

Love you all!! 

Elder Ryan

This was titled...RETURN OF THE RAPTOR....a few of you may have experienced Ryan's random pre-mission raptor moments-- imagine the sound affects and the special gait! 

White Christmas! 12-1-14

alrighty so here we go again, one more week down and out, and november is already gone.. wow that passed by so fast! feels like yesterday that it started!! 

So to start out thanksgiving was pretty crumby here! our lunch appointment fell through and so we had like no money (because it was the end of the month) and so we made some rice and some noodles.. yeah it was the worst thanksgiving feast ever!! hahaha but all is well, there isnt much that i could do about it! 

this week was a  busy one! we have been having a hard time with finding investigators at home and trying to acompany them on the commitments that we make with them! all in all, lots of the people that we were teaching this week wont continue! its hard just to stop teaching the people that we have been working with so long and hard to be baptized, but when they stop progressing, we have to let them go! 

but on the bright side of things we had lots of success on taking people to church/ the members bring some of their neighbors! we had 8 people watch sacrament meeting! the most people i have ever had at church! it was legit! we are looking to work with these people really closely so thaty they can be baptized in the coming weeks to have a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! it is gonna be awesome! feeling really good about this month, really hoping that we can make the miracles happen and that we help lots of people be baptized!! 

we are working with Vitoria. she is 10 and her older brother and sister were baptized about 5 years ago in a different ward, after tehy moved into our ward boundries thy stopped going to church, that was about 3 years ago. this sunday they all went to church and she is really excited for her baptism this week! should be awesome! 

well i think that is about it on this weekly report! we are working tons, like always, just trying to do the best i can everyday! live everyday like its my last! hope every one is doing well! that you all had a good thanksgiving and that you are all getting pumped for the WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! love you all! 

Elder Ryan

Ryan was hoping to have a White Christmas this year in spite of the 90 degree weather...and it looks like they had one!  

the first week of the Transfer! 11-17-14

alrighty so the biggest news is who is my new companion!  Elder Gauchay, from Orem utah, he is 6 foot 4, so the first time ive been shorter than my companion, and my first american comp, he has one year and 7 months , so he is finishing up, he was teh secretary of the mission for 7 months, so i already knew him before he got here! he is way cool, he likes the Lakers... so that is a problem! ;) but other than im really liking working with him! 

I was Called as Zone Leader A this week as well, something i wasnt really expecting, but the challenges keep coming! president has already called me a couple times this week, asking me to go and solve a couple of problems here in the zone! one thing is for sure, being Zone leader is never boring!

investigator wise, things are good. president took one of the companionships from the ward here and put them in a new city where the church was opened! so now we have inherited both areas and all of there investigators! WAHOO!! we have been working with some new people there and the members there are helping a ton! things are really looking up! 

Carmelita, this little old lady that me and elder Lima had been teaching for like... forever!! finally accepted a date for baptism, should be this saturday if all goes well! so happy to finally see here make the changes necessary to follow christ, this week she threw out all of her coffee without us even asking! it was awesome!! 

Islei and Mécia, our couple that we are working with are doing awesome as well! right now we are just waiting for the papers to pass through the courts and we can do the wedding! shouldnt be more that 2 weeks now! really hoping that we can baptize them the second week of december! but they are changing so much! cool to see how reading the scriptures and praying as a family has changed their lives so much for the better! they are way happeir now than the first time that i taught them! this week they asked us when they could go to the temple!! it was so cool, glad to know that they are already looking at the big picture to have their family sealed! loving helping them and seeing the changes! 

really the mission has been great,so gald that i came, i have had so many experiences and challanges that have changed and shaped me for the better! the mission sure hasnt been easy, as a matter of fact its been pretty dang hard, but there is no where i would rather be! "spreading the good word" as my friend shaw always writes me, really is the best! the Good Word has changed my life in the last year, and i have watched change the lives of many more! 

love you all tons! thanks for your letters and your prayers! hope that everyone is doing well that you cheer for the jazz and play some super smash bros on the N64 in my honor! love you all!! 

Elder Ryan 

the transfer 11-10-14

so this week we had a transfer, i stayed here in the area! which i am pretty happy about seeing as we have been having lots of sucess here, but Elder Lima was transfered! its so crazy, time passed by so freaking fast,we passed 3 months together, but it felt more like 3 days! im gonna miss him, he really was my best companion so far! 

 well this week we got the hang of taking care of both the areas that we are working in! good thing because president called and said that only one companionship would  stay here in the ward.. soo that means all of there investigators are ours now! so that is pretty exciting! im really excited to see what this transfer has in store for me! 

 this week I had some really good studies, i made a goal with my self that i would try and study more the lessons that we teach so that i could teach better and such, it was a really good experience! really enjoyed studying about the commndments, especially Keeping the Sabbath day Holy and Keeping the Law of Chasity. really opended my eyes to a lot of things and just how important the commandments are! really grateful that i have so much time to study more about the gospel, it opens up my eyes everytime as to how important living the gospel is! really loved! 

One other thing that I forgot to mention in my last email about the things im liking about my misison that i reflected on this week was the Power of the Atonement to Heal and save people. Really grateful to have the knowledge and peace that comes from knowing about the atonement of Jesus Christ. im really glad that i have been able to overcome lots of rought experiences and my own personal weaknesses and sins through the Lord Jesus Christ. over this last year i learned a lot and now i can say: I know that He lives. 

we were able to get 7 people to church this week which was a thrill for me! carmelita is this old lady that we have been teaching for about 2 months and she never went to church, this sunday she made it! it was awesome! also something really cool that happened this week was that Islei and Mecia this couple that we are working with, went and started the marriage papers this week! in about a month the wedding will happen and we will be able to baptize them! really loving it here on the mission! having so many experiences that i never would of had if i wasnt here right now! 

things are great! hope that every one is doing well! love the letters and emails that you send! hope that you all have a great week Love you all!! 

Elder Ryan

well there goes one! 11-3-14

Well that is it for one year! seems like yesterday that i was stepping of the plane here in Maceió and understanding nothing and thinking, "Dang.. the sun is really hot here!!" 

The one year mark came and went and here are a few reflections on one year as a missionary:

the mission is easily the most confusing thing when it comes to desciribing the emotions that it gives me! haha it is easily the hardest thing that i have ever done, but at the same time... it is easily the best thing that i have ever done! at times i am stressed beyond all belief and but at the same time, there is no other place that i would rather be! 

What i do every day is invite people to know more about the ture doctrine of Chirst.. Faith, Repentence (AKA Change!!) And Baptism (the Best part). its a hard work! lots of people dont believe me, others cant seem to overcome their dificulties or pleasures to go and follow the correct path. but those that do accept and work to change and follow Christ... these people, i have had the greatest pleasure in watching, becaue they are the people who are 10 times happier than they were before! 

in the last year i wasnt brain washed or convinced that what i teach is true.. when i got here i realized just how weak my testimony was, and just how unsure i was about the truthfulness of what i was teaching! so i did what i tell people to do everyday. Read the Book of Mormon, and then prayed.... Now I can say that i Know that this is the Truth! it really is! not because a some one told me, but because God gave me an answer to my prayer! i have full confidence that any one of us, if we want an answer from God, we can receive one! but receiving an answer isnt always the hard part! it is following the answer that we have received! my hope is that during this next year of my mission, i can help many more people Follow the Gospel of Christ, Because i know, without doubts, that this is the path!

so now the update on the week! so we have been in the grind like always! me and Elder Lima hada lot of success finding new people to teach this week, which was good seeing as lots of our investigators are waiting on the marraige deal before they can be baptized! so it gave us a few people to work with to try and help them be baptized these next couple weeks! 

we are teaching Jonathan, he went to church for the last two weeks and things with him are going really well, his cousin was baptized in one of the other wards here in the city and she introduced the church to him, things are going well and hoping that all will go well for this week for him to be baptized! 

we are in a triplet here now, Elder Gross, finished his mission, and because president changed the day of the transfer, we are now with his companioin Elder Brandant, he has about 2 months in the feild! so it has made things interesting seeing as how we need to help him with the language and helping him learn how to teach! it has made things a real adventure!! 

well the one year mark was good! not really sure how to feel! didnt burn anything.. but yeah just another normal week of work! 

Hope that every one is doing well! love you all!

Elder Ryan

3 more days... 10-27-14

well the one year.. and it feels so unreal! like what has happened to time! it has gone by so fast! not really sure how i feel about it either! haha its a weird sensation knowing that im half way through!

This week was a tough one. being Zone Leader has been full of excitment! started out the week with the assistants coming here and doing a division with us. it went well but didnt really give us a whole lot of insight on what we could do in terms of helping our zone reach there goals and baptize more. the Zone is really struggling with this, setting goals and reaching them! but other than that the division was good. 

on wednesday we did a sacrifice of our area and did a double division with one of the companionships in our zone, they had been struggling with health problems and in general, everything. when we got there, the house looked like  a tornado had passed through... it was horrible! but we spent the day working really hard trying to find new people for them to teach and trying to train them a bit better of what to do in the area. it was good... then the whole night, literally 5 hours, we cleaned... and cleaned.. and cleaned! when we left, it was much better.. but i still felt like it was dirty! haha but that was a real adventure! 

we also got the news that president was transferring in emergency a companionship out of the zone and closing the area for the next 3 weeks, leaving us to care for the district there and the area as well! it has made things a whole lot more exciting, seeing as our zone is already having lots of problems... its one more for us to solve!haha but hoping that we can handle it all and make it work! 

Our investigators are going well! Isley and Mecia said that they were going to get the marriage thing all figured out this week and they are progressing really well! also we foud another family this week! we taught them on sunday night, Vinicius is a less active and is wife kelly was really receptive and things are looking good there two! things are good with elder Lima, he is a stud and im really liking working with him still! 

this week was a tough one, but it was still good! i think that is about it for this week! hope that everyone is doing well! thanks for your letters and prayers! 

Elder Ryan

"LOOK AT THAT GOALIE!"

Beleza! 10-20-14

so to start this week out, i will answer mothers requests and talk a little bit more about the area and my companion

Area: Ward Siqueira Campos: the oldest ward here in the state of Sergipe. we have one of the most violent neighborhoods in the city, which always makes things fun here! there are lots of hills in our area which are helping my legs stay in good shape! most of the people here are catholic or or go to Gods Assembaly. because there is a massive catholic church here on the top of the highest hill, and there is a massive assembaly church here too! our chapel is pretty small but really cool because it has an older format, it has a garden in the middle it! it is pretty legit! the people here are pretty nice, they are willing to hear us, but few are willing to follow! but what is new! 

Companheiro! Elder Lima, he is from Poço de Caldas, a little city in Minas Gerais, that is famous for its hot springs and cheese! ate some of the chees from there the other day, annd dang it was real good! he is 25 and has a masters in math, the guy is a genius! he is a hard worker and is always thinking of new ideas to help us in the work! he is easily my favorite companion so far! we work really well together and laugh and have tons of fun!

so now for the updates of the week here in aracaju! 

we baptized Aparecida this week! it was freaking awesome, she has changed so much from when we first met her, the gospel has filled her life with purpose and given her light for a better tomorrow! we really had to fight for this baptism but it made it all the sweeter! on sunday we were visiting her, and she was already talking about how she wants to start visiting people with us to help them be baptized as well! she is awesome!! 

I did a division with Elder Tejeda from Chile this week, he is a cool guy. really quiet, but we had a good division, he had just finished being trainned and is on his second companion, feels like yesterday that i was in his shoes! 

we had a really good week of work here, we have been teaching this family and they are really awesome! Isley, is 32 and is mom was already baptized like forever ago, he and his wife Mecia have 2 kids, Yasmin, who is 6 and Islã, who is 4. they arent married yet, but this sunday they went to church with us and said they liked it! Mecia is really liking our focus on the whole marriage deal, she got so excited that she already bought rings! it has been awesome teaching them, and seeing how the little things like prayer and scriptures can make such a big differnece! 

we have some other investiagtors that are going well and went to church as well, but im a little short on time so i leave it at this: things are going great! really loving the area and my companion! really loving seeing the change in peoples lives and helping them over come there dificulties and such! having a great time and a little bit in shock that one year is already approaching! its just too wild to me! 

Espero que todos vocês têm um bom semana!! 

Elder Ryan

Alrighty now! 10-13-14

Soo here is the latest and greatest news from Siqueira Campos Aracaju Sergipe!

so not much too exciting has happened this week, started the week by doing a division with Elder Brandant, has about 3 weeks in the feild! he was lost! haha but it is cazy to think that i was in his position like just 8 months ago! wow time is really flying by! but it was a good division! fun to smell the MTC again and see the faith that the newbies have!

this week i have felt that i have really gotten into a groove working wise! which has been good! Me and Elder Lima are working lots and pushing our selves to the limit. even though we have been having a really hard time getting people to church! so this week we are gonna try working closer to the church to make it easier to get them to church, but the problem is that it is a rich area and its hard to get into the houses there, but we are having some success there and we are trying to get some of the rich people baptized! ;)

things with Aparecida are going really well! she is a bit nervous about this friday, which we have planned for the baptism, but things are looking really good. she is some one that really has been changed by the gospel, she told us how before we started visiting her she felt depressed and lost, and now she feels happy and that she has a purpose in this life. it has been a really awesome experience there!

well i think that is about it for this week! not too much happened out of the ordinary, we have been working tons, im happy in this area even though the members arent helping out too much but, everything cant be perfect right?? but imt ill be staying here for a long time! but i think that is about it for the week! sorry that it was short! love you alll! thanks for the letters and emails!

Elder Ryan

soooo here we go again! 10-6-14

so this week was a good one! conference was a killer, really enjoyed it and learned tons! hoping to start the application process now! 

this week we had to go to  Maceió for the leadership Counsel. it was a good time! 5 hours on the bus to get there and then a meeting all day long on tuesday, and 5 hours back, getting home at midnight.. i was beat! haha but it was a good meeting, basically all the Zone leaders meet together with President and we talk about all the problems that the mission is having and what we need to do to fix it! it was cool to have my voice heard and put in my opinions on how to make things better! 

Thursday we had Zone Meeting. it was good, we talked  a lot about how lots of times or efforts arent always pointed to what needs to be done! even though we may be working, we need to remember our purpose and focus our efforts there! it was good and intense! this week we already started to see the difference in the Zone! 

This month is looking like it will be a good one! the Zone is really excited and working well! hoping that everyone will be able reach their potencial! 

not much news about the investigators! Aparecida is progressing really well she watch both sessions with us on sunday! but seeing as the stake center is about a 45 minute walk from our area, we had a tough time getting people to go and watch it this weekend! 

but i think that that is about it for this week! closing in on the one year mark, seems pretty unbelievable to me!! passing by real fast like! but hope that everyone is doing well! Love you all! 

Elder Ryan

WHAT??? 9-29-14

yeah did anyone think that this week would have something crazy happening because of the subject of this email.. well sorry!! haha 

this week was really awesome though! we had 2 baptisms this week! that ends a pretty long drought! so im pretty thrilled about that! we baptized Patric and Felipe, they are brothers. they live in a really tought situation, their mom died and their Dad is a drug addict, tehy are cared for by their grandma! but the church has been a real safe haven for them! it was cool to see them chagne over these last 2 weeks and see their determination to over come the obstacles that were in their way! saturday they were baptized, and sunday they were already taking their friends to church! it was awesome!

i think that last week i talked about Aparecida, the JW lady. but we had an awesome experience with here this week, we had been teaching her and always inviting here to be baptized. this whole week she was telling us how she couldnt give us the answer yet.. well this week at church she came up to us and said that she wanted to be baptized on the 17 of October! it was awesome! agian it has been awesome to see the changes that the gospel has done for her in her life! she is full of hope and purpose for her life! 

this week was the transfer and everyone who was here in sergipe and was transferred to alagoas, stayed in our chapel until 3 in the morning when the Bus got here to pick them up! that was an adventure seeing as we had to stay there all night to make sure that nothing crazy happened.. and in the middle of it all a Sister had a nervous attack and passed out and stopped breathing.. yeah it was pretty intense!! we called the ambulance and all and it was all good, but it was intense and exhausting! 

Things with Elder Lima are going well, we are really working well together! im really liking him and the focus that we have had these last couple weeks! It has been really fun!

well i think that is about it from me! i hope that everyone is doing well and that everyone is missing me tons!;) ahaha love you all! boa semana pra todos! 

Elder Ryan

Elder Ryan and Elder Lima

"I BROKE THE SINK"

"MY CAR" 

the weekly shindig 9-22-14

so this week was a really good one! it was the last week of the transfer and we really killed it together! 

i stayed here in Aracaju, and im still companions with Elder Lima, we are really working well together and are really good freinds! easily he is my favorite companion so far! really glad that we stayed togetehr for one more transfer! 

so this week we have been working lots with Aparecida, she is a Jehovahs witness that we have been teaching. it has been a really cool experience to see the changes that are happening in her life these last two weeks! she told us how she felt that it was so true and she didnt know why because it is so contrairy to what is taught at the JW's. she went to church this sunday and that was an awesome experince! we are working to baptize her on the 4th.

we help some one move this week, it was a 2 hour planned activity.. it ended up being 6.. seeing as we were the only ones there helping, we didnt leave until it was done! haha and i worked musceles in my body that i had forgotten exsisted! haha 

we are also working with Felipe and Patrick and their dad Adriano. Adriano struggles with drug addictions but has been really looking to stop, havent had much progress leaving the drugs but he did make it to church this week, which was a huge step for him! his two sons Patrick and Felipe and planned to be baptized this week! super excited about that! they have been going to church and to all the activities during the week! really pumped for this saturday! 

we planned an activity for our investigators with the ward this week and it was a hit! i taught the ward how to play ninja and do the human knot! it was a blast i was dying laughing! i think it was the spark that this ward was needing! 

We talked to Pres Gomes about opening a group, like i wrote about last week, and he was pretty hesitant, but all hope is not lost! i think we can get the stake pres to apporve it!! im really excited that i stayed in the area, i feel like we are gonna make some real miracels happen this transfer! 

well that is about it! thanks everyone for writing! love hearing from everyone! 

Love 

Elder Ryan

the weeks news! 9-15-14

alrighty so let the excitement be read! i know that all of you have been desperately waiting for my email, so here it is! ;)

so we had another really good week this week! me and Elder Lima are really running on all cylinders here! we had this briliant idea this week that we started putting into action and it has been a huge success! but more details on that in a bit! 

so we started out the week by doing a trainning with all of our district leaders in our zone on tuesday morning, and it went really well, we talked about how to have a district meeting more efficiant and effective! we talked about teaching techniques and how to help the districts baptize! it was fun! one thing that i have like about being Zone Leader is preparing the trainnings, its a lot of work and tiring, but it is worth it when it all goes smoothly! 

so back to our brilliant idea that we had! so in this area we are having a really hard time getting the people to go to church so we created the "Church Today" theory. (that is trademarked!) many of the investigators that we teach say that they will go to church on sunday, when sunday roles around, they dont want to go, or they create lame excuses as to why they cant go... so to help us decided who really will progress and not we started challenging people to go and visit the chapel with us that day! if they couldnt, we would try and mark for another.. until they would go with us, or they told us how they really felt and told us that they didnt want to go to church! it worked extremely well! we were able to take 3 people to church this week before sunday, which helped that 2 of them went to sacrement meeting on sunday! it was awesome! 

had my first zone meeting as zone leader, that was intense, sometimes it is hard to pass the vision of what you know they other missionaries can accomplish! but it went well! this week ourzone doupled the baptisms! so looks like it had some effect! 

There is this neighborhood that is really far away from the church building, like 30minutes by car, so we are going to try adn open a group there, seeing as there is already an active family living there! hoping that we can get it approved by the mission and stake pres for us to start working there next week! 

well i think that is about it for things here! i hope that everyone is doing well and that you are all missing me soo much ;) haha but love you all! Boa semana para todos! 

Elder Ryan

here is what we got for this week 9-8-14

so this week was all things that are good! to start things out we had a visit from one of the seventies, Marcos Adiukaitus.. (I think that is how you spell his name) he is like a legit general athourity, like from the first quorum and everything! ;) but it was good. he came on wednesday, started out with a leadership meeting, with all the zone leaders here in sergipe, so 6 of us, and he just opened up the time for questions.... it was just a, "get burned fest" because the other missionaries were asking some reall dumb questions.. needless to say i was way to afraid to ask him anything! hahha but after the leader ship meeting there was a meeting with all the missionaries and that was awesome! he talked about we can plan things better and set more challenging goals to push our selves and acheive a full potencial and working to reach the goals that we established! it was a really awesome meeting, helped out a ton, we starting applying the things that he taught us and it went really well! we had one of the most sucessful weeks of my whole mission! 

we were able to find lots of new people to start teaching which was good because our group of investigators was pretty full of people who werent making any progress! but things were looking really good during the week, we found 3 families to teach, which was awesome, and worked lots with referals of the members, teaching their friends and family members! by saturday things were looking real good for having people visit church and make progress for baptism... but the Big Sunday came around... and no one went to church... went to pick them up, get there and they just wouldnt go, even if they had nothing else to do!! haha it makes me laugh a bit becuase it is some thing that so many people have a hard time doing, and that is one of the big reasons why we stop teaching some people, is going to church... its funny because they can only gain from going to church, its not that long and its a really positive place focused on teaching is how to be better in our roles of the family (Dad, Mom, brother sister..) and how we can serve other people... but for some reason it is like the hardest thing fro people here! 

but its ok, we´ll figure out something we can do to get these people to church! 

Really liking working with Elder Lima, isa cool guy, we have really hit our stride working wise, teaching well together and really getting a lot accomplished every day! its been a lot of fun working with him! 

well i dont really know what else to write about this week, it was just a week of lots of work, nothing to crazy happened.. this transfer is passing by way to fast, its already been a month since i got here... time is just flyin by! 

Well that is it for this week! i hope that everyone is doing well! love and miss all of you! 

Até Mais!! 

Elder Ryan

the weeks news! 9-1-14

so this week was a tough one! 

So the week started off by doing a division with one of the district leaders of our zone! his companion has been having a hard time with stress lately, so weve been trying to help out there! but it was good! his name is elder Roper, he is from phoenix and he has like just 3 more months to go on his mish. he was fun to work with, their area was also huge and we had to do some serious walking which was just bundles of fun! ;) the only problem was that when i got there it was like walking into the dump... needless to say it was necessary to do a manditory pick of things. interesting how it is that it is impossible to think straight or have the spirit with you when things are really dirty! 

this week we had a problem with teaching people who didnt really want to do anything. they would listen to us because we were teaching the "word of God" and then when would get in there and throw down the baptismal challange, they all were like..  " oh i have another church" or some other excuse like that! so that was kind of rough for this week, really has been a struggle in this area to find people who are ready to act! pray, read, try living the commandments, going to church. its hard because i know that if the people just do these things, these little things like read the scriptures and pray, they can know its true.. funny how its so simple but the people have such a hard time with it! but its fine, Elder Lima is really good about this, he just keeps working no matter what the result! so we have been working lots trying to do our best! i know that we will find the right people soon, just got to keep on looking! 

this week ive been doing lots of baptismal interviews.. its something that is kind of intense actually! some times the people have hard questions or they need help getting over a fear or something like that! it has been a cool learning experience on how to put into action the whispers of the spirit of how to help these people move forward and choose to follow christ! 

sunday i had to give a talk... i dont think that i will ever like giving talks! hah but it was good, i gave it on missionary work. as i studied, i learned just how important the members are in helping the work move forth.. i reflected and realized that all the people that i had baptized on my mission were referals of the members! really the members do more of the work than we do! 

well i think that is about it as far as the update goes! hope that everyone is well and happy! Amo todos vocês e espero que vocês tem um ótimo semana! 

Elder Ryan

Elder Lima and Elder Ryan

Still has "the force" with him!

soooo. 8-25-14

so here is the weeks update! 

so we had a good week, we worked real hard and have been trying really hard to prepare a few people for this next week to baptize to reach our monthly goal... it was a valiant effort, but it is looking rather grim for this coming week! haha but im not worried about it, we have some great investigators who are preparing for the first week in september! 

we are working with a guy named junior, he was really catholic, like trying to get into the ministry and eveything when he had a change of mind and started for looking for something else. whenwe started teaching him he talked about how reading the book of mormon and hearing our messages is helping him find something that he didnt know was missing in his life, so that was pretty cool

we also found some new people to teach this week by visiting less actives, it is interesting how many people you can find by doing that! but we are working with several people that have been found doing that! 

we did a division this week and i went to the biggest area in the mission, called aruana, it was huge!! we walked so much, at the end of the day i was dying! haha but it was good Elder De Paula, is a good missionary and i learned lots from him! good times! 

as zone leaders we are responsable for helping the missionaries about there problems and that has just been a roller coaster, especially because pres is new and every little problem he calls us and tells that we need to take care of it! it is kind of a hassel at times! 

well i think that is about all for this week! nothing too exciting is happening! just working hard and trying to do my best! i hope that everyone is doing well!

Love you all! 

Elder Ryan

the first week of the transfer 8-18-14

well well well, so here is the upadate on what happened with the transfer! so i was transfered to Sergipe the other state in our mission, im in the capitol city Aracaju, in the ward of Siquira Campos. I was called as Zone Leader, and my new companion is Elder Lima! he is awesome he is from the state Minas Gerais, he is 25, already majored in math and was a teacher, now he is on the mission, he is a super genius and a super hard worker. i really have liked working with him this last week! he is awesome! really liking it here! 

So tuesday was the transfer and when i heard i was called as Zone Leader i didnt quite believe it, feel so unready, seeing as i only have 9 months and only one as District Leader, but i think God knows the situation a little better than i do and so ill jsut do my best to fufill my calling to the best of my abilities, but then i got on a bus and had my legs crushed for 6 hours... and let me tell you, that was just great! 

rest of the week was just working hard, getting to know the new area, finding some new investigators, we have a few potencial baptisms for the 30th and 6th, so im pretty excited about that, really like working with Elder Lima because he pulls his own weight in everything and he is super motivated! but nothing super exciting happened work wise, just another week of grit spit and duct tape work! the memebers here are good and they help out lots, we have been working lots with referals which is awesome, the area here is way bigger than the last one, so that will mean lots more walking! but im liking it lots so far! just trying to adapt and try and get our teaching styles together, but it takes some time, but i feel like this area has some real potencial, so im excited to be here! 

I think the best of it all is that this house here has air conditioning!!! it is so amazing! ive neverslept so well in my whole mission! 

Elder Lima has a super focus on reaching families, which is awesome. we are working with a couple of families right now, hoping that we can make some miracles happen! 

well i think that is about it for the week! nothing too exciting happened! but thanks for all the emails and support! love you all! have a great week! 

Elder Ryan

 I'm in the capitol city Aracaju, in the ward of Siquira Campos

Work, Miracles, and Transfers 8-11-14

so to start this email outm we had transfers yesterday, and i was transfered, i have no idea where i will be going yet, i find out on tuesday, but im a little sad, i really liked working in this area, they have really great members who helped us out a lot, and i have really liked serving in this district, it was 2 transfers of non stop laughs and fun! im gonna miss it here, but im super excited for the change, to meet new people, new area, and new experiences! i will let you know next week where i am and who my companion is! 

soo this week we worked real good, it was fun! the mission presidente told us that he recieved a note from the first presidency that in our mission they want us to work harder with members and less actives! less knocking on doors and working more with reactivation and referals! so that is what we did, we visit like 20 people on the less active list this week and that was good, trying to help them reactivate and strengthen the church here! but it also helped us find new people to teach, and it was a whole lot easier than having to knock on a ton of doors! 

this week we had some serious miracles happen! so we were with nothing to do, and i was like, well lets just see, just maybe, some one brought someone to seminary to visit.. so we went to church and it was like every one of the youth had brought a friend to visit! what luck!! haha but it was awesome. one of them was an investigator that we taught when i first got here, and he told us that he didnt want to go to church and such and we hadnt see him since. well he was there and came up to me and told me that he wanted to be baptized! MIRACLE! haha but that isnt the end of it.. another kid, the cousin of Anderson, one of the people we baptized here,came up and said that he wanted to be baptized too! well... MIRACLE! so that was awesome! we also have more people that we are working with who were there that night as well! 

On sunday Ana Vitoria, our forever investigator.. came up to us ofter sacrament meeting and notified us that her baptisms would be next satuday and 7, and that we needed to be there! MIRACLE! after three months of teaching her, she finally has decided that she is ready! 

now that i think about it.. all these miracles happened, and im leaving.. i think i have a problem with that! ;) but im happy that these people are choosing to follow christ, even though i wont be there to see it happen! 

well that is about all i have to say this week! it kind of passed by in a blur... time on the mission is too fast sometimes! it feels so unreal that im already at 9 months and a half... some times i dont believe it is happening! haha

well i hope that everyone is doing well and that every one is missing me beyond belief! :) love you all and hope you have an awesome week! 

MOM: Happy birthday!!! hope it was awesome! 

DAD: Happy Fathers day!! (well it was fathers day here in brazil.. i dont know about there.. i forget what day it is) but none the less!! Happy dads day! 

Até mais!! 

Elder Ryan

Rumor has it--coke is better in South America! 

Finally got a chance to play basketball!