well well 7-28-14

well here is the update on what is happening in my life for the last week here in the crazy land of Maceió Brasil! 

so we had a good week, we taught lots and have been trying to find new people to teach by visiting the less actives and recently baptized people, seeing if we can teach their family members or ask for referals.. until now.. not much results on the new people! haha but felt really good about the work we did this week! i dont think ive ever worked so hard in a week before! on sunday night i was stuggling to walk home! haha

this week we tried really hard to help Patrick, he is 17, he has been visting the church for the last 5 months or so, but his mom wont sign the form authorizing for him to be baptized! but we did everything we could to baptize him this week. we had is interview done by one of the Zone leaders, we filled the baptismal font, without even knowing if she would sign.. invited all the members to come watch... and she didnt sign! haha the struggle is real! but we gonna see what kind of magic we can make happen for him to be baptized this saturday! 

also we have been teaching sara, i talked about her last week, we had everything planned for her to be baptized this week! but again the parents are out to foil our plans! her mom went anti mormon this week, which is funny because last week, she asked if we could pass by one day shen she is home for us to teach her too... and out of nothing... she hates mormons! hah but hoping that we can figure things out with her for her to let sara be baptized! 

i cant really remember what else happened this week.... the weeks like pass by in a blur and i dont even know what to write sometimes! so this is the update on the investigators! 

the transfer is coming to an end, we have two more weeks left, and its looking pretty possible that i will be transferred to a new area! but we'll see what happens! the mission is passing by really way to fast! i feel like yesterday that i was being dropped off at the curb of the MTC, and im already at 9 months... it is a little unreal to think about it! 

well i hope that everyone is having a great week! love you all and thanks for the emails! 

well here goes 7-21-14

so this week started out real good like. so we had this family night at the bishops house on monday night and they invitided this family to come and listen, we talked about the restoration and all that good stuff and it was super legit! spirit was super strong. really excited to be teaching a family, they are really special! 4 of the 5 members have a baptismal date for the 9 of august! (i cant remember if that is how you really write august.... ooops) but anyway that was awesome! 

We had a really god week of work, we had lots of success, only downer was that i got sick with some crazy jungle disease.. just kidding! i wish i could have seen the look on mom's face when she read that! but i did get a cold and that was annoying, every 10 steps i would start coughing my lungs out.. but what do you do?? 

we had lots of success acompanying our investigators progress for baptsim this week, one of the things that we were having a real problem with before so that was real good! 

had my first interview with president Gomes this week, that was really good! i really like him and am excited to learn from him.. he does have a lazy eye which did phase me a bit! haha but it was really good, he gave lots of advice and helped me out big time! 

this week i also did a division with Elder Martins in my district. as district leader, its my job to help out the other missionaries with all there problems and such! its kind of weird because i feel like i was needing the help of the DL like yesterday, and know im the one that everyone is looking too... its differnent and has its pressures, but it has helped me take my "Game" so to speak, to a new level, ive learned a lot! but it was a good Division, i really like Elder Martins, he only has 6 months but he will be a great leader and i really liked working with him! 

well this is the coolest thing that happened this week, so we have been teaching one of the freinds of one of the members here. she has really been liking reading the Book of Mormon and visiting the church, but was still feeling a little hesitant about being baptized. but on sunday the member went out of town, she notified that she wouldnt be going to church because she had no one to go with, but i was like.. a NO! haha but we walked to like freaking Narnia in our area to walk with her to church! she had a great experience, she told us during sacrament meeting that she was feeling something unlike anything she had ever felt (AKA the Spirit!!) but after the sunday school classes she came up to us and said, "I want to be Bpatized." my smooth response was "What??" out of disbelief of what i had just heard (Dang im smooth right??) but needless to say we have a baptism for this saturday and im super excited! sometimes God does things for you when you least expect it, and that makes it all the more better! 

So that was our week! it was great and things look like they are finally falling into place! 

Love you all and hope that you have a great  week! and Family, dont have too much fun at lake powell with out me!! 

Elder Ryan

alrighty 7-14-14

well Mom, i will use this email to try and respond to all those demands that you had! haha 

so the music here that i hear almost every day walking on the blisteing hot streets of barren, desert, (but close to the ocean, topical) Maceio brazil! we live about15minutes by taxi.. which is real crazy, probably more like 45 minutes for a normals person driving! but that always makes things exciting when we need to go to the center! im in the Paradise Ward, it recently was grew to a ward! my companion is Elder Cordeiro, he is from Curatiba Paraná, in the southern part of brazil! he is 19, he is my "son" here on the mission, seeing as i am is trainer! i was recently called as the DL here in the area, which leads to lots of excitement and pressure. the people here are great! they are some of the most freindly people i have ever met! i have never met a person here who doesnt believe in God.. but on the other hand, i havent seen a whole lot of people who live like it! haha between all the drinking and smoking, it doesnt suprise me when i see a person without teeth! haha. Preaching about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ has been one of the most amazing and most rewarding experiences of my entire life. never have i felt that my life has had more purpose than it does right now! never have i felt that what im doing is helping the world become a better place than teaching the "Good word ;)" i Feel that i have learned so many things on my mission! i have seen, that living the gospel can change our lives for the better more than any other thing in the world.. but it isnt just a thing that we do sometimes, its not like getting baptized by someone holding the preisthood is going to magically fix all your problems, but if we really let it become part of the way we live.... its gonna change everything for us.. everything for the better. our lives will not be free of difficulties, or without sadness.. but some how it seems like everything is more possible, we see things with a different perspective. because as members of the church of christ we know that we are part of an eternal plan. there is so much more to our lives than just this time we have on the earth. we have the opportunity to progress much more than we can imagine because of the saving atonement of our Savior.. and if we just suck it up sometimes, do what is tougher than tough, and choose to following with all that we have... All will be Well. 

well Mom i hope that responded to your questions that you had! now i will try and give you a little more updated news splash on what is happening here! 

Well the world cup is finally over! and that is just soo great, because that means that we can finally get back to work.. like really work again! im real excited about that! 

we are having lots os success teaching new people and many people that are teaching are having the wonderful experience to witness that God really does answer there prayers.. but unfortunately the bigger part of them are having a tough time deciding that being baptized is really what they want! its been a process with many investigators that we are having to help them exercise there faith and help them recognize that they wont know everything about the Gospel before they are baptized.. i dont even know everything and i am a member for almost 19 years! but we are continuing onward working and trying to do everything that we can to help them recognize how much better things can be for them if they just follow! 

i had my first division with the Zone leader this week as the DL. man the pressure was real! haha but i think he will send a good report of me to the pres ;) but it was really good, Elder Franczak is a really good missionary and he taught me a lot about the things that i can to better! it was a good time! 

tuesday and saturday were two days that were impossible to work because of the brazil games, and for the rest of the week, every drunk person and little kid asked me if i was german.. i can honestly say that i have never been so happy to be american! haha

i dont know i dont really have much other news.. i bought a harmonica and ive learned how to play that.. that has been good, the other day i found a Football in a store... not a soccer ball, but a real american football! i about screamed like a little girl in the middle of the store and caved instantly and bought it! so now i have a football! 

needless to say, things are going well here for me! not baptizing, but that seems to be like a trend in my mission.. but what do you do?? haha i just keep trying to do my best and the rest is what it is! but im giving it all that ive got! 

Hope that everyone is doing well! i love you all and you all are in my prayers!

Elder Ryan

Certinho! 7-7-14

well this week was freaking good! yes it deserves a freaking! haha 

so this week started out pretty normal, last p-day we played a ton of basketball, we played with our ward in the morning and then later that day we played with all the missionaries in our zone! that was super fun, but i was like an old man walking around for the next 3 days! i think im getting old or something! hah

i led my first district meeting this week! and i cant lie (because that would be a sin!) it was pretty good! haha but it was fun leading things for a change and we every one got real excited to work and stuff! it is really nice to be in a are full of excitement and faith compared to what was happening in Viçosa! its been a great change! 

this week we had lots of success finding new people to teach, we found 12 new people to teach this week and marked 10 of them to a date of baptism! so that was super exciting! it felt like after two weeks of working my butt off with no results finally paid off! it was great! this next week we should have the baptism of Ana Vitoria.. finally! hhaha after working with here for the last transfer and a half! but im really hoping that all goes well for that to happen this saturday! 

also did my first baptismal interview this week! that was pretty cool! felt some pressure but.. im pretty smooth so there were no problems there! ;) (dang sometimes i am so humble!) haha 

thrusday was the "welcome pres and sister gomes" meeting here. it was good, they seem cool but a little like greenie missionaries! it is a little funn! but im excited to see what i can learn from them! 

Sunday was good, we had 3 new people visit the church, so i was pretty psyched about that, only bummer about this week really is that i cought the cold on tuesday, and it hasnt gotten better yet! but other than that... life is pretty good here in paradise! 

Hope you all have a great week! it was awesome hearing for all of you! love you all and hope you all have a great week! 

Até mais!!

Elder Ryan