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!