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