August 28 First Baptism!!!

 Yesterday was fast and testimony day and so i got the chance to bear my testimony in portugues. It went so well. I shared my experience with the atonement and so many people told me that it helped them later that day. It was amazing, the spirit was so strong.

GUESS WHAT. Friday  I had my first baptism out in the field. We finally were able to baptize Geralda. She is so awesome. She is almost 70 and she decided to be baptized this week. It was such an amazing experience. I felt the spirit so strongly and I truly felt happiness for her. She made a wonderful decision and on Sunday she was confirmed by Elder Dedeco. I helped ha. But it was really cool to see her make this wonderful decision. It was cool to prepare it all. The font here is super small but it was fun to help and we had Elder Tenorio and Elder Coutinho help us too. 

This week was full of amazing experiences. The baptism and then also one night we were teaching an investigator and as soon as we started talking about the spirit and about baptism and about all other cool things in the church, the lighting changed and it got so much brighter. I was the only one who noticed but I could feel the spirit so strongly. I love being out in the field even if it is super hard to understand and to speak but it is getting better. 

Fasting truly does help though. It is amazing. Please always fast with a purpose and never give up. It was funny. Saturday we had to help some sisters fill the font up for a baptism they were having, so we did and we stayed for the baptism.  I started my fast before the baptism started. Then after it ended, they brought out this huge cake and so many brigadeiros, small chocolates from heaven, and they brought out soda, but i didn't eat any of it because I was fasting. I didn't want to call attention to myself so I talked with this one guy who wants to go to america so badly. I talked with him in portugues and I understood him and he understood me. It was incredible. 

Something funny that happened this week, we have a boy named Robson here who wants to go on a mission and he is 28, he wants to go on a mission and I  told him he should get called to the Provo Utah mission so he can meet everyone in Vernal. It was funny. oh and elder tenorio dropped his planner in the baptismal font and we had to fish it out, it was hilarious., i got a video of it. My roommates, the other elders are hilarios and i love working out here with elder dedeco. It is a blessing and I know that the lord will help me with the language and help us with our investigators. 

We are hoping to have some more baptisms in the next couple of weeks but we can't have any this week since this next sunday is conferencia de estaca. stake conference ha. I love learning more in the mission and I love learning about my savior. He truly is magnificent. I read a little bit of Jesus the Christ every day so I learn more about him every day. I share so many scriptures and testimonies about him because He truly is our Savior and our Redeemer and our way back home.

Seriously the desserts here are amazing, for lunch at a members house we had a chocolate pudding cake with morango, or strawberries in it, it was heaven, and yesterday a member made me drink so much soda, but I  am working out every morning pretty hard so I hope it will be ok ahah. I think this week or next we will get to play soccer, I hope ha. 

 I do know that guy!! he is so funny and so awesome. his name is Sean Peacock and he is hilarious. Marcus and i love him!!! Tell him he is awesome and good luck. and to email me if he isn't gone already ha. I love you  and i am so grateful for  our family. I love you all!! I am going to try and write those thank you emails right now haha. but i will send pictures in a little bit for you. tell Brant and 
Boot i said hi too ha. 

Elder Bestenlehner

August 21, 2017

This week was a lot better but still pretty hard.. I didn't even get to play soccer with them ha apparently we can only play soccer on pdays and even then we don't play. ugh. But that's totally ok.  

 It has been great this past week. The first two days after pday, I did splits with my other roommate one day and then the next day with one of the APs who has only a couple of weeks left. Both days went great. Elder Coutinho, my roommate, and i ate acai so much that day. it is so good and the ice cream here is heaven. Then the day with Elder Bellum, the AP was amazing. I started off the day by giving him a blessing in Portuguese. I didn't even know him and I am sure I messed up on some words but it was incredible. Then the rest of the day I was able to talk a lot in portugues and teach so many people!! It was just an incredible day. 

Earlier that day i really got humbled though, I had started off the day by complaining about the language and other things, like carrying a couple of bags up huge hills, then a thought popped into my head that said, you have to carry some bags up some hills, the Savior had to carry a cross to his own death. It was really humbling and  I learned this week that I should try and not complain at all.  I watched Ephraims rescue in my apartment with my companion and roommates and it taught me not to complain too ha. But it was a good experience to grow closer to my Savior and feel how he felt in some ways. 

 Sunday was probably my favorite day. because church went great and I understood a lot and was able to talk to some people. Then afterwards Elder Dedeco and I got a call and we went to the hospital and gave 7 people blessngs of healings and I did the first part for all seven of them. It was so spiritual.  A lady started to record us during one blessing which was weird. After those blessings we found two new families who seem really interested in the gospel. I am so excited to teach them more. One family is named the gustava family and they made me happy because they seemed so interested. I know the gospel blesses familias and blesses so many lives, I am grateful for the opportunity to be on a mission. Even if right now I can't speak the language fluently, I know the lord will bless me through the gift of tongues. love you all and I am so very grateful for you and everything you do for me. I hope this next week goes wonderful. we have 3 baptisms this week, I am excited and I



hope they go through. love you all!!!! here are some pictures of me and food and belo horizonte. 

August 14, 2017

ts been a crazy couple of weeks for me ha. But anyways my new companions name is Elder Dedeco. he is a Brazilian from Porto Alegre and he is super awesome, but it's so hard to understand him and everyone in Belo Horizonte. I am really having a hard time with the language. It is terrible because you can't understand anyone and all you want to do is talk to people about the gospel. I cried like three times, I felt like a wimp but it was a good experience to feel somewhat what the Savior felt. I am trying to have a strong faith in the gift of tongues and it is working. I am grateful for the opportunity to be on a mission and I will help people even if I cant speak the language. But I know it will come.

I absolutely love Belo Horizonte though. It is a lot better than Sao Paulo. the people here are so great. We eat at a members house every day for lunch and it is so hard, haha they don't show mercy when eating because they will make you eat everything. The food is so good though. It is awesome to just try and talk and eat their food ha. They truly prepare the very best for us.

We have a lot of investigators and we get new ones every day. I am also having a hard time with that because I am used to planning for lessons but elder dedeco just goes right in, no planning at all besides where we are going to go and who we are going to see. But that's ok ha. Its been really cool to talk to some Brazilians about soccer. They all love soccer and they play in the streets and on dirt fields here all the time. I love it. I am excited because we are playing with investigators this Friday. It should be awesome. T

This week we did so much walking. People warned me but i had no idea that Belo Horizonte was the city of hills and mountains. Every where you walk is a hill that is crazy. It is worse than u hill or yellow hill back home. Its so tiring but it helps me ha.

Our apartment is like a scary murder apartment from a movie. there are so many spiders and so many ants everywhere. You cant leave out any food because ants will take over. It reminded me of the story of jessa and the cake with ants. I accidentally ate a bowl of cereal with small ants in it and didn't notice till I finished haha. It was funny. My roommates along with elder dedeco are super nice and super helpful. They are also super hilarious. they want to play me in chess all the time. The houses in belo horizonte are super crazy but super cool tambem. It makes me sad to see how poor people are here but how willing they are to do things for people. 

We met a boy named jobson who was very sad., we are super excited to teach him and play soccer with him. But this week I got called a devil by a drunk man and we taught inside a house that had drawings on the wall of weed smoking and killing things. It was scary, but they were very nice people. We want to teach them again. We have a couple of baptisms in the next two weeks so that is awesome. but other than that everything is awesome, hard but awesome. I am excited for more to come. I just need to trust in the Lord and feed his sheep.

The gospel is definitely true I testify that. a woman was trying to tell us we were wrong but i just kept thinking, no this is the true church and the book of mormon is the word of god!!! Love you all! I am happy to hear about the family and everyone doing so well. I hope chris gets better and I will keep you all in my prayers. If you have any comforting things you can tell me I sure do need them ha.  I am serving in belo horizonte oeste part.

 Thats sad to hear about coach Nerdin. Tell him I love him and he was the best coach anyone could ever have. also let coach calder know he will kill it too. Miss and Love YOU!!!!

Elder Bestenlehner

ps i dont care about the ring either is fine ha, and what time do we pray together on sundays? i think we are 3 hours ahead.

The pictures are of Elder Bestenlehner, Elder Dedeco, Elder Searle (he trained Elder Dedeco and was just released) and the Searle Family having lunch with them. Sister Searle sent me (mom) pictures.

Lunch with the Searle Family. They were in Brazil picking up their son.

Elder Bestenlehner, Elder Dedeco, Elder Searle (Elder Dedeco's trainer who was just released)

August 2, 2017

Dear Family and Friends-

My week is was crazy hard. I am really struggling with the language but it is ok. I am so ready for the field and I  know the lord will help me. Thank you for everything you have done for me. Please tell Chris I love him and  have been keeping him in my prayers. I hope things go well this year in school. 

I actually bought some new scriptures in portugues because the ones they gave us aren't very good. I need to trade in all of my american money I have though. T

That is so cool to here about Devin!! ah i love him so much, he is going to do so great. And that is cool to here about the Bassetts. I am super excited for them.

My last week in the ctm!!! So sad, it is so cool here. but I am also ready to head out to the field. By the way if i don't email next week it is because I don't have a pday since I am in the field and it already passed. This week was awesome, and really hard too, but it will always be hard. Some funny things that happened this week, irmao oliveira is the best, this week he found out that elder Pulsipher worked in an old folks home before and so he always pretends to be an old man and say, elder Pulispher ajude-me usar o banheiro.... hahaha it is so funny. It means help me use the bathroom. plus elder Southwick and elder Welch joke with us everyday. It was sad though because elder Southwick left yesterday for the field.

Cool story, I met an instuctor who is planning on trying out for Real Salt lake soon. I talked to him about the recruiting process and it was so cool. I am taking a picture with him today. 

The language is super hard but it is coming along!! I love it anyways. I know the gift of tongues is real though. I am doing so good on lessons and this last week I gave a talk in sacrament meeting completely in portuguese. I didn't stutter at all either. It was stellar. Saturday we went proselyting and it went way better than the first time. We got four referrals and it was so cool. One man gave us a fake number at first but then found us later on and apologized and he said he felt like he should give us his number because he felt a burning. It was awesome.  Then we tried to talk to an old lady and she yelled at us for being so happy and walked away. We were so confused. Jere in Brazil it is so poor and it is hard to see all of the nice people struggling in life, but i am glad I get to help them. I was able to give two blessings this week and I just want to bare my testimony on the power of the priesthood. It is so true and i know that I have the priesthood to bless the lives of others. 

I think i will be taking a plane to Belo Horizonte next Tuesday. There is an airport there. Everything is going good though.  I love you so much mom haha yah we had those cookies the first week but they are too expensive, now we just buy churros. I will have a lot more to say next week or in two weeks. but i love you so much and miss you a lot.. i think about you guys!! also i got the pictures you sent me, i love them and i think about you all the time. especially you Chris, I love you, don't ever give up!! Love you so much. 

Not much happened this week but it was still an amazing spiritual week. I will have way more to write next week ha. Love you all!! feel free to email me always. SORRISO SEMPRE. 

Elder Bestenlehner