October 29, 2018

This week was super great!! We had the same exact people at sacrament meeting as the last week! It was such a cool thing too see and Tatiane, Nilda,and samara are all progressing a lot and when i was on divisions in another area with Elder Holt, from Spanish fork, Elder Cerda was able to challenge them to be baptized and they accepted. So I have faith that they can all be prepared to be baptized! We didnt see Arthur and Vitoria until sunday but they came to church and they loved it! We are hoping to teach them this week! I was actually able to go back to Nacional and work there for a day! It was interesting. I was able to stay with Elder Gray, elder franças companion ha! But i visited some old investigators who were willing to accept us again and it definitely helped out their teaching record! Also I was able to discover some things that were going on between the members and missionaries and we fixed that too!! I had a spiritual experience actually thinking about you this week mom! Elder Cerda shared a message with one of the recent converts about the stripling warriors and how they always respected their moms. Then he started to ask everyone in the room about their moms and how they felt. Luckily i being one of the missionaries, he did not ask me because i was on the edge of crying a lot haha. Because i thought about how i was blessed so much to have a mom that loves me and has always done everything she could to help me stay on the covenant path. I did not doubt for my mother she knew it!!! I love you mom and I am grateful that in the gospel we have our moms to help us along and help us to be obedient just like the savior!! I Love the gospel so much and this week i was studying in Jacob and I love the scripture that says "Be wise! What can i say more?" If we really think about that scripture, we can understand that our agency is given to us so that we can be wise and choose what is the right thing to do! I am excited to obey the lord in everything and work as hard as i can! One of the members of the stake presidency here said that on his mission he was so excited that he would go to door to door and when they would say "Who is it?!" he would say, "We are the soldiers who fight evil!!" And that person would come running down haha. It was super funny but it made me realize that we are the ones who are fighting the evil, so let us continue for the lord is on our side! 

Dave's email

Hey dad!!! I love you so much and this week was great and we worked super hard! Only that at the end of the week was when we saw our work pay off!! It was great because we had the same people who came to sacrament last week come this week!! Tatiane, Samara, and Nilda all came to church and they are learning so much!! It was actually super cool because I went on divisions in Gutierrez this last saturday and Elder Cerda went to go and teach those three girls with another elder and one of the return missionaries, in that lesson he challenged them to prepare to be baptized and they accepted a date to be baptized in November!! It was so cool and i was so happy to see them coming to church and see them progressing. Also Arthur and Vitoria came to church and it was the only time we saw them this week because the safety situation is still happening and the mom is very catholic and so it has been hard.But we are hoping that it changes this week and we can teach them more!! The other people we tried to follow up with them but because of the elections here in Brasil, it was hard to teach and we had to go home early on sunday because it was getting dangerous! But other than that i am planning on using my priesthood more this week so that we can bless the lives of others. I want to do that and we have those investigators who could totally use it! I love the gospel and i love the priesthood!! I have been able to bless the area, and that was a great experience but I know that I need to honor my priesthood by giving blessings just like you do dad!! I love you and all of your examples and how you really are a Christ like person! I was studying today in Enos and in Jarom and how they both obeyed gods commandments even when it was super hard! I love their examples and i thought of how as we exercise our faith in Christ, we will bless our own lives and bless the lives of others! I am excited to go to the temple again with you dad and i miss it a lot, but i love this work even if it is hard. I also thought the toe thing that mom shared was interesting and very beautiful and i plan on doing what you said and what she said! I love how the lord works and he knows everything. Maybe this week we will find out if i have to do anytthing more to stop my toenail problem but I trust in the lord! I love you so much dad! I know this gospel is true and I am grateful for the plan of salvation and that all man kind may be saved!! Love Elder Bestenlehner

October 22, 2018

My email-

Wow was this week powerful for us!! It was super cool actually! Oh and Elder Cerdas first name is Carlos! But we definitely had a great week this week and I am happy to hear from you and the rest of the family. Ha i definitely want to see that Dog!! 

But this week was super cool because we worked super hard! On a division with Elder Johnson, he is from american fork, I was able to do a contact with a girl in the street who is about 25 years old but she was super awesome to talk too! We returned to their house on saturday night and we taught her and her two sisters and her mom! It was such a cool experience because earlier she had found a card that we give out in the street earlier that day and she liked the picture of Jesus in the americas and kept it. Then when we taught them and apresented the Book of Mormon, she started to laugh. I thought it was weird but then she explained to me what had happened. When we told them that they could have the Book of Mormon for themselves, she started to cry and all of them promised that they would read the book of mormon. And the very next day three out of the four came to church. The mom and the two daughters. The moms name is Nilda and the daughters that came to church are named Tatiane and Samara. They loved church and we are planning on visiting them this week once again. We loved testifying of the book of mormon and I am so grateful that we have the Book of Mormon in our day. Imagine if the church had not been restored yet!? We would never have the knowledge of the book of mormon in our lives and it would be hard to know gods plan for all of us. What a miracle. Speaking of miracles we taught Arthur and Vitoria this week and we literally gave a message about Miracles. The spirit was strong as my companion testified of the miracles in his life and as i testified of mine! And the mom accepted to talk about letting them be baptized with their father. We will see what she says this thursday and we know that the Holy Ghost will testify to her. Also they came to church and loved it ofcourse. So it was such a great week to be here and to just see the Lord working with us. Now i would like to challenge all of you to pray with faith that these people may accept the truth and be baptized so that they can enter Gods Kingdom!! I know that if you all do that, then the lord will provide miracles in their lives and in your lives as well!! I love this gospel so much and I love my savior. I pray every day that i may come to know him more. 

Dave's email-

Hey!! Every time i get your email, i become so happy because i can feel the spirit testify to me that what you are telling me is true and it is so amazing to receive that testimony as well!! I am doing well!! I am not having any problems with health as far as i know.. but i am having a hard time with my toes. But thats ok because it doesnt bother me to walk on them everyday! We were able to teach Arthur and Vitoria this week and we taught their mom too! She is going to decide if she will let them be baptized this week and I know for sure that the spirit is telling her to let them be baptized, but she just needs to open her heart. They came to church and it was such a good experience for them. Then we were able to teach a mom and her three daughters. I told mom about the experience but the spirit was strong during the lesson and Samara, one of the daughters, cried when we gave them two book of mormons! It was such a good experience and all of them went to church except for one of the daughters that didnt wake up. But their names are Samara, tatiane, kenya, and the mom Nilda. We were also able to teach a lady that has a kid with autism and she was so nice to us, she saved us from the rain. He name is Cassia and she is going to ask us questions this week about what she read in the book of mormon. We are working super hard to help others know what is right and we want to spread the truth and fulfill our purpose. We are striving to be obedient and we are striving to help other missionaries grow and learn! It was so cool because i went on divisions with Elder Johnson and elder that has about 5 months on the mission. When we got done that day he told me "Wow. Now i know how i should be working in my area, i am super tired haha" It was such a great experience to help him and his companion who is the district leader. This week we are going to a district meeting at my old area nacional well progress actually haha but it should be great!! I love the lord so much and I know that he will bless us! We also found two others who are named Rafael and Rayanne and so pray for them too!!  I love testifying of Christ and I know that this is the right path, the covenant path is the way to go! Love you so much!!!!

October 15, 2018

But my first zone conference as a zone leader was so  awesome!! It was such a great conference and President shared some great things! He talked about how we can understand each other more and listen to others opinions! It was super cool and our trainings went well too!! We were able to help the missionaries learn how to use the area book and how to study the best way!! But I also loved how the spirit tells us what we need to say and when we need to say it! It was cool and Elder Cerda and I learned a lot about working together to help other missionaries! 

But this week was definitely a challenge for us... We had lots of hard moments and for three days straight all of our Appointments fell through. Because of safety reasons Arthur and Vitoria had to stay longer with their dad and so we havent been able to teach them. So we are sending the missionaries who work there to teach them when they can. It was a hard week and it definitely tested my faith. Many times I thought what i am doing wrong and how are others succeeding without working that hard when we are working as hard as we can and nothing is going right. It was sad to see how much the people rejected the gospel. We did have some good moments this week that made us feel a lot better! We taught a mom and her daughter and we are going to teach this week a family of four! we havent been able to find them at home yet but we are hoping that this week it goes ok! But I bore my testimony on how we can all use the gospel in our lives. When we show our faith in Jesus Christ and in his Atonement we can repent of everything we have done wrong and feel the joy that Alma felt as he repented of his sins. We can show our love for the savior by being baptized and being completely washed from our sins and receive the holy ghost. Who is willing to stay with us until the end so that we can have eternal life. I love the gospel so much and that is how we can serve God and do what is right. Our love for the savior and his gospel is what helps us to serve faithfully and stay strong in the gospel. It is our motivation to the gospel of Jesus Christ. But we have faith that this week we will find Gods elects and help other missionaries to do the same!! God really does care for each one of us, we just need to recognize that he cares for each one of us in different ways. 

But i am sure things with my health will get better and I have been trying to stay focused just like the savior wants me too! It is going good so far and I hope to help more of Gods children!! I love you  and thanks for always being there for me and helping me out. I know that the mission isnt easy at all and i wouldnt want it to be. Because i want to come back stronger than ever!

David's email-

 

 It was super sad for us when we couldn't teach and I just remembered how much the world and the people of the world can wound us by their actions, just like Elder Andersen said. But I have to remind myself that my wounds can be healed if i strive to be like Christ in all moments and find others who are willing to accept the gospel. I was able to bless our area yesterday and I felt comforted by the spirit that the work will go forward and that things will get better. We had a hard time with Arthur and Vitoria because they are still away because of safety reasons, but we know that the lord will bless them and we are sending missionaries that live there to go and teach them! But I know that the lord will provide miracles in our lives and President told me in my interview that the lord is preparing a great work for me to do! So that is why i must continue!! I love the gospel and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. I love that all of you pray for me and help me in this mission. I love the mission because i can do the lords work. It is hard but your prayers strengthen me and give me the strength to go on. I love Jaden and Jace and tell them I said Hi too! And tell the others also that said Hi to me! I love them all and I know that Jaden will find a job, He is awesome and the Lord will bless him! Love you so much! I also Know this church was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I know that this is Christs Church here on the earth. I love the prophet and his apostles and I know that they have been called of God! I know that this gospel is perfect and to trade worldy things for this gospel would be the worst thing that anyone could ever do.

October 8, 2018

This week was super hard for us because here in Brasil they were focused on politics and they had voting for their new president sunday morning.... so everything went wrong hahaha but not everything actually. We had some great lessons and in the end we got to listen to General Conference. I was so excited that after lunch i was practically running to the chapel!!! I love General Conference and I know that all of the talks were given to us by the lord through his servants! 

This week we had training and it was super cool! We talked a lot about how we need to better our studies so that we can teach by the spirit. President gave a great training about faith and working hard to call gods elects. I actually wanted to send some quotes that i loved in General conference!! "Our trials and difficulties can lead us to our true conversion if we dont harden our hearts or stiffen our necks"-Elder Christofferson "The lord desires to sweep away any darkness that encoulds you and fill it with his love and his joy. Draw near to god and he will draw near to you." I loved Elder Uchtdorfs talk about this because it is so true. Many people think that God will just come to them but we need to come to him first off! "Let us not burden our remembrance with sadness and regret. Now is the day to sacrifice your pride and be a peacemaker" -Elder Holland "No one is pre-ordained to fail. All have potential for the eternal love that God offers."-Elder Gay "Atonement is the plan, not the back up plan." -Elder Carpenter I also loved the many other talks that spoke about being Shepherds and gathering gods sheep!! I loved this General Conference and it was amazing to see how God´s love was shown to everyone. I loved Elder Andersens talk about wounds and how we were meant to have wounds, but we were also born to come out stronger than when we were wounded!! I love this gospel so much and I love that God has called Prophets, Apostles and Seventies to help us on our Covenant Path. This gospel is true and I know that Christ loves me so much and Loves everyone in the world. That is why he restored this gospel here on the earth today. This is HIS church! 

I actually think the changes wont change anything in the mission field. It will just mean that we have more time for Proselyting!! And I think the changes made are awesome and its what the world needs. Our homes are what are important and the home should be a place that is just a little bit less sacred than the temple! or even the same! I think that is a great idea by the way. Womens conference must have been awesome! I like what President Nelson is doing and he is really the prophet here on the earth. I love him so much for sacrificing his time for the church of Jesus Christ! But other than that I hope the lord blesses Afonso and I know that he is such a great guy. The Lord will help him, the members need to realize how important ministering is here. But anyways if i need anything more i will let you know. But i love you so much!!! Thank you for everything. This week i will check my stuff to see what more i need of clothes and those type of things. LOVE YOU!

Elder Bestenlehner's email to his dad this week  - I really wanted to share this with you.

 I am doing great and this week was super awesome, slow, but amazing because of General Conference!! The new changes made are inspired by the lord. I was so happy when they said that we would be focusing more on the home. Because here in Brasil they need to focus more on the home. I am so grateful that you and mom made the home a place of worship and a place where the spirit could be!! I was able to do a division this week and i talked with the district leader about his needs and what he was having a hard time with. It was a couple of problems in his district so i gave him a couple of counsels that helped him resolve his problems. It was super cool. In General Conference they talked a lot about how we will have trials and difficulties in our lives. I was amazed to see how much they talked about it but how much they told us to never give up and to continue firm on the covenant path. I love that phrase!! The covenant path is the only way to go. I think i have the greatest desire to stay on that path and do everything i can to be as a shepherd and help others to stay by my side. I loved General Conference and I know that the lord blessed me to have his spirit with me during the sessions. I was so happy that i ran to the chapel just to see and watch the prophets speak to us. Arthur and Vitoria are doing good and are reading the book of mormon, they are out of town right now for safety reasons but they watched small parts of conference and we will probably see them today!! I am excited to teach them more about the book of mormon and the gospel. I also liked what President Nelson said about the name of the church. So many people need to know that this is the lords church and we all need to respect the savior and not disapoint him! I love the church of Jesus Christ because it is where we can become more like the savior. We were able to teach a lady named Aparecida this week and she looks like she has a lot of potential. I hope she reads the book of mormon and decides to come to church this next time. I was able to watch conference in English upstairs in the chapel with Elder Holt so it was cool to be able to hear in our native language! I love this gospel and I know that the spirit really testifies to our hearts. I am praying that the spirit is always with me and I know that the lord will provide!! Even though the work was slow this week we are hoping that here in two weeks Arthur and Vitoria will be baptized!!

October 1, 2018

 I am doing great! This week was super awesome! It was the first week of the transfer so we had a lot of time to work in our area and find great people to teach! This next week will be harder because we have lots of meetings and splits! But i am super excited!! Oh and my companion is from Chile and he has one year and one month on the mission! He is such a hard worker and I am loving being his companion! We had a great week and it was funny because i actually went to Elder Jones area to do a baptismal interview for him and his new companion, it was super funny! But It is going great! 

This week we were able to find some great people to teach and i was able to meet some of the greatest investigators ever!! Arthur and Vitoria are investigators that elder cerda and elder morais taught because of a reference from a member but they are so awesome!! They are 14 and 16 years old and they go to seminary every day!!! They know everything about the gospel that we teach and are just waiting for their mom to let them be baptized! So pray for them and pray for their mom! We also are teaching a sweet old lady named Eva and she came to church this week! She is super cool and is searching for the right church to join! Also we taught a couple of other people who are super great and have potential to progress!! Their names are Eduardo, Du du, and Igor! We were able to teach lots of people this week and it was just a great week to be a missionary! On sunday a lady from the ward was able to cut my toenails and it was super painful, but she is wanting to help me with this problem so i am super excited!!! But on sunday i was able to see all the members that i know from Gutierrez and it was so awesome!! I was super happy to see all of them and they were all happy too! I love it when you can see others that helped you so much and you helped them!! But things are going great and we are working hard!! I love the gospel and i love how we can all recognize that only through the atonement of Jesus Christ is how we can be saved!! 

That is so awesome about Jace and Jaden, and Broc and Brooklyn! They are all awesome people and I know that those leaving will be great missionaries!! This week was kind of hard for me too because a lot of my recent converts are not going to church and i became worried because of the small amount of people I helped to be baptized are slowly getting away from the church.... I dont know what to do!! But I hope that the lord will bless them. I just hope that I can help at least a couple of people stay strong in the church! But we can force anyone to do anything. I just hope they know that it is the best thing they can have in their lives!! Love you tons and I am doing pretty great!! I hope everything is well at home and I love you so much!!!