January 28, 2019

Hey mom!! Things are great but I am super nervous... Hahahaha Elder Cerda did get transferred and he is going to Montes Claros and will continue being a Zone Leader there. I am nervous because I am getting two new companions..... One is my new companion that will be a zone leader and the other is just another Junior companion. The one who will be the new zone leader with me is named Elder Barcelar he is the one who wanted the journals hahaha. He is awesome and I met him in the CTM. The other one is named Elder Cardozo and this is his last transfer on his mission.  But I am super nervous hahaha Lets see how things go this next transfer. 

Michelle and Fernando are doing good and they came to church again!! Sadly Fernando isnt reading the Book of Mormon but Michelle is. And we are going to find out this next week if they really are married or not. But we are pretty sure that they arent married. Elida is reading the Book of Mormon and we couldn't teach her this week because she wants to talk to her husband more about what we have taught her. But this week was pretty slow and of course because it was the last week of the transfer but I am excited for this next transfer and I know that the lord will bless this area. We have worked so hard and I have done everything i can so I know that the Lord will do his part. Wish me luck hahaha. But This week in Elders Quorum the teacher talked about how we need to focus on the truth by learning Gospel related truths and truths that we learn throughout our life. And that is how we can find happiness and learn about what we need to do in order to return to our Heavenly Father. I love the gospel so much and I know that the lord will bless us because of our hard work. Sadly i think here in two weeks I will have to do surgery on the other toe but I know that the Lord will provide a way. Trust in the Lord for he knows all!! 

It was pretty sad to see about the people in Brumadinho and I also remembered when you told me about the dam in your city. But I know that the Lords hand will be there to help and bless those people. And yes I did get the package ha! I am sure that Emma will do super great in the field and her family will be blessed so much!! I love missionary work and I love my savior so much. Love you so much ! Pray for me and my companions so that I can continue working hard to help them!! 

Dave's email

 I am kind of nervous for this next transfer because I will be in a trio. I will have two new companions and one is the new zone leader with me and the other one is just our junior companion who is ending his mission right. President put him with us to end his mission right. But I am nervous because I have never been in a trio. Do you have any advice that I could use?! You always do good in everything you do and so I am sure you have a great idea! I am going to work super hard and do everything that I can but I dont want to let anyone down you know?But I know that the Lord is doing this for a purpose and I know that he will bless me. I am trying to do better in everything that I do and I want to make the Lord proud. Thanks for always helping me with your testimony! I love you so much and I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life! Michelle is doing well and she is reading the Book of Mormon, sadly her boyfriend Fernando is not and they live together and arent married... But we are going to challenge them to get married and be baptized this week! Because Gods Elects hear his voice and open their hearts! I am grateful for Elder Cerda and I know that he will be a great Zone Leader in Montes Claros! The time I had with him i will never forget. My toes are ok and hopefully I will be able to find out more about them here in two weeks! OH and don't worry the work here will get better! Because the Lord is on my side! Love you!

Jan 21, 2019

This last week was pretty good! It was rough at the same time but we definitely worked hard!! I loved the pictures you sent me! I am glad that Emma did so well on her farewell and I know she will be a great missionary! I am definitely going to email her every week. That is awesome about Asher and the sacrament and about Sophie balling it up in basketball hahaha.

This week was interesting because we were able to teach Michelle and Fernando twice and then they came to church on sunday!! We were so happy!! I love them both and it was their first time so it was super special. They liked it a lot and they could only stay for sacrament meeting but he said that next week they will stay the whole time. We are hoping that this week we can teach more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and challenge them both to be baptized but first we have to find out if they are married legally or not. Then during the week we found a woman that has some problems with drugs and cigarrettes but she is super cool! Her name is Elida and she loved our message. Sadly she didnt come to church but we are going to see why. She lives super far away ha. We also found a guy named Roney and he said that he would like to read the Book of Mormon too! So hopefully things will go well for us this next week! I went on divisions with Elder Jones this last week and it was like those good old times again haha it was super fun. This may be my last week with Elder Cerda so we are going to work hard and do our best!! But I just want you all to know that I know that the Book of Mormon is true!! I prayed about it much this week and everytime I felt a burning in my heart!! I can not deny this book and I know that this church is true because of that and you can all do the same!

Dave's email

one of the things I want to learn so much here on the mission and in my life, is following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. It is one of the best things we can do in our lives!! I have been trying to do everything i can to obey his voice and help others!! This week was definitely better than last week but I was glad that we could start over again and find people who really want the gospel of Jesus Christ and are willing to listen to his voice! D&C 29:7. But Michelle and Fernando are reading the book of mormon and they came to church this last sunday!! It was super awesome and we were so happy. Hopefully Fernando will read the book of mormon more though because Michelle was reading more than he was. But We found a lady named Elida and another man named Roney and they have a lot of potential! I am excited for this last week of the transfer and I know that the lord will provide miracles for us. It will be interesting. This week I prayed to know once again in my heart if the Book of Mormon is true and once again the spirit testified to my heart that it was. I felt the burning inside my chest and I could not deny it!! I love the gospel and i know that God listens to our prayers I am glad that everything went well in Idaho and I know that Emma will help so many people. I love you so much dad and have a great week!! 

Jan 14, 2019

I  am doing great!! 

But this week was hard for us. Kevins dad said that we cant return to their house and that he wont let Kevin go to church anymore. Something happened long ago with a member of the church and his dad and so he hates the church now. it was super sad for us... And then on saturday Nilda told us that she wants to continue in her other church and sadly it appears as if Samara and her sisters wont progress this much. So basically our teaching group was swept out. But we worked hard again and tried to visit so many others!! We are working hard on finding other people to teach and this week we are going to organize some stuff to work even harder. I think it was just one way of the savior wanting us to put in everything we have and show our love for him even if the blessings do not come imediately. However, this week I had one of the most spiritual experiences ever, and it was with my companion Elder Cerda. This experience I think I will share when I get home but I could not hold back my tears and we decided to fast and pray for those we love here in Brasil and we know that the lord will provide miracles. Hopefully we will be able to teach Michelle and Fernando today!! So that will be awesome. We also were able to play basketball today and it was nice to rest our minds a little bit. But I know that in these last two weeks of the transfer, the lord will provide miracles!! I love God and I love his son Jesus Christ. I know that the gospel is true and I will put my life on the line to defend the cause of truth!!  

Brodee is a good kid and I know that the lord will bless him so much. He inspires me and it will be amazing for him in these last couple of months of the mission. Tell Grandma and Grandpa that I love them so much and thank you and tell those others who bore their testimonies that They also inspire me!! Love you so much mom!  Have a wonderful week!!! LOVE YOU!  

David's email 

 That is so awesome that you were able to help so many people this week!! I liked the experience of the blessing you gave to the wrestler and to Dr. Brooksby!! It must have been super special ha but that is awesome that mom gave you an Ipad for christmas!! hahaha I think its been decades since I have seen one face to face! But thats ok!! Sadly this week Kevins dad said that we can not return and that Kevin will no longer study with us or the church... he has feelings against the church and so its hard... and sadly Nilda told us that she wants to continue in her own church .... so sadly we lost a lot of our teaching group this week but we still have hope!! We are going to work hard to find others and we fasted for our investigators to help them feel that they should come back and recognize the bad decision they made!! But we are looking for those who will accept the gospel and live it right? Haha but at least we did our part!! I am doing well with Elder Cerda, we had a very spiritual experience the other day and I am going to share it with you all when I get home!! It was super cool but I know that the savior lives and loves us!! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and those who read it will grow closer to God!! I love his gospel and I love the plan of salvation! Love you so much!!!

January 7, 2019

I am doing well and My toes are doing ok!! I have to go to a member almost every week to cut them! Hahaha because they ingrow so fast!! But This week was awesome and I definitely thought a lot about what you said during the week! But My mind is always thinking about that and I know that the lord Loves me so much for always worrying about his children!! 

This week was super busy and we worked super hard!! On Wednesday we had our Zone Conference and I was able to direct it! Then later in the day we had our division with the assistents and I was once again with Elder Rosdahl haha I love that guy!! We worked super hard and we were able to teach a great lesson to Kevin and his family! We read 2 nephi 31 and we challenged them to pray about Baptism! Sadly we werent able to follow up until later but Kevin came to church and we are going to visit them again tomorrow!! Sadly, Samara isnt progressing that much and isnt reading the book of mormon. Nilda, the mom, is the only one who read this last week which was good!! But you can definitely see the difference in peoples lives when they dont read the book of mormon! I was super sad and I testified that they were missing one of the best things in their lives. The book of mormon is true!! And it can help anyone at any time. I love that book more than anything because when i needed to feel Gods love the most, the scriptures were always there to help me!! In total this week we found 21 new investigators!! We worked super hard this week and we are going to follow up with each one of them. We found a couple called Michelle and Fernando that have a lot of potential!! So hopefully they can come to church this next week and progress and accept the gospel! Nilda and Samara came to church and heard so many of the great testimonies about the church of jesus christ. I hope they do something about it!! But other than that I loved this week and I love the feeling that comes from working hard and doing everything you can to be humble and serve Jesus Christ!!! 

Elder Cerda is doing good and we are getting along great!!! We are trying super hard to change ourselves and love one another more than anything!! So I am super happy with that result. But thanks for sharing what you did mom! I think what you told me is one of the reasons that I keep going on the mission. Not just because of my testimony but because I love the savior and I will serve him no matter what happens. I have seen so many miracles on my mission and I know that as I strive to be obedient the Lord will bless me and bless the people of Brasil. I love these people and I really want them to accept the gospel because if they had the gospel in their lives, they would be so strong and would bless the world!! I will do, go, and say what the lord wants me to. I have no doubt about that!! I talked with President about that and I told him that I am willing to put it all on the line and go to work for these last six months! I love my mission so much and I love you so much!! Have a great week!!!