Subject: Feliz Natal
hello world, I'm dreaming of a very very wet Christmas. Brazil's underwater!!! Actually just parts of it is, the weather is actually very interesting. I put on my sunscreen at 10 o clock, the sun is blazing hot. We make it to lunch and by the time we finish eating and get outside I couldn't see blue, and we ran for home to get our umbrellas. By the time we reached home it started raining and it rained so hard for 20 minutes we couldn't get out of our house with or without umbrellas. (made Utah rain look like the sprinkler you put on your hose) but the forecast says Christmas will be wet.
Well now that I've bored you out with the forecast in Brazil, I'll let you know how things are going down here. Elder Richards and I are doing great, we keep finding new awesome people down here. It's funny elder Richards can make a contact and I've never seen anyone not stop lol its fun :D but its way cool. The problem is with the holidays everyone is traveling or the other common thing in Brazil is short term work at the shopping places during the holidays. So everyone's working or running to grandmas house lol. But we have found a few people in house including one lady which I would like to share with you. So we were walking down a road that I've never been on before and we pass the nicest house on the road. I look over at elder and say "imagine eating lunch at that house" he walked right up and rang the door bell, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. This was last Saturday, yesterday being Monday we taught her the first lesson and gave her a book of Mormon, it was really nice and the spirit was very strong there. She is active in another church and never lets other people into her house, but like I said elder Richards has a gift :D, maybe it wasn't elder that made it work, truly the spirit touches each of us so that every ear may hear the message of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
anywho that's all I've got for this week, I'll be calling home soon so I'll share more love then, ate mais meus amados!
Elder Nate Spencer
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Brian's email from December 22
Subject: Merry Christmas to all
Here is one holiday that is celebrated all over the world, rain or shine, sun or snow! This is my first HOT Christmas and I cant say it feels right... lol I have to say I prefer a white christmas BUT whether the weather be hot or whether the weather be cold it is still a time to reflect on the year, remember our saviours birth and give more freely of ourselves. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday, I send my love from Africa! Love,
Elder Brian Spencer
Here is one holiday that is celebrated all over the world, rain or shine, sun or snow! This is my first HOT Christmas and I cant say it feels right... lol I have to say I prefer a white christmas BUT whether the weather be hot or whether the weather be cold it is still a time to reflect on the year, remember our saviours birth and give more freely of ourselves. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday, I send my love from Africa! Love,
Elder Brian Spencer
Friday, December 19, 2008
Brian's email from December 15
So some things gotta give. President Poulsen has changed some things in the mission as I think I mentioned previously. But with the change come trials. But now I feel like Thomas Edison, I have to find a thousand ways that won't work before I find the one that will.
So the past two weeks we put a lot of efforts into trying to advertise and promote the Christmas Devotional that the Church put on yesterday. We made Flyers and pamphlets and posted them all over town and handed them out as we tracted. We also asked every single one of our investigators to come. So the Christmas Devotional was fantastic but unfortunately not a single investigator was there to enjoy it... SHAME!
But Some good news! We did have a baptism yesterday which went flawlessly :D A brilliant little 9 year old girl was baptized and bore her testimony and made her grandmother cry :)
We originally had three people who were supposed to get baptized yesterday but only one made it all the way. There should be several others coming up in January. So Christmas is coming! I hope everyone has the Christmas spirit and is sharing the love Christ has given. Things here aren't white by any means, In fact its about 100 degrees and very dry! But it's still festive here, lots of fake Christmas trees and lights and such. So that's all from Africa, stay tuned for next time! Love you all
Elder Brian Spencer
So the past two weeks we put a lot of efforts into trying to advertise and promote the Christmas Devotional that the Church put on yesterday. We made Flyers and pamphlets and posted them all over town and handed them out as we tracted. We also asked every single one of our investigators to come. So the Christmas Devotional was fantastic but unfortunately not a single investigator was there to enjoy it... SHAME!
But Some good news! We did have a baptism yesterday which went flawlessly :D A brilliant little 9 year old girl was baptized and bore her testimony and made her grandmother cry :)
We originally had three people who were supposed to get baptized yesterday but only one made it all the way. There should be several others coming up in January. So Christmas is coming! I hope everyone has the Christmas spirit and is sharing the love Christ has given. Things here aren't white by any means, In fact its about 100 degrees and very dry! But it's still festive here, lots of fake Christmas trees and lights and such. So that's all from Africa, stay tuned for next time! Love you all
Elder Brian Spencer
Nathan's email from December 16
The American football players continue to break yardage on the ubirajara front, Satan's ahead by 1 million but our coach is waiting for the last play. We've found two new families that are running for the eternal goal, I've got faith they'll go all-the-way!!!
This week was awesome, today we got to go to the temple for the first time since like August, so that was cool. We're working hard and playing hard, its like a whole new ball game with an American comp, it's way fun any way you go at it though. Christmas is practically on us and Santa is awfully uncomfortable with his big wool coat on... I think the wool coat is better than adapting to the usual outwear of people here :D Just don't imagine fat Santa with a speedo...
We had a few really really spiritual moments this week that really touched a few people here, including me. We were teaching Evaldo and his friend Morelo who drinks his life away, we are now helping him stop as he comes to church as well. Sorry I'm outa time but I love you all and have a fantastic week, I'll talk more next week! Love you all merry Hanuka or something!"
Elder Nate Spencer
This week was awesome, today we got to go to the temple for the first time since like August, so that was cool. We're working hard and playing hard, its like a whole new ball game with an American comp, it's way fun any way you go at it though. Christmas is practically on us and Santa is awfully uncomfortable with his big wool coat on... I think the wool coat is better than adapting to the usual outwear of people here :D Just don't imagine fat Santa with a speedo...
We had a few really really spiritual moments this week that really touched a few people here, including me. We were teaching Evaldo and his friend Morelo who drinks his life away, we are now helping him stop as he comes to church as well. Sorry I'm outa time but I love you all and have a fantastic week, I'll talk more next week! Love you all merry Hanuka or something!"
Elder Nate Spencer
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Brian's email from October 20
Subject: I'm not so think as you dumb I am
Protea Glen is coming alive, life on mission is full of disappointment and great joy, Usually you have to pass through lots of disappointment to find the joy, but when the joy comes it makes it all worth it. I'm nearing the end of my time here in Protea Glen, Things have been a battle the last couple of months, trying to find poeple and get them to commit to the gospel and change their lives, Its been tough but I think things are finally rolling. This past week Keneilwe got an answer to her prayers and asked to be baptized. We found a great young family who have been looking for a church and haven't found one that makes them happy and now they are excited to hear the message of the restoration. We also tracted into a lady who came to church and found out she has two neices who are very active. They hadn't seen each other in like two years, now she is excited to come back to church and to learn more about it. Oh and Kgomotso passed her baptismal interview and is getting baptized on sunday :D So life is moving forward here! Its a shame I'll have to leave in two weeks but that's life... Just as soon and you love something its ripped out of your hands ;) So I'll just have to go love somewhere else. But I'm glad I'll be able to leave the area prospering for my companion, and he is only going to make it burn brighter, it's his first area and he knows how to keep the ball rolling!
So, this morning I was out teaching my companion how to do backflips on the back lawn and all of a sudden I'm soaked and I hear laughing from the upstairs window, Well... I broke my old track record and I was up there with a bottle of water in about .45 seconds and I had both of them wrestled to the ground and all wet :D good times, there's never a dull moment at our flat. We then made about two loaves of bread worth of french toast and the four of us had a feast. I also made some amazing maple syrup (thanks dad/mom). Alright well thanks for everything :) hope all is well
Love, Elder Brian Spencer
Protea Glen is coming alive, life on mission is full of disappointment and great joy, Usually you have to pass through lots of disappointment to find the joy, but when the joy comes it makes it all worth it. I'm nearing the end of my time here in Protea Glen, Things have been a battle the last couple of months, trying to find poeple and get them to commit to the gospel and change their lives, Its been tough but I think things are finally rolling. This past week Keneilwe got an answer to her prayers and asked to be baptized. We found a great young family who have been looking for a church and haven't found one that makes them happy and now they are excited to hear the message of the restoration. We also tracted into a lady who came to church and found out she has two neices who are very active. They hadn't seen each other in like two years, now she is excited to come back to church and to learn more about it. Oh and Kgomotso passed her baptismal interview and is getting baptized on sunday :D So life is moving forward here! Its a shame I'll have to leave in two weeks but that's life... Just as soon and you love something its ripped out of your hands ;) So I'll just have to go love somewhere else. But I'm glad I'll be able to leave the area prospering for my companion, and he is only going to make it burn brighter, it's his first area and he knows how to keep the ball rolling!
So, this morning I was out teaching my companion how to do backflips on the back lawn and all of a sudden I'm soaked and I hear laughing from the upstairs window, Well... I broke my old track record and I was up there with a bottle of water in about .45 seconds and I had both of them wrestled to the ground and all wet :D good times, there's never a dull moment at our flat. We then made about two loaves of bread worth of french toast and the four of us had a feast. I also made some amazing maple syrup (thanks dad/mom). Alright well thanks for everything :) hope all is well
Love, Elder Brian Spencer
Nathan's email from October 21
Well well well.
This week was fantastic in my new area. It's true not knowing any of the roads can be a bit troublesome, but this area is amazing. The ward is so active and there's so many people that are ready for the gospel here. I have a story today that dims all others, I think. I'll try to do it justice, but truly it was a miracle.
So I arrived in Ubirajara this last week and my comp said that we had a young man who had been coming to church for a good while and still was never taught or baptised. So Wednesday afternoon we visited him and his mother. His parents are pretty indifferent about religion, the mom likes and listens while the father keeps his life busy with other things. We taught him the first lesson and invited him to be baptized this same Sunday. He accepted and was very excited. We had him read the Book of Mormon and pray to make sure this was the decision for him. He did so and Thursday we moved on to teach him the plan of salvation and the commandments. All was smooth sailing and Saturday he had his interview and passed with flying colors. But what happens is Saturday night we talk to the member family who are friends with the young man and his family. Well, the dad says please wait on the baptism, we want to get things ready and make sure its really, really special for him, and of course we were like sure, sure that's awesome. So we had plans to just re-mark for another Saturday or Sunday. But that night we get home and our zone leaders say wait you should do it tomorrow, and we were like no we'll wait. Well we couldn't come to a decision so elder de Paula and I decided to say a prayer about the situation. We both prayed individually and the spirit in our little room was so strong, we knew it had to be tomorrow. We arrived at church the next day, made a few phone calls and all was well, we called Windson (the young man to be baptised) and he said him and his parents would come. We called the member family because the father would do the baptism, he was really upset with us but said he would (he asked us to wait more time), so now we're here at the chapel before church (stake conference) waiting for our investigators to come. As the minutes pass, the sensations in my stomach become more and more...sensational. The member family comes and saves seats for them, church starts still no sign. 5 after the hour... 10 after the hour. with agony we stop waiting and enter the chapel. We sit in the back as the choir sings the first song. The opening prayer is given and I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see 4 angels dressed in the form of people I know and love. They had arrived with smiles on their faces! Quickly the father of the member family helps them to their seats in the front and the meeting begins. Holy smokes what an amazing meeting it was. To make it all the better President Richardson was there, our mission president, and he spoke. The spirit was so strong and this amazing family was sitting together drinking in every word and feeling. But this is just beginning to start the joy of the story! After the meeting president came up and said he would stay for our baptism, wow. So we start throwing people out of the chapel to get ready for the baptism. I spoke with the young women's leader and she said her girls and the young men would sing a special musical, president said he would give a message and off we went.
I truly can't describe this baptism meeting and give it justice. The spirit was so strong, the baptism was perfect, the bishop spoke and it was the closest thing to ammon teaching the king and converting the whole household. He spoke to Windson and his parents about the value of family and the importance of being a good son. He said to the parents that being baptised wouldn't take away their son from them but just make him a better man. The tears were flowing and after the closing prayer President Richardson went to the parents and testified of the spirit that had been in the meeting. The mom broke down. Then without a speck of doubt he promised he would return for their baptisms in a few weeks. The parents said thank you and as you can see, two parents because of the example of one son and the power of the spirit were converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was the most powerful baptism I have yet had on the mission, I hope I will have more because I know that this young man will do everything he can to serve a mission and that his parents will be baptised. I know the gospel is true, I know Christ died so we may feel this joy of eternal salvation. I know that the power of the spirit is the power to turn any heart unto God.
This baptism was only the start of what is happening in this ward. Just in the one week we've been here we've found about 6 other people that are so ready for the gospel, they were excited to hear our message and to visit the church. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and I can't wait to see what happens in this new area. Thank you all for your love and support, hope you all have a fantastic week!
Love Elder Spencer
This week was fantastic in my new area. It's true not knowing any of the roads can be a bit troublesome, but this area is amazing. The ward is so active and there's so many people that are ready for the gospel here. I have a story today that dims all others, I think. I'll try to do it justice, but truly it was a miracle.
So I arrived in Ubirajara this last week and my comp said that we had a young man who had been coming to church for a good while and still was never taught or baptised. So Wednesday afternoon we visited him and his mother. His parents are pretty indifferent about religion, the mom likes and listens while the father keeps his life busy with other things. We taught him the first lesson and invited him to be baptized this same Sunday. He accepted and was very excited. We had him read the Book of Mormon and pray to make sure this was the decision for him. He did so and Thursday we moved on to teach him the plan of salvation and the commandments. All was smooth sailing and Saturday he had his interview and passed with flying colors. But what happens is Saturday night we talk to the member family who are friends with the young man and his family. Well, the dad says please wait on the baptism, we want to get things ready and make sure its really, really special for him, and of course we were like sure, sure that's awesome. So we had plans to just re-mark for another Saturday or Sunday. But that night we get home and our zone leaders say wait you should do it tomorrow, and we were like no we'll wait. Well we couldn't come to a decision so elder de Paula and I decided to say a prayer about the situation. We both prayed individually and the spirit in our little room was so strong, we knew it had to be tomorrow. We arrived at church the next day, made a few phone calls and all was well, we called Windson (the young man to be baptised) and he said him and his parents would come. We called the member family because the father would do the baptism, he was really upset with us but said he would (he asked us to wait more time), so now we're here at the chapel before church (stake conference) waiting for our investigators to come. As the minutes pass, the sensations in my stomach become more and more...sensational. The member family comes and saves seats for them, church starts still no sign. 5 after the hour... 10 after the hour. with agony we stop waiting and enter the chapel. We sit in the back as the choir sings the first song. The opening prayer is given and I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see 4 angels dressed in the form of people I know and love. They had arrived with smiles on their faces! Quickly the father of the member family helps them to their seats in the front and the meeting begins. Holy smokes what an amazing meeting it was. To make it all the better President Richardson was there, our mission president, and he spoke. The spirit was so strong and this amazing family was sitting together drinking in every word and feeling. But this is just beginning to start the joy of the story! After the meeting president came up and said he would stay for our baptism, wow. So we start throwing people out of the chapel to get ready for the baptism. I spoke with the young women's leader and she said her girls and the young men would sing a special musical, president said he would give a message and off we went.
I truly can't describe this baptism meeting and give it justice. The spirit was so strong, the baptism was perfect, the bishop spoke and it was the closest thing to ammon teaching the king and converting the whole household. He spoke to Windson and his parents about the value of family and the importance of being a good son. He said to the parents that being baptised wouldn't take away their son from them but just make him a better man. The tears were flowing and after the closing prayer President Richardson went to the parents and testified of the spirit that had been in the meeting. The mom broke down. Then without a speck of doubt he promised he would return for their baptisms in a few weeks. The parents said thank you and as you can see, two parents because of the example of one son and the power of the spirit were converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
This was the most powerful baptism I have yet had on the mission, I hope I will have more because I know that this young man will do everything he can to serve a mission and that his parents will be baptised. I know the gospel is true, I know Christ died so we may feel this joy of eternal salvation. I know that the power of the spirit is the power to turn any heart unto God.
This baptism was only the start of what is happening in this ward. Just in the one week we've been here we've found about 6 other people that are so ready for the gospel, they were excited to hear our message and to visit the church. I'm so grateful for this opportunity and I can't wait to see what happens in this new area. Thank you all for your love and support, hope you all have a fantastic week!
Love Elder Spencer
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Brian's email from October 13
Subject: Hade Bafuarto [haw-day ba-fway-to]
African Languages are so cool! I can't say that I can really speak any of them but I can communicate slightly. People love it when a white guy tries to speak their native tongue. So life here in Africa is going very well. We have a baptism coming up and hopefully some more will follow. I realized I haven't really told you about most of our investigators, We teach a lot of people and our teaching pool is always turning over, we usually find 5-10 people a week and drop about 5-9 a week! But I'll just let you know some the our solid investigators; We are teaching Kgomotso Kolwa, she is an incredibly stalwart youth who bears her testimony every month and is a great example to the other young women, she is getting baptized on the 26th of this month. We are also teaching Kenielwe Kgaladi, She is 22 and is recovering from a serious injury that she got in January. She was in a hospital bed for 6 months and is now teaching herself to walk and talk and such again. She has shown a lot of faith as we have taught her and she has a testimony. But we kinda have to take things slow cause she can't do a lot of things on her own, like come to church. So we are starting to teach her mother too. She is now praying about baptism. We are also teaching a man named Ben Mangali, wow... This guy, I don't know what to say about him, I get nervous and excited every time I get to go see him cause he is like an Apostle. He is a member of the reformed Seventh Day Adventist and has studied the bible for forty years now. I think he might be a pastor for their church BUT he has always been in a search for truth and is VERY humble. He has investigated and thrown out many churches that he doesn't agree with, such as the Jehovah's Witness and Roman Catholics and many others but he told us he has never had a chance to investigate our beliefs. So we have now taught him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, he is now studying the book of Mormon (probably very thoroughly) and we are going to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. But he has told us that he has been very impressed so far and is very anxious to learn more. I'm excited to keep working with him.
Lets see who else... oh there is Ellen Ndobe, she is very interested and we shared with her about he Plan of Salvation last time. She came to part of conference last week and wants to visit our church.
and there is Lettie Rahube, and Winnie Zinyawu and Lindiwe Ramabela and Johanna Boshomane and the Thulo family and Tentandi... The list goes on and on, but it is incredible to be doing this great work. The Lord has blessed us with many people to teach and I feel so privileged to bring this great gift to so many people. Every single one of these people I've mentioned I've had the opportunity to see the spirit light up their understanding and bless their lives. This truly is the Lords work :D
I also wanted to apologize to anyone who has written me and hasn't got a response, I've responded to almost every letter I've received, so odds are the wonderful postal system lost it and I never got it. Packages seem to be the same way :s Thank you for trying lol :D
Love, Elder Brian Spencer
African Languages are so cool! I can't say that I can really speak any of them but I can communicate slightly. People love it when a white guy tries to speak their native tongue. So life here in Africa is going very well. We have a baptism coming up and hopefully some more will follow. I realized I haven't really told you about most of our investigators, We teach a lot of people and our teaching pool is always turning over, we usually find 5-10 people a week and drop about 5-9 a week! But I'll just let you know some the our solid investigators; We are teaching Kgomotso Kolwa, she is an incredibly stalwart youth who bears her testimony every month and is a great example to the other young women, she is getting baptized on the 26th of this month. We are also teaching Kenielwe Kgaladi, She is 22 and is recovering from a serious injury that she got in January. She was in a hospital bed for 6 months and is now teaching herself to walk and talk and such again. She has shown a lot of faith as we have taught her and she has a testimony. But we kinda have to take things slow cause she can't do a lot of things on her own, like come to church. So we are starting to teach her mother too. She is now praying about baptism. We are also teaching a man named Ben Mangali, wow... This guy, I don't know what to say about him, I get nervous and excited every time I get to go see him cause he is like an Apostle. He is a member of the reformed Seventh Day Adventist and has studied the bible for forty years now. I think he might be a pastor for their church BUT he has always been in a search for truth and is VERY humble. He has investigated and thrown out many churches that he doesn't agree with, such as the Jehovah's Witness and Roman Catholics and many others but he told us he has never had a chance to investigate our beliefs. So we have now taught him about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon, he is now studying the book of Mormon (probably very thoroughly) and we are going to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. But he has told us that he has been very impressed so far and is very anxious to learn more. I'm excited to keep working with him.
Lets see who else... oh there is Ellen Ndobe, she is very interested and we shared with her about he Plan of Salvation last time. She came to part of conference last week and wants to visit our church.
and there is Lettie Rahube, and Winnie Zinyawu and Lindiwe Ramabela and Johanna Boshomane and the Thulo family and Tentandi... The list goes on and on, but it is incredible to be doing this great work. The Lord has blessed us with many people to teach and I feel so privileged to bring this great gift to so many people. Every single one of these people I've mentioned I've had the opportunity to see the spirit light up their understanding and bless their lives. This truly is the Lords work :D
I also wanted to apologize to anyone who has written me and hasn't got a response, I've responded to almost every letter I've received, so odds are the wonderful postal system lost it and I never got it. Packages seem to be the same way :s Thank you for trying lol :D
Love, Elder Brian Spencer
Nathan's email from October 14
Subject:Feliz Dias das Crianças!
Although everyday seems to be in some way day of the children, the Brazilians feel it a necessary to celebrate and have a party for any occasion. So whereas us Americans only receive mothers day and fathers day, they celebrate children's day! It's like Christmas for them. My companion and I were invited to teach a family and we arrive to like 20 people and lots and lots of candy. It was pretty fun I'll admit, but the best part was when they had everyone sit down and listen to the missionaries share a message about Jesus :D So at the end of the message the oldest sister who organized the festivity says that they've all looked through churches trying to find one that makes sense and what do you have it, two missionaries show up to your party, they all want in together for the truth and the unity it will bring their families. I'm really excited for this family (it's not just a family its grandma, grandpa, 5 children, and all their children have 5 children... they like 5). Well actually, to clarify a little we taught Lucimara, one of the 5 children, and her family and the rest of the family saw the change in her life and how happy she is, so through her great example she is helping the rest of her family enjoy the blessings of the gospel. But wait on the details because we've only talked with them once. With the lords help I'm sure all will go right.
So onto news for you all. Yesterday night my companion receives a phone call. Elder Bailey is flying home for medical reasons and will be away for at least 8 weeks. I'm taking his place (which is in Ubiajara, still in my same district) and Elder De Paula is my companion. I'm already here and halfway unpacked. It all happened so quickly. An older fellow who helps out the missionaries is coming to be my companions companion until transfers lol. I'm sure all will go well, but as for me I haven't the foggiest as of what's in my new area, Elder De Paula said we've got a young man who will be baptised this weekend, that's wonderful news, but aside from this I'm at a loss so I'll have to fill you all in next week.
And now I must share my thanks to all who contributed to the wonderful package I received last week! It was so so so great to hear from you all and your testimonies and encouragement. The best part is reading your letters and its like the movies when the guy (or girl) opens a letter and the voice of the other is reading it. It's so fun to read cause it's so YOU! But I have to admit for the funniest people award that goes hands down to the Rasmussen family lol, I don't stop laughing until 5 minutes after I read whatever it is they decide to write about. But I love you all and I'm so grateful for your love and concern for me and all the missionaries. Hope you all have a fantastic week and fantabulous weekend!
Elder Nate Spencer
Although everyday seems to be in some way day of the children, the Brazilians feel it a necessary to celebrate and have a party for any occasion. So whereas us Americans only receive mothers day and fathers day, they celebrate children's day! It's like Christmas for them. My companion and I were invited to teach a family and we arrive to like 20 people and lots and lots of candy. It was pretty fun I'll admit, but the best part was when they had everyone sit down and listen to the missionaries share a message about Jesus :D So at the end of the message the oldest sister who organized the festivity says that they've all looked through churches trying to find one that makes sense and what do you have it, two missionaries show up to your party, they all want in together for the truth and the unity it will bring their families. I'm really excited for this family (it's not just a family its grandma, grandpa, 5 children, and all their children have 5 children... they like 5). Well actually, to clarify a little we taught Lucimara, one of the 5 children, and her family and the rest of the family saw the change in her life and how happy she is, so through her great example she is helping the rest of her family enjoy the blessings of the gospel. But wait on the details because we've only talked with them once. With the lords help I'm sure all will go right.
So onto news for you all. Yesterday night my companion receives a phone call. Elder Bailey is flying home for medical reasons and will be away for at least 8 weeks. I'm taking his place (which is in Ubiajara, still in my same district) and Elder De Paula is my companion. I'm already here and halfway unpacked. It all happened so quickly. An older fellow who helps out the missionaries is coming to be my companions companion until transfers lol. I'm sure all will go well, but as for me I haven't the foggiest as of what's in my new area, Elder De Paula said we've got a young man who will be baptised this weekend, that's wonderful news, but aside from this I'm at a loss so I'll have to fill you all in next week.
And now I must share my thanks to all who contributed to the wonderful package I received last week! It was so so so great to hear from you all and your testimonies and encouragement. The best part is reading your letters and its like the movies when the guy (or girl) opens a letter and the voice of the other is reading it. It's so fun to read cause it's so YOU! But I have to admit for the funniest people award that goes hands down to the Rasmussen family lol, I don't stop laughing until 5 minutes after I read whatever it is they decide to write about. But I love you all and I'm so grateful for your love and concern for me and all the missionaries. Hope you all have a fantastic week and fantabulous weekend!
Elder Nate Spencer
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Brian's email from October 6
Subject: When in Rome?
Isn't President Monson the best!? haha. After he announced the temple in Rome he gives a little pause for effect... But that is awesome! I'm excited to see what the architecture of a Roman temple, They certainly have a bit of competition in that area.
So conference was amazing! All the the talks were phenomenal, I wish all of my investigators and everyone in the world could just listen to conference. We did have a couple come and watch part of a session, and they really enjoyed it. Elder Jeffery R Holland gave a powerful talk on Angels, Bednar made prayer foolproof, Ballard explained the Works of God in this last dispensation, Wirthlin spoke of the importance of humor and not taking offence, President Monson spoke of inevitable change in all of our lives, Uchdorf taught of the power of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Eyring counseled us to be unified as a family, as a church and as a people. And so many other great talks, We are truly blessed to be led by God in these days.
So I hear the Jeffery R. Holland is coming to South Africa! I love being a missionary, in August I got to meet Elder Russell M. Nelsen and now Holland! I'm really excited and almost a bit nervous :s but I'll keep you updated on how it goes, I think he is coming next week sometime.
Well, the work here is going very well, Kgomotso is now on Baptism date for the 26 of Oct, and she is very excited. She is 15 and has been coming to church since she was in Primary. Why she wasn't baptized earlier I don't know. Her mom is less active but her extended family makes sure she comes to church every week. We also have a couple others who are progressing, but I'll save their stories for another day. Thank you for your prayers and love!
Love elder Brian Spencer
Isn't President Monson the best!? haha. After he announced the temple in Rome he gives a little pause for effect... But that is awesome! I'm excited to see what the architecture of a Roman temple, They certainly have a bit of competition in that area.
So conference was amazing! All the the talks were phenomenal, I wish all of my investigators and everyone in the world could just listen to conference. We did have a couple come and watch part of a session, and they really enjoyed it. Elder Jeffery R Holland gave a powerful talk on Angels, Bednar made prayer foolproof, Ballard explained the Works of God in this last dispensation, Wirthlin spoke of the importance of humor and not taking offence, President Monson spoke of inevitable change in all of our lives, Uchdorf taught of the power of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Eyring counseled us to be unified as a family, as a church and as a people. And so many other great talks, We are truly blessed to be led by God in these days.
So I hear the Jeffery R. Holland is coming to South Africa! I love being a missionary, in August I got to meet Elder Russell M. Nelsen and now Holland! I'm really excited and almost a bit nervous :s but I'll keep you updated on how it goes, I think he is coming next week sometime.
Well, the work here is going very well, Kgomotso is now on Baptism date for the 26 of Oct, and she is very excited. She is 15 and has been coming to church since she was in Primary. Why she wasn't baptized earlier I don't know. Her mom is less active but her extended family makes sure she comes to church every week. We also have a couple others who are progressing, but I'll save their stories for another day. Thank you for your prayers and love!
Love elder Brian Spencer
Nathan's email from October 7
Subject: Conferencia geral!!!
Wowy, well Brian laid down the line with the most awesomest conference ever, I don't know if it really truly was better than ever before or if just being on the mission opens up your eyes and ears a bit more, but either way it was fantastic.
So my dear love brasil, how are you? Brasil is fantastic, movin along as always and in constant supply of the Lords elect. I don't believe I've shared the Lords wonderful blessing by way of investigators for awhile so I'll share some stories.
A couple of weeks ago we met a young father named Antionio, he has 2 daughters Aline (11) and Tatiane (6), his wife passed away a year ago from a brain aneurism and she was a member (inactive from what I got out of it) but he wasn't familiar with the church (that's why I figure she was inactive). Well what happens is he's searching for answers to life and also to the dreams hes been having. Well Elder Regis and I (I was on division with another missionary not my comp) knocked on the door to find him waiting and open to our message. We shared the first message with him about the restoration of the gospel and asked him to pray to know that Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon are true, he said he would, but continued to relate his history about his wife and these dreams. We then related to him about the plan of salvation and how we can live as families forever, giving him the pamphlet about the plan of salvation, and marked as well 1 Nephi chapter 8 about Lehi's dream. (his dreams were unique and very similar to the plan of salvation with lots of symbolism, very interesting) well we marked to speak with him a couple of days later and come to find he had read the pamphlet and the chapters marked and he felt and understood his purpose more so than ever before in his life. He accepted to come to church bringing both his daughters and is now preparing for baptism the 18 of October. I know the Lord had and has his hand in the work here. This man was searching for truth and direction and the Lord sends his word. 'Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you'.
And the second, Elder Santana and I found yesterday afternoon while contacting some references we received. Her name is Elinete, she saw the ad on the telivision for a dvd about Jesus Christ. She tried calling and didn't get through, but showing her faith she tried once again later that day and it came through for her. What a blessing, we came to her home and she expressed her desires to understand truth. She said actually "there comes a time when you just need to know what's the truth" she was born catholic but found the inconsistancey of its teachings, visited many other churches but never felt right about them, so she resulted to just be part of a prayer group. This situation is where the miracle comes, after our message we ask here how she feels, and she said something eternally important "I've been searching for things to feel right, for a church that speaks of Christ and God. I feel something different right now, something right".
I know the Holy Ghost truly is the great testifier of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a purpose for him being 3rd only to God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, it is because he and only he has the power to convert a child of God. I know the gospel is true, I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I know that this is the path and there is no other path by which man can be saved. Thank you all for your love and support. I hope you all have a fantastic week.
love
Elder Nate Spencer
Wowy, well Brian laid down the line with the most awesomest conference ever, I don't know if it really truly was better than ever before or if just being on the mission opens up your eyes and ears a bit more, but either way it was fantastic.
So my dear love brasil, how are you? Brasil is fantastic, movin along as always and in constant supply of the Lords elect. I don't believe I've shared the Lords wonderful blessing by way of investigators for awhile so I'll share some stories.
A couple of weeks ago we met a young father named Antionio, he has 2 daughters Aline (11) and Tatiane (6), his wife passed away a year ago from a brain aneurism and she was a member (inactive from what I got out of it) but he wasn't familiar with the church (that's why I figure she was inactive). Well what happens is he's searching for answers to life and also to the dreams hes been having. Well Elder Regis and I (I was on division with another missionary not my comp) knocked on the door to find him waiting and open to our message. We shared the first message with him about the restoration of the gospel and asked him to pray to know that Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon are true, he said he would, but continued to relate his history about his wife and these dreams. We then related to him about the plan of salvation and how we can live as families forever, giving him the pamphlet about the plan of salvation, and marked as well 1 Nephi chapter 8 about Lehi's dream. (his dreams were unique and very similar to the plan of salvation with lots of symbolism, very interesting) well we marked to speak with him a couple of days later and come to find he had read the pamphlet and the chapters marked and he felt and understood his purpose more so than ever before in his life. He accepted to come to church bringing both his daughters and is now preparing for baptism the 18 of October. I know the Lord had and has his hand in the work here. This man was searching for truth and direction and the Lord sends his word. 'Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you'.
And the second, Elder Santana and I found yesterday afternoon while contacting some references we received. Her name is Elinete, she saw the ad on the telivision for a dvd about Jesus Christ. She tried calling and didn't get through, but showing her faith she tried once again later that day and it came through for her. What a blessing, we came to her home and she expressed her desires to understand truth. She said actually "there comes a time when you just need to know what's the truth" she was born catholic but found the inconsistancey of its teachings, visited many other churches but never felt right about them, so she resulted to just be part of a prayer group. This situation is where the miracle comes, after our message we ask here how she feels, and she said something eternally important "I've been searching for things to feel right, for a church that speaks of Christ and God. I feel something different right now, something right".
I know the Holy Ghost truly is the great testifier of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a purpose for him being 3rd only to God the Eternal Father and his Son Jesus Christ, it is because he and only he has the power to convert a child of God. I know the gospel is true, I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I know that this is the path and there is no other path by which man can be saved. Thank you all for your love and support. I hope you all have a fantastic week.
love
Elder Nate Spencer
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Nathan's email from September 30
Subject: The good the bad and the birthday
I've only got 4 minutes to write this letter!!! So my birthday was great, no one worry lol, lots of cake and good times. As far as this last week, it's been awesome and awful as well. Saturday afternoon we had a baptism of this wonderful little lady who is the proud owner of 5 children under the age of 9 and and her husband is soon to follow!! Bad news on top of bad news is that night my comp received a phone call about a good friend having passed away, and Sunday afternoon received another phone call about the father of a missionary that passed away. The elder went home for the funeral but he's back already and sitting next to me, his comp Elder Mitch Hope (lives in Cedar Hills next to me) aha stayed with us, ahhh no time will finish next time! Love
I've only got 4 minutes to write this letter!!! So my birthday was great, no one worry lol, lots of cake and good times. As far as this last week, it's been awesome and awful as well. Saturday afternoon we had a baptism of this wonderful little lady who is the proud owner of 5 children under the age of 9 and and her husband is soon to follow!! Bad news on top of bad news is that night my comp received a phone call about a good friend having passed away, and Sunday afternoon received another phone call about the father of a missionary that passed away. The elder went home for the funeral but he's back already and sitting next to me, his comp Elder Mitch Hope (lives in Cedar Hills next to me) aha stayed with us, ahhh no time will finish next time! Love
Monday, September 29, 2008
Brian's email on September 29
Subject: Best day EVER!!!!
OK... so maybe it wasnt the BEST day ever, but yesterday was up there on the good days list. So recently we have been struggling to get people to make and keep commitments, mostly coming to church. Everyone always seems to find an excuse on why not to come. Well, this past week we have been encouraging all of our investigators to come to church, Most of which have never been to the church, The Lord must have been busy yesterday morning because by some miracle he woke everyone up and got them to church. We had 10 of our investigators come! last week we had 2! It was so incredible, because when people come to church they get hooked. And from now on it will be easier for them to come. So this next week, elder Munyariri and I are going to start putting people on Baptismal Date so they can receive the blessing that the restored gospel has to offer! What a great work we are a part of! I love life :D Oh and the day kept getting better even after church, we got fed by a really nice lady who found out about my birthday and made a really really really good chocolate cake, and then we went and taught one of my favorite investigators who came to church and it went very well because while she was at church I found out that she knows a member there and so we took her with us to go teach her. And then we finished the day with two other incredible lessons about the Book of Mormon. So... its days like that that mission so "flippen" cool! :D
Love Elder Brian Spencer
OK... so maybe it wasnt the BEST day ever, but yesterday was up there on the good days list. So recently we have been struggling to get people to make and keep commitments, mostly coming to church. Everyone always seems to find an excuse on why not to come. Well, this past week we have been encouraging all of our investigators to come to church, Most of which have never been to the church, The Lord must have been busy yesterday morning because by some miracle he woke everyone up and got them to church. We had 10 of our investigators come! last week we had 2! It was so incredible, because when people come to church they get hooked. And from now on it will be easier for them to come. So this next week, elder Munyariri and I are going to start putting people on Baptismal Date so they can receive the blessing that the restored gospel has to offer! What a great work we are a part of! I love life :D Oh and the day kept getting better even after church, we got fed by a really nice lady who found out about my birthday and made a really really really good chocolate cake, and then we went and taught one of my favorite investigators who came to church and it went very well because while she was at church I found out that she knows a member there and so we took her with us to go teach her. And then we finished the day with two other incredible lessons about the Book of Mormon. So... its days like that that mission so "flippen" cool! :D
Love Elder Brian Spencer
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Nathan's email from September 15
Subject: com assunto de sua cabeça...
Another week come and gone, transfers were today and I find myself in the same bed as the night before, and elder Santana as well (in his own bed mind you). We're stickin firm in Vila Imperio. This transfer we know where we are and we're going to get things moving here. Last Saturday was pretty cool, we had an activity with the youth in our ward. So all last week I'd been praying and praying that this activity will go well and all our youth will come to it. Well, Saturday morning comes around and someone from our district calls up and needs to make a division with us to have interviews (division is a trade of companions for a short period of time) so I was worried from the getgo cause our activity is at 4 and we needed to set everything up at like 3. So 9:30 we started our division and we left for lunch early so we could have extra time after. The plan being to end the division at 2:00 at an area 20 minutes outside of ours. Well, we arrive at lunch and mom says here help me feed the kids, awesome I love helping lol, after a little mess we had success there... but time is ticking. Well due to some technical difficulties in the kitchen we didn't leave her house until 2:30 and I'm smiling and saying thank you for lunch haha. Anywho her house was a good hour from the place we needed to end our transfer so she said just take the bus in front for Santo Amaro, it'll pass right pass where you want to go... Famous last words lol. So 3 o'clock we squeeze our way off the bus (it was so crowded we couldnt move in a literal sense...). But the bus sent us almost to a different mission! Holy smokes, so luckily the elder with me recognised the area and in a half hour we made it to the place we were looking for and ended our division so that we could run and make it to the church for this activity which was supposed to start at 4. Well, during this time I was thinking "Heavenly Father whatever happened to all those pleas for a good activity?!?!" Well truly he tries our patience and our faith, but in the end he pulls through (Mosiah 20 or something, really good scripture try to find it). So all the youth showed up late too, giving us time to set up the activity and all three of the leaders I asked help with showed up too!!! And in the end we had like 16 youth there and everything worked out wonderfully, phew!
Anywho it's already September, actually it's already halfway through September holy smokes, my birthday is in 2 weeks! Congrats Brian, happy birthday in two week! Oh my first birthday away from my twin... Maybe i'll write in my journal about it or something lol. Oh and Jordan happy birthday too, 12 years old and into the Beehives... caramba!
Well thank you all for your love and support, hope your all having lots of fun and success and making lots of memories. The church is true and the Lord looks after his own.
Elder Nate Spencer
Another week come and gone, transfers were today and I find myself in the same bed as the night before, and elder Santana as well (in his own bed mind you). We're stickin firm in Vila Imperio. This transfer we know where we are and we're going to get things moving here. Last Saturday was pretty cool, we had an activity with the youth in our ward. So all last week I'd been praying and praying that this activity will go well and all our youth will come to it. Well, Saturday morning comes around and someone from our district calls up and needs to make a division with us to have interviews (division is a trade of companions for a short period of time) so I was worried from the getgo cause our activity is at 4 and we needed to set everything up at like 3. So 9:30 we started our division and we left for lunch early so we could have extra time after. The plan being to end the division at 2:00 at an area 20 minutes outside of ours. Well, we arrive at lunch and mom says here help me feed the kids, awesome I love helping lol, after a little mess we had success there... but time is ticking. Well due to some technical difficulties in the kitchen we didn't leave her house until 2:30 and I'm smiling and saying thank you for lunch haha. Anywho her house was a good hour from the place we needed to end our transfer so she said just take the bus in front for Santo Amaro, it'll pass right pass where you want to go... Famous last words lol. So 3 o'clock we squeeze our way off the bus (it was so crowded we couldnt move in a literal sense...). But the bus sent us almost to a different mission! Holy smokes, so luckily the elder with me recognised the area and in a half hour we made it to the place we were looking for and ended our division so that we could run and make it to the church for this activity which was supposed to start at 4. Well, during this time I was thinking "Heavenly Father whatever happened to all those pleas for a good activity?!?!" Well truly he tries our patience and our faith, but in the end he pulls through (Mosiah 20 or something, really good scripture try to find it). So all the youth showed up late too, giving us time to set up the activity and all three of the leaders I asked help with showed up too!!! And in the end we had like 16 youth there and everything worked out wonderfully, phew!
Anywho it's already September, actually it's already halfway through September holy smokes, my birthday is in 2 weeks! Congrats Brian, happy birthday in two week! Oh my first birthday away from my twin... Maybe i'll write in my journal about it or something lol. Oh and Jordan happy birthday too, 12 years old and into the Beehives... caramba!
Well thank you all for your love and support, hope your all having lots of fun and success and making lots of memories. The church is true and the Lord looks after his own.
Elder Nate Spencer
Monday, September 15, 2008
Brian's email from September 15
Subject: sca sinya nako!
The sun is out and I wasn't prepared.... so you geussed it, I look like a nice ripe tomato :s lol most people laugh at me because they think its funny to get a sun burn. But they've never felt the wrath of the sun! Black People! lol
well onto more serious matters. Thabiso is set for baptism, he is getting interviewed next saturday. The Zimbabwean family came to church again and brought another member with them this time. So that is promising. We spent some time visiting some less actives last week and got several to commit to come back to church... and yesterday none of them showed up! ha! that explains why they are less active :) Well i lied, one lady did come so I guess it was worth it.
So as missionaries we play soccer on our P-days and we challange other Zones to play and the soweto zone (my zone) beat both the near by zones... ya so that wasnt as exciting as i thought it would be, but we did get cool jerseys for ourselves.
Alright so now for an interesting/spiritual experience: So yesterday at church I got a phone call from some guy who saw our name and number on a pamphlet that we hand out to people. he really wanted to learn about this "Book of Mormon" thing. So we got his details and went and visited him later that day. I was really excited because not many people take the initiative to actually call us when they are interested. Well, it turns out the guy is crazy... he has schitsophrenia (im sure i spelled that wrong) but i guess he loves books. So we went to his home and taught him about it, and his family. Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways, cause his sister was there and was very interested in our message. Ill have to keep you updated on her progress. yup, other than that... lots of Tracting :D good times, the church is true, the book of mormon is blue and I am through :D
Love,
Elder Brian Spencer
The sun is out and I wasn't prepared.... so you geussed it, I look like a nice ripe tomato :s lol most people laugh at me because they think its funny to get a sun burn. But they've never felt the wrath of the sun! Black People! lol
well onto more serious matters. Thabiso is set for baptism, he is getting interviewed next saturday. The Zimbabwean family came to church again and brought another member with them this time. So that is promising. We spent some time visiting some less actives last week and got several to commit to come back to church... and yesterday none of them showed up! ha! that explains why they are less active :) Well i lied, one lady did come so I guess it was worth it.
So as missionaries we play soccer on our P-days and we challange other Zones to play and the soweto zone (my zone) beat both the near by zones... ya so that wasnt as exciting as i thought it would be, but we did get cool jerseys for ourselves.
Alright so now for an interesting/spiritual experience: So yesterday at church I got a phone call from some guy who saw our name and number on a pamphlet that we hand out to people. he really wanted to learn about this "Book of Mormon" thing. So we got his details and went and visited him later that day. I was really excited because not many people take the initiative to actually call us when they are interested. Well, it turns out the guy is crazy... he has schitsophrenia (im sure i spelled that wrong) but i guess he loves books. So we went to his home and taught him about it, and his family. Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways, cause his sister was there and was very interested in our message. Ill have to keep you updated on her progress. yup, other than that... lots of Tracting :D good times, the church is true, the book of mormon is blue and I am through :D
Love,
Elder Brian Spencer
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Nathan's email from Sept. 9
Subj: Marriage!!!...almost :D
Well its already been over a month since I arrived in Piratininga now and its flying here holy Toledo. Elder Santana and I have been working hard to create a new group of people to teach. See y'all need to understand that countries are different, well cultures are. For example the soldiers (missionaries) in the US are fighting to find an investigator to teach, whereas in Brazil we need to get rid of our investigators in order to find new ones. See, here people are very open and love to talk, especially lonely people. But that doesn't always mean they will follow and be baptised, it just means that they'll let you teach them until you get sick of them not following through lol. But with higher turnover rate we also have many results as well :D, Sandra and Valfreido, a cute little family weve been teaching are marked for marriage. In Brazil you have to go to the marriage place, mark a future date, then go back on that future date and you're married. Well they made the step, yay, and so on October 23 there will be one more beautifully married couple in Brazil (that means we can baptise them, YAHOO!!). But the story for this marking of the marriage is actually quite entertaining so I will tell.
So we talked to Valfreido and Sandra and agreed to meet them at the cartorio (marriage place) at 3 o'clock on Friday. They both said they knew were it was and they both had work so it would be easier to meet them there. Well, little to our knowledge the cartorio moved locations to another area, so two lost elders show up, luckily, (for missionaries luck is divine intervention) we had with us a sister in our ward who knew where the other cartorio was. Well in 30 minutes we show up to find Sandra with her 2 year old waiting for us. Perfect we've got half the couple at the cartorio, now just waiting for husband... 10 minutes...30...45...60...83 minutes and 47 seconds later, with 10 minutes to spare until the cartorio closes, screeching around the corner rolls a taxi with husband's head out the window :D Oh, I forgot to say that the whole while wife is saying "this is his last chance, if he bails on me at the cartorio its over :s " So he arrives with some excuse that doesn't even matter because now they are going to be married haha!
Now lets see our other family that have stopped using drugs and drinking and smoking and yelling at their kids, with the exception of a little yelling (the kids are really bad) they are still a 100%. It's so wonderful to see the power of the gospel in effect with this family. Truly the Light of Christ is returning to the eyes of this humble and loving couple. We're still searching for work for the husband so that he can come to church on Sunday and eventually be baptised, but the fire has started and the Lord's refining fire will make a pure and delightsome family out of what used to be torn and shattered lives. I love the Lord and his loving gospel which blesses all who heeds its councels, both temporally and spiritually. I know my Savior lives and loves me too, He shows his love in such remarkable ways to every people; if we just search with an open heart we will find that love. Thank you all for your love and support, your prayers in behalf of the missionaries are being felt and appreciated!
Elder Nate Spencer
Well its already been over a month since I arrived in Piratininga now and its flying here holy Toledo. Elder Santana and I have been working hard to create a new group of people to teach. See y'all need to understand that countries are different, well cultures are. For example the soldiers (missionaries) in the US are fighting to find an investigator to teach, whereas in Brazil we need to get rid of our investigators in order to find new ones. See, here people are very open and love to talk, especially lonely people. But that doesn't always mean they will follow and be baptised, it just means that they'll let you teach them until you get sick of them not following through lol. But with higher turnover rate we also have many results as well :D, Sandra and Valfreido, a cute little family weve been teaching are marked for marriage. In Brazil you have to go to the marriage place, mark a future date, then go back on that future date and you're married. Well they made the step, yay, and so on October 23 there will be one more beautifully married couple in Brazil (that means we can baptise them, YAHOO!!). But the story for this marking of the marriage is actually quite entertaining so I will tell.
So we talked to Valfreido and Sandra and agreed to meet them at the cartorio (marriage place) at 3 o'clock on Friday. They both said they knew were it was and they both had work so it would be easier to meet them there. Well, little to our knowledge the cartorio moved locations to another area, so two lost elders show up, luckily, (for missionaries luck is divine intervention) we had with us a sister in our ward who knew where the other cartorio was. Well in 30 minutes we show up to find Sandra with her 2 year old waiting for us. Perfect we've got half the couple at the cartorio, now just waiting for husband... 10 minutes...30...45...60...83 minutes and 47 seconds later, with 10 minutes to spare until the cartorio closes, screeching around the corner rolls a taxi with husband's head out the window :D Oh, I forgot to say that the whole while wife is saying "this is his last chance, if he bails on me at the cartorio its over :s " So he arrives with some excuse that doesn't even matter because now they are going to be married haha!
Now lets see our other family that have stopped using drugs and drinking and smoking and yelling at their kids, with the exception of a little yelling (the kids are really bad) they are still a 100%. It's so wonderful to see the power of the gospel in effect with this family. Truly the Light of Christ is returning to the eyes of this humble and loving couple. We're still searching for work for the husband so that he can come to church on Sunday and eventually be baptised, but the fire has started and the Lord's refining fire will make a pure and delightsome family out of what used to be torn and shattered lives. I love the Lord and his loving gospel which blesses all who heeds its councels, both temporally and spiritually. I know my Savior lives and loves me too, He shows his love in such remarkable ways to every people; if we just search with an open heart we will find that love. Thank you all for your love and support, your prayers in behalf of the missionaries are being felt and appreciated!
Elder Nate Spencer
Brian's email from Sept. 8
Subj: None of us is as dumb as all of us!
Alright everybody, so life had taken a bit of a change. I now have a solid companion, his name is Elder Munyariri. He is from Zimbabwe and he is a stud! I don’t really feel like I'm training, because he came out prepared. He is a convert to the church, which is very powerful; he was baptized 3 years ago and sacrificed a lot to come serve a mission. He had been going on splits with missionaries back in Zim for a long time prior to coming here. It’s great to work with someone who is new and excited about the work. We are blazing some new trails and getting this area on fire.
First I'll share a cool experience, So I found a family from Zimbabwe two weeks back and I was excited because I new I was getting a companion from Zim and they were all very interested. Well, we came to find that the landlord where they stay isn’t friendly with Mormons... But we didn’t let that bother us, we found a nearby member and she opened her home to the family. This was a great blessing because she also brings this family to church as well, and her husband isn’t a member so having us in the house might lead to a chain of events. Time will tell. But now the family is on the path towards baptism and eternal life! I'll keep you updated their progress.
So dad asked about my area and the culture there and other aspects of the region. So I am in Soweto but it is a new part of Soweto on the outside parts. It is probably the most well off part of the entire township, which also means that it has be very westernized.
There is still lots of Culture of course, but only they have only kept the most important parts of their culture. Men Drinking alcohol seems to be the most prevalent piece of culture that has been maintained. But there are other things. There is still a lot of Witchcraft and other Traditional practices.
Sangomas are people who slaughter animals as sacrifices to Ancestors; we have a lot of investigators ask if they are members can they still go to the Sangomas to do cultural things. And we have to kind of kindly explain that that is the devils work. And some of it is really scary stuff.
But over all life isn’t too different. Most people can’t afford a vehicle, and they live in modest homes. The homes here almost all have electricity and indoor plumbing though, so life is pleasant. Yup that’s about its, I’m sure there’s more but I can’t think of anything.
So I hope everyone is well, Love you!
Elder Brian Spencer
Alright everybody, so life had taken a bit of a change. I now have a solid companion, his name is Elder Munyariri. He is from Zimbabwe and he is a stud! I don’t really feel like I'm training, because he came out prepared. He is a convert to the church, which is very powerful; he was baptized 3 years ago and sacrificed a lot to come serve a mission. He had been going on splits with missionaries back in Zim for a long time prior to coming here. It’s great to work with someone who is new and excited about the work. We are blazing some new trails and getting this area on fire.
First I'll share a cool experience, So I found a family from Zimbabwe two weeks back and I was excited because I new I was getting a companion from Zim and they were all very interested. Well, we came to find that the landlord where they stay isn’t friendly with Mormons... But we didn’t let that bother us, we found a nearby member and she opened her home to the family. This was a great blessing because she also brings this family to church as well, and her husband isn’t a member so having us in the house might lead to a chain of events. Time will tell. But now the family is on the path towards baptism and eternal life! I'll keep you updated their progress.
So dad asked about my area and the culture there and other aspects of the region. So I am in Soweto but it is a new part of Soweto on the outside parts. It is probably the most well off part of the entire township, which also means that it has be very westernized.
There is still lots of Culture of course, but only they have only kept the most important parts of their culture. Men Drinking alcohol seems to be the most prevalent piece of culture that has been maintained. But there are other things. There is still a lot of Witchcraft and other Traditional practices.
Sangomas are people who slaughter animals as sacrifices to Ancestors; we have a lot of investigators ask if they are members can they still go to the Sangomas to do cultural things. And we have to kind of kindly explain that that is the devils work. And some of it is really scary stuff.
But over all life isn’t too different. Most people can’t afford a vehicle, and they live in modest homes. The homes here almost all have electricity and indoor plumbing though, so life is pleasant. Yup that’s about its, I’m sure there’s more but I can’t think of anything.
So I hope everyone is well, Love you!
Elder Brian Spencer
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Nathan's email ffrom August 19
Subject: If Mike Phelps was his own country he'd take 4th place in the world...
So the Olympics down here are pretty big, like every store has the games on and every house as well. Its fun, but everyone still talking about that fishman from America lol, yeah Micheal Phelps!
Another week come and gone. Saturday we had a baptism of an 18 year old kid, he's a pretty cool dude ya know, the problem was is he's pretty big too and we were late getting to the chapel to fill up the font, so let's just leave it at 2 wet missionaries running from room to room with buckets in their hands, laughing all the way. It was quite entertaining, and in the end there was enough water in the font to save a soul.
Well this week should be interesting we plan on marrying a couple, that's always cool, and finally starting our English class, that's always stressful. No, but it should be fun and such, people here love English. I can't think of many stories for the day. Yesterday we met this 84 year old guy who's been a lifelong member of the Congregation of God church, he feels like there should be more to life and he saw us, don't think that's a coincidence. Well we taught him, he liked it, his life didn't and he's coming to church with us this Sunday :D I find this extra sweet because 99 percent of active religious people are 99 percent impossible to reason with, so you do the math and leave the rest for the Lord!
Oh, by the way everyone from the ward thank you so much for your little letters and such, I received them last Wednesday and I loved them and cherished every one! Sounds like mom gave the best lesson in the world about missionary work or something, go mom!
Anywho thanks to everyone and their love and support for us missionarios, é sempre bom de saber o amor e supporta das pessoas lá na outro lado do mundo, muito obrigado pelos testemunhos vocés tem e compartilhar para fortelecer um e outro, especialmente nos missionarios. então até mais meus amados Irmãos!
Elder Nate Spencer
So the Olympics down here are pretty big, like every store has the games on and every house as well. Its fun, but everyone still talking about that fishman from America lol, yeah Micheal Phelps!
Another week come and gone. Saturday we had a baptism of an 18 year old kid, he's a pretty cool dude ya know, the problem was is he's pretty big too and we were late getting to the chapel to fill up the font, so let's just leave it at 2 wet missionaries running from room to room with buckets in their hands, laughing all the way. It was quite entertaining, and in the end there was enough water in the font to save a soul.
Well this week should be interesting we plan on marrying a couple, that's always cool, and finally starting our English class, that's always stressful. No, but it should be fun and such, people here love English. I can't think of many stories for the day. Yesterday we met this 84 year old guy who's been a lifelong member of the Congregation of God church, he feels like there should be more to life and he saw us, don't think that's a coincidence. Well we taught him, he liked it, his life didn't and he's coming to church with us this Sunday :D I find this extra sweet because 99 percent of active religious people are 99 percent impossible to reason with, so you do the math and leave the rest for the Lord!
Oh, by the way everyone from the ward thank you so much for your little letters and such, I received them last Wednesday and I loved them and cherished every one! Sounds like mom gave the best lesson in the world about missionary work or something, go mom!
Anywho thanks to everyone and their love and support for us missionarios, é sempre bom de saber o amor e supporta das pessoas lá na outro lado do mundo, muito obrigado pelos testemunhos vocés tem e compartilhar para fortelecer um e outro, especialmente nos missionarios. então até mais meus amados Irmãos!
Elder Nate Spencer
Brian's email from August 18
Subject: Spaghetti is messy
Yes... I spilled a whole plate of spaghetti on my lap at a dinner appointment and yes go ahead and laugh, all the other missionaries did! lol good times!
Well I now have a new companion, his name is Elder Chavez from San Diego California. He goes home on Saturday so I am just his companion for a week. My new companion will be here on Sept 3rd. Chavez is a stud though, he works so hard. We were tracting last night until after 8 o'clock! and we were able to find and teach LOTS of people. Life has been kinda tough as far as some of our investigators :S I think we might be losing one of our best investigators, Molley. She was doing amazing and reading the Book of Mormon, she is almost all the way through Alma and she has come to church several times, but she just asked us to stop coming :( I don't even know why, we have one last appointment on Wednesday with her. I think she may have talked with her pastor... But I don't know.
We still are working with many hopefuls and it's only a matter of time before baptisms come. We are working a lot more with members lately and that always helps. well that's about it for the week. Until next week! love you all
Elder Brian Spencer
Yes... I spilled a whole plate of spaghetti on my lap at a dinner appointment and yes go ahead and laugh, all the other missionaries did! lol good times!
Well I now have a new companion, his name is Elder Chavez from San Diego California. He goes home on Saturday so I am just his companion for a week. My new companion will be here on Sept 3rd. Chavez is a stud though, he works so hard. We were tracting last night until after 8 o'clock! and we were able to find and teach LOTS of people. Life has been kinda tough as far as some of our investigators :S I think we might be losing one of our best investigators, Molley. She was doing amazing and reading the Book of Mormon, she is almost all the way through Alma and she has come to church several times, but she just asked us to stop coming :( I don't even know why, we have one last appointment on Wednesday with her. I think she may have talked with her pastor... But I don't know.
We still are working with many hopefuls and it's only a matter of time before baptisms come. We are working a lot more with members lately and that always helps. well that's about it for the week. Until next week! love you all
Elder Brian Spencer
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nathan's email from August 5
Caramba! what a week! Well actually I'll start with Sunday cause that was the best! It was fast and testimony meeting and one of the most spiritual sacrament meetings of my life, actually I think it was the most spiritual.
So those youth I'm always talking about... they all bore their testimonies, but they didn't just get up and say I know the church is true, they gave heart felt testimonies with their conversion stories, I was close to tears. and better yet Erick and Raphael, two awesome brothers, finally convinced their parents to take a few minutes off work to come. They came and heard their kids bear testimony and also saw them administering the sacrament! Caramba if that's not a powerful message for a parent I don't know what is!
But alas, Sunday night we found out about transfers and the elder AssiSpencer duo was broken, I'm now in a new city, Piratininha, very close to my other area but I'm opening this area and that means for all of you who are unfamiliar, that I'm completely lost :D Isn't that fun! No but I'm excited cause I've heard tons of good stuff about this ward and the last missionaries left it in good condition.
I'm now with elder Santana, he's a pretty cool kid. I don't know much about him yet so I'll fill you in on those details next time, but he seems kinda excited about missionary work so I'm sure we'll get along just great :D haha
Well someone just said something and I wasn't listening, so my comp tried to speak English to explain, cause he thought I just didn't understand, thus confirming he can say five and minute with a wonderful accent. haha perfect :D Oh I was at my new house a little while back and its awesome, much more roomy than the last house and there's only the two of us. the washing machine looks like it works so that'll save on a lot of work, hurray!
Anywho I'll have more to say next week about my new area cause as of yet I don't know anything, but tune in next time to hear all about it. lol
Thank you all for your love and support!
Elder Nate Spencer
So those youth I'm always talking about... they all bore their testimonies, but they didn't just get up and say I know the church is true, they gave heart felt testimonies with their conversion stories, I was close to tears. and better yet Erick and Raphael, two awesome brothers, finally convinced their parents to take a few minutes off work to come. They came and heard their kids bear testimony and also saw them administering the sacrament! Caramba if that's not a powerful message for a parent I don't know what is!
But alas, Sunday night we found out about transfers and the elder AssiSpencer duo was broken, I'm now in a new city, Piratininha, very close to my other area but I'm opening this area and that means for all of you who are unfamiliar, that I'm completely lost :D Isn't that fun! No but I'm excited cause I've heard tons of good stuff about this ward and the last missionaries left it in good condition.
I'm now with elder Santana, he's a pretty cool kid. I don't know much about him yet so I'll fill you in on those details next time, but he seems kinda excited about missionary work so I'm sure we'll get along just great :D haha
Well someone just said something and I wasn't listening, so my comp tried to speak English to explain, cause he thought I just didn't understand, thus confirming he can say five and minute with a wonderful accent. haha perfect :D Oh I was at my new house a little while back and its awesome, much more roomy than the last house and there's only the two of us. the washing machine looks like it works so that'll save on a lot of work, hurray!
Anywho I'll have more to say next week about my new area cause as of yet I don't know anything, but tune in next time to hear all about it. lol
Thank you all for your love and support!
Elder Nate Spencer
Brian's email from August 4
This week has been the best one for a long while! Nothing incredible happened, just lots of good stuff and just a good week. We found several solid investigators this week, and guess how we found them! Tracting! Ya it was pretty cool. One guy we found is an old crazy man, but one of the good kinds :) He is really smart and knows his Bible but he isn't against new revelation and others views, so he listens to us very well and is willing to accept whatever truth God will reveal to him. The reason why I say he is a crazy old man is cause of the way he looks and talks. haha He is bald except some white hair jetting out the sides of his head, (like a mad scientist) and when he talks, he is very loud and enthusiastic! but I like him.
We also found another man, and the first thing he said to us was he wasn't Christian, but he was willing to listen nonetheless. Well it turns out he is very familiar with the Bible but because of the inconsistencies in the Bible and in Christianity he has given up hope. Well, it just so happens that our message answered many of his questions and I'm confident that it will continue to make sense to him. Especially if we can get him to pray about it and read the Book of Mormon. I always love finding potential priesthood holders who can help lead in the church.
Then we found another two ladies who are sisters, and the one sister, Neli, started crying because she was just about to give up hope in Christ and she asked us to come back and to help her find her faith again. She seems very promising and I'm looking forward to working with her.
So those are just three of the people we found this week. It's times like those that really give you the boost to keep working :D Tender Mercies, just keep your eyes open and its impossible not to see them.
Thats a wrap I suppose!
Love Elder Brian Spencer
We also found another man, and the first thing he said to us was he wasn't Christian, but he was willing to listen nonetheless. Well it turns out he is very familiar with the Bible but because of the inconsistencies in the Bible and in Christianity he has given up hope. Well, it just so happens that our message answered many of his questions and I'm confident that it will continue to make sense to him. Especially if we can get him to pray about it and read the Book of Mormon. I always love finding potential priesthood holders who can help lead in the church.
Then we found another two ladies who are sisters, and the one sister, Neli, started crying because she was just about to give up hope in Christ and she asked us to come back and to help her find her faith again. She seems very promising and I'm looking forward to working with her.
So those are just three of the people we found this week. It's times like those that really give you the boost to keep working :D Tender Mercies, just keep your eyes open and its impossible not to see them.
Thats a wrap I suppose!
Love Elder Brian Spencer
Monday, July 28, 2008
Brian's email July 28
Subject: we have located your pants
Well, first to explain the subject.. My father sends me emails and apperently with yahoo you can generate random subjects. and this was the most recent one and it made me laugh so I used it.
So life here is going very well, this week was great. We had a young man who we have been teaching for a couple weeks now ask us to be baptized. his name is Kagiso [kah-he-so] He is only about 19 but he has been very interested since day one with us. He studies the bible and reads from the book of Mormon and has pointed out to us that they dont conflict with eachother. ;) smart kid huh?! I am pretty sure he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon but we are a bit worried about his testimony of the restored gospel. He hasnt come to church yet and he still goes to his "good news bible" church :s AHHH some people amaze me with the churches they go to! so we are going to focus a bit on the restoration with him before we go much further.
So we showed up to another investigator, Molley, on thursday. We were going to teach her about the law of tithing, and when we showed up she had an envelope sitting on the table we sit around. And when I told her what we were going to talk about, she said "oh I was just thinking about that earlier today" and she handed me the envelope! so we taught her about the law of tithing. and on sunday she came to church with another envelope! I had already givin the previous one to the bishop and he wanted to sit down and talk with her but unfortunately she had to leave early so he never got the chance. This same investigator has been reading the book of Mormon and is now almost finished with Alma! And amazingly enough she hasnt committed to baptism yet, she is still a little commited to her other bizaar church. ha, but im sure it wont be long now, She is starting to make the change, and Im praying she will accept the commitment soon.
YUP! thats life, Im sure some other cool stuff happend but... im done writing :D Love you all!
Elder Brian Spencer
Well, first to explain the subject.. My father sends me emails and apperently with yahoo you can generate random subjects. and this was the most recent one and it made me laugh so I used it.
So life here is going very well, this week was great. We had a young man who we have been teaching for a couple weeks now ask us to be baptized. his name is Kagiso [kah-he-so] He is only about 19 but he has been very interested since day one with us. He studies the bible and reads from the book of Mormon and has pointed out to us that they dont conflict with eachother. ;) smart kid huh?! I am pretty sure he has a testimony of the Book of Mormon but we are a bit worried about his testimony of the restored gospel. He hasnt come to church yet and he still goes to his "good news bible" church :s AHHH some people amaze me with the churches they go to! so we are going to focus a bit on the restoration with him before we go much further.
So we showed up to another investigator, Molley, on thursday. We were going to teach her about the law of tithing, and when we showed up she had an envelope sitting on the table we sit around. And when I told her what we were going to talk about, she said "oh I was just thinking about that earlier today" and she handed me the envelope! so we taught her about the law of tithing. and on sunday she came to church with another envelope! I had already givin the previous one to the bishop and he wanted to sit down and talk with her but unfortunately she had to leave early so he never got the chance. This same investigator has been reading the book of Mormon and is now almost finished with Alma! And amazingly enough she hasnt committed to baptism yet, she is still a little commited to her other bizaar church. ha, but im sure it wont be long now, She is starting to make the change, and Im praying she will accept the commitment soon.
YUP! thats life, Im sure some other cool stuff happend but... im done writing :D Love you all!
Elder Brian Spencer
Brian's email July 21
It has been a wonderful week, everything seems to be slowly progressing, which is good. We have found some new people, taught some old people and played with some young people :) Little kids are fun to play with, they are so easily entertained too. They are so bored during the day that they get very clever. I have been introduced to several games that little kids just make up to keep themselves entertained. One is like jacks except they find 11 rocks and they scratch a little box into the dirt lol. yup good times. We had 5 of our solid investigators come to church on sunday! that was awesome and one, his name is Thabiso really wants to be baptized now. He has come to church for four weeks now and we teach him every saturday. When we taught him last time he told us about some struggles in his life, cause his mom and sister both passed away in the last couple years. We were able to teach him about the plan of salvation. He told us afterwards, that this gospel is answering all his questions and he feels more relieved everytime we teach him. The next day he went to church and in priesthood the lesson was about Joseph Smiths trials with losing most of his children and life after death. It was perfect for him and he even contributed to the class. Another one of our investigators showed up for the first time and he just lost his first child who was like 6 months old and so I think the lesson really helped him as well. Just shows the Tender Mercies of the Lord. He really is there and hears and answers prayers. So many times we get "lucky" or a nice "coincidence" occurs but I am convinced that they are all tender mercies from the Lord as elder Bednar talked about in his conference talk. I am blessed to see them everyday, Always be on the lookout for them and you will realize how much the Lord is involved in our lives.
Love you all,
Elder Brian Spencer
Love you all,
Elder Brian Spencer
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Nathan's email - July 15
haha oh what a beautiful day! So its officially winter down here, that doesn't mean snow everyone, just means that while the sun shines and makes you feel hot, you don't sweat as profusely! yay! haha. But really its great down here not just cause of the weather. This last week has been a spiritual high and temporal low. Monday night there was an accident where Cidinha, a 9 year old recent convert that loves music and smiling, passed away. I had said before that drivers in Brazil are crazy, well this is a classic example. All I know about the story is her mother went into the store to get some medicine and told her to stay there, she wanted some candy and started to cross the street to the candy store, a bus didn't see her and when her mother came out and saw the flashing lights she found her daughter. Cidinha lives with her mother, I'm not sure if it's her blood mother or not, but they love each other and live for one another. Literally whenever Cidinha prayed all she would say is thank you for my mom and please bless my mom. I never saw them separated and now Eloza, her mother, is struggling with the loss. We´ve been visiting every day and teaching her and the rest of her family more about the plan of salvation and the love of our Savior for children and yes it helps but in another way nothing can take away her loss at this moment. It's such a sad time.
On a happier note, we will be having 5 baptisms this Saturday. The Lord truly is blessing the youth down here and they aren't just sitting back, they´re sharing. As I said last week we've been going around with recent converts to go teach, well our pool of investigators just keeps growing as friends call in more friends and such it's so wonderful to see. This one young man, Raphael, he'll be baptized this Saturday and already he invited two of his friends to hear our message, and he gave the closing prayer asking Heavenly Father to bless his friends to have open hearts and be able to be baptized into the true chruch of Jesus Christ. Wow.
So time here seems to be locked in fast forward, our transfer is already half over and we've still got tons to do down here :s But i'm sure what we leave the next missionaries will pick up on (we're pretty sure i'll be leaving, seeming how I've been here for 6 months!) Lets see what more, our english class is growing exponentially, haha its soo cool, we started out with just like 5 or 6 when I got here and now we've got almost all our recent converts coming and so its packed! We're going to have a party this Saturday as well where we get to teach these poor soccer players how to play baseball... I still need to find a bat... haha that'll be fun.
Oh yeah, so Saturday for lunch we had the lovely experience of eating chicken feet! (thank you Brian...) lol they saw Brians picture with him eating a chicken foot and decided that twins need to share every experience. lol So thats me in a week everyone, thank you all for your love and support, our Savior loves us and wants us to be happy so smile and do him proud! Families are the best, never take advantage of the one you've got, go find someone in your family right now and just give them a hug or something :D Thanks again. tchau tchau!
Elder Nate Spencer
Elder Nate Spencer
On a happier note, we will be having 5 baptisms this Saturday. The Lord truly is blessing the youth down here and they aren't just sitting back, they´re sharing. As I said last week we've been going around with recent converts to go teach, well our pool of investigators just keeps growing as friends call in more friends and such it's so wonderful to see. This one young man, Raphael, he'll be baptized this Saturday and already he invited two of his friends to hear our message, and he gave the closing prayer asking Heavenly Father to bless his friends to have open hearts and be able to be baptized into the true chruch of Jesus Christ. Wow.
So time here seems to be locked in fast forward, our transfer is already half over and we've still got tons to do down here :s But i'm sure what we leave the next missionaries will pick up on (we're pretty sure i'll be leaving, seeming how I've been here for 6 months!) Lets see what more, our english class is growing exponentially, haha its soo cool, we started out with just like 5 or 6 when I got here and now we've got almost all our recent converts coming and so its packed! We're going to have a party this Saturday as well where we get to teach these poor soccer players how to play baseball... I still need to find a bat... haha that'll be fun.
Oh yeah, so Saturday for lunch we had the lovely experience of eating chicken feet! (thank you Brian...) lol they saw Brians picture with him eating a chicken foot and decided that twins need to share every experience. lol So thats me in a week everyone, thank you all for your love and support, our Savior loves us and wants us to be happy so smile and do him proud! Families are the best, never take advantage of the one you've got, go find someone in your family right now and just give them a hug or something :D Thanks again. tchau tchau!
Elder Nate Spencer
Elder Nate Spencer
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Nathan's email, July 8
Hello todo mundo!
The 4th came and went in the big city of Diadema, and maybe just maybe it gave someone here a reason to buy an extra drink that night lol. But it was cool I wore my blue tie and cried independence from the rooftops...almost. But this week was fantastic, we met our new mission president and he's awesome! I had the opportunity to have an interview with him yesterday and there's a spirit about him that testifies he truly was called of God to do this work.
Anywho there's this little thing called people searching for truth, it's a wonderful idea some people have and our only problem is finding them. But, occasionally they search just right and walk into our chapel on Sunday just like a mother and her son did! haha this really nice lady and her 13 year old son live around town somewhere (actually in Centro, not my area too bad) but they had seen our church a few times and were interested in what we were teaching. Well she immediately fit in perfectly with the relief society as her son Deigo was welcomed into the young mens classroom, elder Assis and I couldn't help but to just grin from ear to ear as two strangers fell instantly in love with church and the gospel. But thats only the beginning of the miracles. This last Sunday almost all of our investigators came to church, it was a festa, everyone is loving it and anxious for their baptisms. I don't know how to explain it, but sometimes people are looking for miracles, like seeing a mountain move or dividing the waters, but miracles happen all the time as normal people open their hearts to the gospel and accept its message of peace.
For example 3 teenage girls we were teaching, the first time we were there we set them straight as to why we were teaching them because they were being.... how might I say teenage girls. but the next time we went there was a completely different feel about them, they had read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know it was true. All of them gained a person witness and as we've been teaching them and their parents it's been amazing to see them change, everything, they have a new light in their eyes, they are dressing differently, they are literally repenting and receiving the light of Christ in their eyes. I love the gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ, if not for him all would be for naught. But when we find him the change it can make in our lives is incredible.
May we all strive to find our Savior and continually take the steps to bring ourselves closer to him, thank you all for your love and support, até next week!
Elder Nate Spencer
The 4th came and went in the big city of Diadema, and maybe just maybe it gave someone here a reason to buy an extra drink that night lol. But it was cool I wore my blue tie and cried independence from the rooftops...almost. But this week was fantastic, we met our new mission president and he's awesome! I had the opportunity to have an interview with him yesterday and there's a spirit about him that testifies he truly was called of God to do this work.
Anywho there's this little thing called people searching for truth, it's a wonderful idea some people have and our only problem is finding them. But, occasionally they search just right and walk into our chapel on Sunday just like a mother and her son did! haha this really nice lady and her 13 year old son live around town somewhere (actually in Centro, not my area too bad) but they had seen our church a few times and were interested in what we were teaching. Well she immediately fit in perfectly with the relief society as her son Deigo was welcomed into the young mens classroom, elder Assis and I couldn't help but to just grin from ear to ear as two strangers fell instantly in love with church and the gospel. But thats only the beginning of the miracles. This last Sunday almost all of our investigators came to church, it was a festa, everyone is loving it and anxious for their baptisms. I don't know how to explain it, but sometimes people are looking for miracles, like seeing a mountain move or dividing the waters, but miracles happen all the time as normal people open their hearts to the gospel and accept its message of peace.
For example 3 teenage girls we were teaching, the first time we were there we set them straight as to why we were teaching them because they were being.... how might I say teenage girls. but the next time we went there was a completely different feel about them, they had read the Book of Mormon and prayed to know it was true. All of them gained a person witness and as we've been teaching them and their parents it's been amazing to see them change, everything, they have a new light in their eyes, they are dressing differently, they are literally repenting and receiving the light of Christ in their eyes. I love the gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ, if not for him all would be for naught. But when we find him the change it can make in our lives is incredible.
May we all strive to find our Savior and continually take the steps to bring ourselves closer to him, thank you all for your love and support, até next week!
Elder Nate Spencer
Monday, July 7, 2008
Brian's email, July 7
I'm sorry if my email last week didn't go through, I wrote one I know but sometimes emails don't go through. Well it's been another week in Africa, and we finished another transfer so my companion goes home in 5 weeks and he tells me everyday. Ha... Well life here is still good I suppose. We have been doing a lot of service lately, on Thursday we spent four hours tearing out the grass of a less active family. They don't have any men in the family so we opted to help out and they were very grateful. And then on Sunday both less active daughters came to church. And another less active lady we have been visiting came to church again and talked with the Bishop! yay, When we were with her she started telling us a lot of stuff and she was looking for counciling which as missionaries we aren't supposed to do so we asked her to talk to the bishop about that stuff and she did. Hopefully it helped and she'll continue to come to church. Her husband and a daughter aren't members so it might lead to some new investigators. Time will tell.lets see, what else has happened. Oh in my email last week I mentioned that we have a new mission president now. His name is President Poulsen, I still haven't met him personally but I have met several that have and everyone says he is really cool. So I'm excited, oh and there is a rumor that our mission might split... three years ago there were 120 missionaries here and now there are 180 and this is the largest mission or one of the largest missions in the world. So, I think it might split soon, maybe not this year but my guess is sometime within two years. I dunno, well Thats about all I have for today, I hope you are all doing well, I apologize for any bad grammer or spelling. Love you all
Elder Brian Spencer
Elder Brian Spencer
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Missionary update
Well, I was encouraged by Robyn (G.) to post the emails we receive from Brian and Nathan on the blog. I will be doing that from now on since not everyone receives the email forwards. I will also be posting more photos as we get them. I have received three cd's full of photos and videos from Brian, I just don't know which ones to post here. Nathan has been too busy to get us much in the way of photos.
Nathan's latest email
ola Gente! oh the wonderful world of the mission is still in full force. alright everyone take a breath and think, 6 months already! holy smokes, but im just getting into things here, thats a fourth of my mission. but its been a 6 months of some of the best memories of my life, (not that the ones before the mission were bad or anything lol) what a wonderful opportunity it is to be here. this last week elder assis and i have been able to work with the fruits of our labors. our recent converts are almost running the ward and missionary efforts here in serraria, its so cool to see. and especially since weve been having a lot of success with teenagers, its that time of life kids are searching for direction in life and such. well now that erick is with us weve been going with him almost every day to teach the gospel. hes an amazing kid and hes helping his friends find the gospel as well, for example. last wednesday we took 3 of our recent converts with us, Mirele 15, veronica 11, and erick 18, i was a little nervous cause mirele and veronica are... how might i say unique lol awesome but like Mirele has dyed jet black hair and doesnt smile much haha. well our first stop was at this house with bianca and her mom, well they are kinda like this proper family and i was worried about clash and well a miracle occured and they split from us for a half hour to find a friend of theirs that isnt a member while elder assis and i went to teach, so that worked out just great and as soon as we got done and left their house (good lesson, the daughter will be baptized!) around the corner comes our recent converts with their friend Marlou! well we headed back to Marlou's house to teach him the first lesson and it was great, all of us on the roof, pretty much like 6 teenagers talking about the gospel in a serious manner ya know. well we invited Marlou to Read the Book of Mormon and he agreed hesitantly and then we asked him if he would pray after and he said i cant "eu sou catolica" meaning "i am catholic, in an eternal sense) and nonchalantly Mirele replied "i was too" and after veronica said the same, then erick said the same and then elder assis said the same! wow im in brazil teaching the gospel to a group of ex catholics! but they were all testifying of the personal witness they had received to change and come into the fold of christ and his restored gospel. well after everyone testified that they had been catholic and when they read and prayed they gained a testimony he was still hestitant, he said his dad was catholic and wouldnt want him to change his religion. but he saw the light of the gospel and was afraid to try, to ask, because he was afraid of receiving an answer. well we left him with that and we went to teach one more lesson, then return to take him to our english class. well while we were walking back he nervously said he'd read the parts we'd marked for him. haha we gave him a great big smile and said did you pray?! he said "quase elder eu Quase orou" ,almost elder i almost prayed, he said he was afraid of an answer. one more time we testified that the gospel will bring joy into his life and the direction hes been looking for. then the next day we took him again to the church to do a job search (the church has a lot of services for anyone and its free, its really nice) and while we were there he stopped while we were alone (the three of us) and said elders, i prayed, its true. wow. i love the gospel. so elder assis was inspired, he walked over and showed Marlou the baptismal font and testified about baptism being the entrance to our journey here. he accepted a date to be baptized and now we are teaching him everything we can about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. well better yet, though his dad is not for us his mom would love to hear our message as well (they are seperated) so im excited to see how that goes as well. thank you everyone for your love and support, the church is true, the truth is coming forth in these latter days and we've all been blessed to take part. miracles happen everyday, but they work according to the faith of men (moroni 10:7) have faith and we will all see the miracle of a world filled with the wonderful message of our savior Jesus Christ!
Elder Nathan Spencer
Elder Nathan Spencer
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Missionaries
Nathan has sent three new photos from Brazil.
This must be at an airport. I don't know where.
Here he is with his two companions.
????
This must be at an airport. I don't know where.
Here he is with his two companions.
????
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