October 15, 2018 - Morada dos Passaros -- Vitoria da Conquista

our week was pretty good! 

tuesday we had lunch SUUUPER far away but the bus doesnt pass there so we walked and it was at like 10:30 in the morning i felt like i was in high school again hahah. we had some good lessons. my favorite was teaching this old lady about the church. she has a niece who is a member and was full of fun questions and comments about the church that other people have made to her (you baptize dead people?? you have dances in the church??? you listen to music other than the hymns??) just imagine trying to tell an extremely religious little old lady about it. we also worked with luceni about her goal to try and stop smoking so her children will move back in with her and when we got to her house we couldnt smell any smoke at all! i was so happy and she is starting to look so much more healthy. 

wednesday was a nice district meeting and we ate lunch at a members house that we are pretty good friends with. right when we got there he sprayed some pepper gas (hes a military police) so we walked in the door and just about died from coughing so much hahahah he got a kick out of it. we taught a new investigator Gustavo, a firm agnostic, and had a way cool discussion about the creation of the world and all that God and his plan have provided for us! by the time we finished he seemed really happy and like he had been touched by our visit and was starting to open up his heart. it was so cool to be able to read the scriptures with him and have him ask questions and really think and open up his mind about what we explained to him. we also followed up with maria in preparation for her baptism and her trip to her parents farm went well. we were a little worried her family might say something because they are all very firm in another church but nothing was said and her mom actually pleaded for a book of mormon for her to study! where they live doesnt have church so it was so cool to be able to give a book of mormon! the gospel is spreading!! we ended up readin alma 32 in the dark becasue the electricty was out! it was fun. 

thursday our lunch fell thru at the last minute and left us out to dry. so we made food at home. we had a few good lessons and invited some people to our integration night at the church. when we got there we were surprised that none of the Relief Society presidency was there (they were in charge) and our message plan got thrown off because the dvd player broke so we had an impromptu debate about some parables haha i love the parables of Christ. then we had a super fun game. i forgot what its called [Charades] but we were acting out scenes from the scriptures and trying to guess what they were. sadly my team lost because they weren't able to understand me pretending to be samuel the lamanite. I was up on a table with the scriptures i almost lost it hahahha but its just a game right??

friday we filled up the font and had some interviews. it was a rather bland day with some bright spóts! we had to go to the other side of the city to do one interview and hurry back so the DL could do our interview. we also had a bunch of members telling us they probably wouldnt be able to come to the baptism saturday (apparently saturday morning isnt good??) 

when we rolled in with maria saturday morning the church was filled with members! it was such a pleasant surprise. the meeting went very well. we had a few nice lessons over the weekend and found some sweet part-member families to teach and reactivate! i have really been loving this area.

Elder Prince, Maria, Elder Machado, and ?

we watched Elder Rasbands talk a few times with some less active members and investigators and it brought such an amazing spirit. The way he talks about banishing our fears is awesome! truly faith in Christ and love for everyone can help us understand and take away our fears! everyone should give it another listen, I am so grateful for our living prophets and apostles, called to guide us in these latter days! They are truly guided by our Eternal Head, Jesus Christ. this is His Church!

Elder Prince

October 8, 2018 -- Morada dos Passaros (Vitoria da Conquista)

i really loved conference. it was so nice to hear the prophets and apostles and to hear that SALVADOR IS GETTING A TEMPLE IM SO HAPPY. one talk i really liked was elder hollands talk. i hope you guys were able to listen to it. I am so grateful to have a living prophet who is dedicated to guiding zion!! Christ lives and truly helps guide us every day whether thru personal revelation or the light of christ which is in each of us!

tbh i cant believe it. i really was shocked. cuz the whole time i was in the office i was doing research and stuff about how many members and stakes you need for a temple and i heard a bunch of stuff from temple presidents at firesides and the behavior (of the members) and activity levels in our mission and i thought it would take so much longer. i guess i need a little more vision!!

also sorry i haven't really written you an update this week. just imagine me really dusty because of the dirt roads and lots of people not letting us in their homes hahah thats about how it was. 

Elder Prince

Zone Conference

Zone Conference

October 1, 2018 -- Morada dos Passaros (Vitoria da Conquista)

monday was a chill p day. we got elder machado's hair cut at a members house and then slept all day. also got MCDS. we spent the night following up some people that missed church on sunday and we visited Luceni. she is a lady that is trying to quit smoking and has been enjoying church. Her kids moved out because she was smoking so much but now she has cut down her habit a lot. we used to go to her house and not be able to breathe becasue it was so bad and her fingers were all burned from the homemade cigarettes but its getting better! she has been trying to memorize the restoration pamphlet and tries to repeat it to us everytime we go there. She is learning a lot but still has a while to go!

tuesday we found an awesome family! Cleiber Lucitana and their children welcomed us in quickly after we knocked on their door and started to ask us who we were. we taught them the first lesson and right as we got to the First Vision they started telling us about how Cleiber´s uncle had the same questions and he had prayed and had share these questions with the whole family and they have been searching ever since! it was a cool lesson but lucitana doesn't know how to read and their children "don't have time" to help her so we hope we can have some good visits to be able to help her read and gain a testimony of the Book of mormon. we also spent the day following up with some people and reminding Maria of her baptismal date. she was all for it and super excited but her mom was visiting from the farm and she didnt think that these little missionaries were all that. She is a longtime member of an evangelical church so we sat down and went thru the 3rd lesson with her explaining the doctrines and importants of faith repentance baptism and the gift of the holy ghost! it was a nice lesson and we got her approval. the funny part is the maria is 50 and her mom is like 80 hahaha. 

wednesday we had a bunch of lessons fall through so we did lots of contacts and asking our contacts for references. and it worked out! we had another awesome lesson with a family in the neighborhood we have been working in and they asked lots of questions. but the whole time their little 2 year old was screaming his head off so it was kinda annoying. we also taught stella and thabata about family history and helped her to start her family tree! we were able to do up until her grandparents but then she didn't have enough information to continue. she has been having some persecution from her family who are in other churches and she has been kinda down this week so it was really nice to have a good lesson with her! she was all smiles on sunday and loved church even though she is passing thru a few problems. We were also able to get out and do some visits to less active young men with the young mens president and we found some less active families that we are visiting now! we came up to one house and were asking about the young man and he said " you're looking for victor? that's me" then went inside and called his mom. while his mom came out and talked to us he got on his bike and rode away as fast as possible hahaha. gotta love it.

thursday we had weekly planning and a really distant lunch so it kinda shook up our day. but we were able to teach some lessons and a few of our investigators went to the branch activity at the chapel! it was a good night!

saturday we had a really far lunch again but we were able to have a super cool lesson with a reference that we got from the sisters. Sara lost her mom a year ago and stopped going to her church becasue she was so hurt. we had a really nice conversation with her about the plan of salvation and she just about told us her life story within 15 minutes of meeting her. it was cool becasue she alrady had a solid knowledge of the scriptures so when we outlined the plan of salvation for her she just started asking questions about her mom. i felt like for every 3 sentences i spoke she asked a question about her mom! it was a cool experience!

sunday i gave a talk in church (yes i still hate public speaking) and it was so fun to sit on the stand and watch 3 less active families walk into sacrament meeting! it put the biggest smile on my face. they told us that they all really enjoyed being in the church meetings again. we visited some references with a member on the other side of our area and did a good amount of walking in the after noon. this week i have been thinking a lot about the blessings we receive for living the gospel. they're big and they're real! all we need to do is put the teachings of Christ in pratice in our lives and we can see the huge effects they have! John 7:17

love you guys

Elder Prince

[Sam's travel plans came on Thursday! He returns to Salt Lake City on Friday December 7! Mark your calendars! His homecoming will be Sunday December 16.]

September 24, 2018 -- Morada dos Passaros (Vitoria da Conquista)

thought i would try to get a nice weekly update to you. i think it might be pretty weak. 

so monday we had a chill day and got ready to travel to salvador. i got my hair cut and broke off part of the capsule thing for my bottom retainer. but everything is still strong and hasnt broken fully. dont worry i talked to president about it. 

monday night we had a nice long bus ride and the mission council all day tuesday! a bunch of training and we talked about how we can find more investigaors and more quality investigators! it was a nice meeting and inspired me to change and try to get better.

Mission Leadership Council

Wednesday we got back from salvador and had to organize some materials and get different things to different people. also elder espirito santo got transferred so we spent most of the afternoon getting his stuff ready, then once we got to the bus station elder sorocaba had only bought his bus for later that night. so essentially we wasted time getting his stuff ready to early. but then we had a way sick FHE with some members and their family who was visiting from out of town. it is such a privilege to teach people about the Restoration and the effect it has on all of us! 

Thursday morning we got an urgent call from the Thompsons saying that the sisters needed fans for their apartment because it was too hot. so we spent the morning chasing down fans and delivering them to the sisters on the other side of the city. meanwhile im sleeping at night witha  blanket and a sweatshirt. how in the world they are too hot at night is beyond me. then we had some normal proselyting to finish out the day as well as a thrilling discussion about the book of mormon with Junior and Marcos. lots of talk about open scripture canon and how the bible is enough. who knows i think having more scripture is always helpful! the Book of Mormon is truly God´s blessing to all of us. 

the rest of the week was fairly normal except they cut our water! our whole apartment building has been without water since friday so we have been taking showers out of 2 liter coke bottles we carry home from the church! count your blessings! 

have a good week

Elder Prince

September 17, 2018 -- Morada dos Passaros (Vitoria da Conquista)

so my week was pretty exciting! its been super different to be in an area again! i cant even explain it, my feet are sore and my pants are dusty but there is no better feeling. My companion is Elder Machado from Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil and he was trained by elder Christofferson! Morada dos Passaros is a pretty strong and relatively new branch here in Vitória da Conquista and i am loving it so far. its been so nice to just wake up study and go out to work. its been kinda weird adjusting to the new area because i was in the office for so long with the same members and same area. its kinda the same feeling that i had when i got into the mission and felt like i was in a different world! but its been fun. 

monday i spent the day in the office working on the transfer stuff and then i packed my bags and took the overnight bus, yes i do sleep well on buses, planes and in cars. its a blessing hahaha. 

Brazil Salvador South office staff with the Biddulph's

Elder Prince, Elder Gray, and Elder Sorocaba right before his transfer

when i got to conquista it was chilly! not actually cold at all but now that i have been in tropical salvador for so long 60 with a little wind is like a winter storm for me haha. we had a nice day working in our area and gettng to know some contacts and investigators a little better. we also had to pick up a medical exam in the city center for another elder who spent the day with us before he went to a different area. got to spend some more time in a public bus! been a while since i have done that too. hahah. 

wednesday we took this other elder early to the bus station to meet up with the new elder who would open up a new area. here in conquista there were a few complicated situations so part of our zone got whitewashed and we have had to show some people around a little bit. our lunch was like an hour away and where we went doesnt have buses so we got some steps in as mom would say. then we made some really good visits during the rest of the day. we confirmed the baptism of maristella and thabata for saturday and hlped them clear up some doubts. we also had some new investigators who we really liked Robson, vanessa and their 4 children. its been fun to teach them about the restoration! they dont have a church and areally looking for some help as robson is unemployed recently and vanessa got diagnosed with cancer. its amazing to see the faith of the people here!

thursday we had our weekly planning and some nice lessons in the afternoon. we also had a activty at the chapel for the branch and the other ward here and it was fun. we got asked to give a short message about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it went really well. There were some investigators and less actives who have been having some problems that really enjoyed the message and it was awesome to see their eyes and faces light up. i really think that is one of the best parts of being a missionary. seeing the hope that the Lord's message brings to his children. but the night ended a little strange as some sarcastic comments were thrown around and a relief society cat fight almost broke out during the game after the message. 

friday had our district meeting  and visited some investigators to mark appointments and confirm them to visit church on sunday. we also had stella and thabata's interviews and they passed with flying colors. their story is amazing and i cant wait to tell you all about it another time. 

Elder Prince, Elder Machado, Maristella and Thabata, and another elder

saturday we spent the morning filling up the font and preparing the chapel for the baptism, at the same time as weekly chapel cleaning and a branch BBQ. you could say that my first week in this new area was very #blessed. The baptism went perfectly and the meat was awesome. then we taught some of the sisters investigatosr about the commandments and the need for baptism and we were able to help them mark baptismal dates! it was interesting to teach with 4 missionaries at the same time and see how elders and sisters teach differently. 

sunday went really well. the confirmations were great and we were surprised when our investigators invited some friends and neighbors to come to church with us. we looked like a little herd of people walking to the chapel! the sunday service was awesome and we had a really nice lesson in elders quorum about forgiveness. our investigators also really liked it. 

today we have done a little shoppig for groceries and cleaned our house.

this week i read the parable of the 10 virgins more than a few times. its such an amazing parable and really shows us the necessity of preparing and always being ready for whatever could come our way. It is more centralized in the Lord's 2nd coming but i thought a lot about how it could apply to little emergencies that we have in our everyday lives. If we are living the commandments and the gospel, giving a good effort the Lord will bless us endlessly and we will be prepared for whatever could pass in front of us as well as preparing us for the 2nd coming. give it a little read Matthew 25:1-13. He lives! He loves us! He is always there for us. Pray to him in your secret places and he will give you the strength and prepare you to face anything in your lives. 

Elder Prince

September 10, 2018 -- Transfers!

I'm being transferred to Vitoria da Conquista! i totally forgot i hadnt told you yet hahah. im excited ill go to Area Morada dos Passaros its a branch and ill be ZL. my new comp is elder Machado from Fortaleza, and some short term missionary who will only be with us for a week. im not super sad about leaving the office. sad to leave elder Gray and Sorocaba and worried about the office work. elder gray will do great but the visas are complicated and stressful.

Elder Prince

"yes, it's ice cream!"

September 8, 2018 -- Salvador (Ondina)

monday we had a meeting with president and a family night with irmão Cely and his family and our investigator Dominique. We talked about things that keep us on the straight and narrow path, theme coming from a talk from Elder Pearson from last year, it wa in the Liahona this month. way good family night and we had ham and homemade-bread after. 

Wednesday we had training on how to install OneDrive on the computer and how to use it in the visa process, its like iCloud for microsoft online. in the evening we had some visits but by far my favorite was visiting Romilda and teaching her about the Temple. She is about to have a year of being baptized and we want her to start thinking about going to the temple. Her and her daughter really liked the family history idea and actually started fillin in the family tree and stuff. 

Thursday we delivered some boxes of book of mormons to the mission president's counselors home, he will be traveling to visit Bom Jesus da Lapa. Then in the evening we had divisions with Valmir. It wasnt a super successful night because its the night before a holiday and long weekends are everyones favorite party times here in brazil.

friday (Brazilian Independence Day) we had a busy morning with training from SP about how to start the residency process here in brazil. lately we have been in the dark about visa renewal and the ball is finally starting to roll.. as soon as im leaving the office. we also taught Nilza, Isaiah's wife, the first lesson. So far it has been pretty difficult to get her to listen to us because of somethings that happened in the past and because she is a bartender.. of the bar.. in their house.. but things are coming around!

Elder Prince