RIO NA RUA (RIVER IN THE ROAD)

Welcome to the amazing season of summer here is good ol' Brazil. This week was a little rough but everything is good. We started out Tuesday waking up to a RIVER IN THE ROAD (RIO NA RUA). The floods are a coming!!!!! Haha it was nuts, the water was up to my knees at one point!!! The water was so high we couldn't walk to our lunch. We had to wait until a bus passed in front of our house to even TRY to exit. It was a very wet day!!! You will see this in the photos. And yes, this is only the beginning of the flood season.

Wednesday the roads were still a complete MESS! There is a canal that is in the city that collects the sewage of everyone in 10 neighborhoods. When it pours and rains so much the canal tends to FLOOD... Yep, there is ALL SORTS of nasty in the road!!! It was ridiculous and really gross. We had to work in this for 2 days!!! But Wednesday we had out Zone conference and it was awesome. It was the Best conference that I have been to so far!

Outside Xavier's Apartment

Thursday was a HAPPY NORMAL DAY in Brazil! No, they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving... That was kind of a blessing though because I didn’t feel home sick! But I made a cake and we ate it during our District meeting so that was good. :) I really do have so many things to be grateful for and they ALL involve family and friends, aka YA'LL!!!! You are all so amazing, thank you! Yesterday we went to a member’s house and I tried a Brazilian fruit! It is called Jambo and it smells like a rose!!! Haha but I tried it and it was WAY GOOD! I looked a little closer and noticed that some of the seeds on the fruit were MOVING!!! There were some weird bugs ALL OVER the fruit.  Hopefully I don’t get sick.

 

Sister Penha said, "I love Jambo!!"

I said, " I do too just not with the bugs!!"

Sister Penha said, "Elder... HUKUNA MATATA!!"

  
It has really been rough this week. We had 3 solid investigators who just dropped out. Their mom has heard bad things about the church and doesn’t want them to take the lessons anymore. We talk to everyone we see and they are all reluctant to hear about the gospel. When my companion is rejected he shuts down and he gets very frustrated if I try to help or give suggestions on what to do. I try to teach and I get the point across to where our investigators understand and my comp doesn’t trust the way that I teach and has to re-teach everything the way he wants to... The only comfort that I found this week was through my comforter and through the scriptures. I am trying my hardest to keep a good attitude and trying to do my best and be obedient and work hard and bear testimony and everything but it was just a rough week.

I am doing good though and I am loving my mission, this week was just a little rough.:) Thank you so much for your prayers and everything’s that you all have done for me!! I love you and will try to write and email when I can. I will get to it but there is just so little time but I WILL write.

Love,

Elder Stilson

1 Peter 1:7

Alma 32:40-43

H-O-T HOT!!!



Vitoria District Missionaries

HOWDY!! And BOM DIA to everyone!!! This week has been really good with a couple of bumps... First off Elder Crapo was transferred! Now it is just me and Elder M. Silva. We have to cover 2 areas now with just 2 missionaries... It’s rough because of all of the hills here haha but it is alright. We have been making a lot of progress here in Cobilândia and I love it here.

Tuesday was H-O-T HOT!!! I think it was close to 120!! Now the humidity isn’t what has been killing me! I thought it would be but it is just the stinking heat!!! We had to stop after walking for about an hour after lunch and asked a random guy for water, it was a nice house so we think the water was safe ;) (My mom will love to hear that! She reminded me over and over not to drink the water.)  While we were sitting there we got a call from the APs saying that Elder Crapo had been transferred! Well he served a good week here in Cobilândia ;)

After we took him to the bus stop we had amazing lesson with an investigator Sheila! She wants a Joseph Smith testimony experience before she is baptized though... We have tried and tried to get her understand it usually doesn’t work that way.  She finally has accepted baptism and is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday! She feels the spirit every time we visit with her but it is hard to tell someone exactly what they will feel and what their answer will be. She wants to be baptized so we are hopeful about Saturday!!

Wednesday we had a lesson with Lorival which was really good. Teaching him was very different because everything we taught he accepted!!?? WHAT?! A 71 year old catholic accepting everything?! Yeah we were a little shocked at how accepting he was about everything we taught but we now know that he truly was prepared!! He stopped drinking coffee and he was baptized this week! It was amazing and the members here have really helped him! He is an amazing man and one of my best friends here in Cobilândia!!

The rest of our time this week was mainly spent trying to get addresses! Our zone leaders have made this a new rule. We didn’t get all 35 addresses this week so we had to go out this morning and get the 8 that we were missing.  It is frustrating but we did it and I’m glad we were able to get it done.

Sevice Project

I don’t have a lot of time today but I want to thank everyone for the letters and emails. Thank you for everything that y’all have done for me!! You are the best!! JR thank you so much for that essay that you sent me! I hope you know how much that means to me and I know you said not to waste my time but I need to thank you for that! It really is going to help me!

LOVE,

ELDER STILSON!!


Family Home Evening

 

Miracles Come AFTER the Trials

Hi everyone, well now that I have officially scared the crap out of my mom;) I would now like to send my email! Yesterday the free LAN house in our area the we go to email was closed and everywhere else here in Jardim da Penha was 10 reis for an hour of emailing. I am a POOR missionary, so my comp and I called our Mission President and asked if we could email today and he gave us permission.



Homemade Cookies



Last Monday my mom gave me the recipe to CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!! We went over to Fatíma Maias house and made them. I also learned how to make amazing Feijão!! We then talked to a member who has a lot of non member friends and he invited some of them over and we had a family night at Fatímas home with cookies and Pão de queijo! Her husband, Geraldo, gave a HUGE message that allowed one of the investigators to really feel the spirit! He didn’t have time to for us to come and teach him a lesson last week but hopefully we will be able to meet with him this week!

                                                 Tuesday was amazing! We have a 15, almost 16, year old boy who has a GIANT testimony! The only thing that is keeping him from being baptized is his dad. His dad is a Baptist but Daniel, the son, has been going to church for the past 2 YEARS!! He reads the Book of Mormon every night and is so excited to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost! His dad, Wagner, told him that on his 16th birthday, which is in just a few weeks, he could use his free agency and decide for himself if he would like to be baptized!! We have also been helping Wagner with his English trying to gain his trust. We would love to see Daniel baptized sooner but we are NOT pushing it! After that we were walking back and Elder Torres took out his planner and had a feeling that we needed to try to talk to a guy we met a while ago. We walked all the way down this street and weren’t able to find his house. At the end of the street was a little park and there was a family there. I asked Elder Torres if he would ask the family if they knew where this apartment was. When they said that it didn’t exist and then asked if we were Mormons I was expecting the worst. I thought we were in for another Bible Bash but it didn’t happen! They were very nice and very interested.  They told us that they have been looking for a religion for a very long time. We sat with them at the park then they invited us into their house where we had a prayer and talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The spirit was SO strong! We ended with a prayer and they have invited us to come back this next week. This was a huge miracle for us and we were able to learn a lot of personal things during this time!

Wednesday we had another lesson with William. It was the FIRST lesson that he was really attentive and willing to listen and accept what we were teaching! Again, the spirit was so strong. I am so excited about his continuing progress.

Thursday was a little rough.  We are still working with the member who has not been confirmed.  We had asked the missionaries that were supposed to be working with him if they could please help us with him because we had a full schedule. On Thursday we asked them how he was doing and the one Elder told us “We cut him”! I was so angry. Wait…How can you cut someone? I have to admit, I freaked out! I can’t justify my actions and yes now I need to repent but I really don’t understand these two Elders and their lack of care and concern for this member.  My fear is that my companion and I will be transferred this next week.  We need to get him confirmed before the transfer.

Friday was awesome!!! We had Elder Eduardo Gavarret, a member of the quorum of the seventy, come and talk to us. It was amazing! I was so happy that I was able to understand what he was saying.  He talked to everyone about the mission discussed D&C 100:1. It was a great meeting and a privilege to hear from him!!

 Halloween Box from Home!

This is the last week of the transfer and I don’t know why but I have been a little nervous. I don’t know why but I have yet to feel like this is my mission. When I was in Colorado I honestly felt like that was my Mission. I felt like I had such a purpose there and really connected with so many of the people there. This week Satan has really worked on me and has used that as a tool to try to get me upset and nervous about things. For example, there are a lot of very sketchy parts in this mission where I really nervous about serving in. In Colorado I felt much safer and there wasn’t an area that I was worried about serving in like I am now. I have been discouraged about the language; not understand what people are saying and not being able to answer simple questions. I pray always and I have been trying my hardest to keep a good attitude but serving outside of your country is HARD!

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for the freedoms and blessing I have living in the USA. I had a really hard time last night with all of this so I got on my knees and prayed to my father and poured out my heart. In the middle of my prayer

I almost fell asleep that is how strong I could feel MY comforter. After I finished my prayer I opened the bible to a random page, it was Proverbs3:5-6... I have never had this big of an assurance before in my life. I need not worry. Everything is going to be ok! Right now all I can do is believe. I love the talk, Lord I Believe, by Jeffery R Holland April 2013. I believe that this is my mission and I know that someday soon I will be able to say I KNOW this is my mission. Just as the apostle Peter taught "The trial of your faith is more precious than gold..."(1 Peter 1:7). I have been tried so many times in my life and the majority of my trials seem to have happened while I have been out serving, but the miracles and blessings that I have received are incomprehensible! I know that the lord knows me and will do what is best for me! He has sent me here for a reason and every day I look for those reasons that I am here! Transfers are coming in a week and "I’ll go where you want me to go dear lord!"

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Elder Stilson

I Can Understand Him!



Brazilian Fruit

 WELL... where to start? This week one of the Elders, who lives with us, was really sick. Due to this, someone has had to stay with him at home while the other 2 Elders went to work. We did a lot of splits this week with his companion, so that he could get some lessons in as well.

Last Monday was really good! We went to a member’s home and learned how to make cake BRAZILIAN STYLE ;) We then ate it with Ice cream! It was legit! After that we had our Family Night at another member’s home. She is the only active member in her family but her kids sat in while we gave the lesson and also came to church this Sunday!

Tuesday we had our 3 month interview with our Mission President. We were supposed to start at 2:30 and just have a quick 30 min interview but he was late so we didn’t leave until about 7:30. So that was a really long day but it was good because we were able to talk to the President and I COULD UNDERSTAND HIM!!!! I was so happy!!!! Haha After that we went and visited a part member family and had a quick lesson with them! I think that the husband will be baptized here really soon!!!

Letters From Home

Wednesday we had RIBS!!! They weren’t Dad’s ribs but they were still RIBS!! After that we were supposed to work with a member who has a car. But she wasn’t home so our day was kinda blown. We went and saw a man who was baptized almost a month ago but he has yet to be confirmed. We heard about this man from an Elder who decided that because he wasn’t the Elder who baptized this member and he wasn’t his investigator that it isn’t his responsibility. So now Elder Torres and I are excited to work with him.  Anyway, while we were there (my little siblings will be happy to hear this) I ran into a nasty looking spider. It had a yellow back and it was a spider that not even my Brazilian companion has ever seen before! 



Strange Yellow Backed Spider

After that, we were waiting for a mango to fall and as I was talking to my companion I turn to look at him and his face had this look and he was pale white! He brings his arm back to smack me and I KNOW what the look on his face means now. I have no idea where the spider is, all I know is that it’s on me and so I do what anyone would do...

#1: TAKE OFF YOUR BAG BECAUSE IT COULD BE ON THE STRAP!

#2: HIT YOURSELF WITH YOUR BAG BECAUSE EVEN IF IT IS ON YOUR BAG YOU WILL STILL PROBABLY KILL IT!

#3: DANCE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND TRY TO GET SHAKE IT OFF!!!!!!!

Yeah, I had no clue that there were that many people were on the sidewalks though. I can only imagine what they are thinking when they saw me, this giant white man in a white shirt and tie dancing in the street... So now my siblings can stop praying that these things happen to me!!! ;);) WIFE POINTS!!!

Thursday we were able to help a member move a small fridge up to her room. 

  Friday was interesting. We had to take our sick Elder that is living with us to the doctors. On the way back we took a taxi. Well, we get in the car and notice that it is making a goofy sound and it's sputtering.  I look at the gas gauge and we are outta gas. Now instead of looking for a gas station which was right next to the hospital, he tries to make it back to Vitória... we were in Serra. ANOTHER CITY AND ANOTHER ZONE! So yeah, it’s pretty far. We ran out of gas on a one-way highway.... MORE WIFE POINTS AND FOOTBALL TRAINING!!!!! We pushed this car about an hour to the nearest gas station. Haha that was really fun though.

Well, I would like to end my email by sharing 2 Nephi 7:1. While in life we try our hardest as a natural man, sometimes we forget that we have someone who can help us. When things don’t go as we had planned sometimes we like to blame others and one of the choice people is the person who runs it all. In this scripture we learn that it is NOT Heavenly Father who has given up on us but us who has given up on him! We need to ALWAYS remember our Father in Heaven and thank him for all of our blessings! Heavenly Father wants to bless us but he can’t if we are away from him or don’t ask! I know that I have forgotten Him at times but he has always brought me back and has ALWAYS accepted me back! I know that He loves me. So come back to him! Thank him! Rely on Him! Trust in Him! HE WANTS TO BLESS US!

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

EU TE AMO!!!

AMOR,

ELDER STILSON

Totally Robbed!

Elder Stilson...You need a haircut!

 Hi everyone,

Well this week, again, has been mixed with the good and the ugly! (It seems to skip the bad and go straight to ugly ;)) We started out great. Monday we played volleyball with the mission Presidents wife and some other missionaries. That was really fun! :) That night we didn’t have any lessons but we did have a bunch of people that we contacted on the street that we hope to get as new progressing investigators!:)

And then it got Ugly!

On Tuesday we had an awesome lunch at a member’s home and had quite a few lessons with our new investigators! We met Marlene last week and she is an amazing lady but has a crazy Catholic mother... It is rough trying to get any progression until the mom leaves but she leaves tomorrow so Marlene can come to church this week!!:) One other lady that we contacted on the street last week was Deusa (Goddess). She is a member of the Maranata church and Tuesday night we attended her church... Yeah a little awkward but it was really fun. A lot of just singing and they gave me one of their Hymn books so I have a pretty awesome memory haha!;) Also after lunch we went to the Ice cream shop and had awesome Açai!! It is a Brazilian ice cream. I thought it was way goofy the first time I tried it, I really didn’t like it but I think it is way good now :)  After we went to the Maranata church we got some other addresses and then went home.

Now the UGLY... So Wednesday started out pretty good! We woke up did everything we needed to, called a bunch of people and went to lunch.  Even though lunch was way good, it was different but couldn’t figure it out until we left... THERE WERE NO BLACK BEANS!!!! I felt totally robbed. The beans with the rice are my favorite things in the world and there were NO beans! :( Anyway, that morning it had already rained a ton and was kind of goofy haha but way cool! After lunch we had a lesson with Marlene again and it was good except for the mother was a big distraction and that wasn't helping out at all haha. By the end even her mom took the Book of Mormon that we gave her and said how beautiful it was especially because it was the word of God. That was good; then we started on our 45 min walk to our lesson that was at the far edge of our area. We start walking, talking to people along the way and we looked out at the Ocean and noticed that there was a huge storm coming! So we started to walk super fast but we got caught!! It was a “mild” tropical storm! It was the kind of storm where the rain comes literally at you instead of falling straight down. My umbrella was in front of me, not over my head! It was way cool! But my planner in my front pocket was soaked and my wallet in the back pocket was totally dry!! Ha ha ha weird things in Brazil! 

And the rains came!

 After we visited with Marlene, we contacted a bunch of other people and then met Eduardo. He is like 22 and lives with roommates. He really wants us to meet with him and his friends. We are really excited about that.  Anyway, we get to our house around 9:15ish and the lights are on and the door is unlocked. We walk in calling for the other Elders but no one is home... I walk into the kitchen and the microwave is gone. I walk into the bedroom and everything is thrown on the ground from my dresser. My backpack and carry on suitcase is gone... Yep... We have been TOTALLY ROBBED, twice in one day;) Luckily they didn’t take everything. They didn’t take my iPod. All my clothes were still there and so were my shoes!!! :D Haha I truly am grateful for the things that they didn’t take and had to thank Heavenly Father for that. The things that they did take are all things that can be replaced; everything except my journal from Colorado so I am very grateful!  Luckily I have been able to send home letters and journal entries so I should have some things. Yeah, I have to say it was a rough day.

The next few days were really good with the missionary work! We were even given an address to contact by some other Elders.  Iit was a wild goose chase but it was awesome!! We found 4 new investigators! The work is hard right now in the area we are in and I feel like I am being tried and test with more than I can handle but every time that I get these trials, I make it through and come out stronger! "I Glory in plainness, I Glory in truth, I Glory in my Jesus for He hath redeemed my soul from Hell!" 2 Nephi 33:6

Alma 32:41-43   - 

Love Ya'll

Love
Elder Stilson

The Beautiful City of Vitoria