Some Pictures! :)

Elder Gleason and Elder Rogers (a friend from BYU)

J.R. in the Provo MTC pointing to Brazil

J.R. and another Elder eating Bananas in Brazil CTM

J.R. with a very big banana

Elder Receveur and Elder Gleason in Brazil CTM

Brazil CTM District

J.R. and his trainer/companion Elder Williams

Walking in Boituva

Lots of work to do!

Using the phone!

December 26, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS/FELIZ NATAL

Holy Smokes, I saw my Dads beard.... YESSSSSS

Well this week has been a good one, and ended even better! On Christmas day I skyped the fam! I cant believe its already been 4 months since i had seen them, the time is flying by. Which is good and stinks at the same time, of course i miss everybody and want to return and everything but at the same time, its the best thing for my life to be here serving a mission. I have learned so much in these 4 short months and have really changed my life around a lot. I love the gospel in a way that i never new existed before the mission. I love it and want to live it the rest of my life and for eternity. I dont see how i could ever go back to some of the things i was doing before or i guess a better way to say it is the things i wasnt doing. The gospel brings more happiness then anything of the world can bring. It brings an eternal happiness, not just a live in the momen happiness that worldly things do.

I hope everybody had a great Christmas because i know i did. The best present i have received in my life yet, was getting to see and talk with my family. Man i love you guys so much. It was the hardest thing to bear my testimony to you yesterday because i knew that our times was coming to a close to talk and see each other until May. But always know that i know with every part of my body and soul that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ, the same Church that He established on the Earth when He was here.

I love you guys so much, hope you enjoy some pictures from my CTM time, Boituva time, and now a tiny of Jardim California.

LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL

Elder Gleason

D&C 103:12 and Alma 24:10-14

December 19 ,2011

So kind of some big news... I was TRANSFERRED already! Second transfer and now my second area holy smokes. I'm still in the same stake and have the same companion and everything but I am now in the ward Jardim California in Sorocaba. Sorocaba is probably about the size of Salt Lake City or somewhere around there not really sure, so its a pretty big city. Me and Elder Williams are opening an area that has been closed for about 3 weeks or so, and its had sisters here for like 2 years or something like that. So its a little different and definately hard opening an area with a falt of missionaries for half a transfer. Usually one missionary stays in the area so that they know the area, the members, investigators, and all that stuff, but nope we're both coming in blind. So its pretty hard, we had no idea where anything was when we got here and of course our house didn't have a map in it besides some big telephone books. It's crazy. So we have spent htis week cleaning up Boituva and saying our goodbyes to people ther which was really tough. We both were really close with some of the members there and were expecting at least one more transfer there but instead we had a day and a half to pack up, prepare the house for siters, write everything down about the area, and say our goodbyes. Wow was it a rushed couple of days haha. And then we got here and have spent the few days we've been here just trying to get to know the area and the members. It is like the opposite of Boituva here, its pretty cool. We have a huge chapel! And the second day here we tried to go find it and definately got lost for a good hour or so in the completely wrong direction. Luckily we had some of the YM (young men) from the ward find out where we were and guide us in the right direction haha. Thats one of the things i will miss about Boituva though is that the chapel was just downstairs from us and church started at 9. Here we have a good 20-25 minute walk to get to church and it starts at 830. Not fun walking there in a suit in the blazing sun of Brasil.

But the area is really awesome I know I'm going to like it a lot, the members are all super nice and awesome. I can't even count the number of times we've heard them say if you need anything, anything give us a call. And on Saturday they had a priesthood activity and had a huge churrasco or bbq and had tons of food and ice cream to just eat all we want. Soooo good. (but i still miss some good ol Taco Bell cant beat a cheesy double decker taco mmmm) Anywho, the members are great and they all just want to come out and work with us whenever they can. A big reason for that is because theyve had sisters here for so long so the men couldnt go on splits with the elders but now they can so everybody is just like youre going to baptize a lot here. But everybody and theyre dog said the same thing about Brasil in the US so we'll see what happens haha.

Luckily with a ward with more members there is a more oppurtunity to find skype, so we found it in no time at all. The bishop has opened up whatever time we want to go over to his house and use it on Christmas. I'll be able to call during this week for like 5 minutes to set up a good time and I will call dad probably on like Wednesday or Thursday to mark it in stone. Then ill be see you on the computer in less than 1 week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and I finally got the letters from the primary in the ward, man im mad at the ctm in Sao Paulo for not having the right zip code. It took over a good month to get to me. But THANK YOU primary kids, you're all so awesome!! And thank you Eriksen's for sending it!

Well thats about all for this week its been pretty crazy but a lot of fun at the same time.

Eu te Amo!!!

Elder Gleason

D&C 100:17 and 1 John 4:18

December 12, 2011

WOOOO!!!! Who found a place to skype at? This Elder! In 13 days I will be seeing the fam on webcam. Soooo pumped. One of the members in our branch is a tech guy and has all the fancy smancy stuff when it comes to electronics so hes going to download skype for us so that we can use it on Christmas day. The only thing i need help with is for you jenae to make me a new skype account because i have no idea what the password is for my old one. So do that before next monday and send me what it is so that i can use it to log in. And make sure to add yourself as a friend to me beforehand so that i dont have to worry about any of that stuff. And i think there is a 3 hour time difference now between sao paulo and new york because when time goes forward there it goes back here and vice verse. So if im right its a 3 hour time difference, and we planned to go to the members house around 5ish our time and probably roughly 530-6 i will get on. Not exactly sure yet so you might have to do some waiting until i sign on. BUTTTT who cares because im going to see my family for the first time in 4 months wooooo.

In other news, i gave my first talk in portuguese yesterday at church for roughly 10 or so minutes. And it was rough haha. Pretty sure I screwed up a lot of the conjugations. And of course who had to be there in attendence this week but good ol' President Martins haha. But afterwards he said that my portuguese was really well for only 3 months on the mission. But he might just be saying that because im new. who knows. But my talk was on what else but missionary work of course haha. Double slam, with the president there and then also giving a talk on what i was sent here to do. But i think it was pretty good, i talked about how we need to desire this thing that we have. For Lehi in 1 Nephi 8:11-12 the first thing he did after eating the fruit was DESIRE to share it with his family. He didnt say hmm wow that was the best fruit ive ever had i think ill have another piece. Nope it was boom i want to share this with my family. And in the last general conference, Elder L. Tom Perry promised us that if we share the gospel with others we will be blessed with love and courage for those that we are sharing with. I prepared really well, but the giving it was the hard part. I really learned a lot. All throughout the Book of Mormon when one of the people finds the gospel and comes to know God, the very first thing he does is desire to share it with others. Enos shows this really well, he does every step. First he desires for himself and finds the gospel and the peace and happiness it brings. Then right after that he desires it for his people to have that same happiness and peace. And he even goes one step further after that and desires it for his enemies to have. Woah. When was the last time we wanted to share something with the people we don't like. Personally I cant really think of a time in my life when i truly desired to do so.

The other awesome thing this week, is one of the Young Men here, Diego, I dont remember if ive mentioned him, but he's 17 years old and just straight up amazing. He comes to church by himself every sunday to set up sacrament early and then his family comes later...sometimes. Hes preparing for his mission now and hopefully im helping to leave a good impression for him. We've become pretty good friends and not through like normal means but through spiritual experiences which is what our mission president said we need to have. And its been awesome he is such an awesome kid. I look up to him a lot. If i was in his same situation but with my personality and all that stuff i dont know if id be as strong in the church as he is. Who knows i might even not be in church. But yesterday we went to his house to visit his family and after talking a little bit and stuff he gave me one of his soccer jerseys for Brasil. SO tight. And then i had him sign it and everything. Now of course it comes no where near fitting me because hes a tiny skinny kid but so awesome. He said in lembranca de mim. I tried to refuse it but he wouldnt let me. So im probably going to give him a few ties this week. not just one and sign them and all that jazz. But hes an awesome young man and is going to be an awesome missionary. I told him hes going to serve in New York Utica mission and come chill with me haha.

Well I apoligize for the crappy typing we're in a differenct area for today, one of the members owns a pizza shop and invited us for free pizza and ice cream so we had like 3o missionaries at thisplace it was so sick. But we're at a lan house and keyboard isnt the best.

EU TE AMO!!!
Elder Gleason

D&C 101:36-38 and Alma 3:26

Oh and another p.s. sending letters with the correct zip code is crucial. They get here super fast. and without it it could take a while. I just got a letter that was sent on November 12 on Wednesday and the 7th of December, so I stress the right address when you send it, and if youve sent letters with the wrong one i will write you back as soon as i get them :)

December 5, 2011

Well December is not here, and it does not feel like it at all. This should not be the weather for december... Its gonna be a weird christmas with a blazing sun coming down and not even close to a fleck of snow on the ground. I will miss the snow, not the shoveling of course but the snow yes haha. Oh and i found out the other day that i get to skype home for Christmas!! I guess that First Presidency came out with a thing letter whatever that missionaries can skype hom if they have the means in their area and the families at home have it. So now i just need to work on finding somewhere around here that i can go to have a webcam and skype home! So pumped!! I get to see you guys in just 3 weeks woooo. And i get to see that gnarly beard of yours pops. I guess ill end up seeing it more than just one time before i come home like i originally wanted to but i think i can accept that. So we need to start getting prepared to do this, and i will start talking to the members and seeing if anyone has something that i can usee!!

So the other night we had an activity in the branch and it was really good, it was definately different but really good. We started 30 minutes late because thats when people showed up but it went well, and there was a great spiritual message about the importance of family and respecting them. Which everyone in the world obviously needs more of. You can never have enough of it, i have really learned that here on the mish. And growing up with the gospel in my entire family was such a blessing. But it was good, i know i said that like 5 times now haha. I talked about how i came about serving a mission, and the very long process that it was but that the influence of family really helped a lot... mom. haha

Ahh so this week i have started to keep like a little journal of scriptures that im coming across and really liking, and writing them down and then writing a little explanation about what is in the verse. I really want to be a scripture guy, one of those ones who can just have a scripture about what ever topic is being talked about. So thats what im working on as of the moment, writing descriptions and starting to memorize where they are and what the meaning of them are so that im ready to go whenever one is needed. that way theyre already in my head and im prepared to receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost if someone needs a specific scripture about a certain principle.

Also, President Martins, my mission president, stopped by our area the other day and it was awesome. He talked a lot about the importance of Branch's and how theyre difficult but that they are the future. He said think about it, the church started this very same way, and now look the world has the church. He especially focused on Brasil and how that this was the church all around the country but that now there are over 200 stakes here. We are laying the foundation and planting the seeds in the hearts of people, preparing the way for a stake in the future. It was awesome to hear from him, and he and Sister Martins shared their conversion stories and how they were baptized in Branch's and now those very same areas have thousands of members. Its trully amazing how fast the church is growing. The church is so true, and anyone can know that for themselves through prayer. We invite people to pary about our message all the time, because anyone who does so with true intent wanting ot know the answer they will receive in their hearts.

Eu nao posso negar meu coracao. Eu sei em meu coracao esta Igraja e verdadeira. A unica Igreja verdadeira na mundo. Eu sei que Joseph Smith restorou A Igreja de Jesus Cristo e nos temos mesma Igreja, Jesus Cristo estabeleceu na terra em antigos tempos.

Eu Te Amo!!

Elder Gleason

D&C 1:30, James 2:17-18