Pictures

 Book of Mormon scripture case that Elder Alexandre made for J.R.

 Mothers Day Lunch

 A super ancient telephone that is in one of the membesr homes in Sao Paulo

 They weren't having a ton of success so J.R. decided to preach from the hill tops to all of Sao Paulo....he said not too much success....

Another picture of J.R. and the huggeee Sao Paulo skyline

May 21, 2012

Well another week passes. Tonight we will find out about transfers if anything will happen, and since we're here way early in the day you guys won't find out until next week what happened. I don't want to sound like a jerk but I'm hoping that something changes with something here. Elder Alexandre is a great guy but it has been a really tough 5 weeks for me. I wouldn't mind changing areas, I love this area but after a few months of walking the same exact streets it gets a little like the same thing everyday. But whatever happens with transfers is what is needed from the Lord and I will accept with an open heart and work hard in whatever situation.
This week nothing too big really happend, it was just another week on the mission. We had a ton of families and addresses to go by this week from all the contacts that I've been doing but nothing came of it. I don't even know how many addresses that we got that were false. It was a pretty big downer on me. I just want to help these people and their families receive more blessings but they just give us the wrong addresses. Why don't they just say they don't want anything, it would be a whole lot easier on us. But its all good, still working hard trying to find other addresses and other families that will accept us.
However, one of our investigators received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true and is actually really excited about everything and liking going to church and all the women that are there and all that stuff. So we do have a bright spot in all this haha. Hopefully within the next couple weeks she will be baptized.
At the same time, one of the other families that we had been teaching, the wife and daughter told another member of the church that they WANT to be baptized, but the husband told the wife that if she was baptized he would leave her. GAHHH I was so angry when the member was telling me all about it. The gospel is true for everybody not just a few select people, all we have to do is search for the truth. Its not that hard!
Well thats about it for this week, my companion is finishing up my Bible scripture case today and then my Miami Heat sculpture of wood so next week I'll send the pictures home of them.
Eu Te Amo
Elder Gleason
P.S. 2 Nephi 29:7-9, 12 and Deuteronomy 32:4

May 14, 2012

So yesterday was the 2nd time on the mission using Skype with the family. And it ROCKED. MY DADS BEARD!!!!!!!! SOOOOO AWESOME! Its weird to think that 5 months have already passed since the last time that I saw everybody at Christmas, and even weirded to think the next time I see everybody again will be next Christmas. But the time will pas even quicker now until then. As the mission goes along everything goes by a whole lot quicker then the day before. I've gone from counting days, to weeks, to months and now I only think in transfers for how long I've been out on the mission. Things just pass by too quickly to think about it any other way.
But so yesterday was awesome, and I'll just give a quick summary of the things from this past week even though my family and James have basically heard it all already. So the first thing is that this week I ate.... HORSE! What the flip?!?! Apparently its a normal thing here, but my companion only told me it was horse a few hours after I ate it and I flipped haha. I was just like that's not a normal thing, in the US we ride and race horses we don't EAT THEM. Even worse was that I didn't taste anything weird about it, and it was actually kind of good. Who knows what else I've eaten without even know it! Also, this week I talked to the most people that I've ever talked to in a week span. I stopped about 20 random people a day in the street and just started talking to them, it is a very weird thing. In the US its not normal to just stop somebody and start talking about God but here people are just totally open to it. I'm actually learning to enjoy it, I go in with no thoughts at all and just let the conversation develop, it's pretty sweet and we've met some amazing people. Hopefully this next week we will have a ton of people at church from all these contancts and families that we've talked to.
Also, my companion finished the scripture case for my Book of Mormon as is shown in the picture and it is super sweet, hes going to do one for my Bible pretty soon. Pays off to have a talented companion like this with the artsy stuff. He's also going to make me a little wooden sculpture of the Miami Heat symbol for when they win the championship this year. Because obviously that will be happening really soon here as we all know.
Well thats about it, the week passed by pretty quickly with tons of contacts and me learning to just stop people and enjoy it more.. OHH and my companion told me this week that there have been a few times in lessons and with him and stuff that I'm speaking without an American accent. He sadi that soon people will start asking me if I'm Brasilian. SCORE!
Eu Te Amo!
Elder Gleason
P.S. 2 Nephi 26: 23-24, 27
"Don't save anything for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion" (I don't think I've sent this one home yet?)
"We aren't edifying the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of God is edifying us" -Elder Lopez

May 7, 2012

Well almost nothing has happened in these past few days. My companion has still been sick for a few of the days so we just stayed in our house even more. It has really started to get annoying, at the beginning of the mission I was wanted something like this to hapen so that I could study more and learn. But now at this point of the mission it is super annoying, I've already studied so much and after a while it gets tough no matter how much you love learning from the scriptures and stuff. After a few days of hours of studying its almost the same thing as death itself. I didn't even know what else to do. And it has helped me pack on some weight again so not something I'm liking there either haha.
Also, this past week I have had some troubles with my left leg and its weird because no one has any idea what it is. I have been to a free clinic (which take forever in Brasil, I spent an entire day just waiting to hear that they didn't know what it was) then today I went to a more specialized clinic and the doctor there didn't know what it was either so now I have to schedule with an even more specialized place haha. But don't worry everything is all good (Mom) it'll all get worked out and I'll be fine. It just hurts a little when I walk. But within the next few days I'll get it all figured out.
And now for the best part about the end of this week. SKYPE! How did the time from Christmas already get to here where we're doing it again I have no idea. But I get to see the fam again on Sunday. So sickkkk. So pumped to see how that beard has gotten in these past 5 months. But so I already talked to a family here and they are going to download skype for me and it'll probably be 5 oclock here in Brasil time. But on Sunday morning before I go to church I'll call again and double check with you guys. Because on Saturday we have lunch with that family and I'll get it all settled out again with them and how it'll all go down. Hopefully this time won't have any problems with the microphone and we can just talk normally without any problems.
Also this past week since Wednesday. I did a division with a new American on the mission whos from Vegas, Elder Riggin. He is super sweet and we're basically the same people just that he was a super stud high school football quarterback. His coach told him if he was a little taller that colleges like USC, Oregon, and all those places would be putting offers on the table. How crazy is that?! But so we did a division and it was a nice day to relax from all the Portuguese all the time and have somebody to talk to about USA stuff haha. Especially sports. He explained some stuff about the nba. Man do I miss it....
Anywho, thats about all thats happened, things are going good and hopefully my companion and I will be better health wise this week to put in some more work. I really just want to find more families to teach but with a sick companion it doesn't work out so wekk.
Eu Te Amo
Elder Gleason
P.S. John 5:39 and 2 Nephi 33:10 (sorry if I start repeating any that I've already put, its hard to remember)
P.P.S. Letters are really starting to slack people, pick it upppp

Latest Pictures

 J.R. and Sao Paulo's skyline

 J.R. says, "Trust me, missionaries eat good here in Brasil"

 J.R., Fagner (recently baptized), and Elder Vieira on E. Vieira's last Monday on the mission

 Zone Jacana before everybody left and things changed

J.R. and Elder Alexandre with their first pizzas

May 2, 2012

Well this week and a half has passed by with almost nothing new. Although today, Wednesday, was p-day this week because we went to the temple this morning. It was fantastic, first time in 6 months, the last time I was there was the last time in the MTC. So its been quite a while. It was great though because Elder Vincent and Horrocks were there as well. The only bad thing is that it took up our entire p-day. We came back to our area and now I'm using the 1 hour for email and then my p-day is finished.
Let's see, well my companion was sick for about 3 or 4 days completely so all we did was go to lunch and then back to our house for the entire day. I have no idea how missionaries can stay at home the entire day. It stinks, theres nothing to do. And after a day or 2, studying gets a little difficult to focus haha. It made me realize how much I love doing something and especially teaching the gospel. The hardest thing for me though until now is doing contacts in the street and just stopping random people and talking to them. But I'm getting better at it and more comfortable. I figure why not, I'll never see these people again I might as well help them know the truth and receive salvation. Unfortunately though this week almost all of the people we were teaching have stopped. We had a few people tell us they didn't want any more and some others have just fallen off the earth it seems. It is the worst feeling to hear that to your face after you have done everything to help that person. Studied, walked a ton, prayed, everything and then they don't want anything more to do with it. But everybody has their free agency.
Well thats about it for this past week from the big main stuff. So I'll send a few more pictures home than usual. If the computer isn't too slow. Some pictures are a little bit old but yeah.
Eu Te Amo
Elder Gleason
P.S. 1 Nephi 21:15-16, Proverbs 22:6 and 2 Nephi 4:34-35

April 23, 2012

So of course as it is obvious, I have a new companion! His name is Elder Alexandre and he is from Joao Pessoa, the north of Brasil. Its kind of crazy but we have the exact same time on the mission. He just has one more transfer in the field than me because Brasilians don't stay in the MTC as long as Americans. I have also become the senior companion which is really weird when you have a companion that arrived and will leave on the same day as you for the mission. But htings are going good and we're both learning from each other. Its weird being the one who knows the area and has to show the other around and all that stuff but its a good experience. My companion also is a little older than the "normal" missionary age. He's 25. He's a twin. And he has sleeping problems and can go days without sleeping and is totally fine, usually he sleeps for about 2 hours a night he said. He also is a crazy sick artist and was working with that before the mission making big time money. He already told me some of the pieces hes done and its crazy. Hes gonna make me scripture cases and he just does all sorts of art stuff, super cool.
But besides that it was really weird to see elders go home that I actually knew weel this last week. My first and second companion both went home and now have been home for like 5 days, how does time pass that quickly, I'm not really sure. But it happens. Elder Vieira was an amazing companion and I learned a ton from him, now I'll learn from Elder Alexandre. Oh and now in my district one of the Elders is training a new elder from New York!! Woohooo. We're the only 2 in this mission from New York so it's pretty sweet. But he's from down in the actualy city so we know no one that knows the other. I don't even know if that makes sense. English is getting tougher and its harder to remember how the grammar is. But I guess that is a good thing. Now I just have to get rid of the little American accent that I have and I'm set.
The area is going well and we have quite a few people preparing for baptism, but nothing marked for certain right now. One guy that we are teaching is so awesome. He talks about the BOM like he knows it back to front already, its so crazy, and now hes reading the Doctrine and Covenants as well and talks about that stuff with us as well. The other day he told us after hes baptized we could eat lunch at his house. So now the only question is when will he be baptized.
I can't really think about anything else at this moment. Days are just going by quickly, including studying, teaching, and sleeping. They all just roll into one. However today we played soccer. Man Brasilians are a lot better than Americans. But I think I'm improving a little bit, who knows maybe I'll be decent instead of horrible by the end of 2 years.
Eu Te Amo!
Elder Gleason
P.S. 2 Nephi 1:23 and D&C 27:15-16