February 11, 2013

Well this week we were supposed to have the baptism of the guy that stopped us in the car, Luan, but we ended up moving it to next week because this week was Carnaval and there were pretty much no members at church. During Carnaval all the youth go camping along with pretty much all the leaders as well. And all the Single Adults have a camping place as well so it was empty this week. But he was already interviewed and passed and is really excited for the baptism next week, he's even going to make a Facebook event about it. Yesterday we ate lunch with him and his family. His mom, who is really catholic, asked if there was a problem with him being baptized and we didn't even have to respond, he responded for us and said to her "I'm not being baptized again, I'm being baptized in the right way". It was crazy. I looked to Elder Ahmed with a shocked face, thats for sure haha.

Also this week we did a division with Morro Doce and I went there and in English, morro means hill. Yeah the area is full of hills. And as we were walking down a staircase made of mud after just raining I slipped and fell, as it shows in the picture. I was talking to Elder Ahmed on the phone because he just had to talk to me in that moment and I wasn;t paying attention as much as I should have been and boom fell and got extremely muddy. It was pretty funny not gonna lie, and luckily I didn't get hurt whatsoever, just really dirty. We got lucky and we were close by a members house where I went and cleaned up and they gave me a different shirt to wear.

Also this week I got my "trunky letter" which comes when you have 6 months left on the mission asking about what airport and stuff like that. It was pretty weird to get after seeing so many other missionaries get them during my mission. The time is passing by really quickly.

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nep 26:5-6, 9-10; 27:5-9 and Isa 1:16-18; 5:20-23; 7:11-12

 

 The zone from last transfer

 J.R. and a turkey. He had never seen one as a pet before

J.R. after he slipped in the mud. He said, "Not the funnest thing that has ever happened."

February 4, 2013

So obviously transfers were last week as I had commented about... buttt me and Elder Ahmed stayed for another transfer together here in Jaraguá. However this transfer is only 5 weeks instead of 6 and 1 week of that has basically already passed. Pretty crazy. But we're both happy that we stayed here for another one together. The zone basically stayed the same as well with very little changes. Basically the only changes were the 2 elders that finished their missions, so obviously they left.

The week went pretty well and we had a few more great experiences, but at the same time unfortunately a few people that were interested have lost that interest quickly or literally don't have time to let us go over with work and college. (here the college year starts in February and ends in November). So it was a little tough on that side of it. However, this time we have been together here in Jaraguá has been filled with answers to peoples prayers, unfortunately some haven't followed those answers but others have. This week we went by an address that we had found of a member that we didn't know so we went by. When we were there towards the end of the visit she said she had prayed the day before asking for Heavenly Father to send angels to help her with what she was going through. And the next day we showed up. She also has a younger daughter who's 12 yrs old and hasn't been baptized yet and wants to be baptized so we're working with them. Also we went by a family that was taught 4 years ago by the missionaries and we had their address. We went by and the mom of the 2 kids that were being taught passed away recently. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation and it was extremely spiritual, it was an amazing experience. We're working with them as well to help them remember the stuff they were taught before. They're interested and it helps because their mom loved the missionaries so that will help a lot with the whole situation as well.

Well today we're going to 25 de Março which is basically like Chinatown in NYC, we're pretty excited. Neither of us has been there yet and its time to buy all the souvenirs of Brasil haha.

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 23:1, 5; 24:8-10; 25:5-6 and Ecl 4:9-20; 8:12-13; 11:5

January 28, 2013

And another transfer has come and gone and tonight we wait to hear about the transfer calls and whats going to happen. We're hoping and I'm thinking that nothing will change with us, but you never know what could change. President has done some pretty crazy changes in the mission that we haven't expected so we´ll just have to wait and see.

This week we had the oppurtunity to have a Mission Conference for the 2nd time on my mission. It was really sweet to have the entire mission together at the same time instead of just seeing people here and there. Elder Christenson from the 70 Presidency came and visited our mission. It was a really great conference and I was able to learn a lot from the things that were talked about. Also the Sao Paulo Interlagos Mission was at the same conference which was pretty sweet because I knew a few of the elders from the CTM that were there as well. Its crazy how much time has gone by since we were there. It was fun to think back on some of the stuff that happened in the CTM.

As for the week it was pretty normal, unfortunately we didn't have a baptism this week because we haven't found too many people lately that were really interested. But this week we found some really awesome people. Including one young man who stopped us in his car and asked for some kind of paper that gave information about the church. We ended going up to his house the day after to teach him. He had a friend that served a mission in the US that invited him a ton of times to church but he never went and decided to stop us when he saw us that day. Long story short we marked a baptismal date with him and he's super excited and went to church yesterday and already made friends as well. Hes 23. So sweet. And we taught another lady who we talked to her son and ended up meeting her. Her husband died almost 2 years ago and she never knew what happens after this life and was confused by all the different churches telling her different things. But when we explained the Plan of Salvation she knew it was true. She's super happy to know she will see her husband again after this life and she's really excited to learn more. She even called us angels to some members that we brought to her house.

Well thats about it, the amazing experiences are continuing to happen here in Jaraguá with Elder Ahmed and we´re hoping that they dont stop and that we keep going for another transfer.

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 20:8, 39; 21:9-10 and Proverbs 28:5-6, 18; 30:5

January 21, 2013

And another baptism for the New York team haha. This week we baptized a young man named Igor who is the son of another lady that Elder Ahmed and I baptized a few weeks ago, like I explained in my email last week. Everything went really well for the baptism and he picked me to baptize him. It's definately one of the best feelings to be able to baptize someone. He is really happy and enjoying being a member of the church and him and his brother both have the full white shirt and tie combination. And their mom, Simone, is super strong and is so happy that now her whole family is a member of the church. She's already starting to help them prepare to serve their missions in the future! A really fantastic family. I'm so glad that I could be a part of 2 of the 3 baptisms.

As for the week it was decent but definitely not the best, unfortunately we have been finding a lot of people who aren't very interested and after going by once or twice we have to leave them behind to try and find others who will be baptized. We have had some great experiences though, that is for sure and we have seen people receive answers to their prayers and we have even been that answer a few times already. Unfortunately even receiving these answers a few people have chosen not to follow what God has showed them. But thats where the free agency comes in, we can't force anyone to do what they don't want, just help as much as we can so that they can realize how big the blessings that they could get from following christs true gospel.

Also, I called Elder Messias on Saturday night to see how things were and because it was the day that Tiago and Daniele had marked to get married. Everything went perfectly and they were married in the chapel in Itu and he said that everything was super organized. Next week theyre going to be baptizedddd. So awesome!! Unfortunately I will only be seeing it all by pictures but I know that this is all the Lords will. They also have another 4 baptisms marked for this week and another family that Elder Messias and I found are really animated and getting closer to baptism as well. Also, the lady that we baptized, Mari, is super strong! She visited the temple the other day. And her family found out that she was baptized and they told her she had to choose the church or them, theyre all Catholics, and she chose to continue following Christ and His church instead of her family. I can't even imagine how hard of a decision that must have been. But I know the Lord will bless her imensly for it.

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 18:6-8, 11-12, 19-20 and Pro 22:2, 6; 23:17; 24:19-20

 Igor's baptism on January 19th

 

Some more cool graffiti that J.R. found. In the top one its hard to see but J.R. is making the same face that the soccer player behind him is making 

January 14, 2013

Last week on our pday we made a trip to the Pico do Jaraguá, which is one of the highest points in Sao Paulo, maybe even Brasil, not too positive which it is. But it was definately high up there. It was an amazing view from the top and you're able to see all of the Sao Paulo city which is ginormous. It was really sweet, it was also pretty crazy because from one side all it is is city and from the other side its all just hills and trees like the Adirondacks in New York. It was a pretty rough climb to get up there but in the end it was all worth it for the view we had. However, it also had its after affect seeing as I didn't put any sun screen on, not the best decision I made. Seeing as with my white shirt it covers more of my neck and with a regular everyday tshirt theres more neck showing the sun burned the crap out of my whiteness. Including my legs. The next few days after were full of a lot of aloe vera and pain walking in the streets haha. But it was for my own stupidness that it happened. Overall it was a pretty sweet pday and I included some pictures of our hike up there.

Also this week I went to the federal police to update my visa which has been expired for a few months now. So Wednesday night we went and slept at the mission office and then on Thursday morning way early we went to the federal police. It was cool to see so many people from all over the world that were there as well for visas. I even met one lady who was from Rochester, NY, what are the chances of that. It was a neat experience and I was able to talk about the church in English a little bit, which was ridiculously difficult and I'm not sure how it turned out haha.

However this week we also had an enormous disappointment. We had 5 weeks in a row baptizing and this week the streak stopped. Our baptism for this past week was super strong but then at the last minute fell. The guy that was preparing to be baptized was so amazing and already thinking about serving a mission but in the end his wholeee family starting persecuting him about the church. Even cousins that lived in Europe found out that he was going to church and were calling about it. He unfortunately couldnt handle it and didn't want to have to have his family divided and asked for some time to get things settled. It was extremely hard on us. He was an awesome young man and so strong but his family couldn't accept it and was rejecting him because of religion. Its so ridiculous. I was really aggravated yesterday night after he told us about all the stuff that was going on. People choose religions like its some kind of sports team and fight about it when you're thinking about changing. We're not bringing another church or another religion to people, we're bringing the Kingdom of God on the earth and salvation!

But one upside on the week, the son of Simone, that we baptized a couple weeks ago, decided to be baptized and will be baptized next week. It came out of nowhere. He was always leaving his house when we got there to get away from us and then we got a call this week saying that he wanted to be baptized. Trully a mircale.

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 15:9, 16-18, 21-24 and Proverbs 9:10: 13:7, 9; 15:16, 29

 

January 7, 2013

Well this week was another good one, a little crazy with new years but it was good and ended even better. On new years night we went to a members house and ate a big dinner and had a lot of fun talking and joking around. But the worst part was midnight. As a missionary I really don't care about fireworks or any of that kinda stuff that happens. So I went to sleep as normal at about 1030 and it was tough just to get to sleep, then the worst part was when it hit midnight a million and a half fireworks went off literally right behind our house, I was going nuts. It was so loud and annoying and I just wanted to go to sleep. While Elder Ahmed woke up and took videos, I rolled around screaming in the bed, screaming for them to stop haha. I wasn't so happy thats for sure. So I didn't get much sleep that night which just made it worse the next day being extremely tired. However on my birthday things went well and at night we had a small family home evening with a member family and the lady that we baptized last week, Simone, and her family. It was great! And at the end they had a "surprise" birthday cake for me. So I didn't go without cake on my bday. And now I'm the big old 2-1. I also got 2 ties for presents from a couple members here and for some reason my companion got ties as well.

So the week ended greatly with the baptism of Riva. The area has now baptized 5 weeks straight and me and Elder Ahmed 3 weeks straight. And we have no doubt that all the 3 weeks were miracles and blessings from the Lord. Riva is an awesome old lady who is single without kids and treats us so well. She's our grandma here on the mission for sure. This week we helped her to give up smoking and now she has been baptized and confirmed. I had the privilege to confirm her and give her the gift of the Holy Ghost. Also next week we already have a firm baptism date with a young man named Carlos who yesterday showed up to church in a full blown suit that he bought just for church. It was awesome! And he's already thinking and seeing how it would work for him to serve a mission. The Lord is truly blessing us New Yorkers here in Jaraguá!

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 14:11, 14, 21-23 and Proverbs 1:7; 3:5-6; 4:18; 8:17

 Riva's baptism on January 5th

 J.R.'s birthday cake for his 21st birthday

December 31, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!! andddd Happy 21st BIRTHDAY TO ME!

So christmas day was fantastic, getting to see the fam on skype yet again and of course seeing pops with his beard and hair. I am definitely a fan. Everybody here thinks he´s crazy but they think its funny too. A few asked how it is when he eats soup and has to clean it out haha. It was pretty easy to get back into the groove again after christmas though because it really didnt even feel like christmas in the first place. But next year I'm at home for christmas woo! Also today doesnt feel like new years even, especially because we have to be home by 930 and sleeping at 1030, that is if we can with all the fireworks and parties that will be going on. We´ll see how it all goes tonight haha. And this Thursday I turn the big 2-1. And I'll celebrate byyyy doing the same thing as always haha. However I will have cake, maybe even 2 during the day. Here in Jaragua everybody loves to feed the missionaries. And its good but kinda stinks at the same time.

As for the week we had yet another baptizing week! And nows its been 4 weeks straight that this area has baptized and we don't have plans on stopping that streak anytime soon. Me and Elder Ahmed are really working well together and we´ve literally seen miracles. This week the lady that was baptized, we hadn't seen in over a week, and we figured it had fell. We finally went over to her house on Friday, the day before the baptism, and she was all excited asking how it was going to be and what time and everything. It was a mircale. She had went travelling and everything so we couldn't see her. It ended up being a super rush to get the interview done and plan the baptism but in the end everything went perfectly and she was baptized. Also this week on Wednesday we went by to see a lady that we had helped carry her groceries a week back and we were literally the answer to her prayers. We had thought about going by her on other days but it never worked out and the day it finally went right it was our Plan C. She told us that the night before she was looking out her window and prayed and asked God to help her and show her the way, and the next morning who showed up on her doorstep? We did. It was awesome!! And now she's preparing to be baptized. And we´re teaching another young man who is already asking about how it would work for him to go on a mission! It was a fantastic week and this week will just keep getting better. The New York team is doin work haha. So yeah we´re really happy and things are going really great.

Happy new Year to everybody! 2013! How did that happen already?

Eu Te Amo

Elder Gleason

P.S. 3 Nephi 12:14-16, 20, 48; 13:19-21, 24, 33 and Psalms 128:1, 4; 140:13; 146:10

 

 Elder Ahmed and J.R.

The sign J.R. made for himself and Elder Ahmed for their house, the symbol on the bottom is the baptism symbol for missionaries

 Baptism on 12/29/12 for Simone

 Baptism on 12/23/12 for Gabriel