Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Letter #40- "I Carry This Box To Its Proper Place! I Lower It Down, I´ll Let You Fade Away
I hope that you would do this for me!
Well hello my dear family and friends. I sure do love you! It has been brought to my attention (by everyone today!) that it is almost my birthday. Thanks for the card mom and dad! It was hilarious! I loved it.
Onto this week!
We had a wonderful wonderful wonderful week. We had a baptism! Richard! He was so excited to get baptized. Next week I´ll try to send pics. I don´t have time today.
We had a wonderful wonderful wonderful week. We had a baptism! Richard! He was so excited to get baptized. Next week I´ll try to send pics. I don´t have time today.
We found and taught some great people this week. We are working LIKE DOGS. It was great. I love being exhausted. We finally are going to move into a house in OUR area. For almost 5 months I have been living out of my bags and walking (in the minimum) 1 hour a day. We have a saying for afflictions WIFE POINTS. hahaha So I have gained a lot in the past few months. I love it here.
We found this family and taught them the 2nd lesson. We are going back tonight to teach them the second lesson. I am super excited. I hope all is well. Sorry this is so short! But I love you all so much!
Com amor!
Elder Askins!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Letter #39- "Loving You.... Makes Me Want To Write Bad Poetry."
Hello my family! I hope everything is going well up in good old AZ! Everything here in Curitiba is just fine. I know that many of you were asking about the raining and the floodings and if any of that was happening down here. It just is raining a lot more than it rained in Arizona but there is no flooding. That´s all happening in Rio. I have heard that more than 500 people have died up there! Wow!
This week we have been working super super hard at continuing with our new people that we have found and working with some references. We have a baptismal interview for our investigator, Richard, on Saturday and he will be baptized this Sunday. I am super excited for him! He is 16 and so hopefully after his baptism, he will prepare to serve a mission. Which would be SUPER awesome! Hahaha!
Last Saturday was great! I did a division with my good friend Elder Petersen, which is always great because we have many things in common so we can just talk the whole day away. We passed by this one reference that we received and it turns out she ALREADY received the Elders and many lessons and then one day they just stopped coming by. We think that it was because the area was closed. We extended the invitation to be baptized and she said no. After, we passed by this other reference we received and talked with her. It was GREAT! She was talking about this member that she works with and how she has so much respect for her because of the EXAMPLE that this member has always set for her. We invited her to come to church and we taught her about the Book of Mormon. The next day she came to church and so did Richard and he brought 2 of his friends that have interest in the church. Then yesterday we ran into 2 old investigators that I started teaching and they wanted us to stop. They told us that they wanted to have us start passing by again. It was super great!
President Cordon has asked that we start using the Book of Mormon a lot more in our lessons and when we talk to people on the streets. So that is what we have started doing. It´s been great.
I love you all so much! This week has been super good. Thanks for all the prayers and the thoughts! I love you! Until next p-day!
Com Amor!
-Elder Nay!
This week we have been working super super hard at continuing with our new people that we have found and working with some references. We have a baptismal interview for our investigator, Richard, on Saturday and he will be baptized this Sunday. I am super excited for him! He is 16 and so hopefully after his baptism, he will prepare to serve a mission. Which would be SUPER awesome! Hahaha!
Last Saturday was great! I did a division with my good friend Elder Petersen, which is always great because we have many things in common so we can just talk the whole day away. We passed by this one reference that we received and it turns out she ALREADY received the Elders and many lessons and then one day they just stopped coming by. We think that it was because the area was closed. We extended the invitation to be baptized and she said no. After, we passed by this other reference we received and talked with her. It was GREAT! She was talking about this member that she works with and how she has so much respect for her because of the EXAMPLE that this member has always set for her. We invited her to come to church and we taught her about the Book of Mormon. The next day she came to church and so did Richard and he brought 2 of his friends that have interest in the church. Then yesterday we ran into 2 old investigators that I started teaching and they wanted us to stop. They told us that they wanted to have us start passing by again. It was super great!
President Cordon has asked that we start using the Book of Mormon a lot more in our lessons and when we talk to people on the streets. So that is what we have started doing. It´s been great.
I love you all so much! This week has been super good. Thanks for all the prayers and the thoughts! I love you! Until next p-day!
Com Amor!
-Elder Nay!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Some Pictures I hijacked from Elder Paiva (hope he doesn't mind)
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| Conferencia Natal- (Can you see Elder Askins? Hint: towards the bottom in the center) |
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| The Curitiba Temple. It sure is beautiful. Elder Askins says it rains a lot and you can tell by the lush landscaping. |
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| The Curitiba Temple |
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| Elder Paiva and Elder Askins |
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| Elder Askins studying? |
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| Elder Paiva and Elder Askins. Two good-looking missionaries. |
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| Elder Askins and Elder Paiva (looks like they belong on the Saturday's Warrior's set.) |
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Letter #38- "Baby Can You Hear The Message I Am Sending? Love Me Like The World Is Ending"
Dear Family! I love you all so much! It has been a wonderful week. I finally received the 2 packages this week! They were great! I cried. It was the nicest thing I have ever received in my life. Thank you so much!
So I don´t have a lot of time today, but I will say that today I was able to spend the day at the temple with Elder Silva. It was super great. It reminded me of old times with Jake when we would just show up and say "Whatever you need us to do,we will do." So we were able to spend the day at the temple. Those people are so great!
This past week, President Cordon has asked us to use the Book of Mormon a lot more when we teach. Start off the first lesson with the Book of Mormon. When we talk to people on the street, introduce the Book of Mormon. So we have been trying to do that! Last week we found a guy and we taught he and his family a lot of the first lesson (The first half) and the second half we saved for another appointment. We knew that he wanted to do a bible bash. I was a little excited. The lesson fell through and we ended up not being able to teach them. We found this other family who is just great. We only taught them the first lesson but the Spirit was super strong.
It´s been a wonderful week with a lot of hard work. I love you all so much! I have been thinking about the Book of Mormon and how special it is. It is a wonderful tool that we know is scripture. We also use it, with the Bible to testify of Christ. I know that Christ lives.
This week has been... wet. It rains every day. It is strange. You leave the house and it will be clear and then by the afternoon it will be hot and rainy and then by the end it is nice and cold at the nice.Welcome to Curitiba. It´s strange. hahaha.
I have been thinking about families and eternity this week as well. I am grateful we can be an eternal family and I have been thinking that I am grateful that one day I can be with my future family forever.
I love you all so much and I´m so thankful for you. I love you and like Elder Holland, I feel your prayers and your love and I want you to know that I pray for you. I love you so much!
Com Amor
-Elder Askins
So I don´t have a lot of time today, but I will say that today I was able to spend the day at the temple with Elder Silva. It was super great. It reminded me of old times with Jake when we would just show up and say "Whatever you need us to do,we will do." So we were able to spend the day at the temple. Those people are so great!
This past week, President Cordon has asked us to use the Book of Mormon a lot more when we teach. Start off the first lesson with the Book of Mormon. When we talk to people on the street, introduce the Book of Mormon. So we have been trying to do that! Last week we found a guy and we taught he and his family a lot of the first lesson (The first half) and the second half we saved for another appointment. We knew that he wanted to do a bible bash. I was a little excited. The lesson fell through and we ended up not being able to teach them. We found this other family who is just great. We only taught them the first lesson but the Spirit was super strong.
It´s been a wonderful week with a lot of hard work. I love you all so much! I have been thinking about the Book of Mormon and how special it is. It is a wonderful tool that we know is scripture. We also use it, with the Bible to testify of Christ. I know that Christ lives.
This week has been... wet. It rains every day. It is strange. You leave the house and it will be clear and then by the afternoon it will be hot and rainy and then by the end it is nice and cold at the nice.Welcome to Curitiba. It´s strange. hahaha.
I have been thinking about families and eternity this week as well. I am grateful we can be an eternal family and I have been thinking that I am grateful that one day I can be with my future family forever.
I love you all so much and I´m so thankful for you. I love you and like Elder Holland, I feel your prayers and your love and I want you to know that I pray for you. I love you so much!
Com Amor
-Elder Askins
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Letter #37- "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Spread"
Calling the nations put a price upon our heads. Running from darkness and running to light. Praying on our knees for one more day every night. The boy, the faith, the prayers, the hate. Great things are rising. The love, the fear, the fire, the tears, the persecution, the spirit, the peace. It´s the rising. The rising."
That is one of my favorite songs of the moment. It´s about Joseph Smith. It is an awesome song. So I have some things that I have thought about this week that I would like to talk to you about today.
This past week me and Elder L. Silva stopped by this member's house to talk to him about this potential baptism and he told us this awesome story that I would like to relay to you all.
So this man told us that he was baptized at like age 18 and then he was called to serve in the military less than a year later. So he was called and he was serving in his... troop? I don´t know if that´s what you call it.. but in his troop they had their chief- the guy in charge. He announced the first day, "I want everyone to find the rudest picture of girls from play and put them on your bed posts by the end of the week and whoever doesn´t do this will be cleaning the bathroom, with my toothbrush." So he released them and this guy, a new fresh member of the church was caught in a problem- stay with the standards he knew was right or go the way of the world. He decided that he would clean the bathroom that weekend. haha. But around wednesday, he went and took the picture of Christ visiting the Americas and he put it on his bedpost. When the chief went around to make sure they had it, he arrived at this guy´s bedpost. He started shouting and asking who´s bedpost it was. My friend walked up and said it was his. He pulled him aside so know one could hear and said, "Well done. I like it. Don´t worry, you won´t be cleaning the bathrooms." So then a few weeks later the chief was talking to these boys in the troop and about how they need to find something to express what they believed in, and that it needed to be small to fit in their pocket to remember what they believed when times were tough. My friend found a pass along card, the picture with Christ with the children and on the back were the 13 Articles of Faith. When the chief went around the next day to look at what they had chosen, he arrived at my friend. Eagerly, the chief asked, "What did you choose?" And he showed the pass along card. The chief looked at him and said, "This will just not hold up in the rain." The chief left right then and there and took the card and lamenated it. He returned and gave it back to my friend and said, "Now you are ready?" Then a few days later, my friend was with all of the people in the troop and the chief arrived and called my friend up to the front and said "You may go to lunch." Then after my friend had left, the chief spent an hour cursing at this troop for the work they had failed to do. What is the moral of the story? Never be afraid to stand up and do what´s right. People will respect you for your belief and faith in Christ.
The second one was last night. We were teaching a kid, he has a huge desire to get baptized, but still has some doubts. After the lesson, I asked (becasue I love questions!) I said, "Now do you have any questions about anything?" And he said, "I have one that has been a big question in my mind. Why doesn´t the bible talk about Joseph Smith?" I quickly thanked the Lord because this had been a question in my mind this week. After intense praying and studying, I found an answer. I looked at him and said "Who wrote the bible?" "Prophets." "What is the purpose of a prophet?" "I don´t know." "The purpose of a prophet is to testify of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ." I let the silence speak a little. "Did Moses prophisy of Jeremiah? Did Noah speak about Moses? Did Moses prophisy of Isaiah?" No, no, no. "But were they prophets of God?" "Yes" "Prophets will always testify of Jesus. That is their calling. It´s not to testify of other prophets." It was a neat experience.
Well, I hope the new year has just been great for you. I´m glad it´s over. Still praying for those packages! I know they´ll get here! I love you all! I hope this next year is a billion times better than last year filled with happiness, blessings, love, and the Spirit of God!
Com amor! (know that I love you!)
-Elder Askins
That is one of my favorite songs of the moment. It´s about Joseph Smith. It is an awesome song. So I have some things that I have thought about this week that I would like to talk to you about today.
This past week me and Elder L. Silva stopped by this member's house to talk to him about this potential baptism and he told us this awesome story that I would like to relay to you all.
So this man told us that he was baptized at like age 18 and then he was called to serve in the military less than a year later. So he was called and he was serving in his... troop? I don´t know if that´s what you call it.. but in his troop they had their chief- the guy in charge. He announced the first day, "I want everyone to find the rudest picture of girls from play and put them on your bed posts by the end of the week and whoever doesn´t do this will be cleaning the bathroom, with my toothbrush." So he released them and this guy, a new fresh member of the church was caught in a problem- stay with the standards he knew was right or go the way of the world. He decided that he would clean the bathroom that weekend. haha. But around wednesday, he went and took the picture of Christ visiting the Americas and he put it on his bedpost. When the chief went around to make sure they had it, he arrived at this guy´s bedpost. He started shouting and asking who´s bedpost it was. My friend walked up and said it was his. He pulled him aside so know one could hear and said, "Well done. I like it. Don´t worry, you won´t be cleaning the bathrooms." So then a few weeks later the chief was talking to these boys in the troop and about how they need to find something to express what they believed in, and that it needed to be small to fit in their pocket to remember what they believed when times were tough. My friend found a pass along card, the picture with Christ with the children and on the back were the 13 Articles of Faith. When the chief went around the next day to look at what they had chosen, he arrived at my friend. Eagerly, the chief asked, "What did you choose?" And he showed the pass along card. The chief looked at him and said, "This will just not hold up in the rain." The chief left right then and there and took the card and lamenated it. He returned and gave it back to my friend and said, "Now you are ready?" Then a few days later, my friend was with all of the people in the troop and the chief arrived and called my friend up to the front and said "You may go to lunch." Then after my friend had left, the chief spent an hour cursing at this troop for the work they had failed to do. What is the moral of the story? Never be afraid to stand up and do what´s right. People will respect you for your belief and faith in Christ.
The second one was last night. We were teaching a kid, he has a huge desire to get baptized, but still has some doubts. After the lesson, I asked (becasue I love questions!) I said, "Now do you have any questions about anything?" And he said, "I have one that has been a big question in my mind. Why doesn´t the bible talk about Joseph Smith?" I quickly thanked the Lord because this had been a question in my mind this week. After intense praying and studying, I found an answer. I looked at him and said "Who wrote the bible?" "Prophets." "What is the purpose of a prophet?" "I don´t know." "The purpose of a prophet is to testify of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ." I let the silence speak a little. "Did Moses prophisy of Jeremiah? Did Noah speak about Moses? Did Moses prophisy of Isaiah?" No, no, no. "But were they prophets of God?" "Yes" "Prophets will always testify of Jesus. That is their calling. It´s not to testify of other prophets." It was a neat experience.
Well, I hope the new year has just been great for you. I´m glad it´s over. Still praying for those packages! I know they´ll get here! I love you all! I hope this next year is a billion times better than last year filled with happiness, blessings, love, and the Spirit of God!
Com amor! (know that I love you!)
-Elder Askins
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