Zone Conference Time

All Elders in Elder Askins' zone. (Does this picture make you laugh as much as I did? Love it!)

Letter #44- "Here I GOOOO, Scream my lungs out to try to get to YOUU."

You are my only one! Here I go! There´s just no one who gets me like you do! You are my only, my only one"

 

Do you remember when the band played that song? I sure do love it! I was in our house and Elder Medeiros was playing the guitar (he bought a guitar) and he knows a lot of American music. He played this song. I love it! He also plays more good music that I just love! 

 

So this week has been absolutely awesome! I wish I could tell you all of it but I don´t think there is enough time. Let me start you off with last week. Last week after the leadership meeting in Paranaguá (which is a 2 hour bus ride from our house) I did an exchange with the elders in my district to do 2 interviews for them. SO we went and I cut up my feet horribly (cuz I used shoes I haven´t used in a long time with very thin socks) and it was super painful to walk. Until today they were still cut up but it was totally worth it. Missionaries have a little saying engraven in their hearts, "Do everything to baptize." So we had 2 baptisms. One passed and was baptized on Saturday and the other one will have another interveiw tomorrow and probably will be baptized on this Saturday. It was really neat and a privilege to do the interview and get to know more people. It is truly awesome, everyone has a story.

 

So the next thing I would like to tell you about is the fantastic zone conference that we had on Monday. We only have ten elders in our zone and because our zone is so far from others, it is only our zone at the conference, so I thought, oh great, this is gonna be interesting, because with 10 elders it´s alittle more personal. 

 

President asked us all to prepare 4 talks at 3 minutes each, one about faith, the other about repentance, the other baptism, and the last about the gift of the Holy Ghost. I knew I would give a discourse. I dont know if you would say revelation or the fact that I know President, but I knew I would talk. I had NO time to prepare a discourse. So Sunday night, I looked up scriptures that I could use for each topic because with 3 minutes you can´t do much, a scripture, an experience, and your testimony. 

 

So when we got to the church in Paranaguá and the meeting started, we started off with the discourses. I was asked to give a talk on faith. I shared a scripture in Matthew when Christ taught that with our faith nothing is impossible and shared an experience I had where I learned that through faith we can do hard things and I left my testimony. Just a little bit over 3 minutes. PERFECT! Then afterwards we heard great talks about repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was super strong. 

 

Sister Cordon gave a remarkable discourse on a lot of different topics. She showed a picture of the world and said, "It never ceases to amaze me that the Lord is so awesome and powerful that He could create this earth and universe but so loving and private that He knows me personally and answers my prayers." What an interesting insight. She talked about how there is a law in heaven, the law of justice and mercy and about how we need to live our lives through obedience to receive the blessings that God has prepared. We looked up some of the blessings. Then she said that we had the right (if we were living worthily) to live with angels every day and they would walk with us and protect us and guide us. She told a story, (I´ve heard it a few times but I love it.) 

 

When she was younger, her father was an orthodontist and the head of the orthodontist society in Idaho. That year, the orthodontists and their families were going to Hawaii and she wanted to go super bad. She kept asking and asking and her dad kept saying no. Until she changed the question to, "What do I have to do to be able to go to Hawaii with you and mom?" So Her dad said that she had to pay the way there and back and that she had to buy her food and the things that she would want to do there and she couldn´t use the money she had in the bank. She was heartbroken because she couldn´t raise the money in time. But her father said "If you are willing to, you can get up at 5 every morning before school and pick corn and sell it and you can raise the money in time to go." 

 

So the first day she woke up at 5 and was super excited. She went out there and worked hard, she picked the corn and put it in a sack and she ended up getting all wet and muddy and dirty and by the time she had finished, all the corn was smushed.  She was sad because she couldn´t sell smushed corn.  The next day, her alarm went off at 5 and she stayed in bed and said I will not get up to pick corn. She then heard a noise in the garage and realized that her father was down there getting ready to work and she knew she had to get up and work too. She got ready and went down there and grabbed the sack to put the corn in.  Her dad said, "What are you doing? This will be much easier." He turned on a tractor for them to put the corn in. She went out there and she and her father worked together.  In one morning she picked and sold 5 more times than the day before. 

 

She said we can choose to leave the house alone and do it our own way, and get some of the work done or we can get up and work with our Father and reap more than we could have alone.

 

Then President Cordon got up and gave a wonderful discourse about accompanying our investigators every day and said, I promise you that if you don´t accompany your investigators every day, the devil will. Which is so true. 

 

After lunch we watched a training video which was awesome and did some training and Presindet Cordon gave a discourse on Alma 26:22 which is one of my favorites. He talked about the "millions of souls" that we will convert. He said just think, you baptize one person and they do the work for all our their ancestors. You will have helped thousands of people get baptized. It was a wonderful discourse. After the meeting I had a wonderful talk with Sister Cordon and she asked about Elder Paiva and everything. It was wonderful. She said "Elder Askins, I love the change that I have seen in you. You have grown up so much." It was really nice.

 

 

Then this weekend we are having 2 BAPTISMS!!!Yes!!!! I am so excited. 

 

When I first got here, Elder Medeiros was talking to me about our investigator and then he got to this one woman and said, "Well she has pretty much cut us. Her brother was possessed and we couldn´t get the demon to leave. Some pastor from another church came and the demon left." So we went to her neighbors house 2 Sundays ago to invite them to come to church but they weren´t home. She came out and we invited her too and she said she wasn´t feeling well. The next day we went back to her neighbor's house to teach them and they weren´t home and she came out and asked us to leave a message. We went in and taught her about authority and then she told me her story. 

 

She said the night she prayed about the Book of Mormon, she had a dream that she was in a huge church with a staircase (she actually described the inside of the Curitiba temple almost perfectly) and the missionaries and some friends were on the top floor and called after her to come back she wasn´t able to. She was confused by the dream. Then the Sunday that we had passed by to invite she and her neighbors to church, she had a dream that Jesus had come to her and said "Go to church and hear the word of God and the Holy Spirit." It just so happened, that last week's lesson was on the Holy Ghost. She woke up from this dream to the clapping of hands. Our hands and we invited her to church but she wasn´t feeling good and declined. So we asked her to read the parts of the Book fo Mormon again and pray. 

 

We passed by again and asked what happened. She said she would come to church this weekend and she thought she received her answer, then the next day we went to her house and taught her the plan of salvation and marked a date for the 27. She accepted. We started passing by every day. On Sunday she woke up and got to church before we did! She loved it! Afterward she said that it was the best meeting and she felt like singing and crying all at the same time. She knew the church was true and that she would be baptized this Sunday! 

 

That Sunday afternoon, we went to the neighbor's house, who also came to church. She came in and said "Elders can you come teach my daughter today?" So we went to her daughter´s house and taught her and marked a date for this next week. She told us about how Sunday was the best day she has had in a super long time and how she loved it and everything seemed to go perfectly that day and she knew it was because she went to church. 

 

Last night we were teaching and her youngest daughter walked in and we started teaching her too. Our investigator bore to us and her daughter a powerful testimony of the restoration and now her daughter will also be baptized with her this weekend. It has been a wonderful week. 

 

I know that the church is true. It is the restored church of Christ  here on the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is true and as Joseph Smith taught, a man will get closer to God by living it´s precepts! This work is true! Christ lives!

-Elder Nay

Letter #43- "There is no end to glory, there is no end to love, there is no end to being. there is no death above."

Hello, my dear family and friends! 

 

I hope everything is going well with you and you have a wonderful week! I would just like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY (almost) to my dear sweet mommy! I know she thought that I forgot but I didn´t and now she is thinking, "Who reminded him?" NO ONE. Because my awesome family sent me a calander and on this calender I wrote all the important dates on it. And then I transferred it to my daily planner and then I saw it this week and made a note on Wednesday to remind myself to tell my sweet mother happy birthday. If I remember correctly, she is turning 29 on the 20th of February. It´s weird because for as long as I remember she´s been turning 29 on her birthday :P I sure do love you mommy! I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a wonderful time in California with Rhonda. Tell her hi and that I love her for me!

Well, this week was my first week as LD (District Leader). Which was neat.  I was nervous a little but it was fine. I went to my first leadership meeting in Paranagá on Thursday and I also gave my first training to my district on Monday morning. That was fun. I also have my first 2 interveiws to give as a district leader tomorrow. Can you imagine me interveiwing people to be baptized? I can´t, but who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies!

This week, it has been super hot! And humid. I have had a headache and have been exhausted. My body just wasn´t used to the change, but I am now accustomed to the heat. But this week, Monday, Tuesday, and today it has rained everyday! It has dropped and is super cold.

Last night we found an awesome family that is just awesome! We marked dates with them and it was a very spiritual lesson. I am super happy and I love you all! I bet you are thinking about the email title. I love the song "If you could hie to Kolob." It is an AWESOME song that is just so powerful and makes my mind EXPLODE!

"There is no end to virtue;
There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom;
There is no end to light."

 

This song doesn´t exist in the Portuguese hymn book. How sad! Well, I love you all! I know this work is true! I know the church is true and that God lives! Christ lives and loves us! He is our Savior and Redeemer! He is the head of this church and through a prophet of God it was restored! I love you all so much! Don´t stop believing!

-Com Amor!

Elder Jean Valjean

Letter #42- "My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me, so won´t you kill me, so i die happy?"

"My heart is yours to fill or burst, to break or bury. or wear as jewelry. whichever you prefer."

 

Well my dearest loved ones, I hope everything is well in G-town. 

 

Boy do I have a story for you.  So this week was transfers and before you all ask yourselves, "Elder Askins, did you get transfered?" Let me tell you what happened last week.

 

So for the longest time now (more or less 6 weeks) I have been fighting to get us a house in the area Xaxim. Everyday we lose like 2 hours in just walking to and from our area, sometimes it's three hours! So I have been working with the Stake President and the Bishop and everyone and I just kept getting shut down. I was getting really really ticked off. It was not very cool. 

 

Last week we received word that our Zone would have interveiws with President Cordon. So I prepared myself for talking to him about this situation because I was sick of living out of just my suitcases. So Elder Silva went into the room first to do his interveiw and then I went in after. I sat down and we said a prayer and then President looked into my eyes and said, "How is everything?" And I said, alright and he said "I think they would be better if you lived in your area." Elder Silva had already talked to him and so he said he would support us moving into a house. We made plans to move today! Then he asked me "Elder Askins, do you consider yourself worthy to enter into the temple?" And I said yes and he said "I know. I never have to worry about you. You are an amazing elder and I am so blessed to serve with you. The Lord and I know we can trust you so much." Wonderful words and kind of scary because this is what happened next... He asked if there was anything else that I want to talk about. I knew that transfers were coming up and I was nervous about leaving. I said "President, I know that transfers are done by the Lord, but if it means anything, I would love to stay with Elder Silva just one more transfer and see the growth in Xaxim." And he said "I can't say anything because the Lord does the transfers. But I can say this Elder Askins, this next transfer will be a big transfer." Uh-ooh I thought. So this week we received a phone call from the zone leaders about transfers. I have been transferred. I am now writing you in the wonderful town of Matinhos. That's the name of my area. If you wish to locate it... it's RIGHT ON THE COAST BABY!!! How awesome is that?? I am literally looking at the beach right as I type this. That is awesome! I was also called as district leader. Which I am super nervous about but as I have learned many times on my mission, "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies."

 

I am so greatful for this opportunity I have to give the Lord my all and serve him. I was reading in the scriptures today. I don't remember where, but Jesus was talking to his disciples and he said "Is the servant greater than his Master?" And I thought, I am that servant and I am no where close to being like my Master. I need to do so much better because if Christ our Master, can get down on His knees and wash His apostles feet and serve others, can I do anything less? Absolutely not. 

 

I love the Lord. I know He lives. He is the head of this Church and He restored His church through a prophet of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. I didn't do anything special to learn these truths. I just read the Book of Mormon and asked God, I received an answer that I cannot deny and because I received this answer, I received this call. He lives! I want to write some lyrics to some songs that I enjoy listening to:

 

"And it makes me wonder 'How can He know the heartache I feel, when He lived a perfect life. From Gethsemane to Calvary, was it really for me that He died? And the Spirit whispers these words are true: From the Garden to the Cross, He walked a mile in my shoes."

"Sometimes I think about the way things used to be
Had it all figured out when I was two or three.
Then I made some mistakes that I regret


Let some things in my mind I wish I could forget
But I don't think I can erase these memories
That's why I'm down here on my knees.
I'm wondering if you're listening to me
Just wondering what I'm supposed to be
I'm just wondering if there's more to life than what I see
I'm wondering, just wondering
Oh lord my God when I in awesome wonder about that man on the cross
And all the pain I put him through
And everything that I still do.
Which drop of blood did I make him shed?
Did I put the thorns on to his head?
I try to do what the Savior said, but I slip all the time on the path he led
I'm wondering if you're listening to me
Just wondering what I'm supposed to be
I'm just wondering if there's more to life than what I see
I'm wondering, just wondering
And just when I think these prayers are in vain
I feel this power in my heart that relieves my pain
So please let these words get past your brain
Stop wondering, stop wondering
For I know that our fathers love is real
Open your heart and let it feel
Cuz I've never felt this love before
And I'm not wondering anymore
Oh, I'm not wondering, wondering anymore
Wondering, wondering anymore
Not wondering anymore"

I love you all! The gospel is true!

Com Amor!

-Elder Naynay

Happy 20th Birthday to Elder Askins!

Elder Askins celebrated his 20th birthday on February 1st.  While his family missed him so much, we know he had a fun time celebrating with his favorite Brazilians.  Thank you to all of his friends and family who wished him well on that day.  He was very grateful.  We love you all.

Letter #41- "We Kept It Safe and Slow, the Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows."

So keep the blood in your head and keep your feet on the ground, Today´s the day we get tired. Today´s the day we drop down. You left my body in bed, all for an empty hotel, Wastin´ words on lower cases and capitals!"

Hello my dear family. I sure do love each and every one of you! This week has been pretty good, and not just because it was my birthday. I had a pretty neat experience that I will definitely share.

So we live about an 1 hour and 1/2 from our area. So for Sunday, it´s always a rush to get to church. Which is like 2 hours from our house and church starts at 9. It´s super hard and last Sunday we were a little late leaving our house. So we decided that to get to church on time and to take the sacrament and to watch and participate in the confirmation of Richard, we had to take to bus. I felt bad about using the bus on Sunday, but it was one of those situations, not take the Sacrament, or take the bus. So we decided to take the bus.

But the bus that would take us closest to the chapel never came. So at about 20 minutes until church started, we started to walk to church. We were like an hour away. And so we started walking and then we saw this other bus that wouldn´t take us super close, but would take us a lot closer to the chapel a lot faster than walking would. So we got on and the bus started driving again and we didn´t realize it, but the bus took a turn into a little street and away from where we needed to go. We got off as soon as we could and then started running toward the chapel. I don´t like to run in my missionary clothes. I think running shows bad planning and does not look very good to other people as a missionary, but that is just a side note. We started running. We got back onto the main road and we were both praying (me and Elder L. Silva) super hard that we would be able to make it to the chapel and be able to take the sacrament.

Right as I said "Amen" in my head this red car pulls up and a lady rolls down the window and shouts "Élderes!" We look over and she says are you guys the elders of Xaxim? We told her yes. She asked if we wanted a ride to the chapel. We took it! She explained she was in the stake and was coming to our ward. We got there right after they said the opening prayer. What is neat is that the bishop had forgetten about the confirmation and Richard had to leave as soon as possible because he had to work.

He looked pretty nervous when we showed up. Elder L. Silva went up and told Bishop about the confirmation. After the sacrament, Richard was confirmed a member of the Church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Afterwards he jetted out to get to work but not before I could snag him and tell him how happy I was for him and I also gave him a new Bible and a triple combination. He was super happy. I am super excited for him. He´ll be a great missionary.

Well I have to go. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I want you all to know how much I love you and how much you all mean to me. This would be extremely hard to do without you and impossible to do without the help from our Lord. I know that the church is true. It is not just another church that teaches people to do good and be good but the Restored church of God on the earth. Meaning the exact church that Christ organized when He was on the earth. The authority to officiate and complete ordinances in His name, the eternal power and authority of God has been restored through a prophet of God.

I have thought a lot that I would liketo be baptized by John the Baptist. He was awesome and he must have had the authority to baptize people if Christ was baptized by him. I can say with all my heart that that same authority to baptize people exists on the Earth. I have that authority. Dad has that authority. I was restored to Jospeh Smith under the hands of John the Baptist himself. This work is true. The Book or Mormon is true. I know because I read it and I prayed. To gain a testimony is not a hard thing. To lose a testimony isn´t hard either. It is a constant struggle and I know that if we are not fortifying our testimonies, we will lose them. and that is scary to me. Please keep working hard at fortifying your testimonies. I am and I will continue to. When we do this we can be together forever, and that is the only thing I want. That is what keeps me going. The love the Savior has for us is almost incomprehensable but still so amazingly simple.

I have been giving lunch messages lately and telling the story of the Mount Baldy hike. How we climbed almost to the summit and Brother Wilcock stopped us and said we could go back now. Because we almost made it and we said almost the top isn´t the top. I read the last few verses of 2 Nephi 31. It says, (More or less) If you endure to the end you shall have eternal life. Enduring to the end is so important. We don´t get points for trying, we only get points for doing! Remember the scripture I just referred to. It doesn´t say "if you ALMOST endure to the end you will ALMOST have eternal life."

I love you all!
Com Amor!
Elder Nay