Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Botanical Gardens, October, and Transfers...



From Mission-wide Activity in Botanical Gardens of Sao Paulo

October 13, 2014

HELLO FAMILY!!!

First off, for the big news...TRANSFERS!!! So we got told about transfers Saturday night, which is a little earlier than usual, and both Elder Lago and I are getting transferred out, and we both are going to open areas and train (by open area I mean that they took out the companionship that was there and they put two new missionaries in) I'm actually going to get a companion temporarily for 3 weeks because I'm going to be training a new american missionary that waited for his visa for awhile and finally got it and got sent to the Brazil MTC for a language refresher. I'm kind of sad that I have to leave this area and Elder Lago, because this really came as a surprise for us, but the Lord has another plan for us, and now I have  a new opportunity to do some good and to help others that need me. 

So let me give you guys the update of the week. So this past Tuesday we had the mission-wide p-day activity at the botanical gardens and it was amazing! It was a really pretty place to walk around and a good opportunity to see everyone that I have gotten to know earlier in the mission. So, there were a few activities that were zone versus zone put on, such as tug of war (our zone won one and lost the other), and other fun activities. We had hamburgers and hotdogs for lunch. There was also a sort of talent show where a few missionaries sang and played instruments and did other fun performances. And to close it, President gave a few words about how hard the adversary is working to impede the Lord's work and how we need to do our best to prevent him from disrupting our efforts to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters here in Brazil. 

Tug-of-War

More Games...

Best Zone Ever!

So on that note, we did our best to help Mylena get baptized and everything worked out. She was baptized yesterday and it was a really beautiful service. Johnson and his family went and the Spirit was really strong there. I know that the missionaries that come to replace us in this area are going to have a lot of success with this family now. 

Mylena's Baptism

Today for P-day, we had a little get together with the district we are part of and had a little brunch and said our goodbyes and everything. I am so grateful for the chance I had to be in this area and with Elder Lago -- I really learned a lot. I'm really excited for this new opportunity and new area and companion. I'll be sure to tell you guys everything this next week. I know that this is truly the Lord's work and I know that when we do our part, he blesses us. Thanks so much for the updates/support/love/everything. Have a great week!!!

Love,
Elder Schwartz



Good Bye District....


October 20, 2014

Well that's exciting news to hear about the Giants making it to the world series. Just know that there is at least one Giants fan here in São Paulo, Brazil. 

SO FIRST OFF, here's what happened with me at transfers. So I got transferred to a city called Mauá, which is farther from the city of São Paulo than São Bernardo. I'm serving in the ward, Jardim Pilar, and my companion for these three weeks is Elder Beers from Washington.  He has the same time on the mission as me and the same time in Brazil as well.  In fact, we were in the MTC together, just in different districts. He's really cool. He's the district leader here. So he'll be with me for these three weeks until we get our new american "greenies" (in the sense that they'll be new to Brazil, not the mission). 

So basically I'm really loving this area and working with Elder Beers. The ward here isn't big but we have a good amount of members. But the chapel we have is the smallest I've ever seen in Brazil....it's a little more cosy but I like it. The members here are pretty sweet too. It seems like they have had some problems with leadership in this ward in the past. So what my plan is, is to basically make the ward happy. And what makes a ward happy? BAPTISMS. So the plan is to baptize everyone here in Mauá. Good plan, right?

So this first week here was good. Since Elder Beers was already here and had investigators, we spent most of the time in his part of the area. We did get to spend a little time in what is going to be my part, but we mostly focused on helping the investigators that we have to start progressing. We did have some really good first lessons with new investigators as well, but none were able to come to church :(. The only investigator we had at church is a 9 year old son of a member family.  He is going to be baptized when his dad gets home from a long work trip :D. There's an investigator named Demetrius,that we have who seems to be progressing well and preparing himself for baptism. He's a man about 50 years old, with an 18 year old son, Thiago. Demetruis has an interesting background, just like the man that you met when you went out with the missionaries, dad. He had a past with drugs and alcohol and never really believed in God, but now he is in a search for the truth, believes in God, and he seems to have been well prepared by the Lord. We're working with him now to help him quit smoking, and getting him prepared for baptism. He's a great guy!

So a cool little thing that happened this week was that I called to give a 10 minute talk basically on the spot for sacrament meeting. They asked me to speak about missionary work (of course). It was shocking, but I really am grateful for the Lord's help, because I talked about all the things that I had learned on the mission in respect of doing to Lord's work. I'm grateful for all the learning experiences the Lord has given me that I was able to share in the talk. I felt the Spirit really strong and I hope that the things I said had some sort of impact on the members of this ward to help move the Lord's work forward here in Jardim Pilar.  After sacrament meeting a lot of the members came up to me and Elder Beers, telling us how they needed our help to share the gospel with someone or bringing someone back to church. So it seems we are really starting to gain the trust of the ward members. Pray for us that we will have success in our efforts. Thanks for the sweet update on everything dad. Just know that I love you guys and I pray for you all. I miss you guys!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

With Love,
Elder Schwartz 

Selfie with Elder Beers

October 27, 2014

Man thanks for the exciting Giant's update. That's really good to hear that we're on top. It's also good to hear that everything is going good with everyone and that everyone is happy with life and things. So to answer your questions:  Mauá is way smaller than São Bernardo but there are still a lot of people. It's definitely a lot greener here and a lot colder.  For example, this week was pretty foggy and it even rained on Sunday. It's weird though because today is super hot, but that's the weather of São Paulo -- hahah!  And, yes, we are working in both the areas of the ward, actually we have been spending a little bit more time in the area that Elder Beers has been working in, but we are managing to find people in what is going to be my area here in a little bit. Yes, I've gotten to know the ward leadership here, and a lot of really good members.  At the moment we don't have a Ward Mission Leader, but in the Priesthood Executive Meeting, Bishop said he is going to be calling one here shortly, which will be really helpful to us.  

Well, family, this week was a good week for us. It was a little rough on the finding new investigator, in part, because this week we had a huge service project that the whole zone was involved in, and we also had a meeting with the stake president and the whole zone. But at least we kept up with those that we found last week :). So, for the activity we all went to a home for the elderly and mentally ill and we took out a bunch of old furniture that they didn't want and we did a little bit of maintenance and clean up in the area. It was pretty fun and there was a good spirit of service as we worked. Then the next day we had that meeting with the stake president at his house (he lives in our ward which is nice), and we talked a lot about how we need to be working in unity as a stake and a zone, and how we can work better together with our ward leaders and how the stake president can help us. It was a good meeting and I'm happy to be serving here this stake because we have good support from our stake president. 

We also had a ward activity this week put on by the young women's organization for the whole ward. There was food and drinks and dancing (don't worry, I didn't dance), but there was also a neat presentation about the history of this ward and how some of the current members of the ward were here when it was originally organized years ago. How cool is that? It was a good activity and we had some investigators there. 

So as for the investigators I was talking about last week:  I talked about Samuel, who is the 9 year old son of a member that we are going to baptize when his dad comes home from work. He's doing good. He's firm and learning well. He's pretty much ready but His mom wants to wait for his dad to come back to perform the ordinance, which won't be until the end of November.  As for Demetrius and his son, we couldn't catch him at home this week so we havn't been able to help him out like we wanted. But there are a few other cool families that we are helping out. For example there is a young couple, Rudolfo and Vivian that we met my first week that have been really receptive and really interested in our message that we are teaching. And also a young single mom named Rafaella that also we taught this last week that has been really receptive and really showed interest for the Book of Mormon. And of course there are other people that we are teaching but if you guys could, please pray for these people. 

Well my time is running out. But thanks for the update on everything, It's good to hear that everything is going good with everyone. Have a great week and I'll talk to you guys next monday. THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

Love,
Elder Schwartz

More Photos.....

Our great group!

Mylena's Baptism





Monday, October 6, 2014

Lead up to General Conference



9/22/14

Dear Family!!!

It looks like the fiesta that you guys had went well too! That's cool that you guys visited with the Brazilian couple as well! Definitely take advantage of their offer for a real Brazilian bbq. It's the best.... we actually had ourselves a house bbq this week for lunch...SO GOOD! I love the bbq here. 

It really is good!

Everyone here is doing good. Elder Lago is doing great. We're working hard and having fun doing it. Our investigators are also doing really well. Jessica brought her mom, Fatima, to church this week and she absolutely loved it. Next week the whole family is going to go! Woohoo! We had a really good lesson with Johnson yesterday. He's a really good man. It's just some difficulties with the family that they are having that's impeding him from getting married but we are giving our counsel and support to him. I feel like this week things are going to change for the family. As for Milena. Pretty much the same thing. We talked to her yesterday and we marked a baptismal interview for this week. Seriously she is so ready. Even in the lesson yesterday, Johnson was asking her why she hasn't been baptized yet. She couldn't come up with an answer. So we are going to do the interview this week. The plan is to baptize her this Sunday if God gives us this miracle.

We are going to go to the temple tomorrow and we are going to have zone conference which is always exciting. Oh and other news is that here in a little bit, there's going to be a Mission P-day in the Botanical Garden of São Paulo which we're also really excited for.

But other than that the week has been pretty normal. I'm doing my best out here. I'm so happy for the opportunity I have to serve my brothers and sisters here in São Paulo. This next week is going to be amazing, I can feel it. Give my love to all the family and friends. I know that this is the Lord's church. I know that this is his work. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly blesses lives and that Heavenly Father has many blessings prepared to give us when we are obedient to him. I love you!
Until next week!



9/29/14

It's good to hear that you're going out visiting with the missionaries. Keep helping them! You will be greatly blessed and that ward will really grow! Keep up the good work!

So I guess a highlight of the week was I got surgery on my toe this past Friday. So the toenail was ingrown on both sides of the toe so they shot me up with some anestesia and they cut on both sides of the toenail and took out the sides. Then they put in some stitches to hold it together. It was weird because I was watching the whole time but I wasn't feeling the pain. It kind of freaked me out a little bit but it's all good now. The doctor said I have to stay in and recover for 4-5 days so this weekend I had to stay in while we did divisions with the other elders of the house so that our area wouldn't go unworked. But this week I'll be able to start working again. 

So this week we also had zone conference, which is basically just a big conference with about 4 zones and that is directed by President. The zone leaders don't really have a special part in the zone conference, but there was a good amount of participation from the missionaries. Usually what has happened in the past is that President and the assistants would give trainings to the missionaries but this conference included a few missionaries giving talks on various subjects of the work. It was a good and uplifting experience and I learned a lot. 

Our District
As for our investigators, we had an interview for Milena this week and she passed and we set a firm date for the 11th of October. She's super excited and is already telling everyone.

This week we also went to the temple which was a huge blessing. I love going to the temple here!  It's far away from where I'm serving right now but the trip is worth it. It's such a great opportunity to feel peace.  So good. It's something that the people here of São Paulo here really need, because everyone here is always in such a rush. But that's why I'm here :) to help them out with that.





10/6/14

So how about General Conference!!! WOW!!! I was blown away. It was sosososssososososo GOOD! I absolutely loved it!  All of the talks were so inspired and the spirit was so strong. Now it's just up to us to apply the things that we learned and move forward. I'm glad that you guys had a good conference experience as well  -- sometimes, even from the comfort of your bed, hahaha. I watched conference in English with Elder Buenrostro in the ward secretary's office on the computer. It was just us two there. But I did, however, watch Elder Godoy (from Sao Paulo) when he spoke in Portugese because I wanted to hear him in his native toungue. I think that's an amazing feature to conference today, that the speakers are all speaking in their own language. 

As for a favorite talk.... that's a really hard one. I loved Elder Bednar's because at that session we had investigators there which made it way better. But for me, I personally liked the talk Elder Robbins gave talking about where we are facing, and I also loved President Uchtdorf talking about the truth. A lot of the talks I feel spoke to me personally in some sort of way.  As part of a preparation for conference I took a piece of paper, and divided it on two sides. One side titled, "what the lord expects of me for these last 6 months of my mission" and the other side titled "How I'm going to do it" and I'm happy to say that I got a lot of inspiration from the Lord that I know will help me as I'm on the final stretch of my time here in Brazil.  It's going to be a great 6 months. 

So as for the investigators. We are preparing for Milena's baptism this week which is going to be this Saturday. We're going to work out the details this week with her and follow up with her to make sure everything goes right and that the adversary doesn't mess this up for us. Jessica is doing good. This week we haven't gotten a good follow up with her because of various meetings, mission council, and some hospital appointments (I got my stitches out <349.gif>) so for that we weren't able to get her to conference :(. OH and I forgot to tell you guys that here in Brazil it's election season, and political system here in Brazil is kind of crazy. There's not only two main parties and candidates like we have in the US, but rather there are many politcal parties and many candidates, so everyone here is kind of revolted with that too, because they are forced to vote. So voting day was also the day of conference on Sunday. Even Elder Lago had to go to declare he couldn't vote because he wasn't home. But we did get a new investigator, Douglas, to go to conference and he absolutely loved it. I'll give you guys his story next week. 

Anyways today actually isn't P-day, but we are doing emails because tomorrow is going to be a Mission wide P-day Activity in the Botanical Garden of São Paulo. So we're pretty stoked for that. Anyways I just want you guys to know that I love you all and that I'm praying for you all. Thanks so much for the love, support and prayers for me. I'm so grateful for the privelege I have to be a missionary here in São Paulo. I'm so grateful for the Prophets and Apostles and the fact that today we have the opportunity to listen to messages from God's living messengers. I hope you have a good week!

Love,
Elder Schwartz 

With Elder Amon