Coming Down the Mountain!

                                           One year of Missionary Service in Brazil has brought great JOY!

                                                 Wow!  What a difference a year makes!!
1/26/15

For a few days now I've officially been coming down the mountain! On Wednesday when we had Family Night with the branch one of the sisters baked me a cake and they all sang "parabéns" (Brasilian happy birthday) for me which was fun. 

Then I spent Thursday on the peak! In the morning we (I) got a bit crazy creative and we made covers for our scriptures to carry them in hand without messing them up with sweat and sunscreen and stuff which turned out super cool but everyone thinks they are presents or something haha. 

Then after a bunch of walking I took some pictures with the mountain which I've been waiting for since I got here over a month ago. And we ate pizza! I tried to put a match for a candle like one year but its kind of hard to see, haha. 

 

                            
                     The "ONE YEAR" pose- yeah!!!  Made it to the "Peak" of the mission!!

                   PIZZA! (with a match stick "candle") In celebration of my 1 Year mark!!

Yuummmmm!

And this week we have transfers! As everyone guessed Elder Alvarenga will be on his way out. Kind of weird I've only spent one transfer with my past two companions. My new companion will be Elder Souza Santos who was actually in Urlândia where I served and which is in our district so I've already met him and we've had various meetings together already. More info about him next week. 

Yep that's about it for this week haha, love you all até mais! (until more)

Elder Pierce

                                                Last lunch with E. Alvarenga churrasco!

The Peak is in Sight!

My district with our Zone Leaders- lunch at Irma Iara's who remembers all of the missionaries who pass in the area including me.

1/19/15
The peak is in sight! Thursday makes 1 year that I've been on the mission yea! Lots of memories and emotions thinking about this past year. But working hard doesn't give a lot of time to enjoy the view from the top, haha. As for one year traditions there are some elders that burn a shirt (tie 6 months, suit 2 years) but I think that's crazy! haha so I'm just gonna take some commemorative pictures and maybe get a pizza... 

So its been a month since I've arrived here in São Pedro but it still feels like last week or something. This Friday we will hear about transfers ooo someone here is getting the feeling that he is gonna leave, haha. I just told him not to get sad when nothing changes because I too thought I would only stay 3 transfers in my first area. 

This week has had some blessings and other opportunities to be grateful (for challenges). There is a video called "The Atonement in Missionary Work" (translation? in Portuguese its "A Expiação na Obra Missionaria"). The video puts together two talks, one from Pres. Eyring and the other from Elder Holland. I remembered one quote in particular this week from Elder Holland: "As missionaries you will have many opportunities to ask: why is this so hard?... [Its] because SALVATION ISN'T A CHEAP EXPERIENCE!" in his awesome Elder Holland.Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Missionary Work and the Atonement"  (Click here to hear a brief message) So when we meet with investigators who have so much potential fall to temptation again, or for the hundredth time didn't come to church, or when the sun is going down and we are just praying to find someone who will listen I remember this phrase and it gives me comfort. Because, as Elder Holland explains, if this wasn't easy for the Savior why would it be easy for us? 

When the bus broke down on our way back from a District meeting

Besides the times for spiritual endurance and tests of patience Elder Alvarenga and I have also received some out of the blue blessings. Like after lunch one day getting 20 references from a member who will go and visit some of the people with us. Or at the end of the road when that last person we are searching for isn't home but the neighbor who we talked with has a brother who is a member and reads the Book of Mormon  for comfort and was very receptive to our message. Sunday was the best one, in the second hour an elderly lady and her husband came to church. We had talked with them only once for a bit while Elder Knowles (DL look at the pics) was with us and he used their bathroom. So we told her about the church and she said she would make a visit (like everybody else also says). But she actually came! and we gave a class about the organization of the Church that Christ established on the earth and testified of the restoration of this organization today with a living prophet and apostles. And she was like "My church doesn't have that... I feel that this is true. So if I wanted to leave my other church and be baptized here could I do that?" haha of course! So we are going to go back and talk with her more about it this week :)

Love you all and know that I'm praying for ya!

Elder Pierce

Our District Leader (Elder Knowles) spent a day with us

Working in the Rain or Shine (or more RAIN)

                      The heaviest rain that I've had on my mission (wringing out my tie)
1/12/15

The weather this month has been very consistent. It's hot and humid for the beginning of the day and has sun until lunch. After lunch comes in the wind and storm clouds. Then it rains on and off until about 6:00 and cools off for the day. But last Friday was different, as we were teaching a lesson after lunch the wind started blowing much stronger than normal and from nowhere came in clouds that were much darker and much larger than before. But we didn't mind it much thinking it would just rain for 5 minutes or so while we were at another house teaching a lesson or something. We finished that one lesson and went to some of our other plans. One plan fell through... then the other... then after the third person we tried to wasn't at home we got a bit nervous because of the crazy wind and clouds and stuff. So we decided to grab our umbrellas and plastic bags to cover our scriptures and stuff back at our apartment before trying anything else. (which of course we didn't have all that stuff because it was sunny when we went out for lunch!) As we started to go up this huge hill before the street of our building, the rain began to fall. Within 2 minutes the rain went from sprinkles to hurricane mode! With nothing more to do Elder Alvarenga and I just started to run up the hill to try an find shelter. The rain was so hard it hurt! and I could hardly open my eyes for fear that my contacts would be flooded out but the snatches that I did see where the huge sheets of rain coming down and trees looking like they were going to fall and it was just craziness! When we finally got to the top of the hill where we took shelter by some stores we were totally soaked from head to toe, scriptures and all. And when we got back to the apartment I realized that "someone" (with only the two of us I can't put the blame on anyone else...) had left the window open in the kitchen and everything was soaking wet... great (thankfully the window in our room was closed:p). So yea that was fun. 

There is a member of the high council moving into our branch from Santa Maria, Irmão Jilmor. (Brother ... I don't know how to spell out the sound just pronounce how it looks) He spends the weekends here looking for a house and such so last Sunday he planned with us to do some visits. So this past Saturday we loaded up our schedule with the best of what we got and went for it. First off it looked like it was going to rain again but Irmão Jilmor promised that it wouldn't rain until we had finished our visits, off to a good start. Each one of the three visits that we made with him were divinely inspired. Irmão did everything from testify to a man that he could be a strong holder of the priesthood to figuring out that the real reason one of our  investigators isn't coming to church is because she doesn't understand repentance fully. And he has a huge family, all in all about 100 cousins, uncles, aunts and others that live here in São Pedro. So while we were walking down the street he would stop and talk with people "oh cousin Jimmy I didn't know you lived here! how great!..." He has plans to bring all of his family to investigate the church :) yes! 

So those were the highlights of the week, Love you all and have a great week! 

 Elder Pierce                                      Some São Pedro Scenery

Our last Zone Meeting

2015!!!

 Welcome to São Pedro, Brasil 

 1/5/15

Another year has come and gone! I can remember arriving in Brasil the beginning of last year like it was yesterday. Crazy how time flies by and I think this year will go by even faster. 

This past week was a bit more difficult due to the new year with everyone traveling or had family visiting or drunk... We were invited over New Year's Eve by our investigators Dion (say it like John) and Fran (pic with Dion and I on the floor and Fran and E. A. on the couch). It's the tradition here in Brasil to eat linchilia (spelling? I just sounded it out (a type of bean legume thing)) which they say gives you luck for the New Year and pork because pigs always move forward but not chicken because chickens back away... or something like that, haha. So we had a traditional Brasilian New Year's meal with them (early because we still had to be home by 10:30) and talked about the new year and our families and showing pictures and everything which was good. Then it's another tradition here to set off fireworks at midnight but since São Pedro  is small there weren't very many, but of the little there was I got a half way good picture.  

New Year's Eve with Dion and Fran

Happy New Year 2015!!!

Any way this week I had various opportunities to ask myself "why am I here?..." and then realize "oh yea that's why" Like walking in the street for 3 hours with all of our plans falling through then out of no where this girl walks up to us and says, " I'm a member from another city you should go visit the people in that house there." Or on another occasion having 4 or 5 people be in their house (we can see them clearly) and not even attend us at the door. Then seeing the tears and light in the eyes of a mother as we explained to her where her son who passed away at birth is and when she will see him again. Experiences like that really make the mission worth it.

Sorry for the short letter but I hope all the pics make up for it! Love you all and have a very happy new year!!!

Elder Pierce

New Companion

Christmas and Santa even came!

Check out the new duds- Traditional Brasilian Gaucho Clothes

Our church building in Sao Pedro

My view of the family Christmas Skype

Sharing a Xis (Shees) Brasilian cheeseburger

THE ROADS WE TRAVEL :)

Look for the Miracles

12/29/14

A Merry (late) Christmas to all! and a Happy New year this week! 

Click here to watch video of Elder Pierce singing "The First Noel" in his mission language of Portuguese

Already 2015... crazy how time flies by. I loved getting to see everybody at the Christmas Skype session although it always feels so short. We'll see how we are going to celebrate the New Year, we don't really have set plans but I'm sure something will work out. 

It's been 2 weeks now that I'm here in São Pedro. Just a couple of little details that make here very different than my other areas: The entire city is ours. This is kind of cool because anyone we talk with in the street is free game, haha. We live in the downtown which means all the stores we need are close and our "chapel" (house) is on our same street. There is an elderly sister in our branch who is one of the only people authorized to enter into the residency of missionaries and once or twice a week cleans our apartment and such... (it's a bit weird to be honest and it's like a treasure hunt finding where she puts all your stuff afterward). 

Anyway in the short time that I've been here I've seen many miracles that testify to me that the Lord is really helping us out in the work. Really it's the little things that make a difference like saying a prayer while walking in the street then getting to teach a lesson. Or going to visit a member and we end up going to visit their friends and end up with a ton of lessons (5 to be exact). Or having the sister who was scheduled to give us lunch travel and 2 families offer lunch at the last minute. Or getting asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting 10 minutes before and I just happened to have the Liahona that I had used to give the elder's quorum lesson and having the spirit help me out to give a good talk reading and explaining one of the General Conference talks on the spot. And a really cool miracle was also at church when the class was about tithing. Afterward our investigators leaned to me and asked "So how do we start paying our tithing?" and (leaping for joy in my mind) I said that that was a commandment that you started after you are baptized so he said " well let's get baptized then!" Yea! so we will visit them this week and set a date for their wedding and baptism hopefully by the end of this upcoming month. (Prayers always welcome)

I'm doing great, trying not to get burned too bad, and loving to serve the Lord. Love you all and know that you're in my prayers :)

Elder Pierce

*Working out problems with the computer in the new area so pictures of the area will be coming soon.

                                                 CHRISTMAS SKYPE WITH THE FAMILY:

Samuel the Lamanite

"Feliz Natal" Merry Christmas with the tree that's in the chapel

12/15/14

Well here comes the news *drum roll*... I will be transferred to São Pedro do Sul (a small city about 40 mins from Santa Maria) this Tuesday. My new companion will be Elder Alvarenga (I haven't seen it spelled but I think its like that) another Brasilian who appears to have been in São Pedro for a good time now so that's a relief that we won't be totally lost. But actually I've already been to São Pedro once before. The missionaries there were (and still are) in the same district as the missionaries in the ward where I first served. One day I went on a division to the area so I've already seen the apartment, the place where the branch (oh yea and it's a branch there) meets, and met some people (not that I remember how to get anywhere though haha). And because I'll be in the same district as where I was back in Urlândia we will have District meetings back in my old chapel there. And certainly that means I will eat lunch with and see some of the good old friends of the ward which will be cool. 

In my studies I recently read the story of Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 13-15. Being here on the mission as I read, I saw the story in a different light. So Samuel was transferred to his new area in Zarahemla where he was received awfully by the now wicked Nephites. Samuel did exactly what God commanded him to do, preach repentance unto the people and the coming of Christ. But it could have appeared to him that he had little to no visible success or fruits of his efforts. We can tell that Samuel was a good missionary and well prepared, listening to the spirit and courageously returning to the city and was even protected from the arrows by the Lord. But sadly, the majority of the people still rejected him and he had to flee from the city. I wonder what Samuel was thinking as he walked back to his home land. "Wow that was a huge waste of time! Why didn't they change?, Did I do everything that I could have?" Samuel had a special purpose (as with all of us) where we are called to serve. Samuel certainly wasn't held back from blessings or miracles and in Helaman 16 we learn that there were few who believed in the words of Samuel who sought out Nephi and were baptized. Samuel left his area better than when he arrived even though he never baptized anyone personally, even though he could have thought it should have worked out differently, he did his part and the Lord surely accepted his work and sacrifice. As Elder Araújo and I were teaching a lesson to one of our investigators and I saw the change in his face and the desire in his eyes as he asked "what do I need to do to prepare to be baptized?" I felt the spirit confirm to me that I have left my area here in Cruz Alta better than when I arrived. And that's when I remembered Samuel and wanted to share that with y'all. We even had surprise interviews with President Parrela this past week and I asked him if the difficulties and the work that I have done here were the will of the Lord. And he said "Elder Pierce, if you are obedient and diligent in the work it is the Lord's will. You are an excellent missionary and I confide in you. Never let numbers or competitiveness distract you from seeing what really matters." 

The chapel in Cruz Alta

So I leave here in Cruz Alta with many new friends and many experiences. A bit sad that my time wasn't a little longer and having to say goodbye to all the wonderful people here. But it wont do to get choked up when I have to sing as my last message for all the investigators and members and in Sacrament meeting haha. And I'm headed to São Pedro with great hope and I can't wait to see what the Lord has it store next.

Loves to everybody! and best wishes with all the holiday preparations and concerts and all that good stuff! Just a bit more until Christmas and skype!!!

Elder Pierce

Companions

nós comendo sorvete

This was our district with 12 elders so we are" the District of the Twelve" haha like quorum of the 12 and we all stood in our order of mission time, haha. I was in the place of Holland.

This is a family of investigators that I told you about- they were the hardest to say good bye to
(the mom still says that shes "gonna get" Pres Parrela).

 They made us a mini churrasco as a farewell dinner for me.

                            Funny, here in Cruz Alta there are lots of VW bugs, including these...