Missionary work going strong in Santa Maria

The picture I sent is of Daniel. He's hilarious. He is only six but he talks like he's 10. When we were talking about missions, he ran to his room and put on his paper missionary nametag. He never stops talking.

We found Erica at home a few more times last week. We got to know her friend too. They both said for sure they'd come to church, but didn't go. 

Out of the 15 or so people that we invited to church, 2 went, so I was happy. One of them is Celiana. She has a baptismal date for January 26th. One of the less actives we are working with went to church too. 

Two of Leone's kids were baptized this Sunday. Maciel's wife and Leone's wife came to church as well. It was great to see them at church, even though they're not part of our ward.

On Saturday we taught an English class in the chapel. It went well. It's nice to do different things every once in a while. This week we planned a few things in the chapel to be able to integrate our investigators with the members.

Last night we met a less active family and set goals with them to do family prayer and scripture study. I felt at home as we knelt with them to pray for their first time in years. I love working with families. There is nothing better.

I found a funny name this week you guys might like. "Krishnamurt". 

I forgot to talk about Steven. He is 75 and got out of prison last month. He was put in prison for 3 years for something he didn't do. He suffered many sicknesses and beatings while there. He told us of many miraculous experiences he had while in prison. He explained how without God's help he would be dead. The first thing he did when he got out was go to church and pay his tithing. I listened to him tell his stories but it's impossible to relate to such a difficult life. I feel like I don't have the capacity to understand everything he went through. It's a privilege to meet someone like him.

Love,

Elder Young 

Thanks for the Happy Birthdays!

Thanks for the happy birthdays. We ate pizza on Saturday (our district - Elder Bell, Xavier, and W. Call) and I ate some oreos to celebrate. 

I'm enjoying Novo Gama with Elder Bell. We found a lot of people this week that we'll be able to visit next week. Yesterday we went to visit a recent-convert, Erica. She wasn't home so we decided to visit Gabriele. Gabriele wasn't home but Erica was at her house. We never expected that, but we got to talk to her and read about agency with her in the scriptures. She told us that even when she's doing everything wrong, God doesn't stop blessing her. She feels the need to go back to church and said that what we read really helped. 

The first counselor in our ward is the biggest advocate of missionary work in the stake. Everyone knows him. I'm lucky to be able to be in his ward. He helps with everything. His name is Valder. Even when I was in Santa Maria he called to see what he could do to help. I'm still getting to know people, but I'm liking my time here already. It's nice to live with more than 1 missionary, too. 

Since we go to the same chapel as Santa Maria, I got to see Leone, his family, and some other investigators at church. It made me happy to see them progressing. It is nice to be able to see everyone on Sunday. 

January is a great month. It's alive with hopes and wishes. Enjoy it!

Love,

Elder Young

Elder Young serving in Novo Gama

I left Santa Maria and I'm now in Novo Gama which is right next to Santa Maria. The Novo Gama ward goes to the same chapel as Santa Maria so I'll see everyone I thought I was leaving forever every Sunday. I'm companions with Elder Bell! (my MTC companion). I'm really excited for this transfer. 

Maciel is going to get married and is planning to get baptized in Feb. Leone and his family are going to church and liking it. Things are going very well in Santa Maria. 

The attached picture is of Leone and his family. 

I don't have much time today because of transfers. 

One of my friends told me that his friend Elder Wilcock is serving in Las Vegas. Brandyn, if you know him, ask him if he knows elder Tippetts. 

Maciel at church

Family Night In Santa Maria

Leone e familia

The Leone e familia (Leone's wife, Leone, Davi, Gihermi, Ana Luiza)

Happy New Year!!!

I hope the electricity doesn't get jealous of our time together again today. Everyone is so big and deep-voiced!--with the exception of Mom and Rynda. I'd like to use the excuse that my excitement in seeing you kept me from communicating fluently in English. Now I'm "that guy" who says he forgot English, but it was perplexingly difficult to form normal Bryce phrases while I talked to you guys. 

I sent you a picture of a family we met last week. Leone, (hard name I haven't gotten the hang of -- his wife, Daví, Gilhermi, and Ana Luiza). We found Leone walking back from a service project in our normal clothes. He saw our name tags and started to talk to us. He went to our church 20 years ago and wants to go back now. He is very talkative and doesn't let a question pass in his mind without verbalizing it. This makes teaching him interesting. We have to be ready for any and all questions. He has gone to church 2 weeks in a row now and says after praying for God to open his mind, he is understanding the Book of Mormon and is considering and accepting alternate points of view. 

We met Maciel a while back but have only been able to teach him on Saturdays or Sundays. This week out of nowhere he said he would go to church and went. He says he wants to go to church and get baptized. After watching the 20 minute restoration video he accepted the 26th as a goal for his baptismal date. We want to teach his family as well. 

I've decided to start everyday with a question. I make it the focus of my personal study and ponder it throughout the day. My goal is to be able to answer it, or at least have a path cleared and planned to how I can answer it with my week's efforts. I have found that this motivates me and helps me understand goal setting and "taking things one step at a time." One of my continuous questions is "What can I learn today that I can teach to someone else?" I saw that questioned answered as I thought back to what I taught during the day. I kind of answered that question in reverse. As I thought about what I taught, I understood what I had learned to make that certain teaching moment possible. This happening reminds me of a saying by one of the McConkie's that we can learn by listening to what we say when teaching others. It's thrilling to explore that concept.

There is a crazy lady who runs to hug us every time she sees us on the street. Yesterday we did everything politely possible to avoid it, but she squeezed us like stress balls and called it a hug. When she sees us she yells "Irmãos!" and runs to us with arms open wide. We also saw about 10 men playing soccer in the street with dresses on...End of the year festivities  here could be more aptly called end of the year oddities. I enjoy the daily surprises they bring.

Happy new year! I hope you guys keep up the family traditions! I laugh thinking about all those times mom had to get us excited about banging pots and pans. She was so insistent on banging pots and pans at midnight. Keep it up mom! Bang  those pots and pans for the  neighbors to  hear. 

Love,

Elder Young

New Pictures from Bryce

A Brazilian postal worker

Enjoying Christmas Day watching the Christmas devotional with his snacks he enjoys

Christmas Day!

Practicing for the performance at graduation -Bryce playing the Brazilian National Anthem and the other Elders are singing

Elder Young's snacks on Christmas

Elder Bryce Young's Christmas 2013 letter

Last week the power went out in Santa Maria so we couldn't send emails. Sorry, mom, I know you probably worried about that. We do have good plans for Christmas. Irmá Rita, who is kind of like the grandmother of all missionaries who come to Santa Maria was so excited to hear that we wanted to eat lunch with her on Wednesday and started talking about how she's going to prepare the turkey and everything. Then we'll skype from her son's house. I've gotten to know their family pretty well and I love the friendship we have. Sorry about the lack of pictures. There are just a lot of things to think about the whole week and I don't have the same kodak moment awareness that I used to have. 

Last week I wasn't able to tell you about the graduation we participated in. Nearby Santa Maria, a language school had their graduation at the stake chapel, in Gama. They have it there every year, but this year our zone decided to participate in hosting the event. The public events rep for the stake organized our participation. Our zone, 14 missionaries, acted as hosts to show people around. We handed out books of Mormon and other things as people walked in. Weeks before we learned and rehearsed the Brasilian National Anthem. Luckily I found the sheet music online and practiced as much as I could the week before the event. I played the accompaniment on the piano and the rest of the missionaries sang the song in front of about 400 people at this graduation. It was funny because almost our whole zone is American, and we knew the words to the anthem better than the Brazilians that were there. This event was a good way to associate those weird kids who walk around in nice clothes (us) with the church. It was a good missionary opportunity as well. I was glad we could do something new and creative that week.

The night of the graduation, after getting off the bus at our stop. We started walking a different way home without really realizing it. Maybe Elder Magana did and I just wasn't paying attention. It wasn't until after we got home that I realized it. On our way we noticed an old man with a bandage on his head leaning against his truck. He was thinking about what he could do to get the furniture on his truck into his house. His wife had gone to get the neighbor to help. We asked if we could help and he thankfully accepted. I could tell he wasn't in good health conditions and he was very grateful for the help. I was happy to see how all the little occurrences of the night, including our taking a bus route we usually don't take, led to us finding that old man in the window of 1-2 minutes that he could have been helped. 

This week I started reading Grandpa Royce's journals again. I love reading the stories found in them. They've helped me escape stressful days and moments for a time. I really enjoy seeing how the beliefs and ideals of Grandpa shaped Dad's childhood and future as a Dad.

Yes, I'm with the same companion and will be until at least January 6th. 

Skype -  can you tell me the skype usernames and passwords? I'm planning on skyping you guys Wednesday afternoon after we eat lunch. It will probably be around 4 o'clock our time, which is 12 o'clock your time. Maybe sooner maybe later. I can only skype for 40 minutes.

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time

I remember when I signed up for so many snow alerts in Fayetteville (to alert me if school was cancelled) that I woke up on snow days with 10 text messages all alerting me that school was cancelled. Oh what joy filled my heart with each one I read. I remember when we went sledding dressed in giant trash bags and playing backyard football in the snow. The most we can hope for on Christmas here is rain. This Christmas I've seen more Christmas trees and lights than I did last Christmas. That makes me happy. 

Yesterday we found Wilson, who recently moved to Santa Maria. He served a mission in Sao Paulo in 1985. He showed us pictures and the flip charts with pictures the missionaries used to use. He has been inactive for awhile but said he will go to the Christmas activity this Saturday and to church on Sunday. His mom is also a member.

Slowly we're getting to know many people who still live in Santa Maria who have stopped going to church for some reason. We've been able to have a member come with us to visit many of these people too. I hope that with these few visits they can feel welcome at church again. 

This past Saturday we made pancakes with a member family. They enjoyed maple syrup and thought it was weird. 

We've taught the first lesson to many people these last weeks but only a few are progressing. We're continually looking for new creative ways to find people.

I hope you all feel warm anticipation for this month as I do.

Love,

Elder Young

Loving The Language

The computers we are using today are slow so I am not able to type as much today. The week flew by and I did a poor job of categorizing my thoughts to send them to you all in a nice package. We found more than 10 new people to teach and invited them, but none of them went to church. We managed to involve the members a lot every day, which makes things more fun and better for everyone. 

How I wish you all could meet the people I've met here. And communicate with them the way we communicate. I love sentence structure here. It provides a verbal environment in which you can build so many great expressions that I never could conceive in english. It's like leaving earth an discovering there's another world with different elements, different nature systems, etc. -- something like that. I don't know. But really, language has an interesting connection with culture. I believe our langauges have a lot to do with how we see the world. Our vision of things is built upon what we can communicate.

Thanks for the news and friendly emails,

Love,

Elder Young

New picture from Elder Bryce Young

This is Idamar and his family and Ellen, a member

Happy Thanksgiving from Bryce

Thanks for the Christmas music! I've listened to the other Reprise CD so many times. It's great to hear another one.

Saturday and Sunday we went to stake conference. The last speaker, Elder Cruz, among many other things referred to examples of youth in the old testament to teaching how we are capable of staying away from the depraved things of this world. Daniel and Joseph of Egypt were the two that demonstrated obedience to commandments that are most attacked in our day--the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. I enjoyed seeing high relevance in between ancient scripture and modern living.

I saw a direct application of the counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 46:2 to "conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit." during the conference. Elder Cruz asked the choir to perform a second time the opening hymn "This Is The Christ" between the first and second parts of his discourse. He encouraged us to pay special attention to the words. I was always curious about the full meaning of that verse in D&C, but I believe I understand it a little better now.

After much searching this week, we found a two less active members that invited us in. After getting acquainted with them and sharing a scripture, one of them said they will go back to church this week. That was the greatest part of my week. Idamar has been helping us do visits, too. He's so excited. He animates me.

Last night we participated in a family night with João Vitor and part of his family. We read the story of Moroni and his title of liberty, and then asked everyone to make their own title of liberty to post in some place in which they will always see it. They were so excited.  I am continually taught by the sincerity of children. I marvel at how attentive they are in the right moments. One of the most palpable lessons I have learned so far is that a strong stable home makes all the difference in the future of a child. I have seen teenagers teaching little kids to smoke while listening to poisonously affective and crude music while walking on the road. You can see the uncertainty on their faces. I have also seen two little cousins holding hands skating down the road to greet us and tell us about a family night activity they have planned with eager smiles on their faces. The difference between those who understand the importance of a firm family and strong home, and those who are lost in poory aimed curiosity is tremendous. It is sad to see, but very affective in teaching observers why we are living--what we're here for. I am glad that I have learned this lesson here. I hope to be able to communicate clearly this truth to future generations.

What I'm learning here feels like the continuation of a long observational learning process that started a long time ago. I don't have any short specific to-the-point experiences this week for you guys, but I do know that even though we don't see many of the results, missionary work is important and I know that God really cares about all of us individually. He uses imperfect beings to accomplish his perfect purposes. We are his tools and he sharpens us by sanding off our rough edge weaknesses. We get dull faster than any cheap knife, but he still chooses to help us and use us the best he can.

Have a hungry thanksgiving break.

Love,
Elder Young

Still Serving in Santa Maria

This week's crowning experience is recorded in my journal. This email functions as a journal as well, so I'm not going to write everything again; it can be saved for later reading. I will share a summary, though. 

João Victor was confirmed yesterday at church. Yesterday afternoon Elder Magana and I visited a street contact, Tiago. We taught him in the park and João comes out of no where on his bike and he happens to know Tiago (who is a lot older). He talked about the church and invited him to come this Sunday to Stake Conference. Almost as a side note (João is funny, he always forgets things) he mentioned that his grandma asked for a priesthood blessing. We went to her house and gave her a blessing. A big dresser had fallen on her leg 2 months ago, and due to her diabetes, the wound hadn''t healed and had caused quite a bit of damage. She said that she had gone to so many hospitals (the healthcare is pretty poor here) and had given up on waiting for doctors that couldn't help her. She isn't a member but said she recognized us as servants of the Lord and wanted a blessing. I was privileged to her João's side of the story too. It is usually very difficult to find him at home, but yesterday, instead of taking his normal path on his bike to his other grandma's house, he felt like he should take another one. That's when we found us at the park. We were able to help him realize that he felt the influence of the spirit guiding him the very day that he was confirmed and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He said he was planning on telling us the next day, but remembered when we saw us at the park. His grandma said she had prayed that morning that someone would help her that day and had faith that it would happen. Later that night we were able to share the experience again together with João at a family night in a member's home. 

We started teaching Elisson and his brother Gilhermi last week. They went to church this week and last. They already have a few friends in the church so I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress. Last night we did a family night and showed the Restoration film. Joáo Victor and his family went, along with Lucas and his friend, whom we will start to teach this week. Many great things are happening, but these are the most relevant this week. 

One more week and this transfer is already over. I hope I stay for another one. 

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Young

News from Elder Bryce Young

This week Elder Adams came to Santa Maria Sul and I went to his area with his companion. While he and Elder Magana were walking they asked someone if they knew anyone they could visit. They said something like "you could visit that house with the green gate over there" so they went. They knocked on the door and found themselves in the middle of a big argument between a mother and her daughter, Mona Lisa, and Sara. They listened and tried to calm them down. The mom explained how much she has provided for her kids in the past. She was upset because her daughter doesn't respect her as she should. After some talking, Elder Adams and Magana were able to explain what they do and teach a little about the restoration. Elder Magana and I went back to visit them again on Wednesday. Mona Lisa mentioned that she had been praying that afternoon that God would help her because she didn't know what else to do to help her daughter. When they knocked on her door she welcomed them in right away. She read the restoration pamphlet and told us that after weeks of not sleeping straight, she was able to sleep the whole night. She said she usually takes medicine for back pain and forgot to take it that night as she read the pamphlet. She described her feelings in a way that we often describe the influence of the Spirit at church. We invited her to read more and to come to church. She couldn't come to church but she's progressing in her reading, as well as her daughter. Sara is reading the Book of Mormon and her mom mentioned that her behavior has changed every since she started. It's a privilege to be able to see the change they can make in their life if they want. We invited them to a family night we planned for today. I hope they can come and build friendships with the members. 

This week went by super fast because I spent two days in other areas. I enjoy learning from other missionaries and seeing their areas. Their examples caused me to reflect on how we can better involve the members in our visits. Our planners get filled up before the week even starts. It's crazy. 

I just got an email from Elder Santos telling me that Vanessa (from Porto Nacional) got baptized! The less actives we were working with are going to church now! I'm really happy about that. 

I'm enjoying Elder Young (the younger)'s emails. Thanks bro. And thanks for the constant updates on life at home. 

I love you guys,

Elder Young

p.s. Christy sent me this quote from the book she's reading that I puts into words an idea that could be of profit to many.

"I'm glad that I'm not required to believe in the infallibility of any human being. My faith in the gospel has never depended on the behavior of people. I know my own weaknesses too well, and observe similar tendencies in others too often to believe that anyone is perfect. But since I believe in a God who is a wise and concerned Father, I'm willing to trust him to guide his sons to whom he has given the responsibilities of leadership as he sees fit. Sometimes they may do things I can't understand, but that doesn't change my relationship to God nor my faith in Him, nor my obligation to behave as I know I should. Free agency is a wonderful gift and a very great responsibility." 

Vanessa's Baptism

Joao Vitor's baptism

Joao Vitor's baptism -He is a great kid!

After Joao's baptism he said, "Estou tao limpo!"  - "I'm so clean!"

Elder Bryce Young in Santa Maria

Hello,

Haha, the pizzas are real pizzas, mom. Tortillas is a Mexican thing. It's hard to find tortillas here. They were for a big family night, yes. At family nights here the members have a tradition to invite basically the whole ward. Iza makes a delicious banana/cinnamon pizza. Oh, how it is delicious. 

On Halloween we knocked on more than 30 doors but no one gave us candy. And I spent so much time ironing my costume. We did see a black cat and see a few orange houses, though. That's the closest we got to Halloween. 

We went back to visit the little boy with the bouncy ball and his family. It was one of the saddest moments I've experienced teaching a family. After hearing about how the gospel can bless their family, the dad told us that he respects our beliefs but doesn't agree with a lot of things. He started listing things, but as he listed them and explained he realized that we believed what he believed on about every point. But he didn't accept to read the Book of Mormon because he didn't agree with the concept of vicarious ordinances as he understands it. It was sad for me because I saw the Mom listen to the message of the Restoration in interest. I saw the little 4 yr old boy, Rian, run to his room to get his little Bible and accompany us as we read. As I bore my testimony about how much the gospel can bless their family, I felt an overwhelming feeling of love for them and I told them that I loved them. I saw them in my mind as the family they could become. He said he plans on having two more kids and I imagined them all growing up together with these two wonderful parents, knowing how they can build a safe home as a refuge from a cruel world. Seeing all this in my mind and hearing him reject what he didn't understand was very hard, especially after witnessing this happen countless times on my mission, and knowing that we were at THAT house for a reason. I've never felt so strongly to knock on a random door as I did that day. I left dwelling the gift of agency we've all been freely given and its purpose. I hope that someday he and his family can be invited again to accept the gospel. 

João Vitor got baptized yesterday. I really like João. He's a special kid. As he left the bathroom after changing clothes he said "Estou tão limpo!" - "I'm so clean!"

I'm excited to continue visiting and teaching him this week. 

This week we gave a blessing to a member, Fransisca. She was feeling a lot of pain and couldn't sleep. She felt a lot better immediately after the blessing. She went to church this Sunday for the first time in many months to bear her testimony. She said she couldn't let a month go by without sharing her experience with others. She said she felt something tell her twice that she should call the Elders while she was lying in pain. She bore her testimony about the priesthood. I believe her experience was a blessing for her and for others because many testimonies of this subject were subsequently given.

Have a great week!

Love

Elder Young