Parigot de Souza Week 4

So this week wasn´t really that interesting. The only thing is that I hit my 1year 1month mark, and so we ate pizza. At the start of the week it was hard. We were having problems with finding people to teach. By Thursday we had found 1 ``Novo´´ which is a new investigator. We really focused, and asked help from the Lord, and then we focused a little on finding people, and by the end of the week (Sunday for missionaries) we had met our goal of 10 novos for the week. I know that that really was a blessing from the Lord blessing our efforts.

I have been studying the war chapters in the Book of Mormon, and sometimes it is harder to learn something. You really have to think, and search to apply it in you life, or at least for me. Anyway I have learned about how when we trust in the Lord, and when we have a good righteous reason for what we are doing, the Lord will bless us with victory. The only catch is that we won´t come out unscathed. It won´t be easy. It will be hard, but if we trust, the Lord will give us a way to win. I have really felt this, this week. I also learned a little bit more about humility. One thing is that of all of Christ´s attributes, this is the most important. The scriptures tell us that the only way that we can conserve a remission of our sins is if we are humble. So it doesn´t matter if you have faith the size of a mountain, or charity for all men, or if you are virtuous, or anything else if you are not humble, because if you are not humble, you cannot be forgiven, and if you cannot be forgiven you cannot return to our Father in Heaven, and what does the rest matter if you can´t make it home to Heavenly Father. I know that this is important, and that it is important to recognize the hand of the Lord in all things.

Thank you all for the support, and have a great week.

-- Élder Pettingill

Picture from Zone Conference

Parigot de Souza Week 3

This week was good. So I am working well with Elder Morais. It is good to be able to just work, but at the same time the work has its own problems. Anyway this week we were able to work, and we are having success. The Lord is blessing our efforts. We were having trouble with finding people to teach, but in the interview with President Cuvelier, he said that we should work, and making 10 contacts every day per missionary, and that that would help. So we are working now with talking to everyone and it is really helping the work move faster. We are finding more people to teach, and we are being blessed.

One thing that is funny is that I generally like to make things, but the things that I make are more sweet than salty, and my companion doesn´t really like sweet things, so if I make something he isn´t likely to eat it.

I forgot to take a pic of my new shoes, but I will send one next week. It was the thick sole they put on them that made them like boots, and I think they did that because it was the type of sole that they had that worked best.

Also the weather here is pretty funny. Right now it is summer, and it is cold and rainy. I don´t think that is how it works, but Curitiba does what it wants; it´s like a honey badger in that sense.

I really know that this gospel is a blessing, and that it is a blessing for me to be here, and to help people come unto Christ. I am so grateful for everything that I have, and all the help that I have had in my life.

--Élder Pettingill

-pizza that we bought

Parigot de Souza Week 2

So this week was a good week. On Wednesday we had zone conference, and we talked a lot about study, and the importance of it. It was a good zone conference, and I learned a lot. This week Hevelyn (nicknamed Vicky I don´t know why) was baptized. So Elder Morais found her with Elder Sodré, the Elder that was here before me. She was a reference from a member. They taught her one time before I got here. She had a very sinful life, but had a very bad experience, and decided to change. She has changed a lot in the past two weeks, and has had a lot of opposition. It was good to see her make a covenant with the Lord.

Apart from that, this week is Carnival, but here in Curitiba it is just like normal holidays where everything is shut down, and everyone is on vacation. Including the members. There was a campout in the stake that a lot of members went to so there weren´t a lot of people at church. On the bright side, I had a talk so with nobody there, it was less pressure. :)  My talk was on ``What is my role as a Christian.´´ Here in Brazil they don´t give you a talk to base your talk on, they just give you a theme, and you have to just go with it

. It is good, and bad at the same time, because it can be pretty intimidating to a recent convert.

To answer your questions, the area is good, also it is a lot smaller that my other areas, so that is good too. My companion is good, we teach good together, and it is good to be able to help one another. The ward is good. They give a lot of food to the missionaries. The house we live in is perfect for missionaries, not too big, and not too small, it´s just right. Also I forgot to say this in my email, but the Eccos that I had (the pair I used every day) had a hole in the bottom from a lot of walking, and so water was getting in as well. So we went to a person who fixes shoes this week, and they put new soles on them (I will send pics next week.) So my shoes are now basically boots, but they should last the rest of my mission.

Anyway in my talk, I talked about being a Christian means following what Christ taught, which is the gospel of Christ- Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I focused mostly on enduring to the end. summarizing my talk as Christians we need to be humble, love others, serve others, and share the gospel. Actually serving others, and sharing the gospel are both ways that we show our love for others, and for God, especially when we share the gospel. What better way do we have to love others than to help them receive all the blessings that we have received in our lives? That is what being a missionary, or member missionary is all about. There is a talk by President Oaks called ``Share the Restored Gospel.´´ It is a great talk, and really helps us understand our purpose as member missionaries. One thing is that in D&C 38:41 it talks about in what manner we should share the gospel. Also the best way we can share the gospel is be an example, and share your testimony.

The scriptures I used:
Matthew 5:39-44 be humble, and love others
Matthew 22:38-39 Love others
Mosiah 2:17 - serve/love other = serve/love God
Mark 16:15 - missionary work is a responsiblity as a christian
D&C 38:41
D&C 18:10-16 the promise, and blessings of the gospel/sharing the gospel.

-- Élder Pettingill

Fotos:
-District meeting
-District meeting
-Me. my companion, and the other elders that live two doors down.
-Me, my companion, and Elder Souza waiting during the baptismal interview
-Baptism pics
-baptism pizza

Parigot de Souza Week 1

So this week was good.

So first to answer questions

-So I am getting along fine with Elder Morais. We are working, and teaching well together so that is good. The only thing is that sometimes he likes to pretend that he sees things or pretend other things to freak me out, but I doesn´t really work so everything is fine.

-So the new area is good. We get a lot of food from the sisters in the ward here so that is good. I saw the map of the mission when I went to get an interview with President Cuvelier (I will say more about that later), and the other areas that I had were on the outskirts, and this area is the area the most in the center of the mission. It is an area a little richer that the other areas in which I have served so the people are less open here. It is also a lot smaller that my other areas, but that doesn´t mean that I haven´t been walking a lot.

-So this area is a lot different that Borda do Campo. First off, it is a ward and has a chapel that is pretty big, and second we don´t lunch in the members homes a lot, because there are a lot of people who work during the day.

-So the weather here is what they call Curitiba weather (it was the same in the other areas) where there are the four different types of weather all in one day. So when we go out to work, it is sunny, then it gets cloudy, sometimes it rains, and then it gets cold, then hot again, but generally start hot, and ends kind of cold. Today it is raining.

-So Elder Morais and I are both senior companions. It is something that President likes to do. It isn´t very common in other missions, but it happens here. It is a little easier to work, because you both know what you are doing.

-So how transfers works here is that you get a call on Sunday night from the LZs telling you who is going where, and who they will be with, and who (if anyone) will be staying, and with who. It can happen where you both stay. If someone has to go, you have to be at the mission office at 9 am

Anyway I had an interview with President, and it was good. He talked about courage, so I am trying to be more courageous.

Thank you all for the support.

--Élder Pettingill