Vila Bela Week 1

So this week was a good week. So far I am liking the area, and my companion. So first a little bit about the area. So the people here are really good people! They are really open to talk with us, and so that is really cool. Also there is a supermarket here that reminds me of Costco so that is cool too. Elder Londoño is great. He is a little crazier than me so this transfer is going to be a blast. It really is good to work here. Also the members are really nice as well.

This week we have been without food in our house, and we have been trying to make it to p-day. Today we bought a bunch of food and other things, and after this we are going to clean our apartment some more so that it is nice, and we can feel the Spirit more there. I have been learning more about enduring to the end. Because I am the oldest mission wise in my district I am feeling very ´´old´´ and I am realizing how fast the time is passing. So I am really learning about enduring to the end. What that means is about being excited, and continuing to learn. As an imperfect person here on earth, we all can learn more, so we have to learn from everyone. We have to be meek. You also can´t let not knowing anything get you down. You have to keep going with steadfast faith in Christ, and you have to have hope and faith that one day you will know everything, but a big part about having hope and faith that one day you will know everything is to recognize, REALLY recognize that you don´t know everything, and that sometimes others know more than you. So basically you have to be humble and meek, and have faith and hope, to be able to endure to the end. That is the summary of what I learned this week.

Thank you all for the support.

-- Élder Pettingill

Group pictures from Elder Bassett's visit and the most recent zone conference, and also the April birthdays

Parigot de Souza Week 12

So this week was interesting. So this week was transfers, but before that it was a week of work. I had two splits this week. One with Elder Silva from Rio Grande do Norte, and one with Elder Neres frm São Paulo. This week was good. We were able to work well together even though it was the last week of the transfer. We had a baptism with Alfredo. It was great to see his dad baptize him, and return to activity in the church. There is a lot of work to do there in Parigot. We were teaching some other not-all member families, and the area was making progress.

Now the transfer. As I had 2 transfers in the area, and my companion had 3, we thought that he would be transferred, and that I would stay buuuut... no. I was transferred to Vila Bela Guarapuava which is what we call the interior, because it is the interior of the state, and in the middle of the wilderness. (I am not kidding, we had to take a bus there, and I felt like I was going to go camping because it was just trees.) The towns isn´t very wildernessy, but it is in the middle of no where. Anyway Guarapuava is a zone that is really big! So the zone has about 30 missionaries, but they are spread out through the west of the mission, with sometimes hours in between the pairs. So here it has been said that it gets hotter in the summer, and colder in the winter. also it has more mountains. We had to take a 5 hour bus ride to get here, and then go to our different areas (there are some areas farther away and closer.) The zone is a district (a bunch of branches--I don´t know why they don´t call it a tree... it would make more sense...😆) So all the areas are branches, but our area is close to becoming a ward. I don´t know how many members there are here because I haven´t been to church yet, but my companion says that it is around 65 more or less. So our house is really good. It is big, and has things. I will be organizing and cleaning it so that it looks all nice. One good thing about all this is that I will be going to the temple again on May 5 because this zone didn´t go the last transfer, and it will be an all day thing because we will be going and returning on the same day.

So my companion is Elder Londoño. He is from Colombia. He has been out for 8 months. This is his second area, and his first was Ferraria (which was also my first) in which he stayed for 4 transfers (6 months more or less) So it is funny because he is very crazy and fun, so this transfer will be a blast. I think that he might be crazier than me, and I don´t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

So I am the District Leader here, but there are 3 companionships in my district. Mine, and 4 sisters, who all have less than 7 months in the mission field. Also the sister companionships live in different cities so every Tuesday we have to get up at 5am to go take a 1 hour (minimum) bus ride to the district meeting. Yep it´s special. This area is all on foot, though. We only have to take the bus to the district meeting.

The sisters in my district are
-Sister Baker from Idaho                           \ companionship
-Sister Nunes (Brazilian)  from (I forgot)  /
-Sister Giles  (American) from (I forgot)   \ companionship.
-Sister Olives from Rio Grande do Norte /

Anyway I have learned that the way that God does things really isn´t the way that men do things.

-- Élder Pettingill

-Division with Elder Silva
-Division with Elder Neres
-Elder Londoño and I on the bus
-Alfredo´s baptism.

Parigot de Souza Week 11

So this week was a great week. So as I said in the last email, we went to the temple on Tuesday and it was really good! Well the temple is always good. Then on Thursday we had a mission tour with Elder Bassett from the Area Presidency of Brazil (I think that´s what it´s called). It was really good. Also he is from California, and he lives close to where I am from so that is cool. Also President Cuvelier knows him, and they are friends. He talked a lot about sacrifice. He explained that sacrifice is an eternal principal, and that Heavenly Father does it, Christ does it, so we need to do it as well. He explained that this is his work. One phrase that I really like from the conference was ``You will never regret to have been obedient.´´ It is really true. When we do what is right the consequences are good, and we don´t have regrets, but when we do what is wrong the consequences are bad. It was a really good conference. I also had the opportunity to have an interview with Elder Bassett. It was great, and he had a lot of advice about teaching people, and the way to teach. It was really a cool experience, and I don´t think that you get interviewed by a general authority, so that´s cool.

As I implemented what I learned at the mission tour we were really blessed. We were able to find lots of good people to teach. Also this next Sunday we will have a baptism. Alfredo is the son of a less active who is returning to activity in the church. He is ten years old, and he is basically ready to be baptized.

I am so grateful to be a part of this church where we can receive inspiration, and see and hear inspired people lead the work of the Lord.

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

-- Élder Pettingill

Parigot de Souza Week 10 My B-day

So this week was another week of hard work. I had a division with Elder Woolley on Tuesday and we had a ``snack`` before our district meeting (my birthday cake--a jello cake that my mom sent the ingredients for).

We had a hard week of work. I think it was a little of opposition from general conference, and because we were going to go to the temple the next week (we went today). Also I did my first baptismal interview. It was really easy because it was with a lady who had been an investigator for a year because of problems with getting married. She was really prepared for baptism.

It was my Birthday this week which was really good. Thank you mom for the presents (especially the Flamango T-shirt). It was a good, and it was especially good at church.

We went to the temple today, and it was a really good experience for me to be so close to the Lord. I really felt his presence there, and it was a good experience to remember the covenants that I made with him. It helped me be prepared for this next week of work.

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

-- Élder Pettingill

-Birthday cake
-Birthday cake
-Birthday jello cake
-My district
-Division with Elder Woolley
-Cheerios in Brazil*
-my ties that I got from my parents.
-me in my flamamgo shirt

*so here in Brazil the cereal technology is very weak. They only have 4 types of cereal. frosted flakes, chocolate frosted flakes, some chocolate ball thing (it´s like a worse coco puffs), and frute loops. So I was very excited when I say cheerios in the supermarket that I bought them just to see how they were. They are good, but not like the US.

Parigot de Souza Week 9

So this week wasn´t the best week for missionary work here. It was a normal Monday-Thursday for us except the rain that made it a little harder to work. I had two divisions this week. One on Tuesday, and one on Thursday. One of my goals as District Leader is to be able to do two divisions with every companionship in my district, so that I can work with every Elder that is in my District. I worked with Elder Azevêdo in his area on Tuesday, and with Elder Pinkney on Thursday in my area. Then on Friday we did a service project, and weekly planning that took up the whole day. Then on Saturday and Sunday we watched conference until 7 pm. We were planning on teaching some people at the church, but no one showed up which was sad. So we did other things while we waited in between the sessions. Anyway It was a good week, but not a very good week for the work, but that´s okay. Now we can use what we learned to make the next week a lot better.

It was a very good experience to be able to hear President Nelson speak (even if it was with a translator), and hear his testimony and guidance. There were so many good things that were spoken, especially about the spirit. The first session I thought had a theme of forgiveness, and the 3rd a theme of following the spirit, and receiving revelation. It was really good. I think that my favorite talk from this general conference was the one from Elder Uchtdorf about Contemplate the Savior. I had the experience to contemplate a little in that moment, and I felt the spirit, and I was comforted about some of the things with respect with the work here. I know that with the Savior´s help, everything will turn out fine.

I love the Savior, and I would like to add my testimony to all the testimonies that we heard this week, that I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he loves every one of us. I am immensely grateful for the sacrifice that he made for mankind. I know that when we think and contemplate him a little more, we open our hearts to his help. I know all of these things and I know that this gospel blesses lives.

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

-- Élder Pettingill

division with Elder Azevêdo and Elder Pinkney