Xaxim Week 9

So this week was good, and I think it felt like a long time. I don´t know...

Anyway on Tuesday I hit my 1 year and 6 months mark! I am old..., also if I were a sister I would be going home right now if I weren´t already home. Anyway, we ate pizza to celebrate, and so that was good.

On Wednesday we had some interviews with President, and it was cool. My companion really needed it. He was a little discouraged about the mission, and the interview helped.

On Thursday we had a division with the Zone Leaders, and it was good. In our area, my companion, Elder Pereira, and one of the Zone Leaders, Elder Hammond, met with a golden family. Well I haven´t met them yet, but from what I have heard, it is a husband, wife, and child, who are MARRIED!!!! I don´t know if you all know this, but here it is a MIRACLE for people to be married before they meet with the missionaries. Anyway, the woman is sisters with a recent convert (1 year and a little so not really recent, but it is close) who moved here from the the north of Brazil. Actually they both moved here from there. Anyway they have been looking for a church to go to that is a little more quiet, and doesn´t have a whole lot of noise during the meetings, and that is focused on families. I am pretty sure that people like this normally only appear in fake situations. Anyway we are going to do everything to help them be baptized.

On Friday we worked normally, and nothing really exciting happened. We found some new people to teach, and worked.

On Saturday we met with Valdemar. We are once again trying to help him be baptized this Saturday. Let´s see how that goes. The thing about him is that he doesn´t feel comfortable about baptism yet.  Also we had a soup night in the ward, and Valdemar came.

On Sunday everything fell through, and we had to find other things to do.

Also I am learning a lot about how Heavenly Father works. He wants to help us, and sometimes he uses us to help others, then he gives us trials to help us. I have learned a lot that it is not easy to figure out his plan, and why he does all the things he does, but I know that when we are diligent and obedient, he blesses us.

Have great week.

-- Élder Pettingill

Questions:

How do you feel about your Portuguese now? Well I can speak well, and everyone understands everything that I say, and I don´t say things wrong that much, but I am not the best.

Who will teach the 'golden family'? Are they in your area? Yes they are in my area, and I don´t know them yet. We will teach them tomorrow.

In what ways do you think you have changed on your mission? The biggest things are that I eat a lot more, and I am a lot more open. I also am more humble, more patient. I have more confidence, I have learned a lot more, and my testimony is so much bigger. I have become more obedient, and diligent.

How is your Spanish coming? I don´t know. The problem is that I don´t have anyone to practice with anymore. I am trying to read the Book of Mormon, and learn new words, but I don´t have a lot of practice. It´s not too hard because it is so similar to Portuguese. I will keep working on it here. It is likely that I will have another Hispanic companion.

Pictures:

-1y6m Pizza
-the train station in our area.

Xaxim Week 8

So this week was cool, and it went by really fast.

So I learned a lot more about my companion, and have grown a lot closer to him this past week, and so now we just have to do the best work possible!

On Thursday we had zone conferences and we had some changes about missionary work, but at the same time not really. They made an updated version of Preach my Gospel, but they only have it in English, so the full impact of the changes will only occur in December/January, basically when I am finishing up the mission, but I will have just enough time to get a new PMG I think. Anyway, so for us it just moved the names and the definitions of things, like district meeting is now district council, and investigators are now people being taught, so yeah.

We learned a lot about doing street contacts, and about the importance of goals, and the Book of Mormon, and about how it is the tool of the gathering of Israel. There are a lot of things that we talked about, about the specifics of missionary work. It was good.

We have been trying to incorporate members in our lessons more often, and this week we talked with Valdemar (the ``miracle baptism´´ with whom we have rescheduled the baptism a ton) with Tchiciano (our Ward mission leader), and I think the spirit finally touched him, to the point where he wants to be baptized. So we are planning the baptism for this Saturday, I hope that everything goes well.

Well today I learned how to make coxinha (see the pics I sent) so now I know how to make something very tasty that isn´t a desert!

Have a good week, and I hope that you all learn a lot like I am.

-- Élder Pettingill

Xaxim Week 7

So first off I will answer my parents´ questions --

Dad´s
-Since you taught at the temple, does that mean the temple is in your area?  If so, do you get to go more often?

So first of the temple is in my mission, but not in my area. Because it is in my mission, we can ask president if we can go there and teach, if we are in Curitiba, but that doesn´t mean that I will be able to go to the temple more often.

-How did everyone take Brazil getting upset by Brussels?

Yeah it was pretty sad, here. Also everyone was rooting for Croatia so it was sad again.

Mom´s
-Tell me about your area there. Is it right in the middle of the city? Is it close to the office?

So my area is about a 40 minute bus ride from the office, so isn´t that far, and it is in the middle of the city. Actually one of the area divisions is with Parigot de Souza which was my other area.

-How often do you see other missionaries, other than the sisters?

Only on zone conferences or other activities with more that the district like District Leader meeting.

-Are you serving in a branch or a ward? Are you the only missionaries in the branch or do the sisters attend there as well?

I am serving in a ward. I don´t think that there are any branches in Curitiba. There are some in the suburbs. Also my ward is the only ward the attends our chapel.

-Is there anything unusual about this area compared to other places you have served?

Well one thing new is that in the keys to our house there is an electronic car key to open the gate to the condominium. We live in some houses within a gate, and this gate has a motor to open it.

-I see that you are always wearing sweaters now. Is it pretty col

It has been cold, but it is getting warmer, then it will get colder, then warmer again. The weather here is pretty wacky.

Okay so now I will start the rest of my email. So first off about my companion.
His is from northwest Brazil, and the same state where my trainer lives. Maranhão. He is 26 years old, and he likes yugi-o cards. Before the mission he would dance, like real dancing. He said that he already went on a TV dance competion. He was baptised when he was 14, and he is the only member of the church in his family. So far it has been great to work with him. I have been dragging him from one end of our area to the other this week, and he didn´t complain. Also he is helping me a lot as a missionary, and I think I am helping him as well.

This week has been a lot better than the past weeks. We are finally finding people to teach, and we are helping our investigators, and we have been teach a lot more people. We have been walking a lot as well, and I know that we will continue to walk a lot this week.

Well I have been learning a lot this week. I learned that when we are diligent, and obedient to God´s commandments we have access to the Lord´s blessings. Also I learned that really the best way for you to be able to help someone is to listen. Listen to them, and listen to the spirit. We had a District Leader meeting this week, and They talked a lot about the importance of the spirit. They said that the key to the work is listen to the spirit, then ask an inspired question, and if you do this the Lord will help you help them.

Thank you all, and have a good week.

--
Élder Pettingill

Pics
-Pizza with Elder Verdugo
-farwell Elder Verdugo
-My new companion Elder Pereira
-My new district
-Pizza with Elder Pereira

Xaxim Week 6

Well, this week, wasn´t the best week in terms of the work, but we are getting better. Also it was very interesting.

So first off on Monday we had a family home evening with Valdemar, our investigator, and a member in the ward. Then on Tuesday we had a breakfast before the district meeting, so that took some more time as well. On Wednesday, we went to the temple with Valdemar, and taught him there, so that he could feel the spirit. Then because it was the fourth of July we ate pizza. Then on Thursday we had interviews with president to talk a little bit about when I would go home. He had given me three dates, and I had prayed about it and had basically picked. But it turns out that the date I picked was not really an option. Then I went into the interview, talked a little with him, and now I have to decide again out of the two options, but the most probable is that I will be going home on February 5. Also President said that I would probably stay with Elder Verdugo during the next transfer. On Friday we learned that Valdemar would be going on vacation this week end so we remarked the baptism for this week (third time's the charm, right?)

Also something new, that I think that I didn´t say in the last email, is that I am learning Spanish. It is a lot easier learning Spanish when I already know Portuguese because they are so similar in the words, and how you conjugate. I hope that I can be fluent by the end of my mission. (well not THAT fluent, but fluent.)

Okay, now about the transfer. So we were thinking that we would stay together this transfer (Elder Verdugo and I), but no. I stayed in Xaxim with my new companion Elder Pereira, and Elder Verdugo went to a place called Pioneiros, which I think is a neighborhood in a different city. Elder Pereira has 1 year and 3 months on the mission. He is from Maranhão which is where my trainer, Elder R Santos is from as well. I don´t know a lot about him yet, but I know that he likes to play yugi-o (cards). Anyway I have a lot of plans to help out this area, and make the last leg of my mission count the most.

I have learned so much so far, and I am ready to develop more skills, like decisiveness, and more charity, humility, faith, and boldness, which is really important for missionary work.

I am grateful to be able to serve the Lord. I am grateful for the support as well. Have a great week!

-- Élder Pettingill
Pics
-us at the temple with Valdemar. (I will send more next week because the computer isn´t taking my card today.)

Xaxim Week 5

It´s funny because everyone says that the first half of your mission is slower, and that after you hit the one year mark everything gets faster. This week especially, my companion has said that everything feels like it is going by faster than it has been, but for me I think that it just got fast straight out of the CTM and it just hasn´t slowed down. It feels like I have blinked-6 months, blinked again-1 year- blinked again- 1 year and 5 months. Basically time is flying by. Also this week I have had to change my plans. I was thinking that I would go home in December, because the next transfer would be after two years, then President called me and said that he asked the missionary department for permission to send me home in December, but they said no. So now I will probably go home in January or February... Yeah that´s weird...

So the baptism that was going to happen last Saturday, but he didn´t feel ready, so we remarked for this Saturday. We have a good plan to help him out, so I think it will be great.

So we were allowed to watch the game between Brazil and Mexico today! Brazil 2-0 Mexico! The only major rule about watching it was that we had to be rooting for Brazil (sorry Mexican missionaries.) That was not a problem for me.

I am learning a lot here it Brazil, and I will continue to learn.

Have a great week, and have a great world cup! GO BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!

-- Élder Pettingill