Osternack Week 1

So I don´t have a lot of time right now, but this week was good. We had our Christmas conference, and I sang a song from the youth mutual theme in a bunch of voices. It was really good, and fun. I also put the Christmas lights from my Christmas package under my shirt, and I didn´t show anyone until I sang. Everyone liked it and laughed. We have been working a lot, and we learned a lot about the importance of Jesus Christ. The area here is good, and my companion is cool. I am the district leader of just 4 sisters again. I am excited for Christmas!

Thank you all for the support and have a great Christmas.

-- Élder Pettingill

-President and Sister Cuvelier and me from the Christmas conference
-Me singing at the Christmas conference.
-The Christmas lights I put under my shirt.
-how I decorated my house.

União da Vitória Week 17

So this week was very interesting. 

So it was transfer week, and I was transferred! I am now in an area called Osternack, which is in a district where I was the District Leader. Now it is the area of the district leader and I am here. I am with Elder Abreu who has 1 year and 4 months on the mission. I will tell you all more about him, as I come to know him more. 

It was a little sad to leave União da Vitória, but also 3 transfers in an area is a little taxing. I know that Elder Lima will work hard with Elder Melo.

Anyway, I am on my last transfer of my mission, and I just know that it is going to be a good. one. You gotta go out with a bang, am I right? Anyway I am so grateful for all the support that I get from my family and my friends. I am learning that really when we are diligent, and when we are humble and follow the council of our leaders, we are blessed. 

P.S. It´s getting hot here, and because here is really crazy, we are having a little bit of hail. 

--Élder Pettingill

Answers to questions:

What more can you tell us about Elder Abreu?  He is from Terezina ,Brazil. This is his 3rd transfer in the area, and so he will probably stay here for the next transfer as well.

How far are you from the office?  I am about 45-60 min bus ride to the office.

What zone  are you in now?  I am in Jardim do Sol = Sun garden.

 How did Elder Lima feel about you leaving? Do you feel good about the training you did?  
Well he isn´t a sensative guy so he was just like, "I am glad that I finished my training." I don´t know if I did the best job, but I didn´t do the worst job. 

Pictures:

-Waterfalls

-District meeting with Secret Santa

-My new companion.

  

  

União da Vitória Week 16

So this week was very interesting. So I taught the 2 Brazilians, and the Uruguayan that I live with, the game "what are the odds" missionary style. Nothing really big happened until I had a division with Elder Moreno on Thursday. During the division we played a lot. One of the results of this was that I had to do a street contact with someone driving a motorcycle. Well, I went and waved a guy down, he stopped, we talked with him, and marked to visit him. Now the other Elders will have to visit him.

We are working with some people that are interested. We are working with Adriano, and Tiago. Adriano lives very far away from the church, but he said that he tried to go to church one Sunday on his bike, but he couldn´t find the church building. We are working with him, but he has a job right now that doesn´t let him go to church. We are hoping that he can work something out so that he can go to church. Tiago is a man we have visited twice, but he is interested. He has said that his wife is interested as well, and we will talk with the whole family in our next visit.

So I hope everyone is doing things to light the world, this December. To do this here, we are going caroling on the Saturdays of December. We went this last Saturday, and it was great. My companion wasn´t very excited about it because caroling isn´t very common here in Brazil, but it went great! The people came out and were touched with the music. One couple cried, and were very touch by our music.

Anyway, have a great week, and #lighttheworld.


-- Élder Pettingill

União Da Vitória Week 15

So this week was very interesting, and full of travel again. This week we had zone conference, and it was very good. We learned a lot about the church´s campaign Light the World. I am very excited to work and help people come unto Christ in this Christmas season. In the zone conference we learned a lot about the importance of faith in missionary work, and how we can practice faith. The ways that we can show our faith are working effectively as missionaries, and doing our best to invite all to come unto Christ. After the Zone conference on Thursday, we went to Canoinhas to do some baptismal interviews. Jean, a person that the Elders were teaching there, passed and was baptized! We are working hard so that that can happen here as well.

I am very excited to make this Christmas count so that it can be memorable to me. Thank you all for the support, and have a great week.

-- Élder Pettingill

Photos: So the first 3 are from the division that I had with Elder Woolley, and the pizza, then the talent that I am preparing for the Christmas Zone conference, The Rabbit foot and necklace that a member gave me and that I bought, And the dough for scones that is rising while I am writing this.  About the Pizza, they divide it Quarters because it makes it possible to have more pizza flavors. In the pics there was Chicken with Catupiri, which is chicken with like a cream cheese; there is beef Stroganoff; 4 cheeses; Portugues, which is tomato, egg, onion, and cheese; Calabreisa, which is like a pepperoni, but that isn´t spicy; and we bought a part which is called pizza doce, which means sweet or dessert, that was chocolate with strawberry and leite condesado (sweetened condensed milk).

União da Vitória Week 14

So this week has been really cool, and really strange at the same time. So basically what I am learning is that when you are a District Leader in the middle of nowhere, and that even one pair of missionaries in your district is one and a half hours away, it is a little difficult to have a normal week, when you can work the whole week in your area. This week we were Tuesday and Thursday traveling to and from different cities. On Tuesday we went to do a baptismal interview for the Elders in Canoinhas, a city that is about an hour and a half bus ride there, if you can get a direct route. On Thursday (Thanksgiving) we went to Guarapuava, which is about a 5 hour bus ride there, for divisions with the zone leaders. So it was a little hard to keep checking up on all the people we are teaching, but we are making it work.

I don´t have a lot of time to email this week, but thank you all for the support. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, because even though I was with an American on divisions on Thursday, I completely and thoroughly forgot.

-- Élder Pettingill

Pizza with the Zone Leaders

União da Vitória Week 13

So this week was good and bad at the same time. We have been preparing Ana to be baptized, but she has a problem with coming to church. She has trouble finding motivation to come to church. So we have been pushing her baptismal date back so that she can go to church a second time before she is baptized. Something good this week was that a family that we have been teaching came to church! We have been teaching João Maria, Jacira, Maria Eduarda, e Edson for about a few weeks already. This was the first time that they said that they would come to church and they actually came. It was really good, but the only problem is that they have a child who is very little and likes to make a mess, so it was hard for them to concentrate during Sacrament meeting with the him making a lot of noise, and doing things that children do. We are hoping to help them to really make changes in their lives, and feel the blessings of the gospel.

Well the rest of the week was pretty normal. Walking a lot, and teaching a lot of people. I am continuing to learn a lot, and doing my best to finish up my mission working as hard as I can.

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

-- Élder Pettingill

I Found Peanut Butter in Brazil!!!!!

 Pictures from the New Missionary Training: