Week 36 - Vitoria - I could survive here for a long time!

My New area - Vitoria

7/11/16

This week was pretty productive. My new companion is Elder Borges and he has a somewhat strong Sao Paulo accent, that can be a little too strong haha-Brazilians

know what I´m talking about. Sometimes it reminds me of that elf from

Rudolph that wanted to be a dentist haha

The city here reminds me of a Brazilian version of Chardon, Hudson, and the

tropics at the same time. It is relatively high up, and has lots of pretty houses and

some historic churches, it is a cool climate, yet still has palm trees, so far if

I returned to Brazil it is the only city I´ve been to where I could see myself surviving for

a long period of time haha. The people here are more receptive than those in Recife

and less evangelical. It almost feels like a different country. Also I noticed, since

it is a bit colder, people wear more clothes, which is a plus. It might also be a cultural

difference as well, not sure. We have one new investigator who said she had never

heard of The Book of Mormon before, and seems pretty excited and open to learn more.

We also have one couple that is investigating the gospel but hasn´t been able to get or identify an answer from God if the message of The Restoration is true. It´s quite frustrating when you meet such nice people and occasionally you´re not sure how to proceed with them.

One thing I did learn though with President and Sister Bigelow is we need to listen to people, and hear them, and once we start to put words in their mouth they close up and feel that  we´re not listening. `Getting past the smokescreen`they call it, it´s quite necessary for Brazilian investigators and can be quite challenging for a missionary. (Again, the pros of being a missionary in a more direct culture haha)

We also met a nice couple (and somewhat crazy) less active members that like

the church and like the missionaries but for whatever reason are inactive, but are

accepting help. Edjane, said to us that of all the churches she went to,

she felt ´muito, muito, muito, muito bem na igreja dos Mormons`, in short,

she felt the Spirit. This city also has various plazas and neighborhoods, the area is

huge for 2 missionaries but we always have work! Which is a plus. I will get you

guys pictures of the Praza da Matriz next week, you´ll want to take a vacation here after

you see it haha.

We also had one funny experience with a very special recent convert family, since

my companion has a relatively noticeable Sao Paulo accent, he was teaching and

one of the meninas said Èle e fazendeiro e?` (Is he a farmer or what?) and we all

started laughing. Then the mom said, no, he´s from Sao Paulo hahaha

We also came across some people that used to have testimonies, but unfortunately,

do not whatsoever anymore. Recently during an interview, I asked President Bigelow about this phenomenon and he directed me to Alma 12, and 2 Nefi 28.

This excerpt illustrates what we have personally seen with some who have lost their way in forbidden paths.-Ùntil they know nothing concerning his mysteries I found most striking.

And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

 10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

 11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

 12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.

Love,

Elder Talentino

Also, did Douglas get to go to this temple? It is the epitome of sweetness.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/sapporo-japan-temple-to-open-for-public-tours?cid=HP_FR_8-7-2016_dPAD_fCNWS_xLIDyL2-1_

Video on Prophet Joseph Smith

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2006-05-01-joseph-smith-prophet-of-the-restoration-2002-version?category=feature-films&lang=eng

Toad from Mario is my new study guide!

I Saw this creature outside my house!

Monkey outside my house.

Toad from Mario is my new study guide!

Week 35 Happy Fourth of July

Scott’s Email

July 4th, 2016

Last moments with Vanusa and fam (parting with such sweet sorrow-Massaranduba)

Hey All! 

So I was transferred to VITORIA de Santo Antao!

The ward members in Massaranduba were sad to see me go, however we all know it is the will of the Lord to soldier on to new  adventures and meet new souls. My new companion is Elder Borges

and he seems pretty chill, he has a bit of a Sao Paulo accent (Brazilians know what I´m talking about, that r can be crazy strong at times haha) Also, our house has AIR CONDITIONING and is by far the nicest house I´ve stayed in so far, so that´s a big plus, haha, we have a nice view of the area,

and it´s a bit into the interior, so it´ll be interesting to see the challenges associated with that. 

It´s a bit colder, it´s a bit more isolated from Recife, you have to take the train to the end of the line, and then two buses, it´s about an hour or so into the city center, maybe a bit more. (Kinda of like what an American thinks of as a suburb, haha) Also, Sister Garrick from my CTM district passed

through here! This used to be the Sister´s area.

I´m hoping Independence Day will stay good for me and my companion-Elder Borges from Sao Paulo, it´s been pretty good so far.

Recently I´ve also noticed the importance of what we like to call Back to Basics!

We had some experiences here with people with 30 years in the church, a year in the church,etc. who really did not understand, or did not remember the principles of the Restoration, The Book of Mormon, the Apostasy, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It has been recommended that we constantly review these topics for a reason.

Hebrews 5:12

12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

I thought of the above scripture as being extremely relevant to members who forget basic principles of the restored gospel and the need for constant review of the basic principles even when we get into more profound doctrines. 

Also thought you might find this video interesting!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-02-07-are-we-christians?lang=eng

Love,

Elder Talentino

Week 34 They are not "pirated", they are "generic"

                                                  Dona Silvoneite´s Baptism

This week was mostly a plus. After 85 years in the local parish, Dona Silvoneite was baptized this past Sunday! It was a beautiful baptism, he sister-in-law, Dalva, who is basically one of the pioneers of the church in Recife, attended, and got really emotional, it was so sweet. I gave a quick talk, I was also a bit sick and nervous, but all in all it went over well.

We also had a Zone Conference more or less learning how to interact with the personalities and cultures of the investigators (and for people for the rest of our lives!!), about how to really listen and get to the source of the real problem, let´s just say it is not easy for me, I was thinking, maybe this is the advantage of being a missionary in Russia, where they´re just straight up about everything, where here so many people hate saying no and are afraid to offend that it´s easy to get led on.

We had one experience that was quite nice where we were able to put that into practice with Dona Berenice, she opened up and said If all this is true, and I prayed, why hasn´t He responded to my prayers? It was quite impressed by the response and the way she opened up. 

We also had a pretty comical moment with a recent convert when a lady came

by selling pirated films and she said, this is our friend who sells pirated films, and the lady responded, they´re not pirated, they´re ´generic´, okay, whatever makes you fell better haha

I also had the positive experience this week of Brazilians here complimenting me this week,

Saying things like Èle e uma otima pessoa`He´a a great person, `Voce e especial`, `voce e bem calma`, you have a good spirit about you, etc. Brazil is in some ways a very spiritually sensitive place, so it was nice to see =)

Also, Dona Silvoneite´s Padre was totally chill, he basically said to her that if she was studying the Gospel of Jesus 

Christ, and she was doing what God was telling her to do, everything´s good =)

Elder Talentino

Note to Genevieve:

I miss you so much too Genevieve! I hope you enjoy Europe (never got to go there you lucky duck!)-and appreciate

America and the Restored gospel so much more after your travels there. I also wrote you a little letter, not sure when it

will get there, but it should get to Ohio soon!

Love

Elder Talentino, your favorite brother  

hahaha