3-2-2015

Yeah so I am in a new area called Passo Fundo. It is a lot more spread out than my old area. It rains a lot up here and it is really green. It is pretty beautiful as well. You would probably like it. The house is a lot older than the other one. It is pretty run down. So we are looking for a new one. We haven´t found anything yet. The people here are great. There aren´t many people in the streets, they like to stay inside. My roommates are really great. One of the elders in the house is American. He went to LDS Business College up by where dad works

-Derek

2-23-2015

Oi meu amigos e minha familia!

Well this week was full of some ups and downs. My companion and I met an investigator with a lot of potential! He has a sincere desire to find the true church of Christ. So we have been teaching him and helping him learn about the gospel. This week we were confronted by a drunken man in the street. He was asking us what Christ said, so one of the elders told him that Christ told people to be baptized in his name. At this point the man fell to his knees and through his hands in the air, so that was interesting. 

One major thing that happened was I was transferred to a different area. My companion stayed in Mathias Velho and I was moved to Passo Fundo, which is about a 4 hour drive from Canoas. So this week has been a bit difficult because of this. I am lost again in Brazil but I know things will turn out. It is hard to leave my investigators and friends in Mathias Velho but I know that if this is where the Lord wants me I will be able to help people here as well. Sadly this also meant I didn´t get letters this week. So I won´t be able to get them until next Thursday. I figured out how to print things here so if it is easier for you guys to write emails know that I can print them out. 

That´s all for this week I love you guys thanks for the support. 

2-16-2015

Hey guys sorry about not writing a big email last week. This week was pretty great! We worked a lot and met a lot of new people to teach. My new companheiro is awesome! He is from Novo Jersey (New Jersey in English)

He is also really short compared to me. He told me he knows self defense so that´s great! Now we can walk the streets without fear of being robbed. 

Saturday was a bit rough. All our appointments fell through and every door we knocked on rejected us. Before the end of the day we said a prayer and my companion felt impressed to visit a street in our area. So we went and knocked on every door we could find. We were finally able to teach a few lessons. It was a really cool experience! 

I was also asked to baptize an investigator of other missionaries here, which was also a cool experience. 

Have a good week I love you guys!

-Elder Stevens

Oh and randomly I think I found a picture of Grandma Lolo in the Liahona I will send you guys a pic. It was really weird. 

Baptism day

With the Elders who taught him

Woman who looks like my Grandmother
(I can verify this is actually our Grandmother Louis Futrell)

2-9-2015

Everything is good. This last week was a bit tough since my companion is finishing his mission. We spent a lot of time with members, so I was able to get to know them better.

The food is great (mostly)! There is a lot of beans, rice, and meat. There are a couple things that are a bit difficult to eat. Like this one dish which is mostly potatoes and mayo. Kind of like potato salad but instead of being awesome like yours mom it is really hard for me to eat because of all the mayo. There is another dish which is like a stew. It has beans and all kinds of pig meat. Most of the time it is awesome but one time they gave us this for Amoco and it was crazy! It had bone of the pig and skin chucks with pig hair on them. Man that was hard to put in my mouth. But I got through it. 

I am learning a lot here about people, the gospel, and the language. One of the biggest things I have learned is to trust in and have faith in Heavenly Father. It has been hard not being able to speak well but as I have that trust and faith in Heavenly Father that I can help people here, I am blessed with His help. 

Have a good week!

2-2-2015

Hello everyone! This week was pretty great! We had another Baptism. We also organized a talent show for the ward. I am starting to really make a connection with the people here. My Portuguese and confidence are starting to allow me to make jokes and share my thoughts and feelings about things. I am still learning how to tell stories but I am sure when I figure that out things will get even better. 

First off the baptism was great. Do you guys remember my first lesson alone without my companion? I think I called our investigator Edith. Well she was baptized this Sunday. Funny enough it was also her birthday. Last week we almost gave up on her because she was always busy. But when we finally met with her again we found that she was ready to be baptized. I am looking forward to teaching her more in the future. She is such a great person. She has a lot of faith in Jesus Cristo. Her baptism was a little complicated for a lot of reasons. She lives in our mission area but goes to a different ward because she has a lot of friends there. We originally planned to have her baptized in the other ward building but the bishop there wouldn´t allow it. So we had it at our building. I was really worried that no one was going to show up because no one in our ward knows her. But as soon as we finished preparing for the baptism a ton of people walked in the door. It was awesome. The wife of the bishop had made a big cake for Edith´s Birthday. I was amazed at how much love the ward had for someone they didn´t know. 

In the photos you will see Edith, ward members, me, and some other missionaries in from our apartment. The last photo was from this morning. 

The talent show was awesome. During the show I was waiting for Dad to come running in wearing an Indiana Jones costume or a tuxedo. 

Sorry I have to stop short the shop is closing.

I love you guys have a great week! 

-Elder Stevens

Baptism day!

1-26-2015

Oy minha familia e meu amigos!

This week was muito bom! A few things happened that were pretty exciting! The first one was I had my first baptism this week! It was a pretty great experience; of course a few things went wrong. When I entered the baptismal font and closed the door behind me the handle broke off in my hand. Secondly I forgot my sandals and had to borrow some from an Irma in the ward. As soon as they hit the water they came off my feet and I almost fell in completely. But I was fine. The actual baptism part went great! It was really spiritual and I am excited to help more people come unto Christ. Afterward, I had someone open the door from the other side so I could get out of the font.

On Saturday we had splits with the zone leaders. I went with an Elder to interview some people for baptism in a different area. We were able to stay and see the baptism which was really cool. The chapel in this area doesn´t have a baptismal font, so we used an inflatable swimming pool. It was a bit different but still really awesome. It just reminded me that the spirit can manifest itself in the most humble of circumstances.

On Sunday I gave a talk in the ward. It was kind of like watching an airplane take a nose dive and right before it hits the ground and explodes the pilot pulls up and saves the plane from crashing. My talk was rough at first but after awhile I just stopped, relaxed and listened to the spirit, it all went smoothly.

Anyway I love you guys very much thanks for your letters and emails! Until next week.

-Elder Stevens