Saturday, June 28, 2014
Pictures!! 6/28/14
Só Alegria 6/7/14
Well you know, just another great week here in Tucuruvi! Haha man, the
hard thing is right now I am drawing a blank on what happened, I know
that cool things happened but I just can´t remember! It makes me
grateful that I am writing in my journal!
Ok, now that I thought about it here we go. On sunday
last week we actually had some investigators come to church that we
weren´t planning on coming, so that was a nice little tender mercy! One
of them, Jandira, is new and she is a referral from this lady in our
ward who for a long time has been attending another ward ehre but
decided that she should be a part of her ward. So that was cool, her
first sunday here and she gave us 2 referrals, then the following sunday
her referral came to church because she invited her! Haha it is kind of
great to meet a referral while they are already at church, makes it
easier with them already having the faith and the experience to go to
church! Jandira is kind of in a really difficult situation with her
husband. They are unfortunately getting divorced and she has had a
really tough life, she lives with her 5 year old son and they are just
really great, she just is in a super difficult situation right now. So
on Monday night we went there, to the members house and had an excellent
lesson with them, it was seriously so good. We talked about how we don't
know what she is going through and when it comes down to it we are two
twenty year old´s who have never had to pass through this type of trial.
But we were then able to testify that even though we do not fully
understand, the Savior does, that we are His servants and that because
of that our message was of the utmost importance for her, that God loves
her and that through his commandments she could be healed, comforted,
and made clean. It was really tender (dad word), she got really
emotional and it went really well.
Well during that lesson another miracle happened, it turns out this
member´s husband, Rogerio, isn´t a member of the church! He came in and
greeted us during the lesson and then stood in the doorway listening to
the lesson. That night he was really kind to us and welcoming, well
later we got a message from the member saying how fantastic it went and
how it was a miracle because her husband said he really liked us - the
first time he has liked missionaries!! Woo hoo! Haha it was cool, the
next time we had an appointment she said that it was the first time in
17 years of marriage he has listened to a missionary lesson, and then
that night he fully participated in the lesson with Jandira! It was
really cool, we were really humbled in seeing how the Lord prepares his
children to receive the Gospel and I so hope and pray that Jandira and
Rogerio will both receive the blessing of the Gospel in their lives. As
always we invited them to be baptized, which Jandira accepted but said
that she thought it was pretty early, so we will continue to teach and
encourage and pray that she will have faith enough to follow our Savior.
We also were able to visit the family of Nilza and
Nabil this week, as well as Emanuel and Reuza, both of which went well,
Nilza is getting a lot better, she is a serious trooper after having
such a major surgery. Her husband, Nabil, is really progressing. He even
said that he might be baptized, which coming from someone who didnt
believe in Jesus Christ when we met him two months ago is pretty big! He
is seriously great, really doing well and praying and reading. He said
he would come to Stake Conference this Sunday which would be so good for
him.
Overall I am super grateful to work here, haha I
miss working in my area full time, but as always it is good to serve
here in the office. I had my last interview with President Martins, that
was super good. He asked how you guys were doing and we talked about
Bradley (he asked about you all and I told him you were going to BYU and
then on a mission and so he wanted to know more about you). Then he
answered some questions I had about receiving revelation and also
learning from the temple, it was really good, haha I guess I need to
have patience, I just want to know everything now!! But that is ok, I can be patient! Overall I am just loving it, I love the mission, it is
weird to see my friends on the mission ending and going home, I don't
like that!! Haha I just want to serve with all my heart might mind and
strength!! Have a great week and you all could invite someone to come to
church this week, I know that would make God happy! Love you all!
Elder Carney
Bagunça 6/14/14
This week officially started the 2014 World Cup here in Brasil! And man
is it just crazy! People here have been doing a lot to get ready for it,
including painting the streets, hanging up Brasilian flags on whatever
surface they can find, and wearing all yellow and green and blue. Haha
it has been interesting to watch people get so pumped up for it! We had a
pretty normal week, last weekend was spectacular as we had Stake
Conference, with the adult session on Saturday night and the general
session on Sunday. On Sunday it was a broadcast from SLC, it was for all
the stakes and districts in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Carol M Stephens spoke, she talked about Preach My Gospel and that the
families who have missionaries out in the field should all read it...
and send their insights for their missionaries... I really liked her
talk! Haha also Ulisses S Soares, from the Presidency of the Seventy,
who is also Brasilian, spoke and did a great job. Then Elder Richard G
Scott spoke in Portuguese, haha it was so awesome, it was kind of a mix
of Portuguese and Spanish, but mainly Portuguese, overall I was super
impressed and it was weird to hear him in a different language, but he
did a great job speaking and focusing a lot on God´s love for us. Then
Elder Russell M Ballard finished it up and spoke on a lot of the
concerns that face modern society and families such as technology and
the destruction of the family. I was really uplifted and it was cool
because we had 5 of our investigators come and watch it and they all
really enjoyed it!
The rest of this week was pretty normal, we had a good
Zone training on Tuesday and I enjoyed being instructed; I was able to
get a few ideas out from it that we are now implementing in our area.
Last weekend the office staff was kind of a mess with the
three other secretaries all being super sick, it wasn´t very fun for
them. Well then on Monday I started to feel under the weather and by
Tuesday it had hit me fully. I got this crazy brasilian virus that only
has a cure in the amazon and the mission had to ask for it to be shipped
here super fast but the person getting the vaccine got eaten by an
anaconda... actually no, it was just this nasty little cold, but it felt
not very fun at the time. So this week has been a bit of a blur as I
was not able to function at my best, but thanks to Sister Martins and
her medicinal advice and some good purchases of American-safe
medications I am feeling better. Actually the thing that has been
the worst is that I lost my voice, but I have had to talk a lot and do a
lot of things on the phone this week so it has been killing me, haha
missionaries who know me keep on asking who is talking to them because
my voice is so different!
But now I am feeling better, so woo!
On
Thursday the World Cup started and we worked in the office until 4 pm,
one hour before the game started, and by then we had to be in our house
to wait out the rest of the day. That was a bummer, I wanted to work,
but that is ok! I was going to study but due to me not feeling good at
all I considered it a blessing and slept a bit. So now every Brasilian
game we have to stay in our houses for the rest of the day, which just
means we will have to prioritize and be even more effective in our
proselyting time, so it will be good!
Jandira is progressing but is really hesitant to get
baptized, she feels like she needs to be perfect to be baptized... which means she will never get baptized, Haha we actually told her
that, and had a great lesson about faith and baptism and it went really
well. Also we had a good lesson with Givaldo, he has a date for this
next Saturday, the 21st, I so hope and pray that he will get baptized.
He will be such a powerful example for Emanuel and Reuza and Nabil and
Nilza and the rest of their family! Well, I have a true testimony of the
tender mercies of the Lord. He truly is in this work. I am so grateful
that he loves me and blesses me so immensely in all aspects of my life. I
love my Savior and I love my Heavenly Father. I need to be humble to
see His hand in my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be
grateful. I also am super grateful that I have such a great earthly
father as an example to me. Thanks for being such a great dad, Dad! Love
you all and Happy Father´s Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Copa do Mundo!!!!!!! 6/21/14
Holy cow, time seriously just flies by, it is just not stopping! It has
been really crazy how fast the weeks are going, it seems like yesterday
that I was in Itapetininga, when in reality it was in the beginning of
March that I left there! How crazy is that? This week was really good.
We had a good Sunday last week and were able to eat at Jairo´s house, he
is the High Priest Group Leader here and is super awesome, and his wife
happens to be one of the best cooks in the ward, and she always makes a
ton of food, so that was fun. Church went really well and some of our
investigators came which made us happy! On Monday it was Elder
Albuquerque´s birthday! We worked hard and I faked that I hadn´t done
anything for him and that we were going to just eat like rice and beans
when we got back to the apartment at the end of the night... but the
assistants bought two cakes for him and we had a little fiesta! So that
was fun, haha it is hard to do anything as a surprise for your comp when
you are with him 24/7. On Tuesday 4 Americans arrived in the mission, 3
of them are actually from my group and the other one has been out for a
little longer than I have!! It was crazy, but two of the sisters were
serving in Montana and so it was fun to hear how the mission is and
everything. Definitely grateful that I have been able to serve in two
missions and that I got my visa and have been able to serve with
President Martins. On Tuesday afternoon there was another Brasil game
and we had to all stay inside our houses, but with the transfer
President was taking the sisters to their areas in the interior and he
had to come back that same night to the office so he told us to stay in
the office until he got back, haha so we just studied here in the office
while listening to the chaos outside until like 8 pm when he got back
and we helped him load materials into his car. It was a pretty
uneventful day, I am going to be psyched to work in our area more when
the cup is over!
We also had our last Zone Conference with President and Sister Martins
on Thursday, it was so insane to think that it was the last one! I will
be able to see them a couple more times, but it was the last time most
of the missionaries will see them. It was really good, he emphasized a
lot on priesthood authority and also that President Farnes will receive
the inspiration and revelation from the same source, that the president
changes but the person who is really in charge doesn´t. So that will be
crazy when he gets here and the change happens.
This week we have been working a lot with Givaldo and he was
interviewed and passed and will be baptized here in an hour and a
half!!! We are super psyched, he is really demonstrating a lot of faith.
We are excited how he will be an example for the rest of his family.
Also, we were working with Jandira, who also had a date for today but
was kind of soft. She has been worried about the "right day" to be
baptized and she had the interview and it really helped her see that she
is prepared to be baptized and to do this! So she is getting baptized
tonight too!! We are super excited for both of them.
We also had a cool experience this week, we taught an investigator
in the institute building, his wife is a member and always goes. So we
taught him and were teaching about the doctrine of Christ, and we
invited him to be baptized and asked if it was a desire of his to follow
Jesus Christ and be clean from his sins, haha and he responds "it isn´t
a desire of mine, it is faith. I have faith that I need to do this and
that I can follow him." Hahaha it was so great to hear those words, so
he is now being prepared to be baptized this next weekend! We are
feeling so blessed in our area, it is definitely hard, but we are
striving to be obedient and to really have faith that we can baptize
here, even if we only get to work in our area a little bit each day. I
love this church so much, it truly is the church of Jesus Christ and he
is at its helm. I love my Savior and I love to have this chance to be a
representative of him.
I am glad you are all doing well! Mom, tell Tim and
Roxanne that they can use whatever paper or letter to send to me, I am
really glad that the letter got to them! I didn't notice that the paper I
used was really thin, haha I think I actually bought it in the US!
Anyways, hope you are all doing well and I am so glad that Manti went
really well, it sounds like it was a fantastic experience!
Love you all! Be missionaries too!
Elder Carney
Mudanças! 6/28/14
This week was just full of craziness!!! It seemed like there was
constantly things to do and get done before President and Sister Martins
left! So I spent a really large amount of time in the office this week
trying to zero out there credit cards and prepare other important things
for when they left. Haha I am really grateful that I was able to get
everything done in time! Last Sunday Jandira and Givaldo were both
confirmed! It was really cool, a very uplifting experience for both of
them. I was able to confirm Jandira, which was actually the first time
that I have confirmed someone, it seems like usually we have a member of
the ward or bishopric do it but this time she asked me, so that was a
learning and very good experience for me. Then we had a really good
meeting this week with the High Priest Group leader and the Ward Mission
Leader! Missionary work with the members has a history of being very
very slow in this ward, so we have been doing our best to build their
confidence and really get them involved, there is nothing that causes
miracles like working with members. It was great to see the High Priest
Group Leader wanting to be involved and help out, Also we got permission
from President Martins to assist with Home Teaching here int he ward,
there just aren´t very many priesthood holders so we were asked to help.
We are really striving to find new investigators this week, it
has been a difficulty here in Tucuruvi. It is a really wealthy area and
very commercial, so often the people we make contacts with are always
working or live in other areas. I have prayed many many times for help
and we always get help with it. I know that God knows where these people
are, so really we just need to rely on Him and his help to find them.
And even better He knows what they need to hear, how they need to hear
it, and everything that has ever happened to them and will happen to
them, which is the reason we so badly want to teach with the Spirit,
because that truly is what brings conversion.
Man, that killed me a bit to hear about Sparky.
Shoot! Haha actually I was thinking about her the other day and
wondering if she would make it until I got back. Luckily I know that God
has a plan and that truly everything will be all right. I am really
glad that we had her. Man, I am going to miss that dog!!
Then on Friday morning President Martins and
Sister Martins came with President and Sister Farnes and their
family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was just very surreal! it was genuinely
sad saying bye to President and Sister Martins, they were such a
blessing for me. Then when hey got here and it was very clear right from
the start that President Farnes and his family are incredible people.
President Farnes is very kind and loving, he gave each of us like five
hugs, haha it was great! Sister Farnes is also super kind and was mainly
speaking English but she will learn quickly! President already had a
lot of things that he wants to get done and today they are already
having Mission Leadership Council, so he is really eager to get things
moving. I was able to talk to him on the phone a couple times to talk
about his credit card and the mission car and everything and he is just
really nice, and speaks really good Portuguese. I am really excited to
get to know him better and work with him, I know that it is going to be
really wonderful for our mission!
We are hopefully going to have a baptism tomorrow
after church!! His name is Jorge, he is the husband to a member of our
ward, he is really great, has a lot of faith! i hope that everything
works out and he gets baptized tomorrow!
I am really really grateful to be serving a mission.
yesterday was the anniversary of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum
Smith and I felt so honored and privileged to teach and testify about
him and the First Vision. I know that he saw and spoke with God and
Christ. I know that the priesthood of God was given to him and the
authority restored through him. I know that he died and sealed his
testimony. I know that this church is the church of Jesus Christ, and
that He is at the head of it.
I also have been thinking about Morgan and the
anniversary tomorrow. I am and will be eternally grateful for the
wonderful plan of happiness that our Father gave to us. I know that this
is the true gospel. I know that I will see my friend someday and that
she will be able to be together with her family forever. I love this
Gospel. Where would I be without it? It is an honor, truly a blessing to
serve my Savior. After all that He has done for me, isn´t it worth it
to do my best for Him. I am eternally indebted to Him for the Atonement
and I rejoice in the fact that I can receive forgiveness, comfort,
peace, and eternal life through His infinite sacrifice.
Have a wonderful week, remember that we need to show
our love of God through our works and thoughts, and maybe some good
missionary moments and invitations will show how much we truly do love
our Father.
Elder Carney
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Ups & Downs 5/24/14
This week was just kind of different!! to start out, last saturday and
sunday were good, we ended up having a good meeting at church! Elder
Albuquerque spoke in Sacrament meeting and did a really good job, this
ward is needing some good motivation and he did a really great job
speaking about missionary work. So hopefully we will see some results!
Then last week we had a little miracle in that we found more new
investigators in one week than we have in all the previous weeks that I
have been in this area!! It has been a little hard finding new ones when
we have such limited time in our area each day, but we found some great
families and it went well!
One night we were just about returning home and we tried
this referral that we got from Church Headquarters. Well she wasn´t
home and we were walking and passed this woman who was walking with her
dog. Well it was night and we kept walking when all of a sudden Elder
Irineu said that we should talk to her and that maybe it was our
referral! So we turn around, and start speed walking at this woman,
something that we seriously try to avoid doing late a night to people we
dont know!! Well she turned around at that exact moment, crossed over
to our side of the street and started walking towards us. It was
perfect!!
Haha so we did a contact, she was super friendly and
invited us to come and talk with her family anytime, and that was that.
Well we went there on Sunday night and it was so cool, she lives there
with her sister (both are in their late twenties or early thirties) and
their mother. They were super receptive and we had a great lesson with
them. Well we returned this week a day before our marked appointment
with them (for reasons I will tell you later on in this email). We got
there and this woman wasnt there but her sister and mom were. She greets
us and one of the first things she says is that she was just really
needing a prayer at that moment and that we were an answer to her
prayer! So we went in, found out htat they had had a really not so great
experience with some distant family who had said some really cruel
things and that they were needing something to lift them up. Then we
found out that the other daughter, the one from the contact, NEVER
invited anyone from any religion to talk to her, least of all enter her
house to teach a lesson. Apparently she is pretty bitter about religion
and God, and so when we came the first time her sister was going to tell
us to come back another time, but her she called out and said that she
wanted to talk to us and hear what we have to say! So we found out it
was a miracle that she even talked to us that night on the street, and
even more so wanting us to come and teach her family! We felt really
blessed to have found them and we really hope that they will progress
and come to church! We have a lesson with them tonight so hopefully it
will go well!
So on Monday and Tuesday we worked like crazy
getting things in order and ready for the devotional with Elder Nelson
on Wednesday! On Tuesday the zone that is farthest away from the capital
(all elders and it is the only one farther away than my last area in
Itapetininga) came to sleep here for the night. Well at 4:58 PM, two
minutes before we close the office and email, we got this urgent email
from President saying that the devotional was cancelled and that we
needed to cancel all the transport and advise all the missionaries.
NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
It
was so heartbreaking!!! It turns out that on Wednesday the Police here
in São Paulo and 13 other states in Brasil were going on strike, as well
as the buses here and the teachers. So there was going to be just chaos
in the city and state here and the church and Elder Nelson were really
worried about our safety and missionaries all traveling on that day so
much. So they cancelled the meeting and also ordered all missionaries to
stay inside their houses the entire day. It just killed me. So we
scrambled and cancelled all the buses and vans we had ordered and went
about advising everyone. So we worked for the rest of that day and
bought food for lunch and everything for the next day. That morning
President called us and told us we could go to the office since it was
so close to our house and work there but atfter 5 we had to come back
home and stay there. So we came here, but since we had done all our work
the day before planning to not be in the office, we didnt have a lot to
do. But that is ok! It was pretty boring, but I was able to study a lot
and read some talks online. Haha so i was super bummed, but completely
understand why they had to cancel it. The rest of the time here this
week has been interesting, I found out that there are going to be some
pretty big changes with the transition to President Farnes, I will have
to do some things and have more responsibilities that right now Sister
Martins does, so that will be interesting. And the church is changing
the systems for a couple things that I do so I will get trained on that
as well. Overall it will be pretty crazy !
Well besides that not much else happened this week,
as always sorry about all of the typing and grammar mistakes, it is
difficult to correct them when I have such limited time!
Love you all!!
Elder Carney
Bom Dia! 5/17/14
Haha man, I am seriously struggling with something creative to put as a
subject line, sorry about that, the best I could do was Good Day in
Portuguese. Haha I am a tired missionary, this has definintely been a
crazy week, but also a very good one. It was SUPER great to talk to all
of you on Sunday, haha it was really fun, everyone said that our family
is awesome. And it really cracked me up because our family definitely
fulfills the stereotype of what Brasilians think all americans look
like, and so all my comps were loving it. Haha they said to me
afterwards that "temos uma família bonita!!" Haha but they also included
that I am the mediocre one... haha sorry dad, I had to tell my comps
that story! But thanks, it really made my day talking to all of you!
Then it was a pretty normal week of working in the area and in the
office, one highlight was going to the temple on Tuesday, it was super
good. The last time I was able to go was in November so I am very
grateful I had teh opportunity. I felt just such an overwhelming feeling
of peace, it was really nice and just good to be reenergized. Then on
thursday I had to wake up at 5:30 so we could go to the Policia Federal
to register the Americans that got here recently. I dont do anything
with that but Elders Irineu and Albuquerque do and so I had to go with
them. Well there was a bad turn of events and the person from teh MTC
here who usually helps with the process didnt show up so instead of the
missionaries getting registered super quick we had to wait. And wait.
And wait.
Haha we ended up being there for 7 hours waiting, it was
killing us, but we had to do it so that none of them would get deported
or anything!! Haha but it was fun because there were so many foreigners
there waiting, I did a contact with this German woman and her family who
dont speak any Portuguese but do speak english and who live in our
mission bounderies and also with this Bolivian woman, who actually spoke
fairly good Portuguese. It was pretty fun to meet so many different
people. I just love doing contacts, it is so much fun to talk to people
and meet them and teach them right then and there about our Savior and
how his church exists on the earth today, with a living prophet. it
isjust really fun to be so open and friendly with complete strangers who
have such diverse backgrounds. Well finally we got back to the office
and the rest of hte week went well. We found a couple new families this
week, actually through us getting lost!! The other companionship has the
map for our area nad we are waiting on a new one, and so in the process
of trying to find a referral we got lost and it was the best thing
ever!! It is so easy and great doing contacts and finding new
investigators through asking directions, we found a couple new families
that are great including this less active man who actually stopped us on
the street and we marked an appointment with him the next day and his
non member wife. It went really well and we are excited to see where
they go. Overall I am very grateful for my blessings. I know that there
will always be trials, but i am so grateful for those opportunities to
grow and become more like my Savior. I hope you all have a fantastic
week!!!
Mom! Here are some of my favorite mormon messages:
Mountains to Climb
Lessons I learned as a Boy
Enduring Love
Origin
Bullying - Stop It
Sanctify Yourselves
I choose to be Pure
Haha they are all so
great but here are just some of them that I love! Also you might have to
search for some of them, I think they were moved or something but
should still be on the site or maybe on YouTube.
Love you Mom!!
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