Terra Nova

2010-04-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

Well, today was a pretty sweet day. We woke up at 6:00 and headed to mission HQ. We were able to hear Elder Jeffery R. Holland, Bishop Edley (first counselor in the presiding bishopric), and President Godroy (70). Rapaz. It was good! When he came in he let all of us go through and shake his hand. I could honestly really tell that he was an apostle. He talked a lot about how good President and Sister Jayme are and gave a really good talk. He talked for about an hour, and the others for a pretty decent amount of time too. It was way good, and way spiritual. I think I was in the 4th row. Way close...It was cool being able to see and shake a hand of an apostle. It was so personal that he even called out a missionary who wasn’t paying a lot of attention...kinda embarrassing. But I really enjoyed hearing all of their talks and really felt the Spirit. He did mention however, that ever sister missionary is worth at least 5 Elders. I thought about Shannon when he said that. But Elder Holland talked a lot about his mission, teaching with power and authority, Preach My Gospel, and missionaries who go inactive after the mish. I can honestly say that I’m personally frightened if I now ever go inactive after the mission...But I really know that that man is an apostle. One time he even said, "I’ve seen things that I can’t tell you. I’ve had experiences so great and sacred I can’t share them with you that you can’t even imagine." Whoo intense. But it was way good...

This week I’ve really been trying to live up to the expectation of Pres and of the Lord. I marked another wedding, and 3 more baptisms for next month. So, if everything goes well next month (which I pray it does...) we'll have 3 weddings and 7 baptisms. All families. I just hope everything goes well. We still have a few probs to sort out with 2 of the families, but I have faith that everything will go well. One of the things I learned with Paredes (my last comp) is that you ant be afraid to invite anyone and EVERYONE to be baptized…so, I’m trying to go to work and really invite everyone to be baptized....

Transfers go down this week. Next P-day I could be with a new comp. I’m almost positive that I’ll stay in this area and with Elder Lopes.

Let’s see...what else went down this week....we are really gaining the respect of the members here, and they seem really excited to help in missionary work. I’ve been impressed with the amount of visit that they've been doing and how they've embraced some of our investigators. I think they are also a little surprised with us. When we tell people there will be 3 weddings next month they usually are pretty impressed. But I’m really grateful for their help. It makes my life a little easier.

By the way, thanks for the package! I got it today and was way stoked. Good stuff....

No new pics this week, I need to take some more. But this area is kinda dangerous, so I usually don’t carry my camera with me. This really isn’t the safest of all my areas. Drugs. Murders. Robberies. Yeah. I'll try to take some this week though.

Well, that’s pretty much what went down this week. Weird. I turn 20 this week....But anyways. I love you guys! Hope that all is going well! Tchau!

Terra Nova

2010-04-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Well, it's been an interesting week. We're really trying to prepare for the upcoming weddings and baptisms. One family is awesome and were really prepared by the Lord. They even went to church in (pretty much) church-standard clothes! The other couple is having a few difficulties. The husband drinks the occasional beer....But we are working with them and it looks like everything should go well for next month. We visited one family and took the bishopric with us. When we were leaving, the bishop's counselor complimented us and said he'd do anything for us and that the ward will do anything we ask concerning people we're teaching and member visits. So, it looks like we have ward support, which is always nice.

Yesterday was an interesting day. We had interviews with President. This week he had to send 2 missionaries away because of disobedience to some commandments. So, he drilled us on obedience and talked about being a strong companionship. I was expecting the interview to just be me and Pres, but it was with the companionship. I was impressed by some of the things he said. He told us that our current area had been the highest baptizing in the mission. But, when we showed up there wasn't even a baptismal date marked. He then went on to say that he felt strongly that we needed to be in this area and we, are what he considers to be, one of the strongest companionships in the mission. He told us that he has faith that we are the right companionship to be in this area, and he felt we have the potential to turn this area back into the highest baptizing in the mission....Then, he looked at me and said that either one of us are capable of being senior...I guess I was a little surprised by that comment. It sounds like there is a purpose for me here, and President expects a lot out of us....Interesting.

Today was a pretty fun day. We played soccer starting at like 7:30am. In the first game, I twisted my ankle pretty bad. It's pretty ugly right now....I was wearing an Argentina jersey, maybe all the Brazilians wanted to beat me up or something. Brazilians don't really like Argentina.... After that we had a churraso and just messed around for a little bit. It was fun, but hurts a little to walk. But it happens...

On Saturday, a family in the ward had a little birthday party for me. It was pretty low key, just 4 missionaries and the family, but it was pretty fun. The sister made a big lasagna and bought a bunch of pop and cake. So, that was fun. I still can't really believe I'm almost 20 though...Weird...

That was pretty much this week. Just trying to work hard and find some good families to teach. But hope all is going well at home. Love you guys!

-Elder Eric Stapley

Terra Nova

Well, I just got done with my first week in Manaus! It's been good for the most part. I baptized a girl named Brenda. She and her mom were baptized, and she wanted the elder I replaced to do the baptism, since I took his place, I was able to do it! It was a pretty cool experience. We had the baptism on Sunday after church and it was great! A lot of members of the ward came and a lot of investigators. We had 11 investigators in our ward on Sunday, which is a miracle for this area. I'm serving in one of the hardest areas in the city. But, after a lot of investigators saw the baptism, they all want to be baptized as well! We had a few ask us if they could be baptized right then and there! We are hoping for some success this month with baptisms. We had several investigators that are SO close! A lot of them know it's true, they know it. There are just some life-style changes that need to occur, but I have faith that things will work out with some of them. So, if all goes well, we should have some weddings and some baptisms. I'm excited!

It's hot here! My first couple days were pretty cloudy and not really that bad, but it's been getting warmer. Turns out September is the hottest month of the year. Whoo! It's the dry season, never rains and there should never even be a breeze. But, I brought some Seattle weather with me I guess. A few days we had some breezes and there were some clouds. So that's cool. The Brasileros make fun of me for being white. I put a little sunscreen on and have never really burned. Well, a little on my neck, but it's not bad. I'm getting tan and have a line. Gross...but whatever I guess.

I've learned so much with the language this week. The first couple days were pretty hard. People talk fast and with and accent. At first I had no clue what was going on- which drives me nuts. I'm starting to get better with it and am understanding more than at the beginning of the week. In the CTM, I learned how to speak decently, but hearing is different. My trainer speaks like a Brazilian. It's helpful for me. He's helping me with my accent and helping me learn the language. I can't wait for the day that I'm fluent! I just wish it were soon!

My dad (Elder Christensen) is way cool. All the trainers are called pais and the trainees are filhos (dads/kids). He's funny and we get along well. He's been in this area for 3 months, so it's nice to have an in with the members. We get along really well, and I can never imagine there being a problem with us. He's a good missionary and teaches me a lot.

So, you asked about the food. This one is going to be a big surprise. Rice and beans!! Every lunch (well- except one- there were no beans). It's pretty good though, and I'm glad it's not something worse. For breakfast, (which isn't really formal at all. It's like a snack) I eat cereal. Lunch is the big meal here, and we usually eat with members, unless they forget. Then they usually give us money and we go to a restaurant. They also like to eat noodles, but with nothing on them. It's kinda weird...but I like the variety. We don't eat dinner. I think we did once. That's our time to find people at home and to teach. When we get back home we make some eggs or a little snack. That's the food. In some of the poorer areas they eat a lot more fish, but here- rice and beans. The drinks are way good though. Like passion fruit juice or pineapple juice, guava, mango. So good!

I'm in the central part of the city and not really IN the rainforest. But even parts of the city are right next to it. You see monkeys and snakes. You could just walk right into the forest. I hear that's a cool area to serve. The wards are big over there and the work is exploding with lots of baptisms, and the churches are packed. I saw my first snake this week. He wasn't too big, but it was cool to see. I've seen papigioes. (I'm sure I spelled that wrong.) They are the smaller green parrots and are crazy. I haven't seen an arara yet, the BIG red parrots. I guess they are huge. The little papigoes are pretty funny and some people keep them as pets and teach them words. It was funny the first time I heard one saying "oi". They yell words and whistle at you. It's pretty funny. I guess some will even say their owner's name. I'm looking forward to seeing a full arara.

Today, we are at the center, the downtown area. My pai took me to see the Rio Negro and showed me the old opera house and other sights.
Props to Shannon for the mission papers! It's hard, but you'll love it! Hopefully, you get called to Brazil. But, props to you.

So one interesting thing- this area is nuts with churches. There are more churches than I ever knew existed, and some of them are crazy. You can hear them yelling and screaming down the street. There are so many different churches- like more than the McDonald's and Starbucks combined in Seattle (probably add gas stations to that, too.) The people are super religious, which is what makes it hard sometimes. They all have their church, or believe there isn't one true church. Most of the people are nice, but it can be hard to talk with them about religion because they believe so many different things. But,it's fun!

Well, that's pretty much it for now. Oh, if you guys ever feel like sending me a package you should send some skittles, peanut butter and jelly, and taco seasoning. You are probably wondering why taco seasoning. It's because this place is driving me nuts for mexican food. Elder Christensen, too. I feel like I should be able to go pick up a taco or tortilla or Mexican food anywhere! But it doesn't exist! So, if you ever send a package, that would be appreciated. So, have a good week, keep it real, and yeah...Love you guys. Tchao!

Manaus!

2009-08-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

from the top: Eric's new comp Elder Christensen, Manaus temple site, friends from the CTM, CTM district, teacher Irmano Ramos

Oi família!

Eu estou no Manaus agora! I'm serving in the central part of the city of Manaus. It's a pretty decent sized city. From my area you can see where Rio Preto e Rio Amazonas run together. I flew with 2 americans and 7 brasileros. I'm super stoked to be here, I was going crazy at the CTM and by the last week I was kinda dying. I loved my district, but we all started getting annoyed with each other by the end. I can see myself kicking it with some of them after the mission, cool guys. Oh, btw, they all loved the ice cream shakes and were very happy for them!

It's weird that I'm actually here. Today is still P-day (quarta-feira/Wednesday). It's pretty humid and the hottest time of the year, but the past 2 days have been "really cold." Meaning 85-90ish. The day before I came it was 105 or 110. Something nuts like that. I love the sun though, especially after not seeing it for 9weeks in the CTM. I'm kinda white...I hope I don't just fry.

We were greeted by the President and APs at the airport, went to the temple construction ground (mostly just dirt) and went to President Jayme's house. The food there was good, SO much better than the CTM! And- we had ice cream- it was great. We learned a little about the Manaus mission, talked about health, went to the mission office, had interviews and got our new comps and areas. After that, we played a few games (one which my comp and I dominated!) and had a little meeting where the trainers bore their testimonies. A lot of them thought I could speak Portuguese really well and were impressed. I hope I do fine with the language...the accent here is a little different, but I understand the general meaning.

My comp, Elder Christensen, is from Idaho, goes home in December and is a way good guy. All the APs said that I scored, and President Jayme said really nice things about him. We get along great. I like him. Tonight we have an appointment to teach the 1st lesson!! Whoo! I'm so stoked. Hopefully, I can remember everything I learned...but I'm not really worried about it. We have some progressing investigators in our area and we actually have a baptismal service on Saturday! I haven't met them yet, but I hear they are nice.

The Manaus mission is one of the most successful in Brazil. We are in an area where the church has been here a little longer. There are members in our ward that have been active for 30 years or so, which is really cool. But, I guess they aren't always the most helpful to the missionaries or the most humble. My area includes some humbler (I doubt that's a word but whatever) areas and some better off places. So, it's one of the harder areas in Manaus. I'm down with that though. Our bishop is 27 yrs old (some of the older members have a tough time with that). I hear he's way cool. I like my comp and am excited to find out more about the area and meet more people.

This morning I met the previous stake president's wife and 2 other sisters as they were going to visit the people getting baptised on Saturday. They were nice and asked if I could speak Portuguese. I understood most of what they said, but it'll take a little getting used to the new accent.

Oh, I need to tell you about my apartment. It's really nice! For missionary standards...I guess...2 companionships used to live there but now it's just my comp and me. We have 2 bathrooms, 4 beds, and 2 refrigerators. Cool animals I've seen (if you want to actually say cool)- a parrot and some parakeets. Other than that, I've seen cockroaches...in my apartment. I hate them. I've only seen 1 or 2 but they are there. I just need to get used to them. Better than the cockroaches,we have a rat that lives around our apartment. He's never gone in, but he'll hang out in between our house and wall and washing machine. My bed is close to a window, and I guess missionaries have woke up to see him right there next to the ledge. They tried many times to get rid of him but I guess he's huge. Fun... The showers have one kind of heat... you don't know how cold it will be. That's not bad. I like the cold water, it's the ONLY time I won't be hot. Overall.I like it. It's a nice place and really not that bad.

Hope all is well with you. Send me some cartas. Obrigado. Anyway, love you guys. Tchao!

-Elder Eric Stapley

Week 8

2009-08-23T19:41:00.001-07:00

Oi!

How’s it going? Thank you so much for the Cheney's gift certificate. My district loves you Mom. They specifically wanted me to express their love for you and want you to know that you are the best and saved some of their lives. You have no idea how excited the district was when I told them we were gonna have a party! I can’t take a picture inside of Mr. Cheney's, but I’ll definitely take some with my district.

This week went pretty well. We went out proselyting in downtown São Paulo and it was awesome, except they only let us have 2 Livros de Mórmon (lame). Considering last time we gave out 8. But, it was all good. We just made sure the people we gave them to would actually read them and I had them promise me they would call the missionaries. It was fun. The first one we gave out was to a lady just walking down the street. I stopped her and just asked how she was and told her that we're missionaries and had a message for her. She looked semi-interested, so we continued. I just started asking her if she had a family (she hesitated for 1 second, which scared me. Because if she said no, then that would have been awkward...), but she said yes, and told me about her son. I asked if she loved her son. She looked a little taken back at first but then said, "Claro!" (meaning "of course!") Score. So then I asked her if she wanted to live with her son forever, after this life. She said yes and then I told her about how God loves us and wants us to live with our families forever, and he told us how we can. That lead into the Book of Mormon, and I promised her that she could live with her family and be happy forever. I gave her the Book of Mormon and asked if she would read it, then had her promise she would call the missionaries (who can speak better Portuguese than I can) and they could tell her more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was legit. I understood everything she was saying to me, and I genuinely think she will read it. It was so much fun!

The other guy we gave it too was pretty cool too. He passed us in the street (which are insanely busy) and he said "Good afternoon" to us. We replied in Portuguese and kind of kept walking. My companion and I both then just stopped and turned around, just in time to see him turn around too. So, we walked right up to him and just started talking. He spoke some English, and he told us how he learned, and how he likes Americans. Then we told him we are learning Portuguese and love Brasileros! We then just started saying where we were from and stuff, which led into why we are in Brasil. We ended up telling him about the church and the LgM and he almost read it on the spot. He told us that he loves to read and wants to learn more about Mormons, so we made him promise us to call the missionaries too! So legit!

Not all of our experiences were like these two though. We got shut down and preached to. That was exciting. It reminded me of the first time we went proselyting and some guy was telling us how he believes in Science! I’m not sure if I told you guys that or not, but it reminded me so much of Nacho Libre. But, it was way fun to just go out and talk to Brasileros and about the church.

I’m SO stoked to be in Manaus soon. Under a week left! I feel ready. It starts to get kind of hard in the CTM all the time. So many new missionaries are showing up. It's nuts. I’m glad I came when I did, because now it’s crazy, but still fun (I guess...not really...) Basketball is way fun. I’m going to miss that part. When you play basketball everyday you kind of get attached to it and it becomes the favorite part of the day.

Anyways, I’m trying to think what else is up. Umm...Sunday I took a nap! For like an hour! Not very long, but it felt so good. I hope I can take another one this Sunday, but since it’s our last Sunday here we have some extra meetings and stuff. I’m starting to get used to this sleep schedule though. Well mostly. We went to the temple today, so we got up at like 5:30, and I was out of it. But 6:30 isn’t too bad anymore (that sounds so weird to say)

Oh, before I forget. Shoutout to Shannon. Thank you for the news about Les Paul. I cried inside for a while. No joke.

Well, I'm trying to think what else is new. Nothing really. Just lots of class and practicing. My companion and I teach really well together, which is good, but our professors expect a lot out of us. But it’s fun.

Hope you guys are having fun on your trip. I’ll get pics to you guys soon, I promise. Maybe today if I can. Well, time is short so I’m going to go. So, love you guys, hope all is well. Looking forward to letters as always. Erynn you should probably change my address to the one in Manaus now though. I’m peacing out. So bye, love you guys!

-Elder Eric Stapley