October 27th

This week we worked and worked again. I really enjoyed it. This week passed by SO fast. It's crazy. We teach like 4 or 5 lessons, then we clap doors for an hour or two and its time to go back home. The Day light savings time makes it interesting too because what 5 o'clock looked like is now what 7:30 looks like. So it really does fly by. Not much else happened this week. 

We didn't have any investigators at church, but a family that hasn't been to church in like 5 years is now coming again and we are teaching them just basic spiritual messages throughout the week. Its really nice. I am learning that it doesn't even matter if they are members or not, Teaching the gospel and ´´converting´´ people brings me so much happiness.

 I am learning that a missionaries job isn't to baptize, but to just share the glad message of the gospel to everyone. Those who are ready to accept it will, and those who wont, wont. We are doing what the lyrics in Ye Elders of Israel say and are separating the wheat from the tares. 

I think of home a lot, but time is really flying by. My Portuguese is getting better. We had a multi-zone conference and i didn't need a translator. New missionaries showed up from the ctm this week and I forgot how bad it was my first week in the field. I'm so glad it only gets better haha. 

I think of you guys all the time. Everyone. like I wake up in the middle of the night and just smile because I had a random memory pop in my head. I love it. 

I love you guys and miss you so much. but I know that this time is flying by.

Love,

Elder Moss

October 20th

I think I miss the fall time more than I thought I would. This week was hot. sometimes I couldn't tell if I was sweating or melting. So After talking to my companion about wanting to work a lot more this transfer, he agreed and he had the same idea. So this week was my best week ever. We have a saying that we tell each other when good things happen ( and bad). we say ´´so bençaos´´

which means only blessings. The first day, we tracted in this area called Vila Pinheria, and started knocking on doors. Immediately we had people agree to let us teach them. in one week, we gained like 7 or 8 new investigators. Of course some of our appointments fell through, but it was such a good week. 

We found this family of 5, three kids and Antonio and Maria. They aren't married, but Antonio will be her second husband. he is the step dad. He is so nice. To them, family means everything. We taught them about families and invited them to church. They only came to sacrament meeting, and it was only Antonio and two kids, Maria was sick at home with the baby. But we are going back to teach them tonight.

A few weeks ago, we taught this 20 year old like 3 times and he wasn't interested. He likes to drink and smoke and party too much. But we originally wanted to talk to his mom. Well this week we saw him in the park with some friends, and he was a little bit tipsy and he called us over, and told us that his mom wanted to talk to us and when she would be home. So we stopped by, and talked to her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and committed her to be baptized. She wasn't able to make it to church, but We are thinking within the next two weeks or so it will happen.

While tracting, we meet this woman in her mid twenties. She was at her friends house, and she let us have her address to come by later that day. We did, and she was just leaving the house so we didn't get to teach anything, but we made contact so it was good. the next day, we were late for lunch, and she drove past us, stopped and gave us a ride to where we were going, which was a two sided blessing (because we made contact again, and the normal friendly contact, not like missionary contact). So bençaos

So most to all of my powerful spiritual experiences have been in between 8 and 9 during my personal study. I heard a talk in them MTC that was 6 lessons that missionaries need to learn. I have been focused on like two of the 6, and they are ´´miracles are real´´ and ´´missionaries can receive gifts of the spirit´´. I didn't know much about gifts of the spirit, and so I have been studying those, but I have been so humbled by those experiences. I think my favorite experience (I wont go into detail because they are pretty personal) was when I finally realized how close we are to God and Jesus Christ. Sometimes after a bad day we feel lonely or we feel like no one cares, but I finally experienced that Jesus and God are always there. They always answer prayers. They are so close to us we don't even realize it. They love us and they want our happiness. Yeah, sometimes things happen that make us wonder and doubt, but they are ALWAYS there. 

Anyways, I hope we have another fast and hard working week, because THIS was my favorite week yet. Everyday we were tired, dirty, hot and sweaty, riding the bus home, but I just felt so happy and at peace. 

Until next week, Love elder Moss

OH i forgot. I know Christmas is still months away and then my birthday, AND I AM NOT ASKING ANYONE TO SEND ME A PACKAGE because they can be expensive to send, but just know that it takes about 2 months to get here. 

October 13th

this first picture is our zone. It will change a little bit this week after transfers, but not by much. 


I am going to miss fall! But not cutting grass so much haha. Its the opposite here, and so it is only getting hotter. I'd say its like the mid 90s everyday. The weather is weird here, because some days it will be so humid, and I will take two steps out side and immediately be drenched in sweat. Other times I will walk for miles without sweating that much because it is so dry. but none the less, we walk A LOT. 

So this week we didn't do a lot, mainly just cleaning the house and preparing for transfers. It was really funny because my companion has been in this city since may and he wants to leave. Hes just tired of the area. So he started packing his bags all last week in anticipation for transfers. We got transfers last night, and...... We are both staying here for another 6 weeks!! I started laughing so hard when I saw his face after we heard the news. All 6 of the missionaries in our city are going to stay for another 6 weeks. I don't know how I feel about that, but I already talked to my companion and we both agreed that we are going to work really hard this transfer. This transfer was kind of long, but he said the time only goes by faster, and you only get happier as the weeks go on. He said the first transfer is definitely the worse.

Love Elder moss!!

this picture is the city where I serve. This is pirassinunga :) its kind of muggy though. It wasn't a good picture taking opportunity. I had better, but this is the best picture that I got. And the little VW in the picture is everywhere. Everyone has this car. Its crazy. 

October 6th

So this week was not what I expected. We had some good lessons with investigators, but none of them committed to be baptized. Hopefully they will commit in the next week or two. 

        So I was so excited for conference!! I was absolutely pumped. I was prepared to be inspired and blown away by prophetic talks answering my questions. We get to the church on Saturday, a half hour before the first session, and my companion and I are the first people to show up. 5 minutes til the first session, we were still the only people there. I had been told many times that there would be a room set up where I could watch conference either on a computer or something so I could understand the talks (in English) so before the first session started, I asked my companion where that room was. He just laughed and said no one else in the ward speaks English so why would they do that just for you? I was completely heart broken.

        Looking back at it I should have been prepared for that, but so many people told me I could watch it in English that I wasn't prepared for that. So for session after session, I just watched prophets speak, and listened to the translator talk over them in Portuguese. I literally didn't understand any of it. It was one of the most depressing and torturing moments of my life haha. Some times I would understand a phrase, write it down, and then get lost again. At least I got to hear the music in English. But sometimes even that was disappointing because a lot of the songs the motab choir sang were the EXACT same versions on my ipod. Overall, I was let down this conference. Not by the talks (obviously) but by my ability to understand it. 

So earlier this week we got a call saying that investigator (whom had already been committed to be baptized) had just moved into our ward. So... We have a baptism this transfer! hahaha And I got to baptize her! her name is Luanda, and she is 14. I didn't even have to do the prayer over again. The baptism was in between our first two sessions of conference, so that helped my self esteem and moral a little bit. 

The last conference session, on Sunday afternoon was the only session I got to watch in English. I took so many notes. I was so happy haha. I soaked every word that they said it. I really liked how (I think it was) Elder Richard G Scott talked about opposition in all things, and I felt like he was directly talking to me. I started laughing so hard when in the last session, the session I could finally watch in English, One of the talks was in Portuguese. We went back into the room to watch it in Portuguese without a translator, and I understood a lot because instead of just hearing a translators voice, I could read his mouth and tell what he was saying. 

All in all, it was okay. I'm going to download the talks only an sd card off of lds.org and listen to them in English for the next few days during personal study. 

Well, conference came and went, I learned many lessons, and I made goals for the next general conference. 

Love, 

Elder Moss