November 16th & 23rd

November 16, 2015
This week was pretty calm. We just worked, knocked on doors, visited people, and talked to people about going to church. 

Here is was pretty hot this week. Just sweating and sweating all day long. 

haha Theres not very much to say about this week.

Haha I heard there was a pretty bad snow storm in New York, and I had to stop and remember which month it was!

November 23, 2015

This week was very fast but stressful. On Wednesday we had English classes which was pretty normal, but on Thursday we had a ward activity that was awesome!... it was well prepared for and everything, just no one showed up. We had about 15 to 20 people there. It was planned for and everything by the missionaries. We even had to buy all of the material (and we will be reimbursed too) but that was stressful because we didn't have time to work all day. 

On Sunday we had a new investigator go to church, and we marked a baptismal date with him for December 20th. We got pretty excited about that.

Love Elder Moss

Monday, October 26th

Haha you and dad are now speaking Portuguese! maybe I'll write the message in Portuguese!

Então essa semana foi bom! O novo missionario que eu estou treinando se chama Elder De Almeida. Ele é de Pará, um outro estado aqui em brazil. 

ele ja serviu uma mission de corto prazo por 1 mes, mas ele ainda esta aprendendo. As vezes eu tenho que me relembrar de paciência. E tambem, nao da pra fazer todas as coisas nos precisamos fazer por que eu preciso fazer outras coisas que os Lideres de Zona falam pra mim. Eu estou gostando muito, mas eu acho que esse transferencia vai passar um pouco mais devagar. 

the google translate isn't going to explain very will because I used a lot of slang. 

This week was good! The new missionary that I'm training is called Elder de Almeida. He is from para! the same state as my other companion, Elder Portilho. He already served a part time mission for a month, but he is still learning a lot. some times I have to remind myself that I need to have more patience. Also, sometimes it doesn't work to do all of the things I need to do because I'm doing OTHER things the zone leaders ask me to do. I'm liking it alot, but I think this transfer will go by a little slower than the last. 

Its pretty good here in the city. I Think that next week I will have p day on Tuesday, because its ANOTHER holiday. Incredible. I don't like all these holidays on Mondays. Its the day of the dead. Everyone goes to the cemeteries and pay respect to all those that have died. So we know where we are going to be all day...

Love Elder Moss!

October 14th

     This week was interesting. It was just mostly work. We met some cool people, but nobody went to church. We started our first official English class. There were about 55 people there. I am helping to teach the advanced class. It doesn't have that many, but we actually speak English so that's cool. On Monday, I wasn't able to get on the internet because it was national kids day. Its like a second Christmas here. We did about 200 contacts in one day. We were exhausted. 

 Yesterday we had our multi zone conference. It was really spiritual. Our mission is finally going in the right direction that I feel like it will progress. We have this new idea of literally talking to everyone we see about the gospel. 

Haha I laughed when I saw my baptism photos yesterday.

Love Elder Moss

(These are the 2 pictures that were sent to James' Mission at their request for baptismal photo's)

Monday October 5th

Well This week went by VERY fast. We had things happening every day.
 Monday was p day

Tuesday was my first leadership counsel. It was good and very informal. I just didnt like the end of it when President started asking about what my numbers were for Sunday and Monday after p day. The numbers were really low, so haha I kind of was embarrased. Plus it was in front of all of the leaders on the mission. 

Wednesday was zone meeting in the morning, and I went on splits with one of the elders here in the district in the afternoon. We just worked a lot. It was good. 

Thursday was something else, but I forgot--haha so many things are happening.

Friday I went on splits with another missionary from the district. I helped him with new investigators. We met this guy that had received the missionaries for a long time, but he also said that he studied with Jehovah witness for 2 years, and with the 7th day Adventists. so we were going to teach about the restoration, but we ended up just talking about prophets. It was a very spiritual lesson. Its been a while since I had a lesson like that one. 

Saturday and Sunday were conference. They were so good. I personally liked the Saturday evening, and the first on Sunday the most.

 Mom, did you hear elder Hollands talk? If not, I would like you to listen to it, and watch it. It was one of my personal favorites. 

Love Elder Moss

We taught english to some kids this week and that was pretty cool!

and I reorganized space... I know my hair cut looks weird but I promise its just the way the light is shining off my hair.

September 20th

This week was awesome! So Tuesday was my first district meeting. It went pretty smoothly.  After it, one of the assistants came up to me and he said that it was one of the best district meetings that he has had here in Brazil. 

We did this one contact with a woman on the street on Tuesday, went to talk to her on Friday. So we get there, and she told us that she had been looking for a church that most represents Jesus Christ. Well we start talking about the restoration, and I started to get nervous because she started asking questions and ended up telling us that she grew up Jehovah witness, and so we were kind of fighting that for a little bit.

 But she started crying when she was telling us about how hard her life is right now. She is unemployed, and is being kicked out of her house and she doesn't know where to turn. I offered a priesthood blessing, and she said she never let people put hands on her head because she is always scared that someone unworthy will give the blessing and something bad will enter her soul or something bad will happen. So we talked a little bit more, and when we had to leave, I asked if we could pray on our knees. She said yes, and after the prayer, she looks at us and says ´´ I think I want one of those blessings on the head´´ so I gave her the  blessing, and It was such a spiritual experience. When I finished, she was crying, and she said she wanted us to come back so that she could get to know the church.

Well I think Friday, I ran into a tree and hit my head pretty hard. and that was funny to everyone in our house for the next hew days. 

Saturday, my companion and I were chased by swans.... It was the weirdest but scariest experience in a while. I literally didn't know what was happening, because swans are NOT normal birds here. and it just started running at us with its neck stretched at us...

This week was just as great. I hope it stays like this. I just hope everything goes well for that investigator we have. She said that if she doesn't find a house or a job this week, she has to move to Sao Paulo. so keep her in your prayers. Her name is Kelly. 

There is a chance that I could be in the newspaper this next week for English classes for free by Americans. 

Love Elder Moss

  

About the Pictures:

1) picture of piracicaba from my area

2) the river! its actually full now!

3) the assistants to the prez. 

4) something that reminded me of Durham!

5) we taught abunch of kids about english! and they made poster for us. These are some of their teachers

6) a cool bridge

September 14th

Yeah I remember testing on the trumpet for the first time. I felt so bad at it. But it helped to laugh at myself. haha that made other people laughing at me not so bad.

So this week was actually 100 times better than I thought it was going to be... It started off rough, but after like Wednesday or Thursday, it became awesome, because ´´everything is awesome when you're part of a team!´´ - JC and Robert (and dad) name that movie.

So I work like I have always worked. My area is complicated. Its tough.  We still have to do a ton of contacts every day and work a lot. The only new responsibilities that I have is that I have to call every companionship in my district a few times a day to see how their day is going. I also have to plan and conduct district meetings every Tuesday morning. This means I have to prepare trainings for the 10 Elders in my district. Which is what stressed me in the beginning, because my district has the assistants to the president, and 4 old zone leaders. So they already know basically everything I can have to offer. 

But what I learned this week is that I absolutely love all of the elders in my district. They are all awesome. The said that the district lacked union in the past, and I am realizing that my personality is truly fit for where I am right now.

 Anyways, I am happy where I am. I am excited for this week, and I have faith that we can do what we need to do when we are called by God.

Thats actually a pretty cool experience that I had this week. So in the middle of the week, I was stressing alot. Like it was hard for me to sleep. I knew if I were going to do this, I needed help. I prayed and asked God for that help. I knew and still know that if I want this help, I have to be worthy of it. I really have to try my hardest. I have seen God's hand in the last week helping me when I need help. I am starting to change a few wrong attitudes that I had at the beginning of the mission.

So Elder Portiliho, my old companion from Poços de Caldas, he was transferred like two months ago to Piracicaba, the 3rd ward. I didn't know this until this Sunday, but my ward and his ward used the same chapel! So I will be seeing him like every day until the end of his mission. He was a great companion.

That's basically what happened this week

Love Elder Moss

June 22nd

I miss those long hikes and cliffs! I have a few long and hard walks of my own, but they are all up hill and on a road. 

So this week, the president challenged the entire mission. He said that all the people that have above a certain number of lessons, and indicator keys, will have a special lunch with him. So my companion and I worked... and worked.. and worked.. I am physically exhausted and practically dead, but we got those numbers.

 I was disappointed because the only thing we missed was the investigators in the church. We needed 8, and only one decided to go. That was hard, but it was good to work a lot. We learned some new techniques, and we talked to the zone leaders, and apparently my companion and I were some of the only ones that got even close to it. That felt good haha. Only one companionship actually got the goals. We were so close, but the investigators in the sacramental got us. We taught over 40 lessons.

I think this week (today) I am going to buy some indoor soccer shoes. we will see some prices and I will try out some pairs. 

But this week we will keep working our hardest.

Love,

 Elder Moss