92 weeks -baptism with rain water

It's only seven more weeks? Haha just kidding, I can't believe it either! I'm excited! I'm excited to be home and excited to be able to finish my mission strong. That's exactly what we're doing here =) 

We had a great baptism yesterday! It was raining so hard that the power went out. As such, the font couldn't be filled and we were in a bit of a pickle. We decided to put 6 buckets out in the rain and hope for the best. Afterwards, we used these buckets to fill the font up to about my knees. We got in the water and had to get on our knees for me to be baptized. It was a baptism I will never forget. He left the water with tears in his eyes and just seemed to light up with the Holy Ghost. I can now say that I've baptized someone with rain water =)

Tell Joe I said happy father's day and happy aniversary to you both. I don't even remember when American holidays are anymore...oh well haha. I'm grateful he's been around for so long too. Tell Haylee that I would love to go to the farm with her. I am loving the mission and loving how hard we're working, but man does it make you tired. I'm not as tired as I was with Elder Ribeiro (my "son") because Elder Salas has way more time in the mission than he did, so I don't have to micromanage. Elder Salas actually goes home in 7 days (not weeks), so I'll be getting a new companion next week! Lots of areas in the mission are going to shut because we don't have enough missionaries. We'll see if I get to stay in an area that stays open. 

Other than that, the week was really uneventful. We're going to try and get a lot of work done this week, but we are going to have lots of meetings to attend as well.It should go by fast, but hopefully not too fast =p

Love you all!

Elder Sanderson

91 weeks: teaching impolite English

Hey there everyone!

Alright, this email is going to be fast because the power has been out all afternoon and we just got to our emails. We have to run and catch the bus after this, so I'll just give a summary!

Glad that the farm was in good shape and that you guys got to see so much cool stuff there with the Church history. I hope that I get to see it too =) I was glad to hear that my seat is still my seat at the table and expect it as such when I get home. Speaking of which...TWO MONTHS!!!!

Haha

I learned this week that you should think before you teach when you are teaching someone your native language. I was at lunch and there was a little girl who is 7 asking me about a million things to say in English: what's that, and that, and that, etc. Her mom got tired of it really quickly and asked me, "Elder Sanderson, how do you say be quiet?" I didn't pause to translate in a polite way and replied, "shut up." She then looked at her daughter and said, "Hey, shut up." Haha I couldn't help but laugh and realized that "be quiet" probably would have been better. She continued telling her daughter that for the rest of our time there haha.

It's funny that you might have found my potential haha, I think the Sisters in my district tried to find me one too. We were at a wedding the other night and it was a wedding between two wards (my ward and the other ward). We were invited and decided to go so that we could eat some good food. When we were there, the Sisters came up to me with a girl I had met once before. Her name, ironically enough, is Sarah. The Sisters wuickly told me that she is 20 and wants to marry an American. Yes, this was in front of Sarah. But before you judge, Sarah is deaf and so she speaks Portuguese Sign Language. It was quite the neat experience to learn a bunch of words and I still remember most of them. Sarah is really cool and she seemed to like us. I don't plan on talking to her very much, I'm a missionary, so that's not what I do, but maybe I'll get her to friend request me on Facebook. 

One more quick note and then I gotta run. We were on the news today! They shut down a big bus terminal in our area and it has made quite a scene. They are just renovating it, but it is going to take a long time to finish. As a result, the news crews are there to hear peoples' complaints. We were standing at the bus stop today and they did an interview right in front of us, we'll be famous for sure. I was tempted to wave or something, but decided not to. It's probably for the best =)

One more thing! We baptized again this week! Two baptisms, actually! It was great =) They were both really excited and liked it a lot! We should have one more this week if everything goes according to plan!

Love you all,

Elder Sanderson! 

90 weeks: getting through and a chicken story

Hey Everyone! 

What a crazy week it was. I can honestly say that it was the most stressful week of my mission. However, with all trials come blessings. I was greatly blessed by EVERYTHING that happened last week! Let me give you an idea of what happened: 

Monday, I got Dear Johned, yeah it sucked, but that's how it goes. I was given some amazing support by my buddies here in the mission and also by Heavenly Father. I won't lie, it was a constant struggle to just keep working and try to find the drive to continue. I got sick because of the stress, but knew I couldn't stop. We just kept at it and I tried my best to deal with the emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. I got on my knees Monday night and I just prayed and prayed and prayed. It was the first time I've talked to Heavenly Father in English in a very long time. I simply talked to Him and trusted in Him. I know He has a plan. I woke up the next day with a smile on my face and worked out even more than I usually do. We also had a service project that helped a lot. It was nothing but manual labor and it felt great to be able to concentrate my energy and my mind on something. 

As the week progressed, I could only feel the love of my Heavenly Father and once again was given and amazing blessing. I found out the next day that Elder Ribeiro would be Emergency Transferred to Acre. I loved Elder Ribeiro, so him leaving wasn't the blessing, but the blessing was my new companion. I gained Elder Salas (from Boilivia) as my companion. He goes home in three weeks. It was a blessing because I had to work really hard to show him the area and try and focus on the work. That is what got me through the week. 

With all of that being said, yes, we did baptize everyone within a quarter mile ******I sent him a funny Napolean Dynamite meme because I am an awesome mom lol 😀*********.    and will continue to do so! We baptized Louis who is 79 years-old! He is half-deaf and I had to use my UFC moves to get him under the water haha. I explained the whole process, but I don't think he quite got it, so I just decided to wing it. He went under finally and came out of the water saying, "Now I'm happy, now I'm happy!" It was one of the more spiritual baptisms of my mission =) We also have baptisms lined up for this week and next week! Just need one for the end of the transfer and we'll be baptizing weekly the rest of the transfer =) 

I also might have received revelation for my work when I get home =) I dreamed the other night that I was an instructor at the MTC in Provo! It was awesome because that means I was teaching Portuguese. I'm going to look into it when I get the chance =) Teaching Portuguese would be awesome for work! 

I also had something happen to me that has never happened in my mission. I had a chicken come flying through a window and land on my head before jumping off. Did you guys see that coming? Neither did I. Haha it was hilarious! We were at lunch sharing the spiritual thought and all of a sudden I hear a cluck, a flapping of wings, and then a chicken jumping off my head! I had my back to the window, so it took me even more off guard haha. We couldn't take anything seriously after that, and I don't think I'll ever forget it. 

Haha, what a week it was =) I am extremely blessed by my family and friends. I can't thank you all enough for the email and promise that I feel great, look great, and am great! Nothing can stop that =) No matter what happens, it all works out in the end. That's exactly what I see, and am already seeing, is happening. 

Love you all! Have a great week! I hope that the Lord blesses you as much as He blesses me =)

Elder Sanderson

89 weeks. Faith.

*****HD had a very rough week this week and I am not going to post his letter.  I knew he would be ok and he knew he would be ok but it was a very hard time for him and it was hard for me not to be able to be there for him.  I still wanted to document this week of his mission.  We emailed a few times back and forth that day towards the end I told him one of my favorite quotes which is "the future is as bright as your faith" which was said by Presdident Thomas S Monson.  His reply made my mom heart happy he said:

"Then I have a very, very bright future ahead of me indeed =)"

I was so thankful to read that. :) love that missionary boy of ours. 

88 weeks! "What is it old man?!?"

Hey there friends, lovers, and other strangers,

I'm pretty sure that's that Jack said in that episode of Will and Grace, but I have no idea why it's in my head haha.

Our week in the jungle was pretty good. Not too much out of the ordinary, but still good. We didn't have to go anywhere by boat, just lots of places by bus. I'm now the district leader of 4 areas (including my own), and also the only district leader in my zone. That means that when someone needs a baptismal interview, they will call me to do it. This week, the other three areas needed interviews in the same afternoon...It was crazy. However, to make it easier on me, the zone leaders decided to just do splits with us so that our area could keep working as well. It was a fun split. I went with Elder Mount (who got to Brazil with me) and we had a blast. He goes home in 5 weeks and I go home after that, so it was weird to be so old. We ate pizza and dipped the crust in a nacho cheese dip that a member gave me! They don't have nachos here, so it was a first in Brazil! 

Sunday, I taught several lessons, but not in church =p this is one of my first areas in Brazil that has enough people with enough experience to allow me to just "relax" on Sunday (even  though a  missionary's life is never relaxed). The lessons that we taught our investigators were great! We read the Book of Mormon with three sisters who are getting ready for their baptisms. We decided to just start at the beginning with 1 Nephi 1 and 2. They really liked it and were able to tell us exactly what had happened in the chapters. We're excited to teach them this week =)

I'm glad Haylee is having fun on the farm =) tell her that drawing is awesome! I expect a hand-painted piece of art when I get home haha. 

We don't have too much time because of an activity that took too long to end, so I'll try and sum up the week and answer your questions =)

We saw the first quarter of the Rockets vs Golden State game in game 1 of the Western conference finals the other night. It was when we stopped at a restaurant to eat dinner. It was weird to see basketball on tv, but it made me excited to be home haha. 

I also found out that Bugs Bunny doesn't say, "what's up doc?" in portuguese, he says, "what is it old man?" haha I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that on the side of an 18-wheeler. 

Go nats! I'm glad to hear they are doing so good! 

Just a heads up, I might actually be getting home on the 11th really early in the morning, not on the 12th! I still haven't gotten the phone call, but it should be no later than next week. It sounds like they changed the travel plan for the Americans. We now go straight to Miami and then to our cities! I will let you know the day I find out =) I would get home at like 6 to 8ish in the morning on the 11th.Again, I'll let you know as soon as I know =) 

The hardest that I laughed this week was when I read a scripture reference wrong. I was reading a letter Sarah sent me, and after she signed her name, she wrote Jarom 1:4. As I went to look it up in the Book of Mormon, I looked up Jarom 1:8 by accident. Go read it you'll know why I laughed. I will never forget the shock haha. 

That was about it for us! We had a good week and are excited for one more! I hope the Lord blesses you all this week and that you find a reason to laugh, love, serve, and be grateful =)

Elder Sanderson

87 weeks- Blessing from a shopkeeper

Hi guys =)

It was an okay week, I wouldn't say amazing, but still good. We had a very adventure-filled weekend, and I'll be talking about that in a sec. 

First off, that sucks the Caps lost..., I'm glad Harper is still on fire! That Frontier Justice store looks perfect. I definitely agree with Joe's statement.

So, first off, I won free shoes this week! We were walking down the street and I saw a man who fixes shoes. I stopped to talk to him to see if he could trade out the souls of my shoes with new ones. He told me he could and asked us to stop by the next day. When we got there the next day, he asked what my shoe size was. I told him that my size is a 39 or 40 (brazilian system). He looked at me and said, "watch my stuff, I'll be right back." He leaves the store, goes to his house, and comes back with a pair of shoes. He looks at me and says, "Here, try these on." The shoes fit, he then looked at me and said, "They're yours. God bless you." It was awesome! He just gave them to me, no questions asked. I couldn't thank him enough and it was a huge blessing for me. We ran into him again yesterday, and he said he'll go to my English class on Saturday. I'm pretty sure we'll get the chance to teach him and help him enter into the waters of baptism =)

For the week (monday through thursday) that was about it. However, the adventures had only just begun. We went to a conference with a member of the Seventy on Friday morning. It was great! He taught us so well and really showed us that we are in this cause on the same level of importance. That might sound weird, but he just showed us how we are all equally yoked in the work of the Lord. It was great =) All that he taught was confirmed by the Holy Ghost and I felt as though I had already been prepared to receive it all. It was wonderful. I really liked one of the things he said to us about the difference between knowledge and works. He asked us what was necessary to have the Holy Ghost in our lives. We all gave responses such as testimony, fasting, obedience, prayer, study, etc. The list was quite lengthy and as he looked over the items listed he said, "Good, you know what they are. But are you living them?" It was a very thought provoking question. He continued, "we will never be saved for our knowledge. Knowledge will not gain salvation. This life isn't a game of theory. We have to have WORKs with our knowledge." I thought a lot about that. How many of us already know what is right, and how many of us aren't living what we know? The rest of the conference was just as good, but I just wanted to share that part.

I met a guy from Ireland this week. We were walking down the street after lunch on Friday, and I saw a guy walking down the street towards us, I looked at him and just knew he wasn't Brazilian. He looked at me with the same recognition. I called him over to us and started talking to him. I asked where he was from and he said Ireland, that he used to be an Elder, and is just passing through Brazil. I asked if he had ever been to the US, but he hadn't. We didn't talk long, but it was really weird to talk to someone in English and Portuguese, but with two different English accents haha. 

I also got searched by the police on Friday night. We were on the bus leaving a baptismal interview, when the bus just stopped in the middle of the road. It was already almost 9:30and we couldn't really see anything. Suddenly, the bus was filled with cops and they asked (nicely) that all men get off the bus. We got off and had to get up against the bus with our legs spread apart and hands on the bus. One of the cops saw us and exclaimed, "what? Mormons here?" haha. They patted everyone down, but when they got to us, the guy patted my left side and then my right side, and said, "you can go." It pays to be a missionary =) They didn't even search our bags. However, they did catch a guy who had drugs, so it's good that they did the search. 

Saturday, Elder Ribeiro and I reached a milestone. He reached 86 days in his mission and I reached 86 days until the end of mine haha. We laughed pretty hard at that. I can still remember it happening with my own trainer almost 2 years ago. Speaking of Elder Ribeiro, he and I are going to stay together for one more transfer =) I didn't get transferred, and neither did he. We're excited to keep working together and to baptize more people! 

That's about it for the week. It was slow, but adventure filled at the end! Hope that this week is the same for all of you (or just the adventure part, not so much the slow part).

Love you and miss you!

Elder Sanderson 

One new pic he sent on Mothers Day of him holding a baby sloth! 

86 weeks Mothers Day

Gotta find his Mother's Day email....it's not on my phone for some reason. It was a super short letter since we had talked for so long the day before. :) it was a great call!!!  He looked so good and sounded so good!