Week 33.....Mogi Gauco, Brazil

Another week down and I just realized that I am 1/3 of the way done with my mission. It seems like every week is getting faster, easier, and alot better. I am really seeing the blessings being poured out on us. Sometimes the blessings even come as rose petals and are literally poured out on my bed by another Elder in our house.

Last week we had an investigator fall through but we marked her baptism for Tuesday this week. We helped her make invitations for people to her baptism. She is super excited and I´m excited to send you guys pictures of baptisms. It has been a long time since I have had the oppurtunity to do that. Also last night we were teaching a family that we haven´t been able to visit for almost over a month because they were on vacation. When we visited them we were expecting to have to start over but when it came time to share a message I felt like we should talk about something a little different. Normally, we teach the restoration first but I felt like they needed another lesson. I started teaching them about faith and then my companion got the hint and we taught about repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost and then enduring to the end. Then after that we ended up marking baptisms for them on the 15th of February. Right now we have 8 people with baptisms marked for this and next month.

I am just worried that our area will be split soon or that I´ll leave and have to start all over again.

I am also noticing that I am growing and learning so much. I am no longer the Junior companion so now I have to break my tendency to not talk with people. I have been so blessed with this. As I have been testing my limits, I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life. When I don´t know what say, I always have words to say, sometimes using words that I have never used in my life.
 

Also the members seem to be liking me alot more and helping us alot more. Just to prove this I got another soccer jersey. It is a little old and faded but it is original(most of the jerseys here are just replicas) and it´s from the best team in all of Brasil.
 

Also in my house, I live with another American. He is just started on his mission and is just getting started on learning the language. Yesterday, he was super frustrated with the work and felt overwhelmed with the language. I had the oppurtunity to help him and really sit down and talk. It was so funny because he was feeling exactly how I was feeling the first transfer too. It is crazy to see how fast he is learning but it is super hard for him to see it.

Anyways that was my week for you guys. I love you guys a ton!

Love,

Elder Zachary

 

Week 32...Mogi Gauco, Brazil

Well, I have some good news now! Things are improving! Things are getting alot better with my companion and our area is definantly getting alot better. I have really seen when things are bad and when I feel like things are never going to get better that the sun will always rise and things always get better.

This week we had one baptism scheduled for Sunday but due to problems with her health we weren´t able to have it but we rescheduled it for next Sunday and I am pretty certain that it fall through again because normally this problem only happens for a couple days a month. She is really excited though for her baptism. We also are going to have a baptism on the 29th of January. She is right on track, the only problem that she has is she likes to smoke but she is going to stop.

 

This week something really cool happened. When I was with Elder Lukas we were teaching a women named Michele and she was super good but she had to work every Sunday so she couldn´t go to church. We had to put her in the area book because she couldn´t come to church. This week I felt like I should visit her just to check up on her. After talking with her a little more we figured out that she isn´t working anymore so she can go to church and last Sunday she was there with her daughter. Also she and her husband have been fighting recently but he drove her to church and while he says he isn´t interested he is always in the room and is listening. I think next time I´m going to ask him to say a prayer.

 

Also I have more good news. My companion is getting alot better. I had to be really firm with him and tell him that I don´t want to ruin my mission but he seems to respect that and I think he wants to get better too. It was really weird for me to do this because I normally like to just sit back and let him do what he wants but I just can´t do that anymore. We are reading the missionary handbook everyday and I make sure that he reads the parts that he has problems with. I am greatful for the prayers that I have been receiving because I know that this couldn´t have happened without your love and support.

 

Also this week I decided to not be super cheap and bought some stuff that I was desperately in need of. I now have 5 soccer jerseys. I now have jerseys from Brazil, Germany, São Paulo(best team in Brazil), Corinthians(worst team in Brazil), and Chelsea. Just for all those people out there that would ask why would I buy a jersey from the Corithians. I got it for free. Also the thing that I´m holding in the picture is something that the Elders in Mogi Guaçu found in the street and decided to give it to me and put it on my bed. I think it´s a pig but I´m not really sure. It really is amazing what you can find in the streets of Brazil. Anyways I love you guys tons

Love

Elder Zachary

 

Week 31....Mogi Gauco, Brazil

Wow, I don´t even know where to start this week. It was super tough, but I´m definantly learning a ton. I remember my last companion said that "I hope that your next companion is super tough and the area only gets tougher because then you will really learn(only in Portuguese)." Right now I´m not too happy with him because I think it´s coming true.

This week was really a week for reflection about why I´m serving a mission for me. I had one day that was particually tough. The day before my companion was doing and saying things that weren´t exactly right. He wasn´t being really bad, just little rules, but I know what those can lead up to, and I just kind of turned a blind eye to them. That night I was listening to a talk from Elder Holland and I felt really bad about that. I thought a lot about the goals that I had before my mission and if I thought what I was doing was right. The next day we had a good talk about the rules.

Other than that things are really moving in our area. Our numbers are definantly showing it right now too. We had 15 lessons with members present this week and because of this we will be having a baptism this week. We almost had the oppurtunity to have four people together this week but because of some things that happened we aren´t able to. I am super excited though about this. I think that our area is really moving forward and I know that when it really starts to take off that is when I´ll go to another area.

 

I am really happy that I have another American living with me. I am getting better at English and I can now switch between English and Portuguese alot faster. I think I was going a little crazy living with just Brazilians for 3 months. One of the Elders noticed too. He said, "when you talk in your sleep you now talk in English alot more." I also like that he knows alot of the things that I miss back home. It´s also really good to be able to teach Portuguese. I love teaching because when I´m teaching I´m not focusing on problems that I´m experiencing on the mission. Just don´t stress too much about me, just pray for me. I have confidence that things will be changing in a little bit with my companion. Also I think you guys will like how we practice basketball here. I also learned how to use my feet more and can almost play soccer as good as the 5 year olds here in Brazil. I think that they are literally born with soccer balls here because everyone can play. I love you guys tons.

Love,

Elder Zachary

 

Week 30....Mogi Gaucu, Brazil

We were taking a lot of pictures on our last day here all together here in Mogi Guaçu. I noticed that there was a little blue ball on two parts of the river. I don´t know if it was the same or someone threw a lot of balls in the river.

I think this was the first slow week that I have had since the MTC. This week was pretty tough. To start off my companion left me and is now in the office. It was tough to see him go. After being with him for almost 4 months, I have grown to like that kid. He was really good and I learned a ton from him. Since my companion left that means that I need to get a new one. I was really thinking that I was going to train but I guess the Lord has other plans for me. I think with this path that I´m on I´ll learn a lot more than training an Elder.

I received an Elder Thursday and his name is Elder LaFont. He is from Chile and has one less transfer than me. I can tell that this transfer is going to be tough with him. I won´t go into detail but on Christmas he and his zone did somethings that weren´t too good. He doesn´t exactly like to obey the rules exactly and he likes to use a lot of slang that isn´t too appropriate for a missionary. I am grateful though that he wants to work though. He likes to talk with people and is really excited about the work.

I am still living with three other Elders. The other Elder, Elder Matos, stayed and his companion went to another area. Elder Matos is now training an American missionary. His name is Elder Johnson. He is pretty cool and I´ve got to know him pretty good in the last couple days. It is pretty cool to see how much I´ve grown talking to him. He is a good Elder and is really excited to learn. Last night we had an experience that was pretty funny. I think I have already told you guys but we have a drunk that lives next to us and he loves to play the guitar and sing. The only problem is that he doesn´t really know how to play and it´s pretty funny. I asked him if he wanted to go listen to him and take pictures with him and of course he said yes. I had to talk the guy into it a little and listen to him sing but we ended up getting pictures with him.

Also I got the letter that you guys sent in November the other week. Just to answer the questions. Yeah, it´s really hot here.

Thanks Cail for teaching me Portuguese. I think he knows more Portuguese than a lot of the new Elders here. I haven´t seen alot of strange animals here, I saw an armadillo and a tucan here but that´s about it. We eat rice and beans everyday and there is a ton of fruit. Also prayer is something that is really important and I too have learned a ton about it and am still learning. I think it was Caisen or Hunter that gave a scripture in Mathew, I love that verse and use it a lot. I just want to say thank you for the letters they help us like you can´t imagine. Dar um abraço para o todo mundo lá em Wamego para mim. abraços

 

This week alot of change is happening. I know that this transfer will be tough but I´m going to learn a ton. I love you guys tons.

 

Love,

Elder Zachary

 

Week 29...Mogi Mirum, Brazil

This week was another week that really flew by! This week was both really great but really tough.

First off, I got to talk to you guys through Skype. It was really good to see all of you guys again and it will only be a short time till we talk again. Time really is going by so fast. It is crazy to think that in the next week I will have seven months on the mission. Also the transfers are going by faster than ever. This week is transfers and I´m almost positive that my companion will leave. It will be insanely hard to see him go but I have to learn to change and I´m sure I´ll grow a ton the next transfer.

As for this week, it was pretty sweet with all the Christmas parties. We had one Christmas party that was super cool. The members that we were with are pretty rich and they had a house that was huge. The members really love missionaries. They gave us bags of candy and food. Also, they had food there that was super good. They had a type of meat that is over R$ 50,00 for 1 kilo of it. They bought at least 4-5  kilos and cooked it up for us and another family. I can just say one thing after that I really love Brazil and the food here. That was just the start of the Christmas parties. We had another one with a member that lives next to us. I am really grateful for the members care so much about us. 

 

This week besides the Christmas parties was really good but was full of opposition. I think all the normal people left our city this week and went to São Paulo or Campinas and left all the drunks in the streets. It was really tough but at the end of the week it got a lot better. Our ward has problems with unity.  of members don´t talk with each other or right after church they leave and don´t try to talk with anyone. Our bishop put an end to this after giving and hour lecture to our members on unity. Then at the end he made us stand up and he said, "look at these Elders, they are giving two years of their lives and who has helped them? Imagine if your kids are on a mission and they are being treated like these missionaries here." I really don´t think that our ward is too bad but apparently he was really frustrated. I am really excited to see if this made any difference and ready to get to work again.

I love you guys tons and have a Feliz Ano Novo!!

Love

Elder Zachary

Week 28....Mogi Mirum, Brazil

This week was a really good week. To start things off I got to have that churrasco (BBQ) that I´ve been waiting for, for so long. The ward here in Mogi Mirim had a Christmas party last Friday. I decided that I really love parties here in Brazil. The food here was so good. I think I literally ate 2-3 lbs. of just meat, rice and other things not included. I think this was almost as good as Texas Roadhouse.

It was also good to see all of our members there relaxing and talking with each other. We got to know some members really well and it was cool to see them open up to us. I think this will really help us with our work in the future. Santa Claus was also at the Ward Christmas party. I must have been really good this year because I received a huge present. It is filled with food, chocolate, and other good stuff. I really am grateful for the members here. When we told them thank you I said that this will really help us because we will be focusing on our stomachs and not our families.

Also this week we had lot´s of meetings with the leaders of the Ward. I love our leader of the missionary work. He really works hard and wants others to have the same vision of missionary work that our mission has. It is frustrating sometimes because some members of our Ward like to talk alot but only do a little. When we think that everything is set and they are going to help us, they back out at the last second.

This week we decided that our house needed to be better. We put pictures up all over our house. It is so cool because when we talk about what we studied in the morning we can say, "I studied this story and this story" and point to the pictures of what we studied.

 

This week was super short and went by insanely fast. I think it is because I´m super excited for Christmas. Oh and by the way we have Christmas dinners every night this week. I can tell you one thing, I will definantly be gaining some weight in the next week. I love you guys tons and FELIZ NATAL!!!!

Love,

Elder Zachary

 

Week 27...Mogi Mirum, Brazil

Sorry that I couldn´t write you guys on Monday. I had a good reason though. We were able to go to the temple and we had a Christmas party with the rest of our mission. It was really good. It was the first time in almost six months. It was pretty cool how everything was in Portuguese. Normally, they have workers that are from the United States too but the temple is closed right now and they are all visiting their families.

As for this week it was really awesome for our work. I remember one Elder was saying that our areas are good and our companions are bad or our areas are bad and our companions are good. I told my companion that I think we need to fight because I love my companion and our area is turning for the better right now. To start things off we have been working with one family a lot. The mom is our only baptism that we have had in our area. The son is a return missionary and has 31 years. He is single and has had problems with missionary work. The thing is that they love the missionaries and the son loves missionary work. He did some things in his past and hasn´t had a calling for two years. He had his final interview with the bishop this last week and received a calling. He is now our missionary work leader. It is so crazy to see his enthusiasm and at times I think he is more excited than me. He told the bishop when he was set apart that he will be annoying but the work will be hastened. He has done exactly that. I think in the last week he did more than our other leader did and he has only had the calling for over a week. 

 

This week we have really received blessings. Whatever you guys are doing, keep doing it. We have also been working with another family that just the Grandma is a member. She has lots of grandkids that go to church with her but the moms don´t want to give permission. This last week all the moms gave consent. It is funny because both my companion and I felt like we shouldn´t talk about baptism with the family but they knew our purpose. It was funny because when one of the moms was talking with the Grandma she said that, "I don´t know why but these missionaries are different." God has really been hearing our prayers. 

 

Other than that our week wasn´t too interesting. I have just seen a lot of blessings with my Portuguese and my knowledge of the gospel growing leaps and bounds. I love you guys so much and am super excited to talk with you guys on Christmas. Stay safe and don´t worry about how I´m gone. The members here are taking really good care of us and also we are planning on have a churrasco (BBQ). You can ask Tyler (Elder Newkirk, Zac's cousin also serving in Brazil) all about that.

 

I want you guys to know too that you guys help me so much. It brings me so much peace that I don´t have to worry about my family falling away from the church or weakening at all. It is really sad when Elders here don´t have families that love them the same amount that you guys love me (if that´s possible) I am looking forward to Christmas and am super excited to hear English without Portuguese influence again. It is funny because I have been trying to practice my English so much with my companion. I was trying to talk with some Americans that were in the MTC with me yesterday in English and I had to translate in my head. I am trying to develop the gift to switch languages really fast but my brain can´t do that yet. I will be praying that I can speak with you guys plainly and clearly.

 

Love,

Elder Saueressig 

P.S. I have lots of pictures to show you guys but I left my camera in the house and its a good distance to our house.

Week 26...Mogi Mirum, Brazil

It seems like I just emailed you guys yesterday, so there won´t be alot of new stories but these last couple days have definantly been interesting.

To start things I live with three Brazilians, which I think I have said a lot, but one of them is really new. He has just over 1 month on the mission. Today he went to Campinas to have an interview with President because he is thinking about returning home. It is tough because we try to help him but he doesn´t want to listen. This has been weighing on my mind a lot because I don´t want to see another Elder return to his house early.

Also this week was pretty crazy. We were going to a city that is about 1 1/2 hours away from our house. While we were riding in the car we noticed a car infront of us. He started to swerve to the middle of the road. He then went into the median and hit a concrete slab and the car flipped in the air and landed on the side. It was crazy to actually see it happen and I can see it over and over again in my mind. I think the man driving was sleeping because I didn´t notice break lights when he was heading into the median. We then stopped the car and went to see if they were alright. It was a couple and they both responded. The ambulance came about 5 minutes later and everything was alright but it made me reflect on my life and truely how fragile our lives are. It also made me question my testimony of the plan that God has for us. After this we went to do the interview and the man didn´t arrive because his son had problems with his wife. It seemed like everything we did had opposition that night. I am grateful for all the prayers that I receive and really saw that night that God is watching over me.

I am really excited though for Christmas. It is crazy here because the cites go all out for Christmas. The centers of the cities here are covered in Christmas lights and Santa Clauses. Also the Christams presents are starting to roll in from the members here. Anyways enough about me. Take care and I love you guys so much

Love,

Elder Zachary