A week of a whole lot of walking

Hola meus amigos. This week was really awesome so let's start off with the crazy stuff. First off I went to Teresina to find out what I was allergic to but we were unable to schedule an appointment so we still don't know exactly what it is other than that if I use the hammock in our apartment it will be bad. Then on the way home we were riding in a bus but it broke down so instead of arriving at 12:30-1 in the morning, we got back at 4 but that is all good because I got to see the freaking stars! If you don't know I love the stars so much! My family always went camping so they're one of my favorite parts of nature but a lot of the time you can't see them clearly and it's not much different here in Brazil but we were about 2 hours away from "civilization" so we could see just about everything. The weirdest part was to see the Big Dipper on the wrong part of the sky but still it was awesome. Also we have started to finally have a lot of rain here. And when it rains in Brazil, you're guaranteed lightning and thunder and a frick ton of rain. None of the big bridges here broke but a couple smaller ones broke here because the river flooded. So pretty sick. Also in our city all of our investigators close to our house stopped wanting to talk to us so we moved to start walking to literally the farthest places in our areas which is usually about an hour or more of walking there. However we had one person walk up to while we were in the supermarket and he said he wants to be baptized but of course he lives in one of the farthest areas so we walked 2 and a half hours to teach him and it was really good. So now he's preparing to be baptized. However we also learned a much faster route so now it only takes about an hour and a half which is much better. Also this week we got transfers and I was transferred from my part of Floriano to the other part so it was rather exciting because it's not really a transfer at all. Same house but now I have the better bedroom and my companion is Elder Sly who I've lived with the entire time. We are getting two new missionaries here, Elder Durante (who is my brother in the mission) to replace Elder Maza (my other brother in the mission) and his son in the mission to replace Elder Bustamante, my pop, so it'll be quite the family here. To explain for those who don't understand, your trainer here in the mission is called your dad and if you have a second one it's called your mom. Then if you train someone they are your brother and anyone trained by the same person are brothers. So here in my house I will have my mom (Elder Sly) my brother (Elder Durante) and my nephew (the son of Elder Durante) so I'm excited. This week was awesome and sorry about the crazy long email. I pray for you guys always!

One awesome experience this week was yesterday we walked an hour to our area after our lunch with a member. But when we got there, the member that said he would work with us said he was doing visits to less actives so he couldn't come with us, and then all our appointments fell through and no one was there. Elder Bustamante and I were rather discouraged so we sat down and thought about what we needed to do. So we decided we would say a pray and afterwards started walking to one of our other areas. But as we were walking one of our investigators opened the door as we passed and asked for us to come in which was already a miracle. But then her brother arrived home and he was a reference from a member (pretty sure she just wants to date him tho) but we were able to teach them and it was super awesome. Now they are preparing to be baptized but also right after we entered their house it started pouring super badly outside with a lot of thunder really, really close by. So it was a grand blessing that we didn't have to also walk another 45 minutes in the pouring rain. I know this Church is true and that God truly has a plan for us. He gives us problems and difficulties to build us and our faith. But when we trust him, and trust his plan, things will always be alright.

-Elder Pettingill

Pictures from January Zone Conference

Todo suave na nave? (Is everything going well?)

Oi meus amigos!

This week I don't have that much time so you guys can enjoy a short email.
This week we had divisions with the assistant to the President Elder Cantero and it was super fun working with him. He does missionary work so much differently it was really cool and I started doing some of the stuff he does. Such as being supppper straight forward with people. Like you're breaking commandments and need to change. Then also the allergic reaction came back too and that's been super fun to deal with; pretty much I would wake up each morning in hives and take medicine and by night time they would all be gone. But all is well, it has only boosted my determination. I love the examples in the scriptures of the missionaries that say they suffered all manner of afflictions but murmured not. Not a ton of success numbers wise this week but I know we are trying our best. I love you guys, and hopefully I'll have more time next week and hopefully pictures.

I know this Church is true with every fiber of my being. I am absolutely in love with it and this is what happens when you really begin to live the Gospel of Christ. The love that you will feel, for others, but also from God is so powerful. The Book of Mormon is true and if you read it, really read it and study it you will fall in love with the stories, the people, and the messages and then you will begin to live them. The blessings of this Gospel are real and they will change your life.

-Elder Pettingill

 

Brazil does have animals

This week was a rough one but tons of fun. First off my companion is all good once again but he and Elder Maza had to go to the hospital in Teresina which meant that I and Elder Sly had all of Floriano to work in instead of splitting it which makes it a lot harder and a lot more walking. We also had Zone Conference on Wednesday which was fun and really encouraged me to use the Atonement in my life. The atonement of Jesus Christ is truly the most wonderful thing in the world. Through it we have the ability to truly become better and get closer to God. The Atonement means real change, one that makes us more like Christ and with the New Year change is something I've been focusing on a lot. As I help change others, I need to change as well. One quote I love but don't remember who it was from is "you can't lead someone else to a place you, yourself, are not" which is one hundred percent true. How can you help someone else repent if you yourself are not repenting. You just can't.

Also this week I had the opportunity to see more crazy wildlife than I ever have. The first I saw was a Gila Monster (a lizard about three feet long and extremely venomous, unfortunately I was unable to get a picture because he ran before I could) the second I saw was a duck but ducks here aren't ducks so I call them dodo chickens because they look like a mix between a duck, chicken, and a dodo bird and the last was a bunch of little tiny monkeys about the size of my hand. It was really fun to actually see some cool things and now all I'm hoping for is a 12 foot snake.

I hope you''re all doing well, I pray for you all!

-Elder Pettingill

Feliz Natal e um Feliz Ano Novo

Oi!
Finalmente uma P-day eu posso fazer as coisas eu preciso fazer! Então How is everyone? I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I have a lot to remember but Ill try and hit all the main points. First off we had Christmas Conference down in Teresina which was super fun. We all brought things we made and I brought some Cookie Brownies that I made. We played a bunch of games and had a blast. Then we continued working in our area until my trainer Elder Bustamante got super sick with an allergia that made it so we had to spend most of the day in our house. This was nice the first day but after that I just wanted to work. He is currently at the hospital in Teresina with the Companion of Elder Sly, the other American elder here in Floriano so we are in splits. Don't worry he isn't dying he's just in a lot of pain.

The week after Christmas conference we had Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve in the house of an investigator who loves us and so we played games and ate there until we had to return at 10:30 instead of the usual 9:00. Then Christmas where we opened our presents we got for each other and also the presents my mom sent with me. The non american Elders now love American candy because it's the best and we've been having a ton of fun with some nerf guns we got.

Finally we had New Years Eve which we spent watching fireworks from our building and stayed up til Midnight and had a little party by ourselves because we had to return at 6:00 in the afternoon that day. Where we were wasn't super big but I saw on some newscasts that they were having giant parties in other parts of Brazil. It was super weird being here for Christmas and New Years but still wonderful.

Some funny things that happened was first off on Christmas all the members gave us this gift basket with a ton of sweets in it and I mean giant. I would say probably like 20-30 pounds but we were at the top of a hill about 35-45 minutes away from our house. So I took the challenge to carry it home by myself and said that God will fortify me and give me strength if I have faith. I made it about 43 minutes until my arms were dead and I couldn't go any farther so all the other Elders said I didn't have faith which was a funny joke haha. Then a lot of our investigators dropped because of one reason or another but we continue to try with a smile on our faces (usually) We have one investigator that's doing super awesome and is preparing for baptism this Sunday. Also I am quasi fluente em português so I understand most of what people are talking about most of the time. That or I misunderstand them completely because I misunderstand a single word. It's a struggle but I love it. I love being here and I hope everyone is doing wonderful.

-Elder Pettingill