CARNIVAL!!!

Alrighty this week was not my favorite but we still tried our best! We had zone conference this week which was super fun. They talked a lot about teaching about the Restoration because its getting close to 200 YEARS since the 1st vision! One of my favorite things to teach is when Joseph Smith saw Christ and God, the spirit is always there and always testifies of this powerful moment in history. This week didn't have as much success as I would have liked but we still managed to mark a date of baptism with 2 of our investigators for this Sunday!

Carnival, for those who don't know, is a super crazy party here in Brazil that basically goes all week so it makes it super hard to work and super dangerous but its all good here. We have changed our schedule to working in the morning from 8:30-4:00 instead of the usual 10:30-9 which has made it pretty hard this week. But a fun experience I had this week was on Friday where we were almost caught in the middle of Carnival! We were trying to go teach an investigator but as we were walking we started to hear music and we realized it was coming from where we were trying to go. It was early so we tried to just go around it and we would teach really quickly before going back. But as we got closer we realized that the party going down was on the same street as our investigator so we had to go the long way around and when we finally got to her house she was going to Carnival! But by the time we started to go back the party had grown even bigger so we couldn't go back the way we came and had to walk a back route. We made it back avoiding most of Carnival until some drunks stopped us and started asking if we were Mormons, we explained briefly then booked it for our apartment. Fun experience, I hope it doesn't happen again.

Amo vocês muito e espero que vocês sejam muito bom! Vou continuar orando por cada um de vocês! (I love you so much and I hope you are very good! I will continue to pray for each of you!)

-Elder Pettingill

Pictures are from zone conference last week:

Floriano 2 Semana 3

E aí meus amigos!

This week was legit! Where to start, first off we have started doing parkour a bit more here which feels super good to do on Pdays. The other Elders want me to teach them a backflip which I'm a bit apprehensive doing but it's super nice to get a change from Push-ups, sit-ups and jump rope every morning (I may or may not be huge now). Elder Sly and I have started really focusing on working and it's super awesome to see the Lord blessing us when we are trying to do our best to keep all the rules.

This week was super fun, I got to see Elder Maza this week as he came to our house on splits with the Zone leader which was awesome. I bought a mini futebal last week that I've been playing with as well, so I'Il probably be a pro futebal player by the time I get back. Also my allegiance has changed from Flamengo (the major soccer team here in Brazil) to Vasco (the rival of Flamengo) so Josh I'm prepared to whoop your Flamengista behind when I get back. Also I got all the cards from the ward and my mom this week which was supppper awesome so thanks so much! (If you want to mail me a letter email me and Ill send you the address)

Update on our investigators: We have several promising people we are working, the guy that came to church last week wasn't able to be baptized this week because we couldn't really teach him but we are hoping to help him out for this week. Then we have another investigator that is the mom of a member and she is super awesome. She has tons of questions about how she can prepare for baptism and the gospel in general which is wonderful but shes also been busy but we are preparing her for baptism this week as well. We found a family of 12 people who we want to prepare for baptism as well because they're super awesome but its hard to teach them all at the same time.

I've seen so many tender mercies this week which has been super nice. First off this week in general had some good lessons and some good contacting but nothing super crazy until Sunday when we finally had some of our investigators in Church. The other thing is that on Sunday we had lunch with a member like 5 or 6 miles from our house and our area is another 2 and half but it was just Elder Sly and I because the other Elders forgot their hats so they had to return to the house of the member's house but Elder Sly and I wanted to work so we didn't go back with them, and then some random Batista(one of the religions here who really like Bible Bashing but when we prove them wrong they just don't listen so I don't usually particularly like them) stopped while we were walking and gave us a ride to our house because it was hot outside (its always hot outside, or its flooding, there really isn't an in between) which was nice. It meant we could actually spend the day working instead of walking!

Finally my mom sent me a talk in a letter called "the first great commandment" by Elder Holland, I highly suggest it, but one part of the talk that I really like is where Christ is asking Peter the Apostle if he loves him, and Peter responds of course, Christ already knows that he loves him, and after asking three times Elder Holland takes the liberty of suggesting what Christ could've said he says "Then why Peter are we back here, by these same boats, the same nets, having the same conversation" "If I want fish, I can get fish. What I need are disciples." God sent us here with the ability to choose for ourselves. And one thing he will never do is go back on that gift, he will always give us the ability to choose even if we are choosing something that hurts us or will lead the wrong way. We need to choose to be his disciples, we need to show him that we love him through our actions. Do we love him? And if so how are we showing it? God has given us everything, are we giving him everything? I know we all have room to improve, I certainly am far from perfect and still have many places to improve. One of the best ways to show that we love him is by using the atonement of Christ. To change, and improve, to get closer to our Father in heaven. I love you all and pray for you all, I hope you always remember who you are a Child of the most powerful being in the Universe and he only wants the best for you all.
-Elder Pettingill
Pictures
-Some more landscape of Brazil
-Elder Maza
-A tarantula that we found dead
-Brazil and its brilliant placement of trees

Minecraft! Nah bruh Terraria is better!

Oi tudo bem?

This week was a blast. So first off this week was the first time this mission was how I was expecting it to be. With just jungle and mud houses. Yeah that's right minecraft had it right. We have been working with an investigator but the only thing is she lives at the very end of the city of Floriano so we have been walking there everyday and as it gets farther from the center it gets more like a little village and just animals running around. When we were first looking for her house we actually walked outside of the town because we had no idea where the freak she lived but we found some super sick stuff out here. More monkeys, a ton of pigs, lots of goats, some ancient aztec ruins, some dirt houses, muddy rivers and dirt roads! Also Elder Sly loves Minecraft but I like a game called Terraria more so hes been hating on me all week but those who know, know. But as it goes for spiritual experiences let's explain.

We have been working a ton with a few families and we are prepping one family to be baptized. One of the main things they need to do is come to Church. So the entire week we were working with them and they are really awesome and they said they were going to walk to Church (about 25 minutes) but they work nearby the Church so that's not that big of a problem for them. But when Sunday came they slept through it! Which means we are now working with them for the first of March. Then one of our other investigators Joyce, who we have been working with for a while, said she would for sure be at Church but we were going to walk with her there just to make sure. However when we showed up at her Grandma's house her Grandma said she already had left for a friend's house. So we went to Church downhearted (just fyi we missionaries can and will find you if you lie to us so beware) but a member brought her Boyfriend to church so now we are working with him to baptize him!

One thing I really have learned is God is in charge. If you just work with all your might, he will bless you. This work isn't easy, it never will be easy but I love a scripture in Helaman 5:12 that says "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the a rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." I love this scripture because truly Satan will do everything he can against us. He will try and dishearten us, tempt us, and use all the power he has against us. But with the power of God on our side he truly cant do anything. God will give us blessings and miracles all we have to do is look for them. Never give up and never forget who it through that we are here and one day can return with our Heavenly Father. I love you all and always pray for you!

-Elder Pettingill

Pics!
-Minecraft!
-the landscape
-ladies I know you want me
-Aztec ruins
-Falling off the aztec ruins!
-Ladies hes single
-I was really close to falling in

Week full of Capueda, DnD, and a whole lot of work

Oi meus amigos!
This week was truly an interesting one. First of we got two new Elders in our house, Elder Durante and Elder Proença. So it meant a lot of time getting to know them. Elder Durante  and Elder Proença are really cool. They remind me a lot of people back home, namely my brother Josh. Also Elder Proença did Capueda before his mission which is like martial arts but also a dance. It's legit to watch so he has been teaching me and Elder Sly it. Also I talked about playing DnD before my mission and everyone thought it would be really interesting to play it here. And I'm not gonna lie I neevver, ever thought that I would play Pathfinder out here but here I am playing it.

The work has been rough here, most days we weren't able to teach so spent a lot of time contacting and walking. One thing I really learned this week is that success here in the mission doesn't come from numbers but from how hard you're working. If you're giving it all you have, you're successful and it doesn't matter what people say. If you know it and you know that God knows it, then that's all that matters.

One thing always helps me is the verse in Ether 12 which says that faith is believing in things you can't see and that answers come only after the trial of faith. Truly I know this Gospel is true, but no one ever said it was easy. It was never easy, because salvation isn't easy. It wasn't easy when Christ was praying to his father that if there was an easier way to give it, and it most certainly will not be any easier for us as latter day saints. One part of our mission is feeling some portion of the same pain he felt. I'm not saying we will feel anything close to what he felt but we will feel some token that will make us more grateful.

I love you all, and I pray for you all every day. Remember the atonement is real and it's not just there to wipe away our sins but it is there to comfort us in times of need. It is there for everything. I hope you're all doing great!

-Elder Pettingill