54th Letter 3-31-14

 Pictures: #1-Frenando, Mechela and Devy, a family we helped reactivate.   
#2-Elder Gois & I returning home after a rainstorm.

 Hello Família! : )  

Another great week here in Southern America! This week was a little warmer but ended with some big rainstorms. We got soaked one of the nights as we ran home. The work here is slowly progressing and Elder Gois and I are trying everything to improve the progression here in the branch. This week we really focused on having members present in our lessons. The members trust and love us and want to help a lot more now, then as in times past. I am beginning to love Brazil and the Brazilian people! They are so loving and kind. Elder Gois and I are working well together and since I can finally communicate pretty well we are becoming good friends.

This week started off great. We had Daniel, a member who is preparing for a mission, teach with us and the lesson with Cristiane, an investigator. It went very well and we got a good idea of her desire to be baptized...Not now, but next year she wants to be. Mainly because her fiance wants to wait a year to get married. Earlier in the week we found a 21-year-old man who is very religious and received us very well! We taught him and his brother with a member and the lesson was very powerful. He is very open to research our church and find out if it is true. Worked with some other investigators and had some good progression with them.

Eraldo, an investigator is super solid as well. His wife is a member and they have 3 kids. He is very interested as well. We will see how he receives the next lessons. Also, this same day (Wednesday) we taught another family that is very interested. The family only has a Mom and a daughter, but they are both awesome!

We saw Arce this week and talked with him a bit. We are slowly going to work with him to gain his trust again. I think he already knows this is all true and that it´s only a matter of time when he will return and be baptized. A cool experience that happened today (Thursday) was we were looking for an address that we received as a referral and it was in a area we don’t usually work. A lady came out of her house and yelled to have us come to her. She is a member and was having some health troubles and wanted a blessing. We gave her a blessing and she was very thankful that we walked in front of her house at that time. Made me think of how we are truly guided every minute in this work! It truly is amazing! At times we don’t even know it.

This month we have been working a lot with a less active family that has a very strong testimony, but they were offended by a member. We worked hard with them and they are now active in the church. After the first Sunday they returned, they said to me, "The ward feels different now."  I was very happy to hear this. Later this week we talked with the father of the less active mom. He told us of how much his daughter and son-in-law love us and of how much they trust us and feel the spirit with us. This cheered me up a lot! Our efforts here in São Borja really are affective! We were able to assist in the reactivation of a family. Now they are preparing for the temple! : )

Saturday we wet to many houses to invite the investigators to church. Juão, Mates 13 year old, came with us to teach all these families! He was with us for 4 houses and bore a powerful testimony! It is amazing how the gospel can grow a powerful son of God in 13 years. It was a blessing to have him with us and show him the work. He will be an awesome missionary!

This week was tough, but we really saw the fruits of our labors. All of our efforts are remembered. This work definitely isn't easy, but it is worth every second!

Mom, I hope I will receive the letters this week! I am super excited! The pictures of Emme are SO cute!! Ela é tão bonitinha! I can’t wait to give her a Big hug and kiss! : ) How is Aunt Kim?

Dad, I am keeping a good journal and I write in it everyday! I love looking back to when I was in the MTC. I was very different then. Ha-ha! To me it is very funny! The picture with the food has beans, rice, tomatoes and a steak! You would love the food here! BAH! It is super good, especially the meat! My blister is almost healed up, which is kind of a miracle, because I thought I would have it for a few months. I did some surgery on it and I think that helped. I had a blister on top of another blister man!

I love all of you so very much! I love the emails, letters and pictures I get from you. Have a great week! : )

Com Muito Amor,

Elder Hauck

53rd Letter 3-24-14

Pictures: Before lunch in our house and at the talent show.

Mina Familia,

This week went a lot better than the past week! Rained a ton, which made the roads rivers and the weather a lot cooler! Elder Gois and I are working well together, creating new goals, changing the way we work and teach, and finding new families and people to teach. One goal that really changed the work in a matter of a week was we dropped all the investigators that were not progressing. By the end of the week we were left with few investigators, but now we are free to find those people that are prepared to receive the gospel now. I have realized more than ever how important planting the seed of a testimony is here in Brazil. At times it is hard to understand that not everyone is ready to receive The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. All we can do is invite and they must act for themselves. I know that a lot of these people will receive the gospel in a later date as their seed begins to grow and the light of Christ is received. This letter will be a little different. I am not going to write about everyday and what happened throughout the day, but about 2 or 3 things that were very special this week. 

At the beginning of this week we met with a less active member named Johndir. He is a great man, but has mental weaknesses because of the lack of education. As we taught him he seemed a little different from all the other visits we had with him. He seemed a little smarter and he could understand a little better. He told us of how he has been reading the BOM and also other material of the church (Preparation for the temple booklet) he shared things he learned and also the desire he has to go to the temple someday. We talked with him about the temple and challenged him to prepare for the temple and that it was possible for him to go there someday. The spirit was very strong and after we invited him to come teach with us and share this spirit we felt with others. He went with us and we taught an investigator. Amazing how much can change when we use these materials from the church in our lives, especially the Book of Mormon and Bible.

Thursday night at 8:45 it was cold, rainy and super dark. We finished all our teaching appointments and had nothing else to do. We almost decided to return home and plan for the next day but we didn't. Elder Gois said, “We need to pray right now to find someone that needs our help.” So we prayed. As we walked towards a park in our area we saw a man walking alone. I knew we needed to talk to him and that he needed help. We talked to the man and he told us that he is a member, but hasn't gone for many years because of addiction to drugs and other problems in his life. He said he has been thinking a lot about the church and that he has organized his life. We told him that we could help him return to church and return the testimony back that he once had. Volnei was very grateful and we met with him the fallowing day and taught him. He is a great guy and will return to church. This experience was very powerful and showed us that even with 15 minutes left in the day we can still find someone to help.

The last experience was a week-long experience. This past week I have been working a lot on receiving revelation of where to go and when to find the elect that will hear our message. Throughout the day i pray for this but sometimes i am confused of where and when we must go. Sunday, yesterday, as we finished lunch and got back to work I prayed and pondered of where we must go. Meetings arose and made the scheduling we made the night before inadequate. I received the feeling that we must visit Cristiane, an investigator, we arrived there and she wasn't there. As we left her house I was a little upset and confused. As we walked towards the main street that leads back to town a family called us over and asked if we could explain about our church to them. I knew at that moment this is why we had to come to Cristiane's home. We taught them and the lesson went very well. They are interested and he will return there this week. Amazing how revelation/ the Holy Ghost works with us. At times we may not even realize that we are being guided by Him. Very powerful experience. A scripture I like that kind of talks about this is DC 42:61.

I am so grateful for all the experiences I receive here on my mission. They truly are priceless!

Mom, I am excited to receive a letter from you! : ) The family looks awesome and it’s super cool about Amy’s El Chepo dance. Amanda, Happy Birthday!! I love you! Glad to hear everyone is well! Our family is awesome, Mom! : )  And about Missionties, if it costs money there’s no need to do it. I love the emails as it is and a year without a letter is fine. Still haven´t received the Valentine package as well…haha!

Dad, that analogy is perfect about the thousand dollar bills (the gospel) that we hand out but no one sees the value. It is hard, because the value of the Gospel is worth more than any amount of money or worldly thing. That is crazy about the missionary returning home! Sounds like he was a good missionary to stand up against a gang beating on 2 women. A death threat is a good reason to come home two weeks early. What is his name? And Dad, I want that piece of mom’s cake when I get home. I miss that kind of cake. Ha-ha!

I love you Family! 

Elder Hauck

52nd Letter 3-17-14

Pictures: 1-River Uragaina. 2-A memorial by the river that says “I am proud to be a missionary.”

Familia,

Again thank you so much for your awesome letters, prayers and support you all send to me! I have the best family in the world! I hope all of you are doing awesome and continuing to see the blessings in your lives multiply everyday you are faithful! I hope you are all being blessed with missionary opportunities! I love all of you and miss you MUITO! This week was a little different and sad.  We ended up not having the baptism because Arce needs some more time to prepare. The rest of the week was all right, but didn't see too much success. This week we will continue to work hard and I know we will receive the blessings the Lord has in store for us. A little about what happened this week.

Monday, you all know how Mondays are, always awesome!  So we moved into our new house today and got everything organized. The house is big and echoes when we talk because of the lack of furniture to observe the sound. I like the house a lot though. It is a lot closer to everything and I feel the relationship with the members had improved already! Tonight we taught Bruno and Bruna´s cousin a little about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Arieo is a non-member, is 17 and really open to hearing our message.

Tuesday, had an awesome district/zone meeting with our district. The Zone Leaders and 2 sisters gave some awesome training! I can finally understand almost every single word so it is very nice to hear and share my comments with he district. Today we taught Arce Lesson 3 (The Gospel of Christ) and about tithing. The lesson went awesome and he accepted the commitment to pay tithing. He asked us about the baptism some more and told us he would buy two pairs of white underwear. Ha-ha. He was very excited for baptism today! Also, taught 2 LA families and the lessons went very well. Then taught Helen a New member about the BOM. The missionaries that taught her didn't do too great of a job... A lot of the work here in Sâo Borja is fixing/ strengthening the recent converts that were taught too fast and horribly. This is why we have many LA members here because many people wanted to be baptized in the past and the missionaries taught them in two fast weeks and then baptized them without them even having a testimony. Maybe this is the work that is needed here in Sâo Borja right now.

Wednesday, today is where Arce was very different! We showed up in his house and the first thing he said was ´´I will not be baptized!´´ we were both very shocked as he walked to pick up the pamphlets and BOM to give back to us. We talked with him for a bit and he made many excuses of why he isn´t ready and why he doesn't want to join or church. Someone had to have talked to him because the day before he was completely ready. By the end of the discussion he was much more calm and listened to us a little. But still he doesn't want to be baptized or go to church anymore. We are going to give him some space for a bit and talk to him again this week. The rest the day went all right. We were pretty down for a bit, but brushed it off and continued working. Taught Marisa more about the BOM and also taught a LA family. Then taught Luis and Elesa a little more about the Gospel restored. Had an awesome family night with Frenando and Mechela. They are awesome and I think are almost reactivated! Cezar has work all this week so we won’t be teaching him tell next week.

Thursday, went to teach Mateus, a LA teenager in our ward and found his family there. We taught them and asked many good questions that opened their eyes and sparked a desire to hear more. Had a crazy lesson with Irmá Rosa. She has many problems with the church members. I made a paper with a list (unfilled) of blessings we receive from going to church every Sunday and another list of blessing we get by staying home and not going to church and at the bottom of the page had goals of when and how she will return to church. We talked with her about this and showed her how to fill this paper out and invited her to do so tonight. She was very disrespectful to us about all this.

Friday, had a great weekly planning as well as a great lunch. Saw Ana Machada, who was very sick the past two weeks. She is doing better now though. Today we worked a lot in the more dead part of our area and taught many LA families.

Saturday, today was a pretty good day. Taught Maria Edwardo a little more and also Luis and Eliza. Some one was shoot in their neighborhood the night before so they were a little down, but very open to our message. Kind of interesting how trials or scary situations sometimes open people hearts. Tonight we had a talent show in our branch and it went very well. Had a lot of non-members and LA come. Elder Gois and I juggled limes and then Eggs. Once we were done juggling the Limes we threw them into the crowd and then picked up eggs (cooked) and juggled them. The crowd didn't know they were cooked so when we threw them into the crowd they were all pretty scared. It was pretty funny!

Sunday, church went great, but didn't have any investigators, which was kind of sad. After church we had a great lunch and contacted a lot of people in the street! Tonight we read a chapter with Nara and Elder and it went very well!

I am looking forward to the miracles we will find this week! This work is hard, but truly is life changing in a great way! This week we will focus on working with the members a little more as well as contacting referrals with them.

Mom, thank you for your prayers for this branch’s investigators. Marley, Cezar, Arce, and Cristiane all need blessings to receive the gospel and have the strength to repent. That is awesome about your Spring break with he Family all in town. I am excited to see the new music video of the Piano Guys in Brazil. I don’t know if I can see it until after my mission though. I will see. I think it would be awesome if you and Dad picked me up here after the mission. We will see if it all works out! Is Dad okay?? Awesome about your visit in Provo as well. Amy will love the college life. I am glad you are learning new things about the gospel everyday Mom! I get to experience the same thing here! I love learning now! Mom, I never got the valentine package. Ha-ha don’t know what happened with it. And I have the same address. We pick up the mail once every week in the city. Thank you for the awesome photos. Emme is SO CUTE so is Dad. I love you Mom!!

Dad, don’t be dying on me man! Just playin'.  I am glad the colonoscopy went well! The weather here is cooling down, but is very humid still. It rained all night last night, which cooled things down even more!:) I love the rain! Dad, you can write as much as you want! You are right about mom, she is awesome! I hope I can find a girl as awesome as her! That is NUTS! Breck bought a Ferrari! Super cool! I think you are right about the package being eaten by a Brazilian. Ha-ha. Transfers are every 6 weeks and I don't know if I will be moved. Maybe…I feel the same way about transfers as you described. I am building some strong relationships here, but a new area would be cool! Thanks for everything Dad! Love you!

Family, I love you guys so much! A chapter in the BOM I read this week was 2 Nephi 25! This chapter is awesome! Read verses 23 and 25! : )

Love you guys!

Elder Hauck

51st Letter 3-10-14

 Pictures: 1-Chorraso Party!!  2-After the party (It was Luise's birthday, father of Jonathan)

Minha Bonita Legal Melhor Familia,

Another great week here in Brazil! Elder Gois and I had some great success! I am starting to be able to teach a lot better and my accent is a little better. It feels so much better to have people understand me and I can usually understand them! The relationships are growing much faster!:) This week we got Arce on date for the 15 of March to be baptized! We are super excited for him and the progress he has made. We moved into a new house that is actually in our area, I think Pres. will be putting another companionship here in Passo next transfer. The house is cool, but we have no sink, oven, microwave, or table... ha-ha

Monday, P-days are always good!:) Got a lot done and even had time to make more cookies! Elder Crandall packed up his stuff and left to his new area. This night we had a great lesson with Sofia, a new member here in São Borja. She is super nice, but her family has some problems. She loves our visits!:)

Tuesday, had a great district meeting where we learned a lot about baptismal invites. It really is important that we invite with love and clarity. We focused a lot on this and want to use it during the week! This helped a lot with Arce´s baptismal invite. We taught Cézar the rest of the Plan of Salvation, his wife and him love the messages we have! They really study the pamphlets and Cézar is pretty far in the BOM!:) Adriana and her family dropped us. I think her husband said something. We also found out that her husband has two wives.... Adriana and another wife live with him and this is why they have so many kids.... I think Adriana really knows this church is true though. Kind of sad. We taught Mateus and Maria Edwardo also, Mateus is super cool and Maria is sweet, but I don’t think she wants to be baptized.

Wednesday, today we had much success! First during studies we really thought a lot about Arce and felt that he is ready for baptism. We looked at two dates in March and prayed and asked Heavenly Father which date is best for Arce. We both received the date 15 of March! So we went and taught him! We explained about baptism and why we need to, also about the priesthood authority. He understood all of it and he accepted the baptismal invite! He is awesome!!:) Later that day we taught Ariston and Norma! After the lesson they let me ride one of the horses! It was super cool! I will need to get a picture with them and send it to you. Amy will appreciate this!:) We then taught Marisa and Nately. We taught them more about the BOM and baptism. Invited them to be baptized and they want to. We will work with them to find a date that is right. This night we taught Marley about Baptism. We need to get her to have a stronger desire to be baptized than to smoke. Very difficult, but I know she can do it. Pray for her.

Thursday, another awesome day, taught Arce about the word of wisdom. We thought he might have had a problem with drinking, but he doesn't. He says he doesn't have a problem with any of the things! We were pretty happy about this! We then taught a few people, but the Lesson with Cézar went well! We finished up The Plan of Salvation. He will come to church again as well! We contacted a potential investigator, but he isn't interested. That night we had a great lesson with Jonathan’s family. He is a member, but his mom and dad aren't. They want to be baptized, but have a lot of problems to work out.

Friday, today was a little slower. Didn't have too much luck. Taught Erraclades  and Arce again. Talked with Arce about his baptism and he is very excited! We then had a great lesson with Frenando and Mechela. I don’t know if you remember but they have a problem with the leadership of our branch. We talked a lot about it and helped resolve their concerns. A powerful question was, if they taught the Savior has confidence in these leaders? Their was many tears and they said they would come to church!:)

Saturday, taught Arce again, this time about tithing. He doesn't understand it too well right now, but we will explain it better this week when we meet with him. We will teach him everyday this week. Had to spend some time working on the new house. Like talking with the owner and sorting everything out. Later this day we taught Cézar and Rosa about the Gospel of Christ. It went very well! We invited them to be baptized as well, but Cézar wants to prepare more. We feel like he is ready, but when I explained this to him he kind of got frustrated. We then taught Cristiane and Helen and that night had a great lesson with Nara. She opened up to us a lot more!:)

Sunday, church went super well! I gave Arce one of my ties and he wore it to church, Cézar came with a suit this time, and we had a lot of LA there as well! Frenando and Mechela came. I was very excited to see them. I think it has been 2-3 years since they have been in the church. The chapel was actually somewhat full today! Was a very good change! When they announced Arce´s baptism he gave the First counselor a thumbs up, above his head. Was super funny!:) We had a great lunch with Jonathan and his family. Chorrasco!!:) While we were eating a fight went on in the house next to them. The wife chased the husband out of the house with a knife and almost stabbed him in the chest. Was seriously 1 inch away. This was crazy to see...We had to back up all our stuff today to move tomorrow (today/Monday).

I am so grateful for these blessings that I am receiving here! I love this service that I am able to be a part of! Really doesn’t matter where you serve, but how you serve! My testimony is growing a lot and my foundation is more of Christ everyday! I am so grateful for my family and the love and support they give me! I miss all of you so much!

Mom, Spring Break already!! CRAZY!!  I can´t wait to hear all about your spring break. Amy is going to live at BYU housing! The craziest thing that happened during Carnival was a fight in front of our house. The people that live in front of us had a party all night. In the morning something happened and they were all yelling and one kid threw a brick and hit a kid in the head. Someone called the cops and they calmed everything down. It was pretty nuts, but kind of funny. This was the craziest thing that happened during Carnival. It sounds like the Family is doing awesome! That is so cool about Dresden´s call! Paris, France will be awesome! When does he go? Mom...you are an angel for helping that man at church! I love you. That story is amazing! You are a true servant of the Lord! I love the photos! : )

Dad, that is awesome about all the new youth getting their calls! Especially Drez! We are still receiving a lot of new missionaries every transfer. I think it is between 20-30 arriving and 10-20 leave to home. Awesome Michael Ammon got home! Crazy how fast time goes. Being accustomed to the work here really is a blessing. We don’t do too much service here, usually only proselyting. I kind of wish we had more service opportunities besides the few people working on their yard and such. My favorite thing to do on P-day is probably email. The river is super close and we are going there today! : ) I have adapted to the water pretty well and don’t have any problems with my body. I am going to start running to the river and back every morning. When I get home we need to start running together! : )

I love all of you so much! Tell everyone I miss them!

Elder Hauck (Haucky) This is how they say my name here. Howkee!

50th Letter 3-3-14

 

Picture: During Carnival here in São Borja they write all over the streets with paint. It is pretty cool!

Dear Family,

Another great week here in Brazil! I am loving the weather now that it isn't so hot and I am learning the language! The people here are awesome and I am building some strong relationships with them. I will be staying here another transfer and I don’t think I will be District leader. I think President messed up and sent me a letter -haha. Or he just was joking with me -haha. No, but this week went very well and we found a lot of success!

Monday, after emailing my super cool family and doing all the stuff we have to get done on P-day we went and taught Marley about the Atonement and repentance. The lesson went very well and we were able to ask her many inspired questions to help her realize she can use the Atonement in her life. The lesson was very powerful and she felt the spirit very strong. It is difficult though because she has a ton of motivation when we are there, but when we leave her family doesn't help at all and her family is very mean to her... She really wants to stop smoking, but the family is making it hard for her..

Tuesday we had a great district meeting where we talked a lot about questions and how asking inspired question is key. I have noticed this a lot here. The teaching is much more difficult with the lack of education these beloved people have, so we have to ask many questions to see if they understand. Taught a good amount of people today. Jennifer doesn't want to live the Law of Chastity and doesn't want to keep all other commitments so we had to drop her. She knows this church is true. Taught Atiade and Eloy The Restoration. It went well, but they don’t listen when we teach them. It is very difficult! Had a super good lesson with Cesar (Seizer) and talked more about The Plan of Salvation. He loves the Plan and he is interested to learn more every day! Also taught Maria, a 10-year-old girl that has two super inactive parents. 

Wednesday, taught Arce more of L.2 and it went very well! He is a BOSS! He always keeps his commitments! Kind of cool to that we teach him in his Bar and a lot of people are drinking around us and hear our message. Bars here are different and a lot more open to the street. We then taught Elias and he doesn't want to be baptized or even attend our church. He is a lot more closed off now. Maybe later in his life he will accept. Taught Rotine again. Lessons with him are always exciting. He talks a lot with his pastor so he always asks us question that are kind of hard to answer, but my mission in Colorado helped a lot with this. This night we taught Airiton and Norma, the family we ran into when it was raining and they called us over. They are very interested and receive us very well! At sometimes it is hard to teach there though. For some reason we don’t feel the spirit strong with them and always have to push through the lesson.

Thursday was my 1-year mark! Wow! It has gone by way to fast.. Now time is counting down! Kind of scary if you ask me. What better to do on your 1-year mark than to teach many people! We taught Jair, Airiton and Norma, the 2 LA brothers, Marisa Borja, which was a super good lesson, and this night we taught Cesar with Henrique and his wife (2 super solid members). The lesson with Cesar and Rosa went very well! We taught about our life on earth and the atonement! He loved both of them and asked many questions. He really wants to understand. So does his wife Rosa. The spirit was super strong and the members helped a ton! Probably the best lesson we have had with Cesar and Rosa. I know they felt the spirit today and I think they know this church is true! After they made us Cachorro quiente or Hot Dogs. They were super unhealthy and good! They load the hot dogs with mayonnaise and ketchup and other meats. Also had a little celebration with Elder Johanson and ate a Twix candy bar.

Friday I had a comp. exchange with Elder Johanson. It went very well and I was able to show him my area. We had a lot of success and taught a lot of people. Helped resolve some LA concerns and teach Atiade and Eloy. The lesson didn't go too well, because they really didn't want to understand. Very difficult teaching some people here. When they want to understand they will.

Saturday,Carnaval begins... Everyone is a little more crazy and have their music super loud! We had a great lunch with President Vladimir and his family. Taught Jusay again and he was super negative as always -haha. He told us the story of when he was 15 a guy tried killing him and shot him with a shotgun. He has shrapnel marks on his neck and upper arms. Pretty crazy! The more crazy part is that later in his life he killed the guy that tried to kill him with the shotgun... Very Crazy... to cheer up the day we taught Arce and we didn’t even have to invite him to come to church he asked us! Ha-ha! Then taught Adriana about the BOM and invited her to church, also taught Cristiane´s family and after taught Marley with Irmão Jair. Went super well! Jair is helping us a lot! He use to be LA but through missionary work we reactivated him!

Sunday, Church went great. Arce, Marley, and Adriana´s family all came! The members were pretty surprised I think. They are going to have to get used to it though. I think before they never had too many investigators attend church. Taught Caroline and the lesson went very well, she is a smarter girl. Then talked with Nara and Elder about the importance of families. They were kind of mad we showed up during carnival because they want to focus on the worldly things for 4 days... That is what Carnival pretty much is now. It used to be a big culture thing where every state would have traditions, but now its just drugs, sex and Rock and roll -haha!

This week was a good week and saw some more progress with our investigators and LA members. One thing I have really noticed this week is how much the Holy Ghost helps me speak Portuguese. If I don’t have the spirit with me I really cant speak too well, but with it I can speak smoothly and with a good accent. And one lesson this week said I am talking a lot better and have a better accent now. I was glad to hear this because it really is frustrating at time to speak so they can understand. I am grateful for the challenges I have though because they make me stronger!

Mom, I haven´t yet received the package. I hope they didn't steal it, haha. Sounds like the weather there is getting better as well! Good to hear. This quote by Russell Ballard is great. Especially now during carnival. The Members here are strong and have activities to not let Carnival; the worldly things get in the way of our righteousness. I love the picture of all the siblings together! Are family really is awesome! Good work with all your scripture studies! I have learned to love being a student of the scriptures!

HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY STEPH! We got to celebrate together!

Family, I hope you all are doing super well and loving the gospel we have in our lives! Continue to do what is right and seek missionary opportunities! They are out there!

Love,

Elder Hauck