Wall Of Fame

(click on images for larger view)

These are some of the pictures that Curtis has hanging on his bedroom wall. He calls it his "Wall of Fame". There's a few pictures of his family and lots of pictures of his friends. The drawing on the left is of Dave Clark. He didn't have a picture of him so he drew one. Everyone keep writing to him and send him pictures. I've heard that mail is a missionary's best friend.

Happy Birthday Elder Pieper

"Last week was Elder Pieper's birthday on P-Day, and here is what we did. We started our journey at the Veranda Grill where we tried many, many flaming meats. At the Rodizio Grill they bring it out on big skewers, right? Well at the Veranda they bring it out on a hot tray and it just sits there and sizzles until we eat it. It was delicous and fattening. But don't worry, I'm staying in tip top shape. Then we got delicous ice cream from this place that was totally self serve and they charged you by weight. I got Ferror Rocher, and it was off the chain. Then we went home and decided not to clean our house, we just layed around and read a bunch of letters."

Volunteerism Is Blossoming in Brazil

"We volunteered at the soup kitchen again. More chicken feet and necks. But this time we got to add all kinds of noodles and made a gigantic stew for all the folks. I love meeting people there and helping them all out and stuff. It's a Catholic soup kitchen, so we aren't allowed to give stuff out, but no matter, we love the people. The guy who owns it is cool. His name is Paulo. He's the third Paulo I know. Two are investigators and him. In my journal I refer to him as Paulo, the Soup Kitchen Catholic. Way cool guy."

Click on the the post heading for an interesting article on volunteer work in Brazil. In 1997 more than 50 percent of Brazil's volunteers lived in economic desperation, earning the equivalent of $230 a month. "I wanted to be part of Brazil's solution," said Joao Luiz Melo Tavares, 41, a civil servant who said he falls into Brazil's lower middle class. "When you're a volunteer, you forget yourself a little bit."

By volunteering his time in the service of others much less fortunate than himself Curtis is learning a valuable life lesson and showing his true worth as a fine young man.

"Let Brotherly Love Continue..." (Hebrews 13:1)

"This is a picture taken of me before I left. It has me, James, Spencer, Dan, Jordy, Zac, Eric, and Christian is lying on the floor with his Led Zeppelin shirt pulled up a little bit. He's trying to look attractive. It's taken at Classic Skating."

First Missionary In Batedor

"Me and Elder Pieper rode the bus to this city near Cruzeiro called Batedor. The cool thing about it is that we were the first missionaries to ever teach lessons or place Books of Mormon in that city. It's way up in the mountains. Huge green trees and everything. It's what I pictured Brazil to look like."

Rio Paraiba

"This Picture Is The Best I've Ever Taken, Ever.
It looks like a painting because it's slightly smudged, but it's a picture. Cool, huh? This river runs through all of the main cities in my zone, the Guaratinguetá zone. It runs through Cachoeira-Paulista, Lorena and Guará."

650 mi (1,050 km) long, rising as the Paraitinga in the Serra do Mar, São Paulo state, SE Brazil. It flows southwesterly to a point NE of São Paulo city where it makes a hairpin turn and continues in a northeasterly direction through the state of Rio de Janeiro to the Atlantic Ocean near Campos. Below Três Rios it flows through a gorge on the Rio de Janeiro–Minas Gerais border. Its beautiful valley forms a rich agricultural region (site of Brazil’s first commercial coffee plantation) as well as a major industrial center of Brazil. The river is used for irrigation, transport, and power generation.

Phone Call To Brazil

Audio Part 1

Audio Part 2

Audio Part 3

I called Curtis on Sunday, May 8, at 2:00 pm. It was his Mother's Day phone call but he asked me to call him. Jaimie, Kirstin, Grandma and Gramdpa Beus, Jordan, Eric, Jessica, and Christian were there. Brianna and Alyssa weren't able to come over but they called him from their house when we were done and talked for a few minutes.

Curtis answered the phone in Portuguese; I had to have him repeat himself to make sure it was really him. He sounds good, I could tell that he was very happy to be talking to his family and friends after being in Brazil for 3 months. He wanted to know how everybody was doing, how everyone's families were, and what we had been up to.

His friends told him about a concert they had attended and that a friend of theirs had just got married. Christian said that he had seen Curtis' old car around town and it still had the 311 sticker in the window. Curtis wants them to write to him and stay in contact after they leave on their missions. Friends are so important to him.

He told us about the Cruzeiro area and the people. He has really come to love Brazil. I asked him if it will be hard for him to come home in two years. I'm sure he will have mixed feelings when the time comes. He told me that he gets homesick occasionally but he knows he's in Brazil for the right reasons. I miss him too and told him how I sometimes still look for his car in front of the house, making sure he has come home for the night.

Thirty minutes went by way to quickly and our time was up. Curtis was having a hard time saying goodbye and so were we. He told everyone how much he loved them and missed them. We all love him very much and miss him too. It will be over eight months before we can talk again.

A Message To Future Missionaries

"I'm loving life and having fun, this a big learning expeirience. Jord, James, Spence, you're in for the ride of your life, to say the least. There is a scripture somewhere in the Doctrine and Covenants that says - "For Behold, His Mission is Given Him and It Shall Not Be Given Him Again." Just remember that boys, the Lord is always on your side, use that to your advantage. I just want to let you all know how much you mean to me. I love you guys so much and you're all my heros. I hope all is well, wherever you are. Be safe and keep it real for me.

whole lotta love,"

Elder Curtis S. Tonks
13 April 2005

The Best Looking Companionship In The Universe ®

Elder Curtis Tonks and Elder Christian Pieper in Cruzeiro. This is the technique they use to convince people to listen to the gospel. Elder Pieper is from Kentucky and the second coolest Christian that Curtis knows.