More Videos And Pictures

Curtis has sent more videos and pictures home. These are the last of Taubate and the first of Belem. There are some nice videos of downtown Sao Paulo and the mission office.

Videos

Pictures

These links are also permanent on the right side of the page.

Interesting Books

"I've been reading some pretty interesting books lately. As A Man Thinketh is a good one. It talks about "what you think is what you are". But it explained some pretty good points. It really makes a man think, then explains it. Also, I'm still going wild on Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I read the King Follet discourse by Joseph Smith. That is so good. Things like that just convince me, although I already know for sure, that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I love learning about him more than anyone else."

Grupo Revelacao

"I bought a cool samba CD the other day by a band called Grupo Revelacao which means the Revelation Group. They are pretty cool. I like a song of theirs called Deixa Acontecer. I always hear it when we are walking around and on the bus. I will send it home with my next package. They are a cool band. I was reading about them; they don't make studio CDs, only live jam session style CDs. This one is called "Live From the Palm of Your Hand." I wish I could jam to it."

Deixa Acontecer

Deixa acontecer naturalmente
Eu não quero ver você chorar
Deixa que o amor encontre a gente
Nosso caso vai eternizar
Deixa acontecer naturalmente
Eu não quero ver você chorar
Deixa que o amor encontre a gente
Nosso caso vai eternizar
Você já disse que me quer
Pra toda a vida, eternidade
Quando está distante de mim
Fica louca de saudade
Quem é a razão do seu viver
Sou eu
Está tudo bem, eu acredito
Eu não tô duvidando disso
Só que eu tenho muito medo
De me apaixonar
Esse filme já passou na minha vida
E você tá me ajudando a superar
Eu não quero ser um mal na sua vida

Listen to Deixa Acontecer

My New Companion - Elder Stoddard

"I was called to recieve a new companion, who is also gonna end up being a long time post-mission buddy. My new comp is Elder Stoddard, from Syracuse, Utah. He was a Clearfield Falcon. He dated a girl that I used to like. He has been bitten by a dog 11 times. But never on the mission. Also, he likes Taking Back Sunday and various other bands, and so do I. Yesterday we decided our ultimate wish would be to have our lives based on the music and movies we like. My mission would definitely be based off of "The Other Side of Heaven" or soemthing of that nature."

"We are really excited to start tearing the "large side" of Belém up. We are gonna cut the ol´P-day short so we can go find some new investigators. We desperately need them. Elder Stoddard and I are gonna work hard, and next week I will send you some pictures of him. He is a district leader, and goes home in July. I am still the office secretary with all of my crazy referral duties and all and the only reason I was the one to leave my other companions is because I told President Urry I really missed the hard dedicated work of the field and I wanted to get back out there. I'm guessing he is wanting me to prove that. And I will..."

Delicious Açai

"At conference we had this drink called Açai that I have actually had several times and it's so delicous. There is this little hole in the wall burger place by the church in Sao Jose dos Campos that sells it, and it's like the greatest thing since sliced bread. I love that stuff. But it's way expensive so I usually limit myself to three."

"They make it into this cold yogurt type of stuff and we eat it like it is going extinct. We went to this place called Açaí da Mooca and there we discovered something better than gold. It is "Frappe de Açaí com Morango", or in other words an Açaí Frappe with Strawberry. They whip the açaí berry with vanilla ice cream, milk and this really sweet condensed milk then mix strawberry into it. It's quite possibly the greatest thing ever. Someone once told me that they have Açaí at Jamba Juice, but I don't know if im sure about that one."

Açai(ah-sigh-ee) is an all natural energy fruit from Amazon palmberries. Wild harvested in the rain forests of Brazil, açai tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit. Açai is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential omegas (the good-for-you fatty acids). Using a traditional recipe, Sambazon adds a touch of pure Brazilian guarana, for increased stamina, focus and vitality.

Why I Am A Mormon

Curtis would like everyone to read this talk:

A talk given by Douglas Brian

I would like to tell you why I am Mormon from the standpoint of pure logic. I realize that it takes prayer and faith and many things to get us into the Church and keep us there, but my faith can be much stronger if it is backed up by some good, sound logic.

Read the talk by Douglas Brian.

Deworming The Missionaries

Curtis sent home a cassette tape for the family to listen to. He talks about many things but the most memorable is his explanation of "Worm Pills". He also mentions his stomach aches but is unaware that he has a hernia. He finds this out two weeks later.

Listen to Curtis explain Worm Pills

Back In The USA?

"So here is a pretty interesting story. When we came down here we all recieved Ministerial Certificates, and mine had my middle name spelled wrong. Steven. Way off. So my group from the CTM went to renew their visas last week but I wasn't able to go. I found out it was because there was a problem in Brasilia with me. They didn't know if Curtis Steven Tonks and Curtis Stephen Tonks were the same person and they wouldn't release this paper. So what did I have to do. I had to go to the Consulate of the United States of America and sign some official documents and answer all these questions. And do you know what the US Consulate is? US SOIL! I was in the US this week. It was pretty cool. There were hundreds of Brazilians there who were trying to get into the United States. They all think that if they go there they are gonna be happy all of the sudden. But if you're sad here, your gonna be sad there, no matter what. But yeah, the Consulate was pretty off the hook."

Making Contact Part 2

"I would just like to tell you about something I was thinking about the other day. Contacts. When you go up to someone on the street and you just start talking with them like they are a long lost friend (i.e. Eric Leishman). I was thinking about it, the person could be 80 years old, and the 25 seconds you talk to them about the Gospel and it's saving ordinances, if you look at it from an "eternal perspective", could be the MOST IMPORTANT 25 SECONDS of that persons 80 years, and 99.999% of the time they don't even realize it. Isn't that so insanely crazy!!!"

Making Contact Part 1

Mensagem aos Missionarios

"This is one of my weekly duties as referral secretary. President Urry types a message to the missionaries and I have to put the names of all the people baptized and confirmed and the area they live in and send this email to 196 missionaries."

PESSOAS BATIZADAS A SEMANA PASSADA:

1. RICHARD – CUMBICA
2. WESLEY – NOVA CIDADE
3. THAMIRES – GUARATINGUETÁ 1-I
4. ISLANDA – TAUBATÉ 2-II
5. DARWIN – VILA MARIANA
6. MILLA – MOÓCA II
7. ADELSON – ITAQUERA
8. ALEXANDRO – CARAGUATATUBA I
9. ALEIDE – CARAGUATATUBA I
10. JOSEANO – CARAGUATATUBA II
11. PEDRO – TIRADENTES
12. LEONARDO – SÃO MATEUS 2-II
13. JAQUELINE – SÃO MATEUS 2-II
14. JESSICA – SÃO MATEUS 2-II
15. NENSA – SÃO MATEUS 2-II
16. HENRIQUE – SUZANO II
17. JEFFERSON – MORUMBI
18. JOSÉ – VILA CURUÇÁ
19. VALDEMAR – ITAIM PAULISTA
20. JOANES – JARDIM ROMANO
21. MARIA – JARDIM ROMANO
22. VANESSA – JARDIM ROMANO
23. DAVID – JARDIM ROMANO

Creation, Space, & Stars

"Can you do me a favor? Send me facts about space and about stars. I am trying to make a Powerpoint presentation about organization using an example of the Creation but I need some really good, I mean way good, facts about the solar system and stuff. Thanks. Also send really good pictures taken from like the Hubble and other telescopes. Maybe of galaxies, other planets, maybe even the Rosette Nebula. Like really, really crazy good pictures. Thanks."

Although the Rosette nebula is not very bright - it is much too faint to see with the naked eye - it is famous mainly because it is a striking circular shape resembling a flower. The Rosette nebula is in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy and has a young star cluster at the center of it.

Elder Ulisses Soares

"The other day we had to run errands to the borough (called bairro) of Morumbi, where the Sao Paulo Temple is. We were eating lunch at the mall near the temple and we came out and we bumped into Elder Ulisses Soares, who is in the Area Presidency of the Brasil South Area. He complimented us and then headed in. I don't know what it is about General Authorities. They are the coolest and I can't wait to hear them speak at General Conference."

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Elder Soares, is director of temporal affairs for the Brazil South Area. He has served in a variety of capacities, including mission president, stake president, high councilor, and missionary in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission.

Jessica - "The Coolest"

"So Dad, that picture of Jess on the elephant was pretty cool. I really miss that gal. I hope she is doing well over there in China. If you write to her ever, tell her I sent her a few letters and hope she gets them, and then writes back with that "chip off the ol´block" wit of hers. She is the coolest."

Curtis' friend Jessica is in China teaching English. She sends emails that I forward to Curtis.

LDS General Conference

Conference Center

"Just to let you know, I've got Conference fever! I'm so excited. It really means like 10 times more to me out here on the mission. Just gotta listen to what the Apostles say, then take it and share it with others. The best is when we are able to bring investigators to Conference to see President Hinckley and the Apostles speak. It's like impossible not to feel the confirmations of the Spirit. I just hope I don't miss Priesthood Session like I did when I was in Guarulhos. Elder Domaredzky and Elder Walker already said no. So I tried to get Elder Borland, but he wouldn't get up with me at 5:30 to go. But I won't miss it this time."

Annual and Semiannual Conferences

The General Conference is a semi-annual meeting where general authorities and other Church leaders and give guidance and council to the members of the Church. It is held on the weekends containing the first Sunday in April and the first Sunday in October. The April meeting is known as the Annual General Conference, and includes annual statistical and financial reports not included in the October meeting, which is called the Semiannual General Conference. Both conferences in a given year are identified by the number of years since the Church was founded in April 1830; thus the October 2005 meeting was the 175th Semiannual General Conference, and the April 2006 meeting was the 176th Annual General Conference.

Although the schedule varied in the past, these days each conference consists of five two-hour sessions. The conferences have been held in Salt Lake City, Utah since 1848, and in the LDS Conference Center of that city since its completion in 2000. For more than 100 years they were held in a large building known as The Tabernacle which is adjacent to the Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square. General Sessions commence at 10 am and 2 pm (Mountain Time) on Saturday and on Sunday. At 6 pm on Saturday a Priesthood session is held for men holding the priesthood of the Church. General sessions are open to all Church members and guests holding tickets, usually for only one session. The tickets are free of charge (they are used for capacity and order), and members of the church the world over can request them from either their local leaders, or by writing to the church headquarters. Standby tickets are also available, as frequently many ticket holders for one reason or another are not able to attend.

October 4, 2006

"The week has gone well, General Conference was much needed. Did you watch any of it? I love conference, and I am gonna be in the Conference Center for the next one! Wanna come? I made Elder Jones a little trunky by telling him that I would be home for the next one, but he is a good kid, he is fine with it."