The Best Night Of The Mission

"This week was pretty excellent, quite a lot happened. The baptisms were great. We were all so happy and so were the families and all who participated. It just goes to show what hard dedicated work with love can do for you. The names of the people that were baptized are: Javier and Reina, and their two kids, Cristian and Breseyda (taught by Elder Martins, Dias and I. I baptized Breseyda, the daughter who is about 8 years old. They are Bolivians.) Also baptized was Valdira, a young woman taught by Elder Stoddard, Hicks, and I. She is about 23 and was baptized by Elder Stoddard. And also another couple, Henry and Gracielle, from Bolivia. I baptized Henry. He is a really cool guy; they are a young married couple with a brand new baby and they live with a bunch of Bolivians who are already members. It just goes to show how member support is the greatest thing for the missionaries. To be honest with you, I think the night of the baptisms was the best night of the mission so far."

What is a baptismal service like?

A baptismal service is a reverent meeting during which a person is baptized. It is usually attended by the family and friends of the baptismal candidate, both those who are members of the Church and those who are not. The service usually includes prayer, congregational hymns, and short talks about the covenants the person is choosing to make.

The baptism is performed by one who has priesthood authority, in a font or other body of water large enough to completely immerse the individual. Both the person being baptized and the individual performing the ordinance are dressed in white, as a symbol of the purity that comes through a remission of sins.

After receiving baptism the newly baptized person is confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. Typically, this ordinance is performed in a Sacrament Meeting held a few days after the baptismal service. During that meeting, the newly baptized individual is invited to the front of the congregation. The person sits in a chair, while one or more priesthood holders lay their hands on his or her head and perform this ordinance.

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My Future Home, Higienopolis

"Went to Dr. Deustch for the last time last week. He said just to go easy and the cut will heal up pretty fast. Still can't lift heavy stuff. Or play rigorous sports. But I am feeling fine. Afterwards, Elder Martins and I went to a way nice pizzeria called Verdiana in Higienopolis. Thats the nicest, richest area of Sao Paulo. We had this 4 cheese pizza that costed an arm and a leg, but it was good. Way, way good. We had to go down there yesterday to get some house contracts signed and we went in the mall there to take money out of the ATM. The mall was sweet. That is my future home, Higienopolis."

Learning Portuguese

"Writing Portuguese was so hard in the CTM, not to mention speaking it. But yesterday I had to translate a letter into Portuguese that Sister Bringhurst wrote. So the Portuguese is becoming a lot easier, that's for sure. I'm totally fluent writing and speaking. So yeah, the Portuguese is good."

Curtis sent home a package with somes items in it that we will put in a scrapbook when he gets home. There were pages of notes from the Brazil MTC. It was his first attempt at writing in Portuguese. There were many corrections on the pages but I could tell how hard he had been trying to learn the language. Now he is fluent in Portuguese. He's come a long way since his early days in Brazil.

Foreign Language Training at the MTC

The Best Referrals Secretary In Brazil

"We have traveled so much on the Metro this week. It gets really, really tiring. But we have done it to help out all of our investigators. Cool story - the other day I was talking to Paulo at the Association. He is in charge of all the media referrals in the Brasil North and South areas of the Church and he said that we are doing everything right in terms of referrals and that we may be "the best mission in the country in terms of referrals." So what does that make me, being the referrals secretary? You can all do the math."

Area Presidencies throughout the world have adapted pass-along cards to their area's unique needs.

For example, in some missions in Central and South America missionaries use a card that offers a set of pictures featuring Christ-centered paintings. Many of the investigators hang the pictures in their homes because of the difficulty of obtaining fine art to display. Missionaries also deliver the pictures to those who request them after seeing them in members’ or investigators' homes.

In some countries, members use a perforated pass-along card that offers copies of the Book of Mormon or other free media items. Members who invite their friends to hear the gospel or to receive a Book of Mormon tear the card in half, leaving half with their friend and writing their friend’s address on the other half. Members give their half to the missionaries. These cards are used to distribute free media items in areas without telephone service.

Pass-along cards are more effective than simply giving away a Book of Mormon or DVD because they involve missionaries. By using a pass-along card, members invite their friends to accept not just a free media item but contact from the missionaries.

Calls from those who receive pass-along cards are directed to a call center or mission home in the caller's area. At the initial call or during one of three follow-up calls, a missionary will begin a conversation with the pass-along cardholder. These missionaries usually ask callers, "What prompted you to request this offer?" Answers to questions like these usually give missionaries an opportunity to testify of the truthfulness of the messages the callers will be receiving.

Pass-along Cards Invite the World to Hear the Gospel

Today Can Always Be Better, If You Make It...

"There is a missionary in my ward, who was feeling down about life and the mission. We had some fun times down here in the city. But he was unable to finish his time in Brazil and returned home early. This is part of a letter that I wrote to him."

I encourage you, as you go through the big change and changes that await you, remember that we, as humans, are going to experience change in our lives, such as high school graduation, college, going on a mission, and yes, going home early from that same mission, getting married. It’s always tough. I always picture Jesus Christ saying, “I never said it was going to be easy, I only said it would be worth it.” And it is. I am truly happy with what has happened in my life, and I know why I am here in São Paulo, and I have a very large amount of hope in the future.

Don’t ever lose hope, nor faith or charity. Remember what’s most important in your life, like your family. They are always there to help you. More importantly, the Lord is always on your side. Just remember, like it says in Ether 12:27, people have to come unto the Lord before he will ever show them their weakness. Then from there, he can turn that weakness into a strength, even a weapon in our hands for our fight against the world. Always turn to the Lord, go out to meet him, and he will help you out.

Mother's Day Phone Call

Audio Part 1

Audio Part 2

Audio Part 3

I called Curtis on Sunday, May 14, at 3:30 pm. Jaimie, Kirstin, Brianna, and Alyssa were able to talk to him. His friend Detrick just recently returned from his mission to Canada and was also at our house to talk to Curtis.

Curtis and his companions had just baptized 8 people over the weekend and he was excited to tell us about it. He also talked to Detrick about his friends and what they had been up to.

I told him how fast the time has seemed to pass since our Mother's Day call last year. He agreed that the mission has gone by quickly. We'll be making one more phone call in December and then he'll be coming home.

LDS Church Office Building

"I had to call SLC yesterday about some missionaries who aren't getting emails from the bank about their cards. President Urry gave me a church office building directory. I was thumbing through it and it had the phone numbers/extensions of everyone that works there. The Seventies. The Apostles. Even President Hinckley, the prophet! I wanted to give him a call and tell him thanks for calling me on a mission."

The tallest building in Salt Lake City at 28 stories, the Church Office Building at Temple Square houses the administrative support staff of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world.

Upon its completion in 1972, the LDS leadership centralized the offices of the church in this location. Everything from church-related magazines, to translation of church materials into numerous languages, to regulation of missionary efforts, to production of church films, to construction of temples and more comes through the doors of the Church Office Building.



Visitors are welcome to tour the observation deck on the 26th floor of the building, which is open Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (5:00 p.m. during summer months). Additionally, the public areas of the building and the garden surrounding the structure are popular attractions.



The entire Salt Lake Valley is visible from the observation deck, including the Wasatch mountain range on the east and the Oquirrh range to the West. To the north, visitors can see the Utah State Capital Building, and to the south downtown Salt Lake City and some of its suburbs.

Visiting the Church Office Building is also a great way to learn more about the history and beliefs of the LDS Church. The lobby is dominated by a massive mural of Jesus Christ commissioning the Apostles of the New Testamant to preach the gospel message throughout the world. The lobby also features a statue honoring pioneer sacrifices, which depicts a husband and wife burying an infant child. The inscription reads "That the struggles, sacrifices and the sufferings of the faithful pioneers and the cause they represented shall never be forgotten."

Visitors can take a free tour of the gardens surrounding the Church Office Building. The gardens are completely redesigned every six months, and feature a stunning array of unique and exotic plants and flowers.

Living With The Guys

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"Hey, these are the guys I live with currently:

Elder Hicks from Sandy, Utah; Elder J. Santos from Curitiba, Parana, Brazil; Elder Santiago from Fortaleza, Ciara, Brazil; Elder Stoddard from Syracuse, Utah; and the man who needs no intro or outro..."

Boroughs of Sao Paulo

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The City of São Paulo is divided into 31 boroughs.

Each borough is divided into several districts (in most cases, two or three). The borough with the greatest number of districts is the borough of Sé, in the historical downtown, with eight districts (Sé, República, Consolação, Santa Cecília, Bom Retiro, Bela Vista, Liberdade and Cambuci). In second place are the boroughs of Lapa, with six districts (Lapa, Perdizes, Barra Funda, Vila Leopoldina, Jaguara and Jaguaré) and Moóca, also with six districts (Moóca, Tatuapé, Belém, Pari, Brás and Água Rasa). The peripherical boroughs of Jabaquara and Ermelino Matarazzo have only one district.

Curtis is in the city of Sao Paulo, burough of Mooca, district of Belem.

"Sé What?!"

"So another missionary got sent home and now I'm back in a temporary threesome. But the cool thing is, the third Elder in my threesome is Elder Hicks. He was my District Leader out in Cruzeiro. He worked in nearby Cachoeira Paulista. He is now a District Leader down here in the city, but his companion went home and now he is with me and Elder Stoddard, another District Leader. So it's the most powerful group of missionaries to be assembled since like Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. This is a picture of us in Sé. It's prounounced "say"."

Josh Jensen

Curtis' friend Josh returned home from his mission in Australia and spoke in church. I told Curtis about it. This is what he wrote back:

"So you got to see old Josh Jensen, eh? He is a cool dude. I have some funny memories of him. One time we were rafting on the Green River and there was some water coming into me, Detrick, Brody, and Royce´s raft so Detrick grabbed this bucket and started bailing water out but he heard a rattling sound and then a splash! He didn't know what it was. It ended up being Josh's sunglasses. So Detrick didn't tell him for like 2 days, but then the guilt trip finally caught up to him and he confessed. Good one."

"Josh knows a ton about trucks, a lot more than normal people, so when we are talking about something pointless and lame, Brody used to always say, "Alright, enough about trucks, Josh!" even if Josh wasn't with us. Also, a good one. I love those guys."

(can somebody email me a picture of Josh?)

International Migration In Brazil

"One thing that's really cool about my area, Belem, is that there are many Bolivians that live in this area. Like probably 1/3 of the folks in this part of Sao Paulo are Bolivians. We teach quite a lot of them. They speak Spanish to us and we can understand for the most part, and we answer in Portuguese. There are so many of them. For example, the other elders in my ward, Elder Stoddard (Syracuse, UT, dated a girl I know) and Elder Klingler (Iona, Idaho), have a teaching pool that's about 80% Bolivians. We teach less, but a lot still. One of them is this family who live a stones throw away from the church. So close that, some one with a good arm, maybe Elder Stephens, could throw a stone OVER the church. But anywho, the family is way cool. Javier and Reina, we usually teach them about 3 times a week since they are so close. They are gonna go to the 2nd session of General Conference with us today. We are gonna try to mark their baptism tomorrow during our appointment with them. They always make us good Bolivian bread and arroz doce, which translated, I think, is rice pudding."

The Brazilian southeast is the main destination for immigrants to Brazil. This region is home to 73.4 percent of the total immigrant population (683,830). Over half of these immigrants (343,944) are in the state of Sao Paulo. Other states with high levels of international immigration include Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul.

Shaping Brazil: The Role of International Migration