Week 16

Hey Everyone!



Yes, this week marks 4 months in Brazil! and 5 and a half on the mission! Looking back it's passed by fast, but at the same time it feels like it's been forever!

Mom, the mission secretary told Elder Agnelli that my packages arrived safe and sound, so I should get them on Wednesday, which is transfers.

Speaking of transfers, we will find out what will happen latertonight. I'll be excited to be transfered, but at the same time it'll be tough because we have several people that we've been working with a lot, and I'll be sad to leave them.

This week we had a visitor at church! It wasn't someone we've been teaching or one of the many people we invited. He's the spouse of one of the sisters in our branch. But we're teaching him tonight so we've got high hopes! So far 100% of the people who have come to church have been baptized, so the odds are good!

Times up, but just to sum up: I'm doing ok. Safe, happy, a little sunburnt, and exactly where I need to be!



Love, Elder Carr

Week 15

Hey everyone!



Summer here is getting started! The heat isn't half as bad as I imagined, but combined with humidity it's hard to breathe. It feels like a sauna outside, and it practically is because the ground steams after it rains. We had almost a whole week with a lot of heat and no rain (which is strange).  Then on Thursday we were walking to an appointment, and it went from sunny to cloudy in a matter of seconds with huge gusts of wind. Elder Agnelli and I looked at each other and then turned and started to run for cover. The nearest place was nearly 400 yards away and we weren't going to make it. A man shouted out to us and we literally jumped into his garage just as it started to pour. Sunny to gale-force winds and pouring rain in a matter of seconds. This same scenario happened later that day. It's too windy to use an umbrella, so basically we have to be constantly on the lookout for places to go if it starts raining in the next 10 seconds. But every time that this happens we are able to teach someone who is also hiding from the rain, so that's a plus!



This transfer has flown by! Next week on Wednesday is transfers so I don't know yet where I'll be for Christmas. I've really enjoyed living with another set of missionaries, but I'd love to experience more that just Itapetininga. I guess everyone here has a really thick "redneck" accent and I'm scared that if I stay here any longer I'll start pick up on incorrect Portuguese.



This week was good as far as lessons go. We've been teaching 25-30 lessons a week. But, as always, people have agency and choose not to keep commitments and not to go to church. President sent out a letter to the whole mission that said that if we don't have visitors at church, we should go out on the street and invite people to come to church during the gospel principles class. Elder Agnelli and I were excited to do this, but to our surprise, there was a large gay parade/festival in the plaza in front of the church. We decided that two guys with matching outfits wouldn't come across very well there. But we'll keep working hard and praying that we can find the people here who the Lord has prepared!



See you guys soon!



Love, Elder Carr

Sufficient Faith to Leave Your Boat

     For the last several weeks in my personal scripture study, I have been studying the life of our Lord an Savior, Jesus Christ.  While Christ is and always will be our greatest example in life, I have recently gained a greater appreciation for the example of the apostle Peter. 

     Peter was called to be an apostle while he was fishing.  Upon hearing the Lord's promise to make him a "fisher of men," he "forsook all," the load of fish they had just brought in, his boat, his business, and his house, to follow Christ.

     Later, when Peter saw Jesus walking on the water towards their boat, Peter called to Christ saying, "Lord...bid me to come unto thee on the water."  Peter left the boat relying only on his faith in Christ.

     My favorite example given by Peter is one that I recently encountered in John 21:7.  Peter, upon recognizing the resurrected Savior walking on the shore, leapt from his boat and swam to shore.

     In all three of these instances, we see a willing and faithful disciple leave his boat in order to be closer to the Savior.  While this analogy can be applied to numerous situations, I'd like to compare it to missionary work.  How often are we, as members of the church, content to sit in our "boats" while many of the people around us are in the water struggling to stay afloat?  We need to not only have the faith, but also be willing and eager as was Peter, to leave our comfort zones and insignificant worries in order to help those who are spiritually drowning.  That doesn't mean we will be fearless or even that we will succeed.  Again we look to Peter.  He didn't have the faith to walk on water, but because he exercised the faith that he did have and trusted in the Lord, he was okay, and as a result, his own faith was strengthened.  When questioned by the Savior if he loved Him, Peter answered saying, "Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee."  In reply, Christ declared, "Feed my sheep."  What better way to care for lost sheep than to bring them to the Good Shepherd himself?  If we can exercise our faith by leaving our "boats," our faith will be strengthened, and "if it so be that you ... bring save it be one soul unto [Christ], how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of [God]."

Week 14

Hey everyone!

Well, as of tomorrow (Dec. 3), I've been out for 5 months! In some ways it's felt longer than that, but looking back it's hard to believe!

Last week we had a multi-zone conference (my 3rd so far) and I got a stack of letters, so thank you! I don't think I've told you guys about conferences and all yet, so here you go: Every Tuesday morning we wake up early and take a 45 min bus ride to Tatui to our district/zone meeting, where we discuss the missionary work in the area, address difficulties, and do practices. When that's over, we hurry and catch another bus back to Itapetininga in time for lunch. Multi-zone conferences are usually every 3 months and are in Sorocaba, about an hour bus ride. About half the mission is there, we get to hear from President and Sister Martins. Generally, we receive instruction, important news, and any changes to the mission that have happened, like the fact that we are no longer allowed to use backpacks :(   I was anticipating that, and so I've been observing what people use here, and I have yet to see a male with a side bag, aka a purse. But when our leaders, in this case the First Presidency, ask us to do something, we do it! Without complaining! So yes, I bought myself a man purse. I have yet to use in on my shoulder yet, my dignity requires that i carry it in my hand.

Maybe I forgot to tell you guys: yes, it is Christmas here. The day after Halloween the mall was fully decorated and had a big Christmas tree in front. I have yet to hear a Christmas song in Portuguese however, everything that is played in public is in English.

As far as teaching, this week was difficult. We taught a ton and found a bunch of new investigators, but almost every single one of our return appointments has fallen through. On Friday, after a long day of disappointments, Elder Agnelli and I started to make our way back to our house.  We got there a little early, and while it would've been easy to justify going in and collapsing on the couch, we decided to try to talk to some people near our house. This alone is difficult because the neighborhoods close by are pretty nice and don't have many people in the streets at 8:30 at night. But we went, and ended up finding the best family and teaching the best lesson I've had so far on my mission. I've got high hopes for them! The blessings we receive when we are working hard!

Well, thats all I've got for now, See you all soon


Ate mais!

Elder Carr