TICKET TO RIDE

  Yo yo yo YO everyone how are we doing?? This week was straight up splendid. I hope everyone enjoyed the day of motherly recognition as much as I did and got to do something sweet! Moms are the best, good thing too Ive got the best one. But we had a real breakthrough with our member lunches this week and landed 4 almoços with açaí  foi uma semana abençoada com certeza. But genuinely this week was really good, but also like so much unexpected stuff happened, twas pretty crazy. 

      Wednesday afternoon Elder Johnson and I were running the usual, when out of nowhere we get rung by one of the AP's asking us to get back to our house pronto. We pull up, and one of the Elders in our house was packing up all of his stuff in his suitcases. Nobody knew what the heck was going on, but bro got beemed up to Belém and his comp stayed here with us. So Wednesday and Thursday we were chilling with another missionary, and in his area he had a temple visit planned with a member. So because he only had us as his comps, we went to the temple with him and a new member and it was a super nice time! The new member did baptisms at the temple for the first time and she said she loved it, so it ended up being a really cool experience! After the temple the AP's rung us up AGAIN and said we gotta head to an area called Sacramento to get a comp for the stranded Elder with us. We hit up Sacramento and took my Grandpa Elder West back to Cidade Nova with us until transfers. Wednesday was like a full 4 hours in the car and the best part is is that the moment we got out it started to rain . So yeah half the week was just figuring out what the heck is going on but it was def a good time. 

      Transfers hit like a wave yesterday. Ladies and gentlemen I am going to be TRAINING!! galllll I am SO excited, I feel like I arrived here freakin yesterday running the ones with Elder McLane, now dudes gonna be a grandfather. It was funny too cause like I said we had Elder West staying with us this week, so when I learned I'd be training I was like Elder West you boutta be a GREAT grandpa! It was so hype. It was Elder McLane who gave me the news too, dude joined the call with the whole zone and I knew shenanigans were afoot. Another important thing is that as much as I wanted to keep kicking it here in Paar (genuinely, love this area a ton) I am getting transferred to Macapá!! This week is gonna be nuts cause I'm gonna get a freshie straight outta the MTC, and we're gonna hop on a plane and make our way to Macapá it's gonna be such a crazy time but I'm so amped. It was cool too, cause this last week I fasted for the purpose of aligning my will with God's during this transfer. I wanted to know that whatever happened, it was because God wanted it for me and I wanted to have more peace with following his will. I'm so glad I fasted and prayed for the transfer because even though I've got a thousand doubts about how everything's gonna play out, I can lean on the fact that God trusts me with this responsibility. He trusts me to pass the love along, and to train another missionary up in the way that Jesus would, and I know that that's exactly what I'm going to strive for. These next weeks are gonna be a definite high point of the mish, gonna be such an adventure and I'm excited for it. 

      This week I thought about what I means to be "called to serve." At times I can get stressed over small things, get short or frustrated, think negative thoughts about myself or others, but I had the realization yesterday that nonna that stuff comes from God. Anything that makes me feel sad or unmotivated is an attempt from the adversary to slow down the work and to slow down my relationship with Jesus, and if I let those thoughts linger I'm supporting the adversary. 

3 Nephi 13

24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

     Supporting thoughts of unhappiness is supporting a being that is the enemy of God. As a missionary (and in life in general) my purpose is to serve Jesus Christ, and everything that comes after is secondary. I want to strive to full my thoughts, words and actions with serving Jesus Christ, and serving my fellow man. I know that thoughts of fear or doubt can be simple things that chase away the presence of the spirit, and I want to have the spirit with me at all times. I know that Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem, and that through serving him better I will find more comfort and strength in the things that disturb or distract me, and I know that the same promise goes to anyone reading because it's the promise the Savior made to all of us. 

This next week is gonna be nutty, but I'm excited to live it and tell you all about it! Pray for the missionary I'll recieve folks, it's no simple feat to start a mission and I'd love to have the reenforcement of your prayers to give him the best experience as a trainer that I can. Talk to you all in a few, peace out 

Email Title is from The Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," from their album "Help!"

1-4. AÇAÍ 

5-6. TEMPLE (gotta see the boys Elder Seal  and Elder Mortensen )

7. Guarana da Amazona

8. Getting the energy up through the day

9. Vatapa 

10-11. Amanda Birthday   

12. I love Elder Johnson