Wednesday, December 22, 2010

wow crazy water in the desert!
so is it just a muddy sloppy mess there now? that's pretty crazy that the damn is ready to break. if it does there will be a real big mess. there are cities flooding here too. São paulo has been flooding this whole week. but it is way calm here. it has been raining here but just light rains and then sun shine. so everybody is headed for good old panaca. it will be way good to talk to evryone again. i think i will be calling around one in the afternoon. i got my phone card this week so i will call you then you guys can call me back. it might be a little earlier than one so just be sure to answer your phone mom hahaha. we are gonna call from the church again. i think before we call we are gonna go eat at bishops house and get the key from him. we are having a lot of activities here. last week we went and spent the day at an orphanage with the ward. we went and told a story about Christ then fed the kids all kinds of treates from the nicest bakery in town. after that we just played with the kids for about two hours. they were so fun! can you imagine two missionaries running around the orffanage with fourty kids after them haha. it was way fun. i didnt want to leave there when it was time to go. the little kids were begging us not to leave and having us write our names on their hands so they wouldn't forget us. it was a way good experience. we just got back from our flight to Acré yesterday. it was way cool. we flew out and had our conference and a talent show and joked around with all the missionaries then went and ate at a really nice resturaunt. then tuesday we just wandered the center of the city looking at all the tourist sites there until two oclock. it was way cool, and the flights were cool too. now, it is just waiting to get to talk to you guys. i am getting pretty ancy to talk to you guys. i just got to figure out everything to do to call you guys haha, i have to call about a hundred different numbers to get out to the US. but i will get it done. there are five other americans in this city that will be calling home too, so one of us should figure it out haha. then i have no clue what i am gonna do the rest of the day, but it will be good. but things are going goods here i'm almost over my cold. thats funny the food is getting maud haha. i know excactly how he is feeling. just stay close to a bathroom maud, preferrably with running water so you dont have to have to go ask for the bucket of water first haha. its good for kids hahaha. but i got to run mom and dad i love you guys and am way excited to talk to you here in three days. tell aunt bonnie and aunt dannielle they are in my prayers

December 15, 2010

Sorry I didn't post this last week. My internet was having issues.

hey mom and dad
only a week till i get to talk to you guys!!!! i am pretty excited to get to talk to you guys, it has been way too long. but anywho, the shirt burning was really good. haha. and don't you worry mom i picked the one that had a huge black stain down the front of it that i couldn't use anyways. i didn't get any pictures of it, but we did video it. the only bad thing about the video is it won't let me send the video to you. but i will figure it out. you will be happy mom, i finally filled up my memory card on my camera. now i just got to buy a new one haha. they are pretty cheap here, i think, so maybe next week i will go get one in the center of the city. it will be nice to get out of the house for a p day. that is the only thing bad about here is there aren't very many missionaries so there aren't tons of activities on p day. me and my companion were going crazy today cuz we didnt have anything to do haha. he is a lot like me, he dosen't like to stay sat down for very lomg haha. we are getting along really good. he is way funny, so we just joke around and tell stories while we are walking in the streets. speaking of walking we did a lot of it this week haha. our area is huge, so we have to split up the days into which area we will work in. i'm afraid my shoes wont make it to long here haha. i am aready getting a hole in one side and and the mud isn't doing very well for them haha. but anyways, we get to fly to another state monday for a christmas conference. it will be way cool to get to see another new place and get another airplane ride haha. maybe they will bring packages that people got there. cuz here it is that we only get our packages when someone goes to manaus or some one comes here. so, it could be a while, but im hoping my package is there and they bring it to the christmas conference. so, it sounds like christmas is going good there. do you guys have snow yet? we had a nice cold front come through here. it has been about 80 degrees for the last few days. but, the only bad thing is, that right before the cold front came through i caught the flew haha. so the cold isn't helping. but i'm getting over it now, and i am glad cuz it isn't very fun doing missionary work when your sick haha. so dad subscribed to motorcross magazine huh? good thing cuz i have looked and my last magazine about 500 times haha. it's almost not even a magizine anymore haha. and your right that does make me happy to here that the ktms are the top bikes of the year. haha my companoin is getting to learn all about motorcycles haha. it is good cuz i'm learning all the names of the parts in portuguese haha. but things are goin really good. we have a wedding and baptism marked for the 7 of january. we are working really hard and the lord is blessing us with people to teach. the couple that will be baptized and get married are progressing so good. they haven't missed a church meeting for about three weeks now and thats including stake conference and two fireside. we are way happy with them and they are liking church alot. this ward is good about working with the recent converts too, so we are way excited. but i got to run mom and dad. i will tell you what time i will be calling next week but i think it will be about noon or one your time. i love you guys!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010



hey mom and dad
one year down can you beleive it? i am burning one of my shirts tomorrow and then we are gonna go eat at subway to get trunky haha. yes, thats right, subway!!!! it almost makes a kid forget he is thousands of miles away from home in the jungle speaking a different language haha. it will be alot of fun. so, sounds like everyone is getting ready for christmas there. we are here too, but its just not the same. we even put a plastic snowman window decoration in the window, but it was a sad thing, even the plastic snowmen melt here haha. i will try to send you a picture. it is the saddest, hottest looking snowman you ever seen haha. so we were talking to our bishop and we will be calling from his house on christmas day. i think i will be calling around noon your time, but i will fill you in on the details that wendsday before christmas. things are going good here in good old porto velho. we are working our little butts off here. we are trying to get two couples entered in for marrige this week. so, it is a work out for the missionaries, running all over the city trying to get all their papers right and working around all the mistakes in the paper work. it is a little bit of a head ache, but it is all worth it. you never would have thunk it, one of your kids even touching a marriage paper haha, jk mom. dont worry kyla or brianna are gonna wake up one day and realize they should probably get married haha. but it is good to be working hard and running around. it makes time go by so fast. the days just blend together and turn into one big day haha. but i am excited for christmas to get to talk to you guys. i am gonna have to practice my english with you. i haven't got to speak english for a while now, once in a while, but their english isn't real good haha. just put it this way, st claires english is like shakespeares compared to the members haha. its fun. so i am tryin to send some pics with this email too. they are of when i went to the river in center last week and of a famous train they have here. the place there is beautiful and the river is huge. you can go all the way to manaus by boat here. they said it takes four days haha. but i got to run i love you guys

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

hey mom and dad
Well let's see how my thanksgiving dinner was... i think i had some beans...........some rice........and i think chicken. haha i definitly wasn't feeling the lack of potatoes and gravy with that ham and turkey or potato salad or those nice fluffy rolls or eating all day long and watching football or just getting fat and knowing it and not caring anything about it. so my next thanksgiving home you be sure and make me a nice big pot of beans with that mystery meat in there, with that nice white rice cooked just right, and you can't forget the chicken cooked the exact same way that i have eaten it for a year. then throw me in a sauna turned up to about 100 degrees and put a tredmill in there and have me walk for miles. but, you cant for get those lights that tan people. now that just sounds wonderful haha. no it wasn't that bad haha. i did get to eat and, in the same week, i did get to play football, and i got to be in a city a little cooler than manaus. so it was all good. i am liking it here in porto velho. it has the dirt and dust but that just makes me feel right at home haha. we are teaching some awesome families now. we worked really hard last week and found a bunch of them. we visited one family last night and invited them to be baptized and they got all excited and will be baptized as soon as we get all the marrige papers done and they get all signed. so here in about three to four weeks they are going to be married and will be baptized the same night. we are working with about three more families too. we are excited to see their progress. today was cool. we went to the center of the city right by the Wood River. it is huge too! i got a bunch of pitures down there and will send you guys some next week. it was a lot prettier there than in manaus, a lot cleaner and with more grass. im glad to hear the team that did beat boise state was reno. haha. i mean it almost wouldn't be right not to root for them ,going to school there a year, haha. i miss watching the football games haha. can you beleive it's almost christmas?! it is sneaking up on me real quick. i am way excited to get to talk to you guys! i will get all set up, the time and stuff, and let you guys know around what time i will be calling. its cool, the missionaries here in porto velho will get to go to another state for christmas. we are going to a state called Acré to get together with the missionaries there to have christmas. it will be nice, there in acré it's a little cooler and has a bunch of tereré (that drink i told you about that smells just like fresh cut alfalfa). o i got you and dad christmas presents from the hippies today. they are way cool i am gonna get them sent off next week to you guys, but you probably wont get it till febuary haha. but i got to run i love you guys. tell everyone hi and let aunt bonnie know she is in my prayers.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

hey mom and dad
So guess what? i am just about two hours away from bolivia right now. haha i got transfered out of manaus to a city called Porto Velho. it was cool. it's my first time out of manaus. i had to get on a plane and it was about a two hour flight. this city is alot smaller than manaus. it is kind of a weird little city, almost all the roads are dirt roads except the main roads. its funny though cuz there is a mcdonalds in this city but its on a dirt road haha. my area is huge too! it goes clear from the edge of the jungle to almost the middle of the city. it will be cool living next to the jungle. i will be able to go walk through it on p days. today though we went and played football. one of the american missionaries found a place here where they sell footballs, so we all killed some homesickness today haha. i think i am gonna like it here. there are only about 14 missionaries in the whole city. the only thing is that here we get way dirty cuz if it's raining the roads are mud and if not it's dust so it distroys white shirts cuz its that red dirt. but its a lot calmer here and the people are way nice. i have a brazilian companion from são paulo, he is way cool and i have heard a lot of things good about him. so, i'm excited to work with a missionary that's still excited about the mission. the area is a little tough to find people but we are gonna do some work here. i was a little bummed about leaving before christmas cuz my brazilian mom was gonna have us over at her house. she was way sad too. her and her family took us to lunch the day before i left. mabe next time instead of sending me a package you can send one to them. i can tell ya the stuff they like from the u.s. and we can give them a late christmas. they gave me a christmas present before i left too. i am gonna miss them alot cuz i will probably be in this city for a long time. but anyways, sounds like it really was a crazy week last week. i hope aunt bonnie and enid are all right. enid is a way tough lady she has had to deal with a lot lately. she has got a lot of faith and the lord is helpin her through these trials. its crazy to see how much stuff goes on in just two years at home. it definetly gives a different perspective on thing being so far away from you guys. but its half way done now, crazy huh? i'm excited to get to call you guys at christmas! it's been way too long. we will get everything set up here in a few weeks, like time and what not. i got to run but, i love you guys. o and dad there are these little hippey shops here that sell all kinds of crazy stuff they get from the amazon. i'm gonna get you guys some sweet stuff haha. love you guys

Thursday, November 18, 2010

hey mom and dad
another week gone by how crazy! things are a little better this week haha. we haven't had transfers yet, but next week we will have them. but, we got an inside look at the transfers cuz we live with a missionary that worked in staff and it looks like they are gonna close this area cuz there are only two missionarys getting here and 14 leaving. so, the have to shut down 7 areas for a little bit till we get more missionarys here. it is a bummer too cuz we have two families marked to be baptized on the 28 of this month and we will be transfered on the 23. so we are both bummed about that, but the transfers arent finalized yet so things could change or some americans could get their visas before tuesday. there are a bunch waiting there and we are needing them. our mission is four states big and only has 170 missionarys now. i hope we get a bunch here soon cuz there are 20 going home in febuary. but anywho, haha, things are about the same in good old manaus. it was another burner this week. i went to see my brazilian mom today and she was like, wow you are getting a lot darker still, so i may come back looking a little like a mexican or like a little mexican haha. but it was way good seeing them today. you remember when i was telling you we were helping her kids? well i found out today that the oldest girl, jesica, is now the president of the young women and that pedro ,my brother from a brazlian mother, is starting his papers the start of the year. it is so amazing watching the the way the lord works miracles in the lives of people. and that's why we can never lose hope, cuz it just take a little tiny push for people to feel God's love in there life again and want to come back. i learned a really cool thing about hope here on the mission. hope isn't an uncertain thing like we use it in every day talk like, we hope something will happen. but hope is a certainty that something will happen. and that hope is something active and that we always need to be focusing on through our faith. i though it was way cool cuz i never thought of it that way. i am learning a lot here on the mission! i probably should have done some better studying before the mission haha. but i am loving it. but i got to run mom and dad i will talk to you next week and here in a few more weeks will talk to you for real! love you guys

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

hey mom and dad
sorry this email is so late my companion decided we needed to go visit one of the members in an old area and decided to stay there all day!! but i'm here now, a little frustrated, but good haha. you know how i get when i am late for something or needing to do something haha. only another week haha. but anyways, sounds like things are good there besides the whole harry reid deal, thats a bummer. but what can ya do right. so dad got his calling, huh? thats way awesome. he is gonna do really good, and i bet he will like it. o, the time doesn't change here. it's pretty nice. it changes in a bunch of other places in brazil but not in amazonas. it was a burner here this week, i thought i was gonna die friday. it was about 110 and it had rained that morning so i was dripping sweat before i stepped out the front door haha. i thought i got a gnarly farmer tan there, you should see it now adays haha. but i noticed my back is starting to get tan through my shirt haha. so we found two more alligators now. they were all out sun bathing the other day, but once again i didnt have my camera. i think i'm just gonna carry it around one whole week and get them. but the area is getting a little better. we are finding some good people to teach. we are baptizing a family on the 28th of this month. we had another one for the 20 of this month but our members scared her off and told her she had to get maried. so she took off running. we were like NO!!! just has to live the law of chastity. so we have to go try to resolve this thing this week haha. its getting pretty close to christmas. its funny to see christmas stuff here cuz its like christmas in july haha. it is gonna be a wierd christmas, but it is the last one away from home. o, and i think i will call from a members house this time cuz a family here is insisting on us calling from there haha. so if you can try to send me a cheap phone card in a envelope to me. that one that i came with expired cuz i used it in the airport, and it said ninty days after you use it it expires. but other than that i think i am all set for christmas. i am way excited to talk to you guys. all the members are rubbing it in too, haha. they are like, o you guys get to talk to your families here soon haha. but i got to run i love you guys talk to you next week

Wednesday, November 3, 2010


"Holy Soles"

hey mom and dad
sounds like you guys had a good time pickin pine nuts. that was always fun to do. so you guys had elections there too, huh. here it was for president and all. there is now a women president in brazil. it has been the big news here for the week. but its gonna be nice that they are over. they have these cars that drive down the streets with loud speakers blairing the election stuff, so annoying. haha. but its over so, its all good now. so things are pretty good in my area. it is more on the out skirts of manaus. the area could be really good but a missionary messed up here about a year ago so, the members dont trust us. it is gonna be a little tough but i think we will be able to gain their confidence back in us. that means visiting a lot of members and really watching to not catch ourselves in any situation that could even look wrong. because, the members are watching us like hawks haha. this area was closed for a long time but reopened two transfers ago. my companion is pretty cool. he is almost done with his mission though so its teaching me some patience. haha. sometimes its hard keepin him focused. but we are workin and finding some good people to teach. no, i havent seen the alligator again, yet haha. we have this cool member though that has a house in the amazon jungle with cows and stuff, and he brought us missionaries the skin of a boa constricter that he killed there. it is huge!!! its like seven feet long and is so wide! i will send you guys pictures of it one of these days. he killed it cuz it killed one of his calfs and was takin it away haha. we are gonna make scripture covers out of it. he said the next thing he is bringing us is an alligator head haha i'm pretty excited about that. we had a barbeque today. it was pretty good. we had tons of missionaries at our house cuz they brought all the zone and district leaders in from the little cities in the mission to have meetings. so, they stay at houses in the mission. we have four stayin with us till tommorrow. it is pretty fun with them in the house. but, the house is so dirty haha. imagine eight boys living in a house.......cooking. haha. its great. there are only two and a half more weeks in the transfer. its crazy how fast it is going by! i am pretty sure i will stay here but i dont know if my companion will be. i kind of want to get a companion a little younger on the mission that is still excited cuz this area needs it. but it will be good if i stay with my companion one more transfer too. o i took some money out, just to let you know. i had to pay the water bill this month but the mission returns the money, its called something in english, but i can only think of it in portugues. haha. it's where they pay you back. but any ways... i am not sure i need anything for christmas. you can just send what ever you want. o i know, some deoterant. haha. they only have roll on stuff here and it doesnt do the trick in 100 percent humitity haha. i'm sending you some pictures of my shoes and one of the baptism we just had of natasha. the other one is of our barbaque last week. mabe in a few weeks i will get you some sweet jungle pics haha. but i got to run. i love you guys and cant wait to talk to you on christmas. its coming up real fast!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

NO JERKY!!! haha
its alright, i guess i will live with only pinenuts haha. i bet it was fun to hunt though. thats cool that our team beat meadows though, you guys know how much i just love those guys haha. when do playoffs start and are we gonna make them? i cant beleive its taylor's senior year though. it's crazy to think that cory is goin home too! it seems like it flew by. but, to think about it, it is flyin by for me too. i almost have a year now. crazy!!! well things are good here in good ole manaus. it is raining almost every morning and night here now. the only bad thing is that it makes it that much more humid during the day. but it makes it really nice to sleep at night. we went and played soccer in the rain today. it was alot of fun. we had a big barbaque too that was really good. we ate and drank soda till we had it comin out our ears haha. my package did get here today too. and it did have my card in it so you dont need to cancel it, i was wondering if you have already activated it? the only bad thing about getting my package today was that we had tons of missionarys at the house and they all love american candy haha. but i did manage to hide the beef jerky and some of the better stuff haha. this week was cool though, we baptised natasha. she was so excited! we went to pick her up to go to church the next day a half an hour early and she was waiting as patiently as she could at her porch haha. she was so excited to go to church and get comfirmed a member and receive the gift of the holy ghost. it was really good to see that. it gives missionaries alot better motive to work as hard as they can. it's almost an indescribable feeling that you get, way awesome. we do have some work to do in this area though. it has only been open for like five months now so there is alot to do. some times if seems overwelming but it is all worth it. you learn a lot about true love for people when your on the mission. to leave all you have behind to work in the hot and cold, wearing the bottoms out of shoes. haha but its all worth it. i got to run though mom and dad. i love you guys

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

i have my fingers crossed haha
i sure hope dad gets him a buck. o pinenuts and deer jerky would hit the spot right now haha. any thing but rice and beans would hit the spot right now haha. i am waitin on that package to get here not just for the card but the cookies you hid it in haha. i did eat tacos last night and that was way good! we went and stayed the night at other elders house and we made them and then ate until we were about sick haha. but it was way good. then this morning we all woke up and went and played soccer, so now im dead tired haha. i have one kid in our house that works out alot at night too and likes when he has someone to work out with. so, i am way sore from that too haha. this week was pretty cool though. we marked a baptism date of natsha and she will be baptised this weekend so that will be way cool. also i had to talk in church on my first sunday in the ward haha. they called me and told me at nine at night the night before haha. but i got through it pretty good. o and guess what i saw in my area this week. an allegator haha. it jumped out of the bushes and scared the crap out of us one night while we were walking home along this little stream thing we have in our area. it wasn't very big, only like 3 to 4 feet, but it was cool to see him. i will get a picture of him for you guys. the next day we saw him sun bathing along the stream. it was way cool though. things are goin good in the area, just finding people to teach. we found this one guy that is really good. he read the pamphlet we gave him and had so many questions for us and stuff that he really liked. it was way cool. we are gonna try to mark a baptism date for him this week. other than that, its the same old thing in manaus, very hot and it rains about once a day here now. its nice, but you just have to try to dodge the storms or you get soaked haha. and the humitity is so high right now, so thats always fun haha. but i got to run. tell everyone hi for me. i love you guys

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I WANT JERKY TOO haha
dad i won't ever make fun of you if you have to shoot a forked horn the last day haha. but, if you do, get a big one. i want pictures....and jerky haha. so, sounds like things are going pretty good there. i was thinkin about grandma a lot last week. i'm glad you guys kept her busy. that's cool that the hospital is doing that. i wish brazilians could see things like that cuz they think americans are all just fat and unhealthy haha. are you guys doin it? it will be way good for the county. so, guess what? i got transfered again haha. remember my first area? well i'm out further than that now in a part of manaus called Campo Dourado. it is more on the out skirts of manaus. so i am back out into the jungle a little more. it was nice to be out of the middle of the city. i can actually walk in the streets again and not worry about getting hit haha. but there is one thing about this area. so, to give you a nice picture, we were walking to lunch yesterday and a car goes flyin by us. i look up and it's getting speed for this hill. it got about half way up and couldn't make it any farther and had to back down it haha .... and it was even paved!. i almost started crying haha. this place is full of huge hills and not just nice little rollers. it has the kind that dirty missionarys ties....cuz they are dragging on the ground as your climing it haha. you just about have to use your hands in front of you haha. i will take a picture of one for you guys. while your at the bottom it looks like it goes all the way to heaven and then by the time you get to the top you look off the otherside where you have to go down and realize it just took you too hell haha. no, i'm just kidding. it will be a good area haha. i will just have buns of steel by the time i'm out of here haha. i hear that the ward here is really good too. so, that is always nice. i have a brazilian companion again. his name is elder De Lima. he is pretty cool. i think we will get along good. we live it a house with two other missionarys too. the house is way cool though. it has places to hang your hamocks outside so you can just relax on p day haha. o and the rainy season is starting up here. i am so glad too haha. i have been cooking. so now i can be soaking wet and cooking haha. no, just kiddin, it cools down a little bit so its way nice and just in time cuz i dont have an ac in this house haha. i was a little sad to leave dom pedro cuz it was a lot of fun there and a really good area, but it will be good here too. at the end of this transfer i will hit the one year till i go home mark! how crazy. cuz it is when the transfers fall, pretty crazy right? my companion will go home in february, so he is a little trunky haha. o and about my shoes. i had to switch to my other pair of hush puppies cuz my other one decided to lose one of the heels haha. i will sent pictures next week. the only reason i was trying to make it one year with them is cuz my other pair has an almost wooden heal, so they are only gonna last about a month or so haha. so i'm saving them for the last transfer of my mission haha. i still haven't got my package, but i hope it will make it here this week. i have no clue why it is taking so long. but i got to run. i will talk to you guys later. love you guys. tell everyone hi for me.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Here's a little piece of Dylan's email this week. Sorry, the rest is for Rick and I and a few others. Hope you enjoy what there is.

o send some of that cold down this way haha
it hit a little over 120 here the past few days booo haha. we did have a really good rain though. we were stuck in our house for four hours! i have never seen so much water fall from the sky in my life. and dont you worry, us four did manage to change into some shorts and go play in it haha.im glad you liked the story of the kids. it is way cool to see them helping so much. that's funny the missionaries play soccer with the kids there. we just have to stay out of it most the times here cuz about every five year old is better than we are here, haha. but once in a while we will give it a go. so homecoming was pretty ugly huh? that's not good. but, what can ya do, some years are just like that. o and you be sure, when dad gets his deer, you send some of that jerkey this way ahaha. what area does dad have? i miss hunting a lot! but it will be there when i get back. conference was awesome! i get so much more out of it here on the mission. i did get to watch it in english too. they put a little tv in a room for us in english so that was nice.

The rest of the email was way good. Sorry you had to miss it. haha

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

hey mom and dad
wow another week gone by so crazy! can you beleive i only have one more week in this transfer? it flew by. that's usually what happens when you open an area, though, cuz you are running all over the place. but it has been a good one. so it's good to hear that aunt danielle is doin pretty good. i emailed her the other week cuz she emailed me and said she got a computer in her room. so they have to change their house, huh? they are gonna need a lot of help. get those elders over their when they start doin it. those states side boys need to get off their bike and out of their cars and do some work too, haha. you have no idea how much the missionaries here talk about that haha. it's pretty funny actually. that's way crazy that cory comes home in like five weeks! two years flys by. and if you lost track, i am creepin up on a year real quick. crazy, huh. it's gonna be crazy when all my other buddies are gettin home next year, my turn will be right around the corner. but let's think of that later so i dont get trunky, haha. that's cool dad likes his job. and the hours are way better than him leaving for three days. thats cool that he is gonna teach sunday school too, haha. he will love it. he will get a feel for what happens to us when one of the teachers don't show up and we have to teach it on the spot haha. that's good that your liking the primary still and, i got a good story for your primary kids. so here the kids play soccer at the chapel evey tuesday and thursday night. and there are always tons of kids there. but the coolest thing about it is that all the member kids are inviting their non member friends and in active friends there and then we go and talk with all of them at the start of the game and leave a little message. well this little missionary act of these little kids is changing the lives of a lot of their friend. ten of them decided they wanted to go to church now and have been going for the last three weeks. and two of them have a baptism date already this week and the others will have baptism dates this week too. so, it doesnt matter how old you are you or how big you are you can help a person find the truth and really find happiness. it is way cool. i have never seen little kids do so much missionary work. but i think you can share that with your kids and maybe print out little name tags and they will like it. so, ya, those questions are way hard, huh. we have to answer those kinds of questions on the spot. some times we have to tell them we will have to study about it and answer them later. like i had to find where it talked about the war in heaven in the bible for this guy, edwardo, cuz he had been taught a whole different way. but i found it. its in revalations 12 and it even talks about the third satan took with him. we see him again this week so, i have to be prepared for his new questions. i haven't got my package yet but it should be coming. is their jerky in it? cuz i have a returned missionary that is crazy for jerky haha. he is way cool. he gave me a soccer jersy last week haha. but, any ways, i got to run mom and dad. i will talk to you next week and i will get you the adress of my brazilian mom's house haha. she will like getting a card from you guys. i love you guys

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

hey mom and dad
your right, i am missing out haha. but its alright, it will be there when i get back. so you got a good little friend on face book huh:) just to let you know she may or may not be writing me;) haha she is way cool though. you would like her, so be nice mom haha. but anywho, back to the mission, haha sounds like you had a good time in the race. i am gonna be so far beind you guys when i get back. but its way cool you guys are liking it. so the football team is struggling a little huh. dont worry they will come around. the area here is getting better. we are finding the people now and teaching a ton of people. we found so many people that only need to be baptized. they are more active than some of our members haha. we are gonna help them out though. one has some pretty hard questions though haha. he makes me study hard. like i will give you an example, when a person dies of a murder does it mean that wasn't part of god's pan for that person? or when a baby gets aborted was that his purpose in this life? man i have been studying my hind end off haha. i had to find for him in the bible where it talks about the war in heaven and how satan was cast out with the one third of the spirits. all his questions are about the plan of salvation he wants to know where he is goin and how he got here and why? it is a big testimony strengthener for me. i have to really study about this stuff and know it. it is good for us both me and him. but i got to run i am visiting my brazilian mom today. love you guys and talk to you next week.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010




hey mom and dad.
sounds like panaca is good old panaca. that is always a good thing though. what area did dad draw this year, i forgot. one thing i miss is the hunting. haha there are so many animals around here and i can't kill any of them haha it doesn't help that our next door neighbor here has a rabbit farm, haha. but it sounds like everyone is doin good there. it's nice to hear about everyone. you should send more pictures of the family on the internet. i can borrow my companion's pen drive and print them off. every one wants to see more pictures of the family. things are going good in the new area we are starting to figure out the area and are finding people to teach. we have some days that are tough but its alright, it give me a better tan, more holes in my shoes, and a work out haha. yes my shoes have holes in them but they only have to make it to the start of the year and i will throw them out and start on my second pair, ha ha. my socks are just fine though and all the rest of my stuff is good. i could use a normal short sleeved white shirt. this material of my other shirts is way dingy white and when ever their is a baptism all the members tell me i need to clean my shirts, haha. so a normal shirt would be nice. other than that i am all good. we met a really cool family this week. they are so funny haha. we were talkin with all of them and the grandma is way funny and i was like, i like you. and she was like well then take me back to the states with you. i dont got a problem marrying a younger man, haha. it was so funny. they are way cool though. we will teach them again tomorrow. our bishop is way cool too. he is really funny. i am likin the new area. o this week we definitly made salsa, real salsa too. it was so good. we attempted to make tortillas but that didnt turn out so great ahaha. you would think they would have that kind of stuff here but no, not even tortilla chips, haha. but we did find this little mexican resuarant that we are gonna go check out and see if we can get some. i called my brazilian mom the other day when we were eating chicken and salsa and drinkin our pina colodas and she called me a little mexican boy haha. have you got a call from her yet? she said she might call you one day and really test out her english, haha. i think we are gonna go visit them next week. but things are goin great. i am over my cold now. i have no clue how you catch a cold in manaus, by the way, but it happens haha. but i got to run mom and dad. i sent a few pictures this week. i might send more next week. love you guys talk to you next week.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

hey mom and dad
sounds like things are still the same in good old panaca. thats cool that coach mark is back. does taylor call him the devil too? haha. i was missin labor day but its alright. that's good that aunt danniel has a good atitude. just keep her happy and positive and things will turn out good what ever happens. can you beleive i am hitting nine months tomorrow, crazy right? i will most likely hit one year in this area. me and my companion are getting along good. he went to cimmaron high school. he is pretty cool and way funny. he has a guitar so i get to play guitar every night. i am getting a little better, i can sing while i play now. i might save up my money and buy me one. you can get a cheap acoustic for like fifty bucks here which is like twenty five bucks there. so i might do that. i am liking living in a house with other elders too. we have alot of fun haha. things in the area are a little rough, but they are starting to get going. we are finding people now and learning the area a little better. our ward is way cool. the bishop is a young guy and very good. they have activities every week and that helps us out alot. we show up there, eat, and get to know everyone's non member friends. i am gonna get fat in this area. everyone likes to feed the missionaries haha. so that means i have to be better with my excercises haha. things are still hot here haha. wow something different huh haha. we had rain the other night but that just makes it even more humid during the day. it hangs around 85 percent, but when it rains it gets up into the ninteys and just cooks you haha. i was talking to my companion and we were like we are just gonna shrivel up when we get back home haha. i am doing good here though. i caught a little cold and am getting over it now but other than that i am great. but i got to run mom and dad. i love you guys and will talk to you next week. tell everyone hi for me.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

hey mom and dad
I GOT TRANSFERRED!!! i am in manaus still in a place called don pedro. it is pretty crazy me and my companion are opening the area so we dont know anything about the area so that means some good times getting lost haha. they say this area is really good though. it had missioaries one time but they traveled alot because they were assistants to the mission president. but they said this ward works like crazy and i beleive it. we got here yesterday and we already have a baptism and wedding next week. and they gave us two refrences yesterday too. it is gonna be so nice being in a strong ward. my last two areas were some of the hardest in the mission. i think i am gonna like this area a lot. my companion is an american from las vegas, how cool is that! not gonna lie, it is so nice to talk english a little bit haha. we live in a house with two other missionaries, both americans too. and you can tell i'm starting to get old on the mission because i'm not the newest one in the house. its crazy to think im creaping up on one year. our house is cool though, the best part is that in the room we sleep in has an air conditioner. O YES!!!!! i walked in there last night to sleep and it was like walking into heaven haha. it is nicer than my last house by far. i was excited to go to a different area, but i didn't think it would be so hard to leave all the people there. man i was struggling. the family that lived below us got me a new tie and pen. they are very special people! i have no clue how the mom, tania, does it. she has two daughters one 14 and other 2. her huband left her for another women a year and a half ago. she is strong in the church and supports her two little girls by her self. a very amazing person. the other family that was hard to leave was gudete and her family. they pretty much adopted us missionaries as their kids. they threw me a going away party and bought pizza and soda. it was way cool, i am gonna miss them alot! you might be getting a call from her one of these days she said, haha. and yes, she speaks a little bit of english. she sent me with a mamma package too haha with food and candy. it was way funny but i will miss them alot. but i got to run mom and dad. i love you guys and i will try not to get too lost in this place haha.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

you guys survived it haha
wow it sounds like you guys were living like kings there! things are a little different in the amazon haha. it sounds like joâo is way rich!!! thats way awesome though. i bet it was great to just get away from everything and relax. i told the members where you guys were and they said those are two of the most beautiful places in brazil. i'm glad you guys had a great time. things are good here in manaus. it is almost september and they say september is the hottest month of the year here, so we will see how that goes haha. transfers are this week and one of us will leave but we dont know who, haha. we find out saturday. transfers are always interesting so we will see what goes on. i am kind of wanting to be tranfred but we are finding some really good people right now so, if not, it will be good too. we played soccer again today, haha. i made a goal so that was an improvement than last time haha. we have a baptizm and marriage on the 11 of september. we are way excited about it but one of us wont see it, haha. the members keep saying how your not gonna want me back cuz im getting darker, haha. its way funny. there are some awesome members here. and about the things for them. if you cant find the detergent ball its alright. the shoes are just converses just normal, sorry chucks is a nick name for them, haha. and i will see my companion every six weeks so you can send the shorts. if i get transfered too i can send the shoes with the elders that will be here but if its too much of a hasstle dont worry about it. they aren't a nessesity haha. but anywho i'm good here, just working hard and learning alot!!! i am almost through the book of mormon in portugues for the first time now. it is helping me speak alot better too. but i am loving the mission. i wouldnt trade this opportunity for anything. the things i am learning will stay with me forever. i got to run mom and dad. i love you guys and am glad you made it back safe and had a great time. i will talk to you next week love you guys

August 18, 2010

hey mom and dad
that is so crazy that you guys are in brazil!!! are you guys liking the food? is it rice and beans there everyday too?haha thats way awesome that you guys stayed in rio for a while. i want to go there one day, i hear it is pretty amazing there. how long were you guys there for? can you understand anyone?haha now you know how it was for me haha. things are all good here. i got my motorcycle magazine yesterday and i have already read it haha so you can send another in the next package haha. this week was good. we baptized bia and it was way awesome! she was so excited and we had alot of people there for the baptism. there is only two weeks left in this transfer so one of us will be leaving the area but we dont know who yet. other than that we are just workin our butts off in this heat. but we are loving it so thats all that counts haha. o the power went out for six hours here saturday night so you know what that meant, there was no sleeping for us haha. we went to church the next day zombies. we both fell asleep at lunch too it was way funny. we went home and slept alittle of it off though so that was good haha. so i got a couple of thing for you to send me. some of the members want some things from the US. haha. one wants a deterget ball for the washing machine. it is a ball you throw in the washing machine and you dont need to use detergent. they said an elder sent them one before. number two, haha, jorge asked me if you could send him a pair of chucks,the converse shoes. he said he will give the money to me if you can to pay for them. he wants them black and size 8 1/2 just the original chucks. and third my companion wants a pair of basketball shorts size large haha. so if you can let me know but if not its alright haha. i hope you guys are having a great time there, just be careful haha. and don't you worry about me here, but im glad you got to see a little glimpse of how im living here haha. love you guys and take care talk to you next week

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

hey mama
that's so crazy you are coming to brazil next week! you guys are gonna have a lot of fun. just be really careful especially in Rio. that place is pretty crazy! but you guys will be fine with jon there. and for the boy, bring him a cool pair of basketball shorts. and candy is always good too haha. i have no idea for the baby haha. thats razy about aunt danielle, thats way scary! i will be praying for her. just keep me updated. you guys think its hot there... hahahahahahahaha!!!!! o you lucky souls with 37 percent humidity. just imagine this, you get in the shower with cold water, get out, and in the time it takes you to dry off you are as wet as you were from your sweat haha. last night the power went out for three hours and you can't sleep when the power goes out cuz your bed turns into a swamp, haha. so from 3 to six this morning my companion and i were sitting out side of house trying to cool down haha. this week is different though. my companion is district leader and the first presidency is changing the teaching world wide, so all the leaders are at the mission home this week and i havee a different companion. it is a good change though, some times staying with the same person 24/7 is a little tough, haha. we had a baptism this week, joana. she was way excited and we are baptizing her mom the end of this month. we are just helping her get married to the missionary that served with ken hulse, haha. weird huh. but i am way excited for her. she is a special person. we will have another baptism on the 14th too. but things are good here. i am lovin the work and lovin the people. tell dad happy birthday i will be sending his present with your mother's day present here soon, haha. i am slacking on that part. i think i will just put christmas in there too, haha, get it all in one shot. but anyways, i got to run. i love you guys and tell everyone hi for me.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

hey mom and dad
it sounds like things are going a little better there at home. just tell everyone to hang in there. is aunt danielle going to be able to walk and everything when she heals up? i have been praying alot for her and you guys too. everything is gonna turn out all right i know it. keep everyone positive there.
thats so crazy that you guys are gonna fly right over me here in a few weeks. i keep giving my companion crap tellin him my parents are gonna be in são paulo before he will haha trunky!!! haha things here are going better. we have been working with those three that we baptized alot and i think we got them back to where they need to be. we will have another baptizm this week. i am way excited for her. haha we are baptizing her mom too next month but have to marry her, and we told her daughter she could wait till then and she was all "NO i will be baptized next week" haha. it was way funny. they are way cool though. they are elites!!! they want to go to the temple so bad they can hardly stand it. but the area is goin good. i know about every road in this place now. haha. you know you have been in an area a long time when you recognize the dogs in the road haha. there is a rumor goin around that i will train a new missionary next transfer. haha i might pee my pants a little if i do haha. i have been out for eight months how crazy is that?! i can hardly beleive it. o it is official, i am terrible at soccer haha. we played all day today and barbequed with the other missionaries in the zone. haha it was funny, but there were other americans so i wasn't the only one that was terrible haha. i got to run though, mom and dad, we got a family night tonight with a really cool family in the ward. i love you mom and dad i am prayin for everyone there. o and dad dont you worry they were just saving you so they can call you to bishop in a little bit haha love you guys

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

hey mom and dad
i am still in glória. neither one of us got transfered. the only thing that changed was my companion turned district leader. rough week at home huh? man when it rains it pours. i am sad to hear about aunt danielle. i cant beleive that happened. i wish i could help more. i bet taylor is torn up pretty bad over it too. let him know that i love him and will pray for them tons. is she gonna make it though mom? after everything that you told me happened it's hard to beleive she is alive. how is riley doin? and uncle bruce too? he has had a rough year. i am sad to hear about aunt elaine too. she was such a sweetheart. i just wish i could have known her better. it was a little rough this week here too. remember those three that we baptized in may? well they were really growing in the church and loving it, but then, one of our members decided it was a good idea to talk about things in the temple, that shouldn't be talked about to anybody, to her and she got really confused and the other churches here jumped on her. i really saw those viscous wolves that the bible talks about take hold of her. it was one of the sadest times in my mission to see three moths of growing and loving them just be destroyed by satan. but, my testimony has grown because of it and i am so glad that i know the truth and that no one, no one will take it away from me. in times like this with all that is going on there and here that we sometimes want to ask why. why does this happen to people. but the book of mormon tells us in alma 34, i think, or 32 that God gives us our weaknesses and our trials that we can grow. God knows us personally, we have proof of this when he called joseph by his name, and he knows if we can handle these trials we have in life. he will be there right by our side crying with us, mourning with us. He commanded us to do that so you can be sure that He is leading by example. the only thing i can think to tell you guys there going through this tough time is to stay close to the lord. dont let trials distance you from our God but bring you to a beautiful peaceful state right next to Him in the arms of his love. i bare my testimony to you that this place exists and our father in heaven wants us there to shower us with blessings. he has a promise that he will. we just need to do our part and not be slow to remember the lord in times of trouble. well mom and dad tell everyone i love them. give taylor a big hug for me, that kid means a lot to me. tell aunt danielle to hang in there and to know my prayers will be for her and our family. i love you guy. i will talk to you next week

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Hola mãe e pai
how are you guys doin today? sounds like doug had a wild time getting home haha. that is crazy that he is home though. it went by way fast! and michael is home to, so crazy. where did he serve again? mexico wasnt it? next is cory huh? i bet it has been pretty crazy there. they made it to the semi finals of the cup. it was kind of nice that brazil lost for the teaching reasons, but it was pretty fun seeing how crazy everyone is about soccer here haha. the day they lost we had so many people yelling at us cuz they thought i was from holland haha. but it is all calm now, well as calm as this area can get haha. i am doing good here it is just about to transfers again only two more weeks. i think i will be transfered but who knows haha. can you believe i will have seven months on the mission friday?! things in the area are good, teaching alot and trying to get this one family married. it is a lot of work for us but it is worth it. we have a baptism next week of josêpaulo. he is excited about the baptism he is about sixty years old and loves going to church with us so it will be cool to get him baptized. it is getting even hotter i think here haha. its summer hot here and i am feelin it. it olny rains about twice a week now and its always at night so it gets it nice and humid during the day time with the sun out haha. i am getting pretty dark these days haha but then on p days when i wear shorts everyone sees my real color haha. o i got the pictures you sent me and my letter haha. thank you mom. every body liked the pictures. they said to me, you guys are crazy there in your town haha. i havent got the package yet but i havent been to the mission home in a while so it might be there. i will know prabably next week. i attached the conference we had with elder hollad with this email i think you guys will like it. but i got to go, but i will talk to you guys next week. eu amo vocês!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

hey mom and dad
another week gone by almost another month too holy cow! that is so crazy doug is home!!! has he changed at all? i dont know how the missions in the states are but here if you have any weight to lose you will lose it haha. Cory gets home here real soon too huh. so crazy! two years fly by. thats good to hear that zach is doin good. i knew he would. he has a strong testimony. thats way cool that his sister got baptized. i think his mom is starting to see that this is important too. its crazy to see how much missions affect the people at home. there is a missionary here that left for the mission with just him a member and his parents didnt want him to go and were mad that he did, and now one year and six months later, they are both baptized and strong in the church. i hope my mission will help kyla , kc, and brianna. thank you guys for sending the motorcycle magazine. haha me and elder lloyd are goin crazy haha. that is good that riley and adam found a place to live. when i get back baby J wil be big and talking. haha things are pretty wild around here these days. brasil won the other day and it was wild all day long and it was even on a monday, so crazy. the next game is friday and if they win it will be way crazy here. a normal weekend is bad enough but now with a game it will be out of control. we try to work but we usually just go to visit members cuz we are tired of trying to give lessons yelling cuz the music is so loud and tired of fightin off all the drunks. haha i have no clue why they all think they need to talk to us. haha they really do need to talk with us but not while they are drunk haha. i had a way cool experience yesterday. we eat luch with the members and after we leave a little thought and sister ruth chose me to give it and i always give it on what i had studdied that morning and i had studdied about the strippling worriors. so i got it all ready and sister ruth was like wait let me go get my son. he is inactive and is in a rough state of his life. he is 25 and has a nine year old son. he was sitting in the other room so she went to get him but he wouldnt leave the tv and told her he didnt want to come. so she came back and sat down. i gave the part of the story about how the words of their mothers about the word of god were the most important things they used in their war and the best thing that prepared them. and i related it to us and our war against satan and how will need to listen to what our mothers say because those are the things that we will need and protect us in this war. i gave it because there was two little boys there but, i had no idea that it wasn't for them. we looked back and sister ruth's son was sat down in the room on a chair in the back crying. the Lord works in his ways, mom and dad. i know that it wasn't a coincedence that i had studied that that day, but really, it was God working through his istruments here to touch the heart of that man. now i dont know if he will be at church this week, but i do know that the spirit of the Lord touched that young man's heart and maybe later in his life he will remeber those times the Lord touched his heart. i am so glad i have this oportunity to be a missionary mom and dad. i wouldnt trade it for the world. thanks for helping me get here. there is no way i could have done it without you two. i got to go but i will talk to you next week. love you guys

Thursday, June 24, 2010

hey mom and dad
so it sounds like things are crazy around there trying to get ready to go to brazil. that is so crazy you guys will pass right over top of me! so just wave when they say you are over the amazon haha thats way cool. just make sure john is at the air port waiting because there is no english there haha i was lucky cuz i had about ten other missionarys to be lost with me haha. that is way cool though. what part of são paulo will you guys be in my companion wants to know, he is from there. thats way cool to hear that fernanda liked girls camp. remember what the scriptures say "By the small and simple things are the great things brought to pass" i have a testimony of this. i have seen how god works miracles through these kinds of things. so that is way awesome!!! i want to meet her. its gonna be cool to be able to talk in portugues to all my brazilian buddies when i get home haha. i got a letter from neil smith this week. it sounds like he is doing way good too. it still blows my mind to thing about all of us spread out through the world. things are good here. it is way hot as usual haha me and my companion talk about how we are gonna freeze to death when we get home haha. things are going good though. we taught the dad of the family with ten kids and he loved the lesson! and thier uncle went to church with us this week and after he told us that that was the best chuch he has ever attended. so we are way excited about him too. things get pretty wild here during the soccer games of brazil. pretty much you just stay in the houses of the members the rest of the day haha all of us americans in our district had a little party because the usa won today and qualified for the playoff things haha in was funny one elder bought fire works and when we scored we ran in to the street and lit them off. haha all the people were laughing at us haha. but that is about all that is going on here haha. so i got some questions: who won the supercross series?! haha me and elder lloyd have been dying hear. and can you guys send me a motorcycle magazine like motorcross action or something haha we are out of the loop. but i got to run. love you guys send my love to everyone there.

Thursday, June 17, 2010




o mother
you worry too much about these girl haha. but thank you for sending the letter on to me. i think it is from the mtc haha but any who... thats crazy that riley is moving to ely. i think it will be good for her too. its crazy that some of the kids my age are getting married SCARY!!! haha i will have to stay away from utah when i get back, RMs go like hot cakes there haha. speakin about that are kyla or brianna gettin maried yet? haha i am pretty sure i know the answer to that but there is hope mom. haha just sick the missionaries on um haha. another week has gone by how crazy! this week was wild here. the world cup started and brazialians are crazy about soccer including my companion haha. brasil played yesterday. the whole city shut down for the game! they won and so it was a giant party the rest of the night but the thing is, it ended at four in the after noon haha. it was a crazy day. it was really hard to teach anyone! i cant imagine what it will be like if brasil wins the world cup. i think we will have to stay in our house if they do haha. the teachings are going good. we are teaching a family of 10 kids! they are way cool they asked us if they could be baptized ......um yes! haha it is pretty wild teaching then though tryin to rangle all the little ones together and teach the older ones at the same time haha. and i have no clue why but the two little boys think i am a jungle gym so its real interesting when i teach and have one hanging from my arm and the other jumping from the back of the couch and clinging to my head haha. but we are getting it done and they are liking us and our lessons so that is all that matters haha. i am doing good though. i havent lost weight and i am not sick at the moment so things are good. we have our rough days here but who doesnt right. but i am glad to hear everything is going good there. i love you guys. i got to run, talk to ya next week.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

patabéms mãe!!!!!
i knew you could do it! that is so awesome you made it the whole way and in 7 hours that is awesome!!! mom i think you are in better shape than i am. i told the people i am teaching that you were racing your bike. they couldnt hardly believe it. no one here would do that they said haha. that is way cool though mom. so my birthday was good. it was funny i felt old on my birthday. haha i think i slept wrong and my back was sore the whole day haha i thought to myself yep i am officially an old fart now haha. it was good though we worked all day and ate our pizza at night. o i did get all of your guyses letters the week before so that was cool, all the birthday cards. this week was a good one though that family that we are working with went to church sunday and loved it. they have pretty much adopted us haha so now they have ten kids instead of eight haha. we are working with them a lot thought. i think they are gonna decide to be baptized. sunday during testimony meeting the lady Neusa that we baptized last week got up and bore her testimony. it was so awesome!!! we visit them a lot still, their one little girl writes new music and then sings it to us. haha she is really good. i will sent a video of her next week. we have been working hard this week. o and i didnt get transfered and my companion didnt either. i think this will be my last here though but who knows haha. but things are great, hot!!!! but great. i am healthy and workin hard. i got to run though mom and dad love you guys.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

hey mom and dad
sounds like you guys have been way busy. that is cool that saint clairs sister made it there and had a good time. did you tell her i was in manaus? and what did she say? sometimes i dont even believe i am here haha. alot is going on there this time of year. i cant beleive it has been two years since i graduated. i heard from colton and randi that they all had a good time there. colton is crazy haha i love that kid. so i am way excited for your bike ride you have to be sure to tell me how it was. and dont wory mom you are gonna do fine. so i am real close to being officially old haha twenty on friday i cant beleive it. we are gonna buy two large pizzas friday night and just pig out haha. i went to the center today and bought my self a birthday present a new tie haha you would be proud though it is black and dark pink it is way cool though. this week was good though. our three baptisms went really good and they are so exited about being a member of the church. when you guys come here i am bringing you two to hear this little girl sing. she makes all of her own songs and they are really good. we have been working our butts off this week. we have found some really cool families. we are teaching this family with eight kids! it is a weird situation, the parents are separated but live in the same house just one gets the top floor and the other gets the first floor cuz they live in this old like appartment place. so your son is now a marrige counselor haha. but this family is so cool the only problem is the separated parents. we found another family too this week they are very humble. just to give you an idea the husband and wife work from 6 in the morning to 8 at night in a store and make about 6 dollars a day each. they are way cool though they want something more in their lives so they asked for sundays off so they can start going to church. i am way excited about them and know this is what they need. we have been teaching a lot of people and are helping a young man that is addicted to cocaine so we are really busy. this week is the last week of the transfer so who knows i could be in a different place next week but i think both of us will stay here for one more transfer. this area is tough to live in but i want to stay here at least one more transfer. the city is having problems so or house only has water early in the morning and late at night so we have been struggling with that but it is all working out. we have lots of drnking water so thats all we need. but i got to run i will talk to you guys next week and will be praying for ya on you bike ride mom. you will do great love you guys

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

hey mom and dad
six months how crazy is that!!! i almost cant believe i have been out for that long! i get to burn one of my ties the nineth. so it sounds like a lot is going on there in good old panaca. that is way cool the things they are doing in grandpas name. it just goes to show how important of man he was. i think that is a good person for the scholarship i love that kid. i dont know what taylor and logan are gonna do with out him next year haha. its crazy to see these kids growing up! I AM OLD!!! haha taylor will be a senior so crazy!!! i lose track of the time of year here i think its because here only has two seasons hot and hotter. they say september is cruel here. that is the time of year that i will be the closest spot on earth to the sun so crazy!!! that is cool to hear about all the other missionaries haha do you know what all the missionaries here call the missions in the US? Paradice haha cars, food that is healthy, air conditioning, ect... haha. o it hit a new record in our house 100 haha sooooo hot!!!! but in this hot i have mannaged to catch a cold so i have been fighting with that this week but this week has been good. we have three baptisms saturday a single mom Neusa and her two daughters sabrinia and loraina. it is the family i was telling you about with the girl that can play the guitar and sing too. they are way cool. they love us! neusa said to us the other day that she is going to talk to sombody at church so that she can feed us lunch one day haha she is way cool and her testimony is growing so fast. they all love to learn about the gospel. i will let you know next week how the baptism went. i am making cake for it haha. we are working really hard though here i get home at night and just crash! by the time p day comes around we are dragging our nuckles on the ground haha. but anyway i got to run. send my love to everyone o and i got my package and aunt valindas letters thank you guys so much!! love you all

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

hey mom and dad
so crazy week this week we had an emergency transfer because a missionary got his visa this week and arrived yesterday. so the crazy thigs is my comp got tranfered to portavelho so i got a new comp and have to teach him the area that i have been in for two weeks. haha. but we worked yesterday and i have no clue how i knew where to go but i did. we didnt get lost once and found two new families to teach. so i am pretty sure the lord new about this transfer about two weeks ago and made it so i could learn the area fast because there is no way i could have done it on my own. i only got a little bit of time today to write though so this is gonna be real short. but it was really good hearing from you and you don't have to wory about me being trunky i have too much on my hands here haha. my comp is from são paulo, his name is elder lopes, he is way cool. he is way excited to work here so we are good to do work in this area. there hasnt been a baptism here in six months. but i got to go i love you guys alot. o and where are you going to stay in são paulo? talk to you next week love ya

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

hey mom and dad
only a few more days!!! how crazy is that? after this only two more calls home. it is seriously going by so fast! can you believe next month is six months for me?! and i will be 20 so crazy! sounds like everything is going good there just be careful on your bike mom and dad try to keep her out of the traffic haha. this week was good. my companion is excited agian now that i am here so we are working everyday. it is way cool the Lord is blessing him with so muh strength. and because of ou efforts the Lord is placing people in front of us. we went to church and this family that my companion didn't know was there so we talked to them. the dad has been a member but in active and the rest of the family aren't members but the wife was unpacking a boxes, cuz they just moved into the area, and saw a book of mormon and asked if the husbnd was a member of this church and then dicided to go to church and now we are teaching them. they are way excited and progressing way fast so amazing how the Lord works. then i have a story you that just blew me away. remember that guy from my first transfer that had an addiction to drugs and was gonna try to kill hiself but then my companion said that to him and he shook our hand the next day. well, that first transfer he moved away. so, we were looking for this house of one of our contacts yesterday and we couldnt find it so we were walking up this road in our area and i hear some one say my name and was like what no one knows me in this area then that same guy came over to me that we helped in my first area and told me he has changed his life and got his wife back and showed me his new car. he was way exited to show me it. so we were talking and he said that he moved to this area and then asked if we could come share our message with him and his wife saturday. I was totally blown away! tell me that is a coincidence and i will call you a lier! that is the Lord workng in his way and time so amazing!!! so this area is good i am liking it. we do have to stay in the house a little still but it has given me some good study time. i am half way done with the book of mormon in english and am through matthew in the bible in portugeuse. i cant beleive how much more i get out of thee scriptures here. so things are going good here. i thought i was in the getto my first transfer but i think i was just shell shocked. haha but remember when i told you about those houses on stilts? thats what alot of my area is. o and something cool about my area is that part of it is on the coast of Rio Negro (negro river) it is way cool but they have some places to fish there so it is torture to see people fising haha. but i got to go i will call sunday afternoon to give you the number to call. i wll try to time it where you aren't in church but i don't know if you have church in the morning or in the afternoon but if you dont answer i will call later and i will call your cell phone mom. talk to you guys sunday love ya

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

o and yes those are the little kids that i had to take care of at church haha


On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 2:54 PM, Dylan Cord Hansen wrote:

hey mom and dad
im excited to talk to you two next week! this is how it is gonna go i will call you one day next week mom and tell you a time and a number for you guy to call here. so watch for my call next week but if you dont answer i will just leave a message. but any ways this week i got transfered. i am now living in the middle of the city in a place called Gloria. it is a place that has mostly the less welthy people. it is in the down town of the city but you can see the river from it it is pretty cool. my companion is a brazilian he is cool i like him but that means not one word in english for the next six weeks. but i am gonna like it i can speak well enough to where we can converse and he likes to converse so we talk a lot to each other. he likes a lot of the stuff i do he has always wanted to ride dirt bikes so he thinks that is way cool. he likes to ride horses and bulls and thats something i have always wanted to do so we get along good haha. right now though he has a problem in his back it is like something he was born with that just showed up like a month ago so he cant work much so that means lots of studding for us but they are gonne wait a couple more weeks to see if it gets any better cuz he is taking medicine for it but he might have to go home and get surgury so we will just have to see. but i was a little bummed to leave my last area we had just found some really cool families. we had a wedding and two baptisms marked for next week of margarete and her husband ondino and baptizing margarete and here daughter camila. ondino is already a member and active. then we found this one family with three daughters of 9, 12, and 15 the one with 15 years has a sickness where she lost all her hair and cant get too tired they were at church this week and loved it and we were at there house tuesday night teaching and they asked when they could be baptized it was way cool and we had a family night that they loved too so it was hard leaving them but we will find people here. but i am liking it here it is way different so far. when i was walking to into to the house the first day this giant parrot squacked right next to my head bout scared me to death haha. it is the next door neighbors pet pretty cool. but i got to go mom and dad sounds like you guys are doing great i think dads got the good end of the deal on this whole bike riding thing haha but mom i am gonna have to do one of these races with you when i get back it sounds fun. i will talk to you guys next week two times actually haha love you guys!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010



hey dad and mom happy birthday april 16 haha
sounds like things are going good back at home. thats cool that you are riding your bike a lot i want to see your bike. and dont worry you will make it 100 miles. i will try to use my card again we dont have a bank in my area so we just have to get money out when we go into town. thats cool that wyatt was baptized and that is way cool that his dad could baptize him you dont realize how big of a blessing it is to have your family be in the church till you see how it is with people that their family arent members. this week here was a little rough the start of the week but finished really good. my companion drank some bad water so he was sick for all but the last two days of this week. we are having troubles with suzienni she is pretty much avoiding us. her family has been lying to us a little bit about her not being home so that is a big bummer she was so close but we are gonna give here one more try then we have to just leave the invite to the only true church on this earth because we have to move on we have other people we need to be teaching. we marked a wedding and two baptizms for may 8 so we are excited about that but we have transfers this week so i could get transfered before it. we found this really cool family the other day and have a family night tomorrow with them and some members so that will be cool. but to make the week i got to hear from elder holland today and yesterday. so amazing!!! his first talk was with the members of manaus it blew me away it was about troubles in life and how we can not look at them like its god punishing us. the whole topic of it was that god loves broken things and especaily broken hearts and contrite spirits, he explained how god shows his love to us in our trials because with out him we would never even come close to being able to bare it. and to never give up our testimonies for any circumstance in the world. amazing then today he had one with just the missionaries. i got to shake the hand of an apostle of our allmighty god mom and dad. the power that man has is incredible! he asked me where i was from and i told him and he was like panaca! everyone is from panaca haha it was cool. then he gave another amazing talk on obedience and doing the work of the lord. such an awesome expience he is so funny too it was way cool. so next week i might be emailing you from a different place my companion say i am going to am interior haha. the interior is the little areas in the jungles with all the monkeys haha. he just came from this little island in the amazon river he said it was awesome. so we are just waiting to see if either of us are leaving we find out saturday. time is flying by though can you beliave i get to call you here in a couple of weeks! but anyways thaat was my week i am gonna try to send pictures so i hope it works but i love you guys and thanks for everything you have done for me and continue to do! love you guys

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

hey mom and dad, Another week gone how crazy is that. it seems like i emailed you yesterday. it sounds like panaca is good old panaca. thats way cool that john is off to the mtc its so crazy all the boys are on missions now and next is maud so crazy. i heard from chauncy too that was way nice. haha we will trade all the stories that we cant tell you or his mom haha. tell taylor to get on the ball and get his licence i havebeen thinking a lot about him. What is he gonna do after high school?does he know yet? im glad to hear your service project went good the lord knows everything and will make things happen when he wants. this week has been a crazy one but good. we had our baptism saturday it was supposed to be three suzeinni, edwardo, and paulo victor but it ended up being just paulo victor caz suzeinnis baby got sick. but it was kind of a stressfull day i think we walked fifty miles it felt like haha. but it was way cool. i baptized paulo my first time ever i was so nervous. i thought i was gonna mess up on the prayer but i didnt so i only had to dunk him once haha. but it was a way cool thing his family is great and really likes us his uncle is like an amazon guide he is bringing pirctures of the anaconda he caught for us to see. i am loving mission life! you work till you almost cant walk by the end of the night then wake up at six thirty and do it again. seriously i wouldnt want to be living any other way right now. we are finding new people everyday and it is great the lord really does prepare people and put them in a place where we will find them. so i am gonna try to send pictures one of these days i went and saw the black river todayand saw where the amazon river meets it. the river is so huge! we went to the jungle too that was cool i saw a black leppord it was way cool. i am doing good though i gained my wheight back and am actually up to 135 now. my companion ate at that house that i got sick at the first week and he got sick too. but we figures it out its cuz they put intestin in the beans haha but i am acostomed to it now. i also ate an indian food this week called feswada it is pretty narly haha pigs feet intestins pig snout and other mistery meet haha it wasnt the greatest but i didnt get sick so thats good. well mom and dad i got to go but i love you guys talk to ya next week mabe on tuesday cuz elder holland has a conference with just us missionarys wednsday.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

o man i would kill to be in snow haha thanks for the pictures i like them taylor has short hair! crazy i thought he was gonna grow it out till he looked like thing off adams family haha. we got to watch general conference and it was awesome! there were so many great talks! it got me so excited for elder Holland coming here it is in two weeks. for general conference we had to go to the stake center in the middle of the city so we stayed there for two days straight haha it was a nice little break from the walking and the rain. it has been raining like crazy here and all over brazil. this week it rained for two days straight so crazy. one of the days all of our appointments fell through so we walked the streets finding people all day so we looked like we had jumped in a swimming pool when we would get to peoples houses it was a pretty long day. it is acuallyraining right now as we speak haha and will the rest of the day. we have three baptisms saturday so i am way excited for that and we marked the marriage and baptism of this couple for may 6 and 7 so that is way cool too. we are teaching tons of people o and we marked this girl cleane for the 17 of this month too. the work is amazing here it is awesome to see how our heavenly father prepairs people for us to bring this amazing message too. we have been running all over our area this week teaching its awesome. i have a talk you should listen to about the atonement it is amazing but you have to listen to it not just read it. it is called Personal Search for The Atonement by dr cleason i dont know if thats how you spell it but it is amazing i learned so much from it. we have an ipod here that my companions brother used on his mission with all the church music on it and amazing talks we listen to one or two talks every p day. the weather here is a little nicer that its raining it is around eighty five right now so it is a good break from the heat. can you beleive it is already half way with this transfer it seems like it just started and that it is only a month till i call you for mothers day. so crazy! is dad gonna be there for mothers day i hope so. but i am doing good still am healthy i lost a pound or two but i just got to pound the food this week haha i got your package this week and between my companion and i it is already gone haha all but the gum cuz we can only chew it on p days when we are at home. i got all aunt bonnies cards too tell her thanks so much i really like them and the brazilians like them too. o i met a kid that is on his mission here that has been to panaca yes here in the amazon jungle haha so it is comfirmed panaca is the center of the universe haha. he even went to our ward one time haha so crazy.my portuguese gets better and better every day i am talking so much more this transfer it is getting easier and easier for me every day so i am way happy about that. but anyways i got to run. and dad thanks for the updates my companion loves it too haha. o and he has afootball here now so excited for that! love you both talk to you two next week

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

hey mom, another week gone by how crazy is that! me and my companion are getting along really good i actually have stuff to talk about with him like sports and stuff haha he was so excited to hear who won the Superbowl he heard it was the jets haha. so i have been filling him in on all what happened before i left. the teachings are going well i talk alot more in the lessons now he teaches half and i teach half so it is really good for me and is helping my Portuguese so much. we didn't have the baptism of suzianni the had to fly out to another city because her sister was having surgery and is in the hospital so she went to help take care of the kids for a little bit but i think she gets back this week. we marked a date with paulo victor he will be baptized on the 10 of april so that is was cool. and we are teaching this girl cleane and she wants to get baptized too so we are just trying to get her ready and get her to church and she will be ready. we are teaching this one family that is really cool they are a very tight family it is way cool they read the book of mormon every night together and are really moving along well.we are inviting them to baptism tonight so i am excited to see what they think about that. we are teaching lots of people though we have slow days where all of our appointments fall through but that's missionary life for ya haha. it is hot here and gets a little hotter everyday haha send some of that wind down here a breeze is the only break from the heat that and rain. i haven't got lost yet haha close i was at paulo victors house and they were like let us give you a ride home and they live in this different zone thing they have here called barrios so they live in bela flores which means beautiful flowers and we live in parque da nacoins wich means park of the nations. and i is a huge area so they drove us off clear across town further that we were and i had only been to that side of the town once so we made it home but it was a little bit of work haha. well mom i got to run but i love you all alot and miss ya but i am where the lord wants me talk to you later love ya