Hello there,

    This week I had a great experience, a miracle. Here in Brazil they don´t have neighborhoods, the have Bairros, or Districts. A Bairro can range from the size of Hermann Missouri (random but a good comparison) to the size of Windy Hills in Washington Missouri. If you don´t know the size of those places talk with someone who does. Anyways, so that is a bairro. Sunday Night we did a division with two youth in the ward. Igor, the stake president´s son, went with Elder Murri to Vista Alegre, a bairro that we are working in. While I went with a recent convert João Paulo, to visit some other people. Well, It was good to talk with João, I got to explain some things about missionary work to him and we visited a less active member. After that, every other lesson/appointment fell through, we had nothing, and we were only close to bairros that we had not had success in. I looked at João Paulo and said ´´ Everything happens for a reason, all of our appointments fell through because there are people in this bairro that are waiting for us tonight, they may not know it, but they are home tonight because it is the will of God and we need to find them. Say a silent prayer and ask that the Holy Ghost can lead us to these people.``
   After this we started to walk. I looked at João Paulo and asked him which street we would take, he chose one. It lead to a bairro where one day I knocked on eight doors in a row and not one person was willing to hear our message, but, I followed João Paulo. We then arrived at a door, knocked, got in, gave a lesson and left. In this Bairro, that is a miracle. Next, João picked a house. We got in, met a family that was amazing and gave a lesson and marked our next visit for tomorrow. We only knocked on two doors that night, and we got into both the houses in a bairro where weeks ago I couldn´t even get one word out without being rejected.
    It was a great experience for João, he is alreadt preparing to serve a mission.
   In other news I received two packages last week and I already ate all the food and I´m feeling rather satisfied. Yet, craving more. People here aren´t used to sour stuff, so it was fun to see their reactions to Zours. Thank you Family and Gran and John for the packages Elder Murri, The Bazilians, and I loved each and every snack.
   It is hot here.
 I saw Elder Christensen last week at our Multizona. He was good. He has a hernia and I still don´t know what that means, I understand there is a lump involved and that it is painful. My health is good. I´m not sure how after my week filled with snacks everyday all day, but I feel great. (Please don´t take that as a hint not send candy and stuff, because it wasn´t)
    Well, gotta wrap things up so good BYE

I LOVE YOU NATALIE!

  Also, Alex Baker sent me a letter and a Superman Comic Book, bless that man. If you see him, tell him I love him. No I´m not reading it nor will I untill I am released, but I don´t want to talk about that terrible day.
 
 Love,
    Elder Nothum

Oi tudo mundo,

I am loving the good land of Brazil.

    This week was a long one, but a long one filled with many experiences. Good ones, things are great with the new companion. He is a strong willed missionary who does things a little different than I do. He is fun and we get along great. He is from Idaho Falls, Idaho. He graduated in 08´. He likes chocolate puffs cereal and he doesn´t like bacon flavored chips, which I have fallen in love with.

    Yesterday we went to seminary at the ward building to speak with a young man named Tiago. While there we met up with João Paulo, a teenager who was baptized on Easter. He was participating in seminary and answering questions that the kids who were born into the church didn´t know. After seminary we started to talk. I told him that he was going to start visiting people with us to prepare for his mission. With a smile he agreed and said that he needs to start buying white shirts. He then asked me ´´Have you ever though that maybe I would be called to the U.S. and knock on your door?`` I would die. I love that guy so much and words can´t explain my thankfulness to be a small part of bringing the Gospel into his life. He is an amazing kid I feel overwhelmed with joy when I think of the fact that he will serve a mission.

    We will have a family home evening in his house Saturday with some investigators and some members. It will be ´´A Noite das Pizzas`` or ´´The Night of Pizzas``. It will strengthen there family even more and give an opportunity to some other investigators to make friends in the church.

    This work, and all work in the Church, and all success, success worth achieving comes from the Lord. There is a scripture that reads ´´The devil will not support his children in the last day.`` Interesting. It doesn´t say that he won´t support them, just not in the final day of judgment. If you want success in the measurement of men, it is easy to attain, just forget about prayer, scripture study, going to church every Sunday and I promise the adversary will celebrate and give you a prize of some sort. Money, more selfish ambition, honor in the eyes of others. He might even give you money and success for a year. Maybe even until the day when Christ comes again in glory to reign over this earth. But, in that day, you won´t recognize him. You will be too obsessed with the things of this world. You aren´t serving Him now, it´s too late to start when he arrives. The adversary can fulfill all your lustful worldly desires easily. He can give you a life of luxury. But in that great and final day he will bring you down to an eternal pit of misery and woe.

   Heavenly father on the other hand has power of all things, material and spiritual, and you can find joy in this life and in the next only through Him. Only through the Son. Brad Nothum (The Grand-poo-bah) once told me that it is better to use a scripture in a talk than a pop song. Then the scripture he gave me was a chapter in the Bible about the Samaritan at the well. She was thirsty and she always returned to the well for more water. Christ told her that if she drink the water that he gave, she would never thirst again. She immediately wanted the water and begged for it. Only Jesus Christ the Savior can give this water through his mercy and Atonement. Drink of Him and never thirst again. Or Drink of the cup of the world that Satan is happy to offer and each drink you will thirst more and more until your pitiful rat race of a life is over and all your riches are gone and you are left to look into the eyes of the Savior who suffered and bled for you whom you so easily ignored. He is just in His judgment. The purpose of this life is to prepare to meet Him (Alma 34:32). You are the only person who can choose your Shepard. Will you be the Saviors sheep or the sheep of the evil one?

 

  -Elder Nothum

Hello Everyone,

This past week was transfers. I stayed in Parque da Represa and Elder Freitas was transferred to who knows where. I´m gunna miss that little Brazilian guy. My new companion is Elder Murri. It is pronounced like Murry. He is an American from Idaho Falls. It is weird, because I only know working with Elder Freitas. With him nobody was the ´´senior``, we just worked together in everything. I´m getting the vibe that Elder Murri is the type of guy who is very firm with the fact that he is senior and I am junior. I will have great opportunity to learn love and charity.

   It is weird when you companion leaves you alone to receive someone who has never worked in your area. At first I felt confident. ´´This will be great opportunity to show that I know my stuff and that I could lead this work if needs be.`` Yet we arrived in the area and it all hit me. He didn´t know any of these people and I had to explain everything. He told me I was ´´Senior for the Day`` because he didn´t know anyone or anything about the area. Well, I am praying for miracles and for the Lord to have aimmense patience with me beacause I am seeing how little I know.

     As far as Portuguese goes I can understand what paople are saying more or less 80% of the time. I think that last 20% is going to be tough to conquer, but hey, it´s all good. I miss little filler sentences like that. ´´it´s all good``, ´´allrighty then``, ´´you got it``, etc. they don´t have them in Portuguese. In speaking I can say everything I want to, I just need to improve my grammar and expand my vocabulary. The word for swimsuit is maiô. 

    They make really good pizza here. I have develped the habit of eating anything, because I´m always hungry. Sometimes it´s good, when there is only fruit and vegetables. But, other times, it isn´t so great. This morning for breakfast I had four hotdogs with a bun with cheese on them. The hotdogs were a day past the due date, but I feel great so I think everything is ok.

   This past week Rodrigo was baptized. The story is crazy. We taught him and his family about a month ago for the first time. During the lesson his dad argues with us about really random things like ´´you can only thank God in your prayers, you shouldn´t ask for things`` and ´´my Bible says that Peter was the first Pope.`` Elder Freatas was getting annoyed, but I kept talking. I told Messias, Rodrigo´s dad to pray, right now to know that the Book f Mormon is true. He refused after being asked many times. The Spirit guided me to ask him and converse with him, but nothing happened. I was confused and dissappointed. Well, I knew that the Spirit didn´t guide me for nothing. I felt `` that must have been for someone else.´´

   Well we continued to visit Rodrigo, his sixteen year old son. He has read the Book of Mormon everyday since our first visit and he was baptized this past week. All because of the Spirit. The lesson with his dad really was terrible, horrible, need I go on. Elder Freaitas doubted me a lot when I told him that I wanted to continue to teach that family. Well, the Lord works miracles when you listen. That was my first major experience with being led by the Spirit and I will never forget it.

   I love it here. The members of the ward still think of me as the new american who can't speak any Portuguese, so that gets old, but hey whatever floats your boat, which is water, which is baptism. I'm hungry and I have to email the Mission President so bye.

I LOVE YOU NATALIE!!!!!!!

Com Amor,

   Elder Nothum 

Oi tudo mundo,

      This was by far the best week of my mission. The Correir Pinta Family of Paulo, Sonia, João Paulo, Bianca, and Beatriz were baptized as well as a twelve year old boy named Igor and an eleven year old named Kimberly. We broke the record for most baptisms ever in a week in our area and we received a award called ´´Minha Oferta a Cristo`` or ´´My Offering to Christ``. I´m telling you all this for a reason and it isn´t to show that I am some amazing missionary and this all happened because I cam and whipped things in to shape. In reality, I did nothing really. I have no idea how it happened. It wasn´t anything I said, or an amazing lesson that I taught that changed these people. It was only the Lord. He blessed us to the messengers that would bring the true and everlasting Gospel to these people. At our Zone Meeting this week our Zone Leader asked Elder Freitas ´´So what did you do to have this success in your area this week?`` He was expecting a grand explination of techniques and so forth.

    ´´ We were obedient and we worked all day every day, and we prayed a lot`` said Elder Freitas.

  It´s true. I´m having a great mission only because the Lord is fulfilling His promises. We receive these promises through our Mission President, the Leaders fo the Church, Preach My Gospel, and  the scriptures. The Lord will fulfill all of His promises, but we always are on His terms. We follow Him in the way he decided, we don´t decide the way we will follow and then expect Him to play by our rules.

    Search for the promises and test them. The Book of Mormon and The Bible and every Ensign are filled with blessings waiting to fulfilled by your obedience, you only have to test the word like Alma taught in the 32nd Chapter of Alma.

   I love it here. We will have a transfer and I will receive a new companion next week, I´m scared. I receive cards and packages each transfer. Also, pleaes send Old Spice Pure Sport Deodorent Sticks, they don´t exsist here and Axe spray is horrible.

    I am going to play basketball for the first time in Brazil today with a few members so my time is rushed, but I love you all. I LOVE YOU NOODLE! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR STRAIGHT A´S!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!! GIVE COSMO A BIG HUG AND KISS FROM ME!

   Also, I sent some pictures on a disc home to you last week. It has all the pictures up until last week.

 

Love, Elder Nothum