New investigators; Jacir accepted challenge; 6 baptisms coming up in Vera Cruz!

What's up everyone? Hows life?  Everything has been good here :)  This week Elder Nagliati and I focused on finding new investigators and also with the investigators that were really progressing.  It was good because we found a lot of interested people, and when we had quite a few of them come to the church this Sunday!  There was even this one man named Feliepe that we met at a market on Saturday night who came up to us, asked us what church we represented, where the church was located, what time it started, and then if he would be welcome to make a visit!  Haha it was awesome!  He ended up being the first person at the chapel yesterday morning, so we are really excited about him and want to continue teaching him.
  
 On the 20th everyone here was celebrating on of the biggest holidays here in Rio Grande do Sul.  The reason for the celebration is because about 100 years ago Rio Grande tried to declare Independence from Brasil but the lost the war on September 20.  Haha, I don't really understand why they celebrate losing a war, but its a day filled with celebration and state pride.  But anyways on this day we went on divisions and Elder Nagliati went to Rio Pardo while I stayed here with Elder Day.  He is a cool and guy and is really funny.  I was honestly kind of nervous because prior to this I usually followed Elder Nagliati to all of the places, but on that day I had to be the leader and make all the decisions.  It was also kind of hard because he didn't know our investigators so I had to make most of the conversation.  But it ended up being a great day and was a good learning experience.

  Another great thing was Jacir is progressing a ton!  We went to his house on Friday to help him repair a wall in one of the rooms, and after we had finished we started talking about how his quest to stop smoking was coming along.  He told us that he hadn't smoked for over 24 hours!  We were so happy for him.  Then Elder Nagliati asked him if on Sunday he could smoke his last cigarette to prepare for his baptism this coming Saturday.  He quickly said no which dampened our enthusiasm for a little bit, but then he continued to say that he didn't need to wait until then and he proudly said that the cigarette that he smoked was his last one ever!  I cant even describe how happy all of us were.  So it looks like he, Silvia, and Eloisy will all be baptized this Saturday.  The other companionship here is also planning on having 3 more, so Saturday will be a historic day for Ramo Vera Cruz! These 6 baptisms will more than double the number of baptisms since it opened a couple of transfers ago.  Its great to see to see the growth and everyone is getting excited and really trying to help in the effort!
   
 Anywho, take care everybody!  Oh ya, I got the package from the family this week too.  Thank you so much and also thanks for all of your support and for everything else!  you guys are awesome!  See ya later!!

Elder Gee

Knocking a lot of doors, getting in 50% of the time; Gradual improvement in the language

Hey everyone! 
It's been a pretty good week here in Vera Cruz.  This week we focused on finding new investigators, so me and Elder Naglitati have been knocking a lot of doors.  It's been good and I'm surprised at how many times we get let in and are able to teach a lesson.  I would guess that 50% of the time we are able to enter so we are teaching a lot and meeting a lot of new people.  Its still hard to understand people, but its cool to see the gradual improvement that I'm making. 
One of the things that I thought was cool was when I made my first invitation for baptism to a woman named Terezina.  Haha I was kinda nervous and didn't want to say anything that didn't make sense, but I explained to her the importance of baptism and gave her the invitation.  Haha apparently she understood because accepted and seemed really excited for the opportunity. Woohoo!
   On Friday was the Independence Day for Brasil.  It was really fun and I got to have churrasco for the first time in Rio Grande do Sul.  We made it with our neighbors, Joceani and also a recent convert named Sergio.  The food was great and it was really fun to spend a part of the holiday with them.  We also bought a ton of food so we got to reheat the extras in the oven and have them for dinner too!  Coisa boa :)
   Oh and I saw the great news from Celecta and Ryan, a girl!!  Congratulations!!  I'm so excited for you!  I'm always praying for you two and also the rest of you guys as well.  I love you y'all!  Have an awesome week!!

Love Elder Gee

Lots of investigators; Teaching is scary;

Hey there family!!  How is everybody doing??  I've been out in the field for 2 weeks now.  It's definately quite a different expereince than the CTM, but I'm pretty sure I like it better :)  

Elder Nagliati and I are teaching a lot of investigators but there is one family in particular that we are really excited about.  The parents are named Jacir and Silvia and they have a 19 year old son, Luis Feliepe and a 14 year old daughter Eloisy.  Elder Nagliati has been teaching them since before I arrived and they are starting to gain really strong testimonies in the gospel.  Jacir smoked a ton before but he made a commitment to stop and hasn't had a problem since!  The family has also attended church every week for the last month or so and are really enjoying it!  They all have such a strong desire to follow Gods commandments and be the best they can be.  We think that Jacir, Silvia, and Eloisy will be baptized this month!  Its a little more complicated with Luis Feleipe because he has a pregnant girlfriend, but he has that same desire to do what is right and hes planning on getting married as soon as possible!  We are also teaching a lot of new investigators and hope that we can get them on track for baptism as well.  

 

Teaching is always a little scary, but its nice because Elder Nagliati helps me with anything that I'm having trouble explaining.  It is still soooo hard to understand people :(  I can understand Elder Nagliati really well and I'm wondering if that is just because I'm constantly hearing him or if its because he is from Sao Paulo where i was trained for 9 weeks by Paulista instructors.  But yeah when trying to understand others I have to pay 100% attention and try to catch all the words.  It's tough, but I know that I try my hardest and all I can the Lord will help me turn my weaknesses into strengths. :)  

 

Well I'm still meeting new people that know Jamie :)  On Sunday there was a family that visited from Rio Pardo that knew Jamie really well.  I think the mans named was George and he said that it was at his house where you skyped us on Christmas.  Haha they were all really fond of you and told me about how you could play the guitar really well and sing gaucho songs. Its awesome to see you many people know you and to see first hand all the lives you have blessed, and it makes me even more excited to be able to serve others too.  Anyways I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week!  Until next time,

 

Elder Gee