#72 - Yo no hablo espannol (9/30/24)

Olá amigos! Como vocês estão? Como sempre, estamos com os Elders, fazendo um churrasco. Na verdade hoje tivemos uma reunião da zona e fiz um trainamento pela zona. Foi legal! [Hello friends! How are you? As always, we are with the Elders, having a barbecue. In fact, today we had a meeting in the area and I did some training in the area. It was cool!]

Nice photo for mom

Hey friends and family from the US, to Brazil, China, Japan, Canadá, Germany, México, and everything in between (that includes the penguins in Antártica also!) What's new this week? Any new music or movies I should watch or listen (when I get back that is😆) If só... let me know and I will add it to my list!

As always, a week of miracles has come and gone, and I am here to tell the experiences of a Fisher of men:

Monday - Churrasco and soccer! Turns out my companion Elder Ferreira is an incredible chef and knows how to make delicious pico de gallo!

River

Tuesday - Today we focused in visiting recent converts and we went to visit Joaquim and his mother Marcia. She offered us some crackers and while I was teaching, this dog next to me kept growling. I lowkey thought he was gonna eat me! But as we were leaving, they showed us their pet cricket (who was dead). They thought it was still alive so they put him on a tree but he just fell. Sorry Mr. Cricket!!😬

Pastel

Wednesday - Division with Elder Kirchner! Elder Kirchner reminds me of me a year ago. He also went to BYU Provo for a year so we bonded pretty quick about BYU and swing dancing and mens chorus. We actually visited some recent converts and showed some Mens chorus videos we are in (shoutout to "a poor wayfaring man of grief"😉) The cool event of the day was finding a reference. We knocked the house and called and she answered! She said she saw us passing só we found her at an outdoor bar (dont worry we just got Coca-Cola) but she offered us a pastel and it was the first one for Elder Kirchner! Turns out the reference was dating a member of the church and wanted to know more. It was pretty cool!

Elder Kirchner 

Elders and Sisters with Miguel

Thursday - We had interviews with President today! We arrived to the church before him and found trash all over, só the elders and I cleaned up before Pres arrived. We talked about teaching the simple stuff and focusing on it and have the confidence and drive to work and invite. Later in the day we had the baptism of our friend Miguel who lives in our area but works in another area. So we were teaching him along with a companionship of Sisters! (He also wants to serve a mission!)

Baptism of Miguel

Friday - Note to self: read the instructions and measurements for koolaid or else you might drink something disgusting🤢 Today Elder Ferreira and I had a zoom call with the missionary department to talk about the app we use as missionaries: Preach My Gospel. We gave our feedback on its updates and we got to try a prototype for the next update. It was pretty cool!

Rapazes

Saturday - The only major thing I remember today was finding an army of Dogs descending this hill and making all the people stop for a good 3 minutos while 15 dogs descended.

 Im not like most people vid...

Sunday - I learned more about the law of the fast today! What I thought was back luck of not bringing anyone to church was a miracle to bring our friend Jean to church who then talked to us that he felt good in the Church of Jesus Christ and felt that he needs to be baptized in the church! We are now helping him to be baptized this coming Sunday! I know that because of Elder Ferreira and I's sacrifices, the spirit touched his heart. Later in the day we went to visit a FPM and guess what?! They speak Spanish! Elder Ferreira speaks Spanish but I got to put my Spanish to work and present the Book of mormon! ....lets just say, I may have spoke more in portuguese than spanish😆

I know that as we sacrifice our time and talents to the Lord, he provides miracles that would be impossible by our own efforts and carnal knowledge. When we trust in the Lord and make these sacrifices, we can trust in him and his timing and know he is aware of us (Alma 26:37)

Zone conference (a few weeks ago)

I hope everyone enjoys General Conference this coming week! I look forward to hearing everyones thoughts and impressions of the Prophet and his Apostles (3 Nephi 12:1-2)

Pizza

Até o próximo!

- Elder Fisher

#71 - Man... I have got to get me one of these!🤩🍽 (9/23/24)

Boa tarde Galera! Como sempre, os Elders e eu, estamos fazendo um churrasco aqui na capela. Um pouco carne com pico de gallo e pão francês, perfeito!! [Good afternoon guys! As always, the Elders and I are having a barbecue here at the chapel. A little meat with pico de gallo and French bread, perfect!!]

The elders chilling on the couch

Hey guys!!!!!!!!!!!! .... hows it going?

Making cake!

First things first, IT IS HOT HERE! Im literally sitting in the shade of a wall here and I am still sweating! 

4 elders

But in other news, heres the update from this week (from what I wrote down😅)

Monday - DEEP CLEAN OF THE HOUSE... and hotdogs while playing soccer in the rain😆 yeah.... we do weird stupid stuff as elders. But it was fun!

Tuesday - Today was a simple day of finding new people to teach but as we were talking, we found Bob the Builder! I didnt know he existed here! As we were also heading back to our apartment, someone was playing some american music so I got a few minutes of some Shawn Mendes😅

BOB THE BUILDER

Wednesday - Division with Elder Granados! We had a pretty cool miracle today with our friend Christopher. He had talked to us yesterday about how he wanted to be baptized and I told him we could pass by and talk to his parents about it. We passed by today and explained how it works and the importance of baptism and his mother supports him in this choice! She had some questions that were very specific about the church and baptism and we shared with her the answers using the Book of mormon which helped her permit her son to be baptized! During the division, i went to go talk to this young girl and after talking with her, Elder Granados said, "nice flirting to convert"😅 lets just say, chapter 14 of PMG is not a thing😂

Christhopher and Elder Granados 

Thursday - Zone Conference! We focused a lot on the mission purpose and how it guides everything we do. We also focused on inviting people to church and I loved how we talked about the symbolism of the sacrament and the church itself as being symbols of coming unto Christ. (Funny note during the conference was when it started to downpour and the rain sounded like birds chirping) Our mission president also gave us all AIR FRYERS and we tried making french fries with it. I was like Flin Rider "Man, i have got to get me one of these!"

French fries!

Friday - We worked with tec for a few hours today, calling referrals from Facebook and sending them out to missionaries. While we were going back home, we ran into a drunk brazilian comedian. Let's just say at times I dont understand american comedians so... we really didnt understand anything he said. I kinda just fake laughed but understood nothing. He is still a child of God!

Tec

Saturday - Majority of the day we spent confirming people for church and while visiting our friend Gabriel, they offered us food with this weird Green sauce. Idk what it was, but it tasted pretty good. (And i am pretty sure that Gabriels brother was playing Crash Bandicoot @Sean Fisher )

Elder Borjas asleep

Sunday - Today was a Sunday a little different. 1 of our friends ended up making it to church today and I was called last minute to give a talk. But right before my talk, a lady passed out right beside me! She was already but it startled us. We then had lunch with a member couple who each served missions and it was cool to talk about their mission experiences. While leaving, I saw a recent convert that I baptized in Jardim Osasco and he asked what I was doing and I asked him the same thing🤣 But I ended the day with technology and I taught Elder Ferreira some computer stuff and english. I felt like a dad teaching his son😆

Fanny at the table

 Lunch with Emanuele and her husband

Other cool things from the week:

- I got a soccer Jersey for free!

- my parents sent me a soccer Jersey with my name on it!

This week I was reading in Alma 32 where Alma talks about faith like a seed. Many people shared this scripture with me, Alma 32:27, but I feel like I didnt put it to heart until now. Any bit of faith is faith and with it we can do all that Christ asks of us, we can follow his example and recieve access to his power by making covenants with him, the first being baptism (Moroni 7:33-34)

If someone came up to me and asked me to end my mission right now, I truly wouldnt want to. I am learning só much and I know I am where I need to be. If you too are thinking of a mission and need a little push, please serve one. God needs you and is calling you! (Alma 42:30-31)

Até o próximo!

- Elder Fisher

360 photo?

#70 - Cachoeira... Back to the Start🛤 (9/16/24)

Tudo bem Galera? Como está sendo o dia para vocês? Estamos aqui ficando na casa com chuva. Sim, a chuva voltou🤦‍♂️[How are you guys? How is the day going for you? We are here staying in the house in the rain. Yes, the rain is back]

   

Hey guys! Elder Fisher here! We were playing soccer in the rain today so right now, my hands are freezing cold😆

This was my first week in my new area, and here are the highlights of the week:

Elder Ferreira!

Monday - Transferred back to my first District... but different area! To get to know the district, we met up in Almirante Tamandaré where I got to see old converts and members! We ended up playing spikeball as well! (Turns out someone brought it to Brazil. Tenho saudades de spikeball!)

  
Oreo coca cola?

Tuesday - FIRST DAY AND FIRST BAPTISM! The other dupla of Elderes needed me to do a baptism interview for their friend Norton so he could be baptized and of course... He passed! Majority of the day was getting to know the area and recent converts. While walking alongside the highway, i ended up trying to get the trucks to blow their horn. I was 3/5!😁😂

Batism of Norton

Wednesday - I got to know more of the area today and we also got a call from the Sisters of technology asking if we wanted to work with technology and now, we are officially technology secretarias! We also went to seminary and I ended up teaching these younger kids who came and werent old enough for seminary. But thr weirdest part of the day was going back to our house and having a drunk uber guy ask us if we needed a ride. We ended up talking him and then out of nowhere he started playing mama mia music and started twerking next to his car.. ...lets just say we invited him to church and then left

Cooking with Elder Ferreira!

Thursday - Contacting day! We focused on finding new people today and while we were next to the bus station here, I found like 5 people who remembered me from a year ago and I remembered like 2 of them!😅 It was cool to reconnect with them and see how we are still friends and have grown in a year. Today was also our first day of technology and... we couldnt do it for at least an hour. We had to wait to get the computer, then login, and finally, we were able to send out 3 referals. The miracle though was the Sisters being able to find a reference and bring a book of mormon to the person within 20 minutes. WOOHOO!!

The boys

Friday - Today we had a cool experience with our friend Oseias. He was a facebook reference 8 months ago and we decided to pass by. We found him and learned he was in need of help physically and spiritually. He wants to know the truth and we talked to him about how he could know by the Book of mormon and the Holy ghost. I felt the need to invite him to be baptized and now we are helping him prepare to take this step. When we asked him to pray, i was already imagining him entering the temple one day. 

BLUE CHAIR

Saturday - Cleaning the church. I have learned that truly being a missionary prepares you to also be a good person and know how to clean your house and bathroom😅 But the cool thing was finding the BLUR CHAIR! I think my church friends from Naperville 6th ward remember the special blue chair that we would fight over and I found one here! I also did a division with Elder Borjas today to help out in his area and one of the weirdest moments was talking to this lady that said "Nossas palavras são o chiclete de nossa bunda" (our words are the gum of our butts). We sat their confused and then just continued on

Clean the church ("with stick figure elders")

Sunday - RAIN, out of no where! Sadly none of our friends made it to church but it was really cool to be in a branch again. The rest of the day we went around visiting members and my socks were literally puddles of water🤣

Umbrella fort

Honestly this week was really nice to see how the spirit was guiding us. We tried talking to everyone and we found a lot of people God was preparing for us. I know that God is mindful of his people in any place and that he offers ways for his children to hear his voice. One of the best ways I hear his voice is through the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and is the word of God, prepared for us in these days to prepare us for the Second Coming of Christ. Any question you have in your soul, the Book of Mormon has a answer. And as the Prophet says: "The full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon. Period."

This book of mormon has some lost pages

 Indiana Jones and the Book of Mormon

This is a Great work that we have been given, and I am excited to be a part of it!

"Elder Fisher, where are we?"  "The street...ahhh!"

Love you all! Ate mais!

- Elder Fisher

#69 - The end of one chapter... is the start of another📘 (9/9/24)

Screenshot while zooming today

Boa tarde Galera! Tudo beleza? Hoje é transferências e estou saindo Jardim Osasco para o Cachoeira! Minha 4 área! [Good afternoon guys! Is everything ok? Today is transfers and I'm leaving Jardim Osasco for Cachoeira! My 4 area!]

 

             [Depending on your definition, the person who truly invented the plane: Alberto Santos-Dumont]

Hey followes of a Fisher of man!!🎣

Elder Child, do you remember this guy?!

Thats right, today is transfers and I am leaving Jardim Osasco and going to Cachoeira 2 (ITS A BRANCH!!🤩) Elder Fisher is going back to the Palmeira days of living in a branch.

This here is the update from last week (an update better than last time😅)

Monday - Last family night churrasco! I had recieved a call from President about the transfer so I knew this would be my last week and we ended up having a churrasco with some members as a family home evening activity. It was pretty good to hear the testimonies of everyone and also some people who I helped to be baptized. It was nice to see the fruits of my effort. Lets just say there was a lot of crying🥹

Visits with Elders and Members

Tuesday - Today was a mix of funny moments and heart pumping. We went around doing visits with some members and when we were all returning back home, we heard a couple arguing. We recognized the voices as James and his wife and we felt that we needed to pass by. It turns out they were having an argument about James not kissing his wife because she wanted to eat escargo (snail)😅. We helped clear that situation up and then one of the members asked me to give them a blessing. I had the opportunity to do it in English and it afterwards, everyone present commented on the spirit they felt bc of the blessing. But then right as we were about to get back home we got a call. A family of our recent convert had an emergency and needed help to get to the hospital. At this point it was already passed 10 at night. We had advised our President about arriving home late but we didnt expect this. We then followed the spirit and called Jocel to help us bring a member of the family to the hospital. She ended up being okay but in that moment, i truly learned to always follow the spirit and to do so within the limits you are given. Never dismiss a prompting of the spirit.

 District photo!

Wednesday - I dont remember too much from today besides trading companions with our Zone leader to do a divison with him the next day. 😅

Elder Hyatt leaving to do contacts

Santa?

Thursday - Division with Elder Hyatt! I went to Elder Hyatts area and let me say, it was awesome! We started the morning talking to people and trying to find old references. While knocking doors, we actually started singing minecraft parodys out of no where🤣. As the day went, while we didn't see happen what we wanted to, we saw miracles. We ended up finding a lot of people and reaching the goals for the week that day. To end the day we went to seminary with some recent converts and got to play some soccer! Dont play in boots😅

Lucas accepted to be baptized!

Friday - Division Part 2! (Bc the elders werent able to talk with someone yesterday) We followed up with people today and marked some baptism dates but the funniest part was with this dog named Bobby. We went to talk to someone that was playing the acordian and his dog just kept barking. He finally went inside and the owner closed the door but out of no where the dog jumped on a table inside and kept barking from the window🤦‍♂️We end the day with a ward activity where I met Juliana! She is a brazilian that married an American. She was going to be baptized the next day and I got to talk with her and her sons in english!

Saturday - Ward activity back in my area! We had churrasco and played a few games.

Sunday - Today we tried helping our friend Daniel, Gustavo, and Samuel to be baptized but sadly it didn't work out. They have such a strong desire but their parents feel they aren't ready yet. Please pray for them to feel ready and follow Christs example. We then ended the day with a family home evening with some members and saying goodbyes. 

 Last sunday meal 

In the end, this week helped me to truly trust more in God and his plans. It helped me to remember the covenants I have made. We studied this week about the garments we wear and it helped me remember that each day we are renewing our covenants by putting on the garment of the Holy Priesthood (2 Nephi 4:33). Each day we are putting on us Christ.

Overall, I am satisfied with my work in Jardim Osasco and I know I completed what the Lord had for me. Now, I look forward to seeing how I grow.

Elder Lima and I one last time

Love you all!

Minion! [my favorite snack]

-Elder Fisher 🐟