Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Love of Family & Christ, Merry Christmas
hey mom. so this last week not a lot happend out the ordinary aha. just> alot of trunky and stuff. haah. but thats normal right. its christmas. nothing i cant handle so dont worry. your prayers are greatly appreiciated. everyday i find another reason why the lord sent me here. i would die if i was in the states where ppl decorated for christmas. its not bad here> cause it doesnt seem like christmas.. our house is the only house in cuiaba with christmas presents and decorations. but tonigh we have a party with a recent convert. we all bought presents for the kids. and tomorrow night we have a chirstmas party at my recent converts. i cant wait. we bought those kids presents to. im sooo excited to see there faces when they see they have presents for chirstmas. they are soo cute.. one of the litlle girls always grabs my hand when were walking in the streets and im like no you cant do that sorry. its sad cause there just soo innocent and happy and have nothing. we are so spoiled in our family. not just with objects but just my family alone. im soo thankful for my family. i have an awesome support. i have like billions of letters and presents. i thank the lord all the time for my family. ive love reading the christmas stories and reading about christ. what a great time of year. i love giving presents to these ppl. i wish i was a millionare so i could just buy them all presents. there so happy with anything they get. ill prob give most of the presents i get to them to. and no im not saying i wont like my presents its just that if they could use them and it would make them sooo happy i might give some away. but ya....i love you thanks for everything. take lots of pics during chirstmas ok. thanks love you
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A conversation in Portuguese
mom: Você pode escrever-me algo no português?(write me something in Portuguese)
Hyrum: o que você quer (what do you want)
Mom:Pergunte-me algo!(ask me something)
End of conversation!
Hyrum: o que você quer (what do you want)
Mom:Pergunte-me algo!(ask me something)
End of conversation!
1st Baptism
i had my first baptism..it was awesome.. she was confirmed also...so thats exciting...she just absolutly loves the church and everything about it....and ya its that family with the lady that was almost dying...but she is all better now i think..she went to a new doctor and he fixed her up. and she is way strong. her daughter and grandson are members so it counted as a family baptism so that was awesome.
Did you do the baptizing? ya i did it!
Photos: elder mason and me and the boy is glauber the one im baptising is waldirina and the her daughter is valderine and i dont know the two girls names. baptized sat...i think it was the 6th
1st Testimony
It rained a couple times this week. last week we had to shower using a bucket. but ya its awesome...the language is getting a little better...i know like 5 words now...haha..jk..sunday i bore my testimony and the other elders there were like i just wittnesed the gift of tongues elder..you spoke perfect..it was amazing...haha...so that was cool...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Butterfly Funeral
We taught a family of like 6 i think in a house smaller then annies room...just one room the whole house..they had a sheet hanging from the wall to kind of seperate the visiting area from the kithcen bedroom and bathroom...there was a tree branch growing through one of the walls and then a huge butterfly flying around..haha..it flew into the fan during the prayer and that was then end of him.haha
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
More Questions
As a mom, I love knowing everything about my missionaries... so I ask lots of questions. Bet you like knowing too!
1. Do you street teach? a little street teach mostly just name and house number and we will come by later. but ya. these people are retarded. i cant think of one reason why ppl live here. everyone in the ctm said. CUIABÁ, HMM. NO PPL DONT GO THERE FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE, JUST ALOT OF COWS AND REALLY HOT....haha...its sooooo true..
2. Do you have investigators come to church? We have one, a lady... she wants to know more before she gets baptized, but she accepted to get baptized
3. How big is your ward/branch? There are 300 members but only 25 come. the missionaries before us baptised lots of children and so none are active still and the members dont like missionaries cause of them
4. Then where do you eat everyday? at like 7 of those active. bishop, 1st counsler, mission leaders, and sunday school teacher haha...its great...but ya...were trying to reactivate too..everyone is like...'the missionaries just baptised me and i never saw them again. i thought they were my friends..'
5. Tell me more about your house. its weird to think i live in brazil..it doesnt seem real...as discusting as my house is i love the fact that i can shower and ??? at the same time haha
6.how is the language? Are you starting to think in Porteguese? ya like 3 words haha....i always think in port before english!! but i def know more now then i did before i left...i can like understand 50% and talk a little bit
7. I hear you are headed for a rainy season. Has it started to rain? it doesnt rain much...everyone will die if it doesnt start raining soon..haha..we already dont get to shower half the time cause there is no water..haha
8. Are you serious? Do you drink out of the sink? bottles. i dont want to die. haha...NEVER drink out of sinks..haha. and ya..if it doesnt rain...i have no water...with no water...cant shower...the best is when we use the toilet and there is no water haha...yikes
9. Do you eat beef? Is your house poorer or richer than most? Do rich people live in Cuiaba?
no rich ppl and ya..lots of beef..i would say our house is nicer then most the houses for sure..haha...but i dont like to use the word nicer..maybe not as crapy..haha
10. Do you have a kitchen sink? o yes we have A sink. for lots of things...
11. How do you do laundry?there is a machine that PRETENDS to wash the clothes then we hang them on a line to dry.
12. Do you eat healthy there?beans, rice, beef, and these things called salgados...that is all i have to chose from...and fruit. we just have to be careful with the fruit, it has bugs in it:(
HE WANTS LOTS OF PICTURES... IF YOU CAN FIND THE TIME, SEND THEM TO HIM!
1. Do you street teach? a little street teach mostly just name and house number and we will come by later. but ya. these people are retarded. i cant think of one reason why ppl live here. everyone in the ctm said. CUIABÁ, HMM. NO PPL DONT GO THERE FOR BUSINESS OR PLEASURE, JUST ALOT OF COWS AND REALLY HOT....haha...its sooooo true..
2. Do you have investigators come to church? We have one, a lady... she wants to know more before she gets baptized, but she accepted to get baptized
3. How big is your ward/branch? There are 300 members but only 25 come. the missionaries before us baptised lots of children and so none are active still and the members dont like missionaries cause of them
4. Then where do you eat everyday? at like 7 of those active. bishop, 1st counsler, mission leaders, and sunday school teacher haha...its great...but ya...were trying to reactivate too..everyone is like...'the missionaries just baptised me and i never saw them again. i thought they were my friends..'
5. Tell me more about your house. its weird to think i live in brazil..it doesnt seem real...as discusting as my house is i love the fact that i can shower and ??? at the same time haha
6.how is the language? Are you starting to think in Porteguese? ya like 3 words haha....i always think in port before english!! but i def know more now then i did before i left...i can like understand 50% and talk a little bit
7. I hear you are headed for a rainy season. Has it started to rain? it doesnt rain much...everyone will die if it doesnt start raining soon..haha..we already dont get to shower half the time cause there is no water..haha
8. Are you serious? Do you drink out of the sink? bottles. i dont want to die. haha...NEVER drink out of sinks..haha. and ya..if it doesnt rain...i have no water...with no water...cant shower...the best is when we use the toilet and there is no water haha...yikes
9. Do you eat beef? Is your house poorer or richer than most? Do rich people live in Cuiaba?
no rich ppl and ya..lots of beef..i would say our house is nicer then most the houses for sure..haha...but i dont like to use the word nicer..maybe not as crapy..haha
10. Do you have a kitchen sink? o yes we have A sink. for lots of things...
11. How do you do laundry?there is a machine that PRETENDS to wash the clothes then we hang them on a line to dry.
12. Do you eat healthy there?beans, rice, beef, and these things called salgados...that is all i have to chose from...and fruit. we just have to be careful with the fruit, it has bugs in it:(
HE WANTS LOTS OF PICTURES... IF YOU CAN FIND THE TIME, SEND THEM TO HIM!
Monday, November 17, 2008
First letters from the field
Mom, Thanks for the letter! It is good to hear Josh is doing well. I have to tell you your letter was awesome this week. I got your letter the 3rd day in the field and that was my first full day. Now being my first full day you can imagine everything going through my mind! Ok, never mind... I don't think you can imagine... it was a lot. But lets just say your letter could not have been better timing. The first day was sooooooooo hard! Hot, different language, living conditions, hot, hot, walingk, hot and more hot, and lots more walking. But I'm not complaining. Ive really learned to enjoy myself in these conditions. I've found no matter how bad a day can go, I can always find positives. For example... yesterday (Oct 28th) Everything went.... well shall I say not so good? First we walked 1 1/2 mile to a bank to get money, but the machine was broken, so we walked another mile to another one. Then we took the bus to teach a 16 year old boy and he didn't accept the lesson as we had hoped. So the day went on. That night for dinner we started to walk to the members house and it started to rain and we don't have umbrellas and we don't have time to get them either. So we walk 3 to 4 more miles in the rain and we can't find the house. We use a pay phone to call the Elders.. come to find out we walked the wrong direction. We bought drinks for dinner but by now the bags had dissappeared. We turned to walk back 3 miles to the house. After dinner we had to hurry cause we had gotten to dinner late so we had little time to get back to our house by 9:30. We decided to take a bus cause it was 8:50 and we had like 5 miles to go. So we got on the bus for like 5 minutes and realize we were on the wrong bus.. OOpsie! So we get off and SPEED WALK in 100 * weather back to our house. We got back at 9:35 so not to late! But looking at this day you can't help but wonder... what went well, what was good? Honestly, not alot went good, but I've learned somwhat how to find good in all things. For example, it was fun to walk in the rain soaked wet! We got to know our area better. Dinner was GReat! Ya just some of the little things but the little things help keep me going! It was fun to walk in the rain while we laughed at our stupid mistakes of directions. I've enjoyed everyday, so far after that 1st one. It was tough! I said a prayer and after that it just got easier. So just so you know, I still LOVE it here. I LOVE life. All is well! I love you and hope all is well. Love Elder Stanger
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Mom's List of Questions....:)
1.Where do you go for a computer? for computer i go to the office normally or to like a coffee shop thingy
2.Do you meet in a church building? our church building is getting remodled so were in like a warehouse right now
3.Tell me about any families or people you work with. in the letter i will send today i talk about one family-its a new area so were still trying to work to get ppl
4.do you track or do you have appointments? we track and have appointments-mostly appointments
5.Tell me about your comp?my comp, elder mason, he is from cali, he is loaded rich(more details.. just ask mom)
6. Can you use your debit card?ya i can use my debit card, im going to try not to though as much as poss,
7. Are you in a poor part?yes, very poor, all of our mission is poor i think
8. Is there a ward or branch? i dont know if its a ward or a branch-its weird, but my area is the hardest in the mission i guess cause only half has been open for missionaries and elder mason and i are opening the other half-its hard but fun
9.Do you eat at peoples houses? lunch everday is in a members home
10. Do you still eat beans and rice and now FISH?ya-every meal beans rice and tomatoes, ive eaten fish once...YUCK
11. Are there misquiotoes? Bugs? Snakes? not really alot of bugs, a few but its just so dang hot,
12. Do you ride buses? ya ride busses and walk, LOTS
13. Is youre bed comfortable? of course my bed is comfortable. its a 100 year old mattress on the ground haha
14. Are the Brazil testimonies strong? the ones who belive in the church have strong testimonies, there are some weak to, just like in the states
15. Do you work with teenagers? ya work with whoever wants to hear the messages
16. Tell me about the toilet the toilet is under the shower-its a weird setup-Grandpa wouldnt not approve-i took pics,
17. the carpet? NO carpet-tile and concrete
18. The kitchen sink? not much of a kitchen at all, ive got pics
19. Is this new area very poor? (already answered above)
20. Did the dog break your skin when he bit? no the dog didnt break skin, it was really nothing, i just told you to scare you, it mainly just got my pants. DONT WORRY
21. Are the rats on the streets? no rats on the streets,
22. Do children beg for money, food?no children begging
23. Do vendors sell on the street like in Mexico? ya ppl sell stuff on the streets!
there are fruit trees EVERYWHERE like every 10 feet there is a mango tree, pomagranite tree, caju tree, any kind or fruit you can think of plus more that you have never heard of, and
ok ok...from now on becasue of time, write down your questions and only send 5 at a time ok...haha love you
2.Do you meet in a church building? our church building is getting remodled so were in like a warehouse right now
3.Tell me about any families or people you work with. in the letter i will send today i talk about one family-its a new area so were still trying to work to get ppl
4.do you track or do you have appointments? we track and have appointments-mostly appointments
5.Tell me about your comp?my comp, elder mason, he is from cali, he is loaded rich(more details.. just ask mom)
6. Can you use your debit card?ya i can use my debit card, im going to try not to though as much as poss,
7. Are you in a poor part?yes, very poor, all of our mission is poor i think
8. Is there a ward or branch? i dont know if its a ward or a branch-its weird, but my area is the hardest in the mission i guess cause only half has been open for missionaries and elder mason and i are opening the other half-its hard but fun
9.Do you eat at peoples houses? lunch everday is in a members home
10. Do you still eat beans and rice and now FISH?ya-every meal beans rice and tomatoes, ive eaten fish once...YUCK
11. Are there misquiotoes? Bugs? Snakes? not really alot of bugs, a few but its just so dang hot,
12. Do you ride buses? ya ride busses and walk, LOTS
13. Is youre bed comfortable? of course my bed is comfortable. its a 100 year old mattress on the ground haha
14. Are the Brazil testimonies strong? the ones who belive in the church have strong testimonies, there are some weak to, just like in the states
15. Do you work with teenagers? ya work with whoever wants to hear the messages
16. Tell me about the toilet the toilet is under the shower-its a weird setup-Grandpa wouldnt not approve-i took pics,
17. the carpet? NO carpet-tile and concrete
18. The kitchen sink? not much of a kitchen at all, ive got pics
19. Is this new area very poor? (already answered above)
20. Did the dog break your skin when he bit? no the dog didnt break skin, it was really nothing, i just told you to scare you, it mainly just got my pants. DONT WORRY
21. Are the rats on the streets? no rats on the streets,
22. Do children beg for money, food?no children begging
23. Do vendors sell on the street like in Mexico? ya ppl sell stuff on the streets!
there are fruit trees EVERYWHERE like every 10 feet there is a mango tree, pomagranite tree, caju tree, any kind or fruit you can think of plus more that you have never heard of, and
ok ok...from now on becasue of time, write down your questions and only send 5 at a time ok...haha love you
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
November 3rd Email
well....come to find out....the area im in my comp and i are opening it...haha....
its his first time as senior/trainer and my first area and were opening it..haha....
so ya..its a great fun experience....im loveing it....
highlight of the week...um...an hour walk to a no show....:)..that was fun...
i absolutly love it here....i thank the lord daily cause it doesnt make sense...
the heat
the livving conditions
the hard work...
it just doesnt make sense that i would love it but i do....im having soooo much fun....its great....
we sing in the streets and stuff..haha...were loosers...um...
everyone loves to hear me pray and teach cuz i dont know the language well haha..
so i do alot of praying and teaching....
all the kids here are soooo cute...they also LOVE to help me learn...
they get picture books and ask what this and that is....theere great helps...
way cute though for sure...
i want to just hold and hug them...but i cant....um...all is well....love you
its his first time as senior/trainer and my first area and were opening it..haha....
so ya..its a great fun experience....im loveing it....
highlight of the week...um...an hour walk to a no show....:)..that was fun...
i absolutly love it here....i thank the lord daily cause it doesnt make sense...
the heat
the livving conditions
the hard work...
it just doesnt make sense that i would love it but i do....im having soooo much fun....its great....
we sing in the streets and stuff..haha...were loosers...um...
everyone loves to hear me pray and teach cuz i dont know the language well haha..
so i do alot of praying and teaching....
all the kids here are soooo cute...they also LOVE to help me learn...
they get picture books and ask what this and that is....theere great helps...
way cute though for sure...
i want to just hold and hug them...but i cant....um...all is well....love you
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Paul's Surgery
No it's not Hyrum but it's his big brother. It's a video of Paul when he first came out of surgery. We got a kick out of it and thought we would post it.
1st Email from Cuiaba
mom...way to go losing your phone....well the first week went by alot faster then i thought it would...its all been good...
the first day was hard...i got a little depressed you could say...
i realized i dont speak or understand anything and the living conditions...well different...
food....ya..anyway...
not to mention the tempature is 130 everyday i swear...
haha...
but i prayed and since then ive been good....
lets see some of the highlights of the first week.....
i sweat ALOT....
i got bitten by a dog....not bad but it got me...
um WALK LOTS...
the house...haha...
if you can call it that is LOADED with STDS....haha...
its sooo gross....wow do i appriciate my house at home now...haah....
its like i dont know...bad...
i LOVE it...its all a really fun experience...
the fruit is awesome...mango straight of the tree...mmm mmm good....
all is well though...
how was new york....
how is paul...
whats up with all the head injuries latly...jeez this is bad...i would like everyone to be alive when i get home please...
sunday at church i was talking to a guy...and come to find out one of his companions on his mission was ryan bevan...sarah bevans older brother...crazy huh?
here is my new address
Elder hyrum stanger
CX. Postal10264
Cuiabá-MT
78050-975
Brazil
so you can write me at that address...spread the word...o and as soon as you get this you should call grandma and tell her to not send me money anymore....NO one send me money anymore ok...thanks...if anyone wants to send me money just have them put it in my account or something ok....thanks....
at a fireside one of our leaders brought their 18 month old little girl. i wanted to hug her and hold her so bad, but not for 2 years... haha
i love everyone! give them a hug!
the first day was hard...i got a little depressed you could say...
i realized i dont speak or understand anything and the living conditions...well different...
food....ya..anyway...
not to mention the tempature is 130 everyday i swear...
haha...
but i prayed and since then ive been good....
lets see some of the highlights of the first week.....
i sweat ALOT....
i got bitten by a dog....not bad but it got me...
um WALK LOTS...
the house...haha...
if you can call it that is LOADED with STDS....haha...
its sooo gross....wow do i appriciate my house at home now...haah....
its like i dont know...bad...
i LOVE it...its all a really fun experience...
the fruit is awesome...mango straight of the tree...mmm mmm good....
all is well though...
how was new york....
how is paul...
whats up with all the head injuries latly...jeez this is bad...i would like everyone to be alive when i get home please...
sunday at church i was talking to a guy...and come to find out one of his companions on his mission was ryan bevan...sarah bevans older brother...crazy huh?
here is my new address
Elder hyrum stanger
CX. Postal10264
Cuiabá-MT
78050-975
Brazil
so you can write me at that address...spread the word...o and as soon as you get this you should call grandma and tell her to not send me money anymore....NO one send me money anymore ok...thanks...if anyone wants to send me money just have them put it in my account or something ok....thanks....
at a fireside one of our leaders brought their 18 month old little girl. i wanted to hug her and hold her so bad, but not for 2 years... haha
i love everyone! give them a hug!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Email October 21st, '08
so wednesday the 15th was an AWESOME day for sure....you know how i told you we got our move date moved to the 30th...well guess what? wednesday they moved it again to the 22nd....thats tomorrow....wow huh..=..im soo excited...we leave in the mornig to the airport and off to cuiaba a whole week early...i cant wait.....thursday is the brazilians p-day so they went to the temple early....and all of us americans in my room =were in showering and the brazies in our room locked the door when they left...all we had were our towels so we couldnt go get help. we just had to wait like 15 min and a maintanance guy finally let us in.=....fri. we went proselyting again...way fun....there was some crazy parade thing going on.....ppl dressed way....WEIRD...crossdressers and ppl like naked pretty much and everyone was drunk out of there minds so it was hard to talk to ppl but it was still a fun. good experience...sat we set our clocks 1 hour ahead...so we lost an hour of sleep...but it hasnt really affected me...im glad i farmed and pretended to work at home....its made it alot easier for me out here....remind me to make my kids work ok...thanks... sunday i found out Elder Scott and Elder Anderson are coming to speak to us saturday....to bad i leave a week early now huh...i am going to miss them by like 3 days...so that is kinda dissapointing but im still excited to get out into the field for sure...a good quote i heard sunday in a talk was....I have two years to serve the lord and eternity to think about it.....it just made me think to myself....STOP THINKING AND DO!!!! yesterday i read the august 30th chruch news....the twin falls temple was the highlight of it so that was cool....we also had all of our meetings, departure meeting, health meeting, and all the fun stuff....haha....and i had gym and we were playing volleyball and i was running to get the ball and i slipped on water and slid into the wall...OUCH...i hit my knee and toes full speed into the wall....it hurts to kneel and pray now...and walk...and everything else...haha....it broke part of my toenail off and jammed it into my skin and stuff....its pretty gross..haha....but fun story....!!!well that is pretty much my week....were going to eat at rodigeose here soon since its our last p-day....were going with Irm Qurrino....he is cool....love you all. bye for now. Elder Hyrum
Monday, October 20, 2008
Elder Stanger and Miguel
Hyrum got to see Miguel, our old foreign exchange student from Brazil. Here is a picture of them.
Letter written to mom october 2
wow so much to talk about in this letter. first off i hope my handwriting is getting better so you can read the letters i write you!:) secondly, this week had been great! for a # of reasons. i hope you did not read dads letter cause if you did this letter is a waste of my time :) they will say pretty much the same thing. ill start at the beginning and work my way forward. Tuesday Sep. 30th elder Orr marked a verse in my scriptures for me. its totally appropriate for me:) D&C 23:3. its a good one. Wednesday was the first thunder storm, very pretty. very loud. very
EVERYWHERE! its crazy! we gave out 6 copies of the books of mormon. i also got 3 packages; 2 from mom and 1 from amanda. the one from mom was tie and cookies. the other was snacks and supplies. i was very surprised you bought shampoo. why did you not send me yours? But OK! we loved all 3 packages. thank you so much. couldn't have gotten better. it was also conference this weekend. it was so nice to hear the messages taught! some talks that stood out to me were: well pretty much ALL of them. Pres. Monson announced a temple in ITALY! I am so happy for dad. It was weird normally conference is SOOO LONG, but this time it was WAY short! I'm sad. It was AMAZING it was all directed straight to me, i think :) lots of missionary talk and brazil talk :) well my favorite talk saturday was Jeffrey R. Hollands! i will let you either watch it again or read it if you want. but i loved it. you and dad are mortal angels. always there for me in my good and bad times. you always supported me and loved me! thank you so much! grandma and grandpa are also angels. they always gave me good supportive talks and stories. each one of my brothers and sisters are also. they are all so loving to me even when i was just rude. my nieces and nephews are also, always reminding me to become as a child. :) you and dad especially! i could point out specific things for each one of you all, but my hand tells otherwise. the longer i write the worse it looks. i still have journal to write in! but all of conference was great for sure. priesthood session was crazy. i choir that sung for it was from the provo mtc and guess who i saw! Elder Andy Harding! it was cool to see him! but we watched all the sessions live except priesthood cause it was to late. so it got recorded and we wathced it sunday morning! mom, one more thing for you from conference. sister elains s dalton. never underestimate the influence of the righteous influence. sorry but i am going to be done talking about conference, i could talk forever on it cause it was soo amazing. but i wont :) so here are some pictures of miguel and i when we met up with each other. hope you enjoy them! well, what else to talk about? i am going to the Sao Paulo temple again tuesday! oh so i want you to know that i am very thankful for the packages from you and amanda. me, my comp, and roommates love them!! :) well i guess i can just tell you how I'm doing! i am great. i am still loving it here. i thank the lord daily for making this be easy for me. i have yet to feel homesick. sure i miss everyone but it is nothing i cant handle. its been easy overall. the gospel knowledge is growing immensely Ive learned soooo much about the Church. i love this church. there are millions are me every day! and we heard conference there are now over 1 million members in brazil! i get to make that grow by opening new places in brazil cuiaba mission! i am so excited. the language is um.... well less then fluent. i prayed the other day and said "bless our children" OOPSES, i am glad i didnt get sent home we cant have children! :) :) ya my Portuguese is very rusty. but better than it used to be before i left home. i can carry on small conversations. i love it. i love all the prayers in my behalf! they help a lot. so just know i am great and have no worries about me. guess what though! bu the time you get this letter i will only have 2 weeks in the CTM. we fly to cuiaba the 28th of october. cant wait to teach ANYONE and EVERYONE. so how is brett doing? how is devon also? i am going to write them. well i love you and thank you for everything. elder stanger
A great talk that touched me and let me know that i have a testimony of this gospel was by carlos gody. "we dont have to see angels or have GREAT experiences to have a testimony" i now realize i do have a strong enough testimony. it was a good talk for me. well dont worry about me ok! :) :) is there anything i need to pray for at home specifically?
love you elder stanger
EVERYWHERE! its crazy! we gave out 6 copies of the books of mormon. i also got 3 packages; 2 from mom and 1 from amanda. the one from mom was tie and cookies. the other was snacks and supplies. i was very surprised you bought shampoo. why did you not send me yours? But OK! we loved all 3 packages. thank you so much. couldn't have gotten better. it was also conference this weekend. it was so nice to hear the messages taught! some talks that stood out to me were: well pretty much ALL of them. Pres. Monson announced a temple in ITALY! I am so happy for dad. It was weird normally conference is SOOO LONG, but this time it was WAY short! I'm sad. It was AMAZING it was all directed straight to me, i think :) lots of missionary talk and brazil talk :) well my favorite talk saturday was Jeffrey R. Hollands! i will let you either watch it again or read it if you want. but i loved it. you and dad are mortal angels. always there for me in my good and bad times. you always supported me and loved me! thank you so much! grandma and grandpa are also angels. they always gave me good supportive talks and stories. each one of my brothers and sisters are also. they are all so loving to me even when i was just rude. my nieces and nephews are also, always reminding me to become as a child. :) you and dad especially! i could point out specific things for each one of you all, but my hand tells otherwise. the longer i write the worse it looks. i still have journal to write in! but all of conference was great for sure. priesthood session was crazy. i choir that sung for it was from the provo mtc and guess who i saw! Elder Andy Harding! it was cool to see him! but we watched all the sessions live except priesthood cause it was to late. so it got recorded and we wathced it sunday morning! mom, one more thing for you from conference. sister elains s dalton. never underestimate the influence of the righteous influence. sorry but i am going to be done talking about conference, i could talk forever on it cause it was soo amazing. but i wont :) so here are some pictures of miguel and i when we met up with each other. hope you enjoy them! well, what else to talk about? i am going to the Sao Paulo temple again tuesday! oh so i want you to know that i am very thankful for the packages from you and amanda. me, my comp, and roommates love them!! :) well i guess i can just tell you how I'm doing! i am great. i am still loving it here. i thank the lord daily for making this be easy for me. i have yet to feel homesick. sure i miss everyone but it is nothing i cant handle. its been easy overall. the gospel knowledge is growing immensely Ive learned soooo much about the Church. i love this church. there are millions are me every day! and we heard conference there are now over 1 million members in brazil! i get to make that grow by opening new places in brazil cuiaba mission! i am so excited. the language is um.... well less then fluent. i prayed the other day and said "bless our children" OOPSES, i am glad i didnt get sent home we cant have children! :) :) ya my Portuguese is very rusty. but better than it used to be before i left home. i can carry on small conversations. i love it. i love all the prayers in my behalf! they help a lot. so just know i am great and have no worries about me. guess what though! bu the time you get this letter i will only have 2 weeks in the CTM. we fly to cuiaba the 28th of october. cant wait to teach ANYONE and EVERYONE. so how is brett doing? how is devon also? i am going to write them. well i love you and thank you for everything. elder stanger
A great talk that touched me and let me know that i have a testimony of this gospel was by carlos gody. "we dont have to see angels or have GREAT experiences to have a testimony" i now realize i do have a strong enough testimony. it was a good talk for me. well dont worry about me ok! :) :) is there anything i need to pray for at home specifically?
love you elder stanger
Monday, October 13, 2008
letter to mom on sept 30th
mom, i got the package with the tie in it. i love the tie, tell annie good pick!! and i now know that you have a very hard time reading my letters cause i suck at writing so i'm going to take twice as long on this letter to try and mike it legible. (you can read this letter much better hand writing) . ok let me know if you can read it. i hope you can. so saturday the 27th we got to teach the 1st lesson to a brazilion family. you can only imagine hor that went. they recorded us so we could watch ourselves teach. ha ha. it was so funny. O not really. it actually went pretty well! my portugese is a little rusty i asked "how does the gospel bless your family"OOPSIE. the first lesson they are not members! but it wasstill fun. i had a hard time understanding all of their questions but it will slowly come. this sunday the 28th was fast sunday cause next week is conference! i cant wait. church is in English. they split the brazilian districts up from americans. we go to the temple weekly. Sao Paulo on the 30th it is a beautiful temple inside temple session are in english. i really do love the tie idea. i figure ill get about 24 ties right. well 23 left and i should be getting tie #2 this month soon. send it to the feild. i think as long as 24 months is it will go fast. one month is already done and i just got here yesterday. so i also go the letter about rethas labor. sounds intense. how is she doing? she will be a great mom. ryan he will be a fun dad. when the baby is two i will be home!! lets not look at it that way. ha ha.
really i am loving it here. the spirit is so strong. sundays are amazing. i bore my testimony on prayer sunday. it is so crazy. the spirit is goin gto kill me sometimes i think cause its SOOO STRONG. one of pauls letters he wrote "pray to god like he is standing right in front of you cause he is". those lines hit deep in me. as you know i wasnt the best at praying, but since i have been here i have been praying LOTS and studying LOTS. i have started to learn how to pray.i can feel the lord right in front of me. ive learned to talk with him not at him. i can literally feel his pressence in my life. im almost mad at myself. ive had all of this my whole life and never enjoyed the fulness of the gospel. ive never been more happy than i am now!! i love to think that i am so close to my savior. i am all his for two years. i amd so happy. "i am all about service". that has never been more true then now. i hope i am this happy when i get home. i am going to be sad when it is over. it just started but i can tell now it will be to short.
hows the twin falls temple? i made some mission goals. tell me if they are good or if there is anymore i should have ok.
1. be trusted by all
2. love the people
3. be someone others can count on
4. always work hard
5. follow the rules
6. no regrets
7. be happy
8. stay focused
9. serve all (dont judge).
10. do it for me and the lord
11. be a leader
how are they?
in personal study the other day i studied out alma 5. awesome chapter. christ is a stud. i love him. he is amazing. i love that chapter. anyways everything is going great. i hope you could read this letter a little better :) i tried to write better. not sure if i did though. i love you. hope all is well. i got a letter form grandma and chris jones!!! awesome week.
well i love you and thanks for everything. you are a great mom and example. you have always been a great support to me in everything i do. i appriciate it even if i dont always show it you are the best. oh i just remembered a few more things. sorry. is my cousin josh out of jail? what is up with him? how is brother Gee is he doing well? tell him hi for me. Pslams 119; 105 is also a great scripture. substitute "word" with scriptures. the scriptures are awesome i love reading them. i think that is all. i love you. love elder stanger.
i might see Miguel Tuesday afternoon. but i wont have time to write about it much. so i will probably write more next week if i dont.
you will never guess what i just saw we are on a bus ride back to the ctm from the sao paulo temple. we just drove under an over pass bridge. we just saw a pile of seadoo crates weird huh. it was like wow home. ha ha. only the guys on the side of the road were using them wisely than dad. they were taking the wood and making houses out of them. ha ha. it was crazy cool. anyways i just thought i would let you know you could make houses instead of just throwing them away. love you E stanger
really i am loving it here. the spirit is so strong. sundays are amazing. i bore my testimony on prayer sunday. it is so crazy. the spirit is goin gto kill me sometimes i think cause its SOOO STRONG. one of pauls letters he wrote "pray to god like he is standing right in front of you cause he is". those lines hit deep in me. as you know i wasnt the best at praying, but since i have been here i have been praying LOTS and studying LOTS. i have started to learn how to pray.i can feel the lord right in front of me. ive learned to talk with him not at him. i can literally feel his pressence in my life. im almost mad at myself. ive had all of this my whole life and never enjoyed the fulness of the gospel. ive never been more happy than i am now!! i love to think that i am so close to my savior. i am all his for two years. i amd so happy. "i am all about service". that has never been more true then now. i hope i am this happy when i get home. i am going to be sad when it is over. it just started but i can tell now it will be to short.
hows the twin falls temple? i made some mission goals. tell me if they are good or if there is anymore i should have ok.
1. be trusted by all
2. love the people
3. be someone others can count on
4. always work hard
5. follow the rules
6. no regrets
7. be happy
8. stay focused
9. serve all (dont judge).
10. do it for me and the lord
11. be a leader
how are they?
in personal study the other day i studied out alma 5. awesome chapter. christ is a stud. i love him. he is amazing. i love that chapter. anyways everything is going great. i hope you could read this letter a little better :) i tried to write better. not sure if i did though. i love you. hope all is well. i got a letter form grandma and chris jones!!! awesome week.
well i love you and thanks for everything. you are a great mom and example. you have always been a great support to me in everything i do. i appriciate it even if i dont always show it you are the best. oh i just remembered a few more things. sorry. is my cousin josh out of jail? what is up with him? how is brother Gee is he doing well? tell him hi for me. Pslams 119; 105 is also a great scripture. substitute "word" with scriptures. the scriptures are awesome i love reading them. i think that is all. i love you. love elder stanger.
i might see Miguel Tuesday afternoon. but i wont have time to write about it much. so i will probably write more next week if i dont.
you will never guess what i just saw we are on a bus ride back to the ctm from the sao paulo temple. we just drove under an over pass bridge. we just saw a pile of seadoo crates weird huh. it was like wow home. ha ha. only the guys on the side of the road were using them wisely than dad. they were taking the wood and making houses out of them. ha ha. it was crazy cool. anyways i just thought i would let you know you could make houses instead of just throwing them away. love you E stanger
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
joke on hyrum
I fell asleep in the computer lab and they almost woke me up cause we were going back to the classroom....but then Irmão Qurino(teacher) decided to play a joke....so my district all got up and left the computer lab and they got a different district and sent them in....so the other district is in there and their teacher comes and wakes me up and is like.. elder what are you doing and where is your companion....i was like...umm....i dont know who these people are and i dont know where my comp is...they were all out in the hall laughing at me....it was embarrising...but fun....>
Friday, October 3, 2008
Letter to mom written Sept. 23
Mom perfect letter this week! It lists the stuff you want to know!!! So first thing, the language. It is crazy and hard, but I don't worry to much about it because I know I will learn it. So for now I just study and pray. And your prayers are appreciated, thanks. I memorized the 1st vision this week!!! :) The shots I have to get are Hep A and B, I needed 3 of them and only did 1 at home. So I have to get 2 here. Um... Christmas Gifts you sent a package 2 weeks ago and I still don't have it so I don't know. I love the CTM. I tried some drinks, Garrdina. Good that's not how it is spelled. Beans and rice everyday. Breakfast cereal and ham and cheese sandwiches. Good job on Posergy. Keep it up!!! This week has been great. We went to the police station and had our finger prints taken. It's part of the agreement for getting visas. We went proseliting for the first time on the 19th it was amazing. Me and my comp gave out 6 Books of Mormon abd 4 out of 6 read it for like an hour long. it was awsome. it was hard to talk to them but still fun. i cant wait to start my mission in Cuiaba!!! I love it here. it is so much fun for me. i got letters from alexa, ander, sarah, dalton, and emma. so i wrote them back in this envelope. could you make an envelope and send them their letters so it looks like its from me? i am to poor to send multiple envelopes sorry. im excited to get pics of the new baby. hope all is well at home. i love you i get to go to the sao poulo temple on the 23rd it will be great!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
letter to mom starting sept 11th
mom its the 11th and i got a letter from you today. i got 6 letters today. i loved it! thats good that xtreme and posergy did good at the fair. i cant wait for a nice car when i come home. and keep praying for me. i need to learn the language asap. i got 2 more roommates today. they are brazilian. i realized i have NO idea what language they are teaching in the ctm because the brazilians speak something different. well i will write later in the week cause i am tired...today is friday the 12th. it has been a normal day for the most part. i dont know if i mentioned it but i got a letter from jataunna a couple days ago!! best day ever. today i have been working a lot on my street contact in Portuguese. we go out to the streets in a week from today. i am kinda nervous but excited at the same time. today is the best day ever for lunch. i ate so much. it was pasta. so good! so we just had classes again like normal. i did the full first lesson in English today for the last time. that was nice to get it out of the way. my comp is so funny. the lord really knows what he is doing. my comp is really short on patience if he has any at all. and since he is the district leader he conducts our meetings and stuff. but he always looses control and gets way mad. so i know i got put with him cause i am pretty easy going for the most part. i try to help him gain control and have patience. so we will so we will see if he progresses. so one of my Brazilian roommates is a black man. cool huh. i hope you got my last card and tape in good condition.
sept 13th today has been pretty good. i started to work on/plan my lesson in Portuguese. that will be kind of hard, but it will come to me. we had a fireside tonight. it was on how to give the first lesson more effortlessly. i got a lot out of it, so that was good. so no one is racest here. so our black roommate walks into the room yesterday and yells out "hey nigger cracker" it was funny. anyway love you.
sept 14th church was great. i love sundays. spirit is strong and our days are so empty so we just get to relax. it is nice. i gave the prayer in porteguesse in priesthood today. it went well i think. brazil is trying to pass a law that says NO discrimination. so if a homeosexual wants a temple recommend and the bishop says no he can get put in jail. its crazy. hope it does not pass, cause it would cause problems. we figured out that the toilets spin in the opposite way. i guess i just live on the toilet so i notice weird stuff like that. but i heard it is because we are on the opposite side of the equator. the food down here is good most the time to my tastes but my body disagrees. it punishes me about 5 times a day. NOT HEALTY :) oh well though. its worth...ya its worth it. when my journals get full do you want me to send them home so i dont have to pack them around? i have a feeling i will go through a few journals...its crazy, but lots of stories. Irmascurrino one of my instructors knows anything and everything about the gospel so we try to stump him. he always has an answer. he knows what every chapter in the quad is about. so if you have any questions tell me cause we want to stump him. ha ha. mom i got to watch ces fireside broadcast from provo...it was cool. today a sister say my name tag and was like "elder stanger ??!!" i was like "yeah" she was like "from idaho?" i said yes she said "an elder stanger from idaho served in her mission in brazil" he had a twin she said. it was weird. other than that all is well. but i am going to play a game now so i love you and talk to you soon.
sept 15th. last night my Brazilian roommate woke us up at 2:30 he thought it was 6:30! they are crazy...they dont sleep ever. i started to memorize the first vision in port today. ahhh it is so frustrating and hard. I LOVE IT:) um lets see...i am getting my hair cut tomorrow. i will send this letter tomorrow too. its p day!!! i love p day! we dont go to the temple though so that sucks. but we have a free day all day...cool huh? i email you tomorrow too. hope to know if retha had her baby and all is well with her. i am sure it is, but i cant wait to get pictures of the kid!!! so i decided elder Orr my roommate is the coolest kid ever. he reminds me of paul almost, he is fun. he is a good kid, but he gets along with everyone. he is cool. he lives in slc so thats cool. he has a gf too, so we talk alot. its so easy to stay focused here! i love it the spirit is strong. i sent part of my testimony to jatanna in a letter. you can ask her what is says if you want, but my hand is dead. but i do have a testimony. i love this church and what it does for me. i know Joseph Smith restored the church through Jesus Christ. i know that God lives and loves me. i pray like ten times a day and i know he listens. i am waiting for the answer of the gift of tongues still but i know it will come. i am so thankful for you mom and dad. i am so glad you taught me and raised me the way you did. i am thankful for the great love and support you two have for me. i hope that i can make you proud and give back even a small amount of what you have given me. you are the best. thanks for everything. i love you and the gospel. it is not just a church but its a way of life. i have realized i am not "giving up two years of my life" but i realized that the Lord is giving me two years of my life. its good. i am serving the Lord. how great is that? i mean really? the Lord. i am his servant!!!! what a great thing to be able to say and do. i love it. i love you. hope all is well. love elder stanger
p.s.keep up on doing good with posergy. i am excited for you. its cool. and how is xtreme doing? hope all is good cause i am spending all your money:)
love you dad!!!
i will email you tomorrow!!
sept 13th today has been pretty good. i started to work on/plan my lesson in Portuguese. that will be kind of hard, but it will come to me. we had a fireside tonight. it was on how to give the first lesson more effortlessly. i got a lot out of it, so that was good. so no one is racest here. so our black roommate walks into the room yesterday and yells out "hey nigger cracker" it was funny. anyway love you.
sept 14th church was great. i love sundays. spirit is strong and our days are so empty so we just get to relax. it is nice. i gave the prayer in porteguesse in priesthood today. it went well i think. brazil is trying to pass a law that says NO discrimination. so if a homeosexual wants a temple recommend and the bishop says no he can get put in jail. its crazy. hope it does not pass, cause it would cause problems. we figured out that the toilets spin in the opposite way. i guess i just live on the toilet so i notice weird stuff like that. but i heard it is because we are on the opposite side of the equator. the food down here is good most the time to my tastes but my body disagrees. it punishes me about 5 times a day. NOT HEALTY :) oh well though. its worth...ya its worth it. when my journals get full do you want me to send them home so i dont have to pack them around? i have a feeling i will go through a few journals...its crazy, but lots of stories. Irmascurrino one of my instructors knows anything and everything about the gospel so we try to stump him. he always has an answer. he knows what every chapter in the quad is about. so if you have any questions tell me cause we want to stump him. ha ha. mom i got to watch ces fireside broadcast from provo...it was cool. today a sister say my name tag and was like "elder stanger ??!!" i was like "yeah" she was like "from idaho?" i said yes she said "an elder stanger from idaho served in her mission in brazil" he had a twin she said. it was weird. other than that all is well. but i am going to play a game now so i love you and talk to you soon.
sept 15th. last night my Brazilian roommate woke us up at 2:30 he thought it was 6:30! they are crazy...they dont sleep ever. i started to memorize the first vision in port today. ahhh it is so frustrating and hard. I LOVE IT:) um lets see...i am getting my hair cut tomorrow. i will send this letter tomorrow too. its p day!!! i love p day! we dont go to the temple though so that sucks. but we have a free day all day...cool huh? i email you tomorrow too. hope to know if retha had her baby and all is well with her. i am sure it is, but i cant wait to get pictures of the kid!!! so i decided elder Orr my roommate is the coolest kid ever. he reminds me of paul almost, he is fun. he is a good kid, but he gets along with everyone. he is cool. he lives in slc so thats cool. he has a gf too, so we talk alot. its so easy to stay focused here! i love it the spirit is strong. i sent part of my testimony to jatanna in a letter. you can ask her what is says if you want, but my hand is dead. but i do have a testimony. i love this church and what it does for me. i know Joseph Smith restored the church through Jesus Christ. i know that God lives and loves me. i pray like ten times a day and i know he listens. i am waiting for the answer of the gift of tongues still but i know it will come. i am so thankful for you mom and dad. i am so glad you taught me and raised me the way you did. i am thankful for the great love and support you two have for me. i hope that i can make you proud and give back even a small amount of what you have given me. you are the best. thanks for everything. i love you and the gospel. it is not just a church but its a way of life. i have realized i am not "giving up two years of my life" but i realized that the Lord is giving me two years of my life. its good. i am serving the Lord. how great is that? i mean really? the Lord. i am his servant!!!! what a great thing to be able to say and do. i love it. i love you. hope all is well. love elder stanger
p.s.keep up on doing good with posergy. i am excited for you. its cool. and how is xtreme doing? hope all is good cause i am spending all your money:)
love you dad!!!
i will email you tomorrow!!
Monday, September 22, 2008
pictures
Elder Orr and Elder Stanger
Elder Wright, Elder Orr, Elder Stanger, and Elder Hayes.
Elder Hayes and Elder Stanger
Hyrum in his room
Elder Orr and Hyrum. Hyrum's bestfriend
Elder Wright and Elder Stanger
Elder Wright and Hyrum
The Sao Paulo city at night.
The city
Elder Wright and Elder Orr
The Bus ride
Elder Stanger :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
