Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

So this week was awesome.

First off, I got to talk to my amazing family....which was amazingly amazing. I'm so grateful for modern technology and the opportunity I have to use it on the mission!

So SANTA MARIA IS HUGE......In Alegrete, I had to walk 30 minutes to arrive down town....but in Santa Maria, I have to ride a bus for 30 minutes just to get down town, and then I have to walk just a little more....so yeah, it's a little different, but it's all awesome. I love this city already. And my companion, Elder Chuman, is show de bala.

We've been working with a guy named Evandro. He lives alone in a really humble home, and he is really humble guy. He always let's us in and is always willing to fulfill the commitments that we leave with him. He's been reading the Book of Mormon from front to back and he is learning so much. He has some problems with the word of wisdom, and do we made some goals with him, and he's going to get baptized on the 17th of January! When we got to his house this week to visit him, he came out bald! He had cut his hair all by himself and he was super excited as he told us that this new year, he was changing his life...That he never again going to use drugs, or smoke, or drink, and that he was going to prepare himself to be baptized. He is so amazing so pray for him!

I don't have a lot of time, but I love you all so much! I Hope your week is amazing and full of miracles. Don't stop praying and don't stop reading the scriptures.

I LOVE YOU ALL

 FIQUE SASSY

ELDER HINTZE

The Government Shut Down the Canadian Wilderness Association

So TRANSFERS! 

I'm being transferred to Santa Maria! I'll serve in the Parque Pinheiro ward and I'll continue on as District Leader there. My companion will be Elder Chuman. I don't know him yet, but I bet he's awesome. 

It's so hard to leave this place! Alegrete is the best city ever. I love all of these people so much, and it's hard to say goodbye to these people that were a part of my life for these 5 months. Here, I was able to feel just a little tiny bit of the love that Heavenly Father has for all his children, as I served the people in this ward. It was amazing to be able to see the talents and abilities of each and every member that I got to know, and to get to know their potential as sons and daughters of God. I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to serve these people and to hear and be changed by their testimonies. I love this Gospel so much, and I know that wherever God puts us is where we need to be. Trust in him, and keep his commandments so that he can trust in you.

So this week was full of service projects, salgadinhos, and saying goodbye to loved ones. 

So, yes. I have officially cut someones lawn with a kitchen knife. 

On Wednesday, we 2 service projects. We cut one of the brothers lawn, and then we ran over to Vinicius and Claudia's house to do some more yard week. We pulled some weeds, and took out a bunch of trees. It was a lot of work, and I have learned, you should never let a Peruvian take out an orange tree. THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT. I cut the tree down with an axe, and then he told me he knew how to take the roots out. So he grabbed the axe and just started tearing apart the trunk that was still left. And all that it has now is just a crazy destroyed piece of broken wood sticking out of the ground, and it's 10x harder to take out. But it was awesome. 

On Thursday, it was  "Noite dos Salgadinhos". "Salgadinhos" literally means "Little Salties" but it's like little snacks that aren't sweet...like appetizers. Sandra, one of the sisters in the ward, made 350 salgadinhos for the ward, and they were amazing. We talked about how this Christmas, we will celebrate Jesus Christ, and that he needs to be our foundation. After the message, we sang "Que Firme Alicerce" (How Firm a Foundation), and then we ate salgadinhos. It was a good night. 

Friday morning, we heard news about transfers, and the rest of the week was saying goodbye to members and investigators. 

Sunday, was testimony meeting, and it was hard not to cry. Almost every testimony, the members got up and thanked me for my work in the ward. They let me know that I would be missed. I was keeping the dears in until Suzete, the mom of one of my favorite families, got up and started crying and told me that I'd be missed. My goodness, the tears filled up my eyes. It is so hard to leave these people that I love so much. AH! I know that Heavenly Father sent me here! This is where I needed to be, and now, in Santa Maria, I know that I'll go exactly where I need to be, as well.

The Church is true! This is the true church of Jesus Christ, and the only path to true happiness. 

I hope your week is amazing, and I love you all so much. 

LOVE YOU

ELDER HINTZE

Elder Hinchingching

HELLO PEOPLE!

Está semana foi maravilhosa e cheia de bolo. Ba, eu amo bola, tá louco.

So this week was quite awesome. Yesterday, was Stake Conference and Elder Cruz of the Area 70 came and visited us. He's from Rio DE Janeiro and his accent in Portuguese is so flippin' cool. It was an amazing conference! I wish you were all here to hear what he had to say. It was amazing. Anyways, so my week was also pretty awesome. Clôvis went to all sessions of Stake Conference and he loved it. It was so cool that he had the chance to hear so many testimonies about the Book of Mormon, because the Spirit was there, I know that his testimony was definitely augmented. 

SO, on Tuesday, we did a Family Night with a really awesome family, Paulo and Sandra. They have 6 kids, and they are the coolest family ever. We talked a little bit about how we need to make sure that our personal desires are the same desires that God wants us to have, so that we can arrive in the last day and tell our Heavenly Father that we did what he wanted us to do. Afterwards, we ate the best coconut chocolate cake ever. 

On Thursday, we did "Noite dos Bolos" (Cake Night) at the church, and, Sandra, the marvelous cake cook, made a bunch of cakes for the ward...and yes, her cakes are amazing. She made cinnamon banana cake, strawberry cake, coconut chocolate cake, and any cake that you could imagine (except for potato cake, because I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist). It was awesome. We left a special message about choosing the right path to follow in our lives, and we did a really fun activity that everyone liked. It was really cool because there were a lot of non-members there, for the cake of course, but even though they expected the cake, they got something sweeter...a message confirmed by the Spirit. There was such a strong Spirit in the church, and we were all able to feel the Savior's love for us. It was a cool experience.

Friday morning, we didn't have lunch, so we ran to the market to grab some rice. It just happened that I entered in this tiny market at the right time, because as I entered, a man asked me if I was American. I said yes, and he told me that he had just been to Washington, DC! He started showing me photos of the capital building and the Washington monument and all the cool stuff back at home. I was messing with him and freaked out a little and told him that I saw my mom in one of the photos. He was like "whoa...really? THAT'S CRAZY!" I told him I was kidding and we started laughing. At that moment, another guy walked up to me and asked me if I was American. I said yes (because I am American) and he started speaking English with me and told me that he lived in Canada and was moving to England soon. I was able to tell him that my family had lived in England this passed year and that he's going to love it. As I started to explain our message to them, they kind of "had to leave" so we weren't able to talk much to them, but it was kind of a crazy coincidence that I ran into them. 

Then, that night, we had a Family Night in another one of my favorite family's house, Luis and Suzete. They are awesome. And Cesar and Maria and Clôvis and Mariana (his daughter) also came. We were able to have a fun conversation and then leave a really spiritual message about loving your family and showing your love for your family. It was really cool the was that we all learned by the Spirit and were able to feel our Savior's love for us. 

So I wanted to share a story with you that Presidente Parrela shared at stake conference:

So there was a city in the hills in the middle of nowhere. There was a wise man traveling through the hills, and as he arrived in the city, he noticed that it was very poor. The land wasn't very good and it was hard to plant seeds and farm. The only thing that they had was a tiny, skinny cow that gave them all milk. As the wise man arrived in the city, he noticed that all of the people were really skinny and poorly nourished. One of the people in the city went to talk to the wise traveler. He explained that they suffered all day and that they only had this skinny cow to live on. The citizen asked the wise man what he could do to have a prosperous city. The wise mine listened, was quiet for a little bit, and then looked at him and said, "Go push cow over." The citizen thought it was a crazy idea, but being obedient, went to the skinny cow and pushed it over. The skinny cow fell over, and broke his leg. The citizen ran to complain to the wise man, but the wise man had already left the city. Within a few days, the skinny cow died. About a year later, the same wise man was passing through the hill, and he came across a prosperous city that he had never seen before. He entered and ran into the same citizen that he had talked to a year before. The wise man asked what happened and the citizen said "Well, after the skinny cow died, we were desperate. So we were forced to work 10x harder to work in the fields to try and plant seeds. We had to work harder to harvest our crops, build our buildings, herd our animals, and basically, survive. Because of this, our city developed and now we are prosperous"

Sometimes, in our lives, we have a "skinny cow", and we need to kill that skinny cow so that we can prosper. Sometimes, there are things in our lives that are stopping us from progressing, things that seem good, but are stopping our progress. In our lives, we need to recognize this "skinny cows" so that we can overcome them, work harder, and have prosperous lives. So everyone, this week, it's time to push over the skinny cow in our lives. And it's through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we will be able to work harder to "harvest our crops" and have a prosperous life.

I love you all so much, and I know that this Gospel is true. Only through sincere repentance and loving our neighbor that we can really feel the most pure love of our Heavenly Father in our lives. He loves you and knows you personally. So push over your skinny cows so that you can all experience the potential that we have as children of the one true God.

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!

Até mais,

Elder Hintze

Are you guys selling popsicles?

HELLO AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS SEASON EVERYONE!

So my week was pretty sweet. 

On Monday we visited Clovis and taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel. He loved it and was able to understand it really well. We were able to bear a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and he told us that he was ready to be baptized! He told us that he wants to get baptized with his daughter when she turns 8 in January! That made me really really happy! We told him that he could get baptized this coming week and the he could prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood so that he could be the one that baptizes his daughter. He really liked that idea, but we told him to pray about it to see what God wanted him to do. He is such a good guy, and he really needs your prayer. His name is Clovis and also pray for his wife Carla and their daughter Mariana. They're an extremely special family to me!

On Tuesday, I did a division with Elder Hayes, from Illinois. This is his 2nd transfer on the mission, and he is still learning Portuguese, but golly goodness, he is speaking really well for just 3 months on the mission! We visited a lot of people, and we got a crazy, radical church lady to pray and ask God to help her find the true church, that has a living prophet, 12 apostles, and authority to baptize. She prayed in the very moment, and I think she really actually wants to find this true church!. We left her with a Restoration pamphlet and Elder Hayes is going to return with his companion to teach her that there is really the true church of Christ here on the Earth! We had to treat the situation really carefully because she is a faithful member of another church for 48 years. So we taught her from the Bible, and now the other Elders will Return and help her to find the true church of Christ!

We did an activity for the youth this past week. We went to the park, set up a table, and passed out church materials and invited people to look at the website natal.mormon.org . It's a site that the church put up for Christmas. Check it out! Then we got all the young men, and their non member friends, and took them into the church, where we taught them all how to pray more sincerely and prepare to be worthy missionaries. It was cool because most of them weren't even members, but they listened, participated, and one of them went to church on Sunday! It was pretty awesome. 

So this week, I was studying in Jacob 1:18-19, where it talks about magnifying our callings. It talks about how Jacob was set apart with a certain calling in verse 18. And in verse 19 he talks about how he magnified his calling. Read this scripture! It's so important that we magnify our callings! God trusts us and he designated us to a specific calling to help him grow his kingdom here on this earth. We need to trust in him, and then we need to show him that he can trust in us. Through magnifying our callings, we can show him that he can trust in us, and then we can show up at the last day spotless, without sin. So magnify your calling and prove to God that he can trust in you! He called you and in that, he qualifies you! So get to work!

I love you all so much! You are all so amazing and I am so grateful that I can be here on a mission! i LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!!

Elder Hintze 

I would like to order a McMiracle

First off, I would like to congratulate one of my very best friends in the world, Sam Goodnight. 

He won a Reader's Favorite Award for his book, Attrition: The First Act of Penance. So yes, he's kind of a big deal. 

CONGRATULATIONS MAN!!!!!!

Okay, so my week. 

Last week at church, an old investigator of ours, Clovis, showed up at the church. His wife and daughter are active members, but he never wanted to be baptized. Well, he showed up at church all alone...his wife nor his daughter were there, just him. He told me that he has been going through some changes and he was ready to let God into his heart. We then visited his house during the week, and he explained that he was having some problems in his family and that he wanted to have a happy family. He told us that as he saw his father-in-law (who was the bishop before) live his life in the church, he saw that their life was a happy one, and he wanted that for his family. He told us that he was ready to do the right things and to be the man who God wants him to be. We were going to teach about the Restoration, but I had a strong feeling to talk with him about repentance, We taught a very strong lesson about repentance and that he can repent and be forgiven of whatever thing he has done. We explained that when we cut our fingers, we need to put a band aid on it

and then wait a couple of days, and then we're all good. But if we break our leg, we need to go to the hospital, maybe have surgery, and wait a couple of months for it to heal. And then, maybe for a couple months after, it still might hurt a little. We explained that sin is like that. Sometimes, we make little mistakes, and we just need a little bit of time to heal, if we repent. But sometimes, we make big mistakes that need a whole lot more of time to be healed. But we can always turn to our personal Healer, the Savior Jesus Christ. Through sincere repentance, and restitution of the things we've done wrong, we can be forgiven, and the Lord will help us rebuild ourselves up. He will shape and mold us into the person that he wants us to be. But first, we've got to show our faith to him, and in humble and sincere prayer, kneel down and ask for forgiveness. Just like our body feels pain to indicate to our brains that something is wrong and needs to be fixed, our souls send us signals, guilt and shame, to indicate to us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Don't hide from your guilt or shame! Be humble and show it to the Lord, and he we help heal you! Repentance is an amazing thing! As we explained this to Clovis, his countenance changed. He told us that he was willing and wanted to go kneel down before our Savior and repent sincerely so that he could be the father and husband that God wants him to be, and so that he could prepare himself to make the sacred covenant of Baptism. It was amazing as we worked with him to really help him understand that he is important to God, and that God loves him! I could really feel God's love for him, and for me, as I was teaching him the importance of repentance. God really loves each and every one of us!

On Thursday, there was another activity that we attended and we were able to leave a message about families. We showed a little church video called "Expressões de Amor" (Expressions of Love). It talks about couples who show their love for each other by doing nice things, leaving sweet notes, hugging each other, and doing fun things together. We related this to the family, and how, in order to have a happy family, we need to show our love for one another. We talked about 3 things that a family can do to be more happy. 

1. Center your family in the Gospel, daily. 

2. Forgive, sincerely and completely.

3. Express your Love for your family.

I shared a story that, whenever I would talk to my family on the phone, I would always end with, "Okay. I love you! Bye!". I did it so much, that it became a habit. When I would see my friends talk with their moms and their family, they never said "I love you! Bye!" and I thought that was so weird. I remember one time that I was talking to a friend on the phone, and I hung up saying "Okay! Love you! Bye!" It was awkward as anything, but it's funny to think about now. Through these simple gestures that say "hey, I love you!", our families will be strengthened and fortified. I heard a quote that went like this: "Love isn't one big thing. It's a bunch of little things" It's true. Every member of every family should feel like they are cherished and important. And it is through small and simple things that great things come to pass.

Anywho, I love you all so much! I had an amazing week and I hope you all have amazing weeks. Always choose the right, and live the Gospel daily. 

LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

Elder Hintze

"THERE'S A CHUPACABRA IN MY BACK"

Well hello people. This will be short, like strawberry cake, but my week was quite the adventures. 

On Monday, we went to a family night on the other side of the city with the Zone Leaders, and I left a message about feeling the Spirit. I took my tie off and put it around the eyes of one of the people and then I clapped rocks together and then I clapped sticks together. Everyone had to follow the sound of the sticks, but if they didn't focus, it was hard to notice the difference between the rocks and the sticks. I taught that sometimes, we have to focus a lot in order to hear the Spirit. And we need to be diligent and faithful to be able to have the Spirit with us. 

This week, we were searching an address that we got when we made contacts at the cemetery. We found a house with 2 guys named Mauro and Jefferson. When we got there, nobody was at home, but as we were leaving a guy walked us behind us. We asked him if he knew Jefferson or Mauro and he was like "Yeah. Come with me." So we started following him. We ended up in a field in the middle of nowhere, filled with horses. There was some sort of rock formation and some guys sitting on it. The mysterious man pointed to them but said nothing. We thanked him and went over and started talking to them. They were some cool guys and we started teaching them about the Restoration. In the middle of the lesson, Jefferson put his hand into his pocket and pulled out some green powder, wrapped up in a plastic bag. Then we realized...."oh my gosh. It's marijuana.". He rolled up a cigarette and started smoking in the middle of the lesson. It was crazy! Then, I forget what happened, but he suddenly disappeared, and then some other guy appeared and started listening to the lesson. I wanted to leave, but my companion didn't so I just let him teach. The other new guy who just showed up started speaking in Spanish to my companion and my companion would respond in Portuguese. But we later found out that this guy was having some serious problems and that he was really looking for a way to solve his problems. He was so happy that we had shown up in the middle of that crazy field because he had been searching for answers and actually had a question about the Book of Mormon. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and bore powerful testimony of its truthfulness. He felt the Spirit, I know it. We were able to help him, and we grabbed his number to call him so that we could mark an appointment later. It was cool to see that what was probably the strangest lesson I ever taught, was still a lesson accompanied by the Spirit to testify to one of God's children that he loves them. 

I have a crazy thing called "Hiperlordose Lombar" In English it's called "Lumbar Lordosis"  I'm BACKMAN. It's like BATMAN without the karate.

So my week was a little crazy, but it was awesome. I had some great experiences, and I'm so grateful for the things that I'm learning. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true! God loves each and every one of his children. Including you! I love you all so much and hope that you have amazing week!

LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Elder Hintze

WE'RE OUT OF RICE! WE'RE OUT OF RICE

Hello! So transfers happened this week. Annnddddd, I'll be staying here with Elder Mamani one more transfer! And Elder Pereira, one of my favorite companions, will be finishing his mission here in Alegrete too, so it'll be more flippin' sweet than acrobatic lollipops. 

Alright so my week. 

So after emailing last week, I spent my whole p-day with Elder McArthur at his house because he couldn't leave because of his sickness. It was pretty fun, actually. We watched church movies and talked about life in the confusing language of Portuginglish. He's all good now, but it was quite funny because when he got sick, the little hospital here in Alegrete gave an emergency training on how to treat Ebola because everyone thought he had Ebola. It was funny, because everyone thinks America is dying of Ebola. But I believe that that's not the case. 

Tuesday, we had district meeting, and I gave a training on why we need to have love. I gave everyone in my district a notebook paper and we all wrote our names on top. Then we passed it to the next person, and everyone wrote one thing that they loved about that person. At the end, we all read really uplifting things that people love about us. It was cool to see how everyone felt loved. Really, we can do everything the Lord wants us to do, but if we don't have love, it's not valid. Love is so crucial and so important. This week, I want you all to try showing your love to someone through an act of service or simply through a conversation. It will make their week, and your week. I promise.  

Wednesday, we stopped by Elder McArthur's house to see if he was better or needed anything. While we were talking to him and his companion, my crazy companion (and yes, he is very crazy) snuck off because he decided that he wanted to take a shower. So he randomly started taking a shower at their house. We ended up waiting a bit and he finally left. Well, while he was in the bathroom, he had decided that his hair was too big, and he, being crazy, decided to cut his hair by himself. He left the bathroom with a bunch of holes in his hair and the worst haircut you could ever have seen. So I borrowed a razor and scissors and did what I could do save the poor Peruvian. 

Thursday, was a talent show for the ward. It was flippin' sweet. The young men played and sang on guitar. The little kids played the Brazilian equivalent of "duck, duck, goose" as their presentation, and it was the most darling thing ever. I played and sang "Banana Pancakes" by Jack Johnson, and then I played Piano while another missionary sang "Eu Quero Ser Como Cristo" (I'm Trying to be Like Jesus). It was super dandy. And then we ate delicious hot dogs. 

Friday, there was gonna be a wedding, so we woke up early and went to the other chapel on the other side of the city to help set everything up. We spent the whole day at the church setting up, and then when the wedding started, we greeted people and served soda and cake. It was sweet. The wedding was an awesome experience because it's a less-active woman who is marrying her husband who isn't a member but is getting baptized next week. It was cool to see the unity and the happiness of the whole family after their wedding. They were really a family now, and now they are preparing to go to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity. What an amazing thing! God loves us so much that he has provided a way for us to live with our families for all eternity! How amazing! I'm so grateful for my family and temple ordinances that allow us to live eternally with our loved ones!

Saturday, was a "Helping Hands" service project at the church. It was an "Open Chapel" where a lot of businesses from the community presented information about their business. There were Barbers cutting hair for free, banks with completions to win t-shirts, blood donations, and other things like that. Us missionaries prepared one of the rooms with materials from the church to explain what the church has to offer, from missionary work, to the primary, to the relief society, to the youth programs, we talked all about everything and it was super awesome. We ran into a lady who speaks English who goes to Indiana every year to talk about cancer. It was kind of cool. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of people and train the members on how to talk to people and be better missionaries. It was quite a blast. Then, that night, I taught a piano class FULL of non-members, and one of them showed up at the church on Sunday! His name is Jorge and he has a huge interest in learning piano, and he shows up at the church every time it's open so that he can practice. And then he showed up at church, and LOVED it. It was awesome! We're gonna start working with him a lot more. He's awesome. 

Sunday was a relaxing day because my companion got sick, and then at night we visited a less active member who wants us to teach her son. It was cool and her son was so excited to get a new, hard-capped Book of Mormon. It was sweet. 

Well, this was my week. It was full of crazy adventures and pure awesomeness. I was also studying in the Book of Ether, chapter 12 this week, and I learned a whole lot about faith. I recommend that all of you read that chapter! I have very little time, so I'll tell ya'll what I learned next week, but just know that I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week full of awesomeness.

LOVE YOU ALL

ELDER HINTZE

THERE ARE NO STINGS ON ME

Well, hello people! How's it goinnnnn? So my week was quite the experience. 

Tuesday, after district meeting, we went to lunch on the other side of the city. And then the Zone leaders called and said they needed our help, so we walked back to the other side of the city to help them out and give them some materials. And then we walked back to the our side of the city, and by the time we got there, it was already pretty late. So it was a day full of walking and more walking. And it was hot...my goodness. But hey, walking ain't that bad. 

Wednesday, after lunch we met up with all the young men in the ward and went and visited some of the inactive youth all day. Afterwards, we all met up in the chapel and ate hamburgers. It was pretty delicious. 

Thursday, we got a call that Elder McArthur, one of our Zone Leaders had entered the emergency room because he was super sick. It was kind of scary so we said a prayer for him. Then, that night did another activity at the church and it was super sweet. Some skateboarders saw that the church gate was open and started skate boarding in the church parking lot during the activity. We didn't know, but one of the young men from the ward noticed and went out to talk to them. It ended up that everyone of them came in and participated in the activity and the message that we left. And they all liked it! It was super cool to see the young men in this ward reaching out to help the others. 

Friday, we didn't have lunch with a member, so we went down town to eat at a restaurant, but before lunch, we decided to visit Elder McArthur in the hospital. We bought him a little key chain thing, and then showed up at the hospital. Elder Nascimento, his companion, had stayed the whole night in the hospital without sleeping, so I offered to stay in his spot so that he could go home and sleep but he said no and that he was fine. As we were leaving, one of the members from the ward was outside and she was kind of sassy and told me to go back in there and make Elder Nascimento go home and sleep. So that's just what I did. And so I left my companion with Elder McArthur and went back with Elder Nascimento. I stayed with Elder Nascimento until Saturday morning REALLY early and then I went to stay with Elder McArthur in the hospital until Saturday night. So it was crazy. They thought he had some sort of rat virus but now he's better. He just can't leave his house. He had special permission to leave just to write emails to his family but then he has to rest all day at his house. So I'm going back to his house with him today so that Elder Nascimento can do his things  with Elder Mamani, my companion. It was crazy.

Sunday, we ate lunch at an investigators house after church. So this investigator is named Eliana and she is the mother of one of the most active youth in the ward. He's the only member in his family and he is awesome. But they found a box of kittens on the train tracks but Eliana ran and saved the kittens before they were hit by the train. Now she's raising a bunch of cats to give out but she's keeping one. And she decided she wants to name it "Hintze". So yep. There is a Brazilian cat named after me. 

Because Sunday was a special holiday where people visit the graves of their ancestors, after lunch, we went to the cemetery with some members and set up a table with materials about the plan of salvation. We sent all the youth into the cemetery with pass-along-cards, and they lead everyone to the table outside, and we talked to anyone who wanted to talk to us. We stayed there the whole day and talked to a lot of people. It was really cool to see people with soften hearts come to learn more about how they could be with their families forever. It was such an experience to share the gospel, something that I know is true, with people who need to know! It is amazing and I am so grateful for it!

I love this gospel so much! It is amazing and so true. Really, we can return to live with our families for eternity! We just need to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ so that we can. I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple, and that I have an eternal family. I love you all so much! CHOOSE THE RIGHT! It's the best thing you can do! Jesus Christ loves you all so much! I know it! I feel it every day!

Have a fantastically wonderful week of awesomeness and cool stuff. 

I LOVE YOU

Elder Hintze

I Miss the Northern Hemisphere

So October is getting hot. And Brazilian heat is horrible. My goodness. 

So this week was kind of slow because I had horrible allergies at the beginning of the week, that I couldn't be outside. So I ate a whole bunch of lemons and oranges and got better. Thank you mother nature. I also used a whole load of oils, so thank you my real mother, too. 

Alright. So my week. 

-Tuesday, I had horrible alergies, but we were going to do a family night at the bishop's son's house. So I put a scarf around my face to protect from all the crazy dust and walked an hour to his house. There's some news hear about ebola and everybody thinks that the US is in a zombie apocalypse or something, so I imagine that it was scary to see a sick american walking down the street with a scarf to cover his face. But we were able to arrive at the house without any problems. We taught an awesome lesson to his family. Two people that we are teaching also went, and we were able to teach them the importance of being an "uncommon person". As members of the Church, we are uncommon. Let's face it. We're not normal. Sometimes we need to stand up for what we believe in, and sometimes the right thing is not the cool thing. It reminded me of how when I played football and basketball with my friends, I didn't let them say bad words or talk about bad things. Yeah, it wasn't always easy to tell them to stop, but it was always worth it. We need to be uncommon!

-On Thursday, we had another activity at the church, and it was super fun. We did a little play. We told the story of Samson and Delilah, and then we told the story about what happened to Samsons cut hair afterwards. It was found thousands of years later by scientists and they started using it as a wig and got really strong. It was super funny and everybody loved it. Then we talked about the importance of helping our friends to find true happiness through the gospel. It was a fun activity and everybody liked it! Then we ate crackers. 

Me and my companion

-Saturday, I taught an English class, and then a Piano class afterwards, and a whole bunch of non-members were there, and it was awesome. This next week, we're gonna see if we can bring more people to the classes. 

-A brand new family from Uruguaiana moved into the ward. They are super awesome and super strong in the church, so they're going to help this ward out, a lot. And they know a lot of the families that I knew when I was in Uruguaiana, so it was cool to talk about the people that I loved with them. 

-Sunday, we found a super awesome family that already want to be baptized! So we marked them to be baptized on the 15th of November. I'll let you know more about them next week. They are AWESOME! And at church, my companion was able to recieve his Patriarchal Blessing, because there wasn't a patriarch in his Stake in Peru, but here theres a patriarch. It was pretty cool to see his face afterwards. He was so happy! It was cool. 

Well, I am really grateful that I'm here on a mission. I'm so grateful that I can serve these people who don't know about the Gospel or how to have true happiness. I am also so grateful that I was born into a family that has this happiness! I love you all so much and I hope you have a week full of awesomeness. 

LOVE YOU!

ELDER HINTZE

Crepes Refritas

HELLO! This week was quite fantastically great n' stuff like that!

I would like to start off my email with a special message to my new
nephew, CHARLES HOLDEN MICHAEL BEANS! I just want him to know that his
name is a sentence. Charles is holding Michael Beans. But also, I want
to welcome him into the world and let him know that he made a promise
with Heavenly Father that he would come to this earth, and follow the
example of Jesus Christ so that he can have eternal happiness with his
family. And now, it is our duty to help little Charlie on his path
back to his Heavenly Father. He started a journey and now we have the
responsibility to help him out. Good luck, little man. I love you!

So, Tuesday was Zone Conference. Normally, there are 3 zones that head
to a city on the border of Uruguay called Quarai, and we all meet up
there. But this conference was different. 4 other zones came here to
Alegrete and the conference was here. We didn't go to Quarai because,
guess what happened? That city was taken out of the Brazil Santa Maria
mission and put in the Uruguay mission. So now there is a part of
Brazil in the Uruguay mission. Kinda crazy. So President Parrela came
on Tuesday and gave an awesome training about how we need to start
teach about family history and temples more to our investigators so
that they can not only make covenants that bring happiness for
themselves, but that they can also help they ancestors make covenants
so that they can have eternal happiness as an eternal family. It's so
true! When we talk about how families can be made eternal through
baptism and temple ordinances, people recognize that it's true and
have more desire to make changes in their life to follow Jesus Christ.
The Gospel is an amazing thing!

Friends at Zone Conference

We also did a family night at the Bishop's house this week. The Bishop
of this ward is super awesome, and it's kind of sad because his 2
oldest children are inactive. The oldest daughter was strong in the
church but then got into a bad marriage and it lead her down the wrong
path. And then his oldest son entered into the military (which is a
requirement to be in the military for at least 1 year in Brazil) and
then he would go on a mission. But then some stuff happened and now
he's inactive. But we left a message at the family night this week,
and all of his family was there. We were able to talk about the
importance of obedience to the commandments, and the purpose of
families, and it was amazing. The Spirit was really strong and now
Douglas, the Bishops son, wants to have a family night with us at his
house. It was just another little miracle.

This week, I called everyone in my ward on a mission! I printed out a
bunch of fake mission calls with missions to all over the world...The
US, Portugal, Norway, China, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Canada ,
France...like everywhere. And then, I put them in envelopes and gave
them to the members. And then I brought my books of Mormon in in
German, Italian, French, English, and Spanish and then I wrote down
how to bear your testimony in each one of these languages, and then we
all went to the MTC with our new mission calls on Thursday. First, we
all learned the languages of our mission, and then we started to learn
how to be missionaries and talk to people to invite them to church and
church activities. It was pretty darn cool! And pretty effective. Now
everyone knows a little bit what it's like to receive a mission call.
I sure hope it helps the ward get more into mission work!

This week there was also some crazy wind and lightning storms. It was kind of crazy.

Well, I am so grateful to be here on a mission! It is amazing to see
the changes in so many peoples lives, including mine! The church
really is true, and the Lord really does love each and every one of
us. I love you all so much, and I hope you have a week full of
fantastic awesomeness.

LOVE YOU!!!

ELDER HINTZE

Tenho saudade de gravatas borboletas

Hey there, people. This week was sweeter than chocolate covered lollipops. 

I had to kick a dent in this guy's car

On Monday night until Wednesday morning, I was on exchanges with one of the Zone Leaders. It was pretty great. I learned a lot of things and it was a cool experience. Their area is super big, so we walked a whole bunch, golly goodness. But it's all good, because I like to walk. The coolest part was when Elder Nascimento, one of the Zone Leaders, made banana pancakes for breakfast. They don't have pancakes here in Brazil, so I sort of ate all of them with a chocolate spread, and it was an amazingly flavorful experience of awesomeness. 

Incredibly large tree system

When I got back to my area on Wednesday, my companion told me that Eliane had stopped smoking completely! WOOHOO! It was so awesome to see that she had made that change in her life! So what happened is that she was smoking 15-16 cigarettes a day and then on this exchange she told Elder Mamani that she hadn't smoked a single cigarette that day. Then we went back the next day, and she had smoked 2. So we asked her what time she finds it hardest to avoid smoking. She told us that it was normally in the morning when she woke up and was alone. So we woke up at 5:30 AM the next day to go visit her and study the scriptures together so that she wouldn't have the desire to smoke. We got there, and she started crying and told us that she didn't think we would come and visit her, but she was so grateful that we had come and hadn't given up on her. So we just chatted, studied the scriptures, and drank chimarrão. 

At the church with some fine people

Friday, we had a super cool experience. We had plans for 7 PM, and so we met up with Anderson (A 16 year old from the ward) to go visit someone. When we got there, she couldn't talk to us, so we went to visit plan B. She was sleeping. And Plan C also couldn't talk with us. So we were without anything to do and any ideas. We decided to go to the church and say a prayer to know where to go. We went into a quiet room, and all 3 of us got on our knees. I wanted Anderson to say the prayer so that he could have a cool experience with receiving answers to prayers, but he was a little scared to. Then I suggested that we all say a prayer out loud, one after another. I said a prayer, and then Anderson, and then Elder Mamani. During the prayer, the face of a sister in the ward who's husband is inactive appeared in my head. After the prayer, I said "I know where we're going". I said that I felt like we should visit Rosemere, and Anderson looked at me in shock and said "That was exactly the feeling that I had!" We went to visit her and her family. It was a great spiritual lesson, and then we played a quick game to get them laughing, and then we left. It was nothing out of the normal, but who knows why the Lord sent us there. Maybe Rosemere was struggling. Maybe they just needed to hear the message we left. Maybe Anderson just needed to have a cool missionary experience. I don't know why, but I trust that the Lord sent us there for a reason, and that whatever was done, was what the Lord wanted to be done. 

One of my favorite families. I'm on exchange with one of the Zone Leaders

I am so grateful to be a member of this church! This is the one and only true church, the same church that Jesus Christ established when he was here on the earth. Only through the ordinances and principles of the Gospel can we really return to our Heavenly Father to live with our families in eternal happiness.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEK!

ELDER HINTZE

The Lord speaks with Prophets today!

Well, might I say, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ, here, on the earth. 

Conference was amazing! I'm so grateful that I had the chance to hear the real Prophet of God testify of the the real gospel of Christ! So before I talk more about General Conference, I'll let you know a little bit about my week. 

So, Tuesday was Zone Meeting and it was pretty good. We broke up into districts to make goals about how we are going to increase the frequency of members at church on Sundays. We talked a lot about how we want each ward in the stake to have a "frequência" of 100 people at the end of 2 months. We made goals for what goal we wanted to fulfill every Sunday until the end of 2 months, and what we are going to do daily to reach that goal. It was pretty sweet. Normally, the "frequência" of the wards here are about 50-60 people every Sunday. It's kind of sad, but we're going to change some things here in Alegrete!

Also, Tuesday, it rained all day, and my companion didn't have an umbrella and I had a water proof jacket, so I let him use my umbrella. Even with the umbrella, we got soaking wet. We went and visited Eliane, and she wanted to give us dinner, but there was a meeting at the church that we had to attend. Right as we were about to leave her house Bishop called and told us the meeting was canceled because of the rain, so Eliane told us that we had no choice but to stay so that she could make us dinner. It's food and we're missionaries, so of course we didn't decline that. We also had the opportunity to stay and study in the Book of Mormon with her son, who was once addicted to drugs, but is now getting over it, working, and wanting to go to church. What a miracle!

Ward Party

Thursday, we did an activity at the church. It was super awesome. We did a play to demonstrate the parable of the seeds that were planted in rocks, thorns, and then good ground (. There was a prophet, 4 people, and the Devil. I was the Devil, and Elder Mamani was the prophet. He was preaching about faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. Little by little, as he was preaching, I would sneak up behind one of the 4 people and invite them to a party. The first one (who represented the seed that was thrown on the path and the birds ate), went to the party without thinking twice. Then, I went to the second person. He didn't want to go the party and wanted to listen to the prophet. So I ran to the other side of the room and changed my clothes. I then went behind him and tried a new method. I invited him to watch a soccer game. Then he gave up and went with me. He was the seed that was planted in the rocks and whose roots weren't that strong. The 3rd didn't want to go to a party, or watch a soccer game, but when I offered free food, he totally fell for it. He was the seed that was planted among the thorns. His roots were strong, but his company didn't strengthen him. The last one didn't want to party, watch soccer, and wasn't that interested in free food. Her only interest was to listen and heed the words of the prophet. She was the seed that was planted in good soil. It was cool to see how the ward understood the principles much better, and I think it prepared them a little better for conference. But always remember, plant your seeds in firm soil so that the devil doesn't tempt you. He will try many different ways, but if you are in firm soil, you want fall into his lies. 

Me as "The Devil"

General Conference was amazing! The Saturday Morning Session, I watched in English with all the Americans in the zone. It was amazing and I loved it. I really like D. Todd Christofferson's talk about free agency and accountability. Really, we are accountable for our actions, and we need to use our own agency to make the choices that lead to eternal happiness, like keeping the commandments, repenting, going to church every Sunday. Those little things are actually the bigger and most important things. After the first session, President Parrela sent a text to the Zone Leaders saying that nobody could watch Conference in English, even the new Americans that arrived this transfer and barely say anything. I don't know why, but it didn't really matter to me. It was an act of faith for Elder Hayes, an elder in my district in hasn't even been in Brazil for 3 weeks, and didn't understand anything, but we all watched it in Portuguese. I offered to translate for him, but he said he'd be fine. Before conference, I made a list of questions that I wanted to know about, and every single one of those questions was answered. And the ones that weren't answered, I received distinct feelings that I didn't need to know the answer in that moment, and that the answer would come at the right time. It was amazing! 

This one's for Cooper

On Sunday, a little miracle happened. We needed to watch conference at the Stake Center, and Elder Mamani and I were running a little bit late. The Stake Center is about 30 minutes from our house on feet, and we were just leaving the house 15 minutes before conference was going to start. And it was raining really hard. We started running, and then we happened to stop running right at a bus stop when a bus arrived. And guess what? The bus rides were free yesterday because it's election time here. So we got on the bus, and it happened to stop right in the front of the church, and we walked into the chapel, 10 minutes before conference started. It was super cool!

Isadora the Hipster

The last session of conference, Elder Lemos said that he was worried about Elder Hayes and asked if I would translate for him, so I did. Holy moly, translating is not easy, but for my first time, it went pretty well, and Elder Hayes understood. It's hard because conference is in English, and then it was being translated into Portuguese, but then I was translating back to English. So the conference that Elder Haye's heard might be a little different then the conference that everyone else heard. But the important thing was that the spirit was there. It was also an amazing experience to hear a talk in Portuguese, from the conference center, without translation! It was history and it was amazing! When the talk started in Portuguese, I didn't even notice that it was Portuguese until Elder Hayes asked me if I could translate. I just thought the translaters had stopped talking, but nope. It was actually Portuguese over the pulpit at the conference center. It was amazing to  hear it and to be part of that historical moment. I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for having the Prophet of God testify to us! I love the church!

The Church of Jesus Christ is here on the earth. I know it!

I love you all so much! I hope your week is amazing! 

Always remember the tools for peace in this life:

1. Pray

2. Read the Scriptures

3. Have family night

4. Go to the temple/prepare to go to the temple

Let's head the words of the Prophets. 

I LOVE YOU!!!!
Elder Hintze 

P.S. -Here's my thoughts about conference in Portuguese:

Sessão Sáb. de Manha. 

Eu gostei muito do discurso de Elder D. Todd Christofferson. Nos precisamos usar nosso livre arbítrio para tomar responsabilidade para nossas ações, e para escolher a fazer as coisas certas. Os mandamentos são bem claros, e precisamos usar este dom maravilhoso de livre arbítrio para escolher seguir estes mandamentos, e ser obedientes. 

Sessão Sáb. da Tarde. 

Antes da Conferência, eu tinha escrito a pergunta, "Como posso me preparar para ser o pai e marido que O Senhor quer que eu seja?". Eu recebi minha resposta durante esta sessão. Primeira, eu senti que eu preciso me casar com uma moça que tem as mesmas crenças que eu e os mesmos desejos que eu. Segundo, eu senti que eu preciso ser mais obediente ás regras da missão. Se eu consigo cumprir meu propósito como missionário, eu vou conseguir cumprir meu propósito como pai e marido no futuro. Também, eu preciso aprender os princípios do evangelho mais claramente, e saber como ensinar estes princípios para que possa ensinar aos meus filhos. 

Sessão Dom. de Manha. 

Eu estava assistindo, e eu senti um sentimento muito forte de que realmente, eu estava ouvindo os Profetas de Deus. Eu soube muito mais naquele momento porque nos temos profetas, a porque eles são importante. Eu recebi mais uma confirmação do Espírito Santo, talvez mais forte que eu já tive, que Deus chamou um profeta novamente aqui na Terra. É um sentimento maravilhoso. Eu sei que Thomas S. Monson e os Apóstolos são profetas de Deus.

Sessão Dom. da Tarde. 

Eu recebi uma outra resposta para uma pergunta que eu tinha. Eu queria saber o que eu posso fazer para ajudar minha família fortalecer os testemunhos deles. Eu aprendi que eu preciso ajudar eles orarem, leram as escrituras, fazerem noites familiares cada semana sem falta, e iram no templo com frequência. Eu vou falar para eles hoje para que possam começar agora.