Careço de Carlos

HELLO!

So the sad sad news of the day....I"M BEING TRANSFERRED! :(((( This was by far my favorite ward that I ever passed in and with my favorite companion, the Great Elder Chuman. The members were amazing, the work was hard but fun, and I made some amazing eternal friends. I'm so grateful that the Lord gave me this opportunity to serve here with these amazing people. What a bummer that it was just one transfer. It seriously breaks my heart. But the Lord is wiser than I am, so I trust that his plans are for the better.

I'm heading off to Uruguaiana, where I started my mission! I've already passed in 2 wards in this city, and this will be my 3rd ward there! I'll serve in the Ipiranga Ward. I'll be the Zone Leader there with Elder Aguiar. I don't know him yet, but I heard he is awesome (and a professional soccer player!) Pray a lot for me and my new calling. I'll be needing it.

So this last week was the baptism and confirmation of Maria Eduarda! It was such a spiritual experience and it was really cool to see the change in her! I'm grateful that I was able to be part of this amazing experience in her life. Afterwards, the bishop came up and thanked me. Apparently, about a year ago, she was going to be baptized, but the night before, she backed out. The missionaries had been trying that whole year to get her to start coming to church again and be baptized, but it just didn't work out. But then, Elder Chuman and I were able to help her and she was finally baptized. I believe that maybe I was called to serve here to help out Maria Eduarda! What a cool experience. Mom, when we return here in August or September, we are definitely visiting the members of this ward. They are all excited to meet you!

This week was amazing, but I can only thank our Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to be here and to have served here in the Parque Pinheiro Ward.

I love being here on a mission so much, and I'm so grateful for the Gospel.

I love you all so much!

ADIOS MUCHACHOS

ELDER HINTZE

Mde eruke juru ka.i!!!

HELLO!

Congratulations to my new baby cousin Adeline who was born in December! Woohoo!!!!! I didn't even know that Becky was pregnant and it's been a month since she's been born and I found out today! Kind of funny, but how awesome is that??? A NEW COUSIN! WOOT WOOT!!! But heads up, people. I still exist. 

Anywho...THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME! I'll write quickly.

So Monday, we went to the chapel and played volleyball. It was awesome but it was hot as anything, holy guacamole. Afterwards, we just went home and slept until p-day was over. It was a great p-day.

On Tuesday, in District Meeting, we talked about goals and how goals need to be part of our daily lives. A goal is when we make a commitment with ourselves, with plans to attain that commitment. In Preach My Gospel, it says that goals reflect the desires of our hearts. So when we live fulfilling goals, we live fulfilling the desires of our hearts, and this is when we can reach our potential. To be an effective goal, the plans need to be effective. An effective goal is
1. Measurable and can be measured by numbers
2. Specific
3. Associated with a specific date
4. Attainable
5. Wise (has celestial consequences)*

So everyone, listen up! This week, you're all going to make a goal, following this standard. Be neat and orderly as you write your goals. Put your goal in a place that you'll see it everyday. In every prayer, pray that Heavenly Father will help you to reach that goal. And remember, that your goal (and the measurable numbers associated with your goal) are accompanied daily, weekly, and monthly by yourself and someone of your choice. As you apply this specific standard of goal making, you'll be able to reach the desires of your hearts, and become the people that God wants you to be. Use your free agency to do this! It works, I know it!

After District Meeting, I went on a division with Elder Marin. Elde rMarin is from Paraguay and speaks fluent Guaraní, the language of the Indians there, (There's even a Book of Mormon in Guaraní!). He taught me some stuff, and now I'm practicing with him whenever I get the chance. It's AWESOME!!!!

On Wednesday, we taught an awesome English class! It went really well, but the day was kind of slow. 

On Thursday, we visited Maria Eduarda. Her mom had told us that she wouldn't be able to be baptized on the 24th. We decided to visit her and start her Personal Progress with her even though she wasn't baptized yet. We took one of the youth, Andrielli, with us. Shes 14 and she's already completed her Personal Progress! She just has to wait 4 more years to get her medallion! Andrielli was able to testify to Maria Eduarda and her mom the difference that Personal Progress made in her life. Because of Andrielli's testimony, Maria Eduarda's mom let her be baptized and she's going to get baptized this week!!!!!! What a miracle!!!! It was amazing. 

Friday was slow and rainy. 

Saturday, we bought a special cake as a surprise for the English class. We promised an amazing surprise to everyone that brought a friend, and a lot of people brought friends. It was awesome and amazing. 

SUNDAY WAS AWESOME!!!!! Sacrament Meeting was super spiritual and we were able to take 4 investigators to church. There was an amazing miracle with a less active but I'll have to tell you another time. Let's just say he hasn't been to church in 2 years. We visited him on Saturday and he said  he wouldn't be able to go to church. But on Sunday, he showed up!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome!!!!

Well, this was my week. I hope you all have a flippin' awesome week!!!!]



LOVE YOU!!!!!

*A wise goal:

I Flippin' Love Melancia

Hello People!

How's it going? This week was super cool. And I will tell you why.

So On Tuesday, we had a special training with the Assistants, and it was awesome. We talked a lot about teaching skills, and then about leadership. It was really uplifting and I learned a whole lot. I'm so grateful to be here on a mission, learning the skills and habits and spirituality that will help me for the rest of my life. It's amazing the things that you learn when you try hard.

On Wednesday, we visited an old investigator called Maria Eduardo. She's 14 and she was almost baptized a couple months ago, but gave up in the last moment. We visited her this week and we found out why. She had been worried about her immodest clothes and she felt uncomfortable in the front of the other girls. Then she told us that after she gave up, she started making more changes in her life. She through out all of her immodest clothes, and started to but new ones. And people started giving her new clothes as gifts too! When we visited her, she told us about the change that she made. We told her that this change is just the beginning of many changes that will help her to arrive at her home with Heavenly Father. We talked about repentance and baptism. and we invited her to be baptized on the 24th this month. She accepted! She started going to our English classes, and she went to church this last Sunday. She bought a new dress too, which is awesome because apparently she had never gone to church in a dress...just jeans and a t-shirt...So it's pretty cool the changes we can see that she's making so that she can be baptized. She started her personal progress already, and the members are all helping her out, so that makes me really happy!

On Thursday, I participated in the 2 most interesting baptismal interviews that I've ever done. One of the companionship's of sisters in my district are extremely hard workers, and they get work done. 2 weeks ago, they baptized a sweet old lady named Teresinha, about 76 years old. When I interviewed her for her baptism, I could see the difference that the Gospel made in her life, and she was truly prepared. She started telling all of her family, and this past week her boyfriend (who's 85) was baptized. He had been going to church with her every week, and he wanted to get baptized, so the sisters started teaching him. The problem was that he likes to talk a lot, and doesn't really have the ability to comprehend some things, as his age is getting to him. So when I interviewed him, I tried to make it a spiritual experience, but it really wasn't working. It turned into more of a "this guy needs to stop talking so I can see if he understands and keeps the commandments". It was quite funny, but you had to be there. The other interview is a story that will have to be told at home, as I will need to use many hand movements and facial gestures. But in the end, they were both qualified for baptism, and their baptisms went great. But it was quite the day. 

After the interviews, we went and visited Edson. He was with his daughter Laura again, so we had the opportunity to teach them together. But it was awesome because Edson told us that he had a dream that he was being baptised! He told us that the water was warm, which was interesting. He is being prepared by the Lord, which is super duper awesome! Pray for him!

On Friday, we did a family night at Carla's house. Which rocked.

Saturday, we taught English and piano classes, which were super cool. 

Sunday, 3 amazing miracles happened. We went to a members house who's wife isn't a member, and she taught me how to make a super awesome Brazilian food called Pastel. It was super awesome. On the way back home, we were running a little late, but a dog went after my companion. Then a little old lady was after the dog. She stopped the dog, and the started talking to us saying "Why did you guys never show up to drink chocolate milk with me??" We had never seen her in our lives, but she swore that she knew us. But we marked a day to return and drink chocolate milk and study the gospel! So lets hope it goes well! On the same road, another 2 people stopped us and marked return appointments. THIS IS NOT NORMAL PEOPLE. BUT IT IS AMAZING!!!! I love the blessings that the Lord always gives me. He loves me so much and I know that he loves each and every one of you.

Well, that was my week. I hope you all have an amazing week.

OH! There is also an awesome and interesting quote that I found in a book that I like...And it goes like this:

"Work is a spiritual need in the same way that it's an economic need." -Pres. Spencer W. Kimball. 

I LOVED this quote. We all need to work hard. And if we don't have a job, we need to get a job, so that we can work. WORK WORK WORK. It's a spiritual need people!

Alright, well, I love you all so much. Have a rockin' week.

ELDER HINTZE

afrodescendente com deficiência mental... a nega maluca

Olá gente! This week was rockin' like Mike's new band, Rocktopus.

So what happened....

Last week, I bought brand new shoes and went to McDonald's....Oh the comforts of a big city...I don't really like McDonald's, but I just had to.

But this week was wonderful...On Tuesday, I gave a training about fulfilling commitments and how it has something to do with our purpose as missionaries. I think I learned a lot more than my district about fulfilling commitments, because this last week, I applied all the things I taught to a higher degree than what I was doing before, and holy cow, the results were magnificent. Whenever a missionary works in the way that Preach My Gospel teaches, the work is so much more effective and successful. The General Authorities wrote Preach My Gospel. So really, whenever we do what the Prophet and Apostles say, everything works out, and we have an effective and successful life!

On Tuesday, I went on a division with the Zone Leaders. I went to their area and our goal was to close all the baptismal dates that were marked. We made plans of how we were going to do it, and how we were going to help their investigators. We were able to mark 2 baptismal dates, and now the Zone Leader's ward is going to have some awesome new members this coming month. It was a powerful division, and I'm grateful that I was able to help. I also learned so much with Elder Sol about being a more effective missionary. 

On Wednesday, we visited Edson. Edson is a man that was supposed to be baptized this coming Saturday, but he didn't go to church on Sunday. This week, we went and were helping him to prepare for his baptism and his daughter was there. We were able to converse with her and it was a powerful lesson. Edson is trying to stop drinking alcohol so that he can be baptized, and in the end, have a happy life. As we were accompanying his drinking, his daughter starting to teach him too! She started begging him to stop drinking. She noticed the sadness and unhappiness that he had in his life because of alcohol, and she started imploring him to stop drinking. It was a powerful help to the lesson. It was also New Years Ever, so we left him with the commitment to not drink that night. If he could prove to the Lord that he was able to not drink that night, he would be able to receive a more powerful remission of his sins, and be much more prepared to be baptized. It was an incredible lesson, and he was very committed. It was really sad to us when we returned on New Years Day to accompany him, and he had drunk the night before. We did all that we could, but every one has the gift of free agency. If we use it to be happy, or use it to be sad, that's our choice. But everyone has it. Please pray for Edson and Laura, his daughter!

There was a lot of rain here so it was a fun week. We taught English and piano classes on  Saturday, and it was super fun. 

We had a really cool experience this morning. There's a member here in Santa Maria who's having some problems in her marriage. I'll keep it short, but basically she and her husband are splitting up and it's being really hard on her. This morning, she called us and asked if we could pass by her house and give her a blessing. When we got there, her daughter was sleeping on the couch, and her son was playing with his action figures. It was a peaceful scene, but yet you could see that she was so sad inside. We sat down and talked about how to have a happy family, and how she never depended on her rude husband to be happy. It was interesting because this last week, I dreamed of her and her husband, and I was teaching them how to have a happy family. In the dream, I shared a special scripture that I love about keeping the commandments of God, and how when we keep the commandments, we're happy. (Mosiah 2:41). In the dream, I challenged her to go to the temple, which was something her husband didn't want to do (even though he is a member). When we arrived at her house this morning, I knew exactly what scripture I needed to share with her. I shared the same scripture with her and I told her that her happiness only depends on if she keeps the commandments or not. I challenged her to go to the temple, which is a commandment of the Lord, and she accepted. Now, she's preparing herself to be worthy to enter into the temple and I know that she'll be able to be more happy as she keeps the commandments. Before, she told me "I don't think God likes me very much"...when she said that I told her that of course God loves her! I told her about the dream and about how God prepared us to give her this blessing and that he cared about her so much that he sent his servant a dream. Now, she will be able to have a happy life as she leaves her husband behind, who was stopping her from progressing, and she'll be able to have a happy life in the Gospel, as she prepares herself to go to the temple and raises her children in the Gospel. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a vessel for the Lord to help her when she needed it the most. I love how our Heavenly Father cares about each one of us and how important we are to him! His ultimate goal is our personal happiness and the happiness of our families. But as we keep his commandments to the best of our abilities, God will bless us with miracles, peace, and happiness. I know this is true. 

I LOVE THE GOSPEL SO MUCH! God loves us and cares about each and every one of us. I hope every one knows that.

I love you all, and I hope your week is full of scripture study, family prayer, and hugs.

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!!!!!!

Elder Hintze