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