2/7/2011

So we went to a members house this week and they have like a little farm in the middle of the city,
and this is the 1st peacock that ive ever seen in person!

Up close with the zoom action!

This is about as close as I got to the geese.
The guy said they are mad and they like to bite!

This is a part of Jardim Simus at sunset.

This one was a gutter ball.

Hey Everyone!

This week was so sweet! We are having so many miracles happen! So we have been working alot with the members because this is an area pretty well-off financially. So knocking doors doesn't work very well. So we decided to put into practice a sweet program that I had heard about. And its working so well. So we asked the bishop to pray and choose a family in the ward for us to work with. Then we work just with this one family. We went there and gave a super spiritual lesson and then while the spirit was there, they wrote down the names of EVERYONE that they know that isn't a member. Then we prayed and they picked a way to talk to each of these people about the church (ex: invite to church, give book of Mormon, give an Ensign, Family Night, etc...) Well this family that we are working with are so excited and brought a bunch of friends to church this past Sunday. We also had a couple of people that other members introduced us to at church. It was so awesome! We had 12 investigators at church on Sunday... So there are 4 families where the parents need to get married 1st, but there are also like 5 people that should be ready to be baptized in the next 2 or 3 weeks if everything goes as planned. Its so crazy! The whole ward is getting excited now about doing missionary work!

This week I found out that there is a bowling alley in our area!!!!!!! So we went bowling today for PDAY! It was the worst 2 games that I've ever bowled in my life, but it was so fun. Its amazing how out of practice you can get after 1 year and 7 months. But it was a blast, then we went to Burger King. And the guy at the cash register hooked us up! So usually for 2 people its about 42 reais. But he gave us a huge discount and it was only 25! So right about now I'm one happy camper!

That's about it for this week!
Love,
Elder Schoen

1/31/2011

This is our chapel.

Me and my companion today...
Yes, I know, I need a hair cut. The barber shop was closed today :(

Hey Everyone,

Well its extremely hot. I'm sweating so bad right now, and its really hard to concentrate. I've lost 4 pounds in the past 10 days since I've gotten here. But its a good thing because I've slowly been gaining weight since I got here on the mission.

This week was really, really awesome. We found 2 families, where one of the parents is a less active member of the church, and the other parent isn't a member. And both of the families have children that need to be baptized! The only thing is that both of the families need to get married first. So we are trying to help them get the money to get married, and get everything all planned out.

So these past couple weeks I've been reading the Book of Mormon alot. During our study time, and during any down time that we have during the day. I'm getting towards the end already, probably this week I will finish the book. But this has been an incredible experience reading it again. I know for a fact that this book is true. It brings me so much happiness in my life, and Its amazing to see how it moves the lives of all the people that start reading it and applying the things that they learn in their lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a member of the Only True Church on the Earth. The original church that Jesus Christ established when he was here on the earth was restored, along with all the authority, ordinances, and teachings. I'm so grateful to know that my family is going to be together forever. Every day that I read the Book of Mormon my testimony of these things grows. I'm so grateful that I can share these truths with other people and help them change their lives. I love being a missionary!!!

Thanks for all the love and support!
Elder Schoen