Sister Courtnee Wood - Life in the Pines......

Sister Wood holding what I think may be some sort of fish? Maybe Brother Reisbeck or Brother Webster can enlighten me on what exactly what this is. I'm just glad that I'm not eating it. Courtnee however will try anything. I mean, her Dad had her eating a pigeon once.

 

P-Day again... what in the world. Where is this time going? I am seriously going on my 6th week? I don't believe it.

I heard MY COUGS won this week, so I am going to start by saying that we were on a run one morning and I looked over and some random filipino was wearing a  BYU Quest football t-shirt! Hahaha it made my whole day. I love love loved it.

Last P-day my companion and I went and shopped around the centro, and usually we just get random cheap stuff we can use through out the week and we left that day and I went home with a Converse UK t shirt and a soccer ball. So I mean nothing much has really changed. Hahaha!

This week was a big milestone week because I had (for the first time) a filipino tell me I was MAGALING at TAGALOG!!! Which means I was good at Tagalog. I don't think I have ever smiled so big in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, it meant a lot. (even if she was just trying to be nice.) Because speaking of the language, we were in a lesson, and as I was talking, I started using SPANISH!!! Do not ask how spanish even came into my vocabulary hahaha. I was always so bad in spanish class too! But hey, it is what it is. Good thing they understood.

The animal situation here is crazy. The dogs and cats and chickens and what not. Like I said, they are everywhere. Not only that, but there are mixes that should not be mixes! For example, hound dogs with a wiener dogs body. I die laughing everytime. As well as the eyebrows that people paint on the stray dogs! Who does that?!?! Haha. And the other day we watched people pluck a chicken after killing it and then roast the whole body. I was freaked out by it, BUT. Why would I be freaked out by that? I would sit and pluck geese with my dad and watch him cut them open! And I still can remember how it smelled! How nasty is that hahaha. Oh I love you dad. :)

We haven't had water for 3 days and never did I understand how hard it would be without it! Gee wiz! But it is okay. Thank heaven we bought jug of water earlier this week. Gosh, how blessed are we back home? I think about it every day.

And MOM, when I was reading your letter from last week........lets just say I was walking around in the middle of the centro crying my eyes out! I love you and I love our family. :) The Lord has helped me get through so many of the hard and different things here. I don't know what I would do without his help. I owe it all to him.

Have an awesome week!
Love,
Sister Wood

I love her randomness!! I think she only sends these pictures for her Dad, although I do love seeing her smiling face!

"What!! I know these people." Courtnee was sooooo excited to see these two familiar faces all the way over in the Philippines. Cute Eliza and Willy, both good friends of hers.

Elder Xavier Stilson - A Growing Testimony and WIFE POINTS!

 

Elder Stilson & Sister Bezerra, the Mission Presidents Wife

It has been an amazing experience  being on the receiving end of a fast. I want to thank everyone for everything  that ya'll have done for me!! I had my endoscope done on Tuesday and they found  what they needed to find. The Gastrologist told my companion and the mission president’s  wife that they didn’t find anything. That they just removed out about 2 liters  of stomach acid and bile from my stomach. They finally sent over the results  from all of the tests to an American doctor who is serving in the São Paulo MTC  right now.  He was able to go over each  of them again. Well, come to find out, there were several problems with my  stomach. I have severe gastritis throughout my stomach. The American doctor  told me that my whole stomach was basically one giant ulcer.  The good part is that they found that it has already  started to heal! This is such a great blessing to me and I know that it is  because of the faith, fasting and prayers from my family and friends that made  this possible! If it hadn't started to get better, I know that I would be home  right now.  I am so grateful for the  blessing that allowed me to stay here in Brazil to continue to teach the gospel  to the amazing people here. I have had to fast for different things while I was  in Colorado and now being a recipient of the blessings... It truly is amazing!  So thank you all so much again!

Well Saturday was Brazil’s Independence  Day!! And all of the missionaries who were really close to the main island of  Vitória were in the Parade! It was really cool and an awesome experience to be  part of!  Right as the parade started...  It started to pour!!!! This was a kind of soaking wet that soaks you clear to  the bones.  Haha it was SO bad and very  wet! Not to worry, the parade went on.  Here  in Brazil the missionaries say that if you go through these kinds of trials it  adds up to “Wife Points”!! Meaning that our wives just keep getting better  looking every time we get soaked, have blisters, or any other trial that comes  our way! HEY my wife is going to be the BEST looking girl on the face of this  planet then!!!!! SCORE!!!!!;) Haha

We have been having problems with  our sewage. We live in the first level of a family’s home and it has totally  backed up in our laundry area.  It is  backed up from the sink and from the toilet!! Yep pretty much just super  nasty!! We noticed it on Sunday when our house smelled like POOP.  We tried to talk to sister about it but  nothing really happened and she just told us to talk to the owners of the  house. We tried talking to them every day but he was either sleeping, at work  or just busy. We finally couldn’t take it any more so on Saturday night and  woke him up and asked him to please come down and look at it. Well he had to go  shoulder deep into the sewer to try and get the pipes unclogged to take care of  it and so that we could have a normal smelling house again. Even this morning  it started to come back up again!! GAH! Give me a break??;) Haha WIFE POINTS!!

Well the next thing I want to talk  about is about the morons who tried to build a tower to get to Heaven...  Really... Did you not think that there was going to be consequences for trying  to get up there ... And now all of the missionaries who are sent to foreign lands  have to suffer due to their stupidity? THANKS! I really wish the language came  a little quicker and easier so that we could really focus on teaching.  Haha. No I am learning a little bit everyday!  I can understand every third word now;) Haha I can’t wait until I have been  here long enough that I can easily communicate with people here.  But for now I get to deal with another trial;)  “WIFE POINTS”

On Friday I had my first baptism  here in Brazil!! It was awesome because I got to baptize my Brazilian Mom!!!  Her name is Regina and she pulled an awesome surprise on her daughter Fernanda!  Fernanda just turned 20 on Friday and really wanted to be baptized on her birthday,  but she really wanted her mom to be baptized with her! Well, Regina yelled at  her and told her no, that she wasn’t ready! But to Fernanda’s surprise when we  got to the baptism, Fernanda was ready and waiting for it to begin and right  before the meeting started, Regina and I walked in dressed in white all ready  to have 2 baptisms!! It was such a cool experience!

Well that was how my week went!:) A lot  of crazy and a lot of amazing as well! Well I love you all and hope to hear  from you soon!!

Eu amo voces!!

Amor,

Elder Stilson

The missionaries with Regina & Fernanda at the Surprise Baptism

 

The Vitoria Missionaries that marched in the Brazil Independence Day Parade

 

 

 

Elder Zach Taylor - September 2-8

Elder Zach Taylor

This week was a lot better than last. I think I¨m just still adjusting to it here. We had a pretty good week as far as teaching goes.. we had one investigator come to church! Although he didn´t like it because that day they happened to not use the Bible very much.. hopefully things will get better with him. On Friday, I had two women start breast feeding their babies in front of me.. so that was a new experience.. haha. Also, on Wednesday night we went to the ward night thing and the primary presidency asked me if I would accompany them for the primary program. So on Sunday I played the piano for all the kids in Sacrament meeting! It was pretty cool. The kids here are exactly like the ones at home.. they just speak Spanish...haha. They all yell the words and try to be the loudest singer.. I couldn´t help laughing to myself a few times while I was playing. The mom´s were all trying to settle them down.. it´s just funny.. we´re all the same no matter where we go in the world haha. Also on Wednesday, I played a couple songs I had memorized from home like Jon Schmidt and Prelude in C sharp Minor and Maple Leaf Rag. The little kids thought it was amazing. I felt really appreciated..it was great. I also figured out I´m 2 meters 7 centimeters tall! Apparently it´s really crazy to be above 2 meters. We ate dinner with a member family last night, and I learned a way better way to eat an orange! They just cut off the skin, then cut a little hole in the top and suck the juice out of it. Genius! It´s a lot of hard work here, but it´s things like that that make you think about what you were excited for before. I hope we can progress all the people we´re teaching this week. It made me so happy to see that that guy (whose name is Marcos) come to church! You just have to find the little things that make you happy. I¨m learning a lot of patience here too.. I just want people to accept what we teach!!! haha I¨m sure it´ll come with work. Well, that´s pretty much the extent of my week this week. Adios!

Elder Taylor

 

 

Elder Jake Kruitbosch - Temple Transfer

Me and Elder Phillips - one of my favorite Elder's. He is so funny!

 

 

Well this last week has been a quick one. We had exchanges and a temple day!! Temple transfers are the best!

So every Tuesday so far we have had an exchange. I went with Elder Middleton to his area this last Tuesday. Elder Middleton is from SLC and has been out a month.

Thursday was our temple trip. We go once every other transfer. It was so good! Best time so far! We went to the Oakland temple this time and it was such a great day.

Saturday we had a ward baptism that me and Elder Call had to fill up the font for. So we got there 2 hours before because it takes an hour and a half to fill up. We plugged the drain and turned on the Hot water valve and... nothing. IT was broke. So we turned the cold water vavle on half way and then had to leave cus we had planned to do some service for some new members that moved in and asked us to help. We went over there expecting to move a few boxes. 30 min later of heavy labor our shirts sticking to our sweaty body we finished moving boxes full of books up their 30 stairs to the second floor. :) then we went back to the church it having been 45 min out of the 1 and half hours its supposed to take and the font was VERY FULL too full for an 8 year old girl... haha it was a great day! but luckily it all drained down to the right level by the time that the baptism started. AND then we had two of our investigators come to the baptism. Armondo, and Lori. SO it turned out alright.

Sunday, was a great day and normal.

Love,

Elder Kruitbosch

Napa Zone at the temple

 Me and Elder Johnson at the temple again. We were brothers in the Pre-existence

Elder Christian Tanner - Hej Familj

Elder Christian Tanner

 

 

It was a busy day week, we went to the church and just cleaned the baptismal font really really well. It stunk quite bad and the windows were dirty and it was kinda yellow in the font. We want it to be ready and looking nice for whenever we take investigators on a tour. And, it was kinda fun actually. I had a good time and it felt good, like service always does. We met with a few members in the afternoon as well.

  We also had to go and meet with the bishop again to check out another appartment. Turns out it is right by the beach! What a lucky couple.... haha. That is, if they decide to go with this appartment. We just spent going around talking with people and going to appointments. Are you ready for the best story of the week? Good! Sooooo, Im going to start a new paragraph.

Do you remember Jens, the guy that we met our 2nd week in Halmstad? The one who took us out by the feild and river next to the library? Well, I don't remember if I described him that well. But, he was the kind of guy who had the biggest attitude out there. As far as he was concerned, he was the biggest thing out there. No one could bring him down (mentally, that is). Whenever we talked to him, he just went off on his God and wouldn't listen to us. We have seen him around a few times and we always say hi. But, today on Saturday, as we were in the library looking for apartments online, he was on the computer next to us. He looked totally different! His hair was cut different and he was actually wearing nice clothes. We ended up finishing the same time he did so we walked with him into town. Also they way, we could just tell that he was different. He seemed really sad and down and just... not good. We asked him "Are you happy?" he said (and I am editing this because he uses...big words. and he talks in English with us and actually, he has amazing English) "Nah man. I am just down in the dumps. I have never felt this low before because I am so used to being on top and the biggest." then he turns to us and says "are you two happy?" Millsap said "yes" and... I had to think about it. I mean, this past 3 months has been the hardest of my life! I have had soooo many trails and so many times I was just gonna give up. But as I thought about it, I am happy. I am in SWEDEN! Its where my mom is from .I'm learning her language. I am serving the Lord. There really isn't much to not be happy about. So I said "yes, I am very happy." He looked at us like... what are you doing to be happy... type look. So we're like "hey! do you want to go to church with us on Sunday? it starts at 10 and its up by the cemetery." Now, his old self would have started cussing up a storm and would have declined the invitation in the harshest way possible. But he said YES! Ha-ha. Talk about a great way to end the day!!

 

As we got to the church on Sunday I was started to get nervous/excited. I was like... "I wonder if he is really going to show up,,," Sure enough about 10 minutes before church started he comes walking down the street!! I was like YESSSSS! and ran over to Millsap and I'm like "JENS is here!" and we ran up to the door to greet him. Almost all of the members walked right up to him and introduced themselves. When he met Bishop, he showed a lot of respect for his "position" in the church. It was fast and testimony meeting too, which just made it even better!! I was the last one to bear my testimony which was good I think for Jens. After the block, we walked with Jens outside to so he could smoke. We asked him how he felt during sacrament. And he was like "I cant describe it. I don't know how. It was like... a very dense feeling. it wasn't heavy, but very dense. How do you describe a feeling you haven't felt before? it cant really be done." So we're like "that's the Holy Ghost you felt. Do you know what they job of the Holy Ghost is?" And he said "To make you feel good." (or something to that effect) and we said "yeah... that's right. It also testifies of truth. it lets you know that everything you just heard is true." And he was just deep in thought. He said something like "This is not something I am going to take lightly. This is a big decision." He already knows how big of a decision is. We probably wont even have to ask this guy to get baptized. He'probably will just be like "Im ready" and we'll go do it. He is sooo smart. He really is very well educated about many religions. Of course, we will ask him to get baptized if need be. But I really don't think we will have to . He already knows he'll join if it is true. So, while we are outside talking to him, a car shows. up. I'm like... "who is that?" so we go over and see who its is. I bet you cant even guess. ITS TONY! THE ASIAN GUY! I was so confused! Well, we walk back in with Jens and Tony with us. Jose (first counselor... the guy who helped while i was sick), he walked out of the chapel and saw yet another investigator in church. And I promise you, his face lit up like a child on Christmas Morning. It just made me sooo happy and it was a testimony builder to me. This is THE true Gospel! I don't know ANYTHING else that can make people so happy. There is nothing! I was just so full of happiness and I just felt the spirit almost like never before. It turned out to me just amazing. We are meeting with Jens again tomorrow to talk more. And we are meeting with Tony later this week also.

 So after church we went to the Bishops house for dinner. We had some amazing chicken and potatoes. ( I REALLY miss home cooked food that is good like that!) And for dessert we had a really really good chocolate banana bread. We had a good, happy evening.

 

 I also talked to Tina (Jose's wife). She is a nurse. My right tonsil is still swollen and hasn't gone down. She told me that the antibiotics helped, but it probably didn't kill the disease. Since it didn't kill it, it is learning how to become immune to antibiotics. If I start to hurt again, she said to take the antibiotics again but increase the dose amount to hopefully kill it all the way. If that doesn't work, I need to go to a hospital. There, they would probably determine a better and/or stronger medication I need to take or I suppose if I need to get my tonsils removed. And, if a white bump(s) appear anywhere on my skin or anymore in my mouth, she said to go to the hospital right away and don't wait. It could be really dangerous otherwise. She said the chances of that happening are quite low. It doesn't usually happen, but if it does. But she doesn't expect it to get too much worse.

 See ya round!

Äldste Tanner

 

 

 

Elder Jake Kruitbosch - Santa Rosa California Mission

 

 



Beautiful Napa

Elder Jake Kruitbosch is serving in the Santa Rosa California mission.  He left for the MTC on May 1, 2013, just a little over 5 weeks after he got his mission call!  The day after they arrived in the MTC, he was called to be a Zone Leader.  He left for California on May 14, 2013 and his first area was in Arcata.  He has LOVED his mission so far and he bumped into Scott and Angela Tanner from Stone Creek ward while they were in California on a vacation!  Here's the latest letter update from his mission:

 

 

Well, its been a good week. We have been teaching those in Napa and across the Globe. I have realized how easy it is to just teach lessons. When you go into a new area you have fresh perspective and now how to strengthen but after a while it's easy to just teach lessons not really thinking ultimately of what you want to happen. During ward council, the members talked about different things that could happen with our investigators and I was totally refreshed! I remembered we aren't there to just teach them every week but to HELP them to Progress towards CHRIST.  We should be trying to help people gain desire and faith and want to succeed and rely on the Gospel!

It was eye opening I don't know why but I just felt like I had gotten so buried into the work that I forgot to look up, take a breath, and look where I'm going.

Facebook missionary work sounds like a joke to most of you I'm sure but, I have a testimony of it. We have been able to teach 3 SOLID lessons this last week. On: faith, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end (the Gospel). And I'm having conversations with friends! about the Gospel. It's been like building a bridge back to my life before the mission and realizing that it's no different than when I'm out here!

haha its been a very enlightening week. Napa is slowly but surely coming along. Holly has a baptismal date that will be pushed back slightly and Lori knows she needs to be baptized, so it's a coming! It's hard though also, as a missionary there are those that push baptism on people and they get those numbers, but most of the time they go Less Active right after. And sometimes I just want to push people into the font haha :) but Jesus Christ will never push us, he has always led and helped pull us but never pushed. So all I can do is listen to people the best I can help them feel comfortable and support them in their decisions.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to be out here. I have grown in faith so much. I love God and he's there for each of us. We just have to be willing to let him help us. I KNOW that God lives. And that he wants us all to be happy in this life, and happiness comes from living as close as you can to the example Jesus Christ provided for us. I love the Lord.

Love,

Elder Kruitbosch

 

 It was a Miracle!! I got 3min exactly on our 3 min practice!!

(it's also a sign of a good day and that day we got our iPads)

 

Beautiful Napa

 

 

Elder Zach Taylor - September 2nd Update

Elder Taylor

 

Hello!

Well... this week has been really hard, I´m not gonna lie. Fun, but hard. It was quite an adventure to try to even get to our mission. We left Tuesday morning, and rode a bus to the front runner, which took us to the airport. We rode the airplane from Salt lake to Dallas, and then from Dallas to Miami, and then from there to Asuncion, Paraguay. I met someone on the plane from Dallas to Miami that I gave a Book of Mormon to, and she told me she´s pretty excited to read it! But anyway, when we got to Asuncion, we didn´t have any idea what we were supposed to do... We ended up having to pay for a visa to Paraguay to even get out of the airport. Some random member showed up and took us on a bus to this random church where we met missionaries from the Asuncion  mission. They didn´t even know what to do with us.. we went and got to see the temple in Asuncion while they tried to reimburse us for the visas. That took most of the day, then we had to get on a bus which was 6 hours long to Posadas. There we met the mission president and the missionaries working in the office. We stayed in the mission home over night and then did interviews and stuff in the morning. We then left there and had to cross the border back into Paraguay to meet our companions. Apparently we can´t serve in Argentina right now because of our visas, so I´m currently in a city in Paraguay named Ciudad del Este. The first day of actually teaching was really hard... I didn´t know what I was doing. My companion is from Peru and doesn´t speak any English, but that´s not really the problem. The people we try to teach speak way fast, and since we´re so close to Brazil some of them speak Portugese, not Spanish. My companion can understand, and so I just feel like I just sit there. It´s kinda not fun... but the ward here is really nice! I like the people in it. I´m hoping we can become closer to them so we can get referrals because just walking around in the heat all day is not very fun... or productive. We had 4 people tell us they´d come to church, but none of them did. Is it supposed to be like this? I feel lost.. I hope this week is better .Sunday was my favorite so far. I did bear my testimony and I play piano in sacrament meeting since no one else can. I´m really worried about the non members here though.. I just feel like I can´t do anythinig to help them. I¨m going to go with a good attitude though! Even if people tell us they´ll do stuff and don´t.. I just want to help change someone's life! The mission is a ton harder than I thought it would be.. it´s going to take a lot of work to get these people to actually listen to us. There was one lady we tried teaching, but she just kept interrupting us and she told us some story about how she almost got killed by a guy with a machete but since she believed in god she was saved... whatever. People are crazy haha. The days are really long.. but I´m  hoping I get more used to it. It´s kind of annoying because EVERYONE here rides a motorcycle. It´s so loud. And the streets are basically just a bunch of jagged rocks covered in dirt. haha it´s quite the change! I´m excited to serve, I just need to figure out how that´s done. My companion didn´t seem to learn much about teaching people, not lessons. He pretty much says the same thing every time. Maybe I could teach him something. Well, that´s pretty much it for this week! Pretty much the most confusing week of my life... it´ll get better though. Adios!

Elder Taylor