11/11/24 - Opa

Once again we were not robbed this week.

This week has been fairly slow. 

My português is getting a lot better.  These last few days i have actually been able to understand a lot of people or get the jist( or gist, I don't know how it's spelled) of what they were saying. And I was able to respond and communicate well enough.

Yesterday we nocked at the wrong house and the people who opened the door are members who haven't been to church in a while.  The reason they haven't been to church is their 5 year old daughter.  While we were there she was literally bouncing off the walls.  It was so funny, they could not get her to hold still. She was jumping on our feet, stealing our tags, grabbing some of our stuff. We thought it was really funny so we were fine with it, but the parents kept telling her to stop but she wouldn't listen.  Hopefully we can help them come to church.

We taught Michael a few times this week and he came to church on Sunday.  He is progressing! During one of out lessons with him near the end I was bearing my testimony and I accidentally said that do not have the physical ability to poop.  Luckily he didn't hear the last word cause I said it quietly and my comp was able to correct me, but it was funny. 

Mormon 8:5 

I am alone. My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go; and how long the Lord will suffer that I may live I know not.

The faith that Moroni had is incredible.  He was all alone but he had the Lord by his side too.  So whenever your feeling alone, just remember that Jesus is walking right beside you. He knows how you feel and he wants to help you. Lean on him.  Let him help you. 

Have an amazing week. Amo vocês.

Elder Bliss

PS. Thank you everyone who has sent me an email, I love hearing from you. And sorry if I havent responded, I'm trying to get better at that.

PPS. Here's the google photos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8

A funny sign

A chocolate filled churro.  It was really good.

This dog has the longest hair I've ever seen on a dog, and the owner doesn't plan on cutting it.  The dog also looks like an Ewok from Star Wars.

An Ewok for reference.

Giant bar of chocolate

11/4/24 - One more week down

Again this week there has been no robberies.

Time is flying by, there's only two more weeks in the transfer.

I don't remember most of what has happened this week, but I do remember a few times that I thought " I really need to put this in my email." What all those things, I don't remember, so I'll post some things I do remember.

Português: 

Pretty much every time we talk to someone I have no idea what is happening.  I can talk a bit, but I can't comprehend most of everything. I can kind of pick up what people are saying as soon as soon as they start talking about me. It's pretty much always the same thing, "How long has he been in Brazil?" And, "Does he understand português?"  I have been trying to talk to the natives more, and it has turned in to me asking people to do stuff for me instead of what I was wanting to say, can I do this thing.  At someone's house I wanted to ask if I should close the door, "Posso fechar a porta?" but it turned into "Can you close the door?" "Pode fechar a porta?" And at a members house I wanted to ask if I could fill up my waterbottle but instead I asked if he could fill up my waterbottle.

I did my first street contacts this week! It's kinda fun.  The second person I talked to is super cool.  His name is Michael. He's seems super interested.  We had a follow-up lesson the day after (I think) and he is super into music.  He produces his own music. He's got 2 or 3 synths a guitar, and a KEYTAR!! It's so cool!! After the lesson he started playing it for us.  It is so cool and he is crazy good at it.  I'm going to ask next time we meet with him if I can take a video.

We had the ward Christmas party this week! It was very different to the states. It was a barbecue and pool party.  The food was really good.  

We invited a ton of people to church this week, but sadly only one person came. 

Church history is super interesting.  There is so many crazy little things that happened to restore Christ's church on the Earth.  From a volcano on the other side of the world to an "unusual excitment on the subject of religion".  God is in the details because it is through the details that the end comes to pass.  There are so many little tiny things that make up who we are, how our day went, how our week went and then it just expands from there.  So make those little moments count.  Make the right tiny decision.  Our whole life is built apon those tiny moments, those tiny decisions. 

Have a good week and make it the best week of all.

Vai com Deus 

Elder Bliss

Here's the Google photos

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8

Morning picture.  I have a hat.

Elder Graham in front.  Left to right:  Elder Wright, me, Elder Beaumont.

Morning picture. I have a hat again.

A little possum we found on the street.

The gross granulated milk stuff I talked about in my last email.

10/28/24 - Most of the food here is really good

This week has been mostly chill, with no more robberies. I have had a few interesting food experiences.

First was at Edilena's house.  We brought her a coffee supplement so she could keep the Word of Wisdom, and she made us a cup of it, along with some tapioca thing(I don't know what it's called) but it's pretty much pure tapioca heated up in a pan like a tortilla, and then you put bitter on it and eat it.  I would not be a coffee drinker.  I very much dislike the flavor of coffee.  And that tapioca stuff has the texture of soft rubber, at least it didn't taste terrible too.  It was one of the worst meals here, which ironic because it wasn't really a meal. 

The next one was also at Edilena's house the very next day.  We got there towards where dinner time would be, If we ate dinner. And she asks us if we can stay for dinner.  We tell her sorry, and that we have other people to meet.  So she tells us to cancel those and starts making us dinner.  We helped out a little we made the salad and ran to the store down the road for some Coke. She's a great cook.  She whipped us up a full meal in 40 min, with rice, beans, pasta, salad(that we helped with), and some cooked sausage.  It was some really good food. 

Another food story is Sunday night.  We were at a media references house teaching our first lesson with them.  After the lesson they bring us to there table and start bring out snacks.  They were all pretty good, bot the best, but not horrible.  And then they bring out this stuff that translates to granulated milk.  They started filling a cup for both me and Elder Beaumont.  That stuff is the texture of really dry small cheese curds, in this sauce with a slight sweet flavor, I have never tasted anything like it.  I almost threw up after a few bites.  And then after they gave us the rest of the bottle, I will not be eating any more of that stuff. 

Also, I take back my statement that flaun is terrible.  We ate at a members house Sunday for lunch and they had made flaun, but it was made different. It was really good and I would have gladly gotten more than I did.  So, flaun can be good depending on how it's made.

This week I have been studying more family history stuff.  It's so amazing to see the stuff my ancestors have done and the people that they were.  And the connections to different parts of the world that I have.  The past is the best place to learn about the future. I invite you to find out more about you family and your ancestors to figure out your future.  

God loves you.  Christ loves you.  You can always find peace in Christ and he will he'll you through all your struggles in life.

Sorry this emails late, I like procrastinating.

Have a good week,

Elder Blissy Bb

Here's the Google photos, I'll try to get better at adding more pictures and start adding labels to the pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8

Puttin on the armor of God I see - his sister, Kylie

A cool picture from a hill of a favela

Aranha

10/21/24 - Gotta love São Paulo

This week has been wild! There has been so many crazy experiences, so I'll tell you about the most memorable ones and I'll save the best for last.

On Friday we got to go to one of the schools here and help them with family search and teach a couple english classes.  One kid that I helped knows said his teacher said that he was the best English speaker in the class. We had a pretty good conversation, his English is very good, and he told me about school in Brazil. Let's just say, I'm very glad I did school in the US. School here lasts 10 hours and there's a lot of violence in the school.  The school looks like a prison.  

Thursday night me and my comp, Elder Beaumont, went to buy light bulbs for our apartment. We went to a store he knew but it was closed, so we asked a guy on the street if he knew where we could get some. Then a drunk dude came up and started leading us to the light bulbs. We walked to the big store near our apartment and went in, all the while this drunk dude was telling everyone we passed we were foreigners.  To give him some credit, he did lead us to light bulbs and then he spent 20 minutes telling us what light bulbs we should get, even though it wasn't what we needed, and then he got mad at us for not buying him anything and not giving him money, which he would have used to get drugs. One thing he said was, "you brought me all the way here and won't buy me anything!" Which we shut down really quick, he brought us there. He eventually walked off and we were able to buy our light bulbs and get out of there before he found us again. The whole situation was pretty funny.

It's like Thanksgiving almost every time we eat with members.  Yesterday we ate lunch with a member and they just kept bringing out more food.  I was pretty stuffed from the first dish of rice beans lasagna and chicken then they brought out dessert and then they brought out a bowl of fruit.  It was pretty good, but I was about to burst at the end.  Also, I found out I very much dislike flan. 

Our pesquisadora, Endilena, has a baptism date! 

Now for the big reveal.  The best story of the week.  *drum roll*  I got robbed! That's right, I didn't make it 10 days in Brazil before getting robbed. We were doing our usual media references on Friday, we had stopped for a bit to figure out where we were going next and to make a call. We were about to start walking and then two guys pulled up on a moto.  The guy on the back had a little revolver.  He pointed it at Elder Beaumont and started yelling "me-dá celular!" So Elder Beaumont just handed him his phone.  Then he pointed it at me.  I was kinda in shock and didn't understand what he was saying because at this point he was swearing at me a ton.  I heard the the word Celular so I handed him my Phone and they drove off. While they we driving off the dude shot the revolver in the air, because why not.  But it did show us that the revolver was loaded.  As my companion likes to say, It was more embarrassing than anything.  It was a tiny gun.  Also something he told me is that everyone hates the people who rob on motos.  It is very rare for them to have a gun.  My comp, who's been here a year has never been robbed, so I don't know if I'm unlucky or just look really robbable, but it's a fun story.

This week I've been reading out of the Pearl of Great Price.  It's so interesting to me that the same church we have today is the same church they had in ancient Egypt and all around the ancient world.  But like the scriptures say, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The true church on the Earth is going to be the same always.  

Elder Bliss

Thanks for all the emails, I love hearing from you all. 

Here's my Google photos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8

A cool sunset

Brazilian barbecue with the zone

Brazilian Barbecue with the zone

A cool photo I got

10/14/24 - Muitos morros

I'm finally here in Brazil! I never thought this day would get here so soon!  It is definitely not the US.  There's so many things different I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start with one of the first things I noticed.

The people drive crazy here. They'll use as much of the road as possible. And they'll pass wherever they want. And the motos(motorcycles) will just pass all the traffic honking the whole way to let people know they're there.  It's kinda of scary being in cars and busses here.

The food here is really good.  We have mostly had rice and beans, but they are really good, different than in the US.  We've had a couple lunches with members and we had pancakes, which are very different. They arn't the flat sweet bread with syrup, they are more of a crepe with meat in them.  They are really good. Also they've got stuffed crust pizza here! But it's not normal stuffed crust.  It's stuffed with chocolate.  Milk chocolate or white chocolate.  I'm not sure I like it yet, but it's not bad weirdly enough. 

Comparing the prices to the US is crazy, cause of how cheep everything is in comparison.  I bought groceries today for the week for 60 reais, which sounds like alot but it's only 12 US dollars. And a restaurant here was 12 reais for food with is just over 2 dollars.  

We have so many morros(hills) in my area. It makes walking around really "fun".  And the houses are all fenced in so we clap to get the people inside the houses attention. There are a tin of stray dogs here, and with those come dog poop everywhere.  You have to constantly watch the street while you're walking around the streets.  

We went to one of our friend's church yesterday and it was very very different from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Alot of the time they were singing karaoke Christian Rock (in Português of course) and they were yelling "Aleluia!!" and "Gloria Jesus!!"  It was very interesting.  But it was also interesting because the spirit was there for part of it like the scriptures say, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.   Some of the stuff they were preaching was true so the spirit was there testifying, but as soon as they started yelling or doing stuff they didn't have the authority for the spirit left because he could not reside there.

I dont really have time to write more, but São Paulo is amazing.  And there's so much more I could write but I should probably go to bed. Shout out to Gilberto for teaching me Português. Goodnight

From Brasil

Elder Bliss

The four elders living in our apartment. My companion, Elder Beaumont is left of me.

Elder Graham on the right.  Elder Wright on the far left.

Bem-Vindos

The Sao Paulo Temple!

This rain came out of nowhere.  It was a few clouds and then a downpour within a few seconds!

This is what happens when you don't close your windows in Brazil.

This also.  My bed and my suit that was hanging there got soaked!

One of the giant hills we have in my area of Vila Luzita

The same hill as the last picture but zoomed in.

Giant moth that was nice and fuzzy

Wild Parakeets

The matos in my area are super cool

Pizza Delivery

Here's my google photos 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8

10/8/24 - Brazil Tomorrow!

Last day in the MTC!! 

Sorry, I forgot to send this yesterday so I'll send it now, on the way to the airport.

This week has been amazing and a great last week in the MTC! 

This week we have spoken a lot of Português. 

On Monday we had the Semi-annual MTC cleanse. Which is a physical and metaphorical thing. We all got together and cleaned our rooms and our classrooms. We did all that to get ready for General Conference. It's also to help is clean ourselves to prepare spiritually for General Conference. 

On Tuesday we had a practice with the whole Missionary choir it was amazing. We also got to hear from Elder Boom. He talked about the field that is white already to harvest. We need to take ul our sickles and do the work, for it truly is work. To do the work need to keep our sickle sharp through daily 

On Wednesday we also had a practice with the choir, but in the conference this time it was even more amazing than the Tuesday practice. The feeling of the organ that we are pretty much sitting on is soo cool! And we got some pretty cool pictures. Shout out to my photo album

Thursday was the goodbye of Irmão Esplin one of our MTC teachers he was amazing. 

Friday was the rest of the goodbyes to the rest of our teachers. Shout out to Irmã Daynes and Irmã Headquist. Our teachers were the best teachers in the MTC. 

Saturday was the first day of General Conference! Being able to hear from the apostles is so amazing and I love the opportunity to be spiritually filled. It was also the big day of singing in front of the world! And if you watch the video in my google photos you'll see me trying my hardest not to cough so loud in the middle of I Will Walk With Jesus. Otherwise, it was amazing. The view from the loft and being able to see the behind the scenes of a world wide production. There is such a spirit while being in the room along with most of the apostles and those men who God has called to lead his church. 

Sunday was day 2 of General Conference! Definitely the best talk was by President Russell M. Nelson. And coming in second was Bradley R. Wilcox. Two amazing talks by two amazing men who are called by God to help the world hear His Gospel. Bradley R. Wilcox talked about why members of the church are so different from the rest of the world. He used the analogy that we are the crew members on the cruise ship of life. We are given an added responsibility to guide those other passengers to the truth, and with that responsibility comes compensation through added blessings and the spirit with us.

My district also played a lot of card games in-between sessions and we also found what we think to be a haunted floor in T2 We went into some of the classrooms, most of which are not used and filled with storage, but these few were being used. It was all about shoulder tapping. There were sticky notes and cut up pieces of paper all over the walls. They all seemed to be tied back to this "shoulder tapping". If anyone knows what shoulder tapping is please let me know.

Today was full of packing, and playing games with the district. We played games such as, Scum, Skull King, hearts, Spoons, and speed. I'm gonna miss my MTC district. Weve gotten pretty tight these last 6 weeks. Also great story, Elder Woodward made friends with one of the cafeteria staff when we did our cafeteria service a few weeks ago. And him, Elder Bethers, and Elder Chapman convinced her to bring us Canes!! I basically got Canes by affiliation and I am not complaining. It was delicious. So shout out to Sarah, your the best, thank you for the Canes.

Travel plans:

I check out of the MTC at 3:37am on Tuesday and fly to Atlanta Georgia at 9:56 am where I have a layover. I get there at 3:40pm. I leave Atlanta at 7:00pm and have a red eye flight to São Paulo. I land in Brazil at 5:40 am Wednesday morning. When i get there I'll figure out the rest.

Thanks for sticking it through the MTC emails, the next email will be from Brazil. Out in the field that is white already to harvest. I shall be bringing the gospel to all those wonderful people in Brazil. So, the emails Should be getting more interesting from now on.

I love getting emails from everyone. So send them my way.

Elder Bliss

Here's a link to the Google Photos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EQG3K68BLWXZWLEz8