5/12/25 - English, Portuguese, and Italian?

Welcome to another week!

This has been a pretty good week. 

On Wednesday we were just walking down the road visiting people when this random guy called us over then started English with us. His friend, who was there too, was super drunk and started speaking Italian to us. I think he though we could understand him, but. Other than the odd word here and there I didn't understand a thing he said. So that was our fun experience for the week. 

Other than that our week was fairly normal.  

On Friday we had a lesson with the help of some youth in the ward.  After the lesson we got to hang out with the youth for a while and we got to help one of them with some his questions about the gospel, about the priesthood, and about the mission.  For those youth who are reading this, it is never too early to start preparing for your mission. For the youth and everyone else: Read preach my gospel, study the scriptures, study your patriarcal blessing, and gain a testimony for yourself.  There is nothing more precious than a firm testimony!

Have a great week!

Elder Bliss

Here's the google photos:

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

5/5/25 - Transfers!

Happy P-Day!

Not a whole lot happened this week.  We did a whole lot of knocking doors that came to nothing.

We had lunch with João and Eliana (who were baptized a few weeks ago) this week which happened to be on Elder Phillips birthday! So they threw a surprise party for him.  It was super fun! 

On Saturday we did a family home evening with some recent converts in our ward William and Lívian.  We made Buffalo wings with some imported Buffalo sauce Elder Atkinson bought from Sam's club.  I love the people who are in this ward!

We got transfer news! I'll be staying in São Caetano A!  My new comp is Elder Phillips who was in São Caetano B and my old comp Elder Atkinson moved to São Caetano B, so our house stayed the same we just traded companions around. 

My mission is in a state of change with our new President.  Before we hardly had any DLs, everything was done in zones.  Now President Moura is moving to be more like a traditional mission.  One of these things is calling more DLs and focusing more on the district than the zone as a whole.  I have been one of these missionaries called to be a District leader.  So, I have a lot of learning to do this transfer.  But, I'm excited to take on this new responsibility and learn how to help not only my investigators but other missionaries too.

Converts are some of the most precious people in our church.  People who made the choice to come unto Christ and have a new life in Him.  One of the best ways we can help people especially, those new or retuning to the church, feel the love of Christ is to be their friend. My invite to you this week is to find that one person at church you don't know and go say hi, be their friend.

Have a good week!

Elder Bliss

4/28/25 - Interviews and Poker

This week wasn't anything too special.

We had interviews with President Moura this week and it was super cool to talk with our new mission President 1 on 1. 

This Saturday we did a family home evening at the house of 2 recent converts in the ward where we played poker and whoever didn't win had to drink a dried egg powder mixed with water. I did not win.  It was disgusting! My comp ended up throwing up! These recent converts are super cool and we'll be going back this Saturday to make Buffalo wings!

The Book is blue and the Church is true! Read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and you can know for yourself!!

Have an amazing week!

Elder Bliss

Here's the google photos if you want to see photos of my adventures!

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

4/21/25 - Feliz Páscoa!!

Helo friends and family!!

This will be a quick one cause I have to go to bed soon.

This week it started cooling off and we had a lot rain. One of the days, we were walking down the road in the rain and a city truck passed by with a rescue boat on top of it.  I dont know exactly why they had a boat, but I think one of the roads got so much water piled up they had to bring boats out to get people out of their cars. We live nowhere near any body of water. So that goes to show how much rain we had.

I hope everyone had an amazing Easter! Easter is such a special time of year to commemorate the atonement, death, and ressuection of Jesus Christ!  It is because of Jesus Christ that we can repent, be resurrected and live with our Father in Heaven again.   He knows our pains, our dificulties, our struggles, our temptations, all of our bad days amd everything to come.  He knows it because he lived it. He lived it because he loves us. Because he loves you. And because he lived your struggles he knows exactly how to help you.  I invite you this week to think how the atonement of Jesus Christ has helped you in your life, and how he can help you in the future.  Open your heart and let the atonement of Jesus Christ help you and heal you!

Have an amazing week!

Elder Bliss

Here's the google photos

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

4/14/25 - Division, Wedding, and Baptism!

Olá, tudo bem?

This week wasn't too crazy. 

On Friday the couple who has been being taught since before we got to the area, João and Eliana, finally got married!! So yesterday on Sunday they got baptized!! Me and my comp, Elder Atkinson had the opportunity to baptize them!

Getting married in Brazil is a pain.  Here's a little backstory from last week. Last week this couple had to go to a government office to set up the wedding date cause they have to do the leagal part of the wedding in the office. For the wedding they need two wittnesses, who have to have a Brazilian ID card.  Elder Atkinson and I were going to be the wittnesses but I haven't gotten my blue card yet and Elder Atkinson was assulted a few months ago and lost his, lucklly there is another dupla in this ward. The only problem was, one of the other dupla is a greenie and also doesnt have his card yet. Lucklly, we had just finnished a division and one missionary in that dupla had his ID card (Shout out to Elder Wright). So, out of the 6 Elders that were there at the time only 2 of us had their Brazilian ID card.  So Elder Hild and Elder Wright signed up to be the wittnesses for their wedding.

Sorry, this part's a little confusing, please bare with me. So, back to this week.  On Thursday I did a little division with Elder Phillips cause his and my companions, the ZLs, had a leadership meeting with President Moura. So Elder Phillips and I went over to Planalto to start a division with Elder Phillips and Elder Spencer so Elder Wright could do a division in São Caetano with Elder Hild so they could be the wittnesses at João and Eliana's wedding Friday morning.  To clear things up, Thursday night Elder Spencer and Phillips were together, I was back with Elder Atkinson and Elder Hild and Wright were together.

Em fim, everything went smoothly and João and Eliana were baptized Sunday right after our church meetings!

Fun side note, my comp chapter 14nd some people at Sam's Club to let us buy stuff without a Sam's Club card, so now I am 1 jar of peanut butter and a hoodie richer.

Tonight, our wards Relief Society came in cluch and brought us some Easter candy! We'll see if it makes it to Sunday.

I'd like to talk a little bit about this season of Easter.  It's not simply a holiday of bunnys chocolate and eggs,  it's a season to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for us.  Elder Gary E. Stevenson spoke about this time of year last week in General Conferance.  

"We now enjoy a mix of decorations. What was once almost exclusively bunnies and Easter eggs is now balanced with the Christus and images of the empty tomb, the resurrected Savior appearing in the garden outside the tomb, and the Savior’s appearance to the Nephites. We are also striving to make Easter a season rather than just a day. We are trying to be more conversant, thoughtful, and celebratory of Palm Sunday and Good Friday and of the sacred events that took place during all of Holy Week." And We Talk of Christ April 2025

I invite you to make Easter a season, not just a day.  Study the scriptures, eat a little candy, and Remeber Christ! Maybe you should read his talk again, it's realy good. 

Have a good week!

Elder Bliss

4/7/25 - Conferência Geral!!

Opa! Tudo bem? I hope y'all had an amazing General Conference weekend!

This week was pretty busy for me.  We did 2 divisions this week and one of them ended up being hijacked by another elder in my ward who had a reference for us, so I went with him to meet our new friend.  

The best part of this week would definitely have to be General Conference.  We watched the first session on Saturday in our chapel, and the second we watched part of it in our chapel again, till we got called out for my comp to do a baptismal interview in another area, so we spent a while on a bus that night. Sunday we watched part of the first session in a members house right after we ate lunch. We left early to go watch the baptism (the work of the Lord never stops!) My comp actually did the baptizing.  After the baptism we watched the last session in the chapel where the baptism was.  General Conference is always so special to listen to.

When the recordings come out, I invite you to go back and watch those talks again and really study them there is so much to get out of the words of our modern-day prophets and apostles.  

Have an amazing week!

Elder Bliss

Sorry for not responding to some emails yet, I promise I'll respond soon.

3/31/25 - President Queiroz Emergency transfer??

Bem-vindos para mais um e-mail!

So last Monday we got a message that we were going to have a meeting with Elder Koch the President of the Brasil area. So Tuesday morning we all showed up to this meeting not knowing what to expect.  Elder Koch got up to open the meeting and said, "Welcome to the going away of President and Sister Queiroz." President and Siter Queiroz are switching places with one of the councilors in the CTM presidency.  So President and Sister Queiroz are now serving in the CTM presidency to help with President Queiroz' health issues.  I'm sad that we are loosing Presendent Queiroz, but I'm also excited to see how Presendent Moura does things.  I am really glad Presendent Queiroz now gets to serve in the CTM or, in the words of Sister Queiroz "Ceu do trainimento missionário" (The heaven of missionary training). It will be an amazing experience for them and President Queiroz will be able to take better care of his health. 

On Wednesday we all got together again for the welcoming of President and Sister Moura! They seem to be really cool people and it will be so good to work with them.  There will probably be a lot of changes in the mission in the next few transfers, but no one knows exactly whats going to happen. 

Yesterday I did a division with Elder Phillips, the comp of the other ZL, so our companions could go do some ZL things.  We taught 2 lessons in Elder Phillips area.  We showed up to the first and the lady we were teaching brought us into her house and there was another guy there, so we did the common greating in Português and he just replied something about Americans.  It took me a sec to realize he was saying he was American and didn’t speak Português. So we sat and talked with him for a while.  He has been in Brazil for about a year, living on Google translate.  So, during the lesson we did a lesson in English and Portuguese for the 2 people we were teaching.  It was a very interesting lesson, to say the least.  And, teaching in English is really weird. I'm so used to teaching in Portuguese. 

These next few transfers are going to be a season of change in Missão São Paulo Sul. But whatever changes is the will of the Lord so all will be good in the end.

Have an amazing week and wear your seatbelts!

Elder Bliss

As always here's the google photos album of pictures I've taken

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