Basketball and Baptisms

This week had many ups and downs. First off, we had a zone p-day last week, and we played basketball. It was amazing... Brazilians don´t really understand the sport, but I still had an amazing time. Haha the rims were nine feet so I was throwin it down on everybody. I am hoping I get more chances to ball it up. Other things that happened this week: I had my first baptism!!!!!  We baptized Valdir. Let me tell you about Valdir. He is 67 years old, super humble, loves every person and the gospel, and he has two crazy dogs. It is funny... He has a thick accent, and he mumbles most of his words. Sometimes I can only understand one or two words he says per sentence haha. But I love teaching him because he is always so accepting of the gospel and wants to hear more. He always is sitting outside his house waiting for us to come and teach him. It was awesome to have my first baptism. Valdir was so excited and grateful for the wonderful experience. Having one baptism just makes me want to work harder each and every day. We have other investigators preparing for baptism, which is super exciting. I also can't believe that my first transfer in the field is almost over. Man have I learned a lot about the language, gospel, people, and culture. The language is coming slowly. I can understand way more than I can speak, which is super frustrating, but I just need to be patient, have confidence when I talk, and talk as much as possible. Currently, I'm trying to finish the BOM in Portuguese. I love reading the BOM. I think President Hinckley promised us if we read the BOM in a different language by the time we finish we will be fluent. Every day I find personal revelation that helps me get through the day. I encourage you all to find a time to read the BOM daily. It truly will bless your life. Thanks for all the prayers, and know that I pray for you all. The gospel is true. The BOM is the most correct book on this earth. President Thomas S Monson is a prophet today. I love and miss you all.

Elder Bodine

3 Brazil Adventures

Another week in the books and it was an awesome one. This week I want to focus on the adventures of being a missionary here in Brazil. This week I had three new experiences or adventures that happened.

1. Elder Muller and I were teaching a lesson to a family about the restoration. Mid lesson the grandma of the family walks into the room and greets elder Muller with a huge smooch on the cheek. Of course this means I was receiving a kiss to haha. So I anxiously waited for this ancient grandma to kiss me on the cheek, and she did. I was hilarious. Elder Muller and I just looked at each other and cracked up mid lesson haha. 

2. I experienced my first day of work in the pouring rain. Let me tell you it was brutal. I left my umbrella in a member’s car... so we had nothin to protect ourselves from the pouring rain. Imagine proselyting for 7 hours in a wetsuit full of cold Hebgen Lake water. It was a long day to say the least. But probably the most productive of my missionary career. Also my shoes aren’t water proof so that was also pretty brutal.

3. I experienced something I was hoping would never happen. We were in a baixo (town) called aeroporto going to teach Valdir. Valdir has an insane dog... Usually he has him chained up, but on this day he didn’t. We walked into his front yard and the dog started sprinting at me. For some reason I froze. You could see the fear in my eyes. The dog started chompin at my legs... and I just stood there doing nothing. He probably only was biting me for 10 seconds but it felt like an eternity. The adrenaline rush was real. To my surprise once Valdir pulled the dog off me, I had no bites, blood, or anything on my leg. My pants were barely ripped. A miracle of protection happened cause that dog for sure had rabies.

In other news, I think I’ll have my first baptism this upcoming week with Valdir, and we had 7 investigators at church.

This week was great because we saw a lot of success in our investigators, help from members, my language abilities, and much much more. Being a missionary has its highs and its lows. This week was for sure a high. I’m hoping I can continue to make as much progress as I did this week every week. I know the church is true and through the power of the spirit anything is possible. I miss you all and thank you for all your prayers.

Love 

Elder Bodine

Another week in the books

Another week in the books!!! This week had many ups and downs. I learned an important lesson last Tuesday... My comp and I were teaching an investigator, who we had taught three or four lessons, about the commandments. Mid-lesson she just goes off. Tearing us apart. Saying how the Book of Mormon is the most ridiculous thing she has ever read and much more. I started to get mad, and my comp started to bible bash with her. The spirit immediately left the house, or as my companion would say it went tchau tchau. Without the spirit, I was nothing. I couldn’t say anything I wanted to say, I couldn’t understand my companion or the investigator, and I was incredibly frustrated. We left the investigators house and the rest of the night was brutal. So what did I learn from this night...? I learned that I truly am an instrument in the Lords hand and without the spirit I can´t teach, speak, or show how important this gospel for every one of God´s children. Because of this experience, Elder Muller and I decided to fast the next day. It was incredible to see how much of a difference teaching through the spirit makes. We were on fire... Everyone wanted to hear our message and surprisingly my Portuguese was sounding really good. Two of our investigators, vladir and Edge committed to being baptized on that day. Both are super cool people, who love our messages, but more importantly love the difference the spirit makes in their lives. Overall, a great day and a great week. 

Every day of the mission I learn something new. Whether it be about the language, myself, my companion, the gospel, or the culture, I´m always learning. It is awesome to see the progress in my testimony and language skills since I´ve gotten here. I will admit though... My portugues is pretty darn awful. But with the help of the spirit, my companion, members, and others, I learning fast (I think). I just got to have patience, be diligent in my studies, and be obedient. Sometimes I wish I could just wake up and be fluent, because I desperately want to communicate and form bonds with every person I meet. Right now though, it’s hard cause I can only say so much, but through the spirit anything is possible. Mission life isn´t easy, but in the 2 months that I have been away from home I have grown so much. I want to bear my testimony to you that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church on this earth. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet who receives revelation from God, the Book of Mormon can be a source of relief for any burden, and through the atonement of Jesus Christ all can be perfected. Lastly, I know that through the Holy Ghost I can be an instrument in my Heavenly Fathers hands and find the people of Brazil who have an open heart and are ready to accept this gospel. I thank you for all your prayers and support. They truly make a difference in my life. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Love,

Elder Bodine

 Elder Bodine made some brownies for his companion and roomies, and they were quite the hit!

Second Chances

This week went by incredibly fast. Not really sure why (maybe cause we were workin so hard), but it just flew by. I learned lots of things this week about the mission life, Brazilians, my comp, and my roommates. First off, I want to talk about fasting. For me fasting is super hard, because I love to eat. But when we fast we can and will witness great miracles. On Saturday we started fasting mid afternoon. Elder Muller and I had a full schedule planned out. I think every hour we had a lesson planned with a different investigator. Unfortunately, Brazilians are very flaky and none of them were at their houses... So we started to look for new people to teach. After an hour of searching, we found a member who said she had a friend that lived above her who wanted to hear our lesson. So we taught her. The first thing she asked us was, `why are there so many churches on the earth´. You could say this was the perfect transition into the restoration lesson. During the opening prayer she started to cry and explained to us how she needed to hear our message because she was going through so many trials in her life. We then talked about joseph smith, the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ, and the book of Mormon. We finished by talking about how she could live with her daughter Jesus Christ and god for eternity in the celestial kingdom. The spirit was so strong. She told us that she needs to hear more and desperately wants to be baptized. Elder Muller and I were stoked after the lesson. Fasting=Miracles.

I learned one other thing about fasting. When you fast for 24 hours you get pretty hungry... So for our first meal after the fast, we got fed pork, carne asada, rice, beans, potato salad, fruit, and ended it all off with a huge bowl of ice-cream. You could say I feasted. I stuffed myself with every morsel possible. After lunch, I was on splits with Elder Pedraza. I wasn’t feeling too hot to say the least. We had been walking for about an hour when I had the feeling. I took off my tie, ran to the side of the road, and had a nice barf sesh. I felt so much better after though. So for the next 22 fast Sundays in the field I know not to eat too much food haha. In other news, my Portuguese is coming along real well. It is a constant 24/7 English fast. I have noticed when I talk more I learn more. Currently, I’m trying to help my comps and house mates learn English. Their accents are hilarious. But they are learning. Let me tell you the gift of tongues is real. I have so much faith in my heavenly father that he will help me get my message and spirit across while I’m teaching the people of Erechim. I might make errors, but as long as can be an instrument in the lords hands and help our investigators feel the spirit... I am beyond happy. I know that fasting for the right reasons allows us to see miracles in our lives, I know the gift of tongues is real, I know that when you get on your knees and have a conversation with God, any doubt, trial, question, difficulty can be solved through the spirit. I thank you for all your prayers and advice... They really do make a difference. Love you all...

Elder Bodine

The momument is in passo fundo. Its this drink called chimarrao. Pretty much every person in rio grande do sol drinks it. It is this weird bitter tea that i don't really like but have to drink when i go to members house because it is part of the social life here...

Made it to Porto Alegre!!!!!

Well I have officially made it to my mission. I got to Rio Grande Do Sol on last Tuesday. Let me tell you... I´m not missin the mtc one bit haha. I love the field. The only thing that I miss from the ctm are the people. My district, the other Americans, and the Brazilians. Other than that, there is nothing to miss. When we landed in Porto Alegre, we met the president, who is super chill and hilarious, and his wife and then went straight to lunch at this amazing buffet restaurant. We then took a nice nap, went to the president’s house for orientation and dinner, and then spent the night in a hotel. The next day we got our trainer and our area. My trainer is Elder Muller. Some things to know about this guy is he is incredibly patient with my inability to speak the language, he is a great teacher, he is obsessed with Italy, and he loves to eat haha. One day he wants to be a chef in Italy. He is super funny and is helping me learn very quickly. 

I´m currently serving in Erechim, a city in the boonies of our mission. To get to this small city, we had to take a 7 hour bus ride through rio grande do sol to very north part of the state. Elder Muller and | are living with two other missionaries: Elder Pedreza from Argentina, and Elder Perreira from Natal. They are both awesome!!!! Super funny and chillax. Plus they help me learn a ton in the language and I’m helping them learn English. Us four missionaries cover the entire city. The last couple days we have been walking anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to get to members houses for lunch. Let me tell ya... They feed you sooooo much. It’s all super good food. We eat so much that we skip dinner. After lunch, we spend the rest of the day proselyting. It is a lot of work. Tons of walking, talking, and teaching. It is extremely frustrating not being able to talk a ton with the people. The ctm for sure babies us Americans. It is completely different experience out here. But despite my frustration, I’m learning fast and have witnessed some pretty amazing miracles.

Last Saturday, I was having a rough day. I couldn’t say what I wanted to say, and I was getting down on myself. Elder Muller randomly was like we need to pray. So we did and he told me to choose a house. So I walked for a couple minutes and picked a house. I clapped and a family came out of the house and said we could teach them. We taught them the restoration. Man was the spirit strong. All four of them committed to reading the BOM, praying, and if they received an answer baptism. It was an amazing experience. 

Another miracle this week happened on Sunday. We were on splits, and I was with Elder Pedreza. After eating at a member’s house, we met with an investigator who said he had a dream. He described the dream in which he saw a pillar of light and in that pillar of light there were two books. He recognized one as the bible, but didn’t recognize the other (bom). He then heard a voice telling him that these books were true. Sounds a lot like joseph smith if ya ask me. So we taught him the restoration and he said he desired with all his heart to be baptized. These miracles get me through the day. This work isn´t easy, but because of the change of heart and glimmer in the eyes these people have. I know that | need to give it my all every day. I love you all and thank you for all your prayers. I know this church is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

Love,

Elder Bodine