Loving Life Here

Well my second week in Canela is officially over. I still haven’t completely gotten accustomed to the new area, comp, members, and food, but I’m lovin life here. This week went by super fast. Last p-day we went to an amusement park.... don’t get me wrong it was super cool, but all the rides cost money. So we did a lot of walking and observing haha. Some of the awesome experiences from this week include: Climate change- One day we woke up and it was 0 degrees Celsius and stayed at about 5 for the rest of the day (coldest day of the mission). The next day it was 30 degrees Celsius and humid. Super strange. Teaching repentance- Our mission president has put a huge emphasis on teaching repentance and the atonement. On Sunday, I was on divisão com Elder Cerrano of Argentina when we found a couple who appeared like they would not accept our message (tattoos, piercings, beer, and cigarettes). But they let us share our message of repentance through the atonement of Christ. As we read John 3:16 and testified of how the atonement and love of Jesus Christ has for us, they both teared up. The spirit was so strong. One thing that Elder Cerrano said that had a huge impact on me was... Do you think it was easy for God to send his son, Jesus Christ, to pay for the sins, pains, sicknesses, and sadness of the world? This one question made me reflect on the importance of God’s love for us. We are all children of our Heavenly Father. He loves us enough to send his only son to die for us. Always keep your mind set on the example and light of Christ. I have seen on the mission as I stay focused in Christ my love for others has increased. I am more willing to branch out, help others, testify of the truthfulness of this gospel, and show how important repentance has been in my life. No one is perfect, but are we willing to be made perfect? What will it take to be made perfect? Ponder these questions and know that Christ was, is, and will always be perfect. I love you all. And thank you for your love support and prayers... 

Dave

First Week in Canela

Transferencias were crazy. I left Erechim super early in the morning and bussed around Rio Grande do Sul for 12 hours. Eventually, late in the night I arrived in my new area... Canela. Canela is about 10 minutes away from Gramado (a super famous touristy city). Canela is so different than my last area. The center of the city is pretty much a small German town. It looks nothing like Brazil. My first day here, I kept wondering is this Brazil or Europe. Zona Gramado is awesome. There is a plethora of things to do on p-day. Amusement parks, snow land, chocolate world, super cars, wax museum, and waterfalls. You name it Gramado and Canela have it. I am stoked to be in such an awesome area with great members, great investigators, and a great companion. My new comp is Elder Robert. He looks like an American and my initial thought was that he was an American... but it turns out he is from Chile (vine del mar). He is super chill, smart and teaches through the spirit. For example, he speaks German, Portuguese, English, and Spanish fluently... but he never speaks English with me. His style is completely different from my last comp so it will take some time adjusting to, but he teaches through the spirit. I am learning a ton about how to follow the whisperings of the spirit. We also live with another dupla... Elder Cerrano of Argentina, and Elder Amorin of Fortaleza. They are awesome, and I can tell we are going to have some great times here in Canela. The language continues to improve everyday. I just need to have more confidence in myself. On Sunday, I gave a talk, and taught a 45 minute lesson on chastity (I don’t think I could teach 40 minutes on chastity in English), so the gift of tongues is real. Canela has an awesome spirit, and I can tell that I am going to have many opportunities to share this gospel. I can’t wait to get to work and find people to share this gospel with. Thanks you for your love support and prayers, and know that this gospel is true.

Love, 

Elder Bodine

So I got transferred...

This week was awesome. Currently I am getting transferred to Gramado (I think)... Apparently it is super pretty and very touristy, but only time will tell. This week I finished training... That is crazy how time flies. We got to go to Porto Alegre and see all the people we arrived with. It was awesome sharing experiences and stories with all the CTM buds. The best thing that happened this week was the baptism of Camille. She was so excited to enter the waters of baptism and be cleansed of her sins. I could see the light of Christ in her eyes. She was so happy and her mom was also thrilled for her (even so much that she wants to get baptized as well). I hope she can stay strong in the church and continue to renew her baptismal covenants through going to church and partaking the sacrament every week. I am nervous and excited to be transferred, but no matter what I know the lord is on my side. This gospel is true. And baptism is only the first step in conversion, because every day we make little steps forward and backwards. I will send photos next week due to lack of time

Testimony Meeting - October 10, 2016

Who is curious to know what a traditional Brazilian meal consists of?? Well luckily I am now a connoisseur of Brazilian food and can tell yah. Every day we eat lunch with members. I have never gone a lunch without out eating rice and black beans. So that is guaranteed. Usually we also get 1 type of meat (chicken is standard sometime beef). Juice is an essential ranging from flavors of maricuja to limao. And Farinha, this bread crumbs thing that Brazilians throw on top of everything. That is the standard Rio Grande do Sul meal. Sometimes on Sundays though we get churrasco... Every meat imaginable cooked to perfection. It truly is miraculous. Honestly though, the food is awesome down here. I have yet to eat something I haven’t liked.

This week was pretty standard. We taught, taught, and taught some more. Our investigators are progressing, and we should have two baptisms to finish the transfer. The spiritual note that I want to hit on this week was Sacrament meeting. Man it was powerful. It started off with all four of us missionaries bearing testimony of Christ, missionary service, and families. Then, people started sprinting for the pulpit. So many members bore strong testimony of this church. It was one of the best testimony meetings I have ever attended. This week I tried out the advice given in a talk during General Conference last week. I tried to improve my partaking of the sacrament through; preparing during the week, arriving early to the meeting, listening to the sacrament hymn and the message it has, listening to the sacrament prayers, and lastly, really focusing on Christ, while partaking the sacrament. Wow, it was amazing. I really noticed a difference in feeling of the spirit and how imperfect I am. Also, how Christ is essential to the plan of happiness. I challenge all of you to use these steps during this week. The Sabbath day is a day of love and gratitude. Remember that the sacrament is the most important part of the week. It is an opportunity to renew baptismal covenants, receive forgiveness, think of Christ, and grow closer to him. Thank you for all your love and prayers.

Elder Bodine

I didn't take many photos this week, but here is an awesome picture of an investigator of the other companionship in Erechim.  He has a skin disease where his legs cannot get wet.  It was awesome to see how happy he was after the baptism.

And of course a ping pong photo

General Conference Baby - October 3, 2016

The Church is True

This week was great because we got to hear the Prophet and his apostles speak. It was amazing watching conference for the first time in a different language. It was also exciting seeing our investigators bring questions to conference and have their questions be answered. Before I talk about conference, I want to tell a story. Probably my first week in the field, Elder Muller and I found this 50-60 year old woman to teach. Our lessons with her were alright, but we didn’t see enough progress to continue teaching her. About a month later, we returned to her house and found her daughter, son in law, and granddaughter. We taught them, and it was awesome. They were so engaged in the lesson. So we kept teaching them... but there is always a problem with families. No one is ever married civilly (including this family). We were then pretty discouraged, but we kept teaching. Last Monday night as we were teaching the commandments, their 12 year-old daughter exclaimed that she had to be baptized! It was crazy. She might be the most perfect investigator ever. She doesn’t drink coffee or tea, doesn’t eat meat, has high standards when it comes to modesty, loves to read the Book of Mormon, and is always helping out the family. She came to conference this week and loved it. Miracles are real people, and we are baptizing her at the end of this transfer! But conference was amazing, some of my favorite parts include. Elder Craig C. Christensen’s remark on how we should read the Book of Mormon like Joseph Smith was translating it for the first time. I never thought about how cool this is and want to apply it to my personal study. Elder Neil L. Andersen’s building the puzzle of God... All of us need to be missionaries... and the more people who are serving the faster the kingdom or puzzle of God will be built. Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita’s talk had a powerful impact on me. Don´t complain while serving the Lord... It is the greatest blessing we have. Always improve. Elder Peter F. Meurs’ 5 steps and reflection of how we can improve our partaking of the sacrament. Pres. Henry B. Eyring’s discourse on how the Sabbath day is a day of gratitude and love. Elder David A. Bednar… How can we know Christ (faith, follow, serve, believe). Elder Dale G. Renlund’s advice on how an unimaginable happiness comes through real repentance. Redeemer want to forgive us. Overall, every talk was outstanding... Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see priesthood session cause it starts at 9 out here. But I can’t wait to read it in a month or two. I know we have a prophet in this dispensation, and I am so grateful for him. He receives revelation for us, and through following his teachings, we better prepare ourselves for this life and the life after this. Thank you for your love and prayers.

Elder Bodine

Ping Pong Masters

 So grateful to have recieved 2 packages this week!!

Me on the balcony

Streets of Erechim

Mormon boy band album cover