Finally, IT´S MY P-DAY!
Hello Mom, Family, and Friends!
Okay, I´m sorry, it´s been a long time since I have written a real e-mail. Probably since my second area in São Vicente almost a year ago, so my bad. I won´t lie, I sorta got sick of writing e-mails because it felt like I was repeating myself over and over about the same stuff. But sorry about that, I hopefully will do better..............
Anyways, it feels like it´s been a long time since we have talked. I am approaching my 1 year and 4 months mark here in a couple weeks. It feels like I barely got here. It´s very strange, everything feels like a dream. You go to sleep and 2 seconds later you wake up well rested, but everything goes by way too fast.
So I´ve got a lot to catch up on. I think my last real e-mail was about three months ago near the beginning of June. So anyways, that transfer was very interesting. At the beginning, I was so confused about everything, how to be a financial secretary, etc. And it was very hard to even get out of the office to get any real missionary work done.
So yup. All of the stinking problems with all the housing contracts, angry landlords, audit items, were put on my shoulders. So from June to now, I have just been overloaded. I felt like dying. Office life is really stressing. All of the missionaries think that the office life is a nice easy one with air conditioning and staying on the computer and getting all these privileges and stuff, but it really isn´t. Blech. I miss full days of prosleyting. So anyways, I finally have a grip on my responsibilities as the financial secretary. Not being prideful in anyway, but I think for the first time things are getting in order. Hopefully it will stay this way and make the job easier for others that take my place.
So let me tell you a little bit about the office "legacy". We are part of the Piratininga and Oeste Zone, which covers both of these stakes. We are a part of the São Paulo Oeste stake (west), and because of that, it has been the lowest baptizing stake in the mission. For years. What you would call a "buraco" of the mission (hole). But, things have completely changed around when Elder Vilela showed up. We started working like crazy, leaving the office as soon as we can, and doing everything to gain the trust of the members back. And it´s a lot better now.
So I don´t even remember if I have even written anything about our investigators-there is Vitor (8) who was baptized a few weeks back-his Mom had come back to church, was less active, so it was really great bringing them back to church.
Our next family is Nilson, Neli, and Higor. Nilson is not a member, but has been going to church for about 2 years now. He is super diligent and full of faith, he´s actually a lot better than a lot of members! But he needs to get married to Neli, who is a less active member. Higor is their grandson. But we are hoping that all the documents get processed soon, that way they can get married and then Nilson can get baptized! We know how big of a difference it will make in his life.
There is another family-Inez, Alisson and Isis (and Aginaldo and Ingrid). So Inez (the mom) and Isis (the daughter) have been going to church for a while now-they are the neighbors of a family here in the ward, and they are just awesome. Inez also isn´t married-so we need to help them! It´s just that Aginaldo is super closed off, and is not interested in the church at all-he gets annoyed that Inez and Alisson and Isis go to church. Ingrid, the other daughter, is the same way. Alisson is not a girl! He´s a guy. Just an FYI, all the Alysons and Alisons and Allissons etc. are guy names here in Brasil. But he is really good too, needs to make some changes first, but I can see all of them getting baptized soon. In fact, the other missionaries that were here before us talked with them like twice in 6 months, and never invited them to be baptized. So we went there last week, and we invited them to be baptized. Inez started saying that she was talking with Isis earlier that morning, about how they both wanted to get baptized. And then Alisson accepted. Please include them in your prayers, they are really close.
There is also Ivani and João-referals from Nilson (see how good Nilson is?!). They also aren´t married, but they are super humble. João is a little more reluctant and seems hesitant to get married, but Ivani wants to get married and baptized.
And one more family-Léia and Igor, mom and son. Léia is going to get married to a member, and Igor is her son (13). Super receptive, already received an answer to their prayers and about the Book of Mormon-so that´s what´s going on.
So these are our main families we are teaching. I think Mom has been wanting to know, so there they are!
Hmmm, what else. I definitely won´t be able to fit everything on my mind in one e-mail. Anyways...
My companion Elder Vilela is awesome. We get along REALLY well, hahaha. I have a lot of respect for him-five years as a member, only member in his family. Yeah I always say this, but he is definitely one of my favorite comps of all time.
So it looks like there will be some changes in the mission office structure. Usually there are 4 secretaries: Executive, Financial, Materials, and one newbie who gets to take the place of one of the above. So Elder Remund is Executive, Elder Graham is the Materials with Elder Vilela. Just that President wants to have less Elders in the office, so one of the senior couple missionaries (the Stouts from St. George) and another one that is to come (the Gneitings from Idaho) will take two of the spots. So until the Gneitings come, Elder Remund Elder Vilela and I will stay in a trio-then when the Gneitings come, Elder Remund will leave. So Elder Vilela and I will be here for a while, training the Senior missionaries. FUN!
Yes, my physical condition has deteriorated just a little...ahem. Sitting in an air conditioned office eating Sister Tanner´s cookies definitely doesn´t help, but I am more diligent in my exercises. I am super sore. Elder Remund and I went for a run the other day, and my legs are so sore. Actually yesterday, and they already hurt.
So over this past couple months I got super down on myself. Ever since I left, a lot of people went less active. I found out that Rose from São Vicente, Carlos Henrique, Guilherme, Bruno, Juan, and BA went all inactive. I got super frustrated. But, I got good news! Do you remember Heldes, Simeia and Caio? Heldes got baptized last Sunday! And Simeia came back to church! And Caio is finally growing up! When I got the news I got so excited that I couldn´t sleep. And President let me watch the baptism! I would have never imagined her getting baptized. It was super cool, because we all kept it a secret until we got there. It´s really hard to describe how I felt, it is pure joy. Elder Anderson, when he came to our mission, gave a talk about how you can count the seeds in an apple, but you can´t count all of the apples that will come out of the seed. So, every thing adds up! Even when you don´t see the end result immediately.
That was definitely my highlight of the week/month/year. And I called up BA and Juan to meet me at the church, and they came and said they would go back to church. So, I was a pretty happy guy this past couple days.
Anyways, I hope you are doing well. I can´t believe Ian already left for school! It´s been two years since I have been where he is right now...time passes quickly. That´s exciting. That must be weird to have the house so empty. What does Ryan do to keep busy?
Mom, I hope you have a great three week break. Let me know how things are going at home.
Wow, Travis is back already?! My English is going to be terrible. Hahaha, Portuguese accents are actually really funny.
So during Zone Conferences this last week, President and Sister Tanner have really been focusing on the importance of the Book of Mormon. We always hear that it is the "keystone to our religion". But it really is that important. I know that the book has converting power, and testifies of our Savior. Sister Tanner told us that it is a book of power and full of the Spirit-that it not only includes testimonies of Christ, but also includes His doctrine. The power of the Book of Mormon is the power of the Doctrine of Christ. Just as it says in 2 Nephi 32:3 and 2 Nephi 31:20, we must feast upon the words of Christ, just as we take care to feed ourselves physically. But remember that just as we thank the Lord for the food that we eat and as we ask Him to bless our food, we can also ask blessings for our studies and be grateful to have the Bible and the Book of Mormon in our lives. I know this is true. There was a good chunk of time where I was "too busy" to study the scriptures and do my scripture studies. But when I started again, it felt so good to feel the peace and the Spirit that comes from reading the words of our Savior. President and Sister Tanner challenged us to read the Book of Mormon starting now until the end of the year. If you would like to join, that would be really cool!
I love you, thank you for everything. Please keep our investigators in mind and include them in your prayers. Always remember how you can help the missionaries closest to you! President Tanner always uses the analogy of M&M´s. Members and Missionaries together makes the work sweeter. Something like that, I didn´t even mean for it to rhyme.
Mas então, tenha uma ótima semana. Eu lhes amo MUITO!
Elder Kahng
PS-Mom, thank you for getting my package together, hehehe. If you could especially remember to get me a camera cable (have Mingoo help you), that would be incredible-there are a lot of pictures I want to send to you. Also, tell Sister Roberts that I got her letter, and I am working on a response!
Hello Mom, Family, and Friends!
Okay, I´m sorry, it´s been a long time since I have written a real e-mail. Probably since my second area in São Vicente almost a year ago, so my bad. I won´t lie, I sorta got sick of writing e-mails because it felt like I was repeating myself over and over about the same stuff. But sorry about that, I hopefully will do better..............
Anyways, it feels like it´s been a long time since we have talked. I am approaching my 1 year and 4 months mark here in a couple weeks. It feels like I barely got here. It´s very strange, everything feels like a dream. You go to sleep and 2 seconds later you wake up well rested, but everything goes by way too fast.
So I´ve got a lot to catch up on. I think my last real e-mail was about three months ago near the beginning of June. So anyways, that transfer was very interesting. At the beginning, I was so confused about everything, how to be a financial secretary, etc. And it was very hard to even get out of the office to get any real missionary work done.
So yup. All of the stinking problems with all the housing contracts, angry landlords, audit items, were put on my shoulders. So from June to now, I have just been overloaded. I felt like dying. Office life is really stressing. All of the missionaries think that the office life is a nice easy one with air conditioning and staying on the computer and getting all these privileges and stuff, but it really isn´t. Blech. I miss full days of prosleyting. So anyways, I finally have a grip on my responsibilities as the financial secretary. Not being prideful in anyway, but I think for the first time things are getting in order. Hopefully it will stay this way and make the job easier for others that take my place.
So let me tell you a little bit about the office "legacy". We are part of the Piratininga and Oeste Zone, which covers both of these stakes. We are a part of the São Paulo Oeste stake (west), and because of that, it has been the lowest baptizing stake in the mission. For years. What you would call a "buraco" of the mission (hole). But, things have completely changed around when Elder Vilela showed up. We started working like crazy, leaving the office as soon as we can, and doing everything to gain the trust of the members back. And it´s a lot better now.
So I don´t even remember if I have even written anything about our investigators-there is Vitor (8) who was baptized a few weeks back-his Mom had come back to church, was less active, so it was really great bringing them back to church.
Our next family is Nilson, Neli, and Higor. Nilson is not a member, but has been going to church for about 2 years now. He is super diligent and full of faith, he´s actually a lot better than a lot of members! But he needs to get married to Neli, who is a less active member. Higor is their grandson. But we are hoping that all the documents get processed soon, that way they can get married and then Nilson can get baptized! We know how big of a difference it will make in his life.
There is another family-Inez, Alisson and Isis (and Aginaldo and Ingrid). So Inez (the mom) and Isis (the daughter) have been going to church for a while now-they are the neighbors of a family here in the ward, and they are just awesome. Inez also isn´t married-so we need to help them! It´s just that Aginaldo is super closed off, and is not interested in the church at all-he gets annoyed that Inez and Alisson and Isis go to church. Ingrid, the other daughter, is the same way. Alisson is not a girl! He´s a guy. Just an FYI, all the Alysons and Alisons and Allissons etc. are guy names here in Brasil. But he is really good too, needs to make some changes first, but I can see all of them getting baptized soon. In fact, the other missionaries that were here before us talked with them like twice in 6 months, and never invited them to be baptized. So we went there last week, and we invited them to be baptized. Inez started saying that she was talking with Isis earlier that morning, about how they both wanted to get baptized. And then Alisson accepted. Please include them in your prayers, they are really close.
There is also Ivani and João-referals from Nilson (see how good Nilson is?!). They also aren´t married, but they are super humble. João is a little more reluctant and seems hesitant to get married, but Ivani wants to get married and baptized.
And one more family-Léia and Igor, mom and son. Léia is going to get married to a member, and Igor is her son (13). Super receptive, already received an answer to their prayers and about the Book of Mormon-so that´s what´s going on.
So these are our main families we are teaching. I think Mom has been wanting to know, so there they are!
Hmmm, what else. I definitely won´t be able to fit everything on my mind in one e-mail. Anyways...
My companion Elder Vilela is awesome. We get along REALLY well, hahaha. I have a lot of respect for him-five years as a member, only member in his family. Yeah I always say this, but he is definitely one of my favorite comps of all time.
So it looks like there will be some changes in the mission office structure. Usually there are 4 secretaries: Executive, Financial, Materials, and one newbie who gets to take the place of one of the above. So Elder Remund is Executive, Elder Graham is the Materials with Elder Vilela. Just that President wants to have less Elders in the office, so one of the senior couple missionaries (the Stouts from St. George) and another one that is to come (the Gneitings from Idaho) will take two of the spots. So until the Gneitings come, Elder Remund Elder Vilela and I will stay in a trio-then when the Gneitings come, Elder Remund will leave. So Elder Vilela and I will be here for a while, training the Senior missionaries. FUN!
Yes, my physical condition has deteriorated just a little...ahem. Sitting in an air conditioned office eating Sister Tanner´s cookies definitely doesn´t help, but I am more diligent in my exercises. I am super sore. Elder Remund and I went for a run the other day, and my legs are so sore. Actually yesterday, and they already hurt.
So over this past couple months I got super down on myself. Ever since I left, a lot of people went less active. I found out that Rose from São Vicente, Carlos Henrique, Guilherme, Bruno, Juan, and BA went all inactive. I got super frustrated. But, I got good news! Do you remember Heldes, Simeia and Caio? Heldes got baptized last Sunday! And Simeia came back to church! And Caio is finally growing up! When I got the news I got so excited that I couldn´t sleep. And President let me watch the baptism! I would have never imagined her getting baptized. It was super cool, because we all kept it a secret until we got there. It´s really hard to describe how I felt, it is pure joy. Elder Anderson, when he came to our mission, gave a talk about how you can count the seeds in an apple, but you can´t count all of the apples that will come out of the seed. So, every thing adds up! Even when you don´t see the end result immediately.
That was definitely my highlight of the week/month/year. And I called up BA and Juan to meet me at the church, and they came and said they would go back to church. So, I was a pretty happy guy this past couple days.
Anyways, I hope you are doing well. I can´t believe Ian already left for school! It´s been two years since I have been where he is right now...time passes quickly. That´s exciting. That must be weird to have the house so empty. What does Ryan do to keep busy?
Mom, I hope you have a great three week break. Let me know how things are going at home.
Wow, Travis is back already?! My English is going to be terrible. Hahaha, Portuguese accents are actually really funny.
So during Zone Conferences this last week, President and Sister Tanner have really been focusing on the importance of the Book of Mormon. We always hear that it is the "keystone to our religion". But it really is that important. I know that the book has converting power, and testifies of our Savior. Sister Tanner told us that it is a book of power and full of the Spirit-that it not only includes testimonies of Christ, but also includes His doctrine. The power of the Book of Mormon is the power of the Doctrine of Christ. Just as it says in 2 Nephi 32:3 and 2 Nephi 31:20, we must feast upon the words of Christ, just as we take care to feed ourselves physically. But remember that just as we thank the Lord for the food that we eat and as we ask Him to bless our food, we can also ask blessings for our studies and be grateful to have the Bible and the Book of Mormon in our lives. I know this is true. There was a good chunk of time where I was "too busy" to study the scriptures and do my scripture studies. But when I started again, it felt so good to feel the peace and the Spirit that comes from reading the words of our Savior. President and Sister Tanner challenged us to read the Book of Mormon starting now until the end of the year. If you would like to join, that would be really cool!
I love you, thank you for everything. Please keep our investigators in mind and include them in your prayers. Always remember how you can help the missionaries closest to you! President Tanner always uses the analogy of M&M´s. Members and Missionaries together makes the work sweeter. Something like that, I didn´t even mean for it to rhyme.
Mas então, tenha uma ótima semana. Eu lhes amo MUITO!
Elder Kahng
PS-Mom, thank you for getting my package together, hehehe. If you could especially remember to get me a camera cable (have Mingoo help you), that would be incredible-there are a lot of pictures I want to send to you. Also, tell Sister Roberts that I got her letter, and I am working on a response!
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