Fruit Loops

Hey Hey Hey!

I am so glad that you are reading this! I hope you have had a great week, I sure know I did! So the first thing I want to discuss with you all is a type of warm herb drink they have down here. It is called chimarrão. So the container is a large, round wooden cup that you fill up with what smells and looks exactly like rabbit food. You then insert a weird metal straw (bomba) with a large bulb on the end with holes to act as a stainer. You then put in close to boiling hot water and let it sit for a bit. Then you drink it. It tastes likes grass... but all the other missionaries are crazy for it! My companion just bought one of the cups and a member of the word dropped off some high quality decayed herbs and Elder Corbitt and Elder Link went at it. They each drank about 7 cups in one hour! Needless to say, they did not sleep well to night and I think that chimarrão might be caffinated :P Here are some of the commanments of Elder Link with regards to the drink.
1. Thou shalt never utter that the water is too hot
2. Thou shalt never mess with the bomba
3. Thou shalt always pass the chimarrão with the bomba facing the reciever
4. Thou shalt not sweeten the water to be drunken
5. Thou shalt always refill the chimarrão when empty
6. Thou shalt not sweeten the chimarrão unless thou wantest to flirt (*Not missionary approved)
7. Thou shalt drink the chimarrão until it is empty
8. Thou shalt never drink the chimarrão two times in a row if another person wishes to partake
9. Thou shalt pass the chimarrão without the touching of hands
10. Thou shalt not drink the chimarrão past dusk unless thou wantest insomnia.

Besides more sod in our house, we also had a baptism this week! His name is Caio (pernounced mais o menos ´´Kyle´´) He is 14 years old and truly amazing. He did not really want anyone at the baptism because he gets embarassed easily and he also does not like taking pictures. But after he was baptized he actually ran into members of his old church that tried to bible bash with him. He took them to gospel school, but was a little rocked by the experience. We helped him understand that there is always opposition to the truth and helped understand the passages they tried to use as counter evidence. He came out of the experienc even stronger and is as excited as ever. The mom says she knows it is true and we hope she will be baptized this week.

We have another family we have been teaching and all three of the eligible kids and probably the mom will be baptized. We marked for the oldest child to read 2 Nephi 2 and when we asked her about it she gave me a summary better than I could have given. I was so impressed. She says she knows it is true and when we asked her what does knowing that the church is true make her want to do, she said,´´It makes me want to baptized.´´ Heavenly music to our ears! She is so elect and her family already appears appart fo the ward! I am so excited that I could have been a part of her conversion process.

So when we were walkign through the park this week we saw a flippin´ Tucan. I wish I could speak to animals to ask if all of them were called Sam, if that was a common name, or if that one guy was just a weirdo. I really wanted fruit loops to feed him :(

I have been studying much more by topic this transfer. One day I will focus on ´´Authority´´maybe, and the next ´´Apostasy´´, and the next maybe ´´Refernces to the Book of Mormon in the Bible´´ so that I learn as much as I can about a subject to help others understand as well. And each time I study something I run into somehow who has a question about what I studied that very same week. When Caio asked about a scripture someone had showed him, I was able to help him because I had studied that exact scripture for the first time in my life that morning. This literally happens all the time! I just studied about contradictions in the bible and that very same day someone asked about the very scripture I had studied. I cannot but help and feel I am being guided in what I study because everytime I study something I have never before, someone always seems to have a question about it. I am just so glad to have the Holy Ghost with me to direct and help me do wha tI need to. I hope you guys all keep it real and learn something new everyday.

Come on really,
Elder Healy

Dress Pants

Howdy!
I am really tired right now because I woke up at 5:30 yesterday and I haven´t really caught up yet! Yesterday was my second Multi-Zone of the mission. A Multi-Zone is where several large groups of missionaries get together to really just teach one another and figure out where we can improve. It was really a great way to reevaluate myself and my work and see where I really need to improve and where I should really be focusing my efforts. President Tanner asked us an open ended question to see how we thought we could baptize more. It was really interesting to hear to the responses and President´s remarks. I still have a long way to go apparently :)

This week was really wonderful. Miracles are truly happening in our area. We will be having the baptism of a mom and a son this week and the husband actually asked if he could come and watch! We are super excited that he is showing more interest because it has been relatively difficult to teach him in the past. Another family we are teaching is truly progressing well. Some of them were able to go to church last week and everyone that went really loved it! It is so good to see the ward extending it´s hand to help our investigators. Most of that family should be baptized next week too! Sunday was really, really rushed. We had to go pick up several investigators in the morning by car and greet everyone in the ward, then we had to make sure each and every investigator had a friend and that all of them new where they were going and what was going on. After the second class we had to run and find another investigator who had not come to church and then we had to run back again so I only had time to say the opening prayer and then leave. And during sacrament meeting we were informed that there was a man who had visited the Church a couple of years ago and had showed up out of the blue. We had to leave to go talk to him so we missed the Bishop´s talk. I still to apologize to him for that :P The man had apparently come to church twice in 1985! I was -6 years old at that time. It should be interesting to see where that goes.

Also, it is so rainy here. The skies will seriously be clear and a couple minutes later, I am being beaten by the wind and drowning under the downpour (*Caution: Exaggeration Behind*) You have no idea how frustrating it is to have no socks left and then go to take some off of the line only to really that they are sopping wet. Then you have got to put back on your sweaty ones from yesterday. Yum! But besides that, this mission is great. I am learning so much and feel as if I am improving in almost every aspect of missionary work.

This week also had a few humorous occurrences. We were once teaching this man and he was standing there with his shirt off which is a pretty common occurrence. When we asked him if we could pray and he said he felt uncomfortable talking to God without a shirt. So we waited for him and he returned with a Play Boy Bunny one. I sure appreciated it... I also had a division this week. The problem was that I did not know we going to so I worked all day in suit pants and Italian shoes. And it rained again. Now the my shoes are a little blue from my wet socks!

I hope you all have a great week, but I gotta go.

Come on really,
Elder Healy

Is Perfume a Sin?

Happy Week After New Years!

It is Elder Healy reporting in again to say hi and hoping you guys are all going swell! So pretty much the best possible thing ever happened! I had a division with Elder Duffy! I feel like Sponge Bob Square Pants´ song titled ´´The Best Day Ever´´ was written to describe that day. I will just give you the highlights. An old lady held Elder Duffy´s hand in an iron grip and planted a fat smooch on it. We ate dehydrated cheese with guava jam as a dessert. Elder Duffy had a past girlfriend of his write him and say she is getting married on the 28th after dating a guy for two months :P (Pssst...Morgan, you should write Elder Duffy... I want a cool brother-in-law) We got on a wrong bus so talked to the ticket master for an hour about America. We invited several people to be baptized. And we ran to buy pizza in flip flops in the rain to compliment our deep fried peppermint oreos. Pretty sweet I know.

This last week has been really amazing. About two weeks ago we asked a lady at a salon if she new where one of our contacts lived. The contact wasnt there, but she accepted a visit from us. We have now taught her almost every day for a week and she will be baptized with her son the weekend after this one! She said that she knows that what we are saying is true because every time we enter the house, a sense of calm and happiness enters also. When we leave, it does too. It is trult is wonderful to see others recognizing the Spirit, and to have the opportunity to see the Spirit act in others as well. Without every meeting him, our investigator says that her husband has started to change as well. He is becoming more open to religion, prayer, and scriptures, and we have never even talked to him!

The thing I am most looking forward to this week is the marriage of two investigators on Saturday. I have literally been teaching them sense I got here, and they are finally doing it! They came from a world very different from that of the Church and it is amazing to see the diffence it has made in their lives. They are happier and their contenance has seemed to change.

I have been really hard to try and work on two accepts of my personality that have always been on the weaker side, humility and sincerity. I often look at my talents, gifts, and abilities and take credit for them, but as I have learned to help others change, I see where I need to change as well. I often elevate myself above what I can actually do and I often take credit for what was merely given to me. As I come to recognize where I falter, I can turn those faults into strengths. The other thing I have been thinkign about is how it is easy to say somethign, but hard to mean it and do it. One book I used to read always would say ´´Words are wind´´ because without force behind them, they dont have much of an impact. I invite all who are reading this to try and think about if what they do and what they say really line up and if what you say is really what you believe. Love you all and have a great week.

Come on really,
Elder Healy

Christmas and More

Hello,

I would first like to apologize for the lack of letters in the last couple of weeks. We were not given time to email home before Christmas and I used the next opportunity I had to talk to my family back at home. I hope you can forgive me! I will try to cover as much as I can in this little amount of time, but I wont be able to cover it all. I bet it was colder for Christmas where you are than where I am! I think this is the first time I have been relentlessly sweaty during the most wonderful time of the year! Since I last wrote you, I have spent 11 days with an 18 year old from the State of Sao Paulo. His name is Malcom and he´s got a part of Brasil and a part of America in him. He was born in the US when he was zero :P and then he moved to Brasil when he was 6. His dad is from Brasil and his mom is from the US. They speak English in the house and Portuguese outside it. SO hes pretty much both. He likes video games, Magic cards, eating, and scripture mastery. Pretty much a perfect match for me!

He had a really hard time talking to people originally and did not know the lessons so I tried to train him while finishing my original training! It was exciting and fun and we worked hard. For Chirstmas, we had a preparation day and ate at a member´s house who had done a foreign exchange program in the US. And she knows how to cook! We had turkey, ham, and roast beef and it was delicious. After that, we just hung out in our house and ate candy and opened our Chirstmas packages. It was relaxing, but really enjoyable.

Elder Zach went home at the end of the transfer and my current companion is now Elder Corbitt. I am 3 for 3 on American companions :) Every companion I have had thus far have been specifically sent to teach and help me with some part of the work. I grew so much with Elder Bybee and Elder Zach and I am really excited to work with Elder Corbitt as well. Elder Bybee showed me how to work hard and what one needs to do to have success as a missionary and a leader. Elder Zach taught me how to help someone else and how to be atonomous. Elder Corbitt is a great missionary because he really cares about the people and wants to teach exactly what will help and investigatpr instead of just going through the routine. He wants them to be converted which is great! He is from Arizona and only has three months left. I guess I will become the missionary serial killer (to kill is to be someone´s companion when they end their mission). He wants to work hard and his style is diffent from those who I have worked with in the past so I should learn alot.

New Years Eve may have been the worst of my life. It was a slow day because ever one in the street was either under the influence or a child, and things got a little crazier later at night so we had to go inside `o´ We still have to go to bed on time, but I set an alarm for 11:58 and then went to bed at 12:01. I whispered ´´Happy New Years´´ to myself and gently tapped one pot against another. I then went back to sleep. YEAH!

When I was finishing my first week with Elder Zach and we were heading back home, I had a really special experience. We were less than one minute away and we needed one more contact to reach our goal for that week. I remember so vividly just silently praying with all the earnesty of my heart that we could just find an elect, that we could just find someone who would listen to our message, who needed to listen to our message. I finished this quite plee and just as I finished we were about to cross the street when we ran into a man at the corner. We explained who we are and why we are here and asked if we could pray with him and meet with him later to talk more about our message. He later related to us that he had never walked down that street before in his life, that he had just felt to try it. He told us that he was searching for a way to change his life, that he was looking for guidance. He has read more of the Book of Mormon in a short period of time than any other person I have ever thus taught and is now preparing for baptism. He has more to go and more to do, but he was an immediate answer to my ferverent prayer. Ask and recieve, knock and it will be opened unto you. Hope you guys have set some good goals and work to reach them and have a great week.

Come on really,
Elder Healy

Mais Fotos da Vida Brasileira

Back in the day

Oi!


I am glad to see you are still reading this! o.o This last week was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. Elder Bybee and myself worke really hard and were able to baptize two people on Sunday with several more plans for the next two weeks. We mae it our goal to get all of the mission standards of excellence, and we did! It was amazing to see what a little running and a lot of focus can do! Elder Bybee will be leaving for the airport to go home tomorrow and I am sad to see him go. We have learned so much together and he is such a great missionary that I feel honored to have worked with him. I have a good while a hea of me and I only can hope to get to where he is. As he is leaving and I am not, I will be recievin a new companion tomorrow and I just found out who he is. Because Elder Bybee´s group has a strange departure date, I will only be with him for two weeks. I will be the senior companion because he is 18 and preparing for a mission! This should be interesting! I am excited and looking forwar to yet another challenge.


This week was not all work and no fun however. We had dinner last Wednesday and I asked the host what were his best memories or something to that effect, and he said his children and then he talked about his drinking days before the Church. I din´t quite mean for the lesson to go that way... :)


Also, while I was walking back with the people from my house after a meeting, I was walking in the gutter and a car came by adn the guy kinda hit me with his arm. I was more suprised then anything. I laugh about it now. I can only imagine his thought process. ´´Driving along. Punch missionary. Unnecessarily yell at him. Continue as normal.´´ :P


I hope everyone who is reading this has a Merry Little Christmas and tries to remember that the true spirit of Christmas is giving and remembering our Lord. I love you.


Come on really,
Elder Healy

Dont Stop 'til ya drop

Drum roll please! ... (drum roll) ... HI!
I just wanted to get you excited. I hope you have had a great week because I know I have. I am getting better and better at the language, better and better at teaching, and better and better at losing myself and going to work. Time already seems to be flying by for me out here. Early this week, for example, I just passed the 4 month mark. How crazy is that? That means I only have like 20 more to go! :P Last Wednesday felt like yesterday, and days are already starting to blur together. Elder Bybee, my companion, trainer, and friend, is going home one week from today so this will be our last full week working together. I am really said to see him go because we have learned so much together. He truly is a great missionary and a great man. We have had such good times together. It is weird for me that as I finish my training, he finishes his service. But we just feel as if the lord is blessing him so much for his service. We have two promised and three possible baptisms this week and almost all of them were just kind of dumped in our lap. Fernando, one of our investigators, stopped us on the street and asked to talk with us, found our home when he was late to the meeting to reschedule, has read Jesus the Christ, the Book of Mormon, the Teachings of Joseph F. Smith, and Principles of the Gospel, and has already been to church with his daughter who also wants to be baptized. Any question he had, he quickly accepted our response, and his only problem was with drinking of coffee. I talked about how we could talk about how it is addictive, not a cure of headaches, but a cause, its ill effects for the heart, but none of this is truly important. What we need to know for ourselves is whether Joseph Smith really was a prophet when he received this revelation or not. If he was, and I testify that he truly was called of God, then this is a commandment and we must keep it. He said that he would stop without problem and I look forward to seeing him on Sunday.
Another of our investigators was so funny when we talked about marking the baptism for this Sunday. We explained to her that each week we report on who might be baptized. She slammed her fist into her hand and said ´´Promised!´´ and told us to tell our zone that. So we did to everyone´s amusement :) Another investigator that we reported this week posed a problem because we forgot her name. So in the meeting we called her Neighbora because she was a member´s neighbor. This brought endless amusement to the Americans and confusion to the Brazilians. We´re so funny :).
For one of lunches this week we went to a churrascaria with the First Counselor of the ward. Now for those of you who do not know what that is, imagine a Brazilian steak house with an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet where fancy waiters walk around bringing you different kinds of meat to sample and there is a dessert table with cinnamon pineapple. I know right? This divine present needless to say did not go un-wasted. I believe I ate more meat then than at any other time in my life. It hurt so good. The problem was that we literally felt sick for the next two days and we could barely walk. I wrote in my notebook ´´I never want to feel this way again.´´ Close quote.
We were at the house of the family that we baptized last week for dinner when the mother said ´´Fatty.´´ We didn’t know what she was referring to so Elder Bybee asked if she was talking to him :( Then Paulo, her son, said that they should name the cat after Elder Bybee. We were all laughing so hard. And then when we were waiting for the bus to return home, Paulo thought it would be a good idea to fence with umbrellas and Elder Bybee eventually responded after being poked several times. They went back and forth for a bit when Elder Bybee tossed his umbrella in the air to distract Paulo and just charged him. Paulo ended up on the ground with Elder Bybee´s knee on his stomach. The results replaced the air around them with something of a smellier variety. They both ran away laughing. Thought you guys would enjoy that one.
At the start of the mission I was constantly fighting between what I wanted to do and what I should be doing. I would think of home, of sports, of video games, of pretty much everything but the MTC. As I have turned more and more of myself over to the work, I feel my character being replaced with attributes and talents I never expected. As I serve and learn more and more, I feel myself becoming a tool that the Lord can actually use to bring about his purposes. I just had to decide whether I constantly wanted to think in opposition ot what I was doing or if I wanted my actions and thoughts to be unified. As I line my will with that of what I am expected to do, I find myself happier and more successful. I decided that this where I want and need to be so I needed to change my wants and needs to match. If you are finding yourself ´´out-of-synch´´ with your surroundings I invite you to look inside and find out why. Either change your environment to match what is inside or change what is inside to match your environment. It is the only way to be at peace and happy with what is around you and what is happening. Prevent this constant struggle because it is the only intelligent thing to do. I just wanted to express my extreme thanks for every person who has sent me a card or package. I have tried to keep every written word and you are in my hearts and in my prayers.
Come on really,
Elder Healy