3-17-14 Picture

Email 3-17-14

Oh hey there!

Just a normal week here as a missionary here in Brasil. We had two awesome baptisms marked this week but with one of them, her mom went crazy on us and didn’t let her go.   And there other one fell through due to work.  Our investigator got home at like 4 in the morning and we couldn't get him to wake up! Ha ha ha.

Transfers was today and guess where I am!?!?!? ... in the same place.. and my companion too!!   I guess President recognized a companionship that works and decided to keep it that way!   I`m super excited!   We have made some super super good goals.    I am SOO excited.

One thing that we have figured out is if we work like every single other missionary on the mission, you get the same results as every other missionary on the mission.   If you want different results, you have to open up and try new things.   We have talked with the bishop here and have made some plans for some super crazy activities and stuff to get the ward excited!   I’ll let you know how it goes after it’s done.  :)

After the transfer meeting we went to an awesome Brazilian churrascaria.   It´s more of a thing in the south and there´s not a lot here, but we found this one.   It´s full of people from Rio Grande do Sul that came up here to open an awesome restaurant.   You sit down and just wait.. and the waiters all have a different type of meat.  They go table to table with a huge chunk of meat and a huge knife and they cut a piece right onto your plate.   It was so good!   They put out like rice and beans and the normal foods too but we went and ate salad and meat!   Ha Ha   it was soo good!

Nothing super weird or different happened this week. Just know that we´re working hard and we´re happy!!

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

So this restaurant they went to today there are 10 different types of meat the servers walk around with; different types of beef, chicken, pork, chicken heart... the usual!  He says that cow heart is  better than chicken heart but the best meat is picanha!  He said, 'It's like a dream...no kidding!!"   (wikipedia - In Brazil, the most prized cut of meat tends to be the picanha, which is the rump cap of a cow)  This cut of meat is expensive and he's only eaten it twice since there.  The restaurant meal cost them 16 reais (around 7 or 8 American dollars) and it was all you can eat!  He also said his companion told him the churrascaria is way better in the south but that having real meat and something different was cool! 

Two of his favorite missionaries friends went home today.  One was from Idaho and a companion, and the other is from Paraquay and they shared a house together a few areas ago.  Kyler is only looking at around 8 months left on his mission!!  

I mentioned that in the picture I saw clouds and did that mean it was... dare I say it... cooler?  He replied, "noooo, it's so muggy and humid!! It's worse than when it's sunny!"  I then asked if there was no relief from the heat at all, except when the sun went down at night and he replied, "YEAH, but we still sleep with a fan blasted on our faces!"  Me, "So it's never cool there?"  Ky, " No. Never.  Only in the cold shower... but by the time you come out, you're all sweaty again."

Today they are making cards at the church with the Church's address on them and then will give them to EVERYBODY!!

In Preach my Gospel this month they are studying Christlike attributes.

He has lost 6.6 more pounds. 

Email 3-10-14

Olá!

This week was good! Kind of.. due to carnival, most of our investigators went out of town..  After 5 weeks straight of baptizing every week, our streak was broken.. Usually carnival is supposed to last a week here in Brazil.. but here in Ceará it lasts two! There were a few days where we were told to not even leave our house due to some of the things that were happening here in the city.   It´s all calmed down now and we have some good goals set for this week, and we plan on reaching all of them. Ha ha... 

We have been teaching this girl, J for like a week or so.. when we were able to leave, and she went to church and loved it!   We went over to her house afterwards and set a baptismal date for next Sunday.. Like a week from yesterday. 

There´s also a man that we´ve been teaching.   His wife is a member and her kids were baptized recently but the dad has some things that we have been helping him with.   We had him set his own date too, and he made it for Sunday, the 16th.   We´re all pretty excited about that too!   I love completing families.   Seeing the whole family receive the blessings that the Lord has in store for them. 

Yesterday we had a meeting with the leaders of the ward and we were on the topic of missionary work, one lady said she wanted to tell a story about something that happened to her that she didn’t want to happen to anyone else.   She said she had a neighbor that she always wanted to share the gospel with but she was kind of scared and nervous so she never really got around to it.   Well that neighbor got sick and moved in with her friend, who was her other neighbor!   One day this lady of the ward walked passed the house where the sick lady was, and she saw her sick, laying in a hammock.   She still wanted to share the gospel with her but was still scared.   She didn’t know what to say, or how to say it.   Well turns out this lady went into a depression and killed herself a short time later.  The lady of this ward went to the lady’s house that was taking care of her, just to see how things were and if there was anything she could do to help..   And the neighbor who was taking care of the sick lady said, ``no, there´s nothing you can do, everything is fine here.. but something that I just thought you should know.``   And she went on to say that a short time before the lady killed herself, she told the lady that was taking care of her that she had always wanted to meet with the Mormons.  She wanted to know what ``they`` were all about!   The only feeling this lady was left with was Remorse.   Something that could not be undone.  Now there´s only one thing that can be done, temple work, right? ;)   But take this story as a lesson.   Don’t be scared to share the gospel. You don’t think that missionaries are nervous, or scared sometimes. I know from personal experience that missionary work is not easy, but it is something that has to be done.   If you feel like you can´t talk to your friends about the gospel, DONT.. just write their name down on a piece of paper with their address and give it to the missionaries. They will know what to do and how to do it. 

That story was really hard to write.. I hope you can understand.. I’m going to have to take an English class when I get home, to learn how to talk again.. ha ha

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

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a little from our e-chat:

 

When I asked him what they were going to do today, he said, SLEEP!!!!   They are working so hard and been so busy -- he's looking forward to a nap!

 

He has to go shopping because his clothes are falling off of him!!  (from his weight loss)  He said that his comp makes fun of him and tells him his pants look like pajamas!!  ha ha ha

 

And he got a weird rash on his hand that he had to buy some medicine for.

 

"We´re eating SUPER healthy now to keep our bodies healthier.   Bad food just builds off of the stress and makes everything worse."

 

"We´re just doing our work here and praying alot!!"  

 

"...we´re just staying positive and baptizing people"

 

"....writing an e-mail (to him) takes like ten minutes or less, but it makes my whole week better!"

 

And he sends hugs out to everyone!

Email 3-3-14

OH HEY!

This week was super good!  We worked a bunch, as always...

 

We have been working with this less active family here in the ward that is returning to church. We figured out that they have a son that wasn´t baptized yet!! We taught him the things he needed to be taught and threw him into the interview! He passed and was baptized on Sunday. We had some awesome investigators there to watch too. One of the ladies we baptized a few weeks ago was helping a lady that was baptized by the other missionaries.  It was awesome to see how someone we helped, is helping others now! :)

On our way to church there was this man in the road that stopped us. He was SUPER drunk.. it´s Carnaval right now.. But he said he wanted to find Jesus and asked if we could stay and talk to him for a little while. We told him that we were going to the church meetings right then and that he was invited. He stood up and we left together. There is a member here that helped him to the Gospel Principles class and helped him to the bathroom and what not..  He then called his mom and told her that he was going to change his life and that he was going to join the church. We went to his house after church and taught him and set some goals and took out the temptation in his life. He prayed at the end of the lesson and balled his eyes out. He truly wants to change, And I am so grateful that I am here to be able to help him.

As it is Carnaval, ALL of the LAN Houses are closed.. so we are here in the church with very limited time. But Just know that I am happy, and that we are working and baptizing até o pó! (alot)  :)

Luv yuv!! Have a great week!

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

Email 2-24-14

One more week has passed here on my life as a missionary.  We worked a bunch with some friends of a member family.  The friends are not(weren´t) members.   We worked a bunch with them and one of the women was preparing to be baptized but didn't feel ready.  We invited her to pray and with faith that´s exactly what she did.   She had a dream the following night, where God told her it was her time to be saved, or in other words.. BE BAPTIZED.   And that she did.   As we were preparing her, the other woman didn't really show alot of interest.   She had some problems so we just decided to let her decide when she wanted to be baptized.   We got to the church on Sunday and They both came up to us and said, ``we will both be baptized today!``   One of them had already been interviewed but not the other.  The mission president was there and gave us permission to interview the other right then.   She was ready.   We had an awesome baptism where two more daughters of god have the opportunity to enter into the kingdom of God.   That makes a solid month of having a baptism every week.   I know the Lord answers our prayers.   Without him in this work, it would be nothing.   I love how the lord blesses people through us.   I am so glad that I am here and that I have the opportunity to learn and grow with these people.   I know that if we want to reach salvation, this is the only path.   I know that Joseph Smith saw God the father and his son Jesus Christ that spring morning, and that he restored the church of Jesus Christ.   He translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God and The Book of Mormon answers all of life's questions.   Logically this church is true, but the confirmations the spirit gives me every day of my life is something I can not deny.   I love this work and I love the support I have.   I love my Savior Jesus Christ.   He died for us, and we have the opportunity to repent and be forgiven of our sins.   How do you think he feels when we sin, knowing that He gave His life for us.   The things in life are cool, but that´s not how we are saved.   We are saved by living and sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.   I know this church and it´s teachings are true.   I invite everyone who reads this to try it out.   Live the Gospel and wait for the blessings.  You will notice the difference.  There is always something we can do better.   Why wait?   Change NOW and receive the blessings NOW!    These are some of the things I have learned in this one year and almost three months that I have been here, with an invite to be a little bit better tomorrow than you were today.   I love every single one of you.

 

These thoughts and my testimony I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

Email 2-17-14

Mmmmmkay!

Life gets more stressful and your time disappears as a Zone Leader. We get home every night and have to follow up with all of the District leaders and make sure everything is good.. Especially with the sisters.  You know how they can be  ;)

This week we worked with a lady, preparing her for her baptism that happened on Sunday.  She had a few things that could have gotten in the way of the baptism but in the end, everything worked out.  She was super excited, and entered into the waters of baptism yesterday.  She chose me to baptize her which made me nervous because she´s kind of... touchy..   But I kept my distance and it was all good!   Ha ha ha

The ward members basically all love us now.   If we keep up the pace we have going, we´ll baptize more people this month than this ward has baptized in the past year.  It´s awesome to see how, through us, God helps his children.

The 70 year old man that was baptized last week was confirmed.   We truly saw how when people are doing the right thing, barriers get put in their path.   Like this man, he was hit by a bike this week and his leg got all messed up!   Good thing he´s in shape!   Ha ha ha he couldn’t walk to church, but we got a ward member to go pick him up in his car.

This letter is so scattered I know, but I’m doing the best I can!!    Ha ha ha

We had some good investigators at church and two of them are possible baptisms for next Sunday. Two ladies. One with 25 years and the other with like 40 or so. They loved the church and stayed to watch the baptism.   I know they felt the spirit the same way I did!!   We have many other possible baptisms here in a few weeks, we just have to get them to church!!

OH YEAH!!   We met this couple last week, I contacted into them actually.   They are super awesome and loved the message and want to learn more.   The only problem is they aren’t married... BUT!   We grabbed their documents and went to the center and marked their marriage.   They have been wanting to get married for a while now but don’t have the financial conditions.  I´m so grateful to be here and to help the people come closer to God through the Restored Gospel!   They accepted a baptismal date for March.. I forgot the day.. but I’ll let you know when it happens!   Ha ha ha..

Anyways, have a great week.. love you all|!!

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

In an e-chat we had with him, he said that it’s great being so busy but he’s so wiped out all the time!!  But it’s good and they have tons of potential baptisms here in a few weeks!

Also, the busier they are, the faster the time goes by!

His good friend, Elder Levi, finally got his VISA and flew to Brasil today.  He’s very excited for him and has been told that he is going to the hottest city in Brasil, but that he will LOVE it!  

Email 2-9-14

Yeess.... I am so tired!   I have never been so wiped out in my life..

We have worked so hard this week, it flew passed. I feel like I was sitting in this exact spot sending an e-mail yesterday!

We were looking in our area book and doing some research of the area and we found out that this area, in the past year has only had 7 baptisms. ONLY 7.....  We got here and in the first week we taught a man and baptized him! :)   His name in R, he´s 70 years old and so elect!   Elder E baptized him.   It was awesome!   Everyone was asking be what area I am in and stuff and when I told them the name of my area they all got a sour look on their face and said.. oh, I’m sorry.. that’s the worst area in the mission.   That’s so stupid.   Bad areas don’t exist, but bad missionaries do.  On Tuesday we made over 50 contacts, just inviting people to go to church.  Some people accept and some not. The people that accept, we say, ``this week we will pass by your house and share a message with you and explain a little bit more about the church.``  It is the best.   We worked out butts off, and marked 5 baptismal dates, with many many more to be marked this week.   We have two possible baptisma this Sunday.  One of them is a lady named E.  We went to her house thinking it was somebody else.  We knocked on her door, and she said for us to wait a little bit.  When she came out she had two chairs in her hand for us to sit on.  We sat down thinking she was the girl we wanted to talk to.  (We talk with so many people sometimes we forget who is who.)  We later found out that we had never talked to her in the past, but she was very open to learn more!   We taught her and she actually wanted to be baptized.   We set the date and she went, and loved church!

The members here are so supportive!   One member has a Volkswagen bus that he uses on Sunday exclusively to take the missionaries with him to go pick up the investigators.   It was awesome.   Many people don’t have cars here, so it’s nice not to have to walk a half hour with the investigators to church.   This member is the man! :)

The other guy that went was T.   He wasn’t even going to go because of work but we got him to.   He had to leave a little bit early . We ended up talking in church.   He had to leave right after I talked.   But he loved the talks, and the spirit he felt in the church.   It’s impossible not to feel the spirit in the Lords true church, right? :)

I hope this is understandable.. It gets harder and harder to write in English every week!   Just know that I am happy, working hard, and preparing people to be able to enter into the kingdom of God!

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr

A little more info:

From Cara:   We have a new Elder in our ward that looks like Kyler....so much so that Madison ran up to him after church, hugged his legs and asked, "Why were you gone so long?!" It was hilarious and SO cute!!! I didn't realized how much I missed Kyler until I saw that Elder today.

(When asked what he is doing today)    Sleeping.. I’m so wipéd out.  We worked so hard this week, we were about to start canceling lunch to be able to meet with all of our investigators!  Ha ha   we’re booked 10 in the morning-12 for lunch. Then 1:30-9:30 every day!!!   I’m DYING!   It feels so good to get home and know that you did everything in your power to help everybody possible in that day.

Even president last night on the phone said that we’re in the ``hole`` of the mission.   My comp was talking to him and said.. Well president, that makes things easier.. Just fill that hole up with water and baptize the people in it!  Ha ha ha

  (from Shannon:   The Lord picked a great team to put in the “hole of the mission!!”   :)   )

Email 2-3-2014

Olá!
This week was pretty awesome.  D was finally baptized and he chose me to perform it.  It was so awesome.  This man has so much faith it is incredible.  He is 22 years old and has a girlfriend.  The first time we taught the law of chastity he took it to heart.  He promised us, the Lord and himself that he would keep all of the commandments.  His faithfulness to the Lord shines.  His girlfriend was so interested in the church.   Like why would someone leave so many things behind to be able to enter into the church? It’s because people realize that this is the actually the Lord’s church here on earth.  I’ll put some pics and send them when I finish this letter!   It was great though.

 Oh yeah, transfers were yesterday and I....... left.   I only stayed 7 weeks in my last area with Elder S.   Remember Elder P, my ``son`` on the mission.   He is now Elder S companion. So both of the missionaries that I trained, (my sons) are now companions.   It’s awesome.  I taught them everything they need to know to be able to help in the growing of the Lord’s kingdom. They know how to find, teach, and baptize.  I look forward to hearing about all of the success they will be having here in the future!

I got called to be a zone leader!   So I’m here with Elder E.  He’s from São Paulo and he has one more transfer than me on the mission.  He has like a year and three of four months.  We’re in the Parquelândia area.  So remember how I’ve opened three areas on my mission!?   Well now me and Elder E. are opening a zone!   We’re zone leaders in a brand new zone.   Our zone has TEN sister missionaries. It will be interesting!   And like four elders.

I’m super excited for this calling to be able to help these missionaries to the best of my ability.   My comp holds records in this mission.   He is SO LEGIT!   He’s a hard worker, and super funny.   We’re going to dunk so many people this transfer..

Have a wonderful week!!

-Elder Kyler Blane Farr