9.21.09

Hey Family,

I am glad to hear that everything is going well back home. One my goals is life is to hike to the “Y”, if Aunt Becky can do it, I can to. Thanks for the hope and the example Becky.

This last Saturday Elder Lacerda and I went to less active’s house. To get to the house and teach the lesson and return to our area of force took us about four and a half hours. Let me explain the journey. We got a van for 1,75 reais. The van took about 40 minutes to get their barrio. In the van we told the driver that we want to get off at the barrio Canaa. When we arrived he told to get off and follow the road. We got out of the van I look down the road and saw a river, I thought to my self “NOSSA E AGORA”. We followed the road and it turned at the river. When we made that turn I saw a bridge. A BROKEN Bridge. ”NOSSA E AGORA” . I asked a man on bike if he knew where that barrio was and he said to keep going and that we would get there. To cross the river we took a 45 seconds canoe ride.( first canoe ride of the mission) then we walked in the forest went across the road and got to the barrio. “NOSSA E AGORA” I look at my planner for the name of the street and the number of the house. I had only the street name. So we found the street after 20 minutes of walking like chickens with theirs head cut off. Once on their street we started to make contacts with people asking if they knew Adriana , and at the same time looking on the clothes line for Garments . We found the house through a member of another church that knew everyone on that street. We found the house and taught Adriana. She wants to get baptized but she is not married. Her husband was baptized eleven years with his sister in Belem. His sister served a mission in São Paulo and she helping her brother and his family become active in the church again.The faith that family has to leave their house every Sunday at 7 in the morning to go to church is huge. Adriana was one of two investigators in the Chapel Sunday. A family that we are working with the lives 2 ,minutes from the chapel didn’t go Sunday because they sleep in.

The test of our Faith.

Elder Spencer
I love the mission

9.14.09

Hey family,

This last week was named the week of miracles. There is a reason behind. Remember i wrote last week that Maicon would be baptized on Saturday. The baptism didn't happen on Saturday. But it happen Sunday morning before church.

I´ll explain. Thursday night we pass by his house to talk with him about the baptismal meeting. He told us that he would work on Sunday so he wouldn't be able to be confirmed on Sunday. So we canceled the baptism for Saturday for that reason. Friday we started a fast and asked the Lord to help Maicon find time to be baptized so that he could receive the same blessings that his wife received and that the family could be able to go the temple next year to be seal together forever. We ended the fast Saturday at lunch and we hadn't hear anything from Maicon. Saturday afternoon made the journey out of his house to speak with him or his wife. We spoke to his wife because he was working still. But she told us that there was a chance that he wouldnt work on Sunday but she wouldn't know until that night when he return from work. We left with new hope that he would be baptized on Sunday. About 8 o´clock we called Maicon about 15 times but nothing. Nobody answered the phone. We started the trek back our house and about 45 minutes later we called him again after the fifth try he answered and told us that he wouldn´t work on Sunday. Man, was I happy. You have no idea. We called the first conselhiro told him about the baptism was going to happen before church on Sunday. We ran home and called ours leaders to have them come and give the interview at 7:30 Sunday morning. At 8:15 Maicon was baptized. My companion ELder Lacerda baptized him.( his first baptism of his mission)

I have a bigger testimony of that heavenly father really answers our prayers and that fasts are important for our growth and the growth of other people.

I love the Mission.

Love Elder Spencer

I hope everyone understood my e- mail this week.

9.7.09

Hey family,

This weekend we are head for the waters of baptism. Maicon is firm for this Saturday.

This past week flew by. We had a conference with President Godoy of the first quorum of the seventy. He also was the ex mission president of Belem ten years ago. It was an awesome experience to hear him speak. He had so many jokes about the mission that were so true. He talked about many things that happen in the daily life of a missionary and how to be a missionary of success. It was a great spiritual experience for me.

The work in the area is going well; the members are helping out a lot. About four or five this week the members walk with us, taking us to theirs friends to teach them. It´s awesome when the members do that, it’s a lot easier for to teach people. The youth here are super excited and want to get together to find and visit the less actives, to bring them back to church. The youth have a lot of love for their fellow youth. It makes me think if I was ever like.

That reminds of something that President talked about, that the mission should always being going up (like a graph) and that when you return from the mission that that trend of increasing should continue to increase. That when a missionary returns he should still had a fire in the bones to serve the Lord and help his home ward. And not think that all is done, but think that everything has just begun.

That´s what I learned this week.

Com amor,

Elder Spencer

i am not in the picture because i had to leave early to get a boat back to my area.

elder Spencer

8.31.09

Family,

This last week was short and we spent were little time working in the area. We had a Conference with president Campos and another with Elder Tubias( an area seventy). The conference with elder Tubias was wonderful. The first on my mission at any type of general authority has come to speak us the missionaries. This next week the second counselor in the area presidency, Elder Goday will come to Belem to speak to us. I am excited because he was the mission president for this mission 10 years ago. I also had the opportunity to hear him speak in the CTM.

We were going to have a baptism this Saturday but it fell though. Maicon and his wife weren’t able to make it out to church on Sunday. But we remarked it for the following week. The area is huge and its not possible to work in it all. I will guess that to walk from one end of the area to the other would take 3 and half hours walking at a good missionary walking pace. The only other form of transportation that we have is a van that passes until seven o´clock at night. So we spend a lot of time walking to Maicon’s house which is a good hour and 20 minute from our house. We go there every single day.

Life is good, and my still learning a ton as missionary. I love it. I am learning a lot with Elder Lacerda.

Elder Spencer

8.31.09

heres a photo of a lady that i taught but didnt get to see her baptism because i was transfered 3 days before. my old comp baptized her. i will attached part his letter about her baptism, so you can read and be edified.love elder spencer

Presidente tivemos uma maravilhosa experiencia essa semana com o batismo da irma leodora...Ela chorou ao sair da agua e na confirmaçao ela chou outra vez... ela disse que sentiu naquele momento algo maravilhoso...Quero lhe contar como foi encontrar elssa mulher.. ela tem 78 anos e estava varrendo a frente de sua casa...Eu e elder spencer estavamso andando a muito tempo e eu nao aguentava mais aquele sol na minha cabeça, entao parei e falei com ela... e me surpreendi quando ela disse a idade dela e estava com uma força incrivel...Puxou duas cadeiras e iriamos deixar uma mensagem com ela... quando seu neto flavio chegou e ouviu a mensagem, em trez semana flavio foi batizado e nodia do batismo dela foi tao forte o espirito que ela sentiu o desejo de ser batizada e foi a igreja pela primeira vez na confirmaçao de seu neto de 19 anos.. ela ficou maravilhada com tudo.. nem se importou em andar no sol durante 50 minutos para capela e depois voltar pra sua casa.. a péMarcamos o beismo dela e com toda certeza ela sabia que era aquilo que ela queria... todos os domingos ela vai com seu neto a igreja andando , seu neto recebeu o sacerdocio e ja prepara e distribue o sacramendo, infelizmente ele nao sabe ler mas o presidenete fabio esta ensinando portugues pra ele... e esse sabado ela foi batizada, e chorou ao sair da agua e me deu um abraço e agradeceu pela força que vem do santo espirito...No domingo ela foi a igreja e levou todas suas filhas, e ao ser confirmada ela orou por sua familia para que eles pudessem sentir o mesmo que ela estava sentido pois era mais precioso que tu que é mais precioso... e novamente ela chorou.. sua familia mora em um lugar que nao tem a igreja mas ela vai ampliar a casa e vai tyraze-los pra virem morar aqui e poderem ser batizados e estarem proxiomos dela... seus dois netos seram batizadoa dia 12 e 19... de setembro...O Senhor tem feito milagres nessa area... domingo tinha 159 pessoas na capela com uns 45 homens e os outros ramos tambem estavam cheios...Em breve essa estaca sera dividida pode ter certeza disso...