Letter July 23, 2008

Hey! How are things going? It definetly sounds like you had a bit of a difficult week this week. but it also sounds like things are working out. which that is always good. i am definetly sorry to hear that Kaya was let go, because they decided to sell that restaurant. but i bet that she will find another job really fast. and i know that she is going to have a bunch of fun at girls camp, she always does. and remember to let me know when those pictures get there that i sent two weeks ago, and yes i definetly want reeses, i dont care if they melt. i brought my pajama pants with reeses on them and every day they remind me that they dont have reeses here in brazil, and then i am sad. and you well have to let me know when you hear from Matt about his mission call. i am going to write him today i started writing him before my companion and i left the apartment. but i wasnt able to finish it, i also wrote josh, i am so excited for him. i think about him just about every day now, but before the only time that his name popped into my head was when i got a letter from him and i read. haha jk. but things are going pretty well, i am still progressing in the language and am doing a lot better. i think that now i have a better companion and he has been helping me a lot more with the language, one because he has more patience and he lets me teach. and i have really been trying to push myself and i have been seeing a big difference lately. and for juston dad tells me that he is working two jobs now. he got a graveyard job at Home Depot loading trucks and he did tell me that he got your package that you sent him. but i guess he is struggling and dad also told me that he has been complaining a bit. because he thinks that kaya got everything that she ever wanted since she was practically born and that i have gotten all that i wanted ever since i turned 17, but i just pray for him every night and i just have to have faith in God that he will take care of him. because there really isnt a whole lot that i can i do for him now, being nearly around 8000 or so if not more miles away from him. but things are going really well for me. i mean my companion and i seem to be in a bit a slump right now, because we have been teaching and teaching. but none of the investigators seem to be really making any progress, because they dont seem to have the desire to change and start living the gospel. we have marked a few baptismal dates for next month and we are hoping to get some baptisms, but we will see if they actually hold up. because you never know, they might back down at the last minute. Because none of them really seem to have a great desire, but all we can do is just keep teaching, praying, working, and fasting and then just hope for the best. i finished the book of mormon again today i plan on starting it again tomorrow. and i also plan on writing juston today i really need to. i wrote kaya last week, so she should be getting that soon and i also sent those pictures. so you should be getting those with in the next few days. and if you could, please send a few of them to dad, because i really dont have a whole lot of time to do that. but things are going really well. and send me some pictures of the family if you can, because every one here is always asking about my family and if i have any pictures and all i have are the pictures that we took together at the MTC in Provo and i would like some more if you could get some to me. but there really isnt anything that i need that i can think of right now, but i would like some stain remover if you can find any anywhere that you will be able to send really easily, because the stuff here pretty much sucks. but yeah......my companion and i did have a good lesson last night that i ofrgot about. with a man and his son, we ran into this man a couple of weeks ago while we were giving a lesson to a family outside there door. he was drunk and he just came up to us and starting talking to us about all sorts of things, like his bible and he really wanted to show us his bible. so he went home got it and came back and started talking to us again, and then we decided to mark an appointment with him. so we did, but we ended up missing it, because we were way busy the day that we had him marked down for. so we returned like the next day or so and marked a different day, which was last night and we taught him the third lesson. and it went really well, the spirit was there and we mark his baptismal date. and i really like him, there is something about him that i really like. i have no idea what it is, but i really hope that everything continues to go well with him. because i can tell by look in his eye that he needs this gospel and that he is struggling. an i pray that everything will work out with him........and then on sunday, we had a bit of different experience. my companion and i had the opportunity to teach the first lesson to a prophet.....atleast he thinks that he is.....it was really weird but interesting. because he really believed that he was a prophet, i mean he admitted that he had never talked with God or anything, but he still believed that he was a prophet. and we also found out that he is a member of a church here in brazil that has a prophet and 12 apostles, and they stay inside all day searching for God. which was really interesting. but some crazy things go on here in Brazil, and it is just a really weird place. but everything is going really well with me. but i need to be getting going and i need to write a letter to the president still. but i love you guys so much and i miss ya. you are always in my prayers and i hope that things get better and they stay that way. i am starting to fall in love with mission and it has been really good. but i really cant think of anything else that is going on. i love ya and tell kaya hi for me and give everyone else my love. tell steve that he needs get of his lazy butt and do something with his life like maybe write me a letter or something. jk but i love you and i miss ya. O evangelho é verdadeiro e esta obra é a obra de Deus. Eu sei que com a ajuda de Deus e Jesus Cristo nos podemos fazer e realizar todas as coisas. Com Amor, Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter July 16, 2008

Hey! How are things going? Things are going a lot better this week than they were last week. i have had a turn around in the language at last i think that i have. after i vented to you a bit last week about it. things really changed, i had tried so hard to be patient with the language. but i dont know what happened last week, i guess i kinda lost it. because i want so much for people to be able to understand what i am trying to say and how much i love this gospel. but it is so hard to explain myself when my vocabulary is so limited. but i did have a turn around, i pretty much understand almost everything, atleast it feels like that. i dont really have to ask people to repeat things over and over anymore and things are going a lot better. i am still having a lot of trouble with the speaking thing, but my new companion helps me so much more that my last companion. my last companion was a bit of work horse and my new one has a lot more patience with me with the language. and has been letting me teach more and letting me teach newer things that i have never taught before and i am gaining more and more confidence in the language. my companion and i can have good long conversations, not just pitty little chats. and thigns have been going really well, i mean of course i miss america and the great country that it is. but things are going good hear, it is sad that juston isnt doing really well, but i try and write him. because dad says that he sees him once and i while and i hope that juston will atleast get on his feet i pray for him and i fasted for him last fast sunday. i know that he will some around, i just dont know when. but the work is going pretty well, we had baptism last week and we have couple more people that we are teaching that have the desire to be baptized and we have been meeting some really great people. and things are going really well. it sounds like kaya is doing really well, which good to hear. tell her that i love her and miss her and that i will try and write her today, because i didnt recieve any letters today and i have plenty of time to write. so i will write her and try and write juston again. but things are going really well, i am trying to think of things to tell you. oh yeah yesterday we had a bit of a rough day, we went tracking all morning ang tried to get some lessons taught. and we walked and knocked a lot, but no one would let us in and let us teach them. we got rejected all morning and that was a bit discouraging if you ask me. but we finished the night off with some good lessons and we visited a family of new members. we go to there house about every night, because she makes us food everytime that we go there and they are a really neat family. and i really like them and so does my companion. and things have been looking up and i am doing well. i am mean it is hotter than heck here, but things are going good. haha today the elders in the apartment were talking about how many p days they have left until they go home and one leaves in 4 weeks and my companion leaves in 10 and then there is me.......88. haha but yeah things are going good and i cant really think of anything else to talk about. and i have received two letters from the taylors. one from big sam and then one from camille. and i have been receiving other letters from people all over the place and i am feeling the love. i look forward to every p-day, because i get to read letters from family and loved ones. and i know that you will send this to the Robin Roberts family and i just wanted to thank Juleah for the encouraging wards. things have been looking up, i had a bit of a hard week. but i am doing better now. i just need to press forward, because i know that i will be fluent someday. i just want it to be now. but i dont always get what i want. but things are going really well and i love you. but i gotta write my letter to the president. but i love you and send my love to everyone. your photos should be there soon, because i sent them last week. and in the package i want REESES. and then whatever else. but i love you and i miss you. Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter July 9, 2008

Hey! Things are going as good as they can i think at this point. it has been really hard this first transfer i never imagined what it could be like, but it has been nothing but hard. the language is still a pain in the rear and i can never explain myself to anyone or say what i want to when i want to, i have never been this quiet in my entire life. i swear that everyone thinks that i dont have a personality. but things are coming along, i am just trying to be patient. which isnt exactly something that i have gifted with. but i am trying to do the best that i can. it sounds like you guys have been doing really good and having a blast without me, i am not going to lie. i am a bit jealous, but i love this gospel and i love this opportunity to be a missionary. and we had transfers this last week and to find out they closed our old area, because 12 elders are leaving home this transfer and only 1 is arriving. so both my companion and i were transfered to different areas. so i am now in a new area with a new companion, which is weird and is a real bummer. because i had just started getting to know some of the people and i just started to get to know my companion too. but what can i do i am in the Lords hands and he does with me what he will. i have been writing casey, but i havent received a letter from him in a long time. not since i was in the provo mtc. but i hope that everything is going well for him. i really like our new mission president, at the zone conference i was able to sit with him and his wife and just talk. his wife doesnt know any portuguese and is about the same boat as i am. but they are from New Jersey and they are a great couple, i think that i am really going to enjoy the time that i have left here with them. i hit the 21 months left mark last week and the 15 transfer left too. which i guess since i konw that you could call me trunky. but i dont know, i dont want to come home though i just want to learn this stupid language and start having a real impact. i am so sick of sitting there and listening to my companion talk to people. i can understand quiet a lot when people speak slower, but when they speak fast. ha i am totally lost. and yesterday i fell asleep during a lesson, because i couldnt understand anything and my companion was just taking with the investigator. but then it got a little better, because last night we taught the first lesson to a sister of a member here in my new area, which by the way i have no idea what the name is, and i was able to teach more than i have ever taught before. which is good, i see the progress in the language almost everyday. but i dont know it seems like i have always been able to conquer almost ever obstacle in life a lot easier than this one. but i am doing good i dont want to come home or anything so dont worry. when you come pick me up i will be fluent. but right now the children in the nursery can speak portuguese better than i can. but i have plenty of time. but my new companion is pretty cool, he is a brazilian as well and his name is Elder Vieira. He only has two transfers left, so maybe i will get the chance to kill my first companion, but not in the literal sense. but things are going good, in my last area we had two more baptisms and a wedding and they went great. i have tons of pictures on a cd that i will try and send sometime and you need to get a hold of josh so that he can see alittle bit of what brazil is like and looks like. but i have pictures of my first contact ever, because my professor in the CTM took pictures of us and put them on cds. so you will be able to see me at work and a picture of the first person that rejected me, well not me, but the gospel. but things are going good and well i dont know what i want you to write to me. just things like how people are going ang how things are going at what you have been doing like you did in this letter. it was a good letter, i did get a little homesick because of the rollercoaster talk but other than that it was good. oh and the camping, i want to go camping and when i get home you get to buy me a bike too. because you bought kaya one and i dont wanna hear that you wont buy me one, because you will. jk i dont care i understand that she needs it and i am really proud of her, she finally got her first like real job that is awesome. but i really dont have anything else to write about, i will try to send these pictures to you today but i might not be able to get them off until next week. but i will do my best, send my love to everyone and tell kaya that i love her. but i love ya and i miss ya. Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter July 2, 2008

Hey, Hey, Hey! HOw are things going? How is kaya doing? tell her that i love her and i will write her, because i havent written her yet. but i am really busy, but i think that i will be able to get one off to her today. because my companion and i decided to just chill and stay in the house today. so i will be able to get a bunch of studying time in and just a bunch of time to relax from the long week that we have had. every night i come so tired, i just take a shower and hit the sack. but things have been going good. our baptism that we were supposed to have on this past sunday fell threw, because to find out the girl that we were teaching was pregnant and she has to wait atleast a month now to be baptized. which i really hope that she does, because she wants to be. but we will see, because she never comes to church and doesnt really keep her commitments, but i pray for her and i hope that she does come around. but on a better note this weekend we have another wedding and two baptisms. the couple have a son that might be baptized as well, but we havent had the opportunity to teach him yet, but he did come to one of the church activities that we had a few weeks ago. which is really good, things just seem to be going really good right now.....knock on wood.....and yeah i was able to baptize two of the members of the family that we baptized a week in a half ago, and it was my first time but it was a great experience. and i dont know if you will be mad with me or not, but i kinda gave away one of my suits to father of the family that we baptized, because he doesnt have one and i just love the family so much. and i only need one suit anyways and it will give me more room in my luggage and i wont have to worry about that so much anymore. and he was super excited when i did give it to him, so i am glad. plus they are such a good family. i am been so blessed to know them. save your money up, because i really want you to be able to meet this family. they are awesome, they were confirmed on sunday and that spirit was so strong. and they continue to read and go to church. we still meet with them. and everytime we do they have read something new and have some new question for us. the have a bunch of books about the church too, the scriptures of course and the priniciples of the gospel book and then they have a bunch of dvds that we have given to them. we had Noite Familiar (family night) with them this week and we had the couple that will be baptized this weekend come with and that went really well. we watched a movie on temples that i bet you have seen before, i cannot remember what it is called. but it was good and then we talked afterwards and Laudejane the mother of the family is helping with the wedding this weekend. they just an amazing family. and then this weekend we had another great couple of lessons, we are teaching this one lady. and she awesome too, the first time that we taught her, my companion just kinda thought it was just another lesson that nothing will come out of. but we returned to acompanhar( i cant think of the word in english), and when we arrived she was sitting outside her door. and as soon and she saw us she went into the house grab the pamphlet that we gave her to read about the restoration and sat down and started asking questions about the preisthood and the book of mormon. and it was an awesome lesson. we taught about the book of mormon gave her a book of mormon and she was really excited to recieve it. oh, it was just awesome. i love it. but the mission isnt just all fun and games. we have been having our struggles, we have alot of poeple that seem like they are interrested and then they just reject the message that we have to give, and the weather is hot hot hot and hot. yesterday i forgot to put on sunscreen and it was hot and i got pretty red from it. and now i am starting to get a pretty defining tan line. my companion says that my body is a bright as the sun and then my face and arms are........red........but things have been going awesome. we didnt go to the mission home today to get our mail, because my companion didnt want to make the trip. so i wont get any mail until friday. because we have zone conference with our new mission president and then i wont be able to open and read or write until next p-day, becaise that is the rules. which reallys sucks, because i love letters and i wont get any this week. but oh well life go ons. but yeah we got a new mission president on Monday, because our old Mission president, President Itinose was called to the Quorom of the Seventy at last General Conference. the language is coming better and better, it still is a pain in the rear. and sometimes i feel like just screaming at the top of lungs because i cannot say what i want to and i cannot express myself the way that i want to. but i am trying to have patience with it, my favorite things to do, would definetly be talk english. because i never get to with my companion, but once in a while him and i argue about the stupid things, it is really funny. he is pretty funny i love the guy, but yesterday he acted like he was going to push me in front of a bus and then he said....American dies in Brazil.... and told him that would start a war and then he started talking about how brazil would win and started saying all this stuff about america and then how war is bad. it was stupid and i couldnt say anything that i wanted, because i didnt know how, so i started talking to him in english. but he doesnt understand anything. it was stupid and we both had a pretty good laugh about it. oh and yesterday he decided to make me the Senior companion for the day and i got to pick the houses that we knocked and where we taught and i had to do the talking. which is really hard but it felt good. but things have been going good, every time something bad happens, something good follows. but everytime something good occurs, something difficult follows. so we get a pretty good balance of good and difficult. but being a missionary is good and i love it and i wrote alot this time, because i want to get a lot more from you. you always send me the smallest emails. where is the love? i am just kidding....but seriously.....=) but things have been going really good and i need to write my weekly letter to the president. but i love you and hope that everything is going really good. hope you have a good 4th of July without me, i am going to miss that holiday alot. and alot of the other holidays that they dont have here. but life go on. love you and miss you hope you have a great day and a fantastis week. Com Amor, Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter June 25, 2008

Hey! How ae things going? i am devistated to hear about juston, it tears my heart because i care about him so much. but all i can do is pray for him and hope that he comes around, dad doesnt help him at all. because he is always on his back and it really upsets me that he is. but i cant do anything about that. but things here are going really good, the baptism and wedding were amazing. we baptized a family...Laudejane, Irinelton, Iraílton. Elisângela, and they are a great family. We still stop by and talk with them once in awhile, but i really dont know what to tell ya. because i dont know a ton about them, because i can only understand some of the stuff that they talk about. My vocabulary is pretty limited to only the gospel, but i am working on expanding it. plus i have only been here for three weeks. but we have been having fun and working a lot. today we went to the zoo that they have here and took some pictures bought a souveignir, i cant remember how to spell it i am going to have to learn english all over again when i get back. but things are going really well, we have atleast four more baptisms coming up here really soon, because we set a couple more dates. one is this sunday, a 15 year-old girl that is related to a member in the ward, then next week we have another wedding and baptism of three, another small family. the work is going really well. God has been working a miracle in this area. because no one every baptizes this many people in a transfer, you lucky if you get two or three. so things are going great. the weather is hot and the work is hard, but things are going awesome. it sounds like things are going really good with you and Kaya, i hope things keep getting better. and they broke the ground this past week and started building the new temple here. last p-day we went to the temple site and took some pictures of the site and Rio Negro(Black River). and then we also had the Area Presidency come and talk to us. which was good, it was hard for me to understand everything that they said, but i understood enough to understand what the point is that they wanted to get across, so that is good. and we are getting a new mission president this coming transfer, because our mission president was called to the Seventy last general conference. the new president will be an American, President Jamie. but that is pretty much everything that has been happening. because everyday is about the same, walk, get rejected, walk, teach, walk, get rejected, walk, teach, feel the spirit a ton, and just make what you can out of everyday. and it seems that all the most difficult days have always had something great happen at the end of them. every day that we have marked dates for baptisms has been a very difficult day with one good thing happening. but i love it and things are going good. but i love you and i will pray for juston a ton, because he really needs it. but i love you and hope everything is going good. o evangelho é verdadeiro. Com Amor, Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter June 18, 2008

Hey!How are things going in the good old United States? brazil is very different than america and i am not going to lie, i will kiss the ground of my home country when i get home. but i plenty of time to plan for that. how is kaya and juston? i am so excited to hear where josh is headed, tell him that he better write me soon so that i can find out where he is going. everything is going pretty good here, my companion and i are in a more difficult time. we had a difficult day yesterday, not a lot of people wanted to hear the gospel. so we only got in a few lessons and did a lot of walking. but i got the package i went and payed for it. it ended up only being about 200 reais. and it is because of customs and the imported goods inside of it. they charge extra money for things like the ipod and the speakers. dont ask me why they do it for everything, it has already happened to a few elders here other than myself. so no worries with that. but the work is still going good even though we had a rough day yesterday. and we are really excited for the four baptisms that we have coming up on sunday, being able to see the progress of the investigators is really awesome. the spirit is so strong and the Lord has his hand in this work. but.....not a whole lot has happened lately, the language is getting better and better just about everyday and i understand more and more and can speaks more and more about everyday. the Lord has blessed me with the help. and i am beginning to love the work more and more too. at first it was hard, and still is because i cant speak really well. but things are getting better and better and i am in the Lords hands. i trust him with all my heart and will just do what i can and i know he will do the rest. i do have a couple of really funny stories, one an old man tried to rob my companion and i, hahaha it was hilarious. two another elderly man confessed all his sins to my companion and then afterwards got on one knee put my companions hand on his head and asked him to heal him. i busted up laughing it was so funny. but the old man that tried to rob us was hilarious, he just casually walked up to us while we were standing out side the church and then he tried to be fast and started reaching into our pockets. but he was to slow and we would just grab his hands. he seemed like he was either drunk or a little crazy. but he was funny and it was funny that he tried to rob us. but things are going good, we are hoping that we can set some more dates for baptism this upcoming week. but this area is one of the harder ones in the mission. my companion has only baptized three in this area the entire time he has been here. which is from about april until now, which isnt really good. he was telling me that before this area he served in an area where he baptized thirty people in just a few weeks. but i happy and am doing well. the gospel is true and i love you. tell everyone hi for me and give them hugs and thnks for the card that you sent me. and tell grandma roberts that justons b-day is on the 4th not mine. she sent me a birthday card. but i love you and tell kaya i love her and juston the same. and tell steven that i miss my little Love Muffin. but things are awesome, hope you have a wonderful day and a fantastic week, Com Amor, Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter June 11, 2008

Hey! how are things going? i have good news and some bad news. ok the good news first. my package came, and the bad news is i cannot receive it from the post office until i pay 180 American Dollars or about 300 Reais. so yeah i am going to need some money put into my checking account, the account at Freedom Credit union. and i know that you might not have alot of money, so just try and put in as much as you can and i can take care of the rest. because i have some money in the account that grandma norton has set up for me. i just dont know how much. i know at least one hundred dollars. but yeah, see what you can do with that and i will just check the account the next time that i go to the post office, which will probably be next p-day. but enough about the less important stuff. i have been having a great time, it isnt easy walking about 12 or more miles a day. and my feet and legs hurt after every day. and it doesnt help the it is so hot that my clothes are soaked with sweat. but other than that i love it here. the spirit is so strong and we have some investigators that are starting to make some good progress. we have one family that has a date set for baptism but the couple have to get married first. so they will be married on the 21st and then on the 22nd they are getting baptized. at least three of them are so far, but the spirit is just so strong when we go over there. they are a great family. in fact we went over there a couple of nights ago and should them the movie The Testaments and the spirit was so strong that entrie family was in tears and it was an amazing experience to see the spirit touch the hearts of the non-members that we are teaching and to see the joy that it brings them. the mother was talking forever after the movie and i couldnt understand everything that she was saying. but i am pretty sure that she was talking a lot about here family and how much she loves them and it was just and amazing experience. the gospel is true. and a few nights before that we should the movie the restoration to a small family and the spirit was just so strong. it has just been amazing, i love being a missionary. oh and the language........i definetly dont have it done as well as i thought i did, it is so much harder to teach when you are actually teaching real investigators. so i have a ways to go with that, the language is a huge barrier. but i will get over it, the Lord has already been helping me with that. because i seem to be able to understand more and more everday. but all the missionaries say the by the 2nd month i should be talking pretty good portuguese. so i will just hang in until then and just keep studying it and working hard and it will come. i try not to worry about it. but it isnt a big problem, because my companion and i can communicate and that is really good. and the american in our apartment is from Orem, Elder Robinson and he helps me out a little bit all the time. especially when i really need it and he is pretty cool. but it has been really good for me to have a Brazilian companion because if i didnt i wouldnt learn the language as quickly. and we had Zone conference this past week and all the new missionaries had to bear their testimonies and everyone said that mine was the best. and i have no one to thank but my Heavenly Father, because this past week i have never felt more tranquilo and calm than every before in my life. the Lord is watching out for me and you need not worry about me at all. things are just awesome. I am serving in the area called Adrianópolis in the middle of the city. so i havent seen any snakes or monkeys or anything like that, my companion and i did see an iguana dead in the middle of the road smashed like a pancake it was pretty nasty. and it sounds like juston is doing good and i will continue to keep him in my prayers. give eveyone hugs for me and tell them all that i love them. i love you tons.Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter June 4, 2008

Hey! how are things going? everything is fantastis with me, i am now in the field. but i havent done any teaching just yet. my companion says that we are going to take it slow today, because it is my first day. but then tomorrow we will jump right in. but my companion seems pretty cool, he is a brazilian. so no more english with me even though there is another american in our apartment, i have to try and not talk english with him. because my companion said that i will learn it fastest if i dont. and well he is my Pai so i will listen. but he seems like a really cool elder, he is awesome in fact from what i have been able to see and understand. His name is Elder Pereira. but everything is going really well. Manaus is beautiful, but really HOT. and i never received that package you sent me, atleast the mission home cannot find it. so i will just have to say good bye to it forever. but no big deal its not like life wont go on, but i do really need some gold foot stuff, otherwise my feet are going to suffer and send me some ointment for my feet just in case too and some more socks since the last package never got there, and my companion just said to send you a hug to all the family, it is great elder. and tell steven that i miss him and if he really loves me then he will send me atleast one letter while i am gone. and tell kaya that i love her. oh and the temple dedication was awesome, it was good to be able to hear some words from the Prophet and witness such a great thing. hey and guess what else my companion told me today....that the area we are serving in is the hardest area that he has ever served in, so tons of prayers. but i am really excited to get to work tomorrow. our apartment is nothing to be excited about, in fact it is tiny and isnt the nicest place, but it will become home. oh and i wanted to tell you the i had a good experience yesterday, i was able to feel the spirit with me really strongly. it all started with me finding out that i wasnt going to enter the field the same day as the rest of district and then yesterday morning i had to say goodbye to my dear friend Elder Mills, and it was hard for me because he had been so close and became such good friends. ill miss him. and then the MTC never assigned me a new companion so i was all alone and i felt so alone and it was hard so i prayed and i felt the spirit come over me and i had a good day. i felt as if i was being watched by a Gaurdian angel or as if my savior was with me all day. it was a good feeling and i had a good day, and feel like i can do anything now. because it just retestified to me how much my my father in loves me and how much my welfare matters to him, no matter how small the thing my be. i know that he is with me and that i can do anything with him. and i am ready to get to teaching tomorrow. i am really excited too. all is well and i love you. give hugs for me. Élder Jory B. Spotts

Letter May 21, 2008

Oh boy to i have an experience to tell you about. i cannot remember if i told you or not. but Elder Bednard of the Quorom of the Twelve Apostles came to speak at the CTM on Monday May 19th. And it was an experience of a life-time. i wish that i could have had a copy of the words that he said. i did take some notes and got a lot of goods things writtent that he had talked about. but the notes are no where as incredible as actually being there and feeling his amazing spirit. He trully is an apostle of the Lord. and i also got the opportunity to shake his and his wife´s hands. and it was amazing, i will never forget that day for the rest of my life. i will try and send you a letter with some of the notes that i wrote down if i ever get some time. The experience was so amaxing, that i wrote almost 4 pages in my journal that night and the next morning. But everything else is just as fantastic, i love being a missionary and i havent been having any problems lately with getting discouraged, my companion and i had a great week last week in learning the language. We were able to teach the 2nd lesson, which is the hardest to teach without any notes at all. The Lord is with us, because i know that with out him, i would still be learning the 1st lesson. This week we have to have down the 3rd lesson and the 1st lesson full. which my companion and i almost have the 3rd lesson all the way down. which is awesome. oh and i have some new news. i was called to be district leader two weeks ago as i told you already. and i got a little bit of a new surprise last night. i found out that i was called to be an AP( Assistant to the President). so i now have two callings, because we are going to be here for such a short time. i am a district leader with the responsibilities of an AP. so pray for me, because i am going to need it. and today we went to the Polílicia Federal to get our fingers printed so that we can get our brazilian id. which i am super excited to get. but i really cannot think of any thing really exciting that has been going. the spirit is still just as strong and the language is still just as hard. but everything is going great, only because I have the Lord on my Side, Hymn #124. go read it, because it is one of my favorites now. i love it and it gives so much comfort to me everytime i read it or sing it. and as a district we sing it atleast two or three times a week. but everything is going great. I love you and send everyone else my love. Elder Jory B. Spotts

Another Letter May 14th, 2008

Dear Mommy,Everything is going fantastic. Except fot the fact that i have not yet received the package that you sent me and i am a bit worried about what is going on with it. but i will just be patient and wait. but did you send it to the CTm address or to my package receiving address. but anyways, i hit kind a rough little bump on Friday and saturday. i was feeling a bit discouraged because we went proselyting on Friday and i was only able to give out one pass along card out of 12 cards and one book of mormon. i felt useless, i felt the spirit with me so strong before we started but it just was not my day i guess. it was just a good learning experience. and it was really funny, because the first guy that my companion and i talked to, he told him that if you read the number on the pass along card instead of telling him to call the number. and after we left he just kept looking at the card like he was waiting for his free book of mormon to fall in his lap. he joked later that we should have snuck up from behind and tossed the book of mormon that we had in his lap and then booked it. so my companion didnt look like a complete moron. haha it was pretty funnny. then few days later i was not feeling really comfortable about the language, which is weird. because everyone in the district says i am doing the best. but i think that i am no where near where i should be. but i was a feeling a little upset, because i had been working so hard but was getting the language like i wanted, i felt a bit frustrated and lost a bit of faith in the Savior to help me. but i talked to my companion about it and being an awesome companion it just helped me realize that i just have to work my hardest. but the time it comes is when the Lord wants and needs it. and that i need to trust and faith in the my Savior continually. and it really helped me a lot so i have been a lot better. and with the temples....the São Paulo temple was just an amazing experience, because the celestial room was the most beautiful room i have ever seen. and the spirit was so storng, because it was just the district and i could just imagine all of us seeing each other again in the celetial kingdom and it was an amazing experiance. i have come to love the elders in my district so much, and want nothing for them but success and to have a great life, and to see them again with my Savior. i love the gospel so much, the spirit is so strong with the elders and at the MTC. learning the language is hard, but i love it. and yesterday the devotional with Sis. Beck was amazing, i dont know if i told you, but Sis. Beck came yesterday, and then Elder Bednard is going to be coming on Monday. and the are also dedicated the Curitiba Temple. so there is a possibility that President Thomas S. Monson will be coming to speak to us just before we leave the MTC. which would be an amazing experience. i am so excited. we only have three weeks left in the CTM. and i am so excited to start teaching the gospel to the sons and daughters in Manaus. it is going to be amazing. and i need you to do me a favor, because i got an email from eliza on my old email address. but i need her address and sherras as well. and i am not aloud to write either of them on email. only family. so if you could find some way to get those for me. and keep sending me letters too. because they are gold around here. but i got to get going, i love you so much. Eu sei o evangelho é verdadeiro. and i have a new favorite scripture. D&C 6:33-36 i believe i cannot remember it off the top of my head. and i also have fallen in love with Alma and the sons of mosiah, great missionaries. i pray i can be half what they were. love ya

Letter Home May 7, 2008

Well all is well here. but we will just have to bag the idea of me getting my driving record, because i am not aloud to go on to any other webstite other than myldsmail.com so i will just have to get used to the fact the if there is a car in manaus i wont be able to drive. which is fine with me, i dont think that will be that big of a deal. but today was a good day and so was the week. it feels like we are all starting to learn a bit faster now, for a while it was hard because we were not used to brazil at all, the time zone, the climate, everything. but we are getting back into a normal routine and things have been going muito bem. the language is coming pretty good. i am not to worried, because as long as i put in a good hard effort to lear, i know that the Lord will do His part. i have to realize that faith has a very big impact on how well i learn. but faith without works is dead. and we went to the São Paulo temple today and had an amazing seção. it is the most beautiful temple on the inside that i have ever seen, and the spirit was so strong. the mission has been amazing i love our distrito, everyone is working hard and we are starting to work together. oh yeah.....and i got called to be district leader on sunday. it was kinda unexpected, but i hope i can do all i can to help out the elders learn a lot more. and fast sunday was so good, and i have been fasting for me to learn as well as everyone else. and it has really been helping. my teachers are awesome, two brasileiros and they are way funny and really good at helping us out alot. and we went outside the ctm again today and i bought some candy and some other stuff. which is always nice, because the ctm kinda feels like a prison sometimes. but i got to going, i love ya and will talk to you next week
Elder Jory B Spotts

Jory's First Letter April 30, 2008

Hey! you will probably be getting two emails from me today. i have no idea what the first thing was about. the lady spoke really bad english. but check it out and if sounds bad, then dont do it. but everything is going really good. it was pretty interesting today, we got to go out into the real world and it was kinda scary. it is soooo different from inside the CTM. but it was cool, went and bought some soap and some ties. and the ties were like 5 reais each which is really cheap. cause 1.6 reais=1 dollar. but everything is going really well. i really cant think of anything to tell ya, except it is pretty hot here but nice. and that my companion changed. which you might have already got my letter by now. but if not he is hilarious, wyoming farmer boy. he is such a hick, but i love him. we have getting along really well. oh and yesterday they had us teach the first lesson in portuguese, which was nuts. we are really behind the onther missionaries that didnt have to go to provo. becuase they were already teaching the first lesson in portuguese after the second week. so i really need your prayers so that the Lord can help with this one. the next few weeks are going to be really hard. learning the language is not a easy task. but it will help me for the rest of my life. and last night our distrito had a great meeting, after the devotional last night we had a little meeting to discuss it. and the espírito was so strong and it was an amazing experience. being a missionary trully has been a little difficult. but i love it there is no greater work. and let everyone know i am in brazil now. letters will take quiet a while to get here. but i love you. tell juston and kaya that i love them as well, and go ahead and send this email to whoever you would like. but i am only aloud to email you. so if you want to can give people my new email address but i will have to write them letters. but i prefer not to, because it costs alot to buy international stamps. but i love you
With love, Elder Jory B. Spotts