Oct. 14, 2009

Hey! How is everyone doing this week? I hope that everything is going good and that everyone had a great week. My week turned out to be pretty good. My companion and i have been working and trying to find some new people to teach. And i sent some pictures to you all through a member that lives in my area. Because it is a lot easier that way, so i think that she is going to send you guys some pictures every week or something like that. I dont really know.So i just got done with my first week in my new area. And i would have to say that i enjoyed it. This area seems to be one of the better areas on the mission. The members are awesome. We try and pass by the house of atleast one member day because they are that cool. Just about all of them are older members, meaning that they have been members for some time already. And my companion and i get a long really well. I have never met a brazilian that speaks english like he does. We can talk about anything in english without any problems. And he speaks without a accent like other missionaries and brazilian do. So we talk about music and movies and all sorts of things. We sing worldly music in the street together because he knows them all. It is pretty rad!But as for our experiences or this week......we had a couple of downers and a couple of awesome experiences too. On Thursday last week we had a downer. We got up early to visit a recently baptized member named Evandro. He was baptized in between the sessions of General Conference . Well after having a great lesson with him and leaving we went on with our normal day until after lunch we were walking home to use the bathroom and we saw evandro drunk and high. He confessed to us that he was addicted to drugs and that he needed help. And it was really sad to see him that state. So we called the bishop becaue we cant do anything anymore because he is a member so the bishop is in charge of that stuff. And the bishop said that he was going to pass by his house that night.....but NEVER did......he decided to wait until Sunday to pass by. Apparently he didnt feel that it was THAT important. So Sunday came around and Evandro had gone missing.......so bishop didnt pass by. After a few days we went back to his house to find him at home, but evandro was totally different. His countinance had totally changed. And it seemed like he had falling a little bit. But yeah.....Evandro is really struggling but the bishop doesnt even seem to care. He told us that he was going to pass by there on Monday and once again did not. So we are a little annoyed with the bishop and really dont know what to do. But that is life.Yesterday we also had na awesome family that was going to get baptized move to another state. But we passed their address to some other elders so that they continue receiving them so that they can still get baptized next week. So we helped them pack up yesterday and helped them move. They were na awesome family and it was hard to see them go. But they are still going to be baptized and that is really all that matters.The other night we also had a pretty cool experience. We went to Rosana´s house to teach her husband, Nelito, who is going to be baptized pretty soon. And we left a message with them and then she arrived home from work and said that she wanted a priesthood blessing. So my companion and i gave her one. I did the anointing of the oil and he did the sealing. And soon after i put my hands on top of her head to anoint her with oil she started to cry. And she didnt stop crying until after the blessing. And it was really weird. Becaue she said that she was crying because she was happy. And my companion and i were talking afterwards and we both realized that it was because she had felt the spirit very strong during the blessing. And it was good. Because it helps us know the the power of the priesthood is real and i am so grateful for the opportunity that i have to be able to be a Priesthood holder. It is a very important responsibility but it brings such great blessings in our lives. I have had many experiences on my mission that are evidence that the power of the priesthood is real. And i know that it is.On Saturday i also got some great news. Elder mills called my and told me that two people from my old area that i was teaching got baptized and that on Saturday they are going to baptized one other person that i was teaching. So atleast i know that the work that i did in my last area wasnt in vain. Because another elder was able to benefit from the hard work that i put in to help those people. And that makes me happy. Well things have been going good and i am looking forward to one more here in Terra nova.Mom, i sure do love you mom and i miss you tons. And i too think about you everyday and i also pray for you every day. I sure do miss you all. But i will see you all very soon. But as for the schooling.....i want you to apply to these schools for me mom. BYU-Provo, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii, USU(Utah State), SUU, UVU(Utah Valley) and Wyoming(i know that i will have to spend extra but i am just applying to see what happens). I think that this is a good start, 7 schools and then i will start narrowing it down as i go. But i am still trying to figure out what major. I am having some dificulty with that. But i will work it out. and you can go ahead and send all that stuff when ever is best for you or what you think would be best. But it might be more expensive because of the weight. But yeah.....i wanted to ask you something or say something but i cant remember what it is...but i do want to know what Ariel had to say about me.....i wrote to her a couple of times but i never got anything back. But yeah i love you all and i thank you all for everything. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and start getting ready for me to come home because it is coming up soon.
Elder Jory B. Spotts