Yes, I've Been Transferred After Only 6 Weeks!

August 18, 2014

Serving the world it's Truth

Mamãe, Family & Friends,

Mission President Report:

Essa semana nós contatamos algumas pessoas do Livro de Área que foram cortadas sem uma explicação. Nós encontramos algumas novas. E nós esperamos que nós podemos deixar Colatina melhor do que nós encontramos.

(Google Translation)

This week we contacted some people out of the Area Book that were cut without an explanation. We met some new ones. And we hope we can leave Colac better than we found it.

Sister Benitez, Sister Workman,
Elder Weaver, Elder Branco

Yes, I've been transferred! After only 6 weeks in Colatina. In fact the whole District was transferred. The Sisters were so thrilled about their baptism, Patricia! She was able to be confirmed on Sister Workman's last Sunday as a missionary which was way cool! Like any other investigators, the investigators of the Sisters can decide who will baptize. Patricia chose Elder Branco.

Elder Weaver & Elder Branco

I had a good visit with President and Sister Young they are very special people. Guys, everything will make sense when I relate in detail at home, but let me just say, I could not write a story as intricate as this! For now, know that Israel will shortly be free!

I am not surprised that Dad sacrificed His birthday for those he Loves. I am glad Cathy and Nani have a place of their own. Please tell them how thrilled I am to crash their new place! ;)

I hope you enjoy your new employment. They will appreciate your big smile and your care for others. I hope they understand how special you and Dad are.

Tell Sister Downey her Doctor attire is legendary! Thanks I won't forget Ashley's birthday. And no, I will send my email to President today about BYU.

Thank you, Mom, I love you too. I did get the video, Thanks! I hope Bishop enjoys the training. I enjoyed hearing Elder Scott speak Portuguese when we had a Broadcast to the Rio North Area. Please send everyone my love, I promise to write more next week. But now must be short because of transfers and everything, but I want you all to know that what I do, I do because I am trying to do what is right. "And of all these things I've done, I think I'll love you better now."

Let Your Light So SHINE, Love At Home,

Élder Weaver

This Week The Sisters Had A Baptism

August 11, 2014

My Dear Family & Friends,

This week the Sisters had a baptism! We're going to hunt down some references and clean up the Area Book a little.

Yeah, it's not a secret, just something that can best be explained in person. But I want you all to know I Love You. Yes! I can't wait. No way!

My companion's from Curitiba. I think Brasil is receiving mostly missionaries from Brasil to serve there but we keep getting Americans every transfer so.....? Yeah, I'm not sure.

Yayyyyyyyyyy! I am so glad the HOME is finished!!! "I want to live in a house surrounded by snow, and bears, and wood and stars..." That's also one of my Hipster songs that you might like. It is called "Bears" by Sam Isaac. Any curious entertainment seeker could listen to this composition with great profit.  Anyways. I hope Nani enjoys it and it meets everyone's needs. I hope Cathy as well enjoys her own space. 

As troublesome as it is, I am glad you sent me the information I asked for. My schooling is important and certainly I will pray about it. But before I do, I will say that I already feel like I need to go there in the 2015. To be honest I have trouble remembering my passwords from the pre-mission-existence...ummmmm yeah.......I will try and find some of them. But I may have them written somewhere in my files....hmmmm.  I think I did use it last, but it is not with me on my mission. It is probably in my room or Ashley's somewhere...sorry, I don't remember.

I will be sure to write Dad and Aaron. Thanks for the reminder. I don't have much time today. I will print your letter out in order to respond more properly. Properlier? I forget...

Thank you for the receipts. 

And more importantly thank you for who you are.  He will not fail us nor forsake us.

I Love You All,

Elder Weaver

We Had To Drop A Lot Of People This Week And Focusing On Finding

August 4, 2014

Our District
The Sisters with my companion
being a goofball!

Dear Family & Friends,

Thank You so much! Yes, I got everything in the package. I revealed many of the photos you sent so I could keep them forever. I'm glad to hear Chris will take it slow, and I hope his hand (and heart) feel better soon. Congrats on the mission calls! The Lord loves the help. YESSSS! The Giver. The long awaited day is coming. I hope they don't mess it all up. But I will be anxious to see it, too!

We had to drop a lot of people this week so we're focusing on finding again, but I would like to work more with the members to obtain references. My companion and I have been talking about how our work can be more effective.

That would be great to get an additional set of missionaries! It's always great having a set of Sisters because often they can get into homes that we can't. My first area had both Elders and Sisters and right now the branch has both as well, but our area is huge so they work on one side of the river and we work on the other.

I have so much to tell you all when I get home it's not even funny!

Yeah, we walk about 30 minutes to the Church, but we don't use the bus. I LOVE IT! We save so much money and the church is wayyyy closer. I remember walking an hour and a half sometimes to get to church, and feeling bad that we couldn't be teaching someone during the time we were walking.

Hahaha, the mission office. I never go there. We don't get delivery mail in this mission. So what happens is once a month our Zone Leaders will give our mail to us in a meeting, if we have any. 

No, I haven't had that many weird things, just fruits that I had never had like Guava and Bread Fruit. Sweet potatoes and yams are white, not orange here, which is kind of weird. But talking of food, I had a question. I want to make an apple crisp like you used to. It doesn't need to be a pie or super fancy; I just want to know if you could send me a simple recipe? We have flour, sugar, and oatmeal at the house but I can buy cinnamon for pretty cheap and milk, and oil. That would be great thanks!

No, the Sisters will print the idea for the t-shirts today and we might get them printed after District Meeting on Thursday. I'll send you a picture of the idea.

The picture idea for the t-shirts

I Love the thunder. If you have a minute check out the song "It's Thunder and It's Lightning" by a band called "We Were Promised Jetpacks" it complements the storm quite nicely. Hahaha! I can't believe I remembered all of those names?! I've still got it! ;)

Best of Luck with Allison, I know she'll know her track soon. It really doesn't matter which one she gets. If she's in school when I get home, I can walk to Idaho, haha.

I really haven't but I sent an email to President today saying how I would Love to meet with him. We'll see how it goes. He'll probably give me a call later today.

AWWWWWWwwwwww CATHY! I Love YOU!!! I laughed really hard at that picture of you and Allison on the couch. I hope the house comes along soon! Keep smiling and I hope you fly safe!

Love, Me :)

Hi BUTTERSCOTCH! I Love YOU WHOSE A GOOD BOY?!?!?!

I remember a scene from the Joseph Smith movie, as Joseph Smith Senior lay sick the prophet told him, "You will always be his father, and Alvin will always be your son."

I have a family here on earth. They are so good to me. I want to share my life with them through all Eternity. As Famílias Poderão Ser Eternas.

More to follow.

I Love Thee All,

Elder Weaver

We Had A Uplifting Zone Meeting

July 28, 2014

Beautiful Colatina (pronounced Koh-la-Tcheena)

The Mission President Report

Nós tivemos uma Reunião de Zona muita edificante. Nossa semana foi boa. Encontramos alguns novos e ensinamos nosso Recem-Converso a 1a Lição de novo. Vamos continuar a fazer nosso melhor.

(Google Translation)

We had a lot of uplifting Zone Meeting. Our week was good. We found some new and teach our new convert first lesson again. We will continue to do our best.

This is the District/Half the Zone
and the Assistants

Dear Family & Friends,

Hahaha! I'll look the word up now because you said that. Cobblestone's the best! I do miss the ocean, but the river and mountains are pretty sweet!

We are going to make District T-Shirts with a cartoon of the mountains and river making the baptism symbol. I'll send pictures when we make them. The pictures are sweet!!! Thanks so much for sending them.

Mom, your hair is so...happenin'! I like Dad's selfies, too. The set-up in the den looks legendary, I'm not gonna lie. And the random picture of Allison's foot was hilarious. What did Christopher do to his hand? Haha, hope he's alright.

Congrats to Ashley!!! That's such a neat responsibility. She will be a great Senior missionary!

I got the package with the chocolate covered cinnamon bears and my jacket. Thank you so much! It came in handy when it rained a little the other day.

YES MOM! Fetch all of the music you can from the Library. Don't let the man keep you down. Hahahaha.

I'm glad to hear about Chris's visit. Y'all gave him some good advice. He is a stellar chap and only deserves the best. I hope everything works out the way The Lord wants it, too. The longer I have spent on my mission, and the more talks I have read, the more excited and anxious I am to continue on the Weaver legacy with a family I help create.

I'm glad to hear everyone was able to partake of the Sacrament safely without overhead problems. Our branch meets at 9 until 12 o clock. At first it was weird. But one thing I like about it is how people are generally more reverent for the administration of the Lord's emblems due to the fact that they just came from two other meetings and have already got their socializing and "wiggles" out.

I'm glad you were able to visit Paula. Sometimes people make baptism more complicated than this simply beautiful ordinance is. You need faith. After that you have to repent. And these two simple, yet often difficult steps will qualify you for Baptism. And Baptism qualifies you for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Which truly is a gift. And then comes the Enduring to the End part. Paula will see it one day, soon.

I am so sad for Dad! I hope he gets better. And if he needs anything, let me know. I can't really do much for him, being here on the other side of the hemisphere, but tell him I Love Him. If he were in Brasil the people would say, "Eat a banana!" That's their solution for everything, hahaha.

Yeah, he sure is. To which email from Jake are you referring?

I finished Jesus The Christ today. Thank you for your comments. They reminded me a lot of what Elder Talmage said. We are redeemed. Elder Bednar also said that the Atonement has a redeeming power (which saves us from sin) and an enabling power (that helps us become better than we are and achieve our fondest dreams). One of my favorite publications of the Lord's church says, "Ask Heavenly Father what you can do for Him."

I know this is short, but I hope my email appears "bigger on the inside" and that throughout the week you can be assured that I am fine.

I Love You,

Élder Weaver

This is Elder McKnight from
my MTC District!  I got to see
him at our half Zone Meeting.
He is a great guy.

This Week Was Great In The New Area Of Colatina

July 21, 2014

Trust me, I'm an Elder

Letter To President

Esta semana foi ótima! Manoel foi confirmado! Encontramos Luana e ensinamos Jean.

(Google Translation)

This week was great! Manoel was confirmed! Luana find and teach Jean.

Me and Elder Branco

Dear Family & Friends,

I love my companion! Elder Branco is way funny! I'll send you some pictures. He cut my hair today. Haha. Yeah Colatina is more inland. I'd take more pictures but it's been cloudy so, I'll send y'all better ones when the sun is shining.

Sorry, It will be short today, I have a lot to do this P-Day, but I'm never too busy for all of YOU! :)

Yeah, that's funny that Chris is interested in going for someone younger than Allison and I, but hey, if it's meant to be nothing else matters. But make sure and do your research ;) it's the only Weaver thing to do.

I got a sweet letter from Aunt Debbie the other day, and I replied to it.

That's a bummer Dad's not feeling to good. I'll be sure to send some Love.

Thank you for the quote. It is especially apt as we sang, "More Holiness Give Me" in (Portuguese) during our companionship study. I'm not going to lie; it's really weird speaking another language.

I hope you all can tell how important you are to me. Nothing goes unnoticed to our Heavenly Father.

Love,

Me, Elder Weaver

So, I Got Transferred and In A Place Called Colatina

July 14, 2014

Mission President Report

Manoel foi batizado ontem! Nós vamos confirmar ele no próximo Domingo. Vamos focalizar em encontrar mais novos essa semana.

(Google Translation)

Manoel was baptized yesterday! We will confirm him next Sunday. Let's focus on newer find this week.

Dear Family & Friends,

Yay! We had a baptism. Preach My Gospel says, "The attitude you have toward your mission experience is a reflection of your love toward your Heavenly Father and His Son and your respect for the priesthood."

So, I got transferred. I'm in a place called Colatina. After almost 7 months in my first area of Brasil, I really came to Love that ward. I hope I left it off better than I found it. Here, Colatina is a branch, but it's as big as a ward. If there were a stake here or nearby, we would be a ward. The Church building is awesome! It's two stories, and the Chapel is on the second floor! Sacrament Meeting is last which is kind of weird. The city is set on a series of hills and mountains but is divided in the middle by a large river. We live close to the river. Some of the streets have cobblestone... COBBLESTONE! "I repeat things for emphasis...EMPHASIS!"

Haha, Oh Drake & Josh. I'll take some pictures this week to send to all of you. Our city has a Jesus statue that looks like a mini-version of the one in Rio.  Yeah, we lost :´( But Brasil still has won more World Cups than any other nation ;) 5-Time Champion BABY! But I was glad Argentina didn't win because Brasil would have been morbidly depressed if they had, haha. Brasil and Argentina don't exactly get along very well.

YAYYYYY! I'm glad you got the job you were looking for! :) We do appreciate your help! We cannot do it without you and Dad.  And hey, I know you guys want me to save my money, but please, use all of the money I saved up for my mission. I want nothing left in that bank account when I come home. That might sound crazy, but I want it all to go to my mission. I want to contribute as much as I can. All of you can help me with school and life when I get home, but I want to own as much of my mission as I can. The Lord will provide a way for everything. He Always Does. Don't feel bad, but please use it all. You still have access to my savings account, right?! Please...break my bank :)

Wow, your summer is hot. Our winter is so cold...we had a balmy 68 degrees today...we were practically freezing... Yeah, I'm speaking Portuguese. I don't know. Sometimes I forget that I'm not speaking English.

YES! I am so glad you got to go to the House of the Lord for Aunt Tess. I may have told you this already, but that is the first thing I want to do with all of you when I get home. I would like to do ordinances in the Kansas City, Nauvoo, and Portland Temples with all of you. And we will save ourselves with all our dead.

That is interesting you should mention that because today in my personal study I read in Jesus The Christ about Christ's victory over death and evil as He arose from the tomb. Elder Christofferson gave a good talk about this in the last Conference and "Sunday Will Come" by Joseph B. Wirthlin describes the good news of The Resurrection. He Truly Is The Son Of God!

I Love You All,

Your Son, Grandson, Nephew, Brother, and Missionary,

Élder Weaver

P.S. I Love You Butterscotch! :)