Things Are Going Great...And One More Transfer

August 25, 2014

Elder Weaver and
new companion Elder Ferreira

Report To Mission President:

Essa semana foi ótima! Eu e Elder Ferreira tivemos muitos contatos e muitos pessoas prometerem ir na Igreja nesse próximo Domingo! A ala deu alguns nomes para nós a visitar também. Eu gosto muito de nosso Distrito e Zona.

(Google Translation)

This week was great! Me and Elder Ferreira had many contacts and many people promise to go into the Church this coming Sunday! The wing gave some names for us to enjoy. I really like our District and Zone.

Dear Family & Friends,

Things are going great...yeah, and one more transfer. Guess what, my last companion, Elder Branco, is now my Zone Leader! haha. I Loved Colatina. I'm in a place called Cariaçica. The ward is way helpful here; the Ward Mission Leader is way on the ball which helps a ton. My companion is Elder Ferreira from São Paulo and this is the first time I have been Senior since the US. We are both new to the area but it's been a lot of fun with him so far. He speaks a little bit of English. So me and my district leader speak English in the apartment so my companion can learn English and then we speak Portuguese in the street which is a study tool that Preach My Gospel suggests. I live with 4 people again.

Elder Morteson, Elder Slyz,
Elder Ferrera, and Elder Weaver

I'm sorry, I'm still waiting to hear from President Young about BYU. I'll start applying and using my school websites as soon as I'm authorized.

I'm glad to hear they're moving in. Try not to get rid of too many things. It will help Nani to hold on to at least a few memories. Use Allison. She will know what to keep back and what to move in.

YAY! I'm glad to hear they got to go fishing! It's been so long. I hope Linda has been able to help get everything set up. She is really good about that.

We had a really sweet activity at the Church last night where RM’s from the stake bore their testimonies and shared stories from their missions. It was good for the youth. Also, it was good for us to get references and meet the ward.

Astoria sounds like some European name from a Jane Austen novel. And I would love to visit there with all of you some day. Allison will adjust very well to school and if anyone asks her out again I'll have words with Dad. She needs to go to school where she can meet some RM Jean Valjean Captain Moroni guy.

I will continue to pray for Josh, and I am happy that the tumors are reducing in size.

I love Enos. I use his story with my investigators. And he left a big impact for such a short book.  Conversion is more of a process than a single "a-hah!" It happens "somewhere along the way" But it is strong. Some major events included reading and praying about The Book of Mormon for the first time, deciding to go to Running Start and leave the wickedness of nasty, crusty Babylon to rot itself out, and going through Scouting events. These are just a few. But I found out for myself line upon line precept upon precept. And I know. Beyond any doubt these things are true.

I am grateful you look to me as an example. But I do not like taking credit. The Savior is our greatest foothold. We cannot do our own will. I just want to do The Will Of THE LORD.  You and Dad were OUR missionaries. And Ashley, Allison, and I were your investigators. We first learned the gospel in this life from you two. Also, in a sense, Elder Holland says that we are Gods investigators. And He is our great missionary.  We have been born as Nephi of old, to goodly parents who Love THE LORD...And we ARE NOW the Lord's missionaries. We'll Bring The World His Truth.

Love Eternal,

Elder Weaver

Map of Santa Fe Area of Cariaçica

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.