Ask and You Shall Recieve!

Dear family, friends, fellow Canadians, Americans and Brazilians,

How are all of you doing?  This week was an interesting one. One week which I hope, not to repeat, but it did lead me more to Heavenly Father than other weeks.  It is sort of like when Lehi said to Jacob, that all these afflictions are for your benefit.  These week we meet some very interesting people... and those people are the cause of my woos.  

One woman that we meet is kind of... strange... I lack a better word.  She believe Spritism, which is a common religion down here in Brazil.  I am not sure if you all know who Allen Kardec is, but he is the founder of that religion, who believes that in stead of resurrection there is reincarnation. It is kind of a strange thing, but anyway she begins to talk about that and then she stops me in mid sentence to say... " I have the book of the Aliens, and I believe it to be true." Which begs the question, What does it  say?  It says that Mary had "relations" with an Alien, who is God, and that Jesus is the son of an Alien, and that the star that guided the three wise men, was not a star but a UFO which was God's spaceship.  That was a difficult day.  The next day we went to a guy, who we had been teaching for a while now.  He became crazy.  He also was talking a lot like Satan when he tried to tempted Jesus Christ in the desert or Moses when he was at Mount Sinai.  He invited my companion and I to be his disciples and to follow him, and that we needed to prepare ourselves for a life of trials and pain for his cause.  Oh, and he was also inventing words which my companion wrote down, but in the process of all this he stops and asked me a question which I did really understand because he really does not ask questions. When I said that I did not understand him, he said that I had already sown the seeds of my own damnation.  Then stopped in mid sentence and began to put his hands in the air and pray to himself  quietly.  This is when my companion and I decide to leave.  We leave, and he noticed, so he follows us talking nonsense and says that if we follow him, anything that we want will come true.  He said, if you want to health of you parents to improve follow me.  If you have enemies, they will be gone.  If you want money, or women just say it, it´s yours.  Then he said that I was more prepared to follow him because my companion has too much Karma, and that I had less because I am white, and white people are closer to God than darker people.   Yeah... that was the down side of my week, but the good side too all this was we now know that we ought not return to that mans house.

Also the good thing about this week was we had good numbers including one baptism.  It was great.  The kid is Gabriel.   He is 13 years old, and a good kid.  He has friends and family that are members of the Church, and they brought him to Church a couple of weeks ago.  He liked what he felt and saw there, and we brought those same feelings into his home.  It was quite an excellent feeling.  I think that maybe after a short time we might be able to teach his parents and they to can know the truth.  

Also another thing that happened was an answer to a prayer.  I had been praying for some time now, for a family to go to Church.  They are Miguel, Gladez and Gabrielle and Grazielle.  They are good people.  I love them to death, but the only thing that was lacking was church visits.  They have already gone three times before, but it had been more than a month since they had gone.  My companion had the great idea about making breakfast for them so that we could help them go to Church.  It worked. We made pancakes. Which they do not have here in Brazil.  They really like it.  It was something excited and new for them.  I loved it because it has been almost a year and three months since I had pancakes in the MTC.  It was a good thing. They went to Church, and I had a prayer answered.  I almost cried during sacrament meeting because of the stresses I was having, and that they had been taken away from me and I was left with just comfort and peace. As it says,"Ask, and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you."  I have gained a testimony of the Law of the Harvest as my mission president calls it.  If we want something me must asked for it, and try to make it happen, and if we are obedient to the commandments that Heavenly Father gave us it will come to pass.  I am a proof of that.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Lau!!!

Well,  this week was not as good as last week.  We actually had a bad week because of leadership counsel and also because simply we had a bad week.  On the bright side of things, we confirmed Maria the Nun a member of the Church, and we have two more baptisms coming up this next week.  I am looking really forward to that.  This week will be a 13 year old boy named Gabriel.  He is a good kid.  He has been to church a couple of times now, and feels like he wants to get baptized and I am more than happy to help him with that.   Than on the 19th we will baptize a man named Eder who is going through some tough times right now and when he went to church for the first time he really enjoyed it. He really felt that the Church is true.  I am glad  for that. We also have one more family who is going to be baptized on the 23.  I am really looking forward to this month. We are beginning to reap the fruits of last transfer this transfer.   I am really happy we are going that.  

I have been thinking a lot lately about the family.  It is a common thing around here, because there are three couples in the ward who are getting married tomorrow. So marriage is the word. I really have to thank Mom and Dad for being really good influences in my life.  I have recalled a lot of things that they have taught me and what they simply showed me through simple conversations.  I remember the plaque that sits above our window what says "Choose ya this day whom you will serve, but for me and my house we will serve the Lord."  I have looked at that scripture a lot these days, and have notice that it is true now, or at least I am aware to it now, than it has ever been.  I want to thank you two for showing me the way in which I should lead my own family once that day comes.  Which in all honesty I hope will be soon after the mission.  

I am doing really well. I still am having problems with sleeping, but I have talked to the Sister Ribeiro and she has given me some sleeping meds, so I hope that will resolve the problem.  I am great otherwise. I wanted to send pictures, but these stupid computers are not wanting to work with me.  

I love you all and I will talk to you all on Christmas,

One more thing.  President is allowing that we talk for more than one hour.   Lau!!!.  Sorry I have picked up a lot of expressions from Brazil.

Sleepless in Santa Maria

Dear family and friends,

How are you all doing? As for me I am a little tired. I had one more sleepless night and that is taking a tole on my body and my sense of mind, but all is well other than that. I have some great news. The first of which is that I am staying in the area, and the second of which is we baptized the nun.  Also Erynn gave some even greater news that she is also pregnant.  Way to go Erynn and Doug.  

I apologize this email is going to be short. I am extremely tired and all I really would like to do right now is just lay down in my bed and take a 3 to 5 hour long nap.  I really am kind of at a lose of will power at the moment, but I am sure that after the nap I will be right as rain.  

It has been hot. Darn hot I's tells ya. Up and a round 100 degrees.  I am drinking a lot of water however and all is well.  And you all need not worry all that business with Rio de Janeiro is really far away from me, and I am perfectly safe, and if you do not know what I am talking about please feel free to ignore what I just wrote.  

I have a but load of pictures that I want to send you but these computers are not the most efficient ones I have come a cross so I will try to send you just a few. 

I love you guys and I hope that all is well with you.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

"Chá da Panela"

Hey everyone,

Life is great. My companion and I have been on fire this past week.  We taught 38 lessons this week which is a lot.  Although our goal was not met by two lessons. We wanted to teach 40, but because we both got sick one with Montazuma's revenge and the other because of to much sun.  My companion suffers from heart pressure problems and so when he get too much sun, or it is extremely hot sometime he gets lower heart pressure, and has little to no energy to work.  There were a couple of days that we only taught two to three lessons because of that. 

We were rewarded with some good things because of our efforts.  This coming up Sunday there will be a baptism.  The last week of the transfer and we made it.  The great part is that the woman that we are going to baptize is a former Nun.  Yes catholic, Mary Cathrine, mother superior nun. She is great. A little bit off her rocker, but great.  She's always giving us stuff.  It was kind of funny.  The first time that we taught her. she gave us soap.  Two gigantic bars of soap.  them this last time she asked us " Are you two married?" We told her no, that we were not married.  Then she asked if we were engaged with someone.  My companion said that he has a girlfriend waiting for him and I said I have no one. She then said wait here.  These are for you and your future wives.  She gave us two dish towels.  In Brazil they have a tradition called "Chá da Panela," which translates to tea of the pan or pot.  It is a bridal shower, and one of the standard gifts for this are dish towels.  Very pretty and hand made dish towels.  She painted  and embroidered the towel by hand.  The even funnier part was that we taught her with her neighbor who is a member.  Pâmela, who is 16 years old. When she found out that I am single she said that I should date Pâmela.  That got awkward really fast.  Although there was a good laugh afterwards about the whole thing.  

That was my week family. I love you all and I am excited to talk to you all on Christmas.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Montazuma's Revenge

Hey everyone,

 

It was so good to hear from you all. I am doing quite well. I am sorry to say that I did not climb the mountain today. I had a bad case of montazuma's revenge last night and really I am not up for it, also one of the families that we are teaching wants to take us out and see some of the more touristy things that are around here, so we decided that would be better. 

 

I am fine. This week was kind of a race for us. We are teaching a lot.  Thank goodness, and we are finding some great people to teaching. For instance we were knocking doors and we did not enter a single one, until the second to last house.  Them we meet José Henique, he also did not let us in, but he said " Hey I really want to hear what you have to say, come back tomorrow, and you guys really need to come back tomorrow."  With such an invitation who can resist.  We went back around two o'clock in the afternoon.  He really was excited to see us,and we taught the first lesson, up until the book of mormon, we marked to teach that part with him, and his wife who was working at the time.  I am very excited for this family.  I will keep you all posted about what happens with this man.

 

I am happy to say that my hands are alot better. I remembered something that Dad once said, that maybe it has something to do with my nail bitting habit.  I stopped bitting my nails, and my hands are much better.  They are not yet 100% but compared with what they had been there is a night and day difference.

 

My camera is broken.  There is something wrong with the zoom. Evidently that is a common defect with the camera.  I had a companion that had the same camera and the same problem.  I had it sent to a place to be fixed. They fixed the problem, and shortly their after it broke again, when I tried to use the zoom.  They will fixed it again free of charge, but I am not sure how long that will last.  I am also having one of my suits trailored. I lost 32 pounds and it is really big on me and one of the sisters in the ward is a seamstress.  I hope that everything turns out alright. 

 

Well gang, I really do not have much else to say other than I love you and I will talk to you guys soon on Christmas.  I will have more stuff to say to you all when that time get closer. Also please send me my partiarical blessing. I would really like to read it.

 

Love,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Wedding Bells

Blog time,

Hey everyone, I am doing great.  I am still in Santa Maria and loving every minute of it.  My companion and I are getting along just great, and we are teaching a good number of people. Once more we paid for a wedding.  It is really expensive to get hitch in Brazil.  It is a 160 plus reais.  Which does not seem like a lot to you and me , but to a people who are lucky to make 500 reais a month it is a lot.  I understand now why people do not get married here. It is a long and annoying process.  First there is the whole dating thing, then getting the engagment. After the engagment the people have to get their birth certificates, which has to be from the city of birth and a new copy.  So for instance if you are no longer living in the city of your birth  you have to call up the "Cartório" which is the centralized records for that city.  Give them your name and date of birth and the name and date of birth of your parents.  Wait a day or two and you got yourself and new updated birth certificate.  Then after that you enter in to the marrige at the Cartório in the city which you are curently living.  Then give them those things plus a couple of documents and they put you in line to be married, which means that they  will announce in the in the city news paper about the wedding so that someone could says, "wait a minute! That is my wife!" or something one those lines.  Wait 15-30 days after that when a Justice of the Peace is availible and poof, Wedding Brazilian style.  Therefore I doubt that I will ever marry a Brazilian. It is too much of a process.

I am fine, my companion and I went and climbed the mountain once more. I think that it might turn into a weekly thing for us. I feel good about it.  I am not as tired as I was last time, although I think that the sun took more out of me than the climb. I am a little red. Not a whole lot I used sun screen.  By the way if someone would like to send me more sun block, preferably one that is sweat proof, that would be  great.  I have one tube left.

Well family I hope you all are doing really well, and a getting ready for Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I will talk to you guys soon.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Loving every minute of it!!!

Hey everyone,

I am in Santa Maria. I am loving every minute of it. My companion and I and with a few people from our zone, and the ward  climbed a mountain.  Yes I climbed a mountain.  There is a mountain in our area and they have radio antennas we climbed to the tip top and took some pictures, I would send you the pictures but my camera started acting up these last couple of days, and I sent it to be repaired, it should be done by next week.  All things hoping.  But it is a very beuaful climb.  We took some pictures from way up high and you could see the entire city from that vantage point.  It is very pretty.  I will send you the pictures once I copy them from my companion.  We are planning on going back up next week, as well with some of the other zone leaders.

I am very happy here.  I think I will stay in the city a long time.  It has a lot to offer. My companion and I are helping a family of 4 get married.  They want to be baptized, but the only real hold back is marriage.  This place is difficult to find people who are legally married.  Most of the people do not have the money simply to get married and so they just say hey be mine until you get tired of me, and they get together for a while, have a crap ton of children and something eventually will happen and they will split up.  It is the sad, but actual truth.  This family is great though. They are showing real progress.  They will be baptized around thanksgivings day.

I do not know if you guys know, but Brazil just elected a woman president.  Dilma.  She is Brazil's woman presdinte, and as I am gathering it is pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing, but we will see what will happen to her in the next couple of weeks.

I am great, and healthy, and I will talk to you guys later.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere