13 de fevereiro de 2012

Olá Família!
mais uma semana veio e foi! i cant believe how fast the time is going by! the month of feb is already half over! this week was a pretty rough one for us. recently we are having a hard time finding new investigators, and so this week we knocked a LOT of doors, with little results as of yet... but that is just how it goes sometimes, you have to put in the work and then the blessings come, like in Ether 12:6, we only recieve the witness that we want (or results) until AFTER the trial of our faith! i am learning so much every day! my love for the scriptures is getting stronger every time i open them! it is pretty funny/cool when my companion will say something and i can remember exactly where it is in the scriptures! the promise is real that says if we treasure up the words of life, the Holy Ghost will put into our minds the things that we need to say! i am LOVING speaking portuguese with the people here! it is so cool to be able to speak a language so different from your own! so i dont know if i told you about Juan yet, he is Gustavo's little brother that is 10 years old. we started teaching him about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and when we gave him the Book of Mormon he opened up to the pictures in the front and looked at the one where Alma is baptizing all the people at the waters of mormon, and he said "oh, this is the baptisms in the waters of mormon right?" Elder Petersen and i we pretty shocked that he knew that! and he said that his Grandma had a book of mormon at some point. he has a baptism date for the 25 of Feb! but yesterday, Gustavo was passing the sacrament!!! it was so cool to see! it is amazing that in a month and a half he went from the normal teenager to passing the sacrament! i cant wait to hear all about his mission someday!!
oh, did you know that they can go on missions here when they are 18?
the work is moving along, we are finally recovering from our sicknesses and we are determined to pass this little bump in the road that we are at with new investigators!
so tomorrow is Valentines day and no they do not have that holiday here, at least at the same time, elder petersen was saying something about it being later in the year but he cant remamber when it is. But someone should make sure and give Adria a hug for me!
so they have quite a few holidays here that we dont have there, but no one really knows the reason for them, i imagine they are kind of like Cezar Chavez day or something like that. but carnaval is next weekend and i am not really looking forward to it, but hopefully President puts up a few restrictions for those few days, but we'll see!
yes it is still raining here like CRAZY! it is so strange! because it is like a hot rain sometimes, like you would think that is would cool everything down when it rains but it doesnt, it is just wet. hehe! i think soon i am going to need to buy a new umbrella! mine is holding up pretty well, but id like a bigger one.
so guess what! Wed we get to go to the temple!!!!! YAY! i am so excited! i need a visit to the temple really bad! so today isnt really our pday, we only get to email today, but our pday was moved to wed because of the temple trip.
i love you all so much! i think about you all the time! you guys might want to learn portuguese while i am gone so you will be able to understand me when i get back!
love
Elder Knudson

6 de fevereiro de 2012

ola família!
this week went by really fast! on monday and tuesday my companion got sick with the flu and because he has asthma he could hardly breath too so he was in no condition to work, so i got to read and rest a lot. on wed we worked normal and then on thursday i woke up sick... but i have been taking medicine and i am able to work through it. but right now i have like no voice so it is pretty funny! it is really hard in the heat here, this week has been really really hot, and when you have a big lunch it is hard to stay awake! but it is all good because this week we had the baptism of GUSTAVO! it was absolutely amazing! elder petersen baptized him and i got to confirm him a member! and yesterday he got up to bear his TESTIMONY!!!!!!!!!!! it was so amazing and very strong, everyone in the ward said they could feel the strength of his testimony! the cool thing is that we found him knock doors EXACTLY one month before his baptism! he is truely living proof that if we put the lords works to the test, he truely will keep his promises! and gustavo found that out because everything that we asked him to do he did and he got an answer REALLY fast! the church is true! and when we have a testimony of the gospel and the plan of salvation we have hope for the future that seems so scary without the answers that we have with the gospel.
on friday, elder petersen and i hit the 6 month mark! we burned a tie to celebrate! and today we went to a restaraunt to eat too, it was good and i felt like i was back in the US. i cant believe that i have already gone through 1/4 of my mission... it is going by SO fast!
so we had transfers this week, and i ALMOST got transfered! when we had interviews with pres we talked to him about me staying here in the ward for one more transfer and he said i could. but yesterday i got a call and he said that i was transfered so i asked about what president said and he (the secretary) said he'd look into it. but he said that i should plan like i was transfered. so i began to tell everyone i was leaving. then at about 6 or 7 i got a call saying that i wasnt tranfered! yay! so i get to stay 6 more weeks here! and with that i will be here 6 months! wow how the time flies!
well i think thats all. i love you all so much!
Elder Knudson

30 de janeiro de 2012

hello again!
this week was a pretty awesome week!!!!!!!!!!! i don~t know where to start! ok well on tuesday guess who we got to meet! Elder M. Russel BALLARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was SO amazing! but the journey there was pretty much a nightmare! we were headed there and the power on the train went out... so we had to try and find a bus to the chapel and it wasnt easy. we wound up getting lost in the middle of São Paulo! and we got to the meeting late, BUT we were right on time for Elder Ballards talk! so all in all it was a pretty good day! so now, update on our Golden Investigator Gustavo. we taught him again this past week and we moved his baptismal date up one week, so now he will be baptized on saturday the 4th! but the coolest part was that at the end of the lesson he made a comment on how he is greatful that there are people like us to help others learn about the truth and we said that he could serve a mission too. and then he said that he was already planning on that!!!!!!!! when we left the house we felt like we were flying!!!
the keyboard i am using is really hard to type with... so sorry if there are a bunch of errors.

so the 6 month mark is aproaching quickly! i cant believe that it has already been 6 months since i left home! and it feels weird that i have been in this area for 4 1/2 months too! but this is a great area and we are working really hard to help the ward get back its foundation. the word has finally gotten out that our ward is in critical situation, on sunday we had the stake president, one of his counselors and 4 members of the high counsel! so there is action going on here! i am hoping that we can get everything back running smoothly again and that we can get the frequency back up to 200 again! lots of work to do!

so mom is going to see the price is right tomorrow? that is pretty cool! let me know if you win anything! that is pretty exciting! are you going to wear a really bright shirt so everyone can see you on the tv? but i have to admit, i think meeting one of the 12 apostles takes the cake! hehe! but be sure to tell me all about it!

it is finally sunny again! it has been a week since i have seen the sun! it rains SO much here! it is incredible! but i like it, but i think i will need to buy a bigger umbrella soon! hehe! my little walmart one isnt cutting it sometimes. a lot of the time it only covers my head and shoulders! the rain is nice though.

well i think that that is all for this week. i love you all! and keep reading the scriptures!
Elder Knudson

23 de janeiro de 2012

hey family!
so the pictures and stuff got there super fast!!!!!! i sent them like 2 weeks ago i think. this week was a pretty cool week, but very wet... the rainy season has arrived! so we have an investigator named Gustavo, he is so amazing! we found him knocking doors and we have visited him 3 times and he told us that he knows that the church is true! he went to church with us on sunday and he absolutely loved it! he is preparing to be baptised on the 11th on feb! the cool thing about all of this is that we had a fast 2 days before we found him! my testimony is growing every day! the lord is just waiting to give us the blessings that we need, but he is just waiting for us to act! as it says in james 2, faith without works is dead! we have to show our faith by our works and then then little things that we do turn into great miracles!
so the pizza here is pretty amazing! but it is a little different too. they normally dont have pizza sauce but they make up for it with the stuff they put on it. and yes, normally i eat pepporoni or muzzarella with bacon. and the coolest part of the pizza is that they do chocolate stuffed crust!! it sounds weird but it is so good!!!!!! the food here really isn~t that different, normally rice and beans and meat and pasta. but i eat tomatoes and cucumbers and other stuff like that pretty regularly, and i am liking them so that is good!
i am glad that trevor liked the shirt, when i saw it i knew that that was what i needed to get him. and a lot of the pictures that i took of the city are from the training center, it is like a 5th story window, it was pretty cool! i will work on getting some pictures of the area and stuff like that, it is a little harder because we have to avoid looking like a tourist here.
i am pretty sure that i will be in this area for one more transfer after this one, we talk to president and he said that he'd make it happen. so i will be in this area for 6 months! i cant believe that 6 months have already come and gone! the time is FLYING! i am really starting to get comfortable speaking portuguese now! i am working on knocking down all of the mental barriers that i have had that were holding me back.
i can feel my testimony growing so much every day! but the thing that has help so much is the foundation that i got in seminary. seminary is there to get us through high school in one piece and to give us the spiritual foundation to build on for the rest of our lives, and using a scripture mastery, Helaman 5:12 build your foundation on the rock of our redeemer. seminary gave me a firm foundation that i build on every day! when we get used to looking for "missionary moments" every day in our everyday lives, the spiritual experiences that we have on the mission open our eyes to the wonders of the gospel and the blessings that are available in the eternities!
i love you all!
have a great week!
Elder Knudson
2 Nefi 27:23

15 de janeiro de 2012

hello again!
another week has come and gone and another week closer to 6 months on the mission! the time is going by so fast! i am really enjoying the life as a missionary and i have reached the point where i dont really want it to end. this week was pretty good for us and we had some pretty cool experiences! so a couple of weeks ago we found a 16 kid named Gustavo, and we marked a visit with him for tues, but he ended up not being at home. so we went back on thurs and we found him at home! we explained about the gospel of Jesus Christ and baptism. and at the end of the lesson we set a goal for the 11th of feb with him! then as we were leaving he said that he was greatful that there were people like us to help people learn about the truth and that he is going to search out the truth with us and that he is going to ask Heavenly Father if the things were are saying are true! elder petersen and i were so excited leaving his house!! we couldnt believe what had just happened, but this experience shows that there are people prepared to recieve the fulness of the gospel, we just have to find them. and satan tries to keep us from opening our mouths and talking about the gospel to our friends and family because he knows that if we dont even open our mouths we will never know when someone is ready. OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE! i know that this is the Lord's work and that we are here to serve Him. i am continually learning about our responsibilities as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, listen to the sacrament prayers, and listen for the things we are covenanting to do and then, think of how you can really show that you are fulfilling that covenant! i know that as we continually strive to keep our covenants of baptism and the temple we will be blessed. i promise that as you seek out ways to help those around you learn more about the gospel, our own live will be better, our testimonies will be strengthened and we will have the joy to see our friends and family join the gospel!
today we had a zone activity and it was pretty sweet! we had a bbq and we played capture the flag! and i also got some pretty SWEET pic! oh, i don~t remember if i said last week, but i sent my card and trevors Christmas present last week, so it is on its way!
the language is going great! i can understand almost everything that people are saying! sometimes it is still hard when the people talk REALLY fast, but it is getting better! i am so greatful for my blessings and for the oportunity that i have to learn portuguese! i am really excited to come home and be able to talk to everyone that i can in portuguese so you better tell bro Hodnet to freshen up on his portuguese!
i love you all and thank you for the prayers and all the emails!
Love
Elder Knudson

9 de janeiro de 2012

hello family!!!!!!!!!!!!
this was a pretty good week! nothing extremely exciting happened but it was a good week of work. there is always those little miracles that happen every day that there really is no way to describe. but one experience was pretty cool this week that demonstrates blessings that come from willingness to serve, we were walking and it started to rain, really hard (those of you who have served or lived here know how it is), and there was a vw bug stopped on the side of the road and me and my companion asked if they needed a push to get the car going, he said no, just a part that takes a little to get going. so we continued to walk down the road. then when he got the car going he pulled up to us and asked if we would like a ride. of coarse we accepted! it is amazing how fast the blessing come when we are willing to follow the Lords commandments to serve our fellow man! so the challenge for the week is just that, seek out someone, anyone, that you can give an act of service. and afterwards pay atention to how you feel. remember that the Savior said, when you are in the service of you fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. the Lord will use you to bless the lives of His children when we are simply WILLING to give loving service to others.
daniel got baptized! woo hoo!! so daniel you need to write me and tell me all about it, how you felt and what was your favorite part! and dont forget to write down how the baptism was in a journal! i still have my journal from my baptism when i wrote in it and it is really cool to remember how it was! and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!
so how was the winter break for everyone? missionaries dont have holidays or breaks! but thats ok, it will just be that much nicer when i come home!
so on thursday this week we had a really hard time, it is what we call on the mission "the day of NO" which simply means that every appointment fell through. and that is exactly what happend, we taught 1 lesson in the whole day. it just goes to show that we need to have our difficult times to show our faith, because if it was always easy then it wouldnt really be nessissary to show owr faith. the trials that we have in our lives are to show that we trust in the lord, even when it isnt goiing too good.
so mom i had a thought this week that you should teach about the restoration in seminary. we learn in Preach My Gospel that we should teach this to the members to help them remember the feelings that they had when they became converted to the gospel. i know that there are probably some kids that dont have a very strong testimony about the restoration or maybe dont even really know how it happened. and i am sure that it will help too! maybe you could invite the missionaries in the ward to come and teach it to them for you!! that would be so great!
so i got an email frrom the elmers this week about a spiritual experience that she had! it was really cool! but im still waiting for the rest of you! your all back in school now so it should be pretty easy now!
i love you all!
Elder Knudson

2 de janeiro de 2!0!1!2!

hey family!
i felt really special when i got on the computer today! i had 18 emails!!! wow! thank you everyone for the emails and the love! so, it sounds like you guys had a pretty good christmas! hehe! (its ok macie, you can laugh) adam felt a little left out there for a little huh? the pictures were great! i loved it! i missed being home for christmas but the work must be done! but it was good here too, new years was absolutly crazy, t here was a lot of drunk people on the streets. it was weird having to be at the house at 5 in the afternoon. we had hot dogs and chips and 7 liters of soda! woo hoo! but we havent drinken them all yet! we played uno for almost 2 hours and then the craziness happened, we didnt get to sleep till almost 2 in the morning, its weird to think that that was only 8 oclock there! but it was fun!
the work is moving along, this week was a little sad and the at tendance at church was much less than good... but everyone here goes to the beach on new years, so hopefully everyone is back on sunday! i am starting to understand more about the love that Christ has for us and the agony that he feels when we are doing self destructive behavior. the feels of love that He has for us is more than we can comprehend, but when our only focus is others, we are able to understand a little better that love.
we are seeing many many blessings in the work, this week was really hard to find people in their house, but right now we have 10 people marked for baptism for the month of january. so we have a lot of work ahead of us to help these people enter the waters of baptism! but i am excited to start the new year and devote all of 2012 in the service of my Savior!
this week was pretty cool! we visited a budhist temple! it was SO cool! i took a lot of pictures and i am working on sending it asap! we couldnt take pictures inside but it was pretty sweet! i felt like i was in Kung Fu Panda! hahahahaha! it was pretty sweet!
i love you all!
so all you kids with NEW ipods that can send email! send me some of you missionary experiences that you have during the week, try to talk about a scripture that you read recently with you friends, introduce the Book of Mormon to someone! and then i want to hear about it!
love
Elder Knudson