Sporty Occulos

Pictures: First is Elder Gouveia and I using my sporty occulos (sunglasses)
Second is o templo de sao paulo

Olá ! Seu filho é muito chique !Ele é um garnde amigo . Ele está muito feliz por me conhecer . Um grande abraço !
Elder gouveia wanted to write a little message to you. he said
HeyYour son is way awesome. He is a great friend. He is happier and a better person because he has me as a friend (not directly translated, but that was the feeling)

A big hug!

Hey Fam!

Glad that kelsey got all moved in and everything! How is the dorm? She liking everything so far? Is there just tons of excitement and everything in the air? Im sure there is...i bet kels is having too much fun.

Thanks for all the little infos that i was looking for. Ok, so, some shout outs to
KATRINE. Got your letter! Well, the second one..i guess. I still havent gotten the bigger one that you said you sent..this one got here in about a week! Will reply asap
LAUREN. Got your letter! Thanks! Hope everything is going well! Will reply asap
Sarah and Dale! HOLY CRAP! You guys rock! Thanks for the awesome envelope and pics and stuff. I missed camp this year! Glad to hear the kids asked about me.
Amy. Yes, ditto. I echo the sentiment. It is definitely the day the earth stood still. look forward to the letter.

Onnnnn to the week

The week went pretty well, actually. We have been able to see some huge progress in some of our investigators. First off, we were able to mark a date with Claudia, Inês's daughter. We have been teaching them for a few weeks and already marked a date with Ines, but Claudia was a lot more unsure. However, last week we were able to teach about the gospel of christ (faith, repentance, baptism, gift of holy ghost, endrure til the end) and she felt the spirit strongly and committed to baptism! Yahoo! Also, we were able to get another new person to church. remember last week that story that we woke up early and walked to bring a family to church, but only got 2 of the 5? Well, this week, same family, but different person went...the father. He said he liked chruch a lot. Even cooler is that the entire family committed to go with us to Stake Conference this weekend! It will be pretty cool, especially since the presidency is changing and President Ellis (area president) will come to run the biz.

Also, this week was temple week. Ever three transfers (4.5 months) we get to go to the temple in sao paulo and do a session. So, to be abble to do this, Elder Gouveia and I had to get a late night bus yesterday to stay the night at the Zone Leader´s house. Then, we had to wake up way early to be able to get the bus that was going to the temple. It was great. The sun was shining, but it wasnt TOO hot. Also, i love the temple, i was able to receive a lot of answers to my prayers and my questions. Way cool. Also, i was able to see Dr. Wilson today! Not sure if he is reading this blog, but if so, HEY!
We gotta go!

Well, i hope all is well! Sorry this email is a little short but im a little scatter brained and tired. OH! Cool thing. When i was at the temple today i met a ton of the missionaries that are in the CTM! Was way cool. Unfortunately, i did not meet Elder the new elder from Texas...he must have gone to the campinas temple today, or yesterday...whenever his pday is. I did, however, meet some 12 elders that will be come to our mission in two weeks! Haha, they are so scared of the language...i remember those days....but i learned, am always learning, and the lord makes me always stronger for it!

Love you all...

Elder Bry

I finally have two shoes!

Pictures: First, a little ironic. This is a food stand at the Sao Roque Festival that is run by nuns. If you look, you can see that the first item on the menu is beer. Pictures of my old worn out shoes, they've been like this for months. Also latest pic with my companion...

Hey...So first things first, the package arrived!!! I am now using 2 new shoes!!! Wahooooooo. (We had to send Bryan new shoes in 2 separate packages so they wouldn't get stolen. The first package took about 3 weeks to arrive, the second package took 2 months...so all he had was one new shoe) I will send some pictures of the old editons. My gosh, I didn't realize dress shoes could get so beat up. Thanks for everything in the package. (So we sent things like peanut butter, Axe toiletries, razer blades, beef jerkey, always pictures, batteries, cheezit's) Also, I did receive the package from Grandmother and I sent her a letter today! Glad that Grandfather had such a good birthday...loved the cat card...it was perfect. I can't believe Elder Clifford (from Bry's mission, now home), already has a date with my sister, that safado! Haha, let me know how he's doing, he was an awesome missionary.

One more shout out to Elder Cruz.....E ai cara! Obrigado pela email! E otimo que voce ta meecrevendo toda semana haha, mas da saudades de nosso companheirismo! Nao acredito que steven talvez vai ser famoso tambem! Mas, sempre lembra ele da missao! E, eu mandei uma carta pra voce hoje...para seu aniversario. Espero que cheque ja!

And Katrine, thanks for the email! Glad that the letter got there already. Must be a record this time...usually it takes like 2 months.

onnnnnnnto the week

Well the week started off with a division. It was pretty good. I went to Votorantim, a city just on the outskirts of Sorocaba, the big city out there in the interior. I stayed with Elder Cipriano, a recent convert who is just finishing his mission. He will be going home September 9th. But he isn't that trunky and is working harder than ever. It was pretty cool, I went there to be able to do my first interview! The kids name is Igor, and was way freaking smart. I couldn't believe how much that 12 year old knew! He was baptized over the weekend.

After this, it was back to the normal work. The coolest story this week comes from Sunday...as we were able to finally get a couple of our investigators to church. Elder Gouveia and I woke up at 5:30 to be able to make the hike out to their house which is in a neighborhood very far out of town. Unfortunately, only the Mom and one son came with us as the other family members had some excuses. But, we got them finally! They loved the church. Especially Jilson, the son. He had a fun time in Primary. We were able to go to church again with them this Sunday! Wahoo!.

In other stories, Alexandre, that guy was making a lot of progress, fell off the boat. He was going so strong keeping away from cigs and beer! But, you can only be so strong until you put yourself in the line of fire. His brother convinced him to go out with him and his friends, and Alexandre was able to resist alcohol and cigarettes for the first two offers, but on hte third he fell. But, he was feeling pretty bad about it and wants to give it another shot. This time, his date is for the end of September.

Good luck to everyone, I love ya and miss ya! (and you grandparents!, can't give me hard time this time Grandfather!)

Ate Mais!

Bry

Holy Muffins....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDFATHER
Still waiting for that box with the other shoe to come....it will get here and all will be ok. Right now it's been fairly sunny and warm recently, without rain and other conditions, so my old worn out shoes work out fine for this. But cool deal you will be giving an update in about a month about the mission, I can't believe that I am a month away from a year! What is this? Pinch me please, somebody!

As for letters, I received letters from Paul Herber, thanks for the awesome articles. Mary Goodrich, where did you learn such good portuguese? I sent letters to both of you today. Also, to respond to Cruz...E ai cara! Tudo mundo ta pergunando o que eu estou escrevendo pro voce aqui no blog! Word e google so conseque traduzir tanto, Ne?! Que chique que as coisas stao indo tao bem...mais ou menos haha. Mas, continue na fe! Nao fique desanimado no final de semana! Voce e pimp cara, noa esqueca disso! Tou te apoiando. Hey, voce ja saiu com aquelas do disney?? Te amo cara! Boa sorte na prova Go Broncos!

And Katrine, thanks for the email! Hope all is going well, you should have 2 letters waiting for you in your mailbox within a couple of weeks! Hope you are enjoying your summer!

and onnnnnnnnnn to the week

So, this week has had some ups, and some downs. Basically, started off thursday with a trip to the mission office to get a training on how to do interviews and trainings and other things like that. That was fun, it is always great to see the other missionaries and the office mishies. We had a lot of fun talking and learning and all that stuff.

After that, however things took a bit of a nose dive. Elder Gouveia got really sick, and was hardly able to walk for a couple days. So, friday and saturday we basically stayed at home while he recovered. However, by Sunday he was pretty much all the way better. Church was awesome, there was a sweet party for Father's Day (Father's Day here was Sunday) with tons of people and food. Believe it or not, but we had some 15 investigators in church on Sunday! Holy Muffins! I will send some pics of the party.

Also, we have been having some HUGE progress with one of our investigators...Alexandre. I think I have already talked about him, but just for some background he is about 24 years old and is the son of a very active sister, and less active dad. He has been going to church for a while, but has never wanted to get baptized because that would mean giving up his parties, beer, and cigs. However, Sunday he told us that he had quit drinking and that he was going to smoke his last cig that night! He will hopefully be baptized next saturday, so pray with us! He is a way good guy, but unfortunately is in a custody battle over his 3 year old son...and the Mom definitely isn't very nice. He said his reason for wanting to be baptized would be to be able to be a better dad, and have the Lord bless him with his son!

Also, we have been able to touch bases with some other investigators, and they are making some great progress. I have never had so many different investigators ACTIVELY reading the Book of Mormon! It is incredible, amazing the difference that reading personally makes in the understanding (of the gospel) and the lives of the people. Hopefully we will be able to get these people into the church soon! Only problem is that they all live pretty far away and aren't in the best of conditions to pay bus passes for the entire family every Sunday, but we shall see here as well.

Today was pretty sweet. Elder Gouveia (it is his Birthday BTW) and I went to Irma Rosangelas house to make some cookies and brownies according the the recipes that GJ sent me. The brownies turned out great....but I kind of messed up on the cookies. They were still good, but they ended up tasting more like sugar cookies instead of good ol chocolate chip cookies....quem sabe.

Everyone/Anyone....if you can, send Elder Gouveia a birthday card....he would realllllly appreciate it, even if he can't read english!

Miss you...Bry

Bulls on Parade

Bulls on Parade!

So, actually I am pretty excited that I have been here 10 months, starting to creep up on 11...getting close to the top of the mountain.

Onnnn to the week. So, as you all know, last week was transfers. It was a lot more interesting trying to get information about the transfers and everything this week as we don't have a cell phone (broke when fell out of shirt pocket) and I have to find the member's house with a landline. So, it took a few days to find out who the new people in the district and zone are, and the other changes. Anyway, turns out that I get to be a District Leader now....basically the same thing as I was doing in the MTC, but now I get to give trainings to the other mishionaries during the district meeting, call every night to follow up on the day, and do more divisions so that I can perform interviews. Pretty routine.

Also the crazy stuff this week is more about the awesome party for Sao Roque. The streets are full of stands of food and souvenirs and other fun goodies to buy. Also, there are tons of interesting events going on. For example, there was something I had never seen before on Sunday...you ever heard the song Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine? Well they must have been in Sao Roque because there was a parade of bulls going through the streets.

Also, one really cool thing is that we have found a few new families! Hallelujah! Was awesome, we have even been able to mark a baptism date with one new investigator. She is a mother living in Mairinque, and is having some troubles with the family. It is yet another case

that I have seen of a mother and family that do a tone to be perfect, but the husband/father drinks a lot and always comes home mean. It is incredibly sad how often this happens,. However, I have tons of hope that we will be able to help this family get back on track! It is going to be excellent. Bry

Shout outs to: Katrine for the awesome bday card and letter! Sent one in return.

Aunt Alane for the bday letter

GJ & GRandfather

Makelle aka half baked, got your letter and sent one back

Braydon, glad things are going well. As for school advise, go to class and do your homework. 90% of the test questions will be something almost copied from the homework...or at least it was in my situation.

Shout out to David Cruz.

e ai cara! fiquei feliz por receber sua emial! Ta otimo que as coisas no trabalho estao indo bem...alem daquele accidente yeeesh!! fique firme na fe! o senhor te abencoara com certeza! ela ja esta! te amo!

Mud Everywhere...

Sorry, no pictures this week...Quick shout outs to:Katrine, i still havent gotten your letter, but i sent one to you today. Elder Rau, hope you get the letter. Grandfather!

onnnnnn to the weeek So, this week was transfers! That is the biggest news. However, neither Elder Gouveia nor I was transferred. Another six weeks hooorah! But its all good, hopefully this transfer we will really be able to make some progress in the area.

We have been working really hard to find some good new, strong investigators, and we havent made a ton of progress, but we are seeing other progress with some of the investigators that we have. For example, with one pair of boys who are the sons of a less active member, when we started the lesson with them they didnt want to go to church or read the BoM, but by the end of the lesson they had felt the spirit and had experienced a change of heart, commiting to go! Was pretty cool.

Also, it has been raining like cats and dogs here lately! Seriously, wet feet are the worst! The other shoe hasnt arrived yet, (2 shoes sent in separate boxes) so i still am using my older shoes, and in classic mish style, they have some very excellent holes. The other thing is that there are still a few unpaved roads around here, and it is absolutely ridiculous how much mud i have been in. That darn mud just gets everywhere!!!!

Family? Home Evening

This is the picture from the HUGE family home evening that we had...and yes, the guy in the white DOES look like Jason Statham.

Well, hi y’all!!

First off, shout outs to Elder DeMeester and Amy Jones, you guys sent me letters and will get letters of your own soon!

Also, shout out to the infamous Elder Cruz!!! Hope Balneario is treating you well! Masserio, ainda nao acredito que terminou! Mas, tudo bem, se lembra de nossas conversas e tudo vai ser ok. Serio, voce e david cruz! As meninas te ama, e voce vai achar a sua eleita...talvez no disney kkkk

Onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn to the week ...

Well, things have gone pretty interesting this week. First off were interviews with President Cooley on Thursday. It all went smoothly. I really enjoy talking with Presidente and his wife...they are great people and love the missionaries.

After this, the week has been pretty normal. We have been finding some cool new people to teach, and have had some adventures as well. For example, We have had to walk a TON!!!! I am dead tired today haha. We have been hitting up some neighborhoods that are way far away recently.... "I'll go where you want me to go, dear lord, over mountains..."etc. But yeah, its good. We have been able to see some good progress in a few of our investigators. I get soooo happy when people actually follow through on their commitments to us, like praying, or reading, or anything. It really shows who WANTS to know, as opposed to who is just being polite.

Monday, we had an AWESOME FHE with some members, recent converts, and investigators. There were 24 people in attendance! I dont know how everyone fit in the house! I got to give a sweet spiritual thought about the Armor of God (Ephesians 6). It is basically about how we are all in the midst of a war, and how the opposition is always trying to tear us down, but that we have tools, weapons, and armor at our disposal! It is definitely way cool, and has some sweet doctrinal stuff if you look in deeper.

Yesterday I had a fun little ´bible bash´ with a member of another church. They were trying to prove to me that God has stopped being a God of miracles...of course, I did what I have been taught to do...bear your testimony and leave. For those reading, I KNOW that God exists, and that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, that he worked with the children of men anciently and that he still does. I testify that miracles are real, that the gifts of the spirit are true and that there are many great and wonderful things happening around us that we dont even perceive. As I like to teach my investigators, God is not a God of confusion, but a God of love, a God with a pattern, a God that worries actively for our happiness and works in our lives to helps us. I know Christ lives. This is my brief testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Well, I miss you all and hope everything is going well! Get back to health Grandfather! Stay safe Mom and Kels! Study hard Dad (never thought I would get to say that back to you...haha)!

Elder BRiggs

Let's fix Mexican food!!

Me teaching the Brasileiro how to make Mexican food! YAYYYY QUESEDILLAS!!!!!

It is a little strange, the foods that I miss most are

A) Dads cooking of course! yummmmmm flank steak, salmon, etc.

B) Mexican food...oh burrito, where art thou

C) Asian foods...all i want is ONE POTSTICKER

D) American Desserts...aka Cheesecake, Pie, Cookies, Brownies, etc.

HELLOOOOO EVERYOnE!!!!

First things first, I have to give a shout out to THE TRIPLE A!!! AKA Amanda Krulish ... CONGRATULATIONS! However, if you do not send me an invite (even though I will not be able to make it) I will be a little upset...but yes, I am anxiously waiting that letter with all the details!

CONGRATS KAIT!!!! Glad the weather was perfect and the guy was tall, dark and handsome (according to my spies). Much happiness to you!

Chelsea Caldwell’s wedding invite? Ask her if she has sent me one ... you can tell her that I am over the moon happy for her, sincerely, but will be angry if I’m not invited!! Haha

Gosh, so many people getting married! The life of a mishie I guess, right?

Congratulations to grandfather for staying alive! Haha, I’m glad that it is all going great. Ex-Elder Anderson said that Grandfather was as ornery and mean as ever, so I’m glad that he is coming to a full recovery!

Thanks for the address from Bethanie! I was wondering where she had gone...she sent me an email at the very beginning of the mission, but forgot to include an address...

Also, shout out to the traveling bunches of the family and friends! STAY SAFE

ONNNNNNNNN TO THE WEEK

So, this week wasn’t alll that eventful, but it had its interesting parts. Thursday was zone conference, and the rest of the week was dedicated to finding some people. We have finally been able to get back into contact with an investigator name Fernanda....she is definitely the story. So, it has been over a year that she is investigating the church. She has gotten close to baptism more than a few times, and then pulled back at the last moment. Just recently, she was going to be baptized again, but pulled out, again. We discovered that it was because she is now pregnant! Over the course of the last month, she hasnt gone back to church, and has had lots of long talks with the bishop, lots of stuff. But, Saturday, we were able to get in and start talking to her again! She is a head case, but doing better. She will be getting married to the father (a recent convert) here in two months, with baptism (cross your fingers) soon after.

Also, we had ward conference this Sunday...it was great! Best of all was that there were 13 investigators in attendance! I was blown right out of the water..it was great! There are some really cool stories too.

One investigator of ours, Marriete, has really been having some tough times. For the past year she has been trying to investigate the church, but she lives WAY far away and lives in pretty humbling conditions. However, just recently we were able to finally get into contact with her through some members. Now, she finally got to church! She went to the member´s house at 1 in the morning Saturday night, no one heard her knocking on the door, and ended up NOT giving up and instead sleeping in the entrance way. She went to church with the members and ended up seeing miracles in her life. Namely, she has been able to find a place to live, and the bishop helped her get her daughter back! She has now accepted a date for baptism...how exciting.

Other than this, the other investigators are all pretty normal. We have got some good ones that are reading the Book of Mormon, going to church, and really progressing. It is so rewarding to see people take what you teach, implement in their lives, and then see God bless them with what they have been waiting for...I LOVE THE MISSION

Hope all is well at home!

miss ya guys!

Bryan