Monday, April 30, 2012
eMail of April 30, 2012
Hello Everyone,
Sorry about your lungs Caleb. I hope you get better. I´m glad to hear things are going well. Good luck in the play Nathaniel. It will be fun. So... My new area is Verdão. My companion is Elder Britto. We are opening the area so this week has been interesting. Neither of us knows exactly were stuff is in the area. Its been a great experience though. Our house was a pig stay when we got there. Tons of garbage and thilth! The second day we spent about 8 and a half hours cleaning it out. We moved all the firniture around, threw away a ton of garbage and old clothes and wood, and swept and cleaned the whole place. Now its great. There are two rooms that each have two beds and a closet. The one we sleep in has the desks as well. Then there is a bathroom a little hall way, a main room with a book shelf and a desk and a kitchen with a table, stove, refrigerator and washing machine. Its an apartment. Its really nice now that we have cleaned it out. Today we hit winter in Cuiabá. It should last for about a week or less. it was cold enough that I needed a blanket. Its about what its like during the late spring in Washington. About 60 degrees and cloudy. I´m loving it because its not so hot. The ward here is great. They all like the missionaries. We got a warm welcome to the ward. All of the members have driven us to thier houses for lunch because we don´t know the area so that was really nice. I love you all. I hope all goes well. I will keep you all in my prayers. See yah all in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Monday, April 23, 2012
eMail of April 23, 2012
Hello everyone,
Fortunately I did have the opportunity to do email today. Tonight I will get transferred to Verdão. Its in the center of Cuiabá. My companion will be Elder Britto. I know him a little bit and he seems really cool. We´ll be opening an area because it used to be the area of the Assistents to the President. They got moved to a different area so now both Elder Britto and I will be new to the area. It was really sad to say goodbye to all the people here. I got to know all of them pretty well because I stayed here for almost 6 months. I´m really excited to finally move to my second area on the mission. I´m really excited to see how it will be. I´m sending some more pictures. The first on is my companion Elder Reis and I. The second one is our ward mission leader who is amazing and a boy in the ward I became really good friends with. The third one is a member whos more or less less active who I became great friends with. He might serve a mission next year. The fourth is a cool flower that only comes out at night on a tree by our apartment. The fifth is just a cool view. I wish I could have been there for the baby blessing. Thats great that everyone got to be there for it. You guys are all a great motivation for me on the mission. I´m so thankful that I have such an amazing family. And that its growing. Family is really the purpose of everything. I love you all. See yah in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Monday, April 16, 2012
eMail of April 16, 2012
Hello everyone,
Glad to hear things are going well. Congratulations on your scholarship Janai. That's sooo awesome. Good luck at finding a job David. I´m glad I don't have to worry about such things right now. I´ll be praying for you.
Things are going well. After this week I will be transfered finally. I´m still in my first area on the mission. The Mission President already told me I´ll be trasfered, so this time it's for sure. I wonder where I will go. After this next transfer, the Mission President will switch. The next one is american. I forgot his name. Everyone is afraid he will ban coca-cola and tereré (a really good herb water drink thing hear that can give a stomach ache to an american if he drinks a ton). Personally I could care less about coke. I wonder how it will be different though.
I do have kind of a cool story to tell. So. Because of conference we were left withought knowing who was signed up to give us lunch for the week. We couldn´t get a hold of the sister who has the calendar. We were kind of worried that we would have to go hungry or go buy and make something. I was reading that morning in 'Our Heritage' and reached a part about when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon. They had run out of writing supplies and food. They went out to find something and couldn´t. Coming back home they found Joseph Knight with food and writing supplies for them for no reason. Just as I read that, our cell phone rang. No one ever calls to confirm lunch and most of the time people forget, so I have no Idea why this brother called, but he called us to tell us lunch was at his house and he had the schedule for the rest of the week. I felt like Heavenly Father was saying `Hey Marc! stuff like that doesn´t just happen in church history you know. It's kind of cool the way Heavenly Father teaches us with our every day experiences. We just have to look for what it is he´s trying to teach us right now in our lives. So yah. Thats my story. I love you all. See yah in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Glad to hear things are going well. Congratulations on your scholarship Janai. That's sooo awesome. Good luck at finding a job David. I´m glad I don't have to worry about such things right now. I´ll be praying for you.
Things are going well. After this week I will be transfered finally. I´m still in my first area on the mission. The Mission President already told me I´ll be trasfered, so this time it's for sure. I wonder where I will go. After this next transfer, the Mission President will switch. The next one is american. I forgot his name. Everyone is afraid he will ban coca-cola and tereré (a really good herb water drink thing hear that can give a stomach ache to an american if he drinks a ton). Personally I could care less about coke. I wonder how it will be different though.
I do have kind of a cool story to tell. So. Because of conference we were left withought knowing who was signed up to give us lunch for the week. We couldn´t get a hold of the sister who has the calendar. We were kind of worried that we would have to go hungry or go buy and make something. I was reading that morning in 'Our Heritage' and reached a part about when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were translating the Book of Mormon. They had run out of writing supplies and food. They went out to find something and couldn´t. Coming back home they found Joseph Knight with food and writing supplies for them for no reason. Just as I read that, our cell phone rang. No one ever calls to confirm lunch and most of the time people forget, so I have no Idea why this brother called, but he called us to tell us lunch was at his house and he had the schedule for the rest of the week. I felt like Heavenly Father was saying `Hey Marc! stuff like that doesn´t just happen in church history you know. It's kind of cool the way Heavenly Father teaches us with our every day experiences. We just have to look for what it is he´s trying to teach us right now in our lives. So yah. Thats my story. I love you all. See yah in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Monday, April 9, 2012
eMail of April 9, 2012
Hello Everyone,
This week was good. We still don´t have a lot of possibilities for baptisms, but we've got some new investigators. We had a less active member show up at church though. He told us he wanted to learn more about how the structure of the priesthood works so we went into a room and answered his questions and stuff. He told us his whole story and why he went inactive and everything. He was baptised in Japan actually. With everything that happened to him it's amazing he set foot in a church again. He has a very strong testimony.
That's great that you all had a good time in Utah. Wow. I´m already realizing how much things are going to be different when I get back. Janai will be in college, David will be married, Hannah will be 1 and a half, Caleb will be in high school and driving, and Nathaniel will be a teacher (right?).
Thats great that there is a reactivation and a Baptism happening in our ward. Just more saved families. Our mission President is going to switch after this next transfer. That's great that you gave lunch to the missionaries Dad. Lunch is kind of a stressfull thing for Missionaries. Sometimes people think they have to make something really fancy for missionaries so they hesitate to put their name down on the calendar. If there is something to eat, we´re grateful.
I love you all. Prepare, Caleb and Nathaniel, for your missions (Janai too even if you don´t go). A mission is pretty much the hardest, fastest, funest, most difficult, most challenging, happiest thing in the world. Except maybe raising a family, but I´ve never done that before. I love you all. See yah in a couple years!
Elder Marc Skiles
This week was good. We still don´t have a lot of possibilities for baptisms, but we've got some new investigators. We had a less active member show up at church though. He told us he wanted to learn more about how the structure of the priesthood works so we went into a room and answered his questions and stuff. He told us his whole story and why he went inactive and everything. He was baptised in Japan actually. With everything that happened to him it's amazing he set foot in a church again. He has a very strong testimony.
That's great that you all had a good time in Utah. Wow. I´m already realizing how much things are going to be different when I get back. Janai will be in college, David will be married, Hannah will be 1 and a half, Caleb will be in high school and driving, and Nathaniel will be a teacher (right?).
Thats great that there is a reactivation and a Baptism happening in our ward. Just more saved families. Our mission President is going to switch after this next transfer. That's great that you gave lunch to the missionaries Dad. Lunch is kind of a stressfull thing for Missionaries. Sometimes people think they have to make something really fancy for missionaries so they hesitate to put their name down on the calendar. If there is something to eat, we´re grateful.
I love you all. Prepare, Caleb and Nathaniel, for your missions (Janai too even if you don´t go). A mission is pretty much the hardest, fastest, funest, most difficult, most challenging, happiest thing in the world. Except maybe raising a family, but I´ve never done that before. I love you all. See yah in a couple years!
Elder Marc Skiles
Monday, April 2, 2012
eMail of April 2, 2012
Hello Family,
Things are still going fantastically here in Brazil. My companion is awesome. The best one I´ve had yet. He's super Christlike. I´ll send you all a picture of us next week. That way mom can put it on the magnet board.
I really enjoyed General conference. I had to watch it in Portuguese. I can understand all of it, but it's difficult to focus and take notes and translate at the same time so I think I´ll have to read them all again in English. We had just one investigator there. One couldn´t make it, and the other got sick with denge (a sickness that comes from mosquitos here that makes you really sick, but its rarely leathel even for children so don't worry about me).
We all got water filters recently in our houses so now we all have clean water from the faucet. YAY! Before we were putting clear coke bottles out in the sun to get clean water. The sun is so strong here it purifies water. Otherwise you have to go and buy these huge jugs of purified water.
I´m absolutely loving the mission. It's so fun to go out and teach the gospel to people and help them to progress until Baptism. It's so fun to learn about the culture and about the people and the language. There really is no work in the world that brings more joy than missionary work. Except maybe families, but thats a type of missionary work any way. It's amazing to be able to focus all your time and effort into just the gospel. The gospel brings so much happiness. I´d just like you all to know that I know that this church is true. And that Christ really did atone for our sins. Absolutely everything that happens to you every day happens for a reason. God knows what people you will meet and the experiences you will have and sets them all up exactly perfect for your good and the good of others so that we can all return to his presence. Even the bad things in life are for our good.
Stay firm and work hard in the church and in school and at home. I love you all. See yah in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Things are still going fantastically here in Brazil. My companion is awesome. The best one I´ve had yet. He's super Christlike. I´ll send you all a picture of us next week. That way mom can put it on the magnet board.
I really enjoyed General conference. I had to watch it in Portuguese. I can understand all of it, but it's difficult to focus and take notes and translate at the same time so I think I´ll have to read them all again in English. We had just one investigator there. One couldn´t make it, and the other got sick with denge (a sickness that comes from mosquitos here that makes you really sick, but its rarely leathel even for children so don't worry about me).
We all got water filters recently in our houses so now we all have clean water from the faucet. YAY! Before we were putting clear coke bottles out in the sun to get clean water. The sun is so strong here it purifies water. Otherwise you have to go and buy these huge jugs of purified water.
I´m absolutely loving the mission. It's so fun to go out and teach the gospel to people and help them to progress until Baptism. It's so fun to learn about the culture and about the people and the language. There really is no work in the world that brings more joy than missionary work. Except maybe families, but thats a type of missionary work any way. It's amazing to be able to focus all your time and effort into just the gospel. The gospel brings so much happiness. I´d just like you all to know that I know that this church is true. And that Christ really did atone for our sins. Absolutely everything that happens to you every day happens for a reason. God knows what people you will meet and the experiences you will have and sets them all up exactly perfect for your good and the good of others so that we can all return to his presence. Even the bad things in life are for our good.
Stay firm and work hard in the church and in school and at home. I love you all. See yah in a couple years.
Elder Marc Skiles
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)