Temos um Batismo Esta Semana!!!

  Alright, this week has been very long, tiring and rewarding! haha, So monday and tuesday Elder Squires worked very hard doing contacts and staying focused. In fact, we were lead by the spirit to go to places. Usually we cross a bridge and go to the other side of the city to start working, but this week, last PDay we decided to stay on this side and talk to people. Elder Squires and I were just about ready to go home, when we passed this dark alley that had a sign that said dead end. haha, so I said, i feel like we should go here. haha, we went back there, and met the sweetest lady who went to church with us yesterday and we are teaching. haha, Elder Squires thanked me for being inspired to walk into a death alley to find a person who is truely ready to hear about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, haha.
     We also had a bunch of miricles this week. On tuesday, I gave my first blessing in Português. It was an amazing experience. Tuesday night, we visited Rosangela to help her quit smoking, and after a powerful lesson, I felt inspired to ask her if she needed a priesthood blessing before we left, and she said yes. So she asked me to give it to her. It was hard to remember how to conjugate some of the verbs just because i wasnt used to saying or using verbs like I bless you, or we bless you, so it was a little diffucult. But the spirit was definately there, and I knew what I needed to bless her with through the spirit that I felt. We asked her to stop smoking by friday, her next interview with our District leader, and she said she will.
     So by Wednesday, we returned to teach her again. We gave a very powerful lesson, and I remember being very direct and clear. We taught her about Faith, Miricles, Repentance, Desire and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I had scriptures that I had written down in a notebook that were just perfect to teach her. The spirit was very strong, and we invited her to give us her last cigarrettes and just be done now. To choose right now and be free of this binding thing that was impeding her from Following the Example of the Savior to be baptized. As bold as we were, we were on the same page as each other (Elder Squires and I) because we were influenced by the Holy Ghost. The lesson went great, she made her choice, and I left with a pack of cigarrettes in my pocket :) haha, we told her that the Lord is capable of making miricles and if she quits and is baptized this week, that would indeed be a miricle and through her faith she could do it. We can do anything within the Lord´s Will through faith.
   Then came the interview (friday), wow. haha, she was smiling when we got there, and we could tell by her face that she had quit smoking and that she indeed was ready. We shared a quick message and had a prayer, then Elder Merril did the interview. It went very well, she wanted to not do the baptism until the following week because an old missionary who was here was coming in town, but we we said it would be better for her to have him there while she is getting confirmed a member of the church when she recieves the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
   Sunday. We only had 2 investigators at church, but they really loved it. After lunch and visiting a few people we practiced a musical number for the baptism, then we went to pick up Rosangela and walk with her. It was all going great! Except her 16 year old boy who was going to baptize her was on the other side of town! haha So we called him and started walking to the church. When we finally got to the church, William, the second counsiler of the Branch went to go get her son, the are in the picture of 2 guys on a motorcycle. haha

   They got dressed, and the service started. The spirit was so strong, and everyone was so happy, Rosangela had a big smile on her face! So did everyone! And the missionary who baptised her children was able to come, he has been off his mission for about a month. So her son, Elias got in the water with his mom, and they tried about 7 times to get her under the water, but her knees kept coming up. She also got water in her nose the first time and the water was soooo cold (its the start of winter)

(when in reality its not that cold, we´re in brazil. haha) and it was really hard for her to get all the way under. He tried a couple more times while they were both on their knees. She could barely breathe, so she walked back up into the bathroom where some of the women of the ward were able to help her. I felt like i should bring my baptismal clothes incas something happend, so i had them in a room nearby, I asked if it would help if i stood in there to help, and the branch presidency though it would. So in all of about 30 seconds, i threw on my white clothes and got in the water, she came back down from the bathroom, then Elias said the Prayer again. On the first try, we got her in. She came up with such a shivering cold smile, but while walking up the steps, touched me on the shoulder and told me thank you. I was almost brought to tears, because i remember when I first met her, she couldnt understand anything, and she would tell everyone, Ele não intende nada! but since then i have grown in so many ways other than the language and now she is baptized with her whole family.
  For those of you who may be confused about baptism, because it may sound like we drown people in freezing cold water, baptism is an Ordinance of our church. We baptize because Jesus Christ was baptized and he invited us all to be baptized in order to come unto him and enter in the Gate to have eternal life. We believe in Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance  (which is an act or result of our faith), Baptism (which is a result of repentance and faith), recieving the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end by keeping the commandments. I would love to be able to talk to anyone who is confused, but i have very limited time, and i will be busy for the next 2 years. haha, but there are missionaries in almost every area across the world who are doing the same work as I am. They would love to talk, to you, as will I when I return.
   This week I will work harder, I hope all of us can be inspired when we here the story of Rosangela quitting smoking after many years and being baptized by her son of 16 years old. I know that through the power of God we can do all things. We are his children, would you want you children to be able to do all that you can, even better? God has power of all and created all things. He knows that we can do anything through his power if we are doing it within the bounds of righteousness he has set for us. If we show faith in his Only Begotten son, we can become like our father. You can know with a certainty that God is pleased with you when you are keeping the commandments and you feel the spirit or the Holy Ghost work through you.
   Eu sei que O Senhor vive. Eu sei que por meio fé, arrependimento e obediência do mandamantos nos podemos voltar e ser mais como Jesus Cristo e nosso Pai, Pai Celestial. Por favor não esquece as palavras do Profetas e as escrituras. Estude diligemente, e faz orações com força, e vive como O Senhor quer que nos vivermos.

I love you all!
Elder Halls

PS- Happy Fathers Day Dad!!!!!!!! They dont celebrate it here, so i forgot.. haha but I love you!!!!
i sent ammon and tanner a letter last week, and I will be sure to send you all letters too! I love you all! Transfers are next week, and we are hoping that no one gets transfered here, but the president did ask me if i thought it would be easier to have a brazillian companion and i said yes. haha, so maybe i will get a brasiliero!!!! haha love you all!

Haha tell Mrs. Mittlestald I have thought of her class because in portugese, we have the word vocês, which translates to y´all, and she would use that to help us learn who was the subject or object of the sentances

Yum! Guess what's for lunch????!!!

"Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." ~Helaman 3:35

Oiiiiiiiiii

E aí minha família! this week has been just crazy! haha we have all new zone leaders, and now Elder Merril is my district leader!!! And president Moreira is leaving in like 2 weeks!!!!!! :( noooo!!!! anyway, i have a lot of stuff to talk about, muitas coisas para falar, muchas coasas para hablar. i think thats how you write it in spanish, i feel bad for anyone who is learning spanish.. haha, português is just so much prettier :)
Anyway, I was having a pretty tough time speaking the language, and being ok with getting things wrong (a lot of times its not because i cant communicate, its because i have fear of not being perfect) but then we had did a division with my zone leader, Elder Renato, which i think i sent a picture of, and he brought some life into this area! he only has one transfer left, and he really inspired me to just always be happy, and to always try to help others feel happy. So since that day, things have been going really smooth. I have been doing a lot better! He taught me a lot of new things in português, but mostly how to be excited while talking to people on the streets, and doing lessons. It was a great division.

So he slept in Jacareí that night, and we swiched back the next day, and Elder Squires and I were doing pretty good again! We had interviews the next day with president, which went really well. Our president is such an inspired man, after the interviews, a van came with all the packages and letters for our zone! haha, it was awesome!!! my house got 5 packeges!!! haha, and 4 of them were from you guys!!!! the other missionaries really like the candy and things that were sent! and there were so many amazing things in there!!! i went into more detail in the other letter, so i will talk more about other things, but pretty much, i have the best family in the whole world, and i loved the letters too from everyone! thank you so much!!! I also made brownies for a family after teaching a lesson, and they loved them! thanks for brownie mixes!!!
So we have been doing a lof of work with the part member families, and especially with a women named, Rosangela, her kids are already baptised, and she goes to church every week, she just needs to quit smoking. we planned her baptism for yesterday, but she still wasnt feeling very ready in the interview. So this week we are shooting for her to be totally done smoking and she should be baptized on sunday. She is so firm and is already sharing the gospel with other people, she just needs to be baptized.
Sunday-
The dedication of the temple was amazing. I forgot to bring my book that had my notes in it, but Deiter F. Utchdorf did the dedication, and also talked, along with  Quinten L Cook, and Claudio R M Costa! the same man who dedicated the ground for the gilbert temple! Claudio RM Costa is the President of the Area here.
Deiter F. Utchdorf spoke, then said, i feel impressed to share a story about a meeting here in Manaus that happened in 1977 i think, i dont have my notes. He said that James E Faust was there, along with the mission president, but it was alot of the members in the area, yet still a small meeting. James E Faust asked a boy to give the opening prayer. He said, I would love to give the opening prayer, but please let me also bear my testimony.
James E Faust also asked a girl if she would sing, and she said the same thing, I would love to, but let me bear my testimony also. And so the small meeting of about 40 people went, each wanting to bear testimony of the Savior who is so deeply embedded in their hearts.  That story touched me so much. It was definately something that everyone in the room could barely hold back tears while hearing. President Utchdorf talked about how the temple is a manifestation and a result of the faithfulness of the members here, and a fulfillment of profecy (A man named Grant Bangerter profecied that there would one day be a temple in manaus(who is related to my old companion Elder Bangerter))
The rain poured as tears from Heaven as the young adult choir sang Eu creo en Cristo, I believe in Christ. It was such an uplifting meeting.
The work is going good, we met a lady that accepted the book of mormon, and started reading while we were there, and is going to pray about the truth. I am so excited to talk to her next week! we have been finding families, it is just really hard to get people to go to church. We are going to do a lot more contacts this week.

I love you all so much!!!! this week should be great! even though its freezing cold and raining right now. haha

Elder Halls
hel3:35

Hey everybody!?!

June 4, 2012

Hey everybody!?!
So this week was pretty tough. We tried to get a lot of less active members, and a lot of new people to go to church, but most people made the excuse that it was too far... Im really sad, and wish that we would have tried a lot harder to get people there, because the Prophet spoke! It was broadcasted in from Salt Lake City, and it was amazing. We had one person there that I´ve talked to a few times at a grocery store by our house, but he lives in the other Elders´ area. Ele é um dez. haha, he is awesome! He came up to us and asked us for a book of mormon, so we gave it to him. The day after, I saw him at the store and asked him if he read it, he said yeah, its hard to understand, there are different prophets! haha, we talked, then he talked to the other elders too, and the day after he went to Stake Conference and got to see the Prophet speak! I didnt get a chance to talk to him, but I am really excited to when I get the chance.
Conferência da Estaca was sooo awesome!!! First Elder Gonzalaz spoke to us in Portugues, which was amazing, but a little hard to understand because of his thick Uraguayen accent. He talked about fortalizing our families in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then Elaine S. Dalton spoke, which I could barely understand her interperator. haha, then Neil L Anderson spoke. In portugues! It was an amazing talk, and his portugues is soo good! He has an accent, but he was very easy to understand he said that Him and Thomas S Monson talk alot about Brasil and they care alot about the people here. He gave 3 ways that parents can help their children grow, 1. Fortalizing their education, 2. Teaching about work 3. Bringing them to the knowlegde that Jesus Christ is the only way to bring us back to our father.  I loved these 3 points. He talked about how it is hard, but not impossible to give our children opportunites to work. He talked about how he lived on a farm, and he was paid 50 centavos to milk the cows each week. He learned about tithing, and saving money that way. He talked about how even though we may not live on a farm, we still have many opportunites to help our children learn how to earn money, save money, and pay tithing.
Thomas S Monson spoke, (through an interperator)
and talked about loving God with all your heart, soul and mind. He talked about how this is the greatest and first commandment. He also talked about how the second commandment is like unto it, to love your neighbors as yourself. I didnt hear much of his talk, because the interperator was very fast. But i remember he talked about following the savior, and how the saviour to everyone extends the commitment, follow me. He also said, we need to ask our selfs often the question. What would the saviour do in this situation.
He also talked about a beautiful story about one a day he felt inspired to visit a less active family in which ward he was the bishop. He knocked on the door, and someone said bishop, how did you know it was my birthday? haha, So he came in and they sang happy birthday, and there was one girl there with a beautiful voice, and he said, You have such a beautiful voice, you should sing in church this week. You could sing in the conference, you could even sing a solo? She came to church, and sang, and then the family started to go to church again:)
I Love listening to the prophet. We need to read the talks of conference over and over and over again. You will always find a message that will lift you up. We were at a persons home who the week before asked us to go to there house. They have 2 boys with severe mental disablilities, who are both in their 20s the whole family was baptized 10 years ago, but havent been back since. The 2 boys in their 20s kept asking for something that i didnt understand, finally on the 2nd visit to their house, I realized they were asking for the Liahona! haha, so I am going to bring on over that I have next time. We need to value the words of the prophets like gold! It is my testimony that Thomas S Monson is a true prophet. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, àmen.

Élder Halls

May 28 - keep praying for me.

Well, my time is very limited this week, because my companion and i are out of money for this month..hahaha, but I will try to express things that have happened,


So last week after I logged off email, a 24 year old guy named Obadias came to me and started talking to me, and I could understand just about everything and I began talking to him about the beliefs of our church. He was very interested about the gospel because his brother was baptised in São Paulo, so we talked, then followed him to his house and set up a time to meet with him. It has been hard to get a good lesson with him, because he has a lot of crazy view that he likes to explain. We found a family also, i will call the Carlos family, i dont know if I already mentioned them, but they live pretty far away on the top of the tallest hill. We taught them once, and it went really well, but the next time we showed up, the parents werent home, and the 3 children were going to church! but not ours... haha, so we walked with them on the way to church and taught them a lesson. We still are teaching Sydnei´s family, but they havent come to church yet, so it is getting a little discouraging.
Ok, so i have noticed some of you stopped praying for me to learn the language, because i said i already knew it, but i was just kidding. So hahaha, keep praying. Haha, it is very interesting. I can communicate fluently when the Lord needs me to, during lessons, extending invites, talking about the church, but when i go to buy something from a store, i dont know how to speak. haha, it is embarassing.. haha, so keep praying for me.


Also, We have a baptism marked!!!!! yayayayaya!!! It is for a women named Rosangela, her whole family is already baptized, at least her kids were a year ago, but she has had a problem with smoking, but we are going to work with her! I think she just needed someone to be excited and to ask her and help her with love, because she is so happy to begin quitting! so that will be June 17th, one week after the temple of Manouse (spelling?) is dedicated!


The confirmation for Daiane went amazing! She looked so happy! Probably the greatest moment of this week was that, and passing her in the streets and just seeing how happy she was. She just looks so much happier than the first time we met her! I couldnt help just being so happy that day because we saw her!


I went to another church last night. I didnt want to, but i have a companion. haha, i almost got up and bore a testimony about the savior and his love, but i prayed if i should, and the spirit told me i shouldnt. The church was definately a wild experience, It is interesting to see what the other church think of God, and our saviour Jesus Christ. If anyone is reading this who is not a member of the LDS church, I encourage you to seek out the truth in the Book of Mormon, in the Living Prophets, and pray with real intent to God to see if these things are true. You will be amazed at how real God is, and how much He loves you. He has always loved you with infinate love, but Your view of these things will be made more clear through the tools that God has given us. Just try it! haha


I loved reading the emails this week from Emily, Dad and Mom! I got a letter from grandma last week and 2 missionary ties!!! So things are going good! haha, I love you guys, I can feel your testimonies everytime i think of you!


Com Amor,


Elder Halls
PS- Is Todd in Spain?
How is Trey?
Preston Hon?
Malcolm?
Austin?
Dallin Ray?
Sam?
EVeryone!
Jake?
umm
I have more friends on missions i think

I love you!