Itapetininga and a Merry Christmas!

FELIZ NATAL EVERYONE!!

Christmas is almost here and that's super exciting! Especially for a

missionary who gets to Skype his family!! Christmas here is VERY hot.

Like, in terms of the temperature. It's just about summer here. So

super weird for me. Unfortunately, Christmas isn't nearly as decorated

here. People don't have lights up or decorations in the street and

there's a lack of Christmas carols. But it's okay! We had a ton of

stuff happen this week!

Firstly, I got transferred. I am now in Itapetininga, São Paulo. It's

a fairly "small" city in the interior of the country, closer to the

Amazon. There's less pollution and lots more people! I got a new

companion, Elder Agnelli, who's in the picture with me. This is his

last transfer before he leaves to go home, so I'm hoping to learn a

ton from him! 




The work here is a little different. The church isn't so

strong here, but I plan to help change that! We spend lots of time

finding new people, because people here aren't very good about keeping

commitments and promises to attend church and stuff. But we'll get

some good work in before Elder Agnelli leaves! Itapetininga is an

actually city, unlike my old area which was more of the outskirts of a

city, the poor section. This is city stuff. We live in the center of

the city, and it's super fun because we live with two other

missionaries! Our city is split, and one missionary pair gets one half

of the city, and the other the other half! It's definitely fun.

This past week was full of Christmas stuff. We had a Christmas

celebration for both halfs of the mission, the interior and the

capital. We learned a lot from President Martins, and then had a giant

hundred person White Elephant before a giant lunch. No joke. White

Elephant took FOREVER. But it was awesome! We've been giving lots of

Christmas messages to people. And I'm super excited to see my family

Christmas evening! (Morning for them!)

I'm so happy for this time of year and the wonderful family and

friends I have in my life. Thanks for all your support! Sending love!

Merry Christmas and have fun and be safe!!

Elder Ashford

The Adventure Continues

I'm thinking that this will be a headline that will continue to be

used for the next two years. Actually, less, because I've been out for

FOUR months! Pretty crazy. I'm practically fluent in Portuguese as

well, so awesome!

The work is moving forward, and we are pushing hard for baptisms this

week! My companion is awesome and got me a Brazil soccer jersey for my

birthday! Brazil is awesome as well and I'm extremely grateful for the

opportunity I have to be here and work with these people. Brazil is

beautiful and the people are awesome. They're simple, but they love

their way of life. 

As a missionary, I meet a lot of people with

problems. People with addictions that are super hard to overcome.

People who just want their child to believe in God and go to church.

People who have disfigurations and mental problems. All kinds of

people. Some people speak very well, others speak very little

Portuguese, despite it being the only language they know. The streets

are full of people of all kinds and types. People live in the streets,

others in one room houses in an alleyway, others live in nice, big

houses that they made with their own hands. But these people all have

at least one thing in common. They are all children of our Heavenly

Father.

I thought that I loved everyone before my mission. Was kind to

everyone. Gave everyone their chance to talk and share their opinion.

But it's a lot harder here. I automatically think that these people

aren't as smart or special, because they don't speak English and

weren't born in the US. It's a natural reaction that I've been having

to overcome. But the people here are all special. They are all

children of a loving God who wants all His children to return and live

with Him some day. They all have problems, just like any other human

being. They're simply in a different situation. Look at people not as

who they are, but what they can become.

Charity is the pure love of Christ. I'm pretty sure it encompasses all

other of the attributes of Christ as well. It's kind of like all the

virtues of Christ rolled into one giant characteristic. This Christmas

season, remember everyone. Help the people that are in need. Search

for people that need YOUR individual help. The beauty of Christ's

church here is that we are given opportunities to act, and not simply

believe. To show our faith and not solely say it. So use the programs

you've been given, or make up your own to help someone. I'm working

hard here every single day to give people hope in a crazy world. To

say that Christ really restored His church to the Earth, and that all

mankind can come and partake of eternal life through God's plan for

us. Remember to help lots of people. Follow the example of our Savior

Jesus Christ this Christmas season and find someone to help.

I'm sending lots of love back home to everyone. Thanks for the letters

and love and support to me, and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas

and has fun and remembers Christ! Stay safe and work hard!!

Elder Ashford

Happy Birthday to Me

WOOOOW this week has been awesome!!! I honestly don't know how much

I'll be able to write before I have to get off, but I'm gonna try to

relate everything I can!!!

I want to say a big Thank You to Marcilia. None of you know her, but

she's a lady in our ward that really helped me out this week. If you

take a look at the last photo, that's here. She's the mother of

Vinicius, my very first baptism in the mission field. We had the

tremendous honor to have lunch with her this past Sunday, on my

birthday. She made a truly fantastic, big feijoada feast for us. We

ate a ton, and it was delicious! She also prepared a cake, complete

with candles for my birthday yesterday. She and her family and my

companion sang Happy Birthday to me and I felt truly blessed to be

right here right now with these people. Afterwards, we were talking

about things a little, and she said she really wanted my to feel at

home on my birthday, especially since I was so long from my family and

my home in Texas. I couldn't help but start to cry a little. It was

super touching, to know that this lady, who lives in a little one room

house down an alleyway, who struggles for money would do all this for

me. It was an act of total and complete charity and I thank her very

much for making my birthday spectacular, despite being long from home.

This week was truly phenomenol though. I had the opportunity to have

my interview with my mission president this past week. It was awesome

to be with him and hear some of his wisdom and get help. I also

participated in my first zone conference. I learned a TON and am

excited to work harder, smarter, and help more people! It's been a

little rough will no baptisms this week, but we're prepared and

determined! I know just how true this Gospel is and how much it can

bless the lives of everyone! I wish everyone a great week! Work hard

and have fun!

Love,

Elder Ashford

São Paulo Temple--11/25/13

 SORRY THIS IS LATE--I WAS IN CHICAGO

Geez Louiz. This has been a crazy few weeks! The temple in São Paulo

is beatiful, and I'm super grateful for the chance I had to visit! I'm

sorry as well if these come at weird hours of the morning. We have

daylight savings time as well! Except it's opposite here because the

seasons are flipped. So Texas is 5 hours behind me, and Utah is 6

behind me. Crazy stuff.

I'm sending a picture of the São Paulo Temple. It's absolutely

beautiful. It was an amazing experience to have everything in

Portuguese. We had fun going through the Temple and then eating lunch

at a restaurant. We also walked through a super fancy Walmart which

had multiple stories and moving sidewalks. But the Temple was

definitely the highlight. You can feel the Spirit of God there like

nowhere else. To be a missionary and visit is even more special. I

know that this church is true and was restored to the earth by Jesus

Christ himself, and that these temples are houses of God. Through

them, we can be sealed for time and all eternity with our families.

This is a huge thing, especially for people in Brazil. They hear about

how they can live with their families in heaven and want to have a

part in it. It's a wonderful work we are bringing about. We've been

having some difficulties lately, but we'll overcome. We have tons of

people who are ready to join the Church of Jesus Christ.

The work is going well, and I speak Portuguese really well now. I can

understand everything that people say and I can speak really well too.

It's amazing how fast you can learn with God's help. I'm working hard,

and the next time I write you, I'll be 19!! Have fun everyone, stay

strong, and remember to keep Christ in your hearts as we head into the

Christmas season!

Sincerely,

Elder Ashford

Mom's Letter & Questions 11/12/13

Hey!! I love you so much, but no time today because we went to the
temple today! P-day is always moved to temple day when we have it.
I'll talk more next week! I picked up my package, but haven't opened
it this yet. (Took less than 2 weeks to get to him, yeah!!)

Do you have to teach on Sunday at church very much? 

I don't teach at church.

Have you used any of your account money?

I haven't used any money yet

Can you listen to music other than MoTab?

Only MoTab

What fast food restaurants do you have in your area?

Only homemade food in my area

Have you taken pictures of the horses wandering?

No pics of horses yet, but I will

Did you get a new shower head?

We got a new shower head

Do you ever go on splits with other missionaries?

Yes I go on splits occasionally.

Do ward members ever go on splits with you?

sometimes

Do you have to pay utilities or does the church do that directly?

The church repays us for utilities

I stayed in the same area with the
same companion, 

I love you SOOOO much!! Miss you!

Elder Ashford

No Time!!!

So sorry guys. I literally have no time. We're at an expensive 

LAN house after the temple today, which was absolutely 

AMAZING!  There's six of us sharing an hour of computer 

time, so I'll be writing my mother and father and that's 

about it! I'll send pics and info about the temple next week. 

Stay tuned! I'm doing great!!

Elder Ashford

The Wait

Welllll this week I don't have too many exciting stories. Or pictures. Y'all will have to stave off until next week. Sorry!!

This week was good though. We found tons of new people to teach, we just don't have too many people progressing right now. That, and I won't find out until this afternoon or tomorrow if I'll be transferred. As of right now, I'm assuming I'll be staying in the same place with Elder Marciano, but I have no idea if I'll switch areas or companions! Suspense for next week! As of right now, I'm in an internet cafe, farther away from our house than I'd like, because the one three minutes from our house is not working STILL. And it's raining! Which is good. It's been super hot the past couple days, I just wish it was cloudy like this on a day where we were outside more! Oh well.

Because I don't know what will happen with companions, my topic today will be about ELDER MARCIANO, who I've been running around with for the past 6 weeks. (Time flys, huh?) He's from Rio de Janerio and is super cool. He's really good at helping me with my language and helping me learn. He has an cool story. His parents are inactive, and he'd always go to his Grandma's for church. His Aunt and Uncle are huge driving forces for him in the Church, and he's really close to them. He really has a love for the Gospel and for other people. He's fun and loves to mess around a little, especially with the youth in our ward. He loves to skateboard, and likes a ton of American music. His favorite band is Paramore, but he likes a lot of the same music I do (excluding country, which is pretty much non-existent here). He is a year older than me, and was Stake Secretary for a year before his mission. Have some responsibility as an 18 year old. He wants to go into Civil Engineering, or teaching, especially about History. He wants to go to BYU after his mission, so we've been working on English so he can apply while he's out here.

That's my super awesome life right now! Now just to play the waiting game! I love you all, and hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! I definitely missed going trick-or-treating. I hope everyone is having fun and staying safe!

Sincerely,
Elder Ashford

Stress, Sickness, and Baptism

Well, well, well. Another week come and gone! This was full of fun stuff, but don't be too fooled by the title, I'm absolutely perfect!  Keep reading and all will be revealed....

So the beginning of the week we had an awesome trianing session with the Mission President and his wife, all about stress. They talked about how stress is an absolutely normal part of life and that everyone will always have a little. It's when you let the stress go too far that it's dangerous. Remember you always have people to talk
to, and that can help a ton. Getting the opinion of another person always helps sort out things and make them better. So talk to people! Get it out, get things fixed, and make things better for yourself! If you ever need anyone to talk to, I've got this super wise missionary friend named Elder Ashford that you can email!

One of the other big events was Elder Marciano getting sick. I've been blessed to be perfectly healthy, and I didn't catch what he got. But Friday was very slow, and Saturday he was ordered to bed-rest, so after I traveled with the District Leader to do baptismal interviews, I spent the day studying scripture and napping with Elder Marciano. Any potential missionaries, make sure you know how to deal with sick people, because there's not too many people who can help if your companion gets sick (THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!). So I was able to help Elder Marciano and he healed up pretty quick. He even felt good enough to go to church the next day and do one of the baptisms!!

We had two baptisms last Saturday. I baptized Irmã (Sister in Portuguese) Valdelice, and Elder Marciano baptized her son, Varnei. It was super awesome, and they love being in the church. We plan to continue working with them. We know that they can really benefit from our lessons. Next week they'll get the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and throughout the week we'll be teaching about other things, such as temples and how Valdelice and be reunited with her recently deceased husband in the next life through the sealing power of the temple. We also helped another family of recent converts yesterday who have been having some problems. We reminded them that life is hard, but they have the church and friends and scriptures to draw extra help from, not to mention a loving Heavenly Father who listens to our prayers and is willing to help when we ask. We reminded them that they have a huge goal to work towards, an eternal family in the Celestial Kingdom. Everyone has troubles, but through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we know that families are eternal. I'm so glad for my family and how great friends there are to me and how close we are. I love them so much, and love that fact that I can be with them forever.

I hope everyone is doing well! I miss everyone, but I'm having fun! Next week I should find out where my next area will be! Have fun and stay safe everyone! Sending love!

Sincerely,
Elder Ashford

Questions

I asked Michael the following questions, and these are his answers:

How do you get your monthly money?

Monthly money is put on my debit card they gave me.

Do you have an account there, or cash?

It's an account, but I can take money out for bus and train rides. 

What are the stores like?

There are tons of tiny stores everywhere, mainly specialty stores. Nothing like Walmart, but I did see one Sam's Club on my ride from the airport! 

Do you shop at open air markets?

We shop in mini-markets.

Where do you go to email?

We email in internet cafes.

How come you are always so pressed for time?

We pay for hour, and only have that one hour, and I have to message mission president first, in Portuguese.

Where do you do laundry?

Laundry is in house.

Are you in a ward or branch?

We have a ward.

What is the youth program like?

The youth program is tiny.

Have you gotten my card yet?

 I got your card two weeks ago (sorry). It takes about a week and a half to travel and another half week to be delivered to me.

Did you ask about Brother Claridge taking you to dinner?

I haven't asked about Bro Claridge yet, I may be in a new area by then!

One Month in Brazil

Well, Tuesday marks one month in Brazil! Pretty exciting!! I don't think I've lost my English yet, but only because I've been emailing people and helping my companion learn English.

First item of business: is letters. Heads up, it takes about a week and half to send me a handwritten letter and another half a week or so to reach my hands. I love getting letters, and they should be send to my mission office. I can send letters back, but it may be kinda expensive and it's a lot harder for me. But I gladly will!

This past Sunday, we had a stake conference, and the beginning was kind of hilarious. The microphone wasn't working and there was a whole slew of people trying to fix it in a tiny room on the stand. An American in our area leaned over to me and whispered, how many stake presidency members does it take to fix a microphone? Afterwards, they gave up and started hauling all this equipment and cables and jury rigged a new audio system. Pretty hilarious.

I'm choosing to talk about houses today. I don't know how much longer I'll be in this area, two weeks, or 8, so I figured I should do this now. I'm in a slightly poorer section right now, called a favela. There are tonnnnssss of tiny houses jam packed in. Nobody has a dryer, or dishwasher, they're too expensive. Everyone hangs their clothes to dry. Gas isn't built in, so everyone has a tiny stove with a propane tank attached. Nobody has a yard, only about three feet of driveway and then a gate and then their car and then their house. And that's if you live on the street. Lots of people live in fundos which are behind the street. You have to take a little alleyway to an area in between streets where even more houses are packed in. Also, here at least, you don't buy a house. You buy a lot and build a house. You buy a cheap dirt lot, pay for a concrete foundation if you can, then pay for a big

truck to deliver thousands of large brick. You lay your piping in, and if you have money, your wiring. Otherwise your wiring is floating on walls and hung from the ceilings and everything is exposed. Then you take your bricks and make a house. Usually three or fours rooms, sometimes one and a bathroom. then, later on, you can add more. a second story, or expand out or something. TI's actually kinda cool. Then you lay concrete over the bricks, and paint it or cover with tile. Everything here is tiled. There is no carpet, there is no fancy wood flooring. It's concrete or tile. The roofs are generally flat and made of either brick or metal sheeting. It's crazy. But it's life.

This week as well, we've had miracles. We learned in training last Tuesday to pray for miracles and expect to see them. Elder Marciano and I did just that this week and boy did we see them. One lady was a referral from a stranger, adn she said in our first lesson, that as soon as she opened the door, she felt this huge overwhelming feeling of happiness and peace. And this coming from a lady in the Congregation of Christ, which loves to debate with our church generally. She said she had imagined us giving her a bouquet of yellow roses. We explained that this was the Book of Mormon, which is very precious adn has gold writing on the front and was originally written

on gold plates. It was amazing. Thats all for now though! See y'all next week! 

 Elder Ashford