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