Back in Black (and White)

ANNNND I'm back in São Paulo! My color reference was to the clothes I

wear every single day in public. I got transfered this week to a new

area with a new companion! I was shipped out of Itapetiniga, and am

currently serving here in the Vila Medeiros Ward. (Sound familiar

Elder Youd?) Elder Palhares is my new companion, who I actually

already now. He was nearby in my first area here, and we did a few

companion exchanges there, so we already knew each other. This area is

super packed with people, and we know we'll do super well this

transfer. We're going to work super hard and help lots of people get

baptized!! It's really great here, but I feel as if I'm slowly losing

commodities... I've been told that the washing machine here isn't

great, so I got to wash my clothes by hand for the fist time today!

Fun stuff!

This is all super cool though. Some people, namely my mother, think

I'm softening things up for everyone at home, but I'm really not

having any problems. I'm loving everything I do so much, that I just

don't feel down or upset, and if I feel sick, I just don't let it get

to me. Yes, this work is super hard. But we just keep working here! It

seriously is a marvelous work and a wonder that we can do all this

stuff! It's an amazing experience!

 I'll add on pictures of my old zone in Itapetininga, 

and the scripture cases I bought, 

but I haven't taken any more yet. I know, I know, I've been slacking with pictures, but

I'll get better! There's lots of stuff here to photograph! I love

hearing about all the fun everyone's having, so I hope it continues

for everyone over there! Thinking about everyone, missing people lots,

and praying for y'all! I hope everyone has an awesome week! Love

y'all!

Elder Ashford

Oi! Tudo bem? Me chamo: Elder Ladwig

Well, well, well. First off, I totally realized that I repeated my title in my last email, so sorry for being repetitive. Second, Carnaval was super fun! Because we had tons of lessons! Where I am, Carnival is literally non-existent, and we just had a great day finding everyone in their homes doing nothing! I was a lot luckier, as I did not see naked people on television like Elder Youd. Sorry bud! Thirdly, we've been seeing some awesome sights with the weather lately, so y'all get some pictures of sunsets and stuff! And fourthly, my topic today is about my current companion, Elder Ladwig, as transfers are this Wednesday and we may possibly be parting!

Elder Francisco Alberto Ladwig is of German descent. He was born in Porto Alegre, the capitol of Rio Grande do Sul, the most southern state in Brazil. His family currently lives in Tramandaí on the beach

of the before mentioned state. He has 1 year and 7 months on the mission, and is excited to be returning in 4 months. He loves cars and motorcycles and worked stocking a super market before the mission. He

is 24 and wants to go study at a college, but doesn't know what yet. Elder Ladwig is super cool and I've learned a lot from him. He's had some troubles on the mission, but works through them and is an excellent, excellent teacher. He listens to the Spirit well to discern what these people need and genuinely cares for our investigators. He is a great example to me. He finally came on a mission, partly because of his mom. He says that lots of crazy things happened, including having his car stolen at gunpoint, which his mother always said wouldn't have happened if he was serving a mission. So finally he came! He has one sibling, a younger brother, who also came to this mission a few months before him, but unfortunately asked to go home after a couple transfers. Elder Ladwig and I have been working hard, in spite of sometimes difficult circumstances and disappointing results, and we had an excellent week! He's awesome, and I was happy to serve with him these past six weeks. We'll see what happens with the next six!

Beyond that, congratulations to all the people who got accepted to college, got a mission call, or are filling out mission papers! My mom told me a lot, mainly about the people in my ward and a couple from the Heritage Trails ward, but I would love to hear from all of you people specifically about how everything is going! Things are super exciting here. A mission is just the most fantastic thing ever, and I'm so happy to be here! I'm excited for all those coming down here soon because they just got their visa recently and wish them luck and

safe travels! Thinking and missing everyone! Love you all! Keep safe and work hard!

Elder Ashford

P.S. I'm super sorry I'm a slacker and that this is the second week I've forgotten to bring a quote with me to the LAN House. Sorry y'all, especially the Townsend Family. :(

I sure do love those quotes though!

Just Another Week in Paradise

I don't have too much to say for this week! I sure love the mission,

this area is just a little more difficult to work in! But we've

seriously had miracles. This week we had few lessons, but all were

with people that seriously want to change their lives and know if this

is the true church on the Earth. (Don't worry; they will! It's a

promise from God after all!) So even though our numbers were low, they

were all quality lessons with good people. Gotta count your blessings!

We've been finding lots of people who just stopped going to church,

and are helping them come back! It's super cool to see these people

rediscover the joy of the gospel and the old faith they used to have.

Life changing experiences! We also had a really cool experience where

a guy stopped us who had just moved back here from Japan. He knows the

gospel is true, hasn't been baptized, and wants us to teach his family

so they can know too and they can all be sealed eventually as a family

and live in heaven together! Also super cool, and we're meeting with

him again today! Miracles truly happen on a mission, every single day.

You just have to look for them, and sometimes God even has YOU make

them! I love this church and I love this work! I'm working hard and

having an amazing time with a life fully centered on Jesus Christ and

His church! Love you all! Keep strong and working hard, and have fun!!

Elder Ashford

Another Week, Another Pizza

I wasn't really sure what to call this one, so this is what I came up

with as we were hungry one night and decided to order pizza from a new

place. The pizza was HUGE. Like about 18 inches in diameter. So that

was cool. The pizza here is really not that good in comparison to the

US though. Ohhhh man I can't wait for a good American Pizza! Y'all can

cast lots for who gets to go with me for pizza when I get back. (Man

I'm reading the scriptures too much....) 

Beyond that, the other picture is in the house of a member. We didn't have lunch one day

because the member moved, so were invited to eat with the other Elders

in our city! The family was awesome and the lady was super funny and

made us eat with towels in our collars to protect from spaghetti sauce

splatter. And let's not mention how many red dots Elder Carney STILL

had on his shirt after lunch. Whoops. He just read that.

Something cool is that I find a new love for the scriptures every day.

They are seriously awesome. I had a super fun time Sunday morning

doing a scripture marking fest and finding a bunch of new stuff that

I'd never noticed before. The scriptures have so much knowledge and so

many good examples that can help us improve ever day. Reading the Book

of Mormon is dear to me now, as it brings so much more peace into my

life ever time I read. I'm super thankful for the hours I have in the

morning to read and study and ponder, and then find how I can become a

better person because of the things I've read. It's cool to see the

references to Christ everywhere. The constant symbolism keeps you on

your toes, and always gives you something new to learn.

Beyond scriptures, we've had a good week. My companion and I get along

really well and we do good work together. We're are still having

trouble finding people with interest, but we've had some people with

real potential crop up recently, and for that I thank our Heavenly

Father for having us return to the investigator's house just one more

time, even though he's not normally home. I think that's all I have! I

pray for everyone and hope y'all are doing well. I send lots of love

and good wishes. Keep firm and strong! Have fun!

Sincerely,

Elder Ashford

PS. Thank you so much to the Townsend family for my letter! Thanks to

them and the envelope full of awesome quotes I have now, I want to

begin sharing cools quotes with you every week!

"It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some

anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is

normal. Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once

in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. There

is great purpose in our struggle in life."     -Elder Boyd K. Packer