Bitter Sweet

This week was hard. And it just got a little bit harder today with the knowledge of the passing away of my other grandfather. 

We had a tough week with few lessons taught. Walking all day every day, with nobody wanting to hear is tough. When you work with less active members who have moved or don't want the Gospel any more, it's tough. We have a wonderful message of love and hope that few people want to hear. It's truly sad. But we push forward for the few who understand the call that God is extending to them and take this call to heart and follow it. 

One man chose to follow the true and living Christ this week. His name is Alberto and he decided to be baptized. He was nervous about it, as anyone rightly should be, but he choose well. I know he'll be
blessed for this. He's almost 50, unmarried, and his Catholic mother lives with him. Constantly she was in the background, murmuring things against this baptism, but still, Alberto came. He didn't even tell his
mother he was doing it. He came and was baptized. He doesn't have too many friends in life. He lives kind of day to day working and sleeping. He was still happy though. And he's so much happier now. You
can see the joy on his face now. 

The picture was taken before the baptism, and you can see the difference now as he's a member of the
only true church on the face of the planet. He made an incredible decision, the right decision, and he's already being blessed for it. I hope that many other people come to the same knowledge as him and
overcome the natural man to choose to follow the things of God. He has a plan for us. We can return to live with him. Families can be together forever. This is the true church of Christ that He established on the Earth to bring about the eternal life of man. There is no greater blessing in life. I know this, and I share this every day. My work is not easy by any means, but it is worth it. I feel such joy when others come to this knowledge and accept it. If anyone thinks this work is easy, they're wrong. The missionaries deserve so much respect for leaving behind everything of the world and consecrating their lives to the service of the Lord to help His children return to His presence. Going to new, exotic places, working every day in the blazing sun, pouring rain, or freezing snow, having the thing most precious to you be rejected by your brothers and sisters. It's hard. But I know it's right. This is the most important work I can do right
now, and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I hope that everyone comes to this knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts it, is baptized in the only true church, and partakes of the
blessings God has prepared for every single one us. I add my testimony to that of so many others, that Christ lives and loves us. I love every one of you, and wish you the best. Stay firm and strong and
always choose what's right.

Sincerely,
Elder Michael Jay Ashford

Another Day in Paradise

So, if you actually listen to country music and recognize the

song. How is everyone?? I'm doing great back here, with lots of new

stories and awesome things happening!

So first of all, we had an AMAZING lunch after I talked with y'all

last week. We went to a fairly cheap, but reallllly good Brazilian

barbecue places. One of the awesome ones where they just bring the

meat around and cut off pieces for you. All you can eat, served, meat

buffet. Delicious. That was our little celebration for Elder Agnelli

finishing the mission. Speaking of which, my former companion is now

in his house, sitting pretty, probably eating his mama's lunch. Man

how I miss my mother's cooking. But it's all good! I'm having an

awesome time, so I don't even think about home very much!

We did have transferred, and I knew that I'd get a new companion. I

stayed here in Itapetininga, and got put with Elder Ladwig for these

six weeks! He is seriously awesome and we work well together. He is

Brazilian, but looks very American. He's from the South of Brazil, and

from German ancestry. He's got a year and seven months on the

mission, and is suppper good at making contacts and teaching! I'm

already learning a ton from him, and am excited for all the good work

we are going to do this transfer!

Elder Carney stayed with me! 

He is seriously awesome, and a great friend. He's training a new
Brazilian and is District Leader here as well! 

Speaking of the work, it's going well. This week was hard with

transfers and Elder Agnelli needing to pack, so we didn't have as many

lessons as we'd like, but I know that this week will be better! We had

two investigators in the church this Sunday, one of which was Vera,

and is very excited for all the help she's getting from God. She loves

the church and what it teaches. That she learns stuff and not simply

receives information here. She's making tons of progress and tons of

new friends there. She just needs to convince her husband to get

married!! 

The other was Alberto, who is making good progress as well.

He has a baptism date set for the 15, but we're hoping we can move it

to this Saturday! We'll see! I'm really excited about the work that

will be happening these six weeks. WE are going to have lots of sucess

with the help of our Heavenly Father, and through our efforts! I know

for a fact, that God will help us, as long as we ask for help, and

then do our part! He expects us to put in all our effort, and then

He'll do the rest, as long as we are humble and ask! I have a

testimony of this! I see if absolutely ever day in the day to day

miracles!

I hope everyone stays safe and has fun! This life is about finding

joy! Both joy in this life, and eternal joy with our families in

heaven! Keep working hard and searching for the truth! Love you all!!

Elder Ashford

Oh yeah, and the picture with the dude flying around was random! He
had a parachute and a chair, and a giant gas powered fan! Kinda cool!

Oi! Tudo bem? Me chamo: Elder Agnelli

Wellllllll another week has passed, and more incredibly another

transfer! Time here passes so fast, and we'll know our new companions

by the end of the day! I'm fairrrrrlllly certain I'll have a new

companion, as Elder Agnelli is very anxious and ready to return home

in a couple days. And as this is the last P-Day I have with him, I'm

talk a bit more about my companion for the last six weeks!

Elder Éliezer Terceiro Agnelli is 23 and from Maringá, Paraná, Brazil.

His last name is actually Italian! He's super cool and just about

finished his mission. It's interesting, because the two years he had

as a missionary actually outnumber the number of years he has as a

member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was

converted by his friends three years ago, and wanted to serve a

mission after the first three months. He had to wait the full year

though before he left, but got called almost next door to the São

Paulo North Mission. He managed to help his mom and his two younger

brothers to baptism before he left, and hopes to help his father and

older brother as well, so missionary work isn't totally done for him.

Elder Agnelli is an excellent cook, and has been showing us how it's

done here. Lunch on Mondays is always new and super good. He's made

several Brazilian meals, as well as a couple American ones, usually

with a Brazilian twist. For example, normally our baked potatoes don't

have corn on them, but it was actually pretty good. Elder Agnelli also

likes to play guitar in down time. He has one with him that he's

carried around while on the mission, but is ready to return home to

his better guitar. I've actually been learning guitar with his help,

and have gotten pretty good with the limited music we have, mainly

hymns from the simplified hymn book. He also likes to study

scriptures!

Elder Agnelli has done a lot of stuff on the mission. He's a very good

missionary, and I was happy to learn from him. He served several times

in different leadership roles, and spent seven months in the mission

office as the Executive Secretary. Fancy, huh? He is very good though

and knows his stuff!

I think that's all I have for him! Next week y'all can learn a little

about my new companion. Beyond that, I've finally found the weirdest

thing I've eaten so far! We have this awesome market near our house

that sells like every kind of fruit and vegetable, including some rare

stuff from time to time. I was there, checking out, when I recognized

one fruit, and impulse bought it. Ever played Fruit Ninja? Yes, that

is Pitaya, or Dragon Fruit in English. IT LOOKS SUPER COOL!!!! And I

totally wasn't expecting it to look like that on the inside.

Unfortunately, it didn't taste so good. It was kind of bland. Like a

Kiwi without the taste. We all shared and tryed it, but we didn't

finish all. I was a little sad, but it was still a super cool

experience, as pratically no one has ever tryed it, in Brazil as well.

Though I'm pretty sure that's because it doesn't grow in Brazil. It

was cool though!! So yeah, I've tried Dragon Fruit.

I hope everyone is doing well! I miss everyone, but the work here is

wonderful and I'm so glad I have this oportunity to serve. This is

seriously the best thing I've ever done and I'm loving it. I wish

everyone a good week! Have fun and keep safe! Choose the right! Love

y'all!!

Élder Ashford

Itapetininga

So yes, the name of the city I'm currently in is a little difficult to

say, (We asked him to say it about 8 times when we talked to him on Christmas and are still not positive how to pronounce it!) but you get used to it! I've had another awesome week as a

missionary here, and I just want to share a little about my area with

all of you!

Itapetininga is an interior city. It's almost in another state,

Paraná, and about three hours from the center of São Paulo. it's by no

means a little town. It's rather large. This isn't subdivisions spread

out from the main city like my last area. This is a city! My

definition of city has changed a little since coming here. City here

is all one story. They don't have many tall buildings. Lots of times,

you have a shop and live above it. We live above some guys sound

system shop (luckily he closes early every day, so we don't hear

anything!). You have some big shops, department stores, and smaller

personal shops. Getting out of this central part is just one story

houses, one packed in after the other. In the typical Brazilian style,

you don't have front or side lawn. You have a driveway of three feet,

which connects to your neighbor's driveway. Your side wall is usually

the same wall that your neighbor has. Everything is packed in tight,

and for this there are TONS of people. This is a city of about

100,000. It takes about two hours to walk from one side to the other,

and is roughly circular. The closer you live to the center, or

downtown, the more money you have. Lots of people closer to the center

have cars and slightly larger families. The roads are nicer, but are

usually still cobblestone that may or may not be covered by

disintegrating asphalt. It's also flat here! Which means my legs

aren't dead at the end of the day.

The people here are definitely different. It's harder to find people

who really want this. Lots of people just believe that any old

religion will get you to heaven. They like to go to church without

having responsibility and are often afraid of change. The people

progress a lot slower and have a harder time coming to church and

deciding to be baptized. We can teach lots of lessons in a day, but

usually they just want to have a prayer with us, not learn about the

stuff we have to teach. The people here are a lot less educated as

well. They don't understand everything and the weight and

significance. They are truly a good people though, and I have lots of

love for them. We've found some people now who are better and more

willing to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, which is good.

They just come slowly! 

We've been working with one man, Alberto, since

my first day in this area, and he finally came to church this Sunday,

and guess what! He liked it! Who'd a thunk, eh? We're hoping he

decides to get baptized this Saturday, and working with him lots. The

best investigator we have though, is Vera. The missionaries here have

been working with here and her "husband" João (John) for months.

They're not married, but have been living together for over thirty

years and have a nice family. They're Catholic, about 60, and very

reluctant to try new things. João has had a harder time, and likes to

leave to go walking when we have appointments. He doesn't want to go

to church or try out these things. He's open though to the idea of

Vera doing whatever. Finally two weeks ago, the Spirit managed to

touch the heart of Vera enough that she decided she would for sure

come to church on Sunday. She came last week, and had an AMAZING time!

We visited her this last week, and she said we were going to get tired

from seeing her face at church from now on. She loves that in the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you don't just listen,

but learn. The people work with you and help you learn about God and

Jesus Christ. She said she learned more in that one Sunday than in all

her years of being Catholic. Her attitude has changed as well. She

starts talking about baptism being the key to happiness without

prompting. She has a desire to serve the Lord and follow his

commandments. We see her heart changing before our eyes! It's SO

amazing to watch someone change and want to follow these things.

Definitely my favorite part of a mission is seeing this change. We

hope she decides to get baptized soon, but she needs to get married

first. We're working with her lots, and she loves all the good this

church does. That she can help people in the community and around the

world. She truly has this desire to follow the cammandments, and even

prays promising that she will from now on.

This church truly has the power to change hearts and return people to

their Father in Heaven. I know this church was established by them to

help everyone. And we can! It's our job to share the good news with

everyone. I love Christ so much, and am incredibly grateful for His

church on the Earth. I pray that everyone will be able to know this

one day, and be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father. I

hope that everyone has a good week and remembers to always stay strong

and help others. Sending lots of love to everyone!

Elder Ashford

What's In A Day!!

So I've been asked to write about a typical day in the mission field.

That kind of sort of doesn't exist as we are constantly trying new

things. But I'll do my best! For example of new things here:

We just changed our address!! The old mission home was outside our

mission, so they had to move it. Here is the new address!

Elder Michael Ashford

Missão Brasil São Paulo Norte

Avenida Nova Cantareira, 1146  fundos

Tucuruvi

São Paulo - SP - 02330-001

So that's super cool, but not all. We also found out about an even

BIGGER change just today! We've been knowing this was going to happen,

as our mission presidents service ends in June, but today we found out

who our new mission president will be as of July 1st! Their names are

President Timothy Farnes and Sister Linsey Farnes of Bountiful, Utah.

He served in Brazil farther south over 30 years ago, so that's

exciting! We are all super excited for this, but sad to know that our

mission president now will be leaving us soon.

So yeah. But a typical day goes more or less like this:

6:30-8:00

Wake up and start praying! Afterwards, I start exercising for about 30

minutes. As soon as I can't do more exercising, I hop in the shower

and get myself ready for the day. I cook some breakfast, which can

vary from a sandwhich, eggs, toast, home squeezed orange juice, milk,

various freah fruits, crackers, and mixing a fruit (usually

strawberries, avacado, or banana) and milk in the blender to make a

very yummy "vitamin shake".

8:00-12:00

Study time! I have three hours of study time at a minimum. One hour of

personal scripture study (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and

Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) and study of our missionary manual,

Preach My Gospel, as well as whatever other church articles or

magazines we have. I always study in Portuguese, because it's actually

a TON easier to understand. The second hour, we share what we learned

with our companion and then study something together, or practice

giving lessons. The third hour, I study Portuguese! Each of these

hours is accompanied by an opening prayer and a closing prayer. The

last hour is additional study, if desired. Here, I read books that are

not scripture or the words of modern day prophets. Right now, I'm

reading an AMAZING book about our Savior Jesus Christ, appropriately

title, Jesus the Christ. It is awesome. If I'm not studying during the

last hour, I'm getting ready to head out for the day, stocking up with

materials, and then heading out to do some early work before lunch.

Talking to people in the streets, sharing our message of the restored

gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we walk to lunch!

12:00-1:

This is lunch time! Lunch is the biggest meal here, so it's always

lots of food. Usually, we eat with the members and talk with them,

leave a scripture message with them, and ask them who they know who

would accept a visit from us. If we aren't eating with a member, we're

eating in our house and cooking for ourselves.

1:30-9:00

And this is where the real magic happens. The time varies depending on

the day, but it's about 8 hours of just working! We talk with people

in the streets, we go in their houses and teach lessons, we pray with

them, we chat with them. We just go around and spread the word of

Christ's church being back on the Earth for all to benefit! Sometimes,

no one wants to hear, which is sad. Others, we teach tons of lessons

and find tons of people with interest. It just varies. And we do this

every day!

9:00-10:30

After the day, we plan for the next one. We plan everything we're

going to do, and then relax a little bit and chat before bed. We make

sure to go to bed on time, because trust me, the rest is needed.

This all changes a little from day to day. Sundays we have church and

my companion is a leader so has to check up how everyone in our area

is doing. Tuesdays we have a meeting in the morning with some other

missionaries nearby and we learn how to improve our teaching. Friday

mornings are when we plan out everything for the entire week, in

general. Every day is new and exciting and I love this work!!

I hope everyone is doing well and having fun! Keep strong and carry

on! Sending lots of love and good wishes as people head into another

semester of school!

Sincerely,

Elder Ashford

Merry Christmas

And Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and

is settling back into normal things with ease!

We passed Christmas very well here in Itapetininga! I got to open all

my awesome presents, including my UT pajamas for Christmas Eve, and

spend the day with some awesome missionaries! This Christmas really

taught me a lot about the true spirit of Christmas. Being a missionary

brings a whole different meaning to it. About the love for other

people and the love for our Savior Jesus Christ! We went and had a

nice big lunch at the house of a member, and then I spent a little

more than 3 hours (whoops) talking with my family over Skype! It was

super cool and I was so glad to be able to talk to them for that

amount of time. I know other missionaries had troubles with Skype and

internet, but I was blessed to have everything work perfectly. It was

definitely hard to get off at the end and to say goodbye. This goodbye

was a lot harder than even when I left to start my mission! But all is

well and afterwards the members gave us some nice gifts and we

returned home. We had bought a lot of food and feasted on some

delicous meat, rice, and salad! It was awesome to have that time with

my missionary friends.

I hope everyone is doing well and having fun! 

I love everyone and am loving the work here! Keep safe!

Elder Ashford