Oi Mãe!
Things are going well down here! It´s been a bit hotter these last few days, but a lot of wind as always! This week went well! We were able to talk with a lot of people and teach good lessons. We have a couple of really good families that we are teaching. We´re working a lot with these families to get them married and always helping them with their doubts and questions. Did you not get the pictures that I sent last week? I sent 5 or 6 pictures! Let me know! I don´t think I´ll be able to get a picture with santa this year. We don´t have any place that we can get this picture. Our skype call will be around 4 or 5 local time. So around 11 or noon there for you. Is Renee there as well? Or just Conner? Glad that you were able to go to Nicole´s wedding! And I was unaware that Don and Shari moved to Idaho... When did they move?
Things are going all well here. Learning lots as always! We are working a lot here to always find new investigators to have a lot of people to visit. That way when someone doesn't want to progress, we already have someone to take their place. And we are always setting baptismal dates with everyone! It´s one way that we have to see if the person will progress or not. But this week will be a bit tough in terms of missionary work. Everyone will be traveling or with family. So this week will be a bit slow, but we are going to do our best to be our best even when it´s tough.
Hope all the preparations are going well for Christmas and the New Year!
See you in a few short days!
Have a great week and stay safe!
Love,
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received December 14, 2015
Mom,
I don´t know what time I will be able to Skype. I´m not sure if the mission will be establishing a certain time to skype or not. But will probably be around 4 or 5 pm local time. Around noon there at home. But I´ll confirm next monday.
The new area is great! It´s a pretty packed with houses and people. Since it´s the capital, the whole city is pretty packed with stores and all that kind of stuff. It´s an area that has a little bit of the extremes. People very rich and also very poor. But it´s a really good area to work in! We are working really hard to teach a lot of people and mark baptismal dates with everyone we meet. So far, it´s going really well! São Luís is basically an island. My area is a good distance from any beach, so I don´t see the ocean. But I sure do feel the wind that come from the ocean! It helps a lot! I feel like it´s a little more humid here. It´s supposed to be the start of the rainy season this time of the year, but so far, no rain. Hopefully it comes soon! I haven´t memorized the address yet. But we live in an apartment complex, so you would only see the gate from the streetview. I am still a Zone Leader here with a lot bigger of a zone (26 missionaries)! My companion is Elder Gouvea from Sorocaba, São Paulo. He is a great missionary and I am learning a lot with him! He stayed in the area when I came in. This is his 4th transfer here. The city is very developed, but unfortunately a bit unclean. I haven´t gotten my christmas box yet. But I believe it´s in the mission office. And I won´t be able to get it until the new year. We will have a leadership meeting probably in the last week of December or the first week of January.
I am really glad to hear that the elders are teaching a family of 8 people! Hopefully they can continue working with that family to get them baptized! Please send me the email address of Joan! I am so glad and surprised at the same time that she is being taught! That´s so great!! And I am so glad that I was able to be part of what helped her accept the message of the restored gospel! I would love to send her an email and ask how she is doing and maybe help her with her doubts!
It would be good if the emails are just a little bit shorter. They don´t have to be a lot shorter, but just a little. I have some recent converts that I am writing as well and helping them stay active and some other stuff that we do.
I am so glad that I am able to be a part of the Restoration of the Gospel here on the earth. I hope that we can all make good use of this Christmas season and use all of our strength to preach the Gospel to all that we encounter because this is the best time of the year! People are always more open and willing in this Christmas season. And above all, we carry a message that teaches nothing more than the Gospel of Jesus Christ! They truly are Glad Tidings of Great Joy! As we share the Gospel with those that we love most, the Lord will bless not only the lives of those we accept, but also those who share this message. Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He loves us and because of this love, He gave his own life so that we could live once more.
Love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
I don´t know what time I will be able to Skype. I´m not sure if the mission will be establishing a certain time to skype or not. But will probably be around 4 or 5 pm local time. Around noon there at home. But I´ll confirm next monday.
The new area is great! It´s a pretty packed with houses and people. Since it´s the capital, the whole city is pretty packed with stores and all that kind of stuff. It´s an area that has a little bit of the extremes. People very rich and also very poor. But it´s a really good area to work in! We are working really hard to teach a lot of people and mark baptismal dates with everyone we meet. So far, it´s going really well! São Luís is basically an island. My area is a good distance from any beach, so I don´t see the ocean. But I sure do feel the wind that come from the ocean! It helps a lot! I feel like it´s a little more humid here. It´s supposed to be the start of the rainy season this time of the year, but so far, no rain. Hopefully it comes soon! I haven´t memorized the address yet. But we live in an apartment complex, so you would only see the gate from the streetview. I am still a Zone Leader here with a lot bigger of a zone (26 missionaries)! My companion is Elder Gouvea from Sorocaba, São Paulo. He is a great missionary and I am learning a lot with him! He stayed in the area when I came in. This is his 4th transfer here. The city is very developed, but unfortunately a bit unclean. I haven´t gotten my christmas box yet. But I believe it´s in the mission office. And I won´t be able to get it until the new year. We will have a leadership meeting probably in the last week of December or the first week of January.
I am really glad to hear that the elders are teaching a family of 8 people! Hopefully they can continue working with that family to get them baptized! Please send me the email address of Joan! I am so glad and surprised at the same time that she is being taught! That´s so great!! And I am so glad that I was able to be part of what helped her accept the message of the restored gospel! I would love to send her an email and ask how she is doing and maybe help her with her doubts!
It would be good if the emails are just a little bit shorter. They don´t have to be a lot shorter, but just a little. I have some recent converts that I am writing as well and helping them stay active and some other stuff that we do.
I am so glad that I am able to be a part of the Restoration of the Gospel here on the earth. I hope that we can all make good use of this Christmas season and use all of our strength to preach the Gospel to all that we encounter because this is the best time of the year! People are always more open and willing in this Christmas season. And above all, we carry a message that teaches nothing more than the Gospel of Jesus Christ! They truly are Glad Tidings of Great Joy! As we share the Gospel with those that we love most, the Lord will bless not only the lives of those we accept, but also those who share this message. Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He loves us and because of this love, He gave his own life so that we could live once more.
Love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received December 8, 2015
Mom,
I am just sending an email to give the news. Yesterday I didn´t have time to send an email because I was traveling. I was transfered from Imperatriz to São Luís in Maranhão. It´s the capital of Maranhão. My new comp is Elder Gouvea
I will send more news next week. Just sending this email to give a sign of life!
Have a great week and stay out of trouble!
Love you!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
I am just sending an email to give the news. Yesterday I didn´t have time to send an email because I was traveling. I was transfered from Imperatriz to São Luís in Maranhão. It´s the capital of Maranhão. My new comp is Elder Gouvea
I will send more news next week. Just sending this email to give a sign of life!
Have a great week and stay out of trouble!
Love you!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received November 30, 2015
Mom,
I don´t have much time to respond to emails. So I have to keep it short and sweet. Don´t think it´s because I am writing more to other people or don´t worry about you. I am just so busy and have so many things to do in the 1 hour that I have on the computer.
I am glad to hear that all is well with everyone there at home! Must have been a good week with Conner and Renee there at home! I know it was really busy and passed quickly, but at least they were able to be there to celebrate with you!
The trip to Teresina went well! We left here on Friday at 0700 and got there at about 2330. The bus was a bit slow and made a lot of prolonged stops. But the meeting on Saturday went really well! It was from 9-12 with Elder Campos (70). It was a really good meeting full of the Spirit and lots of learning! Then on Saturday at 1700 we left Teresina and got here at 0615 (3 hours early!). We were supposed to get here at 0900 on sunday, but this bus was a lot faster and made fewer stops, so we got here early. The better part of yesterday was spent really tired and almost sleeping in meetings and planning sessions. But we made it through and now have a tiny bit of time to rest today. Not really any time though because we have to prepare the zone meeting for tomorrow morning. Life as a ZL is really busy! But I am learning a lot and hope to continue learning. Transfers are this next monday! So we´ll see what happens!
Unfortunately I am out of time.
I did not get the package! I think it will be getting here this week and I will ask President Melo to bring it here when he comes for the zone christmas activity! So hopefully I´ll still get it in time!
Have a great week and good luck with the doc appointment!
Love you so much!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
I don´t have much time to respond to emails. So I have to keep it short and sweet. Don´t think it´s because I am writing more to other people or don´t worry about you. I am just so busy and have so many things to do in the 1 hour that I have on the computer.
I am glad to hear that all is well with everyone there at home! Must have been a good week with Conner and Renee there at home! I know it was really busy and passed quickly, but at least they were able to be there to celebrate with you!
The trip to Teresina went well! We left here on Friday at 0700 and got there at about 2330. The bus was a bit slow and made a lot of prolonged stops. But the meeting on Saturday went really well! It was from 9-12 with Elder Campos (70). It was a really good meeting full of the Spirit and lots of learning! Then on Saturday at 1700 we left Teresina and got here at 0615 (3 hours early!). We were supposed to get here at 0900 on sunday, but this bus was a lot faster and made fewer stops, so we got here early. The better part of yesterday was spent really tired and almost sleeping in meetings and planning sessions. But we made it through and now have a tiny bit of time to rest today. Not really any time though because we have to prepare the zone meeting for tomorrow morning. Life as a ZL is really busy! But I am learning a lot and hope to continue learning. Transfers are this next monday! So we´ll see what happens!
Unfortunately I am out of time.
I did not get the package! I think it will be getting here this week and I will ask President Melo to bring it here when he comes for the zone christmas activity! So hopefully I´ll still get it in time!
Have a great week and good luck with the doc appointment!
Love you so much!!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received November 23, 2015
Mom,
Because of the very limited time that I have to write emails now, I will just write in english for the time being to save time.
Things are going well down here! This week was very busy! I had to go to another city on Tuesday to work with another missionary there and his comp came to Imperatriz and stayed with my comp. Then on Thursday I went to another area to work with a different missionary. So it was a really busy week for me and my comp. We weren´t able to work as much as we would have liked to in our area, but we were able to help other missionaries. I never imagined that being a Zone Leader was so busy! It´s quite common for us to do more for other missionaries than for ourselves. This week we will be traveling to Teresina for a Leadership meeting. We´ll be there from Friday until Sunday. (getting back here sunday night probably) So we will lose a few days of work here in our area. I am both excited and nervous for the meeting in Teresina. There will be one of the Seventy there to train us and will be interviewing each one of us..... Not sure how I feel about that yet. But I know I will learn a lot and will have a renewed desire to be better than before. Not a whole lot to report on this week.
Things are going well and I am doing great!
I hope that all is well there at home! Hope your recovery is going smoothly and that your foot is getting better! It will be nice to have Conner and Renne there for Thanksgiving! Have they got any Christmas plans yet? I know that we are already planning what we´ll be doing on Christmas day! I am excited for Christmas and hope that I am able to stay here this next transfer! Pretty soon things will be already to have baptisms every week! We had to start everything fresh here. So until now we haven´t been able to baptize. But we are almost there! Will be taking more pictures this week to send. I forgot my camera at home today so none today.
Gotta run! Time sure flys by these days!
Have a great week and stay out of trouble!
Love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Because of the very limited time that I have to write emails now, I will just write in english for the time being to save time.
Things are going well down here! This week was very busy! I had to go to another city on Tuesday to work with another missionary there and his comp came to Imperatriz and stayed with my comp. Then on Thursday I went to another area to work with a different missionary. So it was a really busy week for me and my comp. We weren´t able to work as much as we would have liked to in our area, but we were able to help other missionaries. I never imagined that being a Zone Leader was so busy! It´s quite common for us to do more for other missionaries than for ourselves. This week we will be traveling to Teresina for a Leadership meeting. We´ll be there from Friday until Sunday. (getting back here sunday night probably) So we will lose a few days of work here in our area. I am both excited and nervous for the meeting in Teresina. There will be one of the Seventy there to train us and will be interviewing each one of us..... Not sure how I feel about that yet. But I know I will learn a lot and will have a renewed desire to be better than before. Not a whole lot to report on this week.
Things are going well and I am doing great!
I hope that all is well there at home! Hope your recovery is going smoothly and that your foot is getting better! It will be nice to have Conner and Renne there for Thanksgiving! Have they got any Christmas plans yet? I know that we are already planning what we´ll be doing on Christmas day! I am excited for Christmas and hope that I am able to stay here this next transfer! Pretty soon things will be already to have baptisms every week! We had to start everything fresh here. So until now we haven´t been able to baptize. But we are almost there! Will be taking more pictures this week to send. I forgot my camera at home today so none today.
Gotta run! Time sure flys by these days!
Have a great week and stay out of trouble!
Love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received November 16, 2015
Mãe.
Tudo está indo bem! Esta semana foi um pouco difícil para mim, mas no final, melhorou muito!
Saí de Teresina no dia trinta de outubro e cheguei no mesmo dia.
Fiquei em Teresina até a reunião e depois vim para Imperatriz.
Elder De Jesus é de Santa Catarina no sul de brasil.
Ele é um companheiro excelente! Ele trabalha muito e estou aprendendo muito com ele!
Meu endereço é
é só a parte de dois andares. Não é muito grande, mas a casa é boa!
Sempre temos comida. É uma das coisas que nunca falta.
Vou escrever nesta semana e mandar algo na semana que vem!
Aqui é quase igual a Teresina. Talvez um pouco mais fresco.
O trabalho está indo bem. Tivemos que começar do zero. Não conseguimos encontrar pessoas que os outros elderes deixaram, então começamos tudo de novo.
A área aqui é bem pequena. Tem muitas pessoas, mas é pequena.
Tempo já correu e tenho que fazer muitas outras coisas!
Tudo está bem comigo e estou muito feliz aqui!
Teham um boa semana!
Te amo!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Translation....
Mom.
Everything is going well! This week was a little hard for me, but in the end, much improved!
I left Teresina this thirtieth day of October and arrived the same day.
I was in Teresina until the meeting and then came to the Imperatriz.
Elder De Jesus is Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.
He is an excellent companion! He works very hard and I'm learning a lot from him!
It is only a house with two floors. Not very big, but the house is good!
We always have food. That's one thing that never fails.
I will write this week and have something next week!
This is almost equal to Teresina. Maybe a little cooler.
The work is going well. We had to start from scratch.
We could not find people who have left the other elders, then start all over again.
The area here is very small. Too many people, but it is small.
Time has run and I have to do many other things!
All is well with me and I am very happy here!
have a good week !
I love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Tudo está indo bem! Esta semana foi um pouco difícil para mim, mas no final, melhorou muito!
Saí de Teresina no dia trinta de outubro e cheguei no mesmo dia.
Fiquei em Teresina até a reunião e depois vim para Imperatriz.
Elder De Jesus é de Santa Catarina no sul de brasil.
Ele é um companheiro excelente! Ele trabalha muito e estou aprendendo muito com ele!
Meu endereço é
é só a parte de dois andares. Não é muito grande, mas a casa é boa!
Sempre temos comida. É uma das coisas que nunca falta.
Vou escrever nesta semana e mandar algo na semana que vem!
Aqui é quase igual a Teresina. Talvez um pouco mais fresco.
O trabalho está indo bem. Tivemos que começar do zero. Não conseguimos encontrar pessoas que os outros elderes deixaram, então começamos tudo de novo.
A área aqui é bem pequena. Tem muitas pessoas, mas é pequena.
Tempo já correu e tenho que fazer muitas outras coisas!
Tudo está bem comigo e estou muito feliz aqui!
Teham um boa semana!
Te amo!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Translation....
Mom.
Everything is going well! This week was a little hard for me, but in the end, much improved!
I left Teresina this thirtieth day of October and arrived the same day.
I was in Teresina until the meeting and then came to the Imperatriz.
Elder De Jesus is Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.
He is an excellent companion! He works very hard and I'm learning a lot from him!
It is only a house with two floors. Not very big, but the house is good!
We always have food. That's one thing that never fails.
I will write this week and have something next week!
This is almost equal to Teresina. Maybe a little cooler.
The work is going well. We had to start from scratch.
We could not find people who have left the other elders, then start all over again.
The area here is very small. Too many people, but it is small.
Time has run and I have to do many other things!
All is well with me and I am very happy here!
have a good week !
I love you!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Email received November 9, 2015
Como está todo mundo? As coisas estão indo bem aqui em Imperatriz. MUITO corrido mas está indo bem. Tive que viajar na terça e quarta-feira para visitar uma dupla de missionários que precisavam receber alguns treinamentos. Fui para Balsas Maranhão que fica seis horas de ônibus daqui. Fui ensinar e instruir os elders lá ao respeito das coisas que foram passadas na reunião de zona na semana anterior. Foi bom ajudar eles e os conhecer um pouco mais. Depois, eu e meu companheiro (Elder De Jesus) tivemos correndo atrás de todos os pesquisadores que os outros elders tinham deixado para nós. Mas infelizmente não conseguimos falar com a maioria dessas pessoas. Então fizemos o nosso melhor para encontrar novas pessoas para ensinar. Acabamos encontrando pessoas e famílias muito boas! Temos compromissos marcados com essas pessoas durante esta semana e nós vamos correr atrás de mais algumas pessoas para visitar. Fizemos algumas avaliações das coisas que fazemos e falamos e estabelecemos algumas metas para melhorar nisso. Sentimos que o Senhor está pondo à prova a nossa fé e quer ver o que nós vamos fazer. Conversamos com nosso bispo aqui sobre isso e ele falou algumas coisas que estávamos precisando ouvir.
Vou usar o pouco tempo que tenho para relatar uma experiência que tive no domingo passado.
Como meta no começo da minha missão, eu decidi que não iria falar inglês quando não era totalmente necessário. E assim, só falei duas vezes até então. (No natal do ano passado e Dia das Mães em Maio) As pessoas que serviram missão falando outro idioma assim deve saber mais ou menos como é. Depois de todo esse tempo, quase que esqueci falar o inglês. Consigo entender e escrever e ler. Mas para falar mesmo é bem difícil. E no domingo passado, teve um homem na igreja que percebi que não era daqui. Ao longo das reuniões da igreja, foi falado para mim que ele é americano e estava lá porque está namorando uma mulher da ala Imperatriz. Entre as aulas da escola dominical, o bispo pediu para mim que eu o ajudasse a entrevistar e conhecer aquele homem depois das reuniões. Fiquei muito nervoso pelo fato que teria que traduzir um entrevista e falar muito inglês. Antes de entrar na sala com o homem e o bispo, parei para fazer uma pequena oração pedindo ajuda ao Pai Celestial que eu pudesse conseguir falar de maneira clara por aquele homem. Ao começar a entrevista, o bispo pediu que traduzisse as suas palavras e assim traduzisse a resposta do homem também. Quando o bispo começou, eu olhei para aquele homem e comecei a falar inglês perfeitamente. Durante a entrevista toda, só tropecei uma ou duas vezes. Consegui ouvir português, traduzir para o inglês, e então falar inglês. Depois ouvi em inglês, traduzi para o português e falei então em português. Foi algo incrível! e ao sair da sala, não consegui falar mais NADA de inglês. Realmente o Senhor me ajudou a fazer o que era necessário e nada além disso. Foi muito incrível ver o poder de Deus passando tão plenamente por mim. E por meio dessa entrevista, o bispo conseguiu sentir que aquele homem era um homem bom. Foi muito legal!
Agora tenho que correr e fazer MUITAS outras coisas.
Espero que todo mundo tenha uma ótima semana e que podem sentir o grande amor de nosso Pai Celestial.
PONDERIZAR!
D&C 88:67
Boa semana para todos!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Translation...
How is everybody? Things are going well here in Imperatriz. VERY run but is doing well. I had to travel on Tuesday and Wednesday to visit a couple of missionaries who needed to get some training. I went to Balsas Maranhão which is six hours by bus from here. I teach and instruct the elders there at about the things that have been passed in the area of meeting the week before. It was good to help them and learn more. Then me and my companion (Elder De Jesus) had chasing all researchers that the other elders had left us. But unfortunately I could not talk to most of these people. So we did our best to find new people to teach. Just we are finding very good people and families! Commitments have marked these people this week and we'll chase a few more people to visit. We made some assessments of the things we do and say and set some goals to improve it. We feel that the Lord is testing our faith and want to see what we'll do. We talked with our bishop here about it and he said some things that we needed to hear.
I will use the little time I have to report an experience I had last Sunday.
As a goal at the beginning of my mission, I decided I would not speak English when he was not entirely necessary. And so, only talked twice before. (At Christmas last year and Mother's Day in May) People who served missions speaking another language as well should know roughly how. After all this time, almost forgot to speak English. I can understand and write and read. But to speak it is very difficult. And last Sunday, had a man in the church who realized it was not from here. During the meetings of the church, it was said to me that he is American and he was because he's dating a woman Imperatriz ward. Between Sunday school classes, the bishop asked me to help me to interview and get to know the man after meetings. I was very nervous because I had to translate an interview and speak much English. Before entering the room with the man and the bishop, I stopped to do a little prayer for help to Heavenly Father that I could be able to speak clearly for this man. By starting the interview, the bishop asked to translate his words and so translate the man's response as well. When the bishop began, I looked at the man and began to speak English perfectly. During the entire interview I tripped only once or twice. I could hear Portuguese, translated into English, and then speak English. Then I heard in English, translated into Portuguese and then spoke in Portuguese. It was something incredible! and to leave the room, I could not speak more NADA English. Surely the LORD helped me to do what was necessary and nothing more. It was really amazing to see the power of God as fully going for me. And through this interview, the bishop could feel that this man was a good man. It was very cool!
Now I have to run and do MANY other things.
I hope everyone has a great week and can feel the love of our Heavenly Father.
D & C 88:67
Good week to all!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Vou usar o pouco tempo que tenho para relatar uma experiência que tive no domingo passado.
Como meta no começo da minha missão, eu decidi que não iria falar inglês quando não era totalmente necessário. E assim, só falei duas vezes até então. (No natal do ano passado e Dia das Mães em Maio) As pessoas que serviram missão falando outro idioma assim deve saber mais ou menos como é. Depois de todo esse tempo, quase que esqueci falar o inglês. Consigo entender e escrever e ler. Mas para falar mesmo é bem difícil. E no domingo passado, teve um homem na igreja que percebi que não era daqui. Ao longo das reuniões da igreja, foi falado para mim que ele é americano e estava lá porque está namorando uma mulher da ala Imperatriz. Entre as aulas da escola dominical, o bispo pediu para mim que eu o ajudasse a entrevistar e conhecer aquele homem depois das reuniões. Fiquei muito nervoso pelo fato que teria que traduzir um entrevista e falar muito inglês. Antes de entrar na sala com o homem e o bispo, parei para fazer uma pequena oração pedindo ajuda ao Pai Celestial que eu pudesse conseguir falar de maneira clara por aquele homem. Ao começar a entrevista, o bispo pediu que traduzisse as suas palavras e assim traduzisse a resposta do homem também. Quando o bispo começou, eu olhei para aquele homem e comecei a falar inglês perfeitamente. Durante a entrevista toda, só tropecei uma ou duas vezes. Consegui ouvir português, traduzir para o inglês, e então falar inglês. Depois ouvi em inglês, traduzi para o português e falei então em português. Foi algo incrível! e ao sair da sala, não consegui falar mais NADA de inglês. Realmente o Senhor me ajudou a fazer o que era necessário e nada além disso. Foi muito incrível ver o poder de Deus passando tão plenamente por mim. E por meio dessa entrevista, o bispo conseguiu sentir que aquele homem era um homem bom. Foi muito legal!
Agora tenho que correr e fazer MUITAS outras coisas.
Espero que todo mundo tenha uma ótima semana e que podem sentir o grande amor de nosso Pai Celestial.
PONDERIZAR!
D&C 88:67
Boa semana para todos!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Translation...
How is everybody? Things are going well here in Imperatriz. VERY run but is doing well. I had to travel on Tuesday and Wednesday to visit a couple of missionaries who needed to get some training. I went to Balsas Maranhão which is six hours by bus from here. I teach and instruct the elders there at about the things that have been passed in the area of meeting the week before. It was good to help them and learn more. Then me and my companion (Elder De Jesus) had chasing all researchers that the other elders had left us. But unfortunately I could not talk to most of these people. So we did our best to find new people to teach. Just we are finding very good people and families! Commitments have marked these people this week and we'll chase a few more people to visit. We made some assessments of the things we do and say and set some goals to improve it. We feel that the Lord is testing our faith and want to see what we'll do. We talked with our bishop here about it and he said some things that we needed to hear.
I will use the little time I have to report an experience I had last Sunday.
As a goal at the beginning of my mission, I decided I would not speak English when he was not entirely necessary. And so, only talked twice before. (At Christmas last year and Mother's Day in May) People who served missions speaking another language as well should know roughly how. After all this time, almost forgot to speak English. I can understand and write and read. But to speak it is very difficult. And last Sunday, had a man in the church who realized it was not from here. During the meetings of the church, it was said to me that he is American and he was because he's dating a woman Imperatriz ward. Between Sunday school classes, the bishop asked me to help me to interview and get to know the man after meetings. I was very nervous because I had to translate an interview and speak much English. Before entering the room with the man and the bishop, I stopped to do a little prayer for help to Heavenly Father that I could be able to speak clearly for this man. By starting the interview, the bishop asked to translate his words and so translate the man's response as well. When the bishop began, I looked at the man and began to speak English perfectly. During the entire interview I tripped only once or twice. I could hear Portuguese, translated into English, and then speak English. Then I heard in English, translated into Portuguese and then spoke in Portuguese. It was something incredible! and to leave the room, I could not speak more NADA English. Surely the LORD helped me to do what was necessary and nothing more. It was really amazing to see the power of God as fully going for me. And through this interview, the bishop could feel that this man was a good man. It was very cool!
Now I have to run and do MANY other things.
I hope everyone has a great week and can feel the love of our Heavenly Father.
D & C 88:67
Good week to all!
Elder Cole Gunnoe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)