He is Risennnnn!! Mission week 23; Area--- Jardim Ingá

 

Happy wonderful new week everyone! I sure hope everyone is doing well and if they're not that they get that way soon. 

News:

Easter happened y'all! Jesus Resurrected, He lives and loves us all! We get the opportunity every year to remember that at Easter time. Let us not forget the reason for the season! Enfim, this week was really good. We got to do a lot of work and everything worked out in the end. And we had General Conference (see more in spiritual thought). Everything is going just great, other than my companion's feet are bothering him a bit (like he's gonna have to get an x-ray and all), pray for him y'all! 🙏

Work:

So this week has been really really good. It was one of those weeks where it doesn't feel like we did much, but we sure did a whole lot, ya know? We had another exchange with the Elders in Lago Azul, it's about 30-40 mins away by car, and it was really good. Other than raining all day, that exchange went really well. Somehow we hit most all of our goals and met with most all of the people we needed to before the end week, which allowed us to be able to watch General Conference without a problem. 

People:

We have some wonderful people that are really progressing well and liking our messages a lot. There's the older couple, Maria and Marcos, that are set to get baptized this coming Sunday, and they're like the church quite a bit. They were able to watch General Conference and they had a lot of really good things to say about it. And then we have Samuel who is set to get baptized this upcoming Sunday as well. He is super excited about the idea of getting baptized and then in a few years being a missionary. He truly loves serving the Lord and wants to do it with all of His heart. And then there's Arthur and Daphne, brother and sister, who are planning to get baptized in a few weeks. They love our messages, but their attention spans are about as short as and ants arm hair. My goodness. Often times we have to pause our lessons to have a little game our something of the sort. It's really funny, but it's going really well. They're cousins of this recent convert, Gabriel, who is getting to go on his mission at the end of this year. So he's helping a lot in the lessons and it helps because the kids listen to him a lot better. 

Spiritual thought:

So General Conference happened. It's was awesome. We heard God's voice through His servants. And I know He loves us. But, you may ask, what is General Conference? Good question. It happens twice a year, every 6 months, and is where the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to give talks about the gospel and the church and other stuff that they received revelation about and what not. In short, it's a chance for all of us to learn more about how we can draw closer to our Saviour through His chosen servants. The theme of this past conference was pretty much just that, drawing closer to Christ. We have to prepare ourselves spiritually for His second coming. We do this by truly becoming His disciples. And how do we do that? Gooood question. Elder talked a lot of doing the right things for the right reasons. We have to purify our motives for all things in our lives. In short: charity. We all know that charity is the pure love of Christ. "..Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— 47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him." (Moroni 7:46-47). We have to continually work and strive to be doing the right things out of love for others and for God. It's a constant process, we don't just one day wake up and *BAM* we have perfect charity. We have to keep working: we have to keep loving. That's the root of all of this. Our Saviour loves us, and wishes that we love all of those around us. Our family, friends, and enemies. Everyone. Keep on lovin' and keep on livin' y'all. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

I love y'all!

Sadly, I Died, but I Lived! Mission Week 22; Area----Jardim Ingá

 

Goooood wonderful new week to you all!

Feel free to message me any time through out the week!

News:

I had a wonderfully wonderful week and I certainly hope that you all did as well. First off, you have to love what you're doing to do it real well, I'm sure trying to love it as best as I can hahaha. This week went by reeeaaallllyyyy quick. It was like *blink* gone, but it was absolutely full of miracles. Like to families going to church, someone asking us how he can get baptized in the church, and many more. (see Milagres for more information). We had an exchange with the Elders from Lago Azul, which is an area about 30 minutes from ours, so it was not too bad at all. I had the opportunity to go there and see how well the Elders are doing there because they are working really well there. And then of course I was able to help them in a few things that I had already gone through as well, and it just strengthened my testimony that the Lord truly does help His servants. Eu caui por terra, também, foi super engraçado. In short, I fell. We all laughed. And no one got hurt. 

Milagres:

My goodness does the Lord love to bless those who serve Him. We just had some good times this week for sure. While we were getting food to eat one night, a group of youth from the church passed by, and they came up to talk to us. This one young woman presented her "friend" and said that we had to talk to him. Did we talk to him? Absolutely! He seemed interested, and we marked to visit him at the church the following evening (because he has been going to seminary, too). The following night we were waiting and, when he came out of the seminary room, he asked us how he can get baptized in the church. Hold up. That's where the missionaries come in. We said that he just talks to us, and we teach him stuff about the gospel and he can decide to get baptized. He accepted. It was literally amazing when he pulled up to church last Sunday because he absolutely loved it and it was such a spiritual experience for him. And then that old couple who I talked about last week, they came to church as well and then absolutely loved it! They said they will most definitely be coming back to church. Then also  there's this family that's been part of the church for about 3-4 months now. They love the church, but hadn't gone to church in about 4 or so weeks. Not so great. We had been trying to visit them in the afternoons, but we found out that they're only home at night. So we visited them Wednesday night and shared a short message about enduring to the end and read 2 Nephi 31:19-21 which talks about that exact thing. They came to church on Sunday! And then we also had lunch with them on Sunday and the Elder who shared a message at lunch shared 2 Nephi 31: 20-21, the exact thing that we shared just a few days before without him knowing. The family then said that they had been struggling with keeping up going to church and "enduring to the end". It was exactly what they needed without us even knowing. 

People and work:

So the people are great here, yall. We have some great friends we're teaching and who are progressing wonderfully. Samuel, that kid who asked us how to get baptized, his mom who is also interested, that old couple and their son, and a more that are just great to teach and who love the Lord and His messages.  

Spiritual thought:

Okay, so I've got to talk about this week. What week is it, you may ask. It's Easter week yall! (Ofc y'all know that, but it's exciting). Roughly 2000 years ago, the saddest, most horrific event in human history was quickly overshadowed by the greatest, most joyous event. The death and subsequent resurrection of our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer: Jesus the Christ. The resurrection and Atonement of Jesus Christ should be, to all mankind, the single most important happening in the history of happenings. The Atonement, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and His unleashing us from the bands of sin, is without parallel. Amulek taught in Alma 34 that: "...it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made." (Verse 9). Without the Atonement we all would have perished a death of our spirits, and forever dwelt distanced from our God. But Christ came, He suffered, He died, and He rose from the dead, bringing about the redemption and future resurrection of all men. Abinidi taught in Mosiah 16 that,

"6 ... if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.

7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.

8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." 

Because of Him. All good things that have come, are coming, and are yet to come, are because of Him. Graças a Ele. He is the Eternal Light of the World. He rose, so that all men may too rise. He broke the bands of Hell and Death. They have no power over us if we come to Him. They have no sting. All He asks of us is to: be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him." (Jacob 4:11 Boof of Mormon.) He invites us unto Him because He loves us. I know these things to be true. In the name of Him who Rose, Jesus Christ, Amen. 

-Elder Hyatt

P.S. I got randomly kissed by a random guy. My reaction to it in the first picture shown below. 

A Life Without Light 💡Mission week 21; Area---- Jardim Ingá

 

Gooooood new week to y'allllll! I sure hope that you all had a great week this past week and that y'all will have an ever better week this week. 

News:

One more week has thus passed away in glorious Jardim Ingáaaaa. It's been a good week for sure. Full of ups and downs, but that's just about life, isn't it? Although my umbrella broke, it's only rained like every day so it's not like I needed it much anyway 🤭. Good thing that I like rain. Let's get into it:

Funny stories:

Sooooo this week was just about one of the most random and funniest weeks thus far on the mission. Between the light going out in our house, someone telling me I can marry his sister, a drunk northeastern Brazilian telling us about God and women, and dogs trying to eat us, it was quite something special. The first: we lost power in our house (life without light...) for a whole day. Starting while I was in the shower 🥲. How the showers work in Brasil is that the shower heads have wires to heat the water: very safe. Então, se tiver luz, terá agua quente, senão, já era. If ya have power, you'll have hot water, if not... Needless to say, I woke up very quickly during that shower. The second: a suuuuuper drunk guy stopped us in the street and asked us to pray for him. Absolutely, we'll gladly pray for you. After the prayer he began to cry and tell us about his life story: divorce, being fired, his kids not talking to him, etc. Very sad, so I asked if I could share a scripture with him. He accepted. I started reading, and, about halfway through the verse, he stopped me and asked if I was from Portugal (ig I have a bit of a Portuguese accent), I said no and that I'm from the USA. His eyes just got big and told me I have to marry his sister and that she'd love me. Woah there buddy, I'm all good. He kept going on, told us we had to go to his house to meet her. Then he placed his hand on my shoulder and said, with all of the seriousness a very drunk man can muster, that he'd be honored to be my brother in law. What a night. Sunday night another drunk guy stopped us and began to tell us how God wants us to pay to the churches but Satan doesn't and that's why he doesn't go to church. No, but okay sir. And then he told us about his wives. (Yes, wives). He said at one point he had three at the same time: What?! He also only had one eye and told us it was because one of his wives found out about the others and got her revenge... Enfim that was an interesting conversation. And then during one lesson with this sweet older couple, the old guy went to quiet the dog who was barking up a storm. He went to the garage, told the dog to be quiet, and then let him off the leash to run outside. And run he did, right into the house... directly towards me. A voice that sounded strangely like mine let out a bit of a yell and I somehow found myself a few feet up in the air. (Not sure how that happened.) The dog was quite chill, in fact, and, due to someone screaming, ran right back out the door. This week was just full of suprises and very funny moments. 

The work:

It's just getting started here. My comp and I are figuring out how to truly work here in Jardim Ingá and it's going quite well I'd say so. We've been able to meet some really good people, bring one more couch to our house, help other Elders in our district, and overall do a lot of good here. As district leader (DL) I get to do a division (exchange, split, whatever you wanna call it pretty much) where I go with another Elder to his area and the other elder there stays with my comp in my area. Even though I don't feel like I know a whole lot about the mission and how to be DL, the problems the Elders were having there, I've already had and so I was actually able to help them, which was a wonderful feeling. The saying that "God doesn't call the qualified, but qualifies the called" is so true. 

Peoplessss:

As always, it's a sad moment when you have to stop teaching someone, but it's just part of the mission. Micaias who was being prepared to be baptized this last Sunday, decided he wanted time to himself and that's okay. He said he knows the church is true his life is just rough right now. It's just sad that we're unable to help him anymore. But on the other hand, when we stop teaching some people who aren't progressing, the Lord will guide us to other people who will progress, who are ready and waiting for the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We met a happy old couple this past week who just absolutely love our messages and have already decided to get baptized. You can just see how much they absolutely love Christ and desire to follow Him. They also have a dog that doesn't like other people. (See 'Funny Stories'). All in all it has been a good week with wonderful people. 

Spiritual thought:

I speak a lot as if most of you are already members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, but that's not truly so. A lot of people who I send this email to, and those that read it through the blog my family sends out, aren't members, or don't have the testimony that many members have about many things. That's more than okay. Many of y'all have your own faith or belief system. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we both "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may." (Articles of Faith 11). At any moment I share a spiritual thought with y'all, it's because it is something I either know or believe. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe in a lot things that a lot of other Christian Churches do not believe in. Why is that you may ask? It's because we believe in modern revelation through a prophet of God. In other words: "We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Articles of Faith 9.) God has not stopped speaking to His children. If He had, He would cease to be the same yesterday, today, and forever, making Himself a liar, which cannot be. Many People may also think that we don't belive in or use the Bible. Absolutely not, I read it most every day. "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." (Articles of Faith 8). We know the Bible has been translated, and, subsequently, changed, many times. But we do believe it is true, as well as the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is simple a scriptural record of the people of ancient America. There is nothing found within the Book of Mormon that contradicts the Bible, just adds upon it "many plain and precious things" (1 Nephi 13: 28). One last thing I wish to touch on: the Trinity. The very first Article of Faith is as follows: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." We believe, and know,  that they exist, but they are not the same person. That, my friends, is not biblical. No where in the Bible does it say that they are literally the same personage. No more are they one in Being as we would be with them according to a prayer from Christ in John 17: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one". But, in the end of things, these are but few of the many things we believe in, and that I know to be true. I know this church is true, I know that God has a plan for us, it is favor of us to return to Him. I invite all to read the Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to know what we believe in. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

- Elder Hyatt

Link to Articles of Faith

And Thus It Is. Mission week 20; Area----Jardim Ingá

 

Gooooood new week to you all out there! I sure hope all is going well for all. 

News:

One more week here in Jardim Ingáaaaa. Update: it's still awesome. The members are awesome. The work is awesome. 

Livro:

This week I finished the book: Insights Into the Life of a Prophet about the life of Russel M. Nelson. It's a really really good book that explains a lot about what life decisions President Russel M. Nelson made to become who he was and about his faith. It truly was a testimony strengthing moment for our prophets and how they truly are prepared throughout their life to lead the church of God and take care of His children. I suggest that people look into this book. 

People:

Micaias is the GOAT. He was going to get baptized a week ago, but wasn't able to make it to church and had some doubts. But a few days ago we visited him and we talked about everything and now he decided to get baptized this coming Sunday! He's super excited to keep coming to church and is going to help all of his family come to church this Sunday. There's other members of his family that want to be baptized and keep going to church. It's just a wonderful family. 

The Work:

It's been really good this past week. My comp and I are still learning how to work in Jardim Ingá, but we're doing our best and God does the rest. We've learned that, especially here, helping and working with members truly is the key. We've been planning a lot more to help the members and work with them and it's going more than just well. 

Spiritual thought:

I've been thinking a lot about the last chapter of the last book in the Book of Mormon: Moroni 10. It talks about a lot of doctrine, has a lot of promises, and is just overall wonderful. One of the doctrinal matters and promises that Moroni left was a short discussion about "gifts of the Spirit". He began by saying "And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them.". All gifts come from God, and they are giving unto men differently. Basically, everyone has gifts from God, and everyone has different gifts. He goes on later to say that "17 ...all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will. 18 And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ." He reiterates and reinforces that all of our gifts in our lives come from God. Y'all, isn't that such a wonderful promise coming from a prophet of God. He then left off with this remembrance: "29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true. 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing." Blessings will come if we look for them, and look not for the unclean things because God loves us and He loves righteousness. He loves His Children. And I love yall too! Look after your gifts and they'll come in even more abundance! 

-Elder Hyatt 

Tacos 🌮 🇲🇽 and brownies 🍫🇺🇲. Mission week 19; Area---- Jardim Ingá

 

Yoooo good new week to you all! I sure do hope that all is going well with you all. Things sure are going well down here in Brasil!

I'd love to hear from y'all about what's going on in your lives! Feel free to email me any time during the week. 

Updates: transfers

Soooooo, news yall, I'm not training 🥲. Yeah, you heard that right. We got to the church is Asa Sul for transfers, and one of the Assistants to the President called me and said, "Elder Hyatt, you're not going to train. You're new missionary isn't coming to the mission." 😲 como assim mano? Like, say what? Don't know what happened, but now I'm with Elder San Martins Mendoza, from the good old Cidade de Mexicooo 🇲🇽🪇🌯🌮. He's pretty awesome. He's been on the mission for about 9 months, so just about bit longer than me and it's so fun to work with him. But, for the next 5 weeks, we'll be two Mexicans, one American, and one Brasilian here in good Ole Jardim Ingá. 

News:

Newsssss. Life is happening. I'm loving Brasil. Portuguese is getting a whole lot easier, I'm understanding just about everything (of course there's always words I don't know, yet), and I can manage to convey most of my points and talk fairly normally with people. I miss streets without holes, I don't think they exist in Jardim Ingá, but one day Jardim Ingá won't have holes. Like literal meteorite holes y'all, or at least it looks like it, but that's just how it goes. 

People:

There's a lot of really good people we're teaching and helping here in Jardim Ingá. I truly do love these people. There's Micaias, the husband of Stephanie who ws baptized when I got here. He's been absolutely loving our messages and going to church. He was going to be baptized yesterday, but still had some doubts and whatnot, so we're going to keep helping him along. There's also Nubia and Cristofer, a mother and son who we met this week. Nubia had a lot of doubts about religion, but her faith in God is incredibly strong and her love for her son is very evident. And then there's all of the wonderful people we meet in the street, with all of their wonderful questions and insights. 

The work:

Okay so the people here in Jardim Ingá are incredible, absolutely incredible. The people in the streets, stores, trees (it's happened), just about anywhere are willing to talk to two foreigners with strange accents in white shirts and ties. Just about everyone we talk with in the street always have the question of who we are, what we do, why we leave our everything behind for two years. Being able to answer all of these questions, and more, is amazing. 

Menu: 🌮🍫🍔🥩

Yooooo, okay so this is gonna be fire. First p-day with Elder San Martins and we made tacos. And brownies. Today is a good day. I have nothing to complain about. It doesn't get better than this. 

Spiritual thought:

Who do we want to be? That's a pretty loaded question if I do say so myself. I was talking with my mom about what I should share as a spiritual thought, and she asked me this question in relation to our relationship with God. Who do we want to be? Who do you want to be? Do you want to be counted with the children of God? Do you want to be? The choice is up to you. Like the Israelitas with the serpent lifted up on the staff. All they had to do was look. All we have to do is what God asks. The choice to act is up to us. As Jacob said: "O be wise; what can I say more?" Jacob 6:12. The choice to follow Christ is the only one that makes sense. Because He loves you. And I love y'all too! I hope you all have a wonderful wonderful week ahead of yall. With much love, 

-Elder Hyatt