My new area of Newport, Rhode Island

Rhode Island District

saying good bye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

Saying goodbye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

Saying goodbye to Ollie, Larry, Myana, Peyton

My New Companion Elder Johnson from So. Jordan Utah

Saying Bye to Pam

Saying bye to Elders Leite & Elder White is going home

Cannon on the Plymouth Plantation

Plymouth Plantation

Hey, I'm flying Harry Potter

Harry Potter ready to crash land

Plymouth Plantation

My Awesome Companions Elder White and Leite

 Week 58 November 25-2019
New Area- Newport, Rhode Island 

Monday ended up not being P-day for this week because of transfers being Wednesday. Tuesday will be the P-day of this week. We went over to the Calas  Family to help them out and also get our laundry done. It took forever but it would have took forever back at our place anyway. We were able to fellowship them even more and talk to Jimmy (Sister Calas brother). He really is a cool guy and sometime in the near future I can tell he will be baptized. He has grown a lot from when I first met him. He even comes to church every week with the Calas! When we were there brother Berry came over and we were able to help assist in the blessing. It was by far the most powerful blessing I have been apart of! Some things were said that I cannot deny were from Christ himself! While waiting for our clothes to finish we played some chess and Brother Cala got to know me some more. He asked about my family and I have him the short story of my crazy family history. Not too much happened this night but we said good bye to Brother Gould and our friend Al Sears. At night we finally got transfer texts and it turns out I will be getting transferred.  My next area will be Newport Rhode Island, and I was honestly really okay with it. I can say I served in all three states that my mission covers!
     Tuesday was now P-day and after we finished up our needed to do stuff we made our way to the Plymouth Plantation. It is a step back in history and takes you to how Plymouth was when the Pilgrims landed. We went through different places there and learned about it all. First stop was the Wompanogs tribe of Indians area. They talked about how they lived off the land and how the kids helped catch the food and watched over the crops it was pretty cool. There was some arts and crafts area where there were artifacts from that time and showed how life was like for dining and what they were. The final area was the pilgrim village.  We stopped by each of the homes and even practiced how to spear someone. (No one was harmed). We talked to a lot of the workers (actors) and it was as if they were a certain pilgrims that came on the Mayflower.  Also while we were there we saw the Fort on the hill with a bunch of cannons. It was pretty cool! The Plymouth Plantation is a living museum and honestly so worth it! That night we had one last lesson with Pam and said our goodbyes to her. It is hard to leave before I can see her Baptism but she is still going so strong! She gave us each a Bicentennial 50 cent coin for the road and for us to remember her. Our last stop of the night was to say goodbye to Larry, Ollie, Peyton and Myana. I will for sure miss them all but they are still wanting to learn more! For the rest of the night we spent it packing up and getting ready for transfers.
     Wednesday was a busy day, first thing we did as all woke up to finalize our packing and cleaning up the apartment.  We cleaned up the car and we waited for the Brewster Elders to come meet with us. I took one last video of my apt to help me remember and said my goodbyes. We packed up the cars with our bags and celebrated Elder Whites 2 years of service with sparklers. We first made a stop by at Chick-fil-a in Plymouth because we were all pretty hungry. We then made our drive all the way up to Weston and met with a lot of missionaries who were there. It was fun to see them all and talk to a lot of them. I got some last pictures with my companions (Elder White and Elder Leite) and said my good byes to them. Elder White will be going home this week back to the real world. I met with my new companion Elder Johnson and we got the car packed with my stuff. Before we left I had a small interview with President then we made our way down to Newport Rhode Island.  The drive was pretty long but our first stop was with a less active member and his family.  We were able to get to know them more and have dinner with them.  We came home and I unpacked and settled in a little bit, we then went to bed for the night
     Thursday was pretty good, we were able to have a really good study session. After lunch we had a lesson with James. He is someone being taught and is interested in baptism.  We watched the Book of Mormon video with him and I got to know a little bit more about him. We made stop byes and contact attempts for most of the day, because we had a couple appointments cancel due to not feeling well.  We had dinner with some people taught in the past who have a bunch a friends who are members on Arizona. We had a Shrimp Alfredo with Salad, Potatoes and Asparagus. It was by far the best home cooked meal I have had on my mission! They have two cute kids who are very active. We had a good time being there and getting to know them more. They both have a strong faith in Christ and we hope to teach them more about Christ’s Gospel. We then came home for the night because we were there later at night.
     Friday was a long day of driving and destroyed the miles we have for the month. We drove back to West Bridgewater and had DLC. We talked about what are the focuses for this transfer. There was a funny quote given by President  "Be committed as a pork". We were given the example of a chicken laying an egg is pretty easy. To get butter from a cow is a little harder but still fairly easy. We were then given the example of getting bacon from a pig, and how the pig has to give everything for us to get bacon.  That is how President wants us in the work he wants us to give it our all and be focused in our areas! For lunch we went out to lunch at “Little Sammies” and it took them for ever to get my meal out, they lost the meal ticket but eventually I got it. Shortly after that we had to leave to make it to District Council in Warwick. We then did the same thing over again. We went out to dinner with the Narragansett Elders and then made our way back into our area. The cool thing about this area is we go over a lot of really cool bridges! We then went to the chapel to get a 5-gallon bucket of water and met up with Brother Dailey. He then took us onto the Navy Base and for the rest of the night we had a FHE event with the Navy School Members. We had a spiritual thought and lots of fun games. We talked to a lot of them and they are all pretty cool.
     Saturday came quick and in the morning we helped out the Barbosa Family get a lot of there heavy stuff into there garage because they are moving out soon. When we got home we had some studies and some lunch. Then we went to meet Brother Stephens and Brother Jones came with us. We got to hear about his story and about how he found the church as well. It was really cool to get to know him more. We then came back and met with Jackie and her daughter Seana and had dinner with them and shared a message about making the Sacrament more personal to you.  We went to the Church and met up with Tionna a new member who has been less active. We watched one of the Book of Mormon videos with her and she really liked it. She has a desire to serve a mission so we invited her to read the whole book of Mormon before she turns her papers in. She gladly accepted the challenge. We then came home for the night to prepare for tomorrow.
     Sunday morning we got ready and made our way to Church. I was able to meet a lot of the members, and James came as well! It was all about being Thankful and being full of gratitude. The first half of Sacrament was filled with songs. The last half was a talk about Temples. It answered the who can go into temples, what are temples, when can we go into temples, where are temples, and why should we enter into them, also how can we do so, it was pretty cool to hear! Second hour we talked about the Spirit and Personal Revelation. After Church we had Missionary Coordination with Brother Raposa. It went pretty well and we got a lot done. When we got home we had lunch and studies. After most of my studies I ended up taking a nap in my chair, I was pretty tired! We then had weekly planning. It went really well and we planned on how we can help out our friends this coming week! After dinner we dropped off our cloths with a member who helps out and does laundry for us. After that we met with Lloyd and watched a Book of Mormon video with him about the Lehi’s Vision. He really liked and had a lot of good insights. We then made a few more stop byes and came home for the night.


                        Proverbs 19:20
    "20 Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end"

     These truly are the latter days, and every time we read the scriptures or listen to a prophet we hear the council and instructions that the Lord is giving us. Be wise as this scripture says. I too am acting on the words I hear and I have faith to act upon it, because I know even though I may not know why we have these commandments or these instructions as we act on them we will be blessed. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Last week in Plymouth MA

Carla Germinero, Elder Knowlden, Meghan & Leadro Lecerda

Brother Volpetti

Brother Wood in Plymouth

Sister Wood in Plymouth

Plymouth Rock sign

Dressed in Mayflower Attire

Plymouth District P-day

Plymouth District P-day

Plymouth Statue

Plymouth Statue

Plymouth Plaque

Don, Diana, Jimmy Maynard-Plymouth

Hovey Family-Plymouth

Plymouth Rock

Beautiful Plymouth Sunset

Plymouth Church

Plymouth District

Plymouth District

Dinner Lesson

Elder White, Knowlden, Leite

Tim Ballard

Jimmy Maynard

Thompson Boy

Saying goodbye to the ladies Food Pantry

Saying Goodbye to ladies Food Pantry

Saying goodbye to the ladies Food Pantry

Week 5  Nov 19th 2019
13 Months
     Monday was a pretty fun day, it was our District P-day! We hurried up and got the things we needed done. (shopping, cleaning the apt, and laundry). We then met everyone for lunch at Chick-fil-a.  It was a long line! One of the companionships were late so they went to Chipotle instead. With the long line it took longer for our food to come out so the management got us some complimentary fries. I got a side of mac and cheese instead, it was so good! We then came back to the apt then made our way to the Jenny Museum.  We then started our tour. Leo the tour guide took us on a wonderful guided 2 hour tour of downtown Plymouth.  He let us know a lot of the history.  We learned it wasn’t ever at the beginning Indians vs Pilgrims. They actually had a treaty and they helped each other out !  I will add it at the end but my Companion Elder White took a lot of notes that you can look over. One of my favorite things I learned was that the first Thanksgiving was a three-day celebration, and before they ate they all shared one thing they were grateful for! After the tour finished we came home and got ready for dinner with the Hendrerson family. We had a fun time and at the end we shared a message about the First Vision. After dinner we drove to North Plymouth area and did a few stop byes then came home for the night.
     Tuesday as soon as I woke up I took the first shower so I could get the hottest water. I spent most of the morning listening and reading the Book of Numbers to catch up, because I was a couple days behind. I ended up finishing it and I am now in Deuteronomy!! Elder Leite wasn’t feeling to well, so most the day we were inside. I then had my appointment with my doctor and all is well! After we did some more studies we got outside and it was raining. We took the car to the gas station to vacuum it out and fill up the car with gas. We then had to run to the store for a couple things. After we got out of the store it started to snow!!! This was Elder Leites first time ever seeing snow and he was in awe! We came home to drop a couple things off then made our way to see the Hovey’s for dinner. Now at this time there was a lot of snow on the ground and Elder Leite made his first snowball, he didn’t have gloves and he quickly realized snow is very cold Haha. After dinner with the Hovey’s we did some tracting in North Plymouth and met Paulo, he let us right in and we had a Restoration lesson with him!!! When we got home we then did a deep clean to prepare for apartment inspections tomorrow morning.
     First thing after we were all ready for the day, Elder and Sister Lott came over. They made sure that everything at the apt was working along with if we had everything we needed and it was a safe place to live. They even made sure that the car was the same way. Right after they finished we made our way to the Food Bank and did our service there. Most of the time we were in the front just organizing everything around and making sure it went to the correct spots. We were moving the whole time and were kept busy. When we got back we all had lunch and I took a needed nap it was so nice! Shortly after we were back on the road and we helped rake leaves at Leo and Nancy's home (owners of Jenny Museum) they have a huge yard but we didn’t get it all done, so we will return to finish up. We then drove to the Chapel to meet with Brother Volpetti for Missionary Coordination, it went really well.  We then made our way to Lobster Hut for dinner and I had fried Lobster tail and Shrimp with Clam Chowder. After dinner we made some stop byes and brought Brother Gould the Sacrament. He was so grateful!
     Thursday morning after we got ready and had studies we made our way to visit with the Thompson Family. While we were there we helped out with flooring in his attic. I was able to hop in a body suit to avoid the insulation. I helped pat it all down and even screwed in some boards! After we finished, we had Mamamias Pizza for dinner with them. We then went to go pick up Elder Whites Suits from the dry cleaners. We had a lesson with Ollie, Peyton and Myana. It went really well. We went over the Gospel of Jesus Christ and few of the commandments!  Then we did a few stop byes and made some calls then came home for the night.
     Friday went really well, it was the last District Council of the transfer, and we had a guest speaker Phill come and give the lesson. Phill is not a member but he loves the missionaries, he gave an awesome lesson on being happy! He took two sides of it. The first was 10 ways scientifically we can be more happy. The second part was using 4 scriptures from the Book of Mormon to be spiritually happy. It was very well done. A little bit before and after District Council we said our goodbyes and signed each other’s journals. We then went out to Chik -fil -a for lunch with the Brewster Elders. It was really good, and we had a good time. We went to the projects to visit a couple people, but no one was home. With met with Eric and set up a time to visit him the next day. We came back home after that to have some studies then made our way to visit the Calas and Jimmy.  We were going to help with some service but it got to dark outside. We ended up sitting down and getting to know them even more and we had dinner with them as well. We watched a Book of Mormon video with them. And shared a powerful message on the importance of the Sacrament, It was a day well spent .
     Saturday morning the first thing we did after studies was meet up with a member to help get some stuff out of her storage unit. Right after we went to Cumberland Farms to visit Sister Hovey. She hooked us up with some food, and it was really delicious. We then had a good lesson with Eric, we watched the first episode of the Book of Mormon videos, and he really liked it. The rest of the day didn’t go as well as we hoped, all 4 of our appointments canceled, we ended up doing a lot of stop byes. We even helped take the Sacrament to Sister Conway. She was so grateful for it. We talked to a few others while on the street and all in all we got through it.
     Sunday we were running a little late after we all got ready. We barely made it to Church on time to partake of the sacrament. It is hard to be ready on time with 3 elders and only 1 bathroom. Church went really well, we had three friends there and 2 amazing talks. Both were on the power and importance of the Book of Mormon, and the truths we can learn from it. I feel like it was what our friend Pam needed at the time. Second hour was also really cool, it was a lot about faith. We ended up having two surprise visitors Tim Ballard (founder of the "Underground Railroad Project") and Glenn Beck. After Church they made an announcement because they are trying to have a big project for next year with the 400 year anniversary for Plymouth. They want to help others know that the Pilgrims truly came for religious freedom. It was really cool to hear from both of them. After Church we said some of our goodbyes because transfers are this week and we still don’t know who is leaving. With some things going on in my life some anxiety has peaked and I was able to get a beautiful blessing from Brother Volpetti and my companions. We came home had a quick study session and made our way to our first appointment. Sadly when we got there no one was home. We ended up leaving a copy of the Book of Mormon by their door. We made our way back to the car and talked to Elder Leite about what he needs to know as he takes over the area. We also made a few calls to our friend's. Then we drove over to the Lacerda family. They also invited the Germaneros, and the Calas. The house was full! For our lunch/dinner we had a Brazilian Thanksgiving. By the end of it I was so full! It was so worth it though. We had a lot of fun and a lot of food! We then were able to share the Paper Cross message about the Book of Mormon.  It was pretty cool, all the kids were amazed. We came home for a nap because all of us were really tired. After we woke up we had a lesson with Al and just caught up with him and asked how he was doing. We them met with Brother Gould and checked in on him as well. To end the night I was able to talk to and meet with my Therapist again, it really did help! One cool thing about today is, it is my 13 month mark as a missionary!

     This week I want to share a question that was asked by Tim Ballard in Sunday School. "What is your Mayflower?"

     I have been pondering on this question myself the past little bit, and I thought to myself what does that mean. Well I thought of what the purpose of the Mayflower was, and it was to bring the Pilgrims to a better future. They knew the risks involved but they still chose to go so they could have religious freedom and believe what they wanted! As a missionary we try to teach this principle to everyone we come across.  The closer we get to a better future the more temptations are put before us. Satan does not want us to be happy, nor does he want us to come closer to Christ. I invite you all to find your “Mayflower” and leave for a better tomorrow. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Exchanges in Plymouth

Helping with the 7000 lb food delivery

Elder Leites Birthday

My new Quill Pen

Exchanges 

Sister Manos and her husband

Elder James

Fun picture of my name tag in the water at Plymouth Beach

The woods Plymouth 

Brigham Hovey Plymouth

Plymouth Beach

   WEEK 56   N0V 11-2019
Let's start with good ‘ol’ Monday, we didn’t do too much but we checked out some stuff in Plymouth. In a couple weeks we will be returning to have a tour of Plymouth Plantation.  (A historic sight of the Pilgrims here in Plymouth Massachusetts) While I was there I got a nice quill and ink pen. For those of you who don’t know I honestly love writing letters, so this made me even more happy! This week I officially have written 200 letters on my mission! That night we had dinner with the Hovey’s and had some good home made breaded chicken. After that we made a lot of calls and did some stop byes, but no lessons. We did try to go see Pam but she wasn’t feeling to well at the time.
     Tuesday, not too much happened. We had studies and later on helped the Hovey’s move a freezer from the basement up into their kitchen. We had to bring it from outside and it was raining and we had fun. We came home changed and made our way to the Chapel for Ward Correlation. After we went to Olive Garden for dinner it was so dang good! I got the Zupas, Tucanos Soup, my Sister Tiffanie made it all the time back hone and I love it so much! To end the night Elder White needed to work on his my plan, so Elder Leitch and I hung out with the young men.
     Wednesday was a double service day. We had a fun time at the Food Pantry they got a large order come in so we did a lot of organizing. We helped cut the Jenny museum mowing the lawn. Shortly after that we came home had lunch and made a cake for Elder Leites 24th Birthday, parabéns Elder Leite! We then drove to meet the Brewster Elders half way to do exchanges. I came back with Elder Despain to Plymouth and half way we realized we didn’t have the sim card. We lucked out for this exchange. With us not having the Sim card we had Elder White text us whenever there was a text or a call. When we got back it was time for dinner. After dinner we went to visit Sister Conway and Brother Gould to give them the Sacrament.  With both of them we talked about the importance of it as well. The last little bit we went to North Plymouth and did a couple stop byes.
     Thursday morning we went to the Saint Bonaventure Catholic Church to help out with a food order. They received 7000 lbs of food! We helped out a lot and had fun doing it. After we finished Neila gave us a tour of the Chapel. It personally helped me have a better understanding of other Faith's, and will help me personally understand how to help them strengthen their faith in Christ. After we came home had some studies and then lunch. We then called people and did some stop byes. With one guy Jim we knocked on his door and he let us right in. We talked a little bit about what he remembered from last time he talked with the missionaries.  He has a lot of awesome questions and we plan on returning there next week!  We had a great lesson with the Forsburgs about preparing spiritually for the sacrament each week. After more stop byes we made our way to the Snells home for dinner. I got a surprise and the other elders who still had the sim card told her I love pumpkin spice, and I do not like pumpkin spice. She made cookies for me thinking I would like them. We had a fun time with them and they have two boys who wrestle! I had a fun time talking to them about that. We then went to north Plymouth area and met a few Brazilians with interest!
     Friday morning after we got ready the other Elders drove back to Plymouth and we made our way to West Bridgewater for District Council and interviews. We had a really fun District Council on following the spirit and our missionary purpose! Interviews went really well, but I might be getting transferred but we will see! After we Elders went to Little Sammies for lunch and I just love their mac and cheese!  We did studies when we got back and then had dinner. To end the night we had a couple different lessons. One with Al, Dick, and Sherri on the 10 Commandments. The other one was with Larry, Ollie, Peyton and Myana. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That night when we got home we stayed up later and we had a heart to heart to heart conversation and a companionship on how we can better help love and support each other. It’s different for Elder Leite coming from a whole other culture and now adapting to living here in America.
     Sunday it was so hard to get up on time because we were up late last night. But luckily we just barely made to church on time! We saw that Pam came and we decided to sit by her. We had three really good talks, and they were truly centered on a loving God and we should do what we can to be closer to God. During the second hour we were helping out the primary teachers set up for a program for the kids getting baptized/kids turning 12 next year. We also swept out the Baptismal Font. After Church we talked to the kids turning 8 on how they can prepare for their own baptism. They were also able to see the font. Before they came to the room we were able to show Pam the Font and talk to her a little bit about baptism! When we got home I took a small nap and had lunch then we went out to North Plymouth for a lesson. It went really well, and after we did some tracting and some stop byes. We have a new family we hope to start teaching soon. On the way home we stopped by Lori and set up a time to meet with her and her husband this week. I know we will get along well, she loves animals!!! We then came home to get a couple things then left to dinner with the Middlbrooks. It is a nice family in the ward that just moved here from London England 3 months ago. She and her two kids are also Chinese the husband is not a member. We had a good time getting to know them more and helping out the oldest son Sonny. He is thinking about what he should do after he graduates from high school. He bore our testimonies on missions and how it has helped us in our own faith.


                              Job 11:4
     "4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes"

     As we listen to the words of the scriptures and the Prophets and Apostles they truly are coming from God. The ways of man have come and corrupted the land, we should take hold of Gods laws and his teaching for his Gospel Doctrine is Pure! As we follow them to the best we can, we will be clean  in his eyes. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen