Mission Office- Week Nine

I DID GET THE PACKAGE. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I went ahead and opened it because, well, I want to start using them. It got here super fast! That was cool because usually it takes a long time for everything to get here. We have been getting a lot of mail here in the office. Makes sense because everyone is sending things for Christmas. The mailman came here five times on Friday. We set up a little Christmas tree in the office and we started putting all the packages under the tree for the missionaries to come get. President liked it a ton!

         Q/A Time:

1. How are the people in your teaching pool?  Our mission has made a transition from calling them “investigators” to “friends” or “people being taught”.  Our new mission president has made a bunch of changes and this is one of them.

Yeah, we have made that change too. That is one of the new things that came with the new Preach My Gospel. There are a lot of good changes in the new version. I liked this change personally because it makes us think of the people we are teaching more has sons and daughter of God. What the missionaries really need today is that we need to focus on the people. 

2. Another policy change we had recently is that we can’t send around a missionary meal calendar for the members to sign up to feed the missionaries.  Members have to come to the missionaries, ward mission leader, or ward missionaries and ask to feed the missionaries.  They have to be fed from 5-6 pm, unless a non-member will be present for dinner.  Then, the dinner can be anytime.  How are your meals coordinated?

It is suppose to be more like how you said here, but it never really ends up going like that. Brazil is funny like that. All the wards I have passed have a meal calendar that the members pass. However, it is for lunch, which I would think is a lot better. It leaves the whole afternoon to work. Because we get up at 7:30, things are different here. We usually use the whole morning studying and then we go to lunch around noon. We stay there for an hour and then from 1:00 - 10:00 we work in the field. We rarely stop to eat dinner because there is usually no time. There are lots of people to teach.

3.Tell me some of the things you have been doing to Light the World?  I imagine you are doing service all the time.  Is there something special you have done to serve differently this Christmas Season? 

We are planning to go to the shopping mail near the office here with a group of missionaries and we will sing some Christmas hymns. We have been talking with lots of people about Light the World in the streets and with all the members. It has been really cool. It really is an inspired program to help all the participates feel the true Christmas Spirit. I personally have made a goal to be a light to others during this Christmas season. I am trying to be more thoughtful of others and extend a hand to others that are needing help. 

I am not going to be able to write a group email this week. Here are some photos. Something cool this week that happened, we played Basketball and soccer with President and his son today. It was super hot and we almost died. Other than that it was a pretty calm week. 

Love and miss you all lots,

Com amor,

Elder Pinkney

  

Mission Office- Week Eight

Seja a Luz do Mundo

Hello world!

This past week, the mission was in full force with the Light the World program that the church is doing again this year for Christmas. The mission received a lot of materials to use during the month of December. I have been running around getting everything together so that the companionships can start using the materials right away. It is hard to believe that it is already the 8th. Christmas will be over before we know it. We decorated the office also. We put up our Christmas tree and there are tons of presents already arriving for the missionaries (packages in the mail that is). 

This past week, we had the "after five weeks in the field" meeting with the new missionaries. I had to run to the Policia Federal with several missionaries to do the documentation. I was super grateful that everything went well. 

We are visiting still our recent convert from Venezuela, Mireya. She is doing super well. She is going to have more family from Venezuela come live with her in Brazil. We are excited to get to meet her family. She has really let the gospel change her life. In the Venezuela, she was a school teacher. When she was younger, she drank and smoked. She was less relaxed in life. However, now, she has completely embraced the gospel and I can tell that she seems happier in her life. I know that the gospel makes me happy. It does not mean that I am happy all the time, but over time, I can see how I am more happy. 

Thank you all for the love and support. Miss you all lots. 

Com amor,

Elder Pinkney

Mission Office- Week Seven

It´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Hello world,

Now that Thanksgiving is over and we are in December, I am really starting to feel the Christmas excitement. It is crazy to think about how fast this year flew by. President has already got the whole mission sharing the Be the light of the world videos with investigator and encouraging  everyone to take part in the program. I greatly enjoyed the videos for this year. They really brought the spirit and help me feel the true Christmas Spirit. 

This past week, I went on my first real road trip in the mission. We took the bus from Curitiba to Parangua, which is the city that sits by the ocean. It was a two-hour bus ride. We had to resolve some documentation with visas there and so we did a fast one day trip there. It was really cool to get to know another city. I had never really left Curitiba before, so at least I can say that I left. 

Also this week, we finished up all the zone conferences for this transfer. Now the big thing on our plates is transfers. We have a super big group of new missionaries coming in December, so there are lots of things to get together for them when they get here. It is exciting because this will give an significant increase to the mission. We will have almost 10 more missionaries than we had before. Cool to see the mission grow. 

We starting teaching a new couple that I think I mentioned last week. The are reading the Book of Mormon and trying to receive an answer still, but I know that they will get answer. They are super prepared for the gospel and they are really open to what we believe. They do not exactly believe in all the same things that we do, but they have been really nice and humble to learning new things. They also really spoil us every time we go over (See below in photos). 

All in all this week was super great. I am looking forward to the adventures for next week. I have to take a lot of missionaries to do their identification. I never now what happens with that because the Brazil government likes to pull fast ones on us sometimes. Nothing to worry about because God is on our side. 

Mission Office- Week Six

My Last Thanksgiving in Brazil

Hello World!

This past week, the mission had all the zone conferences, which means the secretaries get a lot of work. I spent most of the week buying and giving out materials for all the areas. I worked a lot of renewing visas, which lucky is giving more success than it had in other weeks. I am going to travel to the beach city of Paranaguá on Monday to resolve some documentation there for a Sister. All and all it is very busy in the office. 

This week, we found a couple really really cool. We were going to visit a investigator whose family are members when we found them. This investigator is the owner of a tire replacement place and we were waiting there for him to finish working when a couple on a motorcycle came in with a flat tire. The guy we had came to visit started fixing the tire and the couple was just waiting so we started talking to them. Turns out that they have friends who are members of the church and knew a little about the church. We talked and marked a day later that week to go and teach. We went to their apartment and taught a lesson really good. The bought us pizza to eat afterwards (that does not happen a lot so it was cool). 

The other big big highlight of the week was Thanksgiving Dinner at President´s house. President invited the office staff (the four secretaries and the Assistants) to eat Thanksgiving dinner with his wife and two sons. Can I just that Sister Cuvelier really came in on the clutch with this. She started cooking a whole day before to get everything ready. Literally the best lunch I have eaten in Brazil and brought back the good memories from home. The thing more funny was seeing President without church closes. It is technically our P-Day some President was rocking the jeans and button down. We all gave a little laugh when we say him. I am super grateful for President Cuvelier and his family. They are really special people and I look up to them a lot.  

Pictures included some of my old companions that came into for Zone Conference, myself with Elder Cappi, pumpkin pie from thanksgiving with President.

--

Elder Pinkney

Mission Office - Week Five

One more day, one day more...

This past week was a lot more normal that my last week. There was a national holiday that let everyone had a four day weekend. A lot of people went to the beach, went on picnics, and a lot of stores were closed. We had lunch with the Stake President and he made us a really good BBQ. His son is serving in Japan, so I think it tried to spoil us a little. 

I had some things to take care of in the center of Curitiba. It was the first time I really saw the down town of the city. Curitiba is a lot bigger than I had ever seen. Our mission does not have a lot of areas in the center of the city, so there are a lot of missionaries that stay here two years and never go down town. My companions and I are going to ask president if maybe we can get a city tour bus one P-Day for us to see all the site. 

I am doing great. I am learning a lot. I have been working hard to try to finish the book, Jesus the Christ. I started it at the beginning of my mission and it is taking me a while to finish. It is the only book in the missionary library that I have not read yet. It is a really amazing book and I seeing my knowledge grow by reading. I am seeing my testimony grow also. I feel the Spirit with me when I am reading. I am grateful for this.

I hope you all have a great week. Love and miss you all lots.

Elder Pinkney

P.S. Sorry, I do not have any photos this week. I will try harder this week to take more photos.

Mission Office- Week Four

Hello World, 

This past week was super, super crazy. So much happened that I think I will just make a short list. 

• Monday-- We had transfers, which was super, super crazy. I stayed the office all day dealing with transportation and other problems with Elders being transferred.  Elder da Silva, who is friend of mine, went to the CTM. He was on a temporary two transfer missionary that stayed here for three months, received his mission call, and is now going to the CTM. He will be back in three weeks. I stayed in the office with President until 1:00 in the morning preparing everything for a group of missionaries going home. Sister Cuvelier drove me back to the apartment afterwards. 
• Tuesday -- I woke up to a phone call about two missionaries that missed their flights and needed immediate rebooking. I ran to the office, half-dressed, on the phone with the flight agency. The two missionaries were luckily able to catch the next flight and got home safely. I got to eat lunch with the new group of missionaries that came in that morning. I spent the whole day briefing them on documents, health cards, etc. There are some really great Elders that just arrived in the mission, which was cool.
• Wednesday -- I think was the most normal day of the whole week.
• Thursday -- I spent 6 hours going to the Policia Federal and dealing with the Visa for a missionary from Colombia.
• Friday -- I went back to the Policia Federal again and tried to keep on top of the other work that I need to get back.  

Anyway, all in all, the week was super good. We are still focusing on our recent convert from last week. My Spanish is getting better too. I am reading the new book "Saints" online too. It is really awesome book. I am learning a lot of details about church history. I recommend for all.

Also sorry the only photos I have this week are of us eating. I swear I am doing lot more than just eat. 

Mission Office- Week Three

More adventures with Spanish

Hello World!

This week was incredibly crazy. We had so much happen in these past few days. 

Monday, I took a group of missionaries to the Policial Federal, which is where we resolve all the renewing of the visas. It was a group of 10 Elders on a bus for one and a half hours. For how crazy that sounds, everything actually went perfectly fine....lol.  I was also able to get some Subway with Elder Ball and Elder Grover.

Then, Elder Quresma finished his mission this week and went home on Wednesday. He was in the office to get all his bags together and to talk to President. He had this really funny stuffed monkey that when you threw it started making monkey sounds. 

I, also, did not let Halloween go by without celebrating a little. It took me two hours, but I decorated a Haunted Houses that Mrs. Kaynor sent me (shout out to this amazing lady). Can I just say that everyone here in the office thought that I was very talented for having put together that Haunted House. I put it out for everyone to see and put some small candy for people to take. It was awesome. I am going to leave it out until at least Christmas...lol 

Last of all, we ended off the week today with the baptism of Mirella (the lady from Venezuela). I have been basically teaching her in Spanish for the past three weeks. In a effort to make her baptism really special, we decided that we should hold the whole program in Spanish. The talks were in Spanish, we printed off the music to sing the hymns in Spanish, and Elder Arscott did the baptism in Spanish. It was really really cool, because I couldn't say that I have ever been to a baptism in Spanish like that before. Even in the other language, I felt the Spirit presence and a deep love for the Savior and this amazing family. Definitely, a memory that I will not forget. 

Love and miss you all lots, 

Elder Pinkney