Week of Firsts - March 26

This was a really good week. We baptized Ap.. Elder D. L. baptized her. It was his first baptism so we were all pretty excited. The baptism was at 4 in the afternoon with our English class afterward. The other companionship in our area were working with a family, a mom and her daughters. Her daughter, Al., was ready for baptism. Saturday, the day of the baptisms, our zone leaders couldnt come to interview the mom, G. So President P. authorized me to do the interview. It was my first baptismal interview and it was amazing. The spirit was really strong and its awesome to talk to people about their progression towards baptism. Right after the interview we had another baptismal service and the two women were baptized. Elder B., the other american in our apartment baptized the mom, which was his first baptism on the mission. He didnt get his visa for months so he was shuffled around in Salt Lake and didnt stick in one area long enough to baptize all the people he was teaching. So, Saturday was a pretty good day. This is the last week of the transfer, so we will see what the new transfer and the new month brings. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

March 19, 2012

This last week wasnt the best but we are doing well. We have a lady who is preparing for baptism and is really excited about it. She has been inviting all her friends and relatives. We are really excited also. We are working hard at working more with the church leaders here in Palmares. Looks like we will start weekly coordination meetings with all the leaders and not just our ward mission leader. We started teaching a free English class. It wasnt advertised very well and we kept forgetting to invite people so the turnout wasnt that great. But we fixed that on Sunday and announced it in every classroom and meeting. We should have a lot more people this next week. Its a lot of fun and will be challenging because we will have people who have never learned anything about English and we will have people who speak really well. So it looks like we will have to divide the class. Other than that, not much else happened. We are doing well and the heat hasnt been too bad. We are going to get crazy today and watch a Disney film. Watch out Ribeirão Preto, its P-day!

Tchau!

Elder Siemers

Recently

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 Switched pday

This week we had Elder Tobias of the 70 in our area so he gave us a little training on Monday. So this week our pday was switched to Wednesday but will return to normal next week. He was the mission president of the bishop here in Palmares. The bishop asked him when he was going to visit the ward here and he said the next time he was in Ribeirão Preto. This happened this last week and it just so happens that the bishop was travelling for work, so he missed it. The training was really awesome and he focused a lot on not being afraid and having faith.

We had an awesome experience with one of our investigators this week and she received an answer about baptism. We have everything scheduled for the 24th. This family is super awesome and we have become very attached to them.

We are used to the area now and didnt get lost this week. =)

I passed the 1 year mark this last week. It just makes you realize how much you need to learn. This next year is going to fly by. It will be a really awesome year. The mission is completely different than it was a year ago. I have high expectations for things to come.

I hope all is well with everyone. Até mais!

Elder Siemers

Monday, March 5, 2012 Palmares Week 2

Things are going well in Ribeirão Preto. This last week was a lot better than the first week. We have become pretty familiar with the area so we are getting lost anymore. We have another part of our area that we have never visited and we are going to go there and start working. We have a few people who are progressing and we are going to find a lot more people to teach this week. We have a Family Home Evening planned for tonight so that should be good. Its been awhile since we have had a family night. We will bring a couple of our investigators. Well, I had internet problems so my time is short. I will talk to you all next week.

Elder Siemers

Monday, February 27, 2012 Crazy Week

This week was an experience. I went to President Prieto's house for the first time. I came to the field all by myself so we didnt go through the regular routine. We got trained on how to train new missionaries in Presidents house while we waited for our new companions. When they arrived we hid in another room while they toured the house. We then snuck into the living room and when they came back we started singing the hymn 'called to serve'. They then got to stand in the front one by one and open a packet that told them what was their first area and who their new companion would be. As they stood in the front we all started yelling 'he´s mine! he's my companion!'. When the new missionary read the name of his new companion the trainer then ran forward to give him a hug. My new companion is Elder De Lima. He's from São Paulo. He's really cool and excited to work.

I am now in Ribeirão Preto in the Palmares area. We are living with another companionship of missionaries and are working half of the area. This was the first area I have had where my companion wasnt there before me, so we were really lost last week. The church has a new training program for new missionaries so I am learning a lot along with my new companion.

Riberão Preto is SUPER hot. We are drinking water like crazy. The ward his is really big and has a ton of members. This is an area where Sister Dickson, one of my teacher's in the MTC, served. She left some pretty big shoes to fill. Everyone here remembers her and talks very fondly of her. I also hope to be able to make an impact in this area like she did.

My birthday passed last saturday and I almost forgot about it. I only remembered in the morning otherwise I would have gone the whole day not thinking about it. I took a quick picture of myself on my sweet new bed. Anyway, I will talk to everyone later.


Elder Siemers