Franca!

This was an interesting week. The first time in a new area, so It was weird being dependent on my companion because I didnt know the area or the people her. We found a few really good people last week, so I have high hopes for this transfer.

I stepped into Wal - Mart the other day. That was weird. Never thought I would do that in Brazil. It was pretty much the same. I dont think I will bring myself to eat at McDonalds though. Maybe one time to see if it tastes the same, but I really dont have much of a desire to go there.

When I arrived here, I seperated my white shirts, to make sure I use the same ones, so I can use them up and keep some others nice to use later. This way I always have nice white shirts, and free up a little space in my suitcase instead of having lots of creme colored shirts and no space in my suitcase. I was washing my frequently used shirts so I used a shirt that I have not used very much. I walked past a tree that had a nail sticking out of it that I didnt see and snagged my shirt. Riiiiiiipp! So much for keeping some shirts nicer than others. At least I have a little more room in my suitcase now.

Yesterday it was raining. I left my umbrella outside of the church because I didnt put it with all the other umbrellas, just in case there was a mix up. I didnt want somebody to walk off with it on accident. My companion told me not to keep my umbrella outside so I grabbed it and put it inside with the others. At the end of church I found it. Then I went to grab some thing and two minutes later somebody had grabbed it by accident! Luckily it did not rain much yesterday.

Well, that was pretty much my week. I am excited for this area. I think it will be a really good city to work in.

Elder Siemers

September 23 - October 17

October 17: Lots of changes

It was a pretty good week. Thursday night we received a phone call that I would be transferred this next transfer, so we worked extra hard at getting everything ready for Elder Sousa and his new companion.

Saturday night was the time change for us so I am now another hour or two ahead of home.

Sunday we passed by a few people's houses to bring them to church with us. They said we could pass by but I think they were still sleeping because of the time change. But when we got to church we had 2 investigators there, and a third showed up during the 2nd class. It was awesome. I think Elder S will be able to help quite a few people this next transfer. After church all the members came up to me and wished me luck, along with one of our investigators. It was very touching and I might have shed a few tears when L said goodbye to me. He bought me a Book of Mormon in Spanish and told me I have to learn Spanish next. I will miss everyone in Poços de Caldas. We even have a lot of friends in lots of the stores. The bakery, the paperstore, I took pictures with a lot of people.

Yesterday I took a bus to Ribeirão Preto and stayed the night in the Office Staff's home. Today I took a bus to Pinhares, Franca area, my new area! Im excited. Everyone says its a really good area and the members help out a lot. My new companion is Elder Vitor, another missionary from my group in the MTC. My house is twice the size of my last house, and so is my table I use to study. This will be a good area. It will be cool to experience a new city.

The weather is definitely gettting warmer. And its been raining so its been humid also. I washed almost all my clothes before the transfer but hardly any of them dried in the 2 or 3 days on the line, so I had to pack them all up while they were still wet. I will rewash everything today.

I'm excited for my new area, not so excited about the heat, but things are going well. Até mais.

Elder Siemers

October 10: Not too much this week

Pretty uneventful week. It was Elder S's birthday so we went up to the Christ statue to celebrate. And because we had reached all our goals the previous month, President let us watch Disney films this month. So after going up to the Christ we got to watch a Disney movie. It was the first movie I have seen that wasnt a church film in 6 months. We watched it with other missionaries and one of them hadnt seen a movie in over a year.

This week is the end of the transfer so we are running to get as much done as possible. We have interviews with President this weekend so that should be good. I wont find out until Saturday if I am staying or going to another city. So who knows, maybe my next email will be from another area.

Fique firme!

Elder Siemers

October 3: Lots of Walking

This week was super busy. We wanted to invite everyone to watch General Conference, so that what we did. I have never walked so much in my entire life. This was also a week of firsts for me. We swung by a man's house this week to invite him to conference. We have taught him many times and he is always super friendly. As I was inviting him to conference, he cut me off then said we are part of a cult. That was a surprise. We also taught another lesson this week with a young woman and her brother. She didnt like they manner I was teaching so she was not receptive after that and doesnt want anything to do with us now. I felt horrible. I didnt like the fact of my mistakes interfering with another person's learning.

But life is good. Conference was awesome and very uplifting. I learned a lot and I want to print out a few talks for our investigators. It's Elder S's birthday today so we are heading to downtown to buy him a tie and celebrate. A lot of bad things happened this last week, but I don't feel discouraged. In fact just the opposite. I feel like working harder. The mission is crazy, but really amazing.

Elder Siemers

September 26: Ups and downs

This week was crazy, with lots of ups and downs. It was hard finding people home to teach them, but when we did we had really good lessons. We had a mission conference, which takes away a day of work, but was really good. We watched an amazing video that had Elder Holland speaking with scenes of the Savior's sacrifice playing. He was talking about how hard missionary work is. But he said that one far greater than us, and a long time before us, wanted an easier way, but there wasnt one. Salvation never came cheaply. Our salvation was paid for at an extremely high price. It was one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen. Every time things get tough I will remember that video and the words of Elder Holland.

We baptized G last night! It was awesome. He has come so far and overcome a lot to be where he is at. Since General Conference is next week we confirmed him last night so he didnt have to wait 2 weeks for his confirmation and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. He picked me to confirm him. It was my first confirmation, in English or Portguese. I was super nervous, but I was so grateful for the opportunity. It was awesome and I definitely had help from the spirit.

This week was a little tough at times but I learned a lot. I will work harder this week and get more accomplished.

Elder Siemers

The Last Month

*****Just a disclaimer: I'm working on screening Matt's emails. From now on I'm only going to use first initials for names of companions and investigators to protect them.

Stake Conference

This week was really good and we taught a whole bunch. Our numbers were a little low in certain areas, but I didnt mind this week because we have been accomplishing a lot. We had stake conference in São João da Boa Vista yesterday. I sat next to L. My first baptism in the mission field. Elder S. was sitting with G, who will be baptized next week. Accross the aisle from my was a family we have been working with. The only male in the family recieved the Priesthood yesterday. As I was sitting there in conference I saw all these people and things that we have been doing, that you really cant attach a number to. It was a cool moment and one I was really grateful for. We have been working really hard lately and I really dont want to waste any time on the mission. Two years goes really fast. Well, I am out of time but I love you all. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

September 12: Good week and miracles

This last week was pretty good. We didnt teach quite as much as we wanted to but we accomplished a lot. We were finally able to find this lady we havent seen in over a month. She wants to be baptized, but we literally passed by her house every time we are in her neighborhood and she was never home. We can actually start helping her.

We had a couple more run ins with the local intoxicated people this week. One asked me if I am American and I said yes. He then gave me one of the longest hugs of my life. He was pretty excited to meet an American. We found our friend who threw up at church while we were picking up people to go to church yesterday. He came with us and poor Elder S. had to share his umbrella while we walked in the rain. He stopped to talk to everyone we passed. At one point we were walking up a hill and he was having trouble keeping up, so Elder S. grabbed his hand. He then said something about Elder S.'s girlfriend would be jealous if she found out. Oh the mission. You do and see things that you never thought would happen. I love it. We also saw somebody scarf down a banana with the peel still on.

We have started teaching a young man again this last week. We taught him for a while and he didnt even believe God exists. Then everyone got super busy and we didnt see him for about a month. One of his friends told us that his room caught on fire this last week. We then saw him in the street the other day and we talked to him about it. He wanted a new Book of Mormon so we swung by his house after lunch. He then told us an amazing story about how he had a really bad day, then decided to pray to God. He then had an amazing experience. The next day his room caught on fire and all his stuff burnt up. Everything was completely destroyed. Everything but the 2 Bibles and the Book of Mormon he had. The Book of Mormon's cover was damaged and the edges of the pages were singed, so he wanted a new one. He is super excited to learn more and draw closer to God. Because of the experience, not because of the fire. It was awesome to hear his story and see his excitement for the Gospel. We are going to help repaint part of his house today.

Other than that, the week was pretty uneventful. We have a lot of good people to teach and the work is moving forward. Have a great week.

Elder Siemers

September 5: 6 months!

Another really dificult week, but we survived and it ended with a baptism, which is always awesome. We have been working with a family where some are members of the church and some arent. We had a really nice baptism last night for B. and L. Their brother in law and uncle respectively, did the baptizing. It was a really special day for the family. I have grown to really love them these past couple weeks.

I am going to stay in Poços this transfer with Elder S. This is good. Its what we both wanted. We are both learning tons and are working with some really good people right now.

This week I will have 6 months on the mission. Crazy. Time is going fast. The language is coming along really really fast now. Having a Brazilian companion helps a lot. Even though is is from the North where they dont really pronounce their Rs. I am picking up his accent and he is picking my horrible American accent. By the end of our time together we will be speaking a completely new dialect and no one will be able to understand either of us. =)

I hope everybody is enjoying pear picking and BYU football. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

August 29: Tough Week

This week was a lot of walking and not a lot of teaching. All but one of our appointments fell through.

I got sick again this last week. It was a really weird cold. I was stuffy, but not too stuffy, lost my voice, but didnt have a sore throat. It was the most interesting illness I have ever had. During the week my accent got a lot better over just a couple days. I was really excited that all my work was paying off until I realized that my cold was forcing me to talk through my nose a little more. Portuguese is really nasally, so this helped a lot. I am now working very hard at talking through my nose and improving my accent now that I am feeling better.

Before church yesterday, we passed by all our investigators' houses to see if they wanted to come to church with us. We looked for people for an hour and a half, but nobody came to church. That was a little hard. But, we did get a new couch, which is a little soft, so it all balances out. One of our investigators didnt want it anymore, so she gave it to us. We carried it accross two neighborhoods. Something I never thought I would be doing on the mission.

Life is good though. This is the last week of the transfer, so I dont know where I will be next week. Maybe I will still be here, or maybe another city. Only a week will tell. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

Good Week

Life is still good in the field. The church moved to another building that is a lot nicer and yesterday was our first meetings there. Our friend that vomited on my shoes last week wasnt home when we swung by to pick him up for church and a boy told us that he left for the bar. He then took us past a couple bars and we looked for him but couldnt find him. Life as a missionary is interesting.

We taught a whole bunch this last week. I am really glad about that because I felt like we werent teaching enough. We have a lot of appointments fall through and some days we just walk from appointment to appointment and hardly teach because of dropped appointments. Im glad when we teach a lot because I feel like we are not wasting time.

We were really low on teaching with members this last week though. We like to bring a member so people can feel more comfortable and maybe gain a friend in the church. Everybody was busy, and on days we had somebody with us, our appointments fell. So yesterday I asked Leonardo to come out with us during the afternoon and Carol and Yasmin in the evening. Leo ended up sticking with all during the evening also and Suelen came also so we had a small army of youth with us last night. The members here are awesome and help us out a lot.

Other than that, nothing too eventful happened this last week. No vomit. Thats always good.

Elder Siemers

Crazy Week

Life was crazy but good this last week. We walked a whole bunch. There is a neighborhood that we hardly ever go to because its so far away, but we went there almost everyday this last week. We made a contact with a young couple who live there so we went there on tuesday. They couldnt meet with us until saturday, but we made another contact while we were there. We came back the next day and got another contact. Same thing happened all week.

We have been trying to teach this man who drinks everyday. Its hard to meet with him because he starts drinking early in the day. Yesterday on the way to church, he was sitting on the curb a block away from the church. We said hi and he asked if he could come with us. He was hung over from the night before and still a little drunk. During the second hour, right before sunday school started, we were sitting in the classroom and he said something. I didnt hear what he said so I turned to him. He didnt look very good and didnt reply when I asked him if he felt alright. He started looking like he was going to throw up so I said 'vem pra ca!" (come this way!) I ran into the hallway. The bathroom was being used so I ran through the kitchen(we meet in a house) and outside. I grabbed a bucket and ran back towards the door. I got there the same time he did... He threw up as soon as me made it to the door. It splattered all over the ground and all over my shoes and the bottom edge of my pants. He then continued to throw up a little over the balcony in the backyard as I cleaned it up. After it was all cleaned up I asked if he was feeling better. He was, so I said 'vamos voltar"(lets return) There was no way I was going to let him miss Sunday School. The lesson was on the Word of Wisdom. Something he definitely needs to hear. So we went back(I kept the bucket with me just in case) and finished out sunday school. He even stuck around for Sacrament meeting. He wants us to swing by today or tomorrow. He told us he wants to start helping us out. I hope we can help him. Cross your fingers.

Other than that the week was pretty uneventful. My new companion is a tiny bit timid so I need to take the lead in lessons, so I have taught a whole lot more this last week than ever before. My language skills are definitely improving. Well, I am out of time, but I will write again next week.

Elder Siemers

New Companion Again

Elder Sprada was having problems breathing in Pocos de Caldas so he was transferred today. We got up at four (after going to bed at midnight waiting to find out what was going to happen today) and got the 645 bus to Ribeirao Preto. My new companion is Elder Sousa. We were also in the CTM together. Im going to be Senior companion this transfer, so I guess we´ll figure it out together. =) President Prieto interviewed me for a little bit and I understood everything he said! Things are good, except I still dont have a new planner. I have been using my old one for the last 2 weeks. I dont have a single page left that doesnt have something written down. I dont have much time to email today because we have to catch a bus back to Pocos in a little bit.

We went to the baptism of Marco this last saturday. He is the man who was smoking four packs a day about a month ago. He made us lunch last week on pday and it was super good. It was an american meal. He is really awesome. He appreciates everything that has happened the last few weeks and loves the missionaries. There isnt a single person here that doesnt think that Elder Anderson was sent here to find him. The baptism was really really special and there was the best, sweetest feeling there the entire time. Elder Anderson barely got through the baptism prayer because he was on the verge of crying. After Marco came out of the water he gave Elder Anderson a huge long hug. It was definitely one of the highlights of my mission so far. I only know Marco through the other missionaries, but I am really glad I got to see this and to know him.

Im almost out of time, but I hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you later.

Elder Siemers

New Companion

Well, Elder Sprada(not Estrada) arrived last Monday. He is from
Curitiba. We got to the bus station to pick him up and when I saw him
I recognized him. I dont know too many Elders and I havent met too
many out in the field. I knew him from the CTM in São Paulo! We were
there at the same time in different districts. So, I have longer time
on the mission as him because I was in the MTC before him, but he came
to the mission field a week before I did. Crazy. We basically have the
same time on the mission. I wonder if we are the newest companionship
on the mission. My language abilities are already improving so much
because I am forced to speak portuguese all the time. We did a lot of
walking this last week because NOBODY was in their homes. We would go
to a house, knock, get no answer, then go visit another person, and do
it all over again. I was so tired. It was a good week. I had a lot of
good personal study time and learned a lot. Well, my keyboard really
really stinks, so it takes too long to type anything. I hope everyone
is doing well. Até mais.