Christmas

Merry Christmas – 12/26/11

Crazy week. Christmas was definitely different this year. We had a mission Christmas conference. That was good. All the missionaries in the mission were all together. President Prieto always has a Christmas Tree full of chocolate in his house and he carried on the tradition here on the mission. It was good to see all my old companions. Everyone is doing well and we had a lot of fun. The mission staff put on a nice Christmas program with lots of music. Afterward, there were quite a few games, including a banana eating contest.

Christmas was good. The members fed us really well Christmas Eve and Christmas. To top it all off we had a baptism on Christmas. We baptized a young man who we found a few weeks ago. He had already talked to the missionaries when his sister was meeting with the missionaries a long time ago. He was ready and wanted to be baptized so we had a good Christmas. I got to use Skype to call home and it was really good seeing and talking to the family. Everyone looked good and happy. Only one more week left in 2011. 2012 will be interesting. 70% of the missionaries in the mission arrived in 2011 with me. There is only 30% that has more than a year on the mission. There will be a lot of leadership positions to fill here in the next few months. Lets see what 2012 brings before the Mayan calender runs out. :p

I hope everyone had a good Christmas, and have a happy New Year!

Elder Siemers

Feliz Natal! – 12/19/11

Another good week in Franca. Another week with un-Christmas like weather. One of our investigators works in an ice cream shop and we have discovered that they sell buckets of10 liters of ice cream for really cheap. That was a good find. Before church yesterday, we went to pick somebody up to bring them to church. At the meeting spot there was a bunch of vulture like birds that were eating a dog that was hit by a car on the highway. On our way back a little puppy came out from under the bridge we were on and started following us. You could tell he was hungry and thirsty but he followed us anyway. We decided to bring him to a church member's house just to feed him a little bit before sending him out to the street again. We were also pretty sure that his mom was the dog that was on the side of the road. The little guy followed us for a super long distance but then he got tired. Just then, a church member pulled up in his car and offered us a ride to church. I couldnt just leave him in the street so we brought the puppy with us. At the church we found some water for him, and a woman gave him some milk. During church he kept coming in the building, but everyone was very good about it. After the second sunday school class I didnt see him again. I heard that a member took him to an animal shelter, but I have no idea if that really happened. I hope he makes it. He was really cute. It was a very Where the Red Fern Grows type of experience. I gave a talk in church about Happiness in our lives. I think people enjoyed it. People were paying attention anyway. =) There is a Sister missionary who is completing her mission. Her family came down to pick her up and tour Brazil. They are from California also, so it was fun to talk to them, and translate for them. They even have been rafting on the Lower Klamath, so they are somewhat familiar with Northern California. They've got family in Auburn, and so I told them Ive got family in Lincoln. Last night was our Ward Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. We have been filming ward members, and a man in the ward made a video of everyone saying Merry Christmas. At the end of the film, Carolyn showed up. I was in the back, next to the food table, but I ran to the front to watch. Next was Calvin, Sam and Taron. Next Jay and Rachel and the kids showed up, with Mom, Dad, Ty, Tam, and the kiddos finishing up the Elder Siemers segments. It was awesome. Im not going to lie. The Man of Steel almost shed a few tears. It was a wonderful surprise. Thank you very much! I hope everyone is having an awesome winter. And Merry Christmas!!!!

Elder Siemers

December 12, 2011 - So Close

Well, things are good in Franca. We have a few people who are preparing for baptism but they have difficult challenges to overcome. So we have been working overtime to help them do the things that will help them overcome their problems and get prepared for baptism. The weather has been overcast but it didnt rain much this last week so that was nice because it kept the temperatures down. We had stake conference yesterday. That was really nice and had some really good talks. One lady gave an awesome talk on the importance of marriage and the family. I had some stories to tell this week but I cannot remember any of them. So this will be a short but sweet email. Things are going well and we had a really good week. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

November 7 - December 5

Dec 5 – Corinthians

Another crazy week in Brazil. I received some Root Beer extract recently in a package, so we made Root Beer. We stopped by our house to grab the Root Beer and headed off to the house of someone we are teaching to have Root Beer floats. I accidently left my umbrella in our house and while we were teaching it started POURING. The man grabbed a plastic bag and made a make shift poncho for me. We had one more appointment that night so we headed off into the rain. The gutters were like rivers. We had to forge some of these rivers and some of them were over ankle deep. The streets were just full of water. It was crazy. It was a lot of fun though. We got home thoroughly soaked.

The Corinthians played last night for the Brazil championship. When they won it was insanity in the streets. People were dancing, singing, lighting off fireworks. Cars and motorcycles were driving up and down the streets honking their horns. You would have thought that a 20 year war had just ended. This made it a little difficult to find people to teach, but it was definitely fun to watch.

Things are good. A little hot, but things are good. We have quite a few people to teach, so we arent just walking around the streets all day. Its good to stay busy and productive. I hope everyone is doing well. Until next week.

Tchau!

Elder Siemers

Nov 28 – Staying in Franca

Last week for pday our zone got together for a barbeque and some soccer. I dont think I have played soccer for 10 years, but I decided to give it a shot. And to my surprise I held my own against the Brazilians, so Im pretty happy about that.

This past week was the last week of transfers and word came in that I will be staying in my area with my companion. I pulled out my new planner and realized that this transfer will take us into 2012. Crazy. 2011 passed by very quickly.

Its hot here so it does not feel like November. I didnt remember until the afternoon on Thursday about Thanksgiving because its summer here. I hope everyone had a good Turkey day. Thanksgiving is not celebrated here, but everyone knows what it is. Brazilians seem to have a bunch of holidays, but not too many people actually celebrate. Today is a holiday. I think its the birthday of the city I'm in, but I am not exactly sure.

Last night the Corinthians, a Brazilian soccer team, won the game they played. I think they took first place overall. It sounded like a warzone in the neighborhood I was in. People were lighting off fireworks everywhere. Everyone was yelling and celebrating. Soccer is definitely a big deal here.

Well, I hope everyone is well. Today will be a relaxing pday for me and my companion, which is always a good thing. There is always something going on during pday so I feel like we hardly ever rest. Tchau! Até mais!

Elder Siemers

Nov 21 – LOTS of walking

Oh man. I have never walked so much in my life. This was a really busy week and we were all over the place. Lots of our investigators are having lots of problems so we are working overtime to help some of them. We are finding lots of good people to teach though, so thats a huge plus. Sorry this email is short again, but I am sending pictures to the mission office for the Christmas slideshow. I hope everyone is well.

Elder Siemers

Nov 14 - Rain & Açai

Not much to report this week. We had a huge rainstorm Sunday morning so hardly anyone was at church. We have a new Ward Mission Leader so we will be able to start working with him to work more with the members. Im excited about that. We only have so many credits on our cell phone, and generally they run out after 2 weeks and we have to wait for 2 more weeks to recieve more. A ward mission leader should help us plan more in advance and coordinate with the members a little better. They are building a new Açai restaurant here in our area and I am really excited about that. Our district leader told me about another place that you can get a lot of açai for 5 reais. Açai is an amazing fruit that I love. I will definitely miss it when I head back to the states. Well, thats pretty much it. I hope everyone is doing well. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

Nov 7 - Out of Time

Sorry everyone, but I literally have 2 minutes to write this email. It was a good week. We walked a lot but our teaching is really improving. We have a few people who want to be baptized and we are helping them be prepared, so we should have a few baptisms this month. Other than that not tons is going on. Until next week.

Elder Siemers

Franca week 2

Good week. I feel like we were teaching a lot better and that the people we are teaching are progressing. We went to a really pretty waterfall last pday with our zone. That was a lot of fun and really pretty. My companion and I have really different views on missionary work and how to teach, but we are getting along really well. We passed a family that was loading up a moving truck the other day and we stopped to help them. It felt so good to serve with my hands. This was my first service project in 6 months. Generally people dont let us serve them because our clothes are nice or they dont want to bother us. Im used to cutting firewood for the widows in my home ward, so its been weird not serving others with my hands. Sorry this is short, but so is my time, and I honestly am drawing a blank of what to write. Hope everyone is doing well. Tchau!

Elder Siemers

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