Transfer Completed (6/24/2024); Mission Week 64; Area: Guaraituba, Boa Vista Zone

 Well I got Transferred again. I am senior Zone Leader in the Boa Vista zone, but my area is called Guaraituba. I just moved next store to my old area, funny right? Anyway I'm excited because I have a new companion who is Venezuelan so this'll be awesome. Elder Gonzalez is his name and Judo is his game. Now when I say this guy is big I mean it. He has done 3 different kinds of martial arts and is a black belt in all 3. Anyway enough about this let me talk about a few quick things.

Two Mondays ago a boy, that I spoke to the first week in Almirante Tamandaré and then never again, sent a message to my mom through Instagram. He asked if I could go back to his house to visit him, so we got his number and I remembered him. We went back and we taught him and his family. Well that Sunday the family came to church!! So I was happy to hear about that.

Transferred

Welp as I said I got a new companion and a new Zone to take care of. Before we went to our area we went to a restaurant called Recanto Gaúcho and ate a bunch of meat! It was so good. Then we went to our area to our house. It's small, but fits everything nicely. We have a market nearby and the area is pretty chill. It's way different from my past areas because it's only 4 neighborhoods that we take care of and it takes only 40 minutes to travel from one side to the other. It's small, but just has a ton of people living there. During this first week we passed by all of the recently baptized members so that I could get to know them better. Then we also worked on bringing from members back to Church. During that time Elder Gonzalez had a family that he and Elder Child were working with who had this 11 year old boy who really wanted to be baptized, however, they were never able to get the signature. Well we got the signature and he was baptized this past Sunday!! So yeah it was awesome!

The Beloved Son Baptises

I also had the opportunity to work with my beloved son Elder M. Cutler. During the split he told me that I would only be doing baptismal interviews. {To explain: When a person accepts to be baptized they don't just show up one Sunday and enter into the water. When a person accepts we create a lesson plan with them where they will learn who God is, who Jesus Christ is and what did he do for us, what is the purpose of Baptism and Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the Commandments of God, and about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. All of these topics are taught to the person before they are baptized, and to make sure that the person understands there is an interview that they must pass which is from another missionary who has never spoken to them. This missionary is normally the District Leader but can also be a Zone Leader. An interview is always a one on one conversation and the responses are not told to anyone else, not even the missionaries teaching them. That way the person can have 100% confidence and feel comfortable explaining/expressing their true feelings and or any other question that they may have. Anyway that's the brief explanation} So we started the afternoon getting an uber 20 minutes out into the middle of nowhere where I conversed with this man who worked on a farm. We met him at the fence, talked a little bit and then began the interview. He had a few questions, but the biggest fear he had was if he made a mistake after his baptism. I then explained to him how the Gift of the Holy Ghost works to always give us a remission of our sins, or in simpler terms, we can constantly be forgiven of all our sins whether big or small. After that interview we took another 20 minute uber to the second interview. It was a 15 year old boy who had many questions about The Church of Jesus Christ. We spent about an hour and 15 minutes talking over all his questions and more importantly about how he was already baptized in the Baptist church. I explained about the power and authority of God and again about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. After that long conversation he decided that he would be baptized. Then we went to the last interview which was with an 11 year old boy who knew everything perfectly. I was super impressed how determined he was and how excited as well. When I finished his interview his older brother came out and talked briefly when I felt that he also desired to be baptized, so I just asked him in the moment and he said yes, so I began to interview him and to my surprise he also had learned everything. I asked him how he knew and he said that when the missionaries would pass by he was always shy to be with his brother, so he would sit next to a door and listen to the lesson and after he would read the Book of Mormon and pray. It was super shocking, but also a moment of joy. Elder Cutler and I left that house full of energy remembering the good days back in DalCol. The next day all 4 were baptized and confirmed members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Super proud of my boy Elder Cutler.

Anyway the week truly flew by and I don't remember everything, but it has been really good. Anyway here are some pictures:

Just a Miracle (6/10/2024); Mission Week 61-63; Area: Almirante Tamandare

 Sorry that I haven't written in awhile, but we have been working pretty hard these past few weeks and nothing too crazy has been happening. With that being said I wanted to relate a miracle that happened this week.

Two Sundays ago there was a fast and testimony meeting at church and Elder Clawson and I forgot to start our fast Saturday, so we decided to after lunch. After a great and filling meal we had combined to visit a recently baptized member Nicoly and her family. I remember looking at the map and knowing exactly where her house was, however, along the walk I took us the wrong way. After 15 minutes of walking on the wrong road in the wrong direction I finally realized that I made a mistake. Elder Clawson wasn't mad at all, but in fact he remembered that we needed to start our fast. We fasted for help to find families to teach and to better our work. After we said the prayer we kept walking until we came to a road that would take us back to where we should have gone. While walking down that road I remembered a young man that I taught with Elder Rodrigues almost a month and a half ago. We took a detour and walked to this person's house, and he wasn't home but his dad was. We ended up teaching him a little lesson and marking to return on Tuesday. When Tuesday rolled around we arrived at the house, the dad took us in where the rest of the family was waiting with cake and tea. We got to know them and left them with a lesson. On Thursday we did the same thing and after the Dad opened up and expressed that he has been frustrated with God for awhile because his son died a year ago, but then he said that ever since we started passing by he has felt this love and peace in his home. This Sunday he wasn't able to make it to church, but we showed up Sunday night and he told us he was thinking about being rebaptized and that he really wants to keep learning and want to bring his family to church. So this has been a great miracle and I'm really excited to see Denis and the other 4 members of his family at church. Anyway that's my little miracle and I hope you all have a great week!

Just Water - Flood in church (5/20/24); Mission Week: 59-60; Area: Almirante Tamandare

 Welcome to another email from Elder Hyatt in Almirante Tamandaré!

Flood Warning!

Last Sunday after church we were having a baptism, but it didn't go as planned. Here we have a water heater that fills up the font on its own…it's not supposed to do that. Well what happened was when we opened the door all the water came spewing out and we had a mini flood in the church. We ended up having to get buckets to remove the water from the font. Who would've thought that was foreshadowing this week.

Zone Conference!

Welp once again Zone Conference and this time we talked about the importance of daily contact. It went well and after that we had a division with Elder Rodrigues and Elder Lizana. I went with Elder Lizana and we visited some people and ended the day with a wonderful family from Manaus. Just a good solid day.

The Story of the Plug!

Saturday we showed up to the church to clean and as I was cleaning the baptismal font I noticed that the plug was gone. As background information the plug broke off of the chain a few weeks back and was never fixed so it normally just sat on the stairs. Well it was gone. We checked everywhere and couldn't find it, so we ended up having to buy one. We used Elder Clawson’s watch to measure it and we found the right one. We put it in and started filling the font for Sunday. We filled the font about halfway and left it…come to find out that would be a mistake. Sunday rolls around and we get everyone to church in the van and everything is going great up until the second hour when Elder Toronto comes and gets me. We walk over to the font where he shows me how it's almost flooding the church again. I grabbed a broomstick and walked on the edges of the font and tried to angle the plug so the water could seep out, but it didn't work. Then an idea flashed in my head. I raced to my backpack and pulled off my Flamingo Soccer Team Keychain and pulled off the spiral ring. I then bent it and created a hook from it. I then attached that to the broomstick and returned to the font. To my and Elder Toronto's surprise it worked! Get got the plug out and I fixed the chain using the hook so that the plug was reattached. Elder Toronto and I celebrated our victory and prepared for the baptisms.

Splash Zone! 

This Sunday we had 7 baptisms! I had the honor to baptize Nicoly who actually found us and asked us to be baptized. She's super cool and already had some connections to the church. The other was our 9 year old friend Sybelle who was so eager to be baptized. At the same time we had Elder Toronto and Elder Granados baptizing. It was really cool and such a special moment. There were a bunch of people supporting all of them and it was just a great and memorable day! 

That's basically it! I'll catch y'all next week!

Trading Assistants (5/6/2024); Mission Week 58; Area: Almirante Tamandare

 Welp it's that time again…transfers. I'm staying here in Tamandaré, but it's interesting what's gonna happen. My companion Elder Rodrigues is the new assistant to the Mission President and I received the old assistant Elder Clawson! It's going to be an interesting transfer and I'm excited! Anyway let's go into the week.

Divisões

Had a split with Elder Clawson on Tuesday where we just had fun the whole time and worked in a good area. He basically was playtesting the area and seeing how he could work here haha. On Thursday did a split with Elder Howard here in Tamandaré and it went very well. He taught me a lot and it was also very funny with him. I truly enjoy our conversations.

Orphans! 

This weekend we received two brazilian orphans (New Missionaries)! We got Elder Rodrigues e Elder Jesus. They are two excellent missionaries who work hard. Spent the first day with Elder Rodrigues Jr. and it was awesome. He carries a ton of spirit and has a strong testimony. Saturday and Sunday I spent with Elder Jesus and let me tell you it was fun. He is always singing and cracking jokes while talking to everyone on the road. He is great, has a bit to learn, but his trainer will teach him all of that. I was blessed to have these two and to learn from them as well. Elder Rodrigues Jr. is actually my mission grandson because my mission son Elder Slaugh will be training him. I'm excited to see how everything goes!

Baptism!

If you remember I spoke about Antônio last week, and Sunday he was baptized! He was so excited and very happy! It was great! We also have many people for these upcoming weeks so stay in tune for all of that.

Random

- Went to Recanto Gaúcho and man ate so much meat that my stomach is going to burst. Went with Elder Jones and Elder Koford.

- Learned that I'm the youngest Zone Leader (based off mission time) in the entire mission…that's strange to think about

- Had an Uber who explained everything about Curitiba to us

- Learned that we will be getting a Van here to help bring people to church.

Tired but Not Done (4/29/2024), Mission Week 57; Area: Almirante Tamandare

 1 Year and one month in and this week I felt the weight. Probably one of the more gratifying and tiring weeks on the mission as of yet.

Divisões

More splits as always, so I'll shorten them up. Tuesday I was with Elder Granados who gave me his hat from Mexico. Started speaking more Spanish and half participated in a lesson with an entire family of Venezuelans. Don't give me a test I truly can't speak much in Spanish. Thursday I was with Elder Rocha where we visited some people, but mostly laughed the whole time. Friday I was with my second mission son Elder Slaugh in the center of Curitiba. A lot of people. It was awesome to see how much he has grown from the beginning of his mission. It threw me off realizing that he is about to hit 6 months on the mission…that means I'm getting old. Anyway we caught each other up on life and worked the day away. I'm proud of that boy.

Challenges!

So this week I realized that the entire zone and I were exhausted. Don't know what happened, but I could tell that we all were getting slower, so Tuesday at the start of the split I sent a challenge into the Zone. The challenge was that the first companionship to complete all the challenges throughout the week would win 2 pizzas! Let me tell you that idea worked. Even though we were all tired we saw how pizza can motivate anyone to work harder. In all seriousness, at times we do need motivation because the work is not easy. For those who may not understand let me explain what a day is like. 

- 6:30 am: Wake up

- 8 am: Personal study

- 9 am: Companion Study

- 10 am: Leave the house 

- 10 am - 9:30 pm: Sun, rain, hot, cold, storm of any kind; You will find us on the road talking to almost everyone. You will see us talking to people on the sidewalk, knocking houses, and chatting with people in public areas. We get rejected about 80% of the time and get called all kinds of profane things. We walk anywhere from 10-25 km every day in white shirts, slacks, and a tie.

- 9:30 pm - 10:30pm: Relate your day to your leaders, communicate to your local church about your day, etc…

- 10:30 pm: In bed Sleeping

This is the normal day for a missionary for 2 years. It's honestly the best, but let me tell you it may not seem like a lot, but it truly is a lot. A quote from President Thomas S. Monson sums up missionary work perfectly: “Missionary work is difficult. It will tax your energies. It will strain your capacity. It will demand your best effort—frequently, a second effort. Remember, the race goeth “not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong” (Eccl. 9:11)—but to him who endures to the end. Determine to—   

Stick to your task till it sticks to you. 

Beginners are many, but enders are few. 

Honor, power, place and praise 

Will always come to the one who stays. 

Stick to your task till it sticks to you; 

Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it, too— 

For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile

Will come life’s victories after awhile.

As a missionary we are here to help people, strengthen their connection with Christ, and to show then how we can return to our Father in Heaven. So yeah it's exhausting, but so enjoyable. The joy you feel when you help someone and you see all the blessing that come afterwards. It's just amazing!

Prayers Answered

I cannot express how this week I've been able to see how much the Lord truly loves all of his children. The Lord has answered so many prayers for so many people. Antônio is a 75 year old man who we found last Sunday who told us that he was praying for God to help him, and the next day we showed up. Since that time he has gone to church, connected with members, and will be baptized this next Sunday! He is so excited and everyday since he has been receiving mini blessings. Also this Sunday we found a family who lived in a favela that goes into the woods. It's crazy because you have to half climb half jump through houses and stuff to get to the very last house in which lives this awesome family. The mom and one of her daughters prayed for help. As you may guess, we found them and they got so happy and excited. We had so many more miracles that happened, but to tell them all would be a lot. In the end, Heavenly Father truly listens and answers our prayers. Just be patient, he will always help.

Anyway that's basically it! 

Travel Time (April 22, 2024), Mission Week 53-56; Area: Almirante Tamadare, Curitiba

 Hello! It's been a bit since I've written. I got to catch everyone up, but it won't be in order of when it all happened. So just enjoy the random splash of stuff.

In the past month I've done 13 splits with missionaries. Some have been good and other less so, but it's been going. 

Cachoeira 

Did splits with Cachoeira 1 and 2. In both I marked 2 baptisms for them and Sunday they were baptized and received the Holy Ghost. It was actually incredible to see how that all panned out. I was very happy for all of them 

Bom Retiro

Did a split with my favorite mission orphan Elder Bastos! Elder Bastos is a new missionary who was my companion for 3 days while the transfer was ending. Then he got moved to Bom Retiro and we went on split and it was awesome. I truly love that kid. Just a tall, strong, energetic ball of light. It was a great day with him!

Baptism

Our friend Rivair was baptized! His wife and son were baptized years ago, but they kinda fell away and we found them one day. They watched general conference and then went to church and he wanted to be baptized. It's was a blessing and he was so happy after!

New Shoes  

I finally bought new boots because my old ones were kinda destroyed… So yeah not too interesting but just that fact.

Churrasco 

Every week when we go to a District meeting we do a churrasco afterwards. It was really good because we normally chill or play some games with the Elders and we really bond well. Shopping trips with the boys are hilarious as well. We are doing another churrasco today as well!

Anyway that's basically a very vague and general update of what's been going on. I'll do better on sending e-mails! Ok until next time!