Week #71

Bazinga!

 Random Thought: I slept really well last night!

SO this week we had a lot of rejection! Like a lot! Out of like 70 people we talked to and actually invited to read or to pray or to go to church only 27 accepted us. So what does that mean?? It means we are working and doing what the Lord expects of us! Isn't that great?! (You do your best and hang the rest)

So on Monday night we got home and I realized that our power was out! After talking with the finance secretary and much investigation we figured out that it was shut off because the september bill wasn't paid and that we hadn't even received that particular bill. SO he paid the bill BUT they wouldn't come until the next day. So that was a very hot night without a fan.

Thursday was so cool. The day before, we were talking about how we could unite ourselves as a zone and help each other out. So an Elder suggested that we do something called "Blitz". He explained that the ENTIRE zone goes to one area and does contacts just to help the Elders in that area! So Thursday we put the idea into practice. We all went to the more isolated area and all together we were able to get 83 contacts just for those Elders! It was really fun and I got sunburned a lot because it was hot that day but it was worth it.

Thursday night we were invited to help some of the young members to cut up fruit for the dance that was going to happen Friday night! All the missionaries showed up to help, but it took a while for everything to be ready so we could get started and as a zone we had planned to eat pizza together to celebrate two Elder's birthdays. So all the Elders left. Only Elder Maughan and I decided to stay. So we didn't get even get close to done. The next day we were invited to do an ALL day service project helping them get the church ready in time for the dance. There was not a moment where we weren't doing something! It was pretty tiring but really fun. I felt like I was back helping my parents again with the Stake dance. Anyway, we got done a little before 8:00pm which is when the dance started! Then we left. It would have been cool to stay and watch the dance.

Also this week we started teaching a young woman named Anna. She is super excited about the church and she speaks English fluently! We found out that she learned by herself at home and that we are the first people she has talked to in English! It was really cool! We already have her Baptism marked!

D&C 106:7-8

Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws

Week #70

Bazinga!

Random Thought: I miss pumpkin pie...

So last monday we decided to go to the bishops store and get ourselves a little speaker box for our music on our flash drives. Now we have awesome new music playing all over our house when we are home.

Tuesday we went with some awesome members to a reference we received. It was great! They are really curious and are more spiritually in tune than I thought. At one point Elder Maughan said,"How can you figure out if this is true?" One of the ladies started talking about how they need to do their part and be open to receive God in there hearts. The other lady stopped her and said,"I think I know what the Elder is getting at. He's trying to say that we need to read, think, and pray about these things. If we don't then we can't receive and answer." I was very surprised by her answer and had a little "YES!" moment in my head. Nothing is better than when you know that your investigators are understanding what you are trying to teach them.

Wednesday was...interesting. We had a great day planned and went to it! But every plan and backup plan fell through. Also I was very sick and felt awful all day. BUT we all know that God has a sense of humor and that he let's funny things happen. When our last appointment fell we decided to go get a smoothy. So we went into a tiny restaurant and sat down at an aluminum table with aluminum chairs. I ordered my drink and Elder Maughan and I started talking then I realized I didn't have any cash. I said,"Hey do you accept cards?" She said no. SO I asked her to stop making it. Then as I leaned my head against the wall one of the legs of my chair broke in half and I fell on the ground and smacked my head on the wall. There was nothing else to do but laugh!

Wednesday night I got a call from the assistants saying that on friday morning at 9:00am my zone would have interviews with the president. OK. Then on thursday morning I got a call from president asking if I could have the whole zone at the chapel at 3:00pm that day! So I called everyone and we had interviews that entire day! They also brought letters and packages from the mission home! I GOT ONE!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you mom! I shared the candy with the whole zone and already gave the little toys away to little kids!

Saturday we had baptisms! Priscila was baptized!!! It was great because we combined the service with the other ward so there was a lot of people and it was really spiritual. Priscila started crying and her little 3 year old daughter came up to her and said,"What is it mommy? Why are you crying?" It was so cute I almost died.

I love you all! Remember that the church is true!

D&C 103:36

Com muito amor,

Elder Roman Laws

Week #68

Bazinga!

Random Thought: This is a joke I heard from a brazilian,"There was a dog that ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran andranandranandranandranandran and fell...

So first I want to tell you what I am most excited about. Priscila. She is not a member and is married to a member who has been inactive for a long time now but now they have a daughter who is three years old. They got to talking about their daughters future and how they wanted her to grow up with values and principles what they want her to learn. Fabio, the husband, talked to Priscilla about the church and so we have been teaching her this whole week. She always says she's going to have questions but when we get done with each lesson she says that she doesn't have them anymore. On wednesday I went there with one of the assistants on a division and we taught about the gospel and how it's essential to be baptized by someone who has authority. So at the end I looked at her and said,"SO we have been talking a lot about baptism...Priscila, do you want to be baptized?" She said,"Elder Laws, I want to be baptized!" BEST WORDS EVER! She will be baptized this saturday!

Another fun thing this week was cleaning out the library at the church. The second counselor of the ward was looking for something and turned and looked at me and said,"Elder Laws can you clean and organize the library this week? I'm tired of asking the members and no one doing it." Oh did I ever cleaned it. Elder Maughan and I spent 4 hours on thursday taking EVERYTHING out, organizing and putting it back in an orderly way. I was also told that anything old we could throw away. We decided to make it fun seeing who could rip through the biggest books or stack of paper. Good times.

Really that's about it. Other than that we have a pretty normal week. So I want to tell you all something random. While being here I have discovered a certain snack that I LOVE. I tried it a few weeks ago and since then I eat it every time I can. I LOVE CHICKEN HEART SPITS (kabobs). I think they are way better than even the burgers! 

Anyway I love you all! Pray for me!

D&C 90:24

Com muito amor,

Elder Roman Laws

Week #67

Bazinga!

Random Thought: Elder Maughan woke me up this morning by shoving a hard boiled egg in my mouth!

Well this week was fantastic! Let me tell you why.

Transfers: I will be staying in Ponta Porã with Elder Maughan for another 6 weeks!!!! We work very well together and we love our zone!

Last Monday we went to play catch (baseball) and basketball with a couple of the Elders in our zone! It was a bit hot but it was really fun! I almost died though because Elder Maughan throws the ball so hard. One time he threw it at my leg and I had a bruise for a week!

Wednesday was probably the most discouraging day of my entire mission! We did contacts almost the whole day and NOT ONE person said yes. Everyone was too busy or said no. BUT I tried to not let it get me down. I was just super tired when I got home. It was also very rainy that day. Some days are very hard.

Sexta (Friday) was great! We contacted some less active members that the Bishop gave us and they are really cool! One of them is Felix. We learned that he was the first person to be baptized in this city! He was the first branch president as well. It's very interesting that he is not very active now. He has this huge library with a ton of really old church books too. He is just a really interesting old guy. He is also hard of hearing so it's funny to teach him because we have to yell. Ha,"SO WILL YOU COME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY!?!?" It was fun and then we left a message and he felt the spirit and cried. He went to church on Sunday! I think we we see more of him now.

Saturday and Sunday I had two really spiritual experiences. On Saturday we were at the house of some recent converts to leave a message I decided to tell them why I was on a mission! I told them that before the mission there were three main reasons. One, because my Dad and brother went and I wanted to be like them and do was they did for people. Two, because my patriarchal blessing said I would. Three, because my girlfriend told my at that time that she would not marry someone who wasn't a returned missionary. Everyone laughs when I get to that part. But I told them that that changed after a while and that now it's because I have tasted of the sweetness of Christ's atonement for us. I know what it feels like to be forgiven and I want EVERYONE else to feel that feeling! Very spiritual!

Sunday I bore my testimony, probably the shortest of my life, but by far the most spiritual! I got up in front of everyone and said,"Brothers and Sisters (cue crying)....................Christ's atonement is real,.................................. and it's the reason I'm here...................................................In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

So for all of you, Christ's atonement is real, and it's the reason I'm here.

Alma 5:14

Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws

Week #66

Bazinga!

Random Thought: Whenever we get on the computer Elder Maughan is always on my left side.

Well it was a good week! We had a ton of lessons with the members and we are super happy about that! Our plan is to get the ward members excited to work with the missionaries when we ask. So far it's working and the stake president is very happy with our work.

This week some members asked if we could teach their kids and that there would also be two non member girls who wanted to take the lessons as well. So we started teaching them and all four of the kids we are teaching will be baptized together! We are super excited about it and we can't wait!

So this week it rained A LOT! During one day we were walking and there was a low point in the road we couldn't pass. So we tried to jump and ended up getting our shoes and feet all wet! So after that we didn't even care we just walked right through the ankle deep puddles no problem. At the end of the day we were only dry from mid thigh and up. When I took off my shoes and socks I found that my socks dyed my feet black! That was four days ago and my feet are still black! It kinda scared my companion when he saw it!

Other than that the best part of the week was DEFINITELY conference! There are a bunch of people in the ward who speak English so they had a room set up just to watch it in English! Ha even the Brazilians said it's way better in English because it's the speakers actual voices.

Favorite talks were by Elders Uchtdorf, Holland and L. Tom Perry!

If there is something I have learned this conference it is this. That the Lord is a lot more ready to forgive us than we are to repent. ESPECIALLY when we are willingly repentant! Sometimes repenting looks scary. We think,"What's going to happen? What will the bishop say? How will my family react? Will there be disciplinary action?" Well the answers to these questions really don't matter! The real question should be,"Do I have enough faith in Jesus Christ to trust in him and his atonement?" If the answer to this question is yes then nothing else should matter!

He is at the door. Will you open it?

D&C 19

Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws

Week #65

Bazinga!

Random Thought: My companion likes to hurt me with baseballs.

So we had a kind of a hectic week this week! Monday was an awesome p-day but it was cut short because we volunteered to help some members move to another house. It was super fun but I didn't get to email with my family as much and I would have liked this week. ALSO HANNA I'm calling you out! You are writing my COMPANION more than me now. Unacceptable...unless you marry him...that would be freaking fantastic! He's the Maughan (man...inside joke).

Anyways, Tuesday was fun because we decided to visit our recent converts and menos ativos (less actives). These are amazing people who have gone through amazing things! There is a man who used to be one of the richest pessoas (people) here in the city but somehow he lost his farm so he is now one of the poorest. BUT he is great! He works his tail off collecting used things in the city to resell to support his family. It's a difficult life but he is doing just fine. I helped him take a lot of electronics apart to get the copper out to sell. He is always telling us about how his son WILL go on a mission so that he can learn what the world is like and so that he can help other people.

Wednesday we went to teach the girlfriend of one of the young men in the Ward, Aléxia. She is fantastic and we can tell that she isn't just doing this to please her boyfriend. She accepted all the lessons and has no problems with any of the commandants! She was baptized on Saturday and on Sunday she was confirmed! It was awesome! She was definitely ready and she is doing super well. I love it when we find people like that to teach, it really helps us to stay encouraged and happy.

Thursday was awesome! We had lunch with Bispo and the night before his wife said we could choose whatever we wanted to eat and my only request was Pavé! I LOVE IT! I ate half a pan by myself! I felt so fat afterward but we never get to have it so I decided to take advantage of the situation! Then we had to go and deal with the Realtor again so that we could start the contract on our new house. It will be a lot closer to the chapel and to our area. I am super excited about that. The contract should be done this week and we will move in! I feel like my parents right now (we are buying a new house).

Friday we had a zone conference in a city called Dourados. It only takes 2 hours to get there so we left in the morning! I love that because then we don't need to sleep at someone else's house. Anyways the conference was awesome. My companion and I spoke and we learned a lot from the others that spoke! THEN LUNCH. At lunch I grabbed a bunch of food and sat down and started to eat when my companion said,"Elder Laws! Stop eating, there's beans in that!" I looked at my plate at the farofa (ask Asa what that is) and it was full of beans! I didn't even notice because I was so hungry! So I said a quick prayer, took the rest of the beans off my plate, and kept eating. Well it didn't hit me until our bus arrived back here in Ponta Porã. I got off the bus, sat down and just sat there dying of nausea and pain until our ride got there to take us home. Then I just sat in the seat with my head down trying not to throw up! I told my companion that when we got home he was to open the door in ten seconds because I was just going to leave the car, take off my suit, get in the bathroom and throw up. And that's EXACTLY what happened. I felt SO much better afterward though! When I came out of the bathroom I said,"And that gentlemen is why I can't eat beans. Questions?" (everyone doubts that I am actually allergic to beans)

Saturday was our baptism and happily everything went well! We are super happy with Aléxia!

2 Nephi 4:16-22

Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws

Week #64

Bazinga!!!

Random Thought: There was a Tornado in Brasil!

Alright people! It was a fantastic week! Tuesday we planned an awesome day and talked to a ton of people. It all went as planned but other than that nothing special.

Really nothing happened out of the norm this week but I am having the best time of my life! Friday was a good day because we went to the Fisk school almost all day just to do contacts and introduced why we are here! It was really cool because all the classes wanted to talk to us! I felt like a celebrity doing public relations or something! But I really love going there to help them out. The instructor there is named Junior. He is a cool guy and he learned English in Canada so he has a funny Portuguese/Canadian accent. He invited us to go to his birthday the next day so we could meet his friends. So we did! We went to his house and met some of his friends, but sadly no one accepted us to teach them.

Sunday was great! We had a bunch of investigators at church and we have a baptism marked for this week! We are super excited! Everything will go right with it and the members are excited for her!

Then that night we had a meeting with the Ward mission leader and the ward missionaries. Our ward mission leader is the MAN! His name is Mario and he has a lot to do every day but he manages to get it all done and STILL magnify his calling and help us out so much! Today we are going to help his brother move.

Also random note. I started using Herbalife so that I can be more healthy! I usually don't eat breakfast or dinner, so I decided to start with this and it's really helping me out! My companion is the man and we are doing exercises everyday so we are getting a lot more fit!

This week my Spanish scriptures finally got here from Paraguay and I am so excited! I am reading them every day and I am learning Spanish a lot faster! I hope by the time I get home I can speak well.

D&C 9:8

Com muito amor,
Elder Roman Laws