March 26, 2013

well dad i don't have that much time so i have to be short. so my mission is just going great. my comp and were a little bummed last night solely because the investigator that we were supposed to teach wasn't home. my president worthlin, the son of the apostle, is awesome! he is very sweet and supportive and so i am doing just fine! my comps name is Elder Sarsozo and he is great! our personalities mesh really well. there is a lot of driving involved here in the utica so tell mom thank for forcing me to renew my license and getting my driving record in case i need it. the flight was very long to new york but i am here now and things are great! you should receive a letter soon that has my address to send stuff to. life is good here in new york! eu amo voces, Elder Bell

Checking in at the airport

March 22, 2013

I am going to UTICA NEW YORK! That is what reasignment means! whoooo hooo! So i obviously didn't get my visa but that is okay! i will just be there until my visa comes! i am just sooo excited to serve the lord. ha really you got a call from sister harrison! that is awesome!!! yeah i got to host both of them and i also got to host brandon griffin so this week has been quite an awesome time! i got released as zone leader and was able to bond even closer with my district. and this tuesday was just great! we had a great devotional but more importantly during our district meeting afterward where we talked about what we learned and i received an answer that i had been praying and hoping for for months. It was incredible. I will never forget that moment. i felt the spirit so strong!!! It has just been a good week.

oh haha other funny thing so last night we had the opportunity to teach a lesson in english to each other and it was so weird! it almost felt strange when it was coming out of my mouth. haha but i am just soo stoked to get out into the field. so as for travel plans. i leave the mtc on sunday at 630pm my first flight from salt lake departs at 11:19pm. and i will be able to call and so what would be a good time at night that i could call? also later tonight i will be able to call you. what time would it be good to call? eu amo voces. eu sou muito feliz!

amor, elder bell

More MTC Pictures

Elder Archeleta is in my district and yes, he is related to David Archeleta.

 

 Sister Alexis Walker and I

 Elder Colby Speirs and I

 Elder Isaac Hansen and I

 Sister Jessica Hansen from Idaho Falls!!

 Sister Munger got her visa!!!  So there is still hope! 

Elder Williardson is going to Brazil too.  He is hilarious! 

March 15, 2013

all is well with me. i will not lie I did get a little discouraged at the beginning of the week because my first two lessons of the week went awful. i just couldn't say what i wanted to in Portuguese, but after feeling a little sorry for myself and wining a bit i just decided hey it is okay just work harder and keep that optimism that you have kept all your life elder! and so i did. my lessons went better. my days throughout the rest of the week were better. and these last two days are just more otimo. when youre in the service of God that doesn't mean that everything goes tudo bem. sometimes you just need to plow through the tough times and the best you can do is just hang on for dear life. 2nd corinthains 12:9-10 it talks about my grace is sufficient for thee and we will be "made" perfect in our weakness and that when i am weak them i am strong. that was one of my favorite scriptures before i left but now i understand it a little more. the lord needs to show our weakness, which means that we will face opposition. and through those when we turn to the savior he will remove our weaknesses and make them stronger. i guess i already knew that before i left but it has just been reconfirmed to me while i have been here. as far as the visa thing goes, i had fill out more paperwork yesterday and i think that i am going to be reassigned. but i am not going to lose hope. 10 days more. here in the MTC. ele esta muito doito. entende. um i don't really have anything else to report here. i love it. it's the best as nacho would say. i love you all and hope to hear from all soon. 

 

 amor,

Elder Bell

March 8, 2013

yes i did receive my package and haha i was wondering whether or not my new licence had fallen or whether you had just forgotten to put it in there! but that is okay. i am assuming that i am going to be here for the full 6 weeks and probably be reassigned to somewhere stateside. that is quite alright with me though. As bad as i want to go down to Brazil and pregar o evagelho (peach the gospel) there, all that matters is what the lord wants me to do and to just follow his lead. I am now halfway through my mtc time here. I only have 3 more weeks. it has gone by super fast. that is cool to hear that the tulips are coming out! it has started to become really warm here. all the snow has melted and now it is just hovering around 40. I am glad to hear that you are all doing well! what about the rest of the fam? how are they? E ai com eles? (what is up with them) i would love to hear from all of them! and the thing that Izzy used, the dear elder thing online,  actually is really cool because then i can actually read what you all wrote throughout the week and it is always nice to receive mail. 

so three cool things about this week. 1st a member of the seventy came and spoke to us on Tuesday and was Brazilian and it made so stoked that we get the opportunity to go! he was just so smiley and happy. he spoke on how we needed to make the celestial kingdom our goal and then all of our decisions will be that much easier to make! he had us go and write what kingdom do we want as our goal in our journals that night. i haven't the chance to write it in mine cause meu compenherio and i are always going around and checking on all the other districts in our residence. but i love it and I've started just doing a weekly fill in my journal on Sunday. 2nd so yesterday in our classroom we are just doing the usual and all of the sudden half of our zone is out in the hallway and a lot of them are kinda freaking out. Jeffery R. Holland was in our our building. his granddaughter i guess is going to Italy and he just want to drop by and say hello. not a big deal... BUT SERIOUSLY it is! i didn't get to shake his hand but when he hopped into his car he waved and said you look great. it was awesome! i have never been that close to an apostle before. awwww i wish i would have been able to shake his hand but no luck.  on the fact of that sister who the missionaries are teaching i am right on with her. every Thursday as zone leaders, we get the opportunity to help the branch presidency with branch orientation for the newly arrived missionaries. you would be very surprised on the number of missionaries that don't bare their testimonies on the savior! Jesus Christ is the center of all that we do. i wear his name over my heart each and everyday and get to represent him with what i say and what i do. eu amo suo com todo mihna corasao, e eu se que ele e meu salvador. jesus Cristo ajuda meu por meio tudo mundo. ele vai siempre ser aqui. eu testico em o nome de Jesus Cristo amem.   

eu amo voces,

Elder Bell  

Some MTC Pictures

March 1, 2013

So yes you will have to learn how to read Portuguese. haha just kidding. i am just trying to fala minha lingua, speak my language. it was cool this week we got to here elder Ballard on Tuesday. you know the apostle. not really that big of a deal! but seriously it was super awesome and i got to sing in the choir for him. we sang consider the Lilies. dad i thought you might want to know that since you listened to that one album by motab consider the lilies just about a million times. it was pretty cool. Elder Ballard talked about how we had been prepared for our calls ever since primary. he was sure that if he took out any of the missionaries out into the hallways they would be able to answer any question about basic doctrine. he especially assured us if we knew that Jesus Christ is the redeemer of the world and is the son of God then we will be effective missionaries. it comforted me a ton. I always have this constant internal struggle of will i be good enough or will i measure up to the bar that the lord has set for me, and i doubt myself alot, mas eu se que Jesus Cristo e minha redentor e salvador. i know that Jesus Christ is my savior and redeemer. And, i need to stop doubting whether i am good enough because that is not faith. i need to be patient in my afflictions and he will be there for me. i know that is true. he also promised that we will be able to be closer to the savior than we can even imagine. So that talk was a great comfort to me. in other news, so my companion got his visa and one other from our district got there visas and are now in Brazil. they are elder Turley, the other one, my companion Elder Pane. so now Turley's companion elder Young from Burly Idaho is my new Comp. oh and this last Sunday we were made Zone leaders. it is pretty Legal (cool). ha it was a little intimidating because we have only been here for 2 weeks but it is okay. I have been prepared. also we are now teaching 2 investigators in our classes and that is kinda difficult and i still need to use notes, but it is really otimo (awesome)! um things that i need... well i would love another suit cause mine pretty estinky. i am fine on toothpaste and all of that. i would really some ice breaker duo mints. the strawberry kind since we can't chew gum here. and yes mom short sleeves are okay here. also some of my sweaters that i wear to church so i can give my suit a break. the other thing i definitely need here are some heavier sweats like you can send my Tye dye ones or just some thicker ones, some more t shirts cause we have gym everyday and they get really stinky fast. packages are just fine to send. you can send whatever else you think i need. i love to hear from both of you in letter and email. obrigado por sua amor e forca. thanks for your love and strength. i am glad to hear you are over the flu. eu amo voce. i love you. Elder Bell.

it is great to hear from you too! aww i love hearing stuff from just about anyone but especially fam! i  never new that i would be so excited to get mail and emails! i love it hear! you are right big bro! the spirit is very strong here! i have gone to Provo temple twice so far and it is pretty awesome. i just love the temple! my favorite part about it here though is my district. they are just all spiritual giants and that is when i feel the spirit the strongest is when they have born their testimonies in class. it is pretty legal (cool) praying in Portuguese too! but yes i have cut back on ranch cause i can make fry sauce everyday. the mtc food is really good, but it does destroy my bowels though. i think i have gained 4 pounds since i have been hear. ha. and yes on the whole splitting mission thing, i have no idea.  obrigado irmo. eu amo voces. you both are awesome! thank you for your help!  Love, Elder Bell