Ferraz De Vasconselos

I had an amazing oppertunity to visit Ferraz De Vasconselos yesterday which was my old area and where I passed about 7 months of my mission.  It was fun walking the same roads and visiting members.  There were two kids that I helped out and their faces were priceless when they opened the door.  We had a family home evening at night and it was amazing to hear the testimonies of some recent converts and how much they have grown in a short amount of time.  I honestly had such a great time and was really happy to be able to see all my friends.  A lot of times we do not understand the difference that we make in the lives of others.  Sometimes it may seem like nothing is happening but people are always watching us and that is why we need to be examples with everything that we do.  It is a blessing to be on a mission and serving the Lord.

Love Elder Visser

A great temple trip

We had a great experience to go to the temple this last Tuesday.  We had to wake up at 5 in the morning to get a bus, then a train, and another train, then we walked a good 30 minutes.  It was totally worth it.  There are a lot of others who sacrifice a lot more than this to go to the temple.  It was so peaceful there and honestly made the week so much better.  I’m super excited to go to the temple whenever I want and also to be able to visit other temples.

We also had a devotional last night that was broadcasted to all of Brasil.  They had it in the MTC here and talked the whole time about serving a mission.  They talked a lot about how much your life will be blessed for serving a mission.  That sometimes its a sacrifice but its also a privlige and a blessing to be able to serve the Lord with all of your time.  We never know how many seeds we have planted during our mission.  You are able to count the number of seeds in an apple but its impossible to be able to count the number of apples that will come from one seed.  I love serving the Lord and I know this is where I am supposed to be.

Love Elder Visser

Just a few thoughts to share

I always get emails from my friends in the mission and it surprises me how much they write every week.  I’m not too good at writing and talking but I’m a pro at sitting and listening to someone talk.  My emails may not be long but I hope you can understand what I’m trying to get across.

This week we had the chance to have interviews with our mission president.  We have personal interviews with him once every 3 months or so.  President Silcox is my fourth mission president.  He has a lot of love for the missionaries here and you can feel that everytime you talk with him.  He talked about how satan and his angels are watching our every move.  They watch and wait until they find that chink in our armor.  A lot of times we fall but whats important is whether or not we get back up and try again even harder.  Every Sunday we have the blessing of taking the sacrament.  Every Sunday we can be completley clean of our sins.  The message the Savior brings is of peace and hope.  As a missionary we see a lot of people with a lot of problems, we even see a lot of members or less actives.  Whats important though is that we do our best and put the Lord in first place and in the end we will be happy.  Serving a mission is a privilege and a blessing.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

Another week has flown by

Another week has flown by here.  This week was a hot one with a ton of walking.  When Sunday came around it seemed like everyone we invited did not show up but I was extremley happy to see a couple less active families show up and a recent convert invited his brother who after a few months of inviting finally showed up.  I was happy with the results and know that the Lord is happy with our work as well.  We also had an activity this last Saturday.  In our ward we did 40 day fast to help out the missionary work here and to end the 40 days we had an activity here.  We watched the movie Joseph Smith the prophet of the restoration and we made popcorn.  We planned to start at 7 but at 7 oclock no one showed up.  I was pretty sad but after about half an hour a group of people ended up showing up which made it all worth it.  I love being on my mission and being able to help out other.  It is interesting how much confidence people have in two kids who are 20 years old.  I’m grateful for the time I have and for everything I have learned.  I know this next week will be even better and we have the chance to have interviews with the mission president which are always great experiences.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

General Conference was GREAT!

I really enjoyed conference.  I won’t lie, after the sessions on Saturday my brain was pretty fried.  The preisthood session started at 9 and ended at 11 PM and watching in portuguese you have to pay a little bit more attention.  Everyone here was expected that we would have a Brazilian apostle but turns out they are all American.  They are apostles for the world and they love everyone.

Our week was pretty hectic with transfers and meetings and conference.  We spent a lot of time on the bus and train.  The week passed by fast and I really enjoyed it.  I am staying with my same companion which made me happy.  We are excited to work even harder and help more people.  This week we talked with a lot of people in the street and knocked some doors.  At the begining of the week we had a lot of great people to teach but at the end no one was interested in our invites.  We our doing our part though and we will be blessed for it.  It’s a blessing to be able to invited people to change their lives and to invite people to be baptized.  I love my mission and everything that I have learned.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

What is it that we need to learn?

This week was one of those weeks.  We worked super hard but it seemed like we did not have a whole lot of success.  We did our best visiting our investigators, calling them too, but it seemed like no one was home or wanted to answer their phones.  It is pretty interesting and I was talking with my companion, it seems like the transfers that you work the hardest are the transfers when you see the least sucess.  I think this happens because we need to learn somthing, it could be that we need to learn humility or hard work.  I have grown a ton this transfer and honestly I am not sad at all because we did our best and our part.  We worked hard everyday and I know that this next transfer we will be blessed for our hard work.  I am super excited for conference this Saturday and Sunday and whatever question or doubt that we have will be answered.  It is a huge blessing to be able to hear our Prophet and Apostles talk.  Thanks for all the help and prayers.

Love Elder Visser

How much do we really understand?

We had a great week.  We were able to do an exchange with the assistants and I was able to work with one of my old companions for a day.  We found a lot of new people to teach this week.  We taught a family who had a son pass away a few months ago in a car accident and we had the privlige to share a message with her.  We bore our testimonies that she will have the opportunity to see him and live with him again.  The spirit was super strong and was an experience that will stay with me for a long time.  Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is how many people do not understand our message of the restoration.  There are times when we explain it so clearly but it still does not make sense to them.  I know that God prepares people for us.  There are a lot of people who do not understand.  It makes sense to me and I have a testimony and that’s why I want to do everything to help others, it is worth the sacrifices to help others really understand that families can be together forever.  I love this work and I know it is true.  Thanks for the love and support.

Elder Visser

Cold and Rainy...but that's a good thing

My foot only slowed me down a little but that’s because it is tough walking in sandals with socks when its raining. My foots all back to normal though I am pretty sure it was because of my shoe but I am not 100% sure. I am super excited to hear about Logan and what he thinks about Brasil, he is going to do awesome.

Our week was really good. Its been pretty cold this week with a ton of rain but Sao Paulo is really needing it so I can’t complain. We had Elder Mazagardi who is a Seventy and in the area presidency visit our mission the other day and that was a great experience. He talked a lot about how we can’t play around with the commandments. He also talked about eternity which is pretty difficult to imagine. He told us to imagine a bird getting a grain of sand ever thousand years, Whenever this bird finished getting every grain of sand from every beach and desert that eternity will just be beginning. It helped me imagine it a little better and to really put in perspective if things are worth it. Is it really worth it to break this commandment or is it worth it to go to church for a few hours every week? I know that we can be happy with our families for eternity but it depends upon what we do now during our life. Thanks for all the love and support.
 Love Elder Visser

Trying things a little different

We had a pretty great week working hard and doing our best.  It seems like most of our investigators are either not super intested or those that are have to get married first.  It’s pretty frustrating but were excited for a new week and were going to be doing things a little different.  I heard a quote that I really liked that goes like this, If you do what you have always done you will receive what you have always received.  It’s true so were going to continue working hard but at the same time try things a little different to see if it gets us anywhere.  On Sunday one of our recent converts whos 17 got up to bare his testimony and that was a way cool experience.  This Friday we have the chance to hear from Elder Mazzagardi whos in the presidency of Brasil so that will be way exciting.  It seems like sometimes when we are doing our best we dont have many results but I know if we continue doing our best that the Lord will bless us.

Love Elder Visser

My swollen foot came back this week but I’m sure it will pass quick.  We also had a bbq with the youth which was way fun today.  Today was the independence of Brasil.

A 40 day fast

We had a pretty eventful week.  We had the opportunity to help a couple here get started on the process of getting married.  We walked in the rain for a good hour early one morning this week to get all the information needed.  On Saturday they went and now we just have to wait until the 24th of October.  It will take a while but in the end it will totally be worth it.  I know that they will one day go to the Temple and be sealed.  We have been working a ton this last week to find new people to teach and we have been seeing a lot of results.  We are also are doing something here called 40 day fast.  40 different families signed up to do a fast for one day so our ward will be in a fast for 40 straight days.  The purpose is about missionary work, I am super excited to see the fruits that come from this.  Sorry my email is short but thanks for all the love and support.

 

Love Elder Visser

I've got nothing to complain about

This week was a pretty good one.  I had to have that one week of getting to know your companion all over again but he is really cool so I have nothing to complain about.  I will miss my other companion for sure but he is already home and probably already forgot about me.  So about a month ago we recieved a referal from a member for her cousin but the thing is they live in a different area.  They ended up getting a ride and coming to church with us in our ward a few times but the whole time we were thinking that sooner or later they will have to go to the ward where they live.  Turns out on Saturday we helped them move into our area and they are living in the house below their family who are members.  In the end everything turned out perfect and they are loving the church and are super excited.  We just have to help marry them and then they will be ready for baptism.  I know that the Sister who gave us the referral was praying a lot for them and I know the Lord answered her prayers.  I am super excited for this transfer and I know we will do a lot of great things.  

Love Elder Visser

I am still a zone leader

I am still a Zone Leader which means I helped out 6 other companionships, I don’t know who my companion is yet but I will figure it out tomorrow.  I am excited for a new transfer and I am ready to work hard.

 

This week was really cool.  We had both zone meeting and zone conference.  Zone conference our President was there and the spirit was really strong.  We gave a training and talked a lot about how we can do so much better because the Lord is helping us.  Lots of times we put a barrier up and think what were doing is enough but in reality we can do a ton better.  I also did an exchange with Elder Lamb who was my companion about 10 months ago.  That was really cool.  Our week and my companions mission ended with a baptism.  It was different because she already has 2 years in the church.  Her husband’s other marriage had problems and the divorce was not going through which means she could not get baptized until the divorce went through and got legally married to him.  They got married on Saturday and Sunday night she was baptized and it was really special with a lot of non member family.  She even shared her testimony at the end and it was and experience I will not forget.

 

Love Elder Visser

The more your work the happier you are

This week was pretty interesting since my companion will be going home next week.  He had a couple meetings to go to and he got to go to the temple but the companions of the Elders who are going home were not allowed to attend.  I got to go on a division with two other missionaries which was a neat experience.  One is brand new in the mission and I really enjoyed how happy and excited he was to work and get things done.  I spent a lot of time catching buses this week but I really enjoyed this week.  I’ve gotten close with my companion and it feels like were bestfriends.  We have one more week left together and I am excited to work hard and help others out.  We also have a zone conference with our President which I am excited about as well.  This transfer has definatley gone by way too fast but I have come to learn the more you work the happier you are and the faster the time goes.

 

Love Elder Visser

Open your mouth and share the gospel

We had a good week here.  We have been working just as hard but it feels like less people are wanting to talk to us.  It seems like no one has time to talk with us in the street.  Heavenly Father is always aware of our hard work though and this week we got a referal where someone wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon.  We ended up going to visit him and he lives in an apartment which is a lot nicer than other parts of the city.  When we got there we ended up talking to him on the bench because he had family over.  Turns out his friend at work already talked a lot about the church and loaned him a Book of Mormon to read.  When we talked to him he told us that he already plans on going to church every Sunday and that he wants to have a church for when he has kids.  This is what we call an elect.  It was a great experience and I know it was because of our effort and hard work that the Lord blessed us.  I know that no effort is wasted.  Even when people dont accecpt we never know what will happen just because we opened our mouth and shared the gospel.

 

Love Elder Visser

We never know how we help people on their earthly journey

This week was an amazing week.  We were able to have interviews with our mission president and were able to get to know him a little better.  We have also been preparing Carlos to be baptized.  My companion actually bumped into his less active wife about 4 months ago.  He helped them get married brought them back to activity and on Sunday he was baptized.  It was a stressful road but in the end turned out perfect.  President Silcox even came to watch him get baptized which was really cool.  After we had a bbq with a ton of food and was a perfect way to end the week.  Now we will prepare them to enter the temple to be sealed for eternity.  It has been a blessing to be a part of their journey.

Love Elder Visser

We had a great week.  We have been working really hard and I find that the harder I work the happier I am.  We did have one or two days this week that were tough.  No one was home and no one in the street had time to talk to us but days like these happen and the next day is always better.  This Sunday a friend from my last area came to my ward to visit me so that was a really cool experience.  We also had a baptism here.  It was a kid that my companion has been teaching for a while but he was excited and ready to go.  He is 17 years old and is really special.  My companion will be going home in 4 weeks and I will be getting another one but I am grateful for this chance to be in this area and to work hard.

Love Elder Visser

Being the district leader is a big responisbility

Thanks for the email and updates about home.  

I’m a little rushed today,  we ended up doing some shopping and my computer is pretty bad today so I will do my best to let you know what is going on in my life.  We had a great week.  The only down side was the my companion got a little sick which made it hard for him to work.  I did have the chance to go on an exchange this week and got to work and learn a lot during it.  Exchanges are a lot different now since I’m the district leader.  I get to set everything up and its my responsibility to help out the other missionaries and to help them stay happy and do what’s right.  We are working with two really great people right now and one will be baptized this next Sunday if everything turns out right.  Its been a great experience to stay in the same area for a long amount of time.  I feel like I have gone through so many things in my short time here.  I’ve had amazing experiences and some really tough ones but I am happy for the time I’ve had here.  There's a saying here that we say a lot that goes, “Tudo vai dar certo”.  Which means basically everything will turn out right.  When we put God in front of everything everything will turn out right and tudo vai dar certo. 

 

Thanks for the support and love.

 

Love Elder Visser

A good start to the transfer

This week was amazing.  We got in the area and had to help the other missionaries with there bags and help them find their houses.  That was a long day but a good start to the transfer  My new companion is Elder G. Santo,  he is Brazilian and he will be going home after this transfer.  We are working so hard though and it feels good.  I had several difficult companions in my other area so I have really been enjoying my new area and new companion.  We have the responsibility to take care of 6 other sets of missionaries.  I am still learning but this will be a good chance for me to learn and grow even more.  I gave a talk yesterday in church and I thought it went pretty well.  It was about being obedient.  We have a chapel here that is pretty big with a good sized ward.  Its been a good first week and we have been working super hard.  I am really excited for this next transfer and know that good things will happen.

Love Elder Visser

I am going to be transfered

So the transfers came in and turns out that the two of us our going to be transfered.  At first I was really sad to be leaving the area and all my friends that I have made.  At the same time though it will be a good new start and I am really excited to be going to a new area to make new friends and do good things.  After 7 months in the same area it will be really strange to leave.  If I have the chance I would love to return here one day and visit everyone again.  It was honestly such a great experience to be able to serve in Ferraz.  I feel like I have learned and grown a lot in my time here.  I hope that I made at least a small impact on the members here and helped them out.  I am ready to go to a new area and to do my very best.  I dont have a whole lot of time left on my mission and I want to finish out strong.  I am grateful for the trials that I have been given and because of them I have been able to grow and become closer to my Heavenly Father.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

We can learn from all the experiences we have

This week was really interesting for us.  My companion ended up getting sick and the presidents wife told us to stay in until he gets better.  This was dificult for me and I did not enjoy it one bit.  We were able to leave only a couple days this week but even that was hard for him because of all the hills that are in our area.  He asked me Elder why am I sick when I’m doing the Lords work and keeping the comandments?  I told him I don’t know but the one thing I do know is that there is always somthing to learn from every experience we have whether it is a good one or bad one.  If we make a mistake and sin clearly its not a good thing but we can do one of two things.  We can be sad and do nothing or we can learn from our mistake repent and do better.  I also had the chance to give a little talk this Sunday.  I got a call early Sunday morning asking if I could give a talk and I accecpted.  I talked about the Lords timing and plan for us.  Sometimes its very different than what we want and what we are expecting.  I told the story about the canoe trip I went on and how we wanted to leave before the group of girls because they took forever and slowed us down.  We planned everything even got up earlier the next day but for whatever reason we let them go in front of us.  About 2 hours later we found them trapped on the side because their canoes tipped along with all their food and equipment.  It was in the Lords plan that we did not leave before them even when we wanted to really bad.  Who knows if anyone else would have have passed by them that day to help out and probably they would have been stuck for days.  I know that a lot of time we want things to go our way and we want answers fast but we need to remember the will of God is different.  Thanks for the love and support.

 

Love Elder Visser

We never know who is ready for the gospel and who is not

Happy Fathers day and thanks for the example that you are to me and our family.  Because of you and mom leading the way for us a lot of other people had the chance to hear and accept the gospel.  I’m glad that the warriors ended up winning.  How are the Dodgers doing and the rest of the baseball league?  

 

We had a great week.  It started on Saturday when we had our conference for the families of our branch.  They put together a choir and it turned out really well.  Sunday morning was our Branch conference and we filled up the sacrament room.  Yes there were a ton of people from the stake but it was still a cool thing to see.  After church we were able to have the baptism for Deived which was really special.  We have been working with him for about 2 months now and he is really special.  He learns really quick and is always wanting to know more.  He was super happy and at the end thanked everyone who were at the baptism.  Now our goal is to get him to go to institute.  This will help him out a ton more to learn and grow.  It was funny because he was a referral that we received from a member and the first contact we had with him was in the street and after I asked the member to invite him to take the discussions the member said no because he already has a church and will never accept the church.  Two months later and an answer from our Heavenly Father he was baptized.  We never know who is ready and who is not.  Its our purpose to open our mouths and at the minimum invite.  Thanks for the love and support.

 

Love Elder Visser

I am glad I am on a mission doing what is right.

We had a good productive week.  We were able to work hard and were able to see a lot of fruits because of it.  We got word form the area presidency that all wards in Brasil will have to have sacrament first than classes after.  I was a little worried because were always passing by people to walk with them to church.  Some times we walk a good hour to get people that have never been before.  We left extra early to get people and we ended up arriving only a few minutes late but everything turned out good. We also had 9 people attend church with us which was great to see.  We are working with a lot of great humble people who honestly want to make a difference in their lives.  I’m grateful to be able to still be here working with the members and investigators.  It is not an easy thing to deal but the reward is worth it.  I’m grateful for the good times and the hard times.  I’m glad that I am on a mission doing what is right.  Thanks for all the love and support!

 

Love Elder Visser

When we ask for help from the Lord everything turns out right in the end

The transition with a new companion is always interesting.  The first week is a little strange because you don’t know too much about him or how he teaches.  Personally I’m not a big fan of transfers and I always get super nervous.  At the same time though transfers are done by revelation from our mission president and it’s always a good chance to learn and grow.  That being said the first week was a good one, I won’t lie it had its challenges but there is always something to learn.  My companion is excited to be here and ready to work.  He likes to work hard and get things done so for me I’m happy and ready to do what needs to be done this transfer.

 

We have been helping a kid named Lucas prepare for baptism for about 2 months now and he is super special and really prepared.  We planned for two Sundays ago but something happened and we had to push it to last Saturday.  When Saturday got here we went to go get him and his family and he came to the door all sad and said he wants to wait a little longer to be baptized.  We stayed and talked with him while everyone was waiting at the church and it turns out that his sister in law was telling him lies that put doubts in is mind.  At the end he asked if he could be baptized on Sunday so we marked it for Sunday.  Sunday morning we went to go get him and no one answered the door, we called and did everything but nothing.  So what I learned is that Satan really knows out weaknesses,  He knew Lucas´s weakness and mine as well.  I also learned that we need to understand God´s timing.  I was super sad about this but after thinking about it I believe he will still be baptized, it might take a little longer but that's alright.  We need to do whats right and then let the Lord handle the rest.  Sorry about the really long story but that's what I learned this week.  We are given challenges to learn and grow, and even to test our faith sometimes.  When we ask for help from the Lord everything turns out right in the end.

 

Love Elder Visser

This will be my 5th transfer, and I am staying.

We had a good week.  I had the chance to go to another area to do a baptismal interview which was a really cool experience.  We also had a kid that we have been teaching for a good time now that was ready to be baptized on Sunday but when Sunday showed up his mom said to wait one more week because she was busy and wanted to be there to watch.  It was a little sad because he was super excited but what’s important is that he will be baptized.  We also got transfer calls and the first call we got was that we will both stay together in the area for another transfer.  We got another phone call early today though and they told us my companion will be getting transferred and I will stay.  This will be my 5th transfer here and I am really excited.  We are working with a lot of great people and I am really happy to be able to stay a little bit longer.  There’s obviously a purpose for me to stay as well so I am ready to work hard and do what I have to do.  It was a fun transfer with my companion and I am excited to get another new one.  Thanks for the support and love.

Love Elder Visser

There is always something we can learn

We had a pretty good and productive week.  So the area of Brasil is doing a program where they have names of families that live in our area and they pray about it then assign several people to go out and visit the families.  We recieved three families to visit.  Turns out they lived super far away but we had nothing to do that day and these families needed to be visit before Sunday.  So we started walking and a good 45 minutes later we found the house, all excited we knocked on the door just to find out that she does not live there anymore but we got her new address and started walking some more.  After a good hour we finally got to her street which turned out to be a huge hill.  We had already walked a ton so we walked up the hill and knocked on her door.  Turns out she was home and has not gone to church for 13 years but she has been praying for help latley and what do you know we end up showing up at her door.  Now she has sons and daughters who are old enough to hear the gospel and it went really well.  It was honestly a miracle that we found her house and was a testimony builder for me.  We also had another experience where we recieved a call from the President of the mission telling us there was a member in the hospital in need of a blessing.  He was about to have surgery and we only had about 30 minutes until he went in.  We were on the other side of our area but we got on a bus and ran over there.  He is a member of another Ward but has been a member for over 30 years and it was a very humbling experience.  We were able to give him a blessing and some words of encouragement.  Everything happens for a reason I know that for a fact.  I am grateful for the good times and the bad, there is always something we can learn.  Thanks for the love and support.

Love Elder Visser

The peace I feel in the temple.

I am grateful for the chance we had to talk last night.  Even though it was a little annoying with the Skype problems, it was still good to see you and to be able to talk a little.  Its hard not to think about home after a phone call with your parents but I am ready to get to work and do what I need to do.

We had the chance to go to the temple this last week which was amazing.  It was my first time that I went to the Sao Paulo Temple.  It was a good chance to relax a little and to feel the spirit and peacefulness in the temple.  The last time we went was about 6 months ago which felt like eternity.  I will be going to the temple as often as possible when I have the chance.  The temple is a huge blessing in our lives.  Honestly without the temple we would not be able to return to live with our families and we would not make it to the Celestial Kingdom.  I can baptize a lot of people on my mission but if they do not stay firm in the church and make it to the temple then I did not do my job.  I want to be able to see the people I have helped out in Heaven after this life.  I am doing all I can to help them look towards the temple.  My Mission President in Texas always said we stand in the waters of baptism but we look towards the temple.  Thanks for all the love and support.

Love Elder Visser