July 10

I am soooo glad to hear that you will be able to be there in Texas when I get back. Glad to hear that AJ was able to give a talk during sacrament meeting as well. 

This week went by rather quickly. Me and Simon did lots of splits in other areas in the zone to help out. Unfortunately lots of people fell through on us and we weren´t able to have the results that we wanted. However, it looks like this week will be quite promissable. We have one baptism already lined up for this saturday. We have another kid that we are preparing to be baptized as well this saturday as well. My area is proving to be quite difficult but we are finding sucess baptizing the kids of less actives. It is a great experience because the parents and other siblings get excited again about the church and end up wanting to come back and end up staying firm. It is a win win. Baptisms for the missionaries, and reactivations for the ward.

I am really enjoying my new companion Elder Simon. Without a doubt this transfer was done through the means of revelation. We seem to read each other´s minds. We are always cracking jokes, and we teach with the spirit. Normally when it is like this in the mission it doesn´t last more than a transfer, but I am hoping that he will be my last companion. It is possible after all. I only have this transfer, the next, and a half of the other one. Who knows. If God wills it, it will be done. But if not I will understand completely.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy these last few weeks of summer break. I love and miss you guys!

P.S. I got your package in the mail. THANKS!!!!

July 3

Thanks for the birthday wish! Birthdays are never quite the same when you aren´t surrounded by your family. But I was able to have a good day. On saturday, I spent the day in arapongas. I went to brother Gilberto´s and sister Nilva´s houses. The two family lest me know how much they loved me and made my day enjoyable. We ate a lot in the two homes and were able to smile and laugh a lot.  I had some freinds from other zones call to wish me a happy birthday and it was nice. Sunday night we took a bus to Londrina and we stayed until late last night for a zone leader counsel. We got back at 1 am this morning. Hence the reason I was unable to write you guys yesterday. My mission president let us watch the soccer game yesterday with him as well. Everyone went nuts when brasil scored the two goals, even president Pereira.  Brasil´s next game ought not be easy though. Belgium has a really good team this year.

Speaking about my mission president, He called us all up, those of my group that is, and let us know that we will be leaving in October on the 16th. So now it is official and will not be readjusted. It means one more month away from home, but it means one more month working for my Lord and Savior, and another month of blessings on my and your heads. I am sorry for all the confusion. My mission President had to call salt lake and do a lot of other things to figure our transfer date out. There was a bug in the system or something like that and being american doesn´t help make the situation easier lol. But it is a fixed date now. October 16th. 

My new companion is awesome. He is way friendly! He has got to be one of the coolest companion´s I have had yet. I have to reanimate him with the work and all but he is wanting to be reanimated as well which is good and makes all the difference. He worries a lot about the zone as well which is good. Sadly there are many zone leaders who don´t magnify their calling and just let things happen as they are without working that much to make things better. This transfer is going to fly by, I can already see it. When the work is good and your companion is good, time flies way faster than it already does. Before we know it, we will be in October.

This week we didn´t do too much physical labour but rather logistical labour. We had various problems happen in the zone and had to go be the peacemakers and resolve the problems. We even had to have some elders transfered around because of the problem. This week ought to be better though. I haven´t seen any problems that might arouse in the zone yet so that´s good lol. Just lots of working I hope! lol

I hope you guys have a great week! I love and miss you!

Elder Worsley

June 25

we took pictures with a giant hat as well because the city here is the hat capital of brazil. 

It seems like the entire country here is revolving around the world cup. The games are on all the televisions and all of our conversations with members and investigators revolve around the games that were played that week. It is insane. I have never seen an event have such a great impact on society. Not even the political depates match up to this lol. But yes everyone goes crazy during the games that Brasil plays. They like to through firecrackers and shoot up fireworks to celebrate goals and victories. When Brasil won this week everyone went running around in the streets like maniacs screaming, cheering, and dancing! Some people get in their cars decked out with Brasilian flags and go around the neighborhood or downtown to honk their horns with the rest of the city. It is awesome! And we don´t have restrictions. Not like we would need one though, I can´t imagine why that would be necessary. Weird that other missions aren´t liberating the missionaries to leave during the games. 

Well, today is transfer day. My companion left yesterday to Marília. My companion gets here today. His name is Elder Simon. He is from Aracaju Sergipe in the northeatern part of Brasil. From what I have seen of the guy, he is spiritual and a hard worker. That makes me happy. 

Besides that nothing much is new. Lots of splits and traveling resolving problems here in there in the zone´s respective areas.​

We didn´t bring our rain jackets to district meeting and had to improvise. And the four of us saying goodbye to Elder Rocha. And the zone taking a picture to support Brazil´s soccer team lol.

June 18

this week went extremely well. I spent most of the week in Arapongas! I took the chance to pass by my converts´ homes and the homes of the members that were kind and friendsly to me. Ana and Gilberto had us over for dinner and we had an amazing time. I had missed them a lot. They are like family to me. We cracked lots of jokes and just had a great time. I also passed by Nilva´s house for our lunch appointment the following day. They were way happy to see me. Nilva almost had a heart attack when she saw me. Man I would like to serve there again, even though it was my toughest area. Nilva invited my to her house on the 30th, the day before my birthday, to celebrate again lol. They made a super delicious cake for me last year. 

Besides my trip to the past, not much else happened. I am entering into the last week of the transfer with my companion. Elder Rocha was already advised by President that he would be being transfered. So we will see how next week goes.

Thanks for that quote! It was perfect! I have been preparing a talk that talks about light and this quote fits right into what I was wanting to get at. Thank you!

Have a great week! I love you!

June 11

Well my release date is complicated. Some of my group members that will leave with me are saying that we will go on september 19th and others are saying october 16th. There is a lot of confusion because of the group behind me. They served a transfer in the states and makes the transfer dates all wonky for them and for us. But I am thinking it will be in september. I will try to ask president the next time I get the chance to get the dates all lined up for you guys. But for sure it is between these two dates  september 19th and october 16th.

I heard that the Warriors won the championship! Wahoo!!! That is awesome! 4-0! That made me super happy lol!

This week we baptized a woman named Iaraci. She is the one I told you about last week. She was baptized on saturday. We had to do her baptism kneeling in cold cold water due to the fact that a member pulled the plug in the font and drained all the hot water. So we had to fill it up again as quickly as possible with just straight cold water. But it was still awesome. She got confirmed yesterday as well.

Nothing else really crazy happened to be honest. Oh! Caleb, Haley, and Claire from high school wrote me this week! That is a first! That made me quite happy as well!

I hope you all have a great week! I love you!

Elder Worsley

June 4

 I am doing pretty good. I caught a pretty nasty cold this week and lost 10 pounds! I am recovering though. Now all I have is just a pretty nasty cough. It sounds like I have smoked for 40 years of my life lol. And coughing is a great core workout haha. I had lost my six pack, but thanks to the cold and the compression and grinding on the abdomen due to coughing, the six pack has chiseled its way back into my life. Thank goodness. I have to come home looking good so that I can marry a babe. And so I dont die walking up hills like I have been here in the montinous area that I have. Geographically speaking, my area is pretty killer. 

Here there are a lot of good members, they like the missionaries. 

My companion Elder Rocha is pretty cool. I like him a lot. He loves to carry a conversation. That helps a whole lot with our bond that we are growing between each other as well as the bonds that we forge with members and non-members. It has been difficult to get out and work with me being sick, my companion being sick, and the other various tasks that we are assigned to do as zone leaders, always traveling, preparing conferences and meetings, and training the missionaries here in the zone. But we have an older lady to baptize saturday. The crazy thing is is that she was the one that asked to be baptized and marked the day and time of her baptism. For the first time in my mission, someone has made a contact with me instead of the viceversa, and it has been an amazing experience. She has been and is a truly elect woman that has been being prepared to recieve us and the blessings of the one and only true church on the face of the Earth. Iaraci is here name. Crazy right??? She will be baptized saturday at 4 o´clock. It will be an awesome day.

Today we had a zone conference with Presidente Pereira in Londrina. It was pretty spiritual. He talked about chastity due to some problems that have spurred throughout the mission lately. Later we played soccer and volleyball with the zone at the church´s sports court. It was fun. Now we are about to head back to Apucarana and our normal routine schedule.

I hope that you guys have a great week! I love you!

May 28

So the truckers in the whole country went on strike due to the ridiculously high diesel prices. The nation´s truckers are all taking vacation in the middle of the highways. As an effect, they block off the highways and dont allow anyone to pass, even the truckers that dont want to protest. So, nothing is being transported, food, water, gasoline, clothes, livestock, nothing. It is having a huge affect on the country. Here in Apucarana it has been difficult but that bad honestly. The markets have less and less things for purchase after each day, and members are without means of helping us with car rides and the investigators dont have anyway to go alone because the church is far away and even the busses aren´t circulating anymore. The intercity busses as well, which makes divisions and baptismal interviews difficult. Luckily the members are still able to help the missionaries with lunches for now, but President Pereira has already avised us about everything and we are following his procedures. Everything will be alright.

This week we had a baptism of a young man named Eduardo (Edward). He is 22. He was a reference from a member and just a pretty easy experience. Working with members on the mission is the best. Edward is my 50th baptism!!!! We bought two pizzas to celebrate! Wahoo!!!

I hope you guys have a great week! I love you!

May 21

Speaking about packages, I got the one that was made by the dude in Londrina last week. That really helps. My new companion almost cried. I have been sharing my stuff with him. The other missionaries in the zone as well have been enjoying the snacks lol.

So this week went by pretty fast actually. Tuesday I went to Londrina and stayed until thursday. Thursday I got unpacked and got to see a bit of the area. Friday we had a normal day of work, and saturday we spent the day interviewing the people that were in concideration of baptism. I greatful for this new week to start so that I can actually start the work up here in my new area with my companion Elder Rocha.  

So, Elder Rocha ended up being a rather cool guy. 

Saturday I got to go back to Arapongas for a baptismal interview!! There was a youth activity that involved the whole ward afterwards and so I got to see all my old friends. It was amazing! I couldnt stop smiling the whole night. Everyone had missed me. I was surprised by two things as well. One, nobody had forgotten my name. Two, almost everyone had thought that I had finished my mission already and was there just to visit the ward lol. i guess it is quite weird to see one of your ward´s missionaries after a year. It is probably incommon. But it was really nice to catch up with the good members that helped me so much while I was there.

I caught a cold this weekend. In presidente Prudente it was in the mid 80s everyday. I thought it would be the same here in apucarana. However it is not... It has been in the 40s and 50s all week. We are all dying cold. I go out with two layers of pants and three layers of shirts and jackets, and gloves and that weird thing that you put on your head in the cold. Who would have thunk that it would be so cold here when it was so hot just 200 miles north of here. But, I have been pretty sick these past few days and it hasn´t been fun. The members all got a kick out of the american that was cold in 40 degree weather. They think that everywhere in the states is utah lol. But we think that everywhere in brasil is jungly and hot. Funny right?

But I am looking forward to this week. Hopefully we can find some cool people and baptize them.

Have a great week. I love you!

May 14

Yesterday´s time passed so quickly, but it was absolutely wonderful. I can´t wait to be in your guys´s presence once again to take part of good times together and make more good memories. I love our family!!!!

So I thought I wasn´t going to be transfered, but what do you know, lol I have been transfered!!! I will be going to somwhere very familiar. I will be going to Apucarana the neighboring city to Arapongas, inwhich I stayed for 6 months.  I will be able to pass through Arapongas once again and see the members and recent converts that I learned to love, and I will be able to grow a lot more for sure.

And thanks for the talk. I will be sure to download it and listen to it this week.

I hope you guys have a good week. I love you all so much!!