Pictures!

Pictures!
Elder Pessoa da Silva:

family night with Paulo, Presidente, and Sister Louza, an avocado, banana, orange carrot smoothie;

marriage of Danilo and Graciela, Elder Teixeira (AKA NEYMAR) and a real photo of neymar Elder Teixeira looks just like him. Everyone agrees. The photo doesn’t show it.

Photo Of Bom Fim with Irmã Hilda, and The house with a "Mamute"

Elder Silva and his frosty dreamland. He thought this day was just too cool. It was the first time he saw frost. It has frosted since, but not as much as this day.

Cutting wood

A good week

Dear Family and Friends,
This week was another good week. We obtained a whole lot of new addresses to find new investigators... the frustrating part was that when we visited their house at the designated time, they weren’t at home. Therefore, the week involved a lot of walking. Which was painful, because I got a freaking ingrown toenail. But all’s well, I took care of it on Saturday.
However, our forces were not completely fruitless this week. We went to deliver a Liahona to a young woman of 17 years named Renata. We actually showed up way late to her door, and were disappointed to know that she was still at her workplace. We tried to teach the mother, but she wanted nothing to do with the church. We were ready to turn away when Renata showed up from work. Good thing we showed up late! The message went off very well, and she accepted all the invitations, including that of being baptized on the 20th of August. She didn’t make it out to church this week, but we'll keep after it.
We had our Zone meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s sort of funny, cuz its divided in two parts, one day for Sao Gabriel, and one day for Rosario do sul. So basically it’s like two district meetings with the Zone Leaders. Tuesday, our training went over well. We talked about finding new investigators. There were also a ton of announcements to give, as the Presidents switched. Not much more to say about that.
On Wednesday, we took a bus to Rosario do Sul (we travel a lot) for the other half of our Zone meeting. While we were there, we decided to do splits with the missionaries there. I went with one companionship, and Elder Silva went with the other. I learned a few things there. One of the most predominant is the importance of personal hygiene, because I slept in a room with a missionary that didn’t shower, and reeked of bad foot smell.
Sidenote: In Portuguese, there is a word designated exactly for that bad smell of stinky shoes and feet. This word is "chulé". There are also words for bad breath and bad underarm smell. These words are "bafo" and "asa", respectively. Combine the three and you've got "chubasa" You don’t want to have chubasa.
Anyways, this missionary had me almost gagging. Let’s just say I had to chat with him a bit on the "Exchange reflection"
I’m doing great yall. We just cleaned and re-organized the house. We moved some furniture today, because my companion said he's sick of seeing the same thing every day for what will be 6 months. We have been together some time now. Same companionship, same place. On August 22nd (next transfer), we'll have been together for 4+1/2 months. We have learned a lot together, and passed through a lot, for sure.
I'd like to bear yall my testimony that I know that this church is true. The Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ is real and is our Savior. If we put our faith in Him and follow Him, our lives will change for the better, and we will be preparing ourselves for Eternal Life.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Out of time

Hey guys,
So I’m out of time again. A lot of stuff to take care of again.
But. I can say we are making progress in Bom Fim again, and its still Elder Silva and I until August. I think this is my final resting place. Sister Condena was replaced with Sister Salles, who, by the way, is a fireball of energy. It’s really fun having her around. Sister Condena was really good, too, so were missing her. Elder Capistrano finally was put with a companion. He is training now, and his "trainee" is Elder Teixeira (ie Neymar - Because he looks just like Neymar)
I think that we'll be talking on Brazilian Father’s Day again. 2nd Sunday of August.
I told you I’d fill you in on Presidentes visit to Paulo’s house. So it was just full of the spirit, and Presidente testified powerfully that "NOW IS THE TIME" everyone was full of tears.
On Friday, we scrambled to piece together the "rescue" search in the Zone. There were 42 inactive names to visit in 24 hours. We were able to make it happen, and we finished.
Sorry for the lack of attention yet again, but next week I should be getting you more details.
I love you all.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Trip to Livramento:

"Keeping the spirit" activity:

Saying goodbye to our district:

One heck of a good lunch (including a couscous made by my companion and I, and Sister Condeña with a Ceviche and Arroz Chaufa):

Elder Alves (sales) wanted me to write him some tips:

Hello from Santa Maria!

Dear Family and Friends,
No, I wasn’t transferred.
I'm here in Santa Maria for a Mission Council. That’s why I didn’t send photos today. My bus would’ve taken off at 3ish today, but a few unseen blessings came upon us. I'll explain in my letter.
I did not end up walking on Uruguayan Soil. On Tuesday, it was raining so, so, much, and we had to call a bus to even get us to the restaurant. The restaurant was literally one block from the border, but we weren’t about to risk drenching ourselves. There were, however, many Uruguayans at the restaurant. It was cool seeing everyone speaking Spanish and understanding them!
So Presidente and Sister Louza are quite different from Presidente and Sister Parrela. The Parrelas are super military-like and strict. They show their love for you by helping you understand that sin in the slightest degree is intolerable in Gods kingdom. I love the Parrelas so so much, and they have helped me a whole lot in my development. I love the Louzas so, so, much, too, but they’re way different. They just radiate love everywhere they go. Sister Louza is like butter - everything melts her. I left her crying when I sang "Tal como um facho" ("The Spirit of God")
Yesterday, Presidente Louza came to a leadership training in São Gabriel. He asked that the Zone Leaders be present in the meeting. So we went to the meeting, and while we were there, we asked him "hey, when are you heading back to Santa Maria?" "Tomorrow morning." "Hmm. Because we will also have to go to Santa Maria tomorrow. Can we catch a ride?" "Sure, no problem."
Another cool thing is that we improv-invited Presidente and Sister Louza to a dinner appointment that we were having with an inactive man. The wife (Relief Society President) had been praying for her husband for much time. More on that later.
So this morning Elder Silva, Elder Capistrano, and I had a pleasant car ride with Presidente Lousa.
That’s why I’m in Santa Maria.
GTG!
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Happy 4th of July!

Dear Family and Friends,
I was reminded that today is Independence day when the Brasilian National Anthem started playing on our "Clean-the-house" playlist. How unpatriotic of me, I know. Phew. So some of you are dying to know if I met Presidente and Sister Lousa. Not yet, just over the telephone. They seem really loving and cool. Tomorrow, we will travel to Santana do Livramento to meet them in a small bi-zone meeting. I am excited 1) because we will meet the Mission President and do interviews, and 2) because we will get to walk to Uruguay! The border between Brazil and Argentina is a little strict, and thus I couldn’t go to Argentina when I was in Uruguaiana. But Uruguay and Brazil are super chill. You can just wander on one side or the other without a passport or anything! That’ll be cool.
I'll be honest, I’ve been in more spiritual testimony meetings than yesterday's. Yesterday, a man in our branch said "I know the Word of Wisdom is a commandment of God. There are a lot of fat women in our branch. You women will have to go on a diet to keep the word of wisdom. My wife is really fat. That’s why she's sick and can’t be here today." Let’s just say that didn’t go over so well, haha.
On Friday, I finished the Book of Mormon again. I love that book so much. Every time I give a copy of the Book of Mormon to someone, I always tell them something like "I just want you to know that this book is very special to me. Conjoined with the Bible, this book has helped me know more about and draw closer to Jesus Christ. I hope you take care of it, and read it every day. I promise your love and understanding for your Savior will grow." The same promise I make to yall. You’ve heard me say it before. Study and ponder the words of the scriptures daily. That’s a necessity for us to have a testimony.
This weekend, I have been having a scripture study about the word "Remember." I don’t have even close to the amount of time to relate to yall all that I’ve learned. One of my favorite things I’ve learned is from Elder D. Todd Christofferson in his "Mormon Messages" about "Our daily bread" Hey, what a powerful message those 3 videos contain! Look it up!
YouTube -> Mormon Channel -> Our Daily Bread
At least I think it’s called "Our daily bread", as it is "Nosso Pão de Cada Dia" in Portuguese. I'll give you a sneak peek. In one of the videos, he talks about Manna, the "bread" that God sent the Israelites in the wilderness. The bible says that they HAD to gather just enough food for 1 day (except Friday, where they gathered enough to last them through the Jewish Sabbath). This was to remind them daily of God's blessings toward them. This was also to test their faith that, yes, God would provide for them on the day following. Simple. But powerful.
A recent reactivated member of the church said two very profound statements yesterday that I’d like to share with yall to conclude my weekly letter. "Those who don't have the desire to keep the commandments will find an excuse to not keep them. Those who have the desire to keep the commandments will find a way to keep them." "It’s impossible to not believe in the restored gospel while God provides so many chances for us to live it."
I love you all. Thanks for all the love.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

I bought a new reader! Here are some new pictures:
1.) when you don’t have milk to make pancakes, use yogurt!

2) Xis in Rosário

3) Elder Wassom and his spiffy cheap suit

4) My companion sent his pants in to get hemmed by irmã hilda. Then irmã hilda sent his pants to the Sisters o give to my companion. Just that Sister Condeña had the wise idea to stitch in a pink flower on the rear before giving it to my comp.