The Best Two Years :)

Well. This is it. Here's my short report :
Nothing can compare to my experience here. Nothing could ever replace it. While years of life teach many things, if I had not served my Lord and Savior through the service I rendered here, there are things I simply would never have learned. I'm very tired. But like manna, God's been giving me daily the portion I need to just keep pushing on. I’ve learned that this will not be the last time I feel this way. God trusts us to the point that he pushes us. So. Let's do the best that we can do. We can sleep when we're dead, haha.
Was it fun? Yeah, it was. But it was a whole lot better than fun. I have been changed in many, many ways. And I'm very content with the changes I've seen in myself, and even happier with the changes that I've seen in others.
It’s simply been a miracle… Full of little miracles inside. I will never forget what took place here these last two years.
I'd just like to bear you all my testimony. I know that this church is the boat that takes us to Eternal life. I know that God is at the helm. And I'm just another little worker of His. But hey. I'm so very glad to be one. My position and role will change a bit. But I'm okay with that.
Come what may and love it.
I love you all. Talk to you next Wednesday.
Com Amor,
Elder Mitchell Wassom

encontro com o apostolo, Plum cobbler, wild blackberries, and people using dogs for political advertising:

A Fantastic Week

Dear Family and Friends,
This week was pretty awesome compared to the last few. We found a whole lot of new people to teach, and they are reading the Book of Mormon and marking baptismal dates. One of them even went to church! Yay! It has been a good while since we actually took someone to church. It was actually a bit of a miracle.
We were just walking down the street, when my companion pointed out to me a cool-looking spider dangling from a tree. We stopped briefly to observe. The owner of the yard from whose tree dangled the spider (whom we had not met until that point) came out and asked us who we were and what we were doing. We responded. Then she said "I don't have time to talk to you now, but let me call my friend." She called up her friend, Sandra.
"Hello, Sandra? This is Rita. Two servants of God are gonna pass by your house right now. I want you to take them in and listen to what they have to say." I’ve seen some pretty neat stuff happen in a first contact, but that's a first.
We passed by her house. She let us in. It was sort of sad to walk in the house, because everything was all shut. The windows were shut and nailed with pieces of wood. Her electricity was poorly routed, so there was only light in two rooms of the house.
We taught her and she accepted the call to come to church and be baptized on the 24th - my last Saturday in the mission field.
On Sunday, she came to church. :) She enjoyed it quite a bit. She couldn’t stop talking about it as we were accompanying her home. "At my church, we have to pay 50 reais to take the (sacrament). Sometimes 100!"
"Yeah, I’ve been noticing that recently..." Haha
When we got to her house, we opened everything up. My companion installed the lights in the living room and bedroom, and we took the boards off of the windows, and installed some doors that open and shut. We learned that she had locked everything up because she lives at the side of a drug dealership, and there's always a bunch of teenagers wreaking havoc and stealing and smoking weed.
But anyways, we installed the doors so she could let in some fresh air and light. Then we put a word in to the teenagers.

The highlight of this week was our meeting with Elder Neil L. Anderson. It was incredible. I got to shake his hand, and listen to his testimony. I know that he is a special witness of Jesus Christ. A group of missionaries and I also got to sing a medley for the meeting. It went off well. :) I also got to conduct the hymns.
I'm not sure what else to say about it, actually. It's one of those "you had to be there" moments. I rarely cry, but I was during the meeting. In the last hymn "I know that my redeemer lives," I couldn’t sing correctly, as tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t the only one, as I was seeing everyone I was conducting.

How everyone got there in Santa Maria was a mess. There wasn’t enough money to put everyone in the hotel, so many people (myself included) has to stay at the missionaries' houses in Santa Maria. We made a house of 4 become a house of 14! Anyways I slept on the couch, but that’s ok! It was worth it.

Well. Talk to yall next week… For the last time. *sigh* I'm coming home... It’s still weird thinking about it, but alright.
Com amor,
Elder Wassom

yet another short letter.

I gotta let yall down again. It'll have to be short. Oh well, I’ll see yall in 3 weeks.
This week was really productive. We found a lot of new investigators, and are working hard to take them to church. We almost took two to church last week, but it just didn’t work out. At least Lairton and Joci are firm in the gospel. We were also really busy with splits. We had to go to Santa Maria on Tuesday, and Rosário do Sul on Thursday. In Santa Maria, I was practicing in a missionary choir, where we will sing for Elder Anderson on Saturday (yes, THAT Elder Anderson). We're all super excited to see and hear from an apostle!
That’s all the time I have today, but I’m sure I’ll have more time next week for my penultimate letter '0'
Tchau!
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Here are some pics, including District São Gabriel, Elder Baker and Monahan, Elder Dias and Wantland, cake and photos with District Rosário do Sul, where Santas elves live

Two weeks of news

Email written August 29th

Dear Family and Friends,
These two weeks have been rather crazy. Giving a quick re-cap, Elder Silva was transferred, and Elder Olivera came to be in his stead here in São Gabriel as my companion. In Alegrete, he lived in the same house as me, and there was a lot of good times. I am excited to finish off these last 4 weeks with him.
More about the Transfer, Sister Cajazeiros was transferred, too, and replaced by Sister Ançay. Sister Cajazeiros will be missed, but Sister Ançay seems like a great missionary as well.
Last Monday, I was in a church Self-Sufficiency training, as now all returning missionaries have to be coached in this regard. It was long, tiresome, and after a while, I got a headache. HOWEVER, it was awesome. Wow. I am so glad the church has such good resources like these. Perhaps it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it will help me a LOT. Basically, it opened my eyes as to how tough the real world will be on my wallet, and the need I will have to get after it as soon as possible when I get home. It also talked about how to have a good resumé, how to smash an interview, etc.
After that, we went to the mission home, for the first time since I got here in the mission. The Mission-finishers and I all ate a taco salad, made by Sister Louza. WOW! It was really good, and made me remember how much I love Mexican food. We bore our "final" testimonies, and then some of our group headed off to catch their plane. I, on the other hand, went to the house where all the ZLs were sleeping to have our Mission Counsel on the following day.
Then we had the counsel, and Elder Oliveira and I returned to our area.
We had a good week this week. We found some new investigators. We ended up getting the sisters' move all taken care of. They now live in one of the awesomest houses (probably the awesomest) in the mission.

Bad news - It was on the 4th story... That made the move a lot of fun... NOT! But President authorized a hot-dog party afterwards, as we were all super exhausted.
Well. Here we go. Entering into my last month...
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Some pictures of:
fun at an air club. Don't worry about my "super HOTT arplane pose"... I was just playing around!

A pretty trail I pass by in my area.

Lairton and Jociele,

The zone tshirt "Fail" and how we fixed it,

our old district,

Luiz Celis and fam,

Elder Capistrano and me,

Self-Sufficiency course,

the amazing taco salad,

saying goodbye,

Elder Oliveira and I,

what was clogging our pipes (two knives)

Hope you liked the photos! Its been a while.