Fico‏

Fico, translated in English, means "I stay."
So, gente, I stay here in Ijui. I’m pretty thrilled to be staying here with Elder Sena for another 6 weeks. Actually, all 6 Elders in Ijuí are staying this transfer. We remain a dynamic 6.
Staying here also means that, yes, I will be here for Marrone+Diessica's wedding and baptism. Yippee! Eba!
We started off the week with a bang, and worked really well throughout the week, teaching a lot of lessons and making a lot of progress.
One day, Elder Jordan Peterson and Elder Jawaad were caught on the road speaking English to each other. This sparked a conversation between them and a stander by. Unknown to them at the time, that stander by was the head honcho of the local radio station, and told them to return the next day to be interviewed. They did, and we other 4 elders listened in. The interview was a little awkward, but went off alright. During the interview, the interviewer told Elder Jawaad that he very much resembled Mr. Bean. We razzed him a bit for that.
We had a "high score" of 11 investigators at Sacrament Meeting this Sunday. It was a good Sunday to have them all there, as the talks were all super fantastic. We also sustained our new Elder's Quorum President, who is quite the fireball and helps us out a lot. Speaking of which, he went with us to Tainã's family, and we had a super awesome lesson. Andrea even said the closing prayer for the first time in 4 years that the missionaries had been teaching that family. They’re super close to baptism.
We went to the recovery center to visit Irmã Marissa, whose depression rose very high. She is doing much better now, and is smiling a lot. She was happy to see us there.
The work is hard. Stressful. Probably too much for any normal late teenager. Good thing I'm not so normal - I’m ordained, blessed, and set apart by God to be His servant. But that being said, it’s still pretty hard physically, emotionally, and mentally. So why am I so happy, might you ask? A verse in my daily reading caught my attention this week. "O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in His Condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in such mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in sorrow[?]" (2Nephi 4:26) Like I’ve said several times in the past, I have the privilege to watch as people change their lives for the better, proportional to their faith in Christ that they decide to exercise. It’s super cool.
I love you all. I love this work and this people.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom
PS sorry the letter is short, I was too busy worrying myself to death that my SD card had broken.
PPS but it didn’t. It was just my imagination.
I finally bought another thingamajig. It initially gave me a scare, as it looked like it, too, did not read my card, nevertheless, I realized that it was simply my lack of pushing-it-in-far-enough.

From the minute-to win it father-son activity 1 1/2 weeks ago:

Just having fun:

I found it very funny the "Dad, you are D+" sign. It was meant to be an abbreviation for "demais", or, "Too Much", but ended up looking more like "slightly submediocre"

Nice Dia dos Pais

I had a great Brazilian father’s day. I got to speak to my family and that was great! Sorry for all the jealous RMs out there that just didn’t have that opportunity. Shoutout to my Dad, who has, through study and hard work, successfully restored a whole lot of his Portuguese, which was lost over the years! He successfully, for 2 or 3 minutes, bore me his testimony in practically flawless Portuguese. Bem feito, Pai! I did notice something as I was talking to yall - yes, skype is awesome, but it didn’t feel too much different than just reading your emails! You guys are just such awesome letter writers that I can just imagine you guys just talking to me at the dinner table!
On Saturday, we had our father's day minute-to-win it activity. It was really awesome, but horribly attended. We had all sorts of fun challenging games for fathers and sons to team up and battle against other fathers and sons. For those who do not have fathers nor sons in the activity, an informal adoption gallery took place. At the end of the games, the top 3 teams got to go to the "arena" and do this huge awesome obstacle course involving cutting toilet paper with a squirt gun, knocking over cans with rubber bands, and other such activities. It was just great.
So before continuing, I must briefly explain who George is. George is son of Edson and Deborah Samersla. He is 7, but due to mental handicap, he's about 4, and very hyperactive. He loves Star Wars and Legos. That’s pretty brief, but enough to continue the story.
So together, Edson and George made it into the top 3 teams. Looking at the daunting-ness of the obstacle course, Edson told João Bueno to let them go last, as to not hold up the other two teams waiting on George. Well, the first two teams made it through the course in about 5 minutes. There was one part of the course that was giving the teams a good amount of trouble, involving stacking miniature bottles atop the other. So Edson and George take off. George runs off in the wrong direction. Edson runs after George. They get back on the right track, and start the obstacles. With enough prodding, Edson and George make it through most of the course in decent time, and at 4 minutes, they affronted their penultimate challenge - the mini-bottle stacking. Much to the shock of the first two teams, and without delay, grace or effort, George lackadaisically plopped all three bottles perfectly into place in a matter of seconds. Then, seemingly without effort, he knocked over the coke can with his very first rubber band, and thus winning the whole competition. Everyone cheered for George and laughed at how this young man had accomplished those tasks with such little difficulty. His father gave him a big warm hug, and he smiled from ear to ear. It was a Kodak moment. :')
Speaking of fantastic moments, we had tacos today. My housemates were, yet again, happy with me. They were also very weirded out with the idea of Guacamole, (as Brazilians only eat avocados with sugar) but liked it nonetheless.
I know this letter is short, but I had a good week....A good chat with my family. The transfer list gets sent out on Friday, where I learn if I'll be staying here for another 6 weeks or not. I want to be here for Marrone and Diessica's Wedding and baptism, but only if God wants that, too. Let’s see what this week brings us.
I love you all. I continue to pray and think about yall. I love this people. I love... everything.
Com muito amor,
Elder Wassom

Awesome things about Portuguese -
The people here actually use the word "freakin" just like we do!
Me passa o freakin' bola! - Pass me the freakin' ball!

Trollar is in fact, a word, meaning to troll.
Meu, você acabou de ficar trollado - Bro, you just got trolled.
Bah, que trollagem, meu! - Maan, what a troll!

Uma semana quente‏

MONDAY, AUGUST 3rd, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,
Yes, dad, quente does in fact mean hot. We are in the middle of winter here, but strangely we are having an average high of 85 degrees, and from the looks of it, it will stay that way for a bit. It’s very strange, and no-one knows why it’s this way. It is as if summer has started, but we're smack dab in the middle of winter.
Unfortunately, I don’t have too much cool news this week.
In respect to the missionary work, it was both bad and good. To give you an idea, the baptismal date for Nilza and Kauê fell back to at least the 15th, as they did not show up at church. I almost feel more comfortable with that, as there are some complications coming to our attention. Marrone got into a fight with a youth at our church, and didn’t show up at church the following day. I’m not overly concerned about that, as men don’t hold grudges very long. Daiane and Andrea showed up to church for the first time and liked it, I think. But then we got information regarding the two of them that might delay their baptism for a while...
But on the bright side, Luiz' Mother-in-law showed up again to church, and is right ready. Really close. Andrea and Natieli also went to church. We have plans to take the whole seminary and a cake over to their house to make friends with Natieli. Really, that’s all she really needs now. Helmutt, Roseane, and Gabriel also showed up to church, and liked it, as always. We've got some real prospects that are doing well, and coming to church.
I’m sorry, guys. This morning, I sat, making my list of things to write about, with a blank expression on my face. I have that same expression now.
Well, as missionaries do when they don’t know what to say, Ill bear my testimony. I know God lives, and is my father and He loves me. I know Jesus Christ lives, and is my Savior and Redeemer and also loves me. I know the Holy Ghost is real, sent by God, and helps me a lot. I know that the church is true, and is the same church that Christ had when He was ministering personally on the earth. I know we all have eternal potential, and the only way to reach that potential is through our faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ.
I love you all. I’m doing well. Short on words, but I’m doing great. 10 months in, and I’m still working with all I’ve got.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom
Useless Portuguese Words of the Week-
Esgrima - Fencing (sport)
Estrias - Varicose Veins

A Super Week‏

MONDAY, JULY 27TH, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,
So this title was a knock-off pun because of our Super Sabado with the Ijuí youth. It was a super experience. More on that later in the letter.
First off. I got the package. THANK YOU! I love getting things in the mail. Especially when they have warm clothes, new shoes, and hot tamales :) Good thing about Hot Tamales - I don't even have to share. Brazilians are wimps for spicy-cinnamony-strong tasting foods. So everyone hated my hot tamales, and I ate them in peace :)
This week was super awesome.
First things first - in addition to our Baptismal date (29th August) for Marrone and Diessica, we also have Nilza and Kauê on the 8th and Andrea on the 29th as well.
Who are these people? Let me explain. Nilza and Kauê are neighbors to Ezilda, an awesome lady, and mother of Fernando. They were over at Ezildas house one day that we decided to pay her a visit, and Nilza felt the spirit and asked us to start to teach her. She is Illiterate. She lives with her 10-year-old son, Kauê. They both went to church yesterday and LOVED it, especially Kauê. He loved the Primary, and loved to sing all the songs. He’s super smart.
Yesterday our lesson with Nilza and Kauê was super spiritual. She expressed that she had been having sad feelings. She asked for a blessing, and cried during the blessing. It was the most well-delivered blessing I had ever given. The words just rolled out of my mouth. Normally, when I give a blessing, I pause a lot, listening for words to say. But this one, no.
Remember Andrea from last week’s email? The one with the crucifix that Thaís said wasn't worth visiting? Yeah we have continued to teach her, she has continued to progress, and she has now marked a baptismal date. She’s super awesome.
In addition to the now expanded baptismal scope for August, we have plans to make it even more expanded. Our district here in Ijuí combined together to do a group fast to help Helmutt and Rosane, and their family. As we ended the fast, my companion and I and the Elder's quorum President went to go pay him a visit. And another miracle happened. As we were in a quandary as to what to do to help them, what we should talk about was GIVEN to us. Rosane (his wife) started to talk about how her father had passed away, and how she was certain how he would’ve accepted the gospel had he still been here. She pulled out a box of old black-and white photos of several of her descendants. (antepassados=descendants, right?) She laid them all on the table. As we looked at the photos, we looked back at her, and talked about vicarious temple work. We then said "you know they're waiting on you, right?" She nodded. We challenged her to be baptized on the 8th. Instead of her usual "I'm not a widow yet" response, she said that she would pray about it. The spirit was really strong. I’m anxious to return to their house.
As for Helmutt, my companion and I thought it would be good to have members of the church INSIDE the home. Be a good influence, and have the spirit with them. This will, in turn, help him with his addiction, and give him courage to, as well, repent, and be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ.
So super sabado. This theme was called "having fun in service." Basically, the youth split up in 6 groups, one for each missionary, and went to the street, clapping doors and asking if there was something that they could clean or help with around the house. My group was the best. We called ourselves the "Marinheiros do Senhor" or, "The Lord's Sailors" I’m not sure why they wanted to be sailors, as the theme had nothing to do with sailing, but hey. Wasn’t my idea. But we did get the most pointage. We worked, and swept, and scrubbed, and picked up dog poo, and washed. It was a huge success. Afterwards, we had like a "family feud", just that who lost got pied in the face. I had the opportunity to go up head to head with Elder Sena. The question was "whose quote is "Every member a missionary"?" I buzzed first, but my companion blurted out anyway "Gordon B. Hinckley!" I pied him in the face. Then the Stake Young Men’s President asked me if I knew it. I said that it was David O McKay. He then said "I’m sorry, its Ezra Taft Benson." and ordered someone to pie me in the face. I was pied. But then I ordered one of the young men to search the real answer on his smartphone. Then I showed Irmão Ramos that it really was David O McKay. And so. I also pied Irmão Ramos in the face.
Sweet retribution. Haha. Pie pun.
So that was my week. Sorry that I didn’t go so much in detail, there was so much to tell. But I love you all. I love my calling. I love the food. I love the people. I love Ijuí.
Com amor,
Elder Wassom

Super Sabado Youth Activity:


Elder Wassom goofing off!


Elder Wassom's District:

The Spirit is Awesome!‏

Dear Family and Friends,
I have quite a bit to tell you this week, and I’m really excited to tell you about how many times better this week was than the last one. In relation to the Marrone-Diessica situation, we decided to just support them in their date for the 22nd of August. They’re only 20 years old, and this means a lot to them. They continue to be strong and firm in the church, and they love it! I included their wedding announcement in the pictures I sent.

I REALLY hope I can be there for their marriage and baptism. As we decided to leave the Marriage date as it is, we went ahead and marked their baptismal date for the 29th of August. Adriano, who passed us the Referral, is just on cloud 9. With the success that Marrone and Diessica showed, he has opened up and passed us a whole lot more referrals.
At church, Marrone, Diessica, Tainã's mom and sister (his sister finally came!), and Luiz's Mother-in-law (first time - we had been working with her for a few weeks) came.
So now to the part where I talk about how awesome the Spirit is. As a missionary, I was surprised to see how much being in the field was like my training. Most of the real-life situations really are very much like the trainings and practices. Because the gospel is like a math... Read the book of Mormon, Pray, show faith through the completion of commitments, and presto… Testimony. But, as you can expect, at times, as missionaries, life throws you a couple of curveballs. And when those curveballs come, you have to be sensitive to the spirit, or you’ll "strikeout." So on this past Sunday, we took Irmão Jaír to visit a less-active member, Thaís. When we showed up, she was not there, but her house-mate answered the door. As missionaries, we made the contact, and began teaching her instead. Her name is Daiane (not sure if I already told you guys), and she must have about 20 years. So we talked to her about the Restoration, and she showed interest, we challenged her to be baptized when she received an answer, she agreed, and so on, and everything was cool and what not. We marked to return on Wednesday.
Wednesday came, we returned with Adriano to Daiane’s, she gladly let us in, and she started off with a curveball. She said "Hey I have a friend who wanted you guys to bless this crucifix, can yall do that?" I paused. Didn’t exactly know what to do in that situation. I could have just said "no, we don’t do that," but I had this impression, that I know wasn’t a thought of my own. That thought said "Look, this girl trusts you guys as men sent of God (whom you are), use this as a teaching opportunity." So, as is the mentality of a missionary, we asked "Is your friend here?" "As a matter of fact, she is, she’s just a little shy." "Could you grab her for us?" She obliged. She returned with her friend, Andrea. At this point, I still didn’t know 100% what I was to tell her, but I had the impression just to open my mouth and speak what came to mind. And so I did. I asked her "what would be the purpose of this blessing? What do you want us to bless this FOR?" "Uhm, IDK, just so that I can have something holy close to my heart, and a symbol of God to pray to." I commended her for her desire. Then I went on to tell her that Jesus had prepared a way; left us with a way that we can feel close to God, and have this good feeling with us always. I went on to testify about the Spirit, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I told her that we can always have this gift with us, and this gift is given to those who are baptized in the Church of Christ. I then testified that we have the privilege to pray directly to God, and that he wants us to do so because He loves us.
It was just awesome. I felt so great, because I always heard of people saying "I felt like it was just the Holy Ghost filling my mouth with things to say", and I hadn’t, until this point, felt like I had an experience 100% like that. But now I had. And it just filled the room with the spirit, and it made for an awesome lesson. We marked for Friday.
Friday came, and we invited two young women in our ward to go visit them with us, to make them feel more welcome and such. But curveball #2 happened. Thais, whom was not present in our lessons until this point, met us at her door. She told us: "Look, I really don’t think you all have much purpose in coming here. I’m not really wanting to come back to church right now, Andrea is already catholic, and I don’t think she’s at all interested in what you have to tell her, and Daiane is travelling outside the city, and I don’t think she’s interested either." She dismissed us. Me, Elder Sena, and especially the two young women with us were a little stunned. It happens, but we had felt so good about those two.
But Sunday came around, and we felt impressed to return to that house. We weren’t going to take no for an answer, especially from a second source. To our surprise, Andrea greeted us warmly, and happily let us in. She said that she had been planning to go to church that morning, but her mom got really sick, and she stayed home to take care of her. She also let us know (without us asking) that she had not read the chapter from the Book of Mormon, because Daiane had been reading, and took the book with her when she went traveling. Rarely is there an excuse that us missionaries like, but that was one of those rare exceptions. So we left one for her, too, and she happily took it and thanked us. She said she had been reading the Restoration pamphlet, however. She then went on to tell us that she had wanted us to bless the crucifix on Wednesday because she had recently had a desire to re-kindle her relationship with God. We told her that that was exactly what we were sent from God to help her with. She started crying. She told us that the way we (the Spirit) explained why we didn’t bless the necklace "just made sense" to her, and that she wanted to learn how to pray and talk to God. So we did. We had a fantastic lesson with Andrea, and she said her very first (un-memorized) prayer to close it off. She told us she was happy that we had been sent there, and that we were welcome at her house.
I’m not sure if Thaís was lying, or just plain wrong, but I am glad that we listened this week to the spirit.
I know my Redeemer lives. I know the church is true. I love you all.
Com amor,
Elder Wassom

Some pictures of our Mission Conference and Scripture Mastery passoffs in Portuguese. :)

Uma Semana Meia Chata

Dear Family and Friends
Translating the title: A pretty lame week. This week was pretty lame. My companion, Elder Sena, started to have a bad ear ache last Sunday. The pain died down on Monday, but came raging back on Tuesday. We had to return to our house a little early to treat him with some pain meds (from the E-Bola survival kit). He did not sleep at all that night. On Wednesday, He finally fell asleep at around 6:50 AM, so I thought, considering the circumstances, I would let him sleep through morning study. We went to lunch, but he threw it all up afterward, he was in so much pain. So we returned to our home and I let him rest until he was able to recover enough to leave home. He didn't recover, and we spent the day inside. In the days following, we tried everything, from Pharmacy meds, to natural meds, to urban legends. I spent much time in prayer and fasting for him. At the times when we were inside, I read the scriptures. That part was good. We were able to leave a few times and teach some lessons, but I had to really carry those lessons, because my comp could barely think.
Marrone and Diessica decided to mark their marriage on the 22nd of AUGUST. When we asked why, they expressed that they needed to save enough money to buy the dress and tux. We considered (exhorted) that they rent those things. But for some reason, they were against that idea. We would have visited them on Wednesday but we had to cancel that lesson due to the earache of my companion. Next thing we knew, they have already made the wedding invitations.
My comp got better today. As some might be suspicious that he magically got better just in time for both P-Days, I will immediately shoot down those suspicions. This was 100% legitimate. Elder Sena is awesome and hard-working, and wouldn’t fake sick.
Another sad thing, I think Helmutt relapsed on his drinking problem. He smelled strongly of beer at church on Sunday. At least he came to church with his whole family, for the first time.
The mandiocada was excellent, but unfortunately, none of our investigators showed up.
Good news - Andrea, Tainã's mom showed up to church again. She and her husband show real potential. Let’s see if they can't get married.
As seen in my pics, we have 2 new elders in Ijuí. Elder Jawaad, companion of Elder Jordan Peterson, is actually American. Rarely do we see two Americans together. He speaks Portuguese fluently, as his parents are Brazilian. He’s kind of goofy , just like Elder Jordan Peterson and me, haha.
Elder Marcelino, companion of Elder Anfuso, is from Rio. He's pretty cool, and I like him a lot.
Uhm, I believe that’s about it. Sorry for the bad news, but hey. Bad weeks just happen. At least I had the chance to read a ton of the scriptures, Ensign, and Jesus The Christ. I am really being edified by the power of these resources that we have.
I love you all. I love my mission, just had a rough week. Let’s hope that my companion stays healthy, so that we get back to working in the vineyard. I am still optimistic.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom

Our new district, in order left to right: Elders Anfuso, Marcelino (new), Sena, Wassom (shock), Jawaad (new), and Jordan Peterson.


ok, so real quick. I always had the same cover on my planner - the one with Jesus and "seeking the one", but it got old and I made a new one. We got a notice that we received some boxes, and that they were dropped off at a members house. Then that member called us and complained that they have 28 boxes for us. No idea why we need literally 2,000 pamphlets (I use the word literally literally) of the Restoration, and thousands of other pamphlets and forms, but oh well. Our mandiocada was a success. We had the leftovers today. We broke the volleyball.

6 More Weeks in Ijuí Centro!‏

JULY 6th, 2015

So the title is pretty self-explanatory. I survived yet another transfer here in Ijuí. Elder Bispo dos Santos (tall, Bahiano, brown) is headed to Livramento, and Elder Italo Silva (Northeastern, broken tooth) is going to Santa Maria-Tancredo Neves. I'm not sure if that’s important info to you, but why not just throw that in there? Both Elder Jordan Peterson and Elder Anfuso will train, and Elder Jordan Peterson was relieved from his duty as a District Leader, in preparation of his departure to the US in 3 months. Elder Anfuso is our new District Leader.
So on the fourth of July, as some of you asked, we did nothing differently. US Independence Day is irrelevant when you are not in the US. However, Elder Jordan Peterson and I did sing the US National Anthem over the phone in two part harmony to our Zone Leader, Elder Knowles. So that’s something.
On Sunday, it was really really cold. I believe it was below freezing when we woke up. And our house has many perks, but good insulation is not one of those perks. So I had to wake up, put on my gloves, my thermals, my long-sleeve, my sweater, and then my suitcoat. Then I realized- I was still cold. So I threw on my trench coat over that suit. Unfortunately, a lot of our ward and investigators also noticed that it was cold. So our church was a little more empty this week. But that didn’t stop Marrone and Diessica. Marrone bore his testimony. And for the first time, Tainã's Mom showed up to church. That was nice to see her; we had been working with her for some time.
Speaking of other successes with people whom we have been working for some time, Sergio has made a good jump back into activity in the church. He's the man from Rio that lent his computer for us to skype home on Mother's day. He has made a commitment that, because he often works Sunday, that he will try 100% to find a new job, and index 5,000 names this year. He showed us how it all works. It seems easy enough... I will have to do some indexing when I get home. We had lunch at his home on Saturday. That was an experience very close to heaven. We had a beef Fricassé, (Rice, Beans) and a super good mixed salad with different types of bell peppers, cucumbers, and radishes. Ooh and a pasta carbonara. I do like food.
For our final P-day as a district, the three companionships in Ijuí went down and played more volleyball and Ultimate, and then we decided to make a pizza from scratch. It turned out quite fantastic. Elder Anfuso was a little sad because we followed a recipe to make the pizza dough, and it looked like we made too little. So Elder Anfuso went to town and made another batch, just that we ran out of flour and eggs. So he did a little improv using Northeastern Couscous and Baking powder. At this time, he realized that we HAD, in fact, made enough pizza dough, as flattening out the dough increased the surface area far beyond what Elder Anfuso was anticipating. So he threw his couscous mixture in a pan, anyways. Then Elder Bispo dos Santos went ahead and smeared Melada on it (a weird sweet mixture made from sugarcane. We didn’t have very much else to lose, so we just stuck that in the oven, too. To everyone’s surprise, it made a pretty good cake. I’m gonna miss this district. It’s pretty awesome. Our ward is doing a ward Mandiocada on Saturday. A Mandiocada, in short, is pretty much a beef-mandioc stew. If you don't know what mandioc is, neither did I before the mission. I liked it since day 1. One day a Brazilian asked me "What is Mandioca in English?" And I had to say "No idea." So I used my dad’s little green dictionary. It’s a root that is boiled, having more or less the consistency of a potato, but way tastier. So tasty, in fact, I am considering bringing it to the US, and being a mandioc farmer when I grow up. America needs mandioc. And I know it’d make big bucks. So I’m looking forward to Saturday.
We have been working more as a district in respect to activities, too. We are doing more city-wide activities instead of just ward activities. We had a Church Cinema this last Friday. We showed "Other Side of Heaven." So that worked out well.
Hey. Love you all. Pray for you. I'm doing great. Hope all is well with you.
Com Amor,
Elder Wassom