Epistle #6 from Elder Lobo

Olá a todos!

So last week's epistle was all in Portuguese, and that was just because I didn't really think I had that much to write about, but I like getting Portuguese back from Dad. By the way, I can print out emails so I don't have to spend much computer time reading them.

This week was a very tough week. In all the preparing for a mission, spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, mental, etc, the emotional challenges are probably the toughest for me to deal with.

Elder Davis and I are two very, very different people. Pretty much every spectrum you could compare us on, we would be on opposite sides. For the past couple weeks, we weren't really communicating as well as we should have been. It resulted in huge misunderstanding and some really bad feelings between the two of us. But yesterday, we sat down and had a really good conversation trying to understand each other better starting sentences with "it appears to me" or "it felt like this is what happened" and it really helped a lot. It helped me realize that part of having charity for people is just caring about them or doing nice things etc., but it's in trying to understand people from their perspective, not your own.

So once that was taken care of, it was like a giant weight was lifted.

I was called to be a district leader on Sunday. Our district has 8 elders and our zone has 5 districts. It's really not a huge deal, but it's felt like a huge responsibility. I'm the link between the elders of the district and the zone leaders and branch presidency. I have to account for them and am responsible for how they are doing. Luckily, we have a hard-working, motivated district so I can still have time to fix my own problems :P.

We taught the first lesson in Portuguese for the second time on Monday to a volunteer. It was probably one of the greatest teaching experiences I've had so far. We were talking about the restoration and trying to explain God's purposes to somebody who didn't believe in God (volunteering to act the part). Even explaining it in Portuguese, I felt like I expressed it better than I ever have in English. By that I mean that I explained it and felt the Spirit more strongly than any other time explaining it. Lessons 1 and 2 of Preach My Gospel are not amazing in themselves, but the significance and rammifications of the lessons for all of life are just astounding. I hope people are open enough to pause and at least listen.

I was in a training meeting Tuesday and a counselor of the branch presidency explained motivation in a way I have never been able to explain before outside the context of the Gospel. He said that there are good and not so good ways to be motivated. A not so good motivation is duty, but there is rarely any incentive to increase your duty. Fear is also not a good motivator, because over time, you have to increase the punishment for disobedience to continue a desirable response. Reward is not a good motivator either, because each reward has to be consecutively greater to warrant any action. The best and potentially perfect motivator is love. That is something I had never been able to put my finger on before. I was telling Ben, my boss at StowAway2 on the last day, that I'm not motivated by money, obligation, or punishment. What I hadn't yet understood or verbalized was that more often than not the things that get me motivated are love. I study because I love the language or love the people or love the missionary calling. I do things for other people and be nice to them and encourage them because I love them. I study the scriptures and talks and listen to leaders because I love them and I love their source of information: our Heavenly Father.

We had Marlin K Jensen for our Devotional on Tuesday. I remembered he was a great church historian and family history leader. His wife mentioned something when she spoke that "you are who you are on a mission." It's very interesting to see how people interpret that and when they explain why. For some people, it could be reworded like this: "you are yourself on a mission," like being on a mission brings out your true character, but for me it was more like "you are: who you are on a mission." It made sense to me that like choosing to come to earth, choosing to come on a mission involved a lot of unknowns and a lot of faith. It also is a whole new level of being tested that is far beyond anything the world could offer with its trials and afflictions. For me, every step is not predetermined by who I am -- and it makes it difficult. But as you say, Dad, I'm a glutton for punishment.

Gotta go! Eu amo vocês!

Elder Lobo

Our Star!

In December, our very own Sheridan Murray was selected for the highly elite All-Northwest honor choir! She spent this last week in Vancouver, B. C. with four other kids from her high school choir who were also selected. They had three days of intense rehearsals under the direction of a master choral instructor (who Sheridan says was fabulous!). The week ended with two concerts, one of which featured the high school women's honor choir, which Sheridan was a part of. We are so proud of her!!

A few weeks after finding out about All-Northwest, Sheridan also landed a prominent lead in the high school musical, "Oliver!" She is playing the part of Nancy, for those of you who are familiar with the play. She's been having a blast, and amazing us all with her talent! The play opens this Thursday and runs through Saturday. We are so excited to go see our star in action! Break a leg Sheridan! We love you!

Best of luck tomorrow to Ashley (Sharp) and Jared Jarreau -- they are having their second child tomorrow by scheduled c-section!

Miller Family blog

Hi!
We have a blog, also! I don't know how to get it to the list on the side of this page, with the others though. I am not really very good at this, and I am trying to figure things out as I go along. millerrubbish.blogspot.com is our site! Keep in touch, and we'll keep you posted!
Rebecca Miller (Becky Jefferies to those who aren't sure)

Epistle #5 from Elder Lobo

Olá a todos!

Eu estou tão feliz escrever novamente! Suas cartas sempre ficam-me muito feliz e eu sempre estou grato de responder.

Hoje, fomos ao templo, eu tinha uma experiência muita boa. Eu amo nosso Pai Celestial e tudo o que abençoa-nos. Eu sentí o Espirito muito no templo hoje, e no posso esperar até o proxima sexta-feira.

Bem, esta semana aprendimos sobre o conjuntivo futuro e algumas outras coisas. Practicamos falando com pessoas novas sobre o Evangelho, e foi muito bom. Eu tenho aprendido muito sobre ensinar, Português, e o Evangelho.

Nos meus estudos das escrituras, eu tenho aprendido muito sobre fé e esperança. Não tenho o meu diário dos estudos, mas vou tentar dizê-los novamente.

Tenho lido nos capitulos das guerras no Alma, e são muito triste. Eu sei que o bom do mundo sempre vai ganhar, mas é muito triste que há muitas pessoas que cairam pelas mentiras do diabo.

Tenho orado muito para você, Mae, e eu sei que nosso Pai Celestial vai abençoar-te. Todas as afliçoes do mundo será nada contra as bênçãos de Deus.

Encontrei um discurso por Dallin H Oaks esta semana chamado Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall. Fala sobre moderação e que não é uma virtude. Devemos servir com todo nosso poder, mente, e força. Já ajudou-me muito, e espero que eu possa ser melhor.

Mae, 2 Nefi 4 é a minha escritura preferida! Eu amo-a. Esta escritura e 1 Corintos 13 e Ecclesiastes. Tudo é muito boa.

Parabens, Pai! Eu sei que vais ser um grande instrumento nas mãos do Senhor. Tens sido (não sei se esta palavra é certo) boa sempre e tu sempre mostra um grande exemplo para mim.

Bem... Eu tenho aprendido muito nesta semana sobre humilde, esperança, e fé. Eu gosto muito da parábola de Ariana. Ela disse que nosso crescer é como uma árvore. Não sei como dizer isto em Português. Devemos ter bastante folhas para ser bastante grande. È um exemplo muito bom para mim.

Tenho seis minutos mais...

Eu sou tão grato por vocês. Eu amo vocês e obrigado por tudo. Eu sei que Deus é nosso Pai Celestial e que Ele SEMPRE quer o melhor para nós. Durante todas as aflições e todas as provas, Ele quer o melhor para todos. Por meu estudo das escrituras esta semana e na minha vida, eu sei que os profetas são verdadeiros desde Adão até agora com Thomas S Monson. Eu são tão grato pelo Espírito e por todas as bênçãos de nosso Pai. Espero que vocês tembém possam lembrar-se isto sempre, durante tudo.

Eu amo vocês e espero que tudo seja bem!

Elder Lobo

--------------------------------

Just in case you don't understand the original in Portuguese, here is a quick translation:

Hi all!

I'm happy to write again! Your letters make me happy and I'm always glad to answer.

Today, we went to the temple, I had a good experience. I love our Father in Heaven and he blesses us. I felt the Spirit very much in the temple today, I can hardly wait for next Friday.

Well, this week we learned about the future conjunctive an other things.We practiced speaking with different people about the Gospel, it went very well. I have learned a lot about teaching, Portuguese, and the Gospel.

In my scripture study I learned about faith and hope. I don't have a diary of the study, but I'll try telling them again.

I have read the chapters in Alma about the wars, they are very sad. I know the good people of the world will win, but it is sad that so many people fall from the devil's lies.

I have been praying for you, Mom, I know our Heavenly Father will bless you. All the afflictions of this world are nothing compared to God's blessings.

I found a talk by Dallin Oaks this week titled Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall. He talks about moderation and that is not a virtue. We must serve with all our might, mind and strength. It already helped me much, and I hope I can do better.

Mom, 2NE 4is my favorite scripture. I love it! This scripture and 1 Cor 13, and Ecclesiastes, they are all great!

Congratulations Dad! I know you will be an instrument in the Lord's hands. You have been good always and you have always been a good example to me.

Well...I have learned much this week about humility, hope, and faith. I like Ariana's parable. She said that our growth is like a tree. I don't know how to say it in Portuguese. We have to have many leaves to be very big. It is a good example to me.

I have 6 more minutes...

I am thankful to you. I love you and thank you for everything. I know God is our Eternal Father and he ALWAYS wants what is best for us. During our trials and afflictions, he wants the best for us. Through my scripture study this week and in my life, I know that our prophets from Adam to Pres. Monson are true. I am grateful for the Spirit and all our Father's blessings. I hope you can always remember this, through all.

I love you and hope all is well.

Elder Lobo

(translated in record time by Celso)

Granny J’s Youthful Experiences in The Long-Ago Days of Yore When We Rode Dinosaurs to School and Didn’t Have Television

Ok, I couldn't resist posting this. Aunt Jane forwarded this to me...it is something she wrote for a school assignment for Jay Jefferies (Vince's son). Enjoy! ---Ariana

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Introduction Born in 1944 to a father who couldn’t go to war due to a perforated ear-drum and a mother who knew how to make bread , make quilts and sew clothes for her children, I spent my early years in Altonah, Duchesne, Kanab and Delta, Utah.

Adventure in Kanab While a pre-schooler in Kanab, my family was driving swiftly over a rutted dirt road across the cedar breaks area on the north rim of the Grand Canyon in the Pontiac car we called “Old Pokey.” We were on a wood gathering trip as our home was heated by a free-standing wood-burning stove in the living room. For the price of gasoline, which was far below twenty-five cents a gallon, we could enjoy a family outing into the untamed hills to collect snags of dead wood from the cedar trees that grew out of the red earth.

I was in the back seat bundled in a bulky snowsuit with my brother hanging on to the plush rope that passed for a child restraint in the days before seat belts. This covered rope originated on the far edge of the driver’s seat behind the driver, traversed tightly against and across the back of the front seat, a bench seat, and disappeared into the far edge of the front seat on the passenger’s side. Little children in the back could reach out and stabilize themselves when the car lurched, or stand up, if they were small enough, on the floor and talk with parents in the front.

Clinging to the rope, I also reached out and hung onto the door’s inside handle. Mom, turning around and seeing me so attached, warned me to let go of the door handle, but I persisted. A few bumps later on the rutted road, and my weight on the door handle caused it to unlatch and open with me hanging on for dear life. My hand slipped and I fell to the road rolling over and over, and luckily not being smashed under Old Pokey. They gathered up my bleeding body and took me to their doctor in Kanab. He sewed up a gash in the back of my head, and a gash on my forehead and sighed with sorrow over the places where my hair clips had torn out twin gashes on either side of my head. With the roots gone, the hair never grew back. This accident and the scars gave me bragging rights for years to come.

My parents told me this, my favorite childhood story every time I asked. The story always ended with them telling me how the doctor turned to them after sewing me up and chastised them severely for allowing such a cute little girl to have such a horrendous accident. The best part of the story was how I saved them from the Doctor’s anger. I was sitting on his lap, and I reached up, put my arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.

Adventure in Altonah In my college years I studied biological sciences and earned my Master of Science degree by doing a botanical study called, “A Taxonomic Revision of the Genus Sphaeralcea for the State of Utah. The genus Sphaeralcea is a varied assortment of eleven species of beautiful cadmium-yellow (a shade of orange) flowers in the Hibiscus or Hollyhock family that grow as wayside plants in different places in Utah. How did I get interested in flowers? Well, it started before I was five years old. My father had secured a job as Agriculture and Shop teacher in Altamont, Utah and we had returned to his parent’s homestead of 160 acres north of Altonah. One warm summer day I wandered out of the little farmhouse, and across the dirt road that connected the Indian reservation on the north with the distant community of Altamont on the south. I passed over the narrow bridge over an irrigation ditch that resembled a mountain stream as it rampaged down the slope toward Altamont and began exploring the pasture south of my Uncle’s dairy barn. There I found beautiful red Indian paintbrushes, bluebells, and an intriguingly mysterious flower I had never seen before. Looking back, It might have been Calocortus, Utah’s state flower, the sego lily...but I’ll never know, because I can’t picture that distant memory in my mind. I wanted to share this find with my little sister, Kathy, who was four years old, so I retraced my steps to the house and told her about the flower. She wanted tosee it, so I led her to the small ravine where the flower grew. Except, we couldn’t find it. The landscape had changed. We wandered around looking for the pretty flower and all of a sudden there was a fierce snort! Looking up we saw a massive boar bearing down on us. The horrible pig clamped onto my little sister’s leg with its brute mouth and I ran screaming to get our Mom who grabbed her broom and fearlessly attacked the ferocious pig. Mom triumphed. Kathy was bleeding from a deep gash in her leg that required stitches. That was her claim to fame for years to come. I was deeply proud of my brave and fierce Mommy.

Adventure in Delta My brother, Norman, is two years older than I am. When we moved to Delta, a real town with a post office and a library as well as a big school, and IFA, and a United States Department of Agriculture, Soils Conservation Service office where my father worked, Norman was in first grade. I was nearly kindergarten age. I started kindergarten in the summertime. Kindergarten was just a short few-week long course where we polished our drawing and coloring skills, worked over the sounds of the alphabet, and took naps on little rugs after eating a graham cracker and drinking a small carton of milk.

Life was simple. I walked across my street, a paved road, proceeded north a few houses, picked up my best friend, Cologne Searle, and trekked a couple of blocks to the main street which was the highway through Delta. There we turned east, walked past a few big buildings, the DelMart dry goods & clothing store, and crossed Main Street on a crosswalk to the north side of the road where there was a Five & Ten-Cent store. Nowdays we have Dollar Stores. When I was a little one, we had Five & Ten Cent stores. This store was next to the shoe store. Back in 1952 shoe stores were places where you went in, got a free Super Man comic book for keeps, and sat down to read it while the shoe clerk came over and measured your foot. My mom always asked him to get “saddle oxfords” for me. She prefered them because they were strong and sturdy shoes, but I thought they looked really dumb. My friend Cologne had little strappy shoes. Sometimes she had shiny black little strappy shoes, and I always had saddle oxfords. Ok, the clerk would bring a couple of boxes of shoes over and put them on for me. He would use a shoehorn to ease my heel into the shoe. Then he would ask me to go over to the machine.... I can’t remember what it was called... and stick my foot in at the bottom. The machine would show the position of my foot inside of the shoe. It was like an X-ray of the foot and shoe. I would look in a little tubular shaded window at the top and wiggle my toes. It was fascinating to see the bones in my foot and toes. Shoe stores don’t have these amazing machines any more. They were full of dangerous radiation. It’s a wonder that all the people of my generation don’t have foot cancer.

Let’s diverge from the trip to school and I’ll tell you about my stockings in those days of long ago.

As a rule in the warmer months girls wore little ankle socks with their shoes. When the weather got cold, all my friends wore tights, but my Mom got out the long brown socks and a little harness that fit over my shoulders. The long brown socks, way ugly in my estimation, were fastened to the socks by way of four little metal clips that pinched the top of the sock over a rubber knob called a garter. My brother made fun of me, and I really hated these long brown socks... but that ended on Christmas Eve. When it came time to hang up our socks on the fireplace on Christmas Eve, Mom sent us, meaning my brother Norman, my sister Kathy, my little brother Evan, and myself to our rooms to each get one clean sock . The brothers’ socks were their little black Sunday socks. Kathy and I passed over our anklets and presented our long, brown, ugly stockings with glee and great joy! The brothers were mad. Well, at least they were mad with envy. They really felt the unfairness of the situation because our socks would hold so much more of Santa’s delights than their little socks. At last, sweet revenge for all the “Hah-hah-ha-hah-hah’s I’d endured from my brother because he didn’t have to wear a harness, garters and long socks to school!

The story gets even better. My Father, full of wisdom, saw this as a chance to teach these greedy sons a lesson of life. He said, “I’ll put up a gunny sack and get more goodies than all of you!” He went out to the shed and brought back an empty feed sack of woven burlap and hung it next to our stockings, chortling with glee at all the loot he would get from Santa. Mom warned him. She told him that Santa would fill it with sticks and coal for being so greedy, but he wouldn’t listen. Before we went to bed there was a clatter on the porch, banging on the door, a loud and jolly voice calling “Merry Christmas” and Santa himself wearing a red suit and a big cottony beard burst into the room. He handed us each a paper bag with an orange, peanuts, and some amazing flat loopy-looped Christmas candy. In later years I learned that this particular Santa was a man from our LDS ward who dressed up every year and visited all the children in town. So, the next morning, and it snowed in the night making the world beautiful, there were our stockings. Kathy’s, Norman’s, Evan’s, mine, and Mom’s were filled with yummy stuff. But Dad’s! It was full of sticks and coal!

Returning to the trek to kindergarten.... on the way at one house, the sidewalk which was cracked and raised by roots of large trees, was lined by a beautiful horde of iris flowers. They smelled SO sweet! Now, when I smell iris flowers and close my eyes, I am transported back to my happy childhood and that warm summer trek to kindergarten. Dick and Jane was the name of the first book I ever read. It went like this: “Look, look. Look and see. Look and see Dick. Look and see Jane. Look and see Spot. See Spot run. See Dick run. See Jane run. Look and see Dick and Jane run.” What a plot! What descriptive terms! How exciting it was to learn to read!

On the way to first grade that fall as I was crossing Main Street near the Five & Dime store saw my first bumper sticker. It was on a car that had stopped to let us cross the street. It said, “I like Ike.”

General Eisenhower, the commander of all our troops when World War II ended, was running for president of the United States of America, and I could read his campaign slogan on a bumper sticker. I could do better than that! My teacher, Mrs. Seegmiller, was justifiably proud of me and of another girl in her class. We had learned to read using the phonetics method, and we were good. We could read anything that was put into our hands. One day, Mrs. Seegmiller took us up to the sixth grade classroom. It was upstairs where first graders weren’t ordinarily allowed to go. The kids up there were big. The sixth grade teacher was also the honored Mrs. Western, the principal of our school. She was also the one who washed our knees with green soap when we fell down on the gravel playground and got cut or scraped. She was a nice lady. She invited us into her class and told her students, the big sixth-graders, to pay attention to these two little first grader girls. She picked up a sixth grade reader off the shelf and handed it to me. I opened it and read it. It was so cool being able to show off like that.

One time Mrs. Seegmiller had to rub her pungent green soap on the bleeding cut I’d gotten at school. It was in a tender spot... right squack on top of the scar on my forehead... the one I’d gotten in Kanab. Blood was gushing gently down my face and dripping off my chin. One of the boys had brought some matches and firecrackers to school to entertain us at recess. He put a can over a lit firecracker and we all stood there watching as the powerful firecracker exploded and blew the can high into the air. It went up so high that we could hardly see it. We watched it coming down, down, down, closer and closer until...crack! It landed right on my upturned forehead. Mrs. Western cleaned me off, disinfected the wound with her green soap and sent me back to class, but not before she told me that I should be more careful.

Those were the days that playgrounds were PLAYGROUNDS! We had merry-go-rounds that the boys could spin so fast that half the kids would fall off from sheer centrifugal force. We had swings that soared up into the sky on ever-so long chains. We had teeter-totters so big and strong that they could break your leg if one came down on a leg. We had slickery slides that went up so high you got dizzy looking down from the top, and half the time, little kids were too afraid to slide down so the shut their eyes and backed down the steps. And... we had the Giant Stride! It was a tall pole with a moving ring at the top. Chains dangled down ending in two gripping places, one above the other. The lucky ones who were tall enough to reach the grips could play on it. I was in third grade before I was tall enough to do it. Once the grip on the end of each chain was in the clutches of a child, we would all start to run as fast as we could around and around. As our speed approached lift-off, the shorter and lighter children would be swept off their feet and up into the air. The taller, heavier kids would keep running until they could leap off the ground in free flight before coming down, legs churning, to keep up the momentum. If you were nearly ready to loose your grip, all you had to do was get a foot on the ground for a mini-second and resecure your grip. Yes, once in awhile, someone would loose their grip. The more agile would hit the ground running. The less fortunate would practice their drop and roll maneuver. Nowdays children are poor, sad, things. All the fun equipment has been stripped from the playground. Down at Draper Elementary where I have substituted, the children asked to say in for recess because there was nothing to do outside. At least there are fewer skinned knees and bleeding skulls. Small solace for all the lost fun and excitement of being a kid on a playground!!!

Jane Ardis Murray Jefferies

Born August 31, 1944

Salt Lake City, UT

Written for Jay Jefferies

February 21, 2008

Draper, Utah

Photos from Elder Lobo

District 54B before Elder Larsen went to the Brasil CTM.
Elders Lobo and Brown, both from the Portland area pointing to the Portland Temple.

Epistle #4 from Elder Lobo

Olá a todos!

(Thanks for correcting the todos, Dad, hahaha)
I have a ton I could write about, so I'll try to make the best use of my 30 minutes.
First, I'll go through my list for the week:
Every Sunday, we have had awesome weather.
We got to watch the worldwide leadership training meeting for our Sunday Fireside. It was really good -- I hope you got to see it. It was all about families and like, husband and wife duties, which seems like the last thing most missionaries would want to hear about. However, one general trend that is becoming more and more apparent is like a second go around of fulfilling a "law of Moses." One of the best things they said in that meeting was that homemaking isn't about cooking, cleaning, or sewing anymore. It's about creating a good environment for growth. With Preach My Gospel, this new counsel, President Hinckley's "Do Your Best" talk, and all the others, it seems like the commandments of our life are becoming more open-ended.

Another thing I realized this week is the great value and utility of having a purpose statement. With everything I do, I can evaluate how my actions are helping me better fulfill my purpose statement, which is found right in the beginning of PME.

Oh, and by the way, THANKS FOR THE BOXES! Good grief. I have enough food/candy/warm cake to last me for the next two years!!! I'm really glad that you sent more of those ginger chews and warm cake. Ariana sent me a measuring cup, so I have one less thing to worry about.

Thanks for sending me Preston's drawings! I love the happy faces -- they're surprisingly motivating. Who knew a three-year-old could do so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PRESTON! PARABENS A ELE! TRES ANOS! QUE VELHO!

I met some more Brazilians in the MTC going to Japan on Tuesday. They were from the interior of Sao Paulo state.
Bem, eu tenho dezeoito minutos mais, e agora vou tentar escrever em Portugues:
O distrito novo é muito bom! Há algumos missionários que já falam Português. Eles são muito divertido quando nós falamos.
Vamos ensinar a primeira lição na segunda feira. Já practicamos tres vezes, e eu creo que vamos ensinar muito bem. O meu companheiro não já fala bem, mas eu sei que O Senhor vai ajudar-se.

Portuguese is a little slow, so I'm going to just write the rest in English.
Another update on the frustration situation:
You know how I have been taking the MTC very seriously? After talking with Elder Davis, I think I have been taking it too seriously. Let me elaborate. I got so focused on being exactly obedient that I would start reading scriptures just to be doing the right thing. I would teach just so we could get the experience, and I would find scriptures just to use that time better. While those things are good things, I know that it's more important to be focused on the purpose of being the servant of the Lord that He called me to be.

I had been getting frustrated when other people would waste time or take a lot of breaks because I thought they could do better, and I didn't see why people couldn't work hard all the time. While it may be true that people can work harder, there's no reason to torture myself with it. Also, if there are things outside of my control, such as the agency of others, I have to understand that the things that hinder me will not hinder the Lord. Job 16:19....? I don't remember. Anyway, I'm much happier now and find it much easier to focus on what I need to be doing.

Also, I have learned a little bit about how growth happens at the MTC. The first week or so after I got here, the Spirit was at 100% strength all the time. After a while though, I still felt the Spirit, but it felt like I was missing it. I was pretty certain I didn't do or say anything wrong -- I was working the same way as when I entered. However, as I have discovered this week, we are expected to grow.

I thought of an analogy while talking to Elder Velasquez, the district leader, who has been experiencing the same thing: It's like lifting weights (I know, it's trite, and I pretty much never lifted weights in my life). When you lift a certain amount, it makes you sore. It's a humbling, satisfying feeling. However, after lifting the same amount, you don't get sore anymore. You think you're strong, and you probably are. However, to keep that humbling communication between the two entities of mind and body, you have to do more. You have to push yourself, find new ways to improve, and ask for help. Repeated paradigm shifts (or expansions, however you want to look at it) are absolutely necessary.

Anyway, the days are going much better and I am trying not to enjoy myself too much. I still have my drive to be the absolute best missionary I can be, but am still learning how to do it.

Yesterday, I listened to a whole session of General Conference in Continental Portuguese. It was amazing. I sat in the window of the computer lab and listened to the talks, understanding the general ideas. Did you know Richard G Scott does his own Portuguese translations?? It was amazing. I was listening to his talk and it took me about 15 seconds before I remembered which talk it was and realized that it sounded just like Richard G Scott. I loved that talk. It was great to hear it again, even if I didn't understand the words 100%.

I saw Jeff's dad in the Provo temple today!

Que mais...

I love you all! Happy Birthday to Preston! I hope I can remember everybody's birthday.

Abracos!
Elder Lobo

From Sister Liz Jefferies in the Columbus, Ohio Mission

Oh my family,

I love you all so much, and I really am so sad to
hear about aunt Julina's death! what a shock I had no idea.

well its true, ever since i heard it I cant forget it.... Sister
DeCosta once said the mission is like a glorified groundhogs day...
and it is. every day you wake up and do the same thing and everyday
you try to do something right you didnt the day before... but today
was a bit out of the normal, My lovely Sister DeCosta left. She is
finished. She made it! and here I am just begining. It was so so
hard to see her go.To know she is going back to her home and and
her family, and I will still be here...my only real friend in Ohio
is gone!!

But today I got a new best friend. Her name is Sister Draper!!!
so that is neat. She is from California but said her great great
grandfather is William Draper...yep the founder of our dear Draper
City! so that is neat. she is almost as new as I am. she has been
out just 6 weeks longer.... so here we are two newbees just trying
to do the Lords work... So I am still here in Westland. same
address! How it works (but sometimes differs) is you are in an
area 6 months. so i will have a total of 3 areas and 6 companions...
 unless funny things happen and they do!

Something funny happened last night. We stopped at the McKinney's to
say bye and he had made us a cake (same guy who made the chocolate pie in
his underwear) and they feed us each a huge piece of cake and tons of
ice cream and a huge glass of milk. we had just had a big dinner and
dessert and i was stuffed. but they were so excited about it. so i start
to eat and eat and eat. i thought i would explode. then i realized i
hadn't drank any milk. its hard for me to drink milk at other peoples
houses..i don't know why..and it was 2 percent and it was warm...but i
drank it. i finished almost the whole glass when sister DeCosta switched
my cup with hers when they weren't looking!!! i am out of time...but the
point is i thought i would rat on her and said "hey i drank my milk
and you put your in front of me" and rick laughed and said "no you
haven't touched yours..i saw sister DeCosta drinking hers...must be the
blonde coming out!" WHAT!?!?! I drank all mine. so i had to drink hers
too...i was so sick all night!! that silly rat! we laughed about it
all the way home!!!

I love you all!! write me letters!!!

Sister Liz Jefferies

-------------------------
P.S. from Ariana:  Liz's Address is
5050 Open Meadows Drive #8, Columbus, OH 43228

Epistle #3 from Elder Lobo

Ola a tudos! (February 8, 2008)

This week was a good week. I left my journal and notes in our room, so hopefully I remember everything. Thanks for the bathrobe, the shoes, and the candy! The ginger chews are reallllly good.

Things I am going to ask for:
Artwork! Please send me some artwork from any of the nephews/nieces! It would be cool.
Breathe Right strips (clear). I snore. Elder Davis is a light sleeper. Get it?
Elder Davis' birthday is February 15, and we have a microwave, so send some warm cake!

Anyway, last Saturday, we went into the Referral Center, which is where the calls from pass along cards go. I only got to talk to one person -- a trucker from Pittsburg who really wanted to read the Book of Mormon. My experience from StowAway2 definitely helped me out a lot. I was comfortable on the phone. It was great explaining to him the basics of what the Book of Mormon is, how we have it, and why it matters. Testifying to him was a great experience, too. It's like I moved the phone from my mouth to my heart. I hope it works out for him.

I left all of your letters in our room, too, so I hope I respond to everything...

Portuguese has been coming along very well. We just learned subjunctive and command form yesterday. We taught part of the first lesson in Portuguese and speaking is coming very naturally. I get to call before I fly out, and even though it's a long way away, I can't wait for it!

Teaching is going well. At first, I was always talking so quickly and trying to go so fast that my mind would outpace my mouth. Lately though, as I've slowed down during the lesson and realized that the practice people I'm teaching really need to understand the lesson, too, it's felt much different. It's like every practice session I do is an attempt to bring the volunteer closer to Christ, from wherever they're at. Plus, I've heard a few things about people volunteering at the MTC because they need that kind of thing done just for them.

Once again, Happy Birthday to Jason and Drew!

Oh yeah, so our firesides and devotionals are GREAT!! Elder Claudio R M Costa came this Tuesday and I forced Elder Davis to come with me to get a great seat. He gave a great talk about his conversion and the importance of missionary work. His wife's accent took me right back to Marina's apartment -- it was surreal. Anyway, he really reminded me of you, Dad. In his case, though, missionaries talked to their family 10 years before he was actually baptized. His dad just didn't ask the questions he really wanted to know, and when he did, it turned him 180 degrees and he really opened himself up to listen. Also, the results of missionary work are not just baptisms, lessons taught, or even the number of converts. "You can count the number of apples on an apple tree, but you can't count the number of apple trees inside an apple." It's amazing to know that I'm also a product of missionary work.

New missionaries came this week in our zone. I still have several to meet.

I expressed some frustration in the last letter with people arguing or whatever. I learned a lot more about that this week, and am still learning a lot more.

So much of the problems we have with other people come from ourselves. In my case, I take the MTC very seriously, study every chance I get, and don't like messing around. On the other hand, other people either have different study patterns, have to relax differently, or whatever. After this last semester, I can handle being in class or doing homework for the entire day without a problem. Other people don't have that blessing/curse (however you want to look at it). What I am learning though is that people are different in so many ways. We inherently conflict. No matter how much I am alike someone else or how much I think I like somebody, there will always be something that gets in the way. I'm still working on overcoming that, though. I'm trying to find the balance between completely going back into my shell and between being very extroverted. I am a very introverted person that tries too hard sometimes to be extroverted. In so many ways, most of the interpersonal problems I have with other people are "me" problems. Anyway, I hope that further study and prayer will help me figure this out.

I had a great discussion with Elder Golden and Elder Velasquez about the fall of Adam and Eve. It started with me reading in 2 Ne 2:15 about how the opposition in the Garden of Eden was between the forbidden fruit and the tree of life. It was amazing to look at the presence of agency in pre-earth life, pre-fall life, and post-fall life for them and us. It's amazing to realize that since God does not cause us to be tempted, He allows His children to help each other learn the differences between good and evil. It's helped me so much to realize that even with all the conflicting ideals of introversion and extroversion or self-preservation and selflessness, it is all for us to learn and choose good over evil. Like the conflicting commandments of "multiply and replenish the earth" vs. "don't eat the forbidden fruit," we face similar choices that help us learn. That's what we're all here for.

Que mais...

Forgive me if I forgot to mention something! I usually try to prepare pretty well during the week to summarize and communicate what is going on.

I love you all! Abracos a tudos! Have Preston write me a letter!

Out of time!

Elder Lobo

Megan Kent's new blog

Notice the new link at the right side of this blog -- there's a new link to Megan Kent's family blog. Anybody else have one we need to link to? :)

Ola! Epistle #2 from Elder Lobo

Ola a todos!

Thanks for forwarding the last email around. It really helps me out a lot to write cohesively when I only have to write a few letters a week instead of several. I only have email access on Fridays and I only write letters on those days, too.

Happy Birthday to Jeff, Larabeth, Jason, and Drew! I don't know if my letters made it in time, but I hope they did.

Anyway, this week has been kinda crazy. We've moved on to learn how to teach the 2nd lesson in Preach My Gospel (which is absolutely an inspired book). It's the plan of salvation. Learning to express what I know in a digestible fashion has made my testimony so much stronger. I was sitting in Tuesday's devotional (Pres. Rasband of the Q of 70) and during the last hymn, "We Thank The, Oh God, For a Prophet," I felt one of the strongest witnesses from the Holy Ghost. Every line rang true in my torso and I could barely open my mouth to sing.

As for the passing of President Hinckley, here is what I wrote moments after we heard the news in a post-fireside video on Sunday:

"Right now, unless I knew him personally, I think sadness would be inappropriate. The Lord is leading this church and the prophet is His mouthpiece. He knows what the world needs and uses apostles and prophets to help us understand His plan for us. Prophets and apostles are for our good, and [our eternal existence] is dependent upon our willingness to obey. We cannot reject the prophets and we cannot have any negative feelings about how the Lord organizes and maintains His church. It's great that such diligent, valiant, patient people serve us. However, it's critical that we focus more on the teachings the Lord gives us. Deny [vain] ritualism and any form of idolatry. Focus on the truth and principle behind the physical manifestation."

The Lord's work won't miss a beat.

What else...

Recalling that the Spirit is extremely sensitive, I would like to share a little experience I've had this last week. We're counseled to be sure to stay positive in our emails and letters to people, and I believe this is working out for my good, so I'll share it:

There's an elder in my district (in the MTC, that's the group you go to class with every day) who really likes to argue. There have been a few "discussions" in our class about things ranging from when the 2nd coming is going to happen (because Mitt Romney has been prophesied to win the election, apparently) to which ski goggles are the best. One day, I decided I would try to put an end to it because it was starting to keep me from being able to study and drove away the Spirit. It just made things worse.

Elder Davis gave me some great advice in the most kindly blunt way I think I have ever heard. "Sometimes it's best to keep opinions to ourselves regardless of whether we are right or wrong."

So I decided to put it to the test. In doing so, I dove headfirst into the depths of humility. I prayed for how to best execute a solution and received an answer immediately, even right in the middle of my prayer. I overheard another elder from another district say, "The best way to learn something is to teach it to somebody else." So the best way to teach somebody to be humble is to actually be humble yourself. Pride seems it grows in a self-perpetuating cycle because of the inputs of other people. So I decided to cut off the inputs from other people that were feeding into my pride. Whenever an argument starts, I either focus extremely well on reading or speaking or even leave the room. In doing this, though, I realized that I was encouraging argument by jumping into it. By not rewarding that kind of behavior with a response, there's less incentive for it to continue. So far, that's what I've learned from this situation.

In other news, Portuguese is coming along well. There are a few other people who speak well, both in the practice settings and with other missionaries. There's one sister who took a Portuguese class at BYU, and we talked about a few things pretty well. Also, every week our teachers interview us to see how we're doing and how our language study plans are working out. With Irmao Christofferson, more than half of our interview was in Portuguese. When we started talking about something I didn't really know the vocab for, I switched over to English. It's coming along very well.

As for teaching, we taught the complete lesson 2 for the first time on Wednesday, and it went pretty well. We are learning to use the scriptures pretty well. However, I think teaching the Gospel requires love for the investigator, and it's really hard to fake charity, especially in a practice situation.

Anyway, I hope all is well. Keep Oregon green and weird. Read Romans 8:18, if I haven't mentioned it already.

What else... I have 2 minutes left of my 30...

Oh and send some "warm cake" for Elder Davis; it's his birthday on the 15th.

And have one or two in there for me, too.

Abracos!!

Elder Lobo

From Brandon Cochran, via Aunt Elaine

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: READ THIS ONE: BRANDON's FIRST LETTER FROM MARINE BOOT CAMP

I just walked out to get the mail (11:33 pm) and there it was! His
handwriting is a little jeopardized, but he explains why:

"January 25, 2008

Greetings from under my green wool military blanket in my bunk bed. The
lights are out, guards are at the door and I am hidden well writing you
this letter. I don't know if this is legible, but they have trained me well
and I am sure I will go undetected.

Things are great! I love boot camp, especially marching and all the
physical activities.  The first night we got here we were up for almost 40 hours
without sleep getting shots and filling out paper work. The next day
they tested us on pull ups, crunches, and a 1.5 mile run. I did ? 18
pullups, 82 crunches, and ran a 8:01 1.5 mile. Toward the end of the run a group of
?? Officers and N2O's cheered as I past the D.I. Who had over a 30 second
head start on us.  The D.I was pretty mad needless to say. Yesterday, I beat
another D.I. In 2 .5 mile sprints.  Unfortunately, he was MY D.I. Sgt.
Rusting, and I got an ???pull of ??? for that.  But most important, the
name Recruit Cochran is well respected around the entire Bravo Company.
Boot Camp isn't as bad as I thought. The yelling doesn't bother me at all,
and most of the time you won't get yelled at as long as you're doing what
they say and you do it quickly. For the first week, I was the grunt of My
platoon. I would be sworn at in front of our battalion, but because I
would not swear and you you as the other recruits, I was made a Squad Leader
Instead. I love you all so much. Thank you for your support. I have had
many stories to share ...the temple? During free time a group of guys came
around a band and asked me about my beliefs and I taught them the first
discussion. I've been branded with the nickname "Mormon," "Boy Scout,"Sweet Potato"
(Cause I went to school in Idaho) and "Mr. Clean". I'll write again
soon,
Your son, brother UNLLF (??), Brandon L. Cochran P.S. Please copy and
send to Camille: 172 E. 700 North, Provo, Utah 84606"