Practice makes perfect

Last week my good friend and companion Elder Brito was transferred. I´m going to write out his conversion story because it´s amazing. He has taught me so much about the Savior´s mercy. He has taught me about never giving up on someone, instead of condemning them for their problems, looking for ways to help them. 

Now, I´m with another Brazilian; Elder Gonçalves. He´s a new missionary with just 6 weeks, I´m finishing his training here. He´s very fiery and great desire to work hard. President says that when he met him, he reminded him of me, also my height. He´s ready to run as fast as I want, so we begin running from 6:30am we are on our feet literally running to 9:00pm when we come in crawling with nothing left. We talk to everyone. We are happy and full of humor and the spirit. We have great desires to be exactly obedient. We want to completely submit our will to the Lords will and do His work. We are upheld by His grace.

I love what you shared about the Saviors Grace. I love your stories of sharing time. I want to apply them here. (I find most of the people to be child-like, it´s a good thing) I have found the Saviors Grace, to be the presence of His Power. It´s not just the light at the end of the tunnel, it´s the light that carries us through the tunnel. It´s not the booster that kicks in after our engines are exhausted, it´s what gives our engines capability to thrust us forward. I read in an Ensign once it related to that of a mother paying for the child take piano lessons. Because the mother pays the debt, and pays it in full, she can ask the child to do something, what is it?

Practice

This practice doesn´t pay the piano teacher, nor does it pay back the mom. The moms joy is not in being repaid it´s seeing her child use this gift to be transformed into something great. 

Christ paid for our sins, sorrows, sicknesses, worries, and weaknesses entirely and completely. That doesn´t mean that we don´t have to do anything, it means we have an opportunity to use this gift or in other words ´practice.´ His grace is the enabling and strengthening power, it´s what transforms us to become like Him, Perfect. 

As a young piano player begins, he hits a lot of wrong notes and nobody says he´s not worthy or not good enough because he makes mistakes. Just as we make mistakes in our life, we should feel pain for these sins, but remember this pain isn´t for punishment or payment, it´s purpose is change. Learning Piano, is similar to learning Heaven. Never be discouraged or weighed down, His grace is sufficient to enable us to stay on the piano and keep trying. 

We have found the people here to be very kind and prepared for the gospel.  We talk to everyone and it isn´t to just do contacts. Nor is it only just to invite people to go to church. Nor is it just to attempt to find someone to teach. The reason we talk to everyone we can, is because we know that every time we open our mouths, we exercise faith. And every time we exercise faith we allow God to increase it. We invite His spirit and His mighty miracles into our lives and the lives around us. His grace enables us to open our mouths about the truth to everyone and it always makes the difference we fall short. 

Elder Daylen Pollard

Funny observations 3/3/14

 I get a little teary eyed reading about our family, I know your letter was about some basketball games, but It made me so happy, the pictures were almost too much.

 

Kendyl inspired me last week to make a list in my planner of things I find funny, as she requested I tell her anything funny. Here´s what I got, I didn´t find the week to be any more funny than the usual week, so perhaps this will tell you a little about life here.

 

• - All cars are stick shift here, often we push cars for people who need a jump start, but today we pushed a bus full of people (man, it was so tiring! Not just because it had multiple tires)
• -I went bowling
• - I lost
• - Instead of renting shoes, everyone goes bowling bare foot, but that still doesn't solve the problem of people falling!
• -Don´t eat the ´fit´crackers, they do the same thing as the MTC orange juice
• -It´s really common to have two people on a bike, clearly meant for one
• -I can hardly hold back laughing when the ´gangsters´are on the same bicycle, not motocycle, a little bike peddler thingy
• - If you dump enough chocolate powder in this milk, it´s okay
• -I slipped and stepped in the suewer....sewer? Como se diz? Aquele lugar com poop (How do you say? That place with the poop)
• -Estou esquecendo inglês (I'm forgetting english)
• - I got zapped by one of those electric fly swatters
• -first time I peed my pants from laughing too hard on the mission
• -last time I stay up after 10:30pm with the mission leaders
• -There´s are missionary named Elder Tello (from Chilie), who loves the Heinz ketchup, eats with everything, eats it plain.
• -I was attempting to fix our water filter, I called Elder Maculupu (from Peru) to come over and help me, I had him look down the pipe, than I turned the water on and got him soaked in the face!
• -I draw comics as a way to write in my journal, perhaps I send pictures
• - I stopped to talk to a group of people in the road, I felt the impression to sing the spirit of god in Portuguese to them. I denied it, thinking it would be odd, we are in the road, I can´t just pull out a hymn book and start singing for them. Besides there´s music in the street, I can´t sing this song with the base beat from the car nearby. I thought, if the lord will move the car and get rid of the other music, I´ll sing.    Just as I thought that, the car drove away..... I sang.
• -There´s these plants called cana, I think it´s kinda sugar cane in the US. About 10 feet tall, you can chop it down and shed the outside and then suck on it. Don´t eat it, or they´ll make fun of you...... You chew it, and it´s has really good sweetness, then once the juice is gone, you spit it out.
• -Don´t try to eat a whole cana

 

That´s all I got for now

 

Love ya´ll! Love you mom. Things are so awesome here, and there´s no bugs in my food (because they are food, ) (Nanette had thanked Daylen for not mentioning things to make her worry like bugs in his food)

2 /24/13 Carnival is coming

2/03/14

We are still on foot everywhere, all missionaries here are. Our area is large, covers as far as we can see or walk or just as far as we want to go. We work in the city, it´s a big city, on the outskirts there´s a massive banana tree farm, and some small villages and cities, but it´s hard to get those people to take a bus to church so we don´t work too much out there. 

There´s a big river that runs through the city, it´s the border. Everything east is our area, everything west there´s a group of 4 missionaries working there and another small branch out there. (we compose of me, the american, 2 Brazilians, one from Peru, one from Chilie, and a Mexican) Haha. The 6 of us meet each week and spend p-day together. The next closest missionaries are a couple hours away there´s 4 other missionaries, the 10 of us make our zone, we don´t meet often. Besides that, the next group of missionaries is about 13 hours away. So we are kinda out here. 

I love my companion, one of the first things he told me is that he loves to cook, and I responded that we´ll get along because I love to eat. He makes good Brazilian charrasco (bbq). 

It´s cool out here. These people are the pioneers of their time. I recently had lunch in a small humble home, where the members told me was where the church started only 6 years ago, in this small home. The church has grown from a family 4 to the 40 people we had last Sunday. They are the first-generation saints. The church isn´t known out here. I will give all I can, every thought, every action, every desire, to completing these families, strengthening the saints, and finding needed leaders. It´s an exciting time. 

With increased difficulty, the Lord always sends increased help. The language is coming rapidly. My testimony has been strengthen and I´ve received wonderful answers to prayers. I think I will be in this area for a while, and I excited to work here. 

2/24/03 Love you!  Made some attempts at Grandpas potatoes, Brazilian style, using what we got. I won´t do it to often, each time brings back memories of being with our family, at the camp out, or at Grandma´s, working at the fair and such. It´s neat.

Carnival is about to happen here, they are building structures along the main roads, stages and such. The saints are taking off into the wildness with tents for the week. The members take off into the jungle for a camping trip to get away from carnival. It´s not just our church either, my baptist friends and other religions all have scheduled escapes for the week out in the wilderness. 

Haha, it´s funny. 

We are probably going to another area where carnival not as strong, to work for the week.

Things are good. I liked the primary story you told me, it was awesome. Reminds me of our small primary here. An admirable 11 year old named Gostavo, is at church every Sunday, he brings with him his younger brother who´s 8 and a sister who´s 6. They compose the majority of our primary. 3 years ago missionaries taught Gostavo when he was at his cousin´s house, his aunt and cousins were baptized, Gostavo too had great desire to be baptized, but his parents would not let him. He´s been going to church now every Sunday for the past 3 years. He and his brother excited answer the door each time we go over to visit them, they jump for joy and they run up the stairs and grab their scriptures and ask who´s going to give the message. They sing us primary songs as the 6 year old conducts 

They treat us like heroes. They read the book of Mormon every-day. I remember my first week here we went over, and I asked what what they knew about Joseph Smith, they excited told me in detail the restoration of the Church, the first vision, and even details about his life, they know more than I do!  

Their faith is inspiring, they are more firm than most of the members, haha. Gostavo is about to turn 12, he told his father all he wanted for his birthday was to have permission for him and his brother to be baptized. He is hopeful and excited. These children have strengthened my faith through their example. When I see them, I see examples of the Savior and His love. They bring to my mind Alma 32:22, 

And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; LITTLE CHILDREN do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.