Matt #20

WOW What awesome e-mails this week family and friends.... Mom your story made perfect sense about the lillies and the flowers. Thank you so much! Your advice is incredible and its exactly what I needed right now. Dad... you also have one incredible testimoney and thank you for your advice. Words cannot describe how much I miss and love my parents, family, and friends. Jason and chris thank you for the e-mails... its could to hear my friends are doing good. Alyssa your a incredible sister and dont worry keep up the hard work and you'll be blessed I know you will! Jenni/Matt I love you both very much and thank you for your examples. Keep up the hard work and remember im all ways thinking of my family and friends everyday. You know I'm still trying to figure out why I've been so blessed in my life because I just dont deserve all your love but thank you for everything family and friends! :) Dad and mom im sorry to hear we have a mouse problem but thats ok because we have a Rat problem here haha a few nights ago we heard a strange noise outside our window and when we looked down we saw a RAT! (He was around the same size as Boomer) eating this poor dogs food haha (I guess mice and Rats like dog food) and we freaked out! We got all dressed up for war to kill this Rat but he run away.... man it was pretty freaky haha :) if he comes back hes done for!

       Well im offically done with my training!!!!!! YEAH, its a pretty good feeling im not going to lie... We also are getting our new companions tommorow so we are all saying goodbye today... I wont lie im seriously going to miss my Training/Dad Elder Wright. Hes been such an example and strength to me and hes helped me soooo much! My new companion is named Elder bircandi and hes a American. I write more next week since I havent met him yet but he seems really cool from the pictures I've seen.

        Well this week has been a wierd week for me... I really had a wake up call. My focus for this week was on becoming a Good Missionary. I noticed that I started to become comfortable with the work as Im finally getting the swing of things, I noticed that I was becoming more relaxed with everything and just going through the motions of the work. I noticed that my confidence was slowly leaning towards my own abilities and not the Lords Abilities.... I began to be pridefull! Then here came the the wake up call. We were teaching a family who we were totally convinced that we had them and that they would be Baptised. I taught the lessons and just talked and talked. We answered all their questions about the Gospel and even had them set up for baptismal date... But we missed the most important key to missionary work... We never listened with real intent to there concerns and worse we never listenend to the Holy Ghost. We never gave the Spirit time to talk through us because we were to busy talking through our own knowledge... sadly we lost the family as investigators because we didnt listen to their concerns. We were devestated, and thats when I began focusing on what does it mean to be a Good Missionary? How can we be Good Missionarys?

         Well I can honestly tell you thats a tough questions. I can teach all the lessons now in Portuguese but thats it.... Speaking is no problem for me but when it comes to Listening thats a whole other story and well listening is the most important tool a Missionary can develop. I think my whole life I've been the kinda person who just talks and tells stories haha but ignores advice and promptings from others. (Just ask my parents) haha but Im so gratfull for my Mission because it has opened my eyes to how many things I need to work on to become a worthy Priesthood holder for my family and for my Heavenly Father. All men need to serve Missions not because we are qualifide to serve a Mission but if we give it our all and allow Heavenly Father to work in us, we can change and relize our weaknesses! :) I still cant understand what anybody is saying in Portuguese here... and that makes things hard for me! Its hard to listen to them especially when nothing makes sense, and because we are losing our investigators and not being able to Listen and understand what their needs are I started to became really discouraged this week especially in my own abilites when it came to being an effect Missionary... I started thinking "Well yeah Matt you can talk now and teach the whole lessons and thats it... You still cant understand what people are saying when they ask questions about what you're teaching so you cant help" and then I realized my Faith was being shaken when it came my own abilities as an effective Missionary, I thought maybe the reason we didnt have Baptisms was because I was a usless Missionary who couldnt understand the language... but my companion Elder Wright gave me some awesome advice that I will always remember forever. He said "Dont worry about your abilites as a person or Missionary. All the Lord wants from you is a willing, humble heart. Remember those who are impatient are constantly frustrated, you must learn to submit patiently to the Lords will." All we need to be an effective "Good" Missionary is to sumbit to the Lords will and work hard. Thats all he requires of us. :) When we submit to the will of the Lord we will become a changing Missionary. 

       Everyone the Mission is the greatest thing I have ever done in my life... Im learning so much about the Gospel and about myself. I hope that I can become a changing Missionary and when I return I hope you all will notice these changes. I wont lie im was hoping for a Brazilian Companion this next transfer to help me with my listening and understanding skills in Portuguese but thats not the Lords concern for me right now.... I think he wants me to first figure out and deal with the problems in my character/personality and then when he feels im ready to handle the task of Portuguese he'll give me a Brazilian. :) I want you all to know that I love my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ.... It makes me sick to think this past week I was begining to focus on my own abilites and not in my Saviors, remember its only through the Lord we can accomplish anything in our lifes! Well my dear family and friends I promise to always work hard so dont worry about me! :) I love you all so much and I hope this e-mail makes sense. haha Its pretty hard to top the awesome e-mails my brother writes... I miss him like crazy and hes such an example to me. I really cant wait for that day ben and I meet again and speak só potuguese juntos com jordan e fazemos todos pessoas bravo haha. :) Love you all with my whole heart and I hope you never forget I love you all so much! One thing I should write is my sense of humor hasnt changed at all so dont worry im writting all my funny experinces in my journal so I'll have loads of stories to share with you all when I get home, also we have a pet catipillar we named Kevin and hes HUGE! He looks like hymlick from a Bugs Life and hes building his coccon and stuff right outside our window. So im taking pictures and documenting his life for everyone back home hahah :) Love you all so much and I hope you all know Im doing great. Also the other Missionarys in our house had two baptisms yesterday... they are own fire so me and my new comapnion are going to have to work hard to keep up with them. LOVE YOU ALL :)