Travis's Email April 20, 2009

Hey,

It was a good week. We baptized a man that is going to help a lot in the church. His brother recently left for his mission in Rio de Janeiro and he started thinking a lot about church and his salvation. We went there taught him about the book of Mormon and the restoration and he was sold. Everyone said that he would never be baptized but truthfully it was really easy, he was already prepared when we showed up.

We had another kid that we were preparing for baptism who changed his mind the day of his interview because his dad told him that prophets don’t exist. The kid had the guts to tell me i was a sinner for saying there is a living prophet on the earth. Let’s just say my patience was tested and he won’t be baptized. I learned that most people simply don’t like what is good; seems pretty illogical but it’s true.

My companion got sick this week with what appears to be extreme laziness. Just kidding he has some problem with his equilibrium that gets out of whack every once in a while. So I had to go on splits for the 3 days. Luckily the members here are willing to help.

That’s about all the big news for this week. This will be the last week of the transfer.
Repent of your sins. Scott stop being lazy.

Goodnight and good luck,

Elder Jenson

Questions:

Hi Trav,

1. How do you get around in this area? (Walk, taxi, bus)
Walk, it’s a small area.

2. How many priesthood holders are there in the branch?
There are about 6 or 7 Melchizedek priesthood holders.

3. What kind of cake was that for your b-day? (It was huge)
Yeah it was huge. It was half chocolate, half vanilla? Well I’m not quite sure what it was but it was good.

4. What do you do on your p-days? Do you ever go sight seeing?
There aren’t many sights to see here in the area. This city is pretty far away from everything. Last week we visited the giant Catholic Church and the cemetery.

5. Is there much crime in this area?
Nope. It’s a pretty quiet town.

6. About how many miles is your area?
It must be about 10 square miles.

7. Do you send a letter to the mission pres. every week?
I send an email to him every week. he doesnt respond :(

Love ya a Lot!

Mom

Travis Turns 20! Happy Birthday!

Hey Everybody,

This week was great. The members here are helping us a lot with references and references always make the work much easier. We baptized 2 young men this week.

Sunday was Easter and unfortunately the people here don’t have the same Easter spirit as the people back home. They have some weird Easter traditions here. For example, they make dummies of Judas, hang them from light posts and then beat them with sticks or light them on fire. As if it was all Judas’ fault, silly Catholics. Did I mention there are a lot of Catholic people in this town? They say that the first thing they built here in Ceara Mirim was the Catholic Church. But it’s not much of a problem for us; it’s more of a tradition than anything for the people here.

It was also my 20th birthday Sunday. It was really cool; a member in the ward made me a giant cake. The people here have a big capacity to love people they don’t know. So I guess I’m getting pretty old, 20 years. Yeah right, I’m not even close to old; 20 years is really short.

Thanks to those who sent me birthday cards and such, the Chinese birthday card that I received was pretty awesome.

Well, times up. This week was great and this next week looks like it will be even better! Tchau, cuidem de suas almas!!!

-Elder Jenson

Questions:

1. What did you do for your B-day and Easter?
Basically the same thing we do every Sunday. We worked and then a member told us to stop by her house because she made me a cake so we happily stopped by and ate some cake.
2. Describe the house you live in.
It’s pink, it has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, it has white tile floors and a backyard where the plants are getting a little out of control.
3. What do most of the men in the ward do for work?
Most of the men in the branch are unemployed or younger men who are in college.
4. Did you get your package yet? I sent a package to Chris Heninger at the same time and he got his a while ago.
Yeah I got the package last week. Thanks mom! My companion and I loved the candy and the water guns and everything!
5. What's the hardest thing about being senior companion?The best thing about is?
Making sure your companion keeps all of the rules because if he’s disobedient I have pay for it. The best thing is... I get to make decisions about the work and make sure we use our time wisely.
6. Do people in this area have cars?
Only the branch president has a car.

Have a great week

Important Message at Easter

Travis's email April 6, 2009

Hi World,

April 6th, talk about an important date! Today’s the birthday of the Savior and the anniversary of the day the church of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. I was thinking about presents that we could give to the Savior and I thought about something Pres. Monson said on his birthday a few years ago. He said he would like all the members of the church to find someone in need and help them. That’s not a bad idea. Well everyone, this week was pretty good. Unfortunately, I woke up Friday morning exhausted and with a fever and I ended up having to stay in bed Saturday and Sunday. I’ll have to wait until the conference issue comes out and read all of the talks. Getting sick in the mission is probably the most frustrating thing that can happen but Sunday morning I was drinking coconut milk in bed and reading a conference talk(I know it sounds like a vacation but trust me, it wasn’t) and I learned something interesting. I read a talk by James B. Wirthlin where he taught about the principal of compensation. He said when the Lord takes something away from the faithful, he always compensates with more blessings. I’m hoping I’m faithful enough to be compensated with baptisms.

Funny story: my companion saw my first name and thought that it was the word trevas which in Portuguese means darkness and he thought it was the funniest thing in the world and now he walks around the house calling me darkness. Ok, maybe its not that funny but I’m not quite sure what funny is anymore. Well everyone, life is good, the church is true, don’t be fooled! It’s impossible to break the commandments and be happy.

Missionarily,-Elder Jenson

Questions:

1. Where did you watch conf.? Do you watch it on tape or live?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch conference. I was at home in bed battling some weird Brazilian virus. But don’t worry, I’m better now.
2. Are the monkey's in your backyard mean?( everyone thinks its so cool that your have monkey's)
They’re fairly well-mannered monkeys. Other than the high-pitched chirping noises they make in the morning, they don’t give us too much trouble.
3. Who was the girl in the picture that you baptized?
Juscélia Otaviano da Cruz. She’s 22 and lives with her sister.
4. Have you lost weight?
Are you trying to butter me up? No, my weight is pretty much the same.
5. Is this area poor or middle class?
It's a lot richer than my other area but I’d say its more or less middle class.
6. Tell us about the branch, How many people? Are they mostly families?
The branch has an attendance of about 60 people, mostly adults and young married couples.
7. What's the bishop like?
I’ve only talked to him once. He’s nice but not very involved in missionary work.

PS Did you get your package yet?Not yet.