TRAVEL June 24, 2013

Bus Ride to Montes Claros

Family

This week i spend a lot of time on the bus. we went to Montes Claros a few times this week (its 2 and a half hours away). We had district meeting, and then we did and exhange and then we went to the fireside.

ON the exchange  i stayed in MOC with Elder Rodrigues (brazilian) and i was speaking fluently with him without problem, two days only portugues, it was super fun because i can speak pretty well now, still have a strong accent, but i can speak well. Also this morning i played soccer (well kinda its like soccer but less competive) and i was awful, but i got better because they helped me. (I still don´t like it very much, but it was fun)

We spent a lot of time walking this week, and halfway through the week we discovered that they have a city bus here and it saved a lot of time.

Not much happened this week, we are teaching all sorts of people. ON the exchanged i taught an old ex prostitute who wanted to find Religion (she was a little crazy) and helped a few people realized that their baptism wasn´t valid in the Assemblia de Deus. and here in Janaúba we´re teaching a lot of angry catholics and stubborn Evangelicals. we are still searching for the elects.

I love the Gospel and I love this work.

and i love all of you

Elder Applegate

More from an email to Mom:

it feels like a utah summer here. it hasn´t rained in this city for a long time. they don´t have a rainy season.

We just got back from the broadcast!  Wasn't it awesome!  Aren't you happy that you are part of this great work!  I don't know if you listened in English or Portuguese, but I hope you understood every word!  

Yes i understood everyword, in portugues. i´m getting really good at it now, that my english is also coming back to being good too.

Yeah they dont want us knocking doors very much anymore, that would be great.

Things may be a little different where you are right now, since you don't have a building.  You'll have to let me know how all of this affects you.  I wonder how long until you all have tablets to use to teach with.  The church is embracing the digital tools and using them to spread the gospel even faster than ever.

i doubt the brasilian missions will every use tablets, we´d get robbed way to fast its not safe to use them here, and i dont think i´ll use facebook on the mission either.

Wearing Out Shoes

After 7 months on the Mission my shoes are wearing out.
I alternate shoes everyday, we just walk more than any other mission in the world here.

Work Work Work!!! June 17, 2013

Life is good here in Janaúba!

Pros: The area is flatter than wyhoming

cons: the area is bigger than wyhoming and we walk everywhere :)

The people here are very easy to teach, almost everyone will let us in the teach, but not everyone accepts. We´ve been finding some great families to teach, but some of them need to get married. Iley and Elet came to church and loved it, and yesterday we traded her coffee for Cevada and she´s stopped drinking now! Great people.

Elder Allphin is really funny and we laugh alot, but (maybe thats because we are tired), when we got here the members didn´t really trust us, but now they are starting to trust us and the baptisms will start flowing in now.

Best part of the week:

We went to teach the mom of a member, the member decided not to go with us, so we went there without her. The mom lives 1 hour away from our house (a pé) when we got there we started teaching the 1st lesson. We talked about the church that Jesus organized when he was he and we asked her. Which was the true church (in Christ´s time) and

 she said "yours, its your church."

 we asked "how do you know"

"I felt it, i felt it right now"

' Will you be baptized in the Church of jesus christ on june 23"

"i will."

then we had her say a prayer, it was the first time she prayed out loud in her life. She said

Pai celestial

Thank you for these feelings...and then she started crying because of the spirit.

It really was a miracle. The missionaries had been there for 3 years trying. and she finally felt it.

Miracles are coming here in Janaúba. Love ya´ll

Elder Applegate

Q & A June 17, 2013

How is the new area?  If you are in a city of that size (70,000) with only a branch, then you have some serious work to do there!  What an awesome opportunity!  

Are you the only missionaries in that area?  Tell me about your first sunday in the new branch?  

Yes there is alot of work to do :)  We are the only missionaries in the city, the only americans in this city. A lot of the people here are ranchers. Church was good, the branch meets in a house, so its super different. Its a small branch, but church was good.

This is the Church House in Janauba

Do you get to watch the broadcast of the New Mission President's training that we are all invited to?   It is being broadcast at 4pm next Sunday.  Do you get to view that live or on delay?  

 SO this sunday we will watch it live 7pm on our time, we have to travel 3 hours to watch it but we will watch it. i´m excited. 

What do you know about the new missions that are being created down there next month?  Do you know yet if you will stay in the BH mission or be moved to the new one?

2 zones in our mission will become part of the Juiz de Fora mission, but i´ll be staying here in BH. i´m far away from anything here in Janaúba

Here is a picture of the Plan of Salvation that I drew!

Transferred! Jun 10, 2013

Hey family

Janauba

I´ve been transfered! I left Floresta and went to Janaúba (jza-nah-oo-buh). Here is what happened. Tuesday night - the assistents call you if you´re going to be transfered. It was 9:15 and no call, so we thought we were safe and staying. but at 9:23 they called and said i was going. Transfers happen wednesday morning at 8:30  in the Rodoviaria (bus station) So i packed crazy fast everything and went to bed. We left the house at 7:30, got on the metro until the Rodoviaria (hoe-doe-vee-ah-ree-ah). My comp got his other and went back, i had to wait until 11:30 for my bus to leave, I was there waiting with an argentinian and a brasilian, both fresh out of the MTC, so I was senior in our travel group. Janaúba is the longest area away in the mission. We got on the bus, 8 hours later we arrived in Montes Claros where we met our comps, me and my comp. (Elder Allphin) spent the night with the other missionaries. Thursday morning - 6:00 We got on another bus for 3 more hours to go to Janaúba. 

Janaúba looks and feels like southern utah. It is the hottest area in the mission. It is winter here right now and the low is 65 degrees at night. It is dry and flat. I feel like i´m in Utah. :) There is one branch in this city of 70,000 people. The branch has been here for 15 years. There is alot of work to do here. But i´m excited! It is very traditional catholic here, very. The best thing about the area is that it is flatter than flat, very different than BH.

Elder Allphin is from Missouri, but has relatives in payson, (i know some of them from school) he has one year on the mission and two weeks in this area. President kinda whitewashed this area. Its our job to Revive the work here. :)

Elders Applegate & Allphin

Not much to report on this week, i spent most of the time on the bus. But i´m doing great, spending 8 hours with a brasilian and an argentinian was super fun, good people. The Brasilian actually knows a few of the elders who were in my district in the CTM. It ws super sweet to hear how they were doing.

I know that there are people in this city waiting for the truth. Pray that we can find these people.

Love ya´ll

Elder Applegate

Baptism and Conference

June 3, 2013

Thiago's Baptism with Elder Barr and Elder Applegate

Hey y´all

This week was a good week. Thiago was baptized on thursday morning!! We spent the whole morning preparing for his baptism. we cleaned, filled and heated the font and I made cookies. It was a great baptism and everyone was super happy, especially our Presidente da Missão. Mission President They like it when we baptise fathers who can get the priesthood and strengthen the kingdom of God. Thiago is 32 years old. Lohanna is 26. and Murillo is 2. They are such a great happy family. 

We also had stake conference this sunday and it was pretty much one giant missionary lesson. The restauration. It was a great conference and the stake president finished up reading 3 Nephi 11 and Moroni 10 4-5 and then invited any visitor there to get baptised, that day. It was pretty cool. It was a very good stake conference for investigators. 

Also, Rosy´s (our recent convert) dad died this week. She´s had a lot of doubts, but we reviewed the Plan of Salvation and how the gospel is preached in the spirit world (her dad never had religion, was raised atheist) she also had some friends over and one of her friends said "the gospel preached after this life, I want to believe in this." and Oly (her husband) is participating more in the visits now. We´ll see where that leads. 

It was kinda a slow week this week, but I am happy for the knowledge of the  gospel, because there are a lot of people out there lost and deceived who are sad with what they believe. I know that God has a perfect plan for everybody and everyone will have the chance to accept or reject the gospel. 

Love you all

Elder Applegate