Cuiaba week 6

May 5, 2014

My sweet family! It has been a great week. The missionary work in our area is quite the challenge and so we are starting from scratch, but all is well. We have been working hard and talking to a lot of the members of the ward. It has been exhausting but we have some awesome things lined up and the lord is putting some awesome folks in our path. The people here are incredible. So happy and enjoy the simple things. Gathering together in there humble homes for rice, beans, and coke is like christmas to them. They are grateful people. The love I feel for the people here is difficult to explain but it is a huge part of my life right now. Their language, culture, it all is so awesome.

       Gratitude really is the secret is to happiness. And as Uchtdorf put it, ´´The catalyst to all Christ like atributes.´´ How freaking true is that. Jon Hanson said ´´soak it all in, even the parts that suck´´ All words of wisdom. Any time that I just want to grant my comps wish and go back to our casa to chill I just think about how grateful I am to be alive, to be serving a mission, in beautiful Cuiabá it makes all easier. I am just grateful for everything. For my family my brothers and sisters, my friends, the people I have met, my leaders all of it!

     This week I figured out the secret to eating here. I just had to switch it up a little bit. The fruit here is awesome and cheap. I make this tasty smoothie with avacado, a little lime, sugar and milk that is amazing, it is called abacate here and they are huge and a little sweeter, I love it. Maracujá... In english I believe it is passion fruit. I buy a few of these, blend up with a tiny bit of sugar and it is literally the greatest juice in the world. Oh, and it knocks you out, haha after you drink it you are bound to be sleepy, I love it. Plenty of other funky apples, bananas, and other staple simple foods, I am feeling healthy and strong as ever. 

      The mission is amazing, I had a pretty special experience on sunday. A guy in our ward got up to bear his testimony, and said I know that gifts of the spirit are real because Elder Anderson has the gift of tongues. I was overwhelmed with the reality that I truly have had divine help with Poruguês. It has been incredibly hard and at times discouraging but I speak Português, I can teach, converse, and understand everyone around me. I learn and study every day, but I can speak. It is all about prayer, faith, working your butt off, and having the guts to try. I have been blessed with a Brazilian companion who helps me a ton with the language and have not had a conversation in English since I arrived but I did what Dad said to do while I was in Texas. Every night after working as hard as I could in Texas (refiners fire) I would pray that god would help me with the language when I got to Brazil. He did. I had to do my part but I now I know that God really does visit his people in there afflictions. Every challenge that we face in this life is an oppertunity to grow. Literally everything that doesn´t kill us will make us stronger, if we let it.

      I am so grateful that I made the decision to serve. I have done some crazy things in my life, but I know that  god knows me, and understands me. I know that Jesus Christ´s grace is suffiencient for all of us. We just have to come unto him. I love you all so much, I am so grateful for everything. Serve, love, and be happy. Enjoy beautiful St. George and the simple beauty that surrounds you. Drink a Mountain Dew for me.

Com Amor,
 Elder Davis Bradley Anderson 

Cuiaba week 5

April 28, 2014

Not a whole ton to update you all on because I got Dengue on Wednesday. It
was rough and for 3 and a half days I felt horrible, but I have recovered
and I am feeling great today! We have a baptism coming up in two weeks and
I am chomping at the bit to get back to work. I am more comfy with my
Portuguese and have made a plan to better study and stay healthy.
P- day was awesome, we woke up at 3 a.m. and drove with a member to a
distant mountain, we hiked up to a beatuiful view of jungle and pantanal as
far as the eyes could see on one side and the city of Cuiaba in the
distance on the other. It was awesome.
So we live in a little causa there is 4 of us. We share a room. Our
kitchen doesn~t have much we have a propane oven and stove and that is it
as far as prepping food goes. Oh, we do have a panini press which is
awesome. Food here is pretty plain and expensive. I need to eat more but it
is hard. If you send me a package I would love some peanut butter or
nutella, and some starburst or skittles. I am adjusting.
 Some streets have side walks some don~t.
I am so glad to hear that everything is doing well back home. Tell everyone
that I love them tons.

Cuiaba week 4

April 21, 2014

Mother, I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude right now.. I really do not know where to start. I feel incredibly blessed to be here in Brasil. 

   My companion, Elder Andrade is a Brasileiro and an awesome missionary. He´s always smiling and making jokes. I am learning tons of Portuguese. The gift of tongues is real, for me it comes as knowing what to study, having the strength to always write things down, being humble enough to ask questions and try to speak with everyone, and being blessed to have no choice but to learn the lingua! My comp is the DL and we live with the ZL´s, Elder Pinherio, the raddest Brasileiro around and Elder Baughan, an American who has been out for 20 months and speaks Portuguese fluently. I haven´t spoke English since I arrived which is weird.

    The church is super new here, things are definitely a lot more relaxed and that was something that was pretty refreshing, the people here are honest, happy, and live in the moment. They have child like faith, something I need to gain while here for sure. We gave a sick old lady a blessing and after we finished she jumped up and was like, thank you Elders, I am better now. Prayer for them works, there is no doubt in there minds. Oh, and EVERYONE here is beautiful. It´s a bit distracting. It´s a little strange that like 8 out of 10 baptisms in our zone are young women... WHERE´s the families?! that has definitely been something that I have focused on on my mission is to do everything you can not to leave anyone behind. It is all about the family. We will work on it for sure.

  Easter is rad here, the Catholics go crazy and sacrament was awesome a bunch of talks about Christ. My testimony of God and our savior have been running through me like crazy. I have developed a constant dialogue with Heavenly Father and a habit of repentance and I see the blessing because of it for sure. We will all live again, learning and loving and growing forever. which is rad.

  Almoço, with the members is awesome, I have already ate fish head and chicken intestine soup. We walk like CRAZY. Everything takes a little longer here because it is either the crazy buses or walking. Our casa is rad! its like camping... we do not have warm water or air conditioning and it is incredibly hot, always. But it really is awesome, I have everything I need and I am happy!

I love you all!!

Cuiaba week 3

April 14, 2014 

Opa!

I´m writing you from the mission office in Cuiaba! It´s crazy here! I love it! I don´t know too much but I do know that I will be serving in a city 30 minutes from Cuiaba and that my companion is a native, YES! 

I can´t tell you how happy and grateful I am to be serving the people here! 

Elder Goodrich has a 14 hour bus ride south.

My president is rad and I can hold my own in a conversation with Brazilians! Surely I am the most blessed man in the world.

I love you all!

President is awesome.

My joy is full.

-Elder Davis Anderson

CTM week 2

April 7, 2014

Family! I have no time because the internet here is down but I want you to know that I love you like crazy and that I love life!

How sweet is my mission?! Brasil is nuts!  The gift of tongues is real. Sao Paulo is massive! The campinas temple was incredible! I dig the templo! 

Congrats to our talented and amazing family!

Did I accidentally send my \patagonia Jacket home?!...

ta bom.

Com amor,

Elder Davis Anderson

CTM week 1

April 1, 2014

Isso e loco! I am in the Sao Paulo CTM! it's so rad here! There is only Portuguese, EVERYWHERE. No English, it's awesome. Elder Goodrich is Still meu companheiro which is awesome. I have put up all of my english material and will only study and use portuguese material for the next two years. I am only speaking portuguese except when english is needed. It's beautiful here. The drive from the airport to here was insane! and it makes all so much stranger that I am exhausted. This is going to be a wild ride. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude, and full of love for life and everyone in it. God is good, real good.

I love you! I l love our family!

Com amor,

Elder Davis Bradley Anderson