"We need to try our best to unlock our spiritual potential and be the best we can be."

Yo yo yo. HOLA FAMILIA. COMO VOCÊS ESTÃO?

Today marks the end of my first transfer here in Fortaleza. I will be staying in Parquelânida with my awesome trainer Elder Momesso. Today, me and Elder Momesso and the other companionship in our ward went to a LAN house to see who was gonna be transferred. They made it so dramatic haha. They said to me that our mission is super young, and they keep sending more and more missionaries here which means that some trainers finish their 12 week training and then train someone else. Crazy.

Something funny that happened this week is that all the bebedos (drunk people) yell "Joseph Smith" at us, really funny. We got a reputation with the bebedos haha. Anyway, in our area we are teaching Mateus, an old investigator that was in the area book, and he has a date for this Saturday!! We've been helping him overcome his problems with some of the commandments and I really have seen a change in him. The saving power of the atonement is real and its for everyone. Also, his mom wont sign his baptismal form, but we told him the power of the testimony he has. If he shares that testimony, the Spirit will soften her heart. 

Something I wanted to share this week was a quote from Ezra Taft Benson:

"Do you know what peace and prosperity can do to a people, it can put them to sleep. The Lord has on the Earth some potential spiritual giants whom he saved for some 6000 years to help bear off the kingdom triumphantly, and the adversary is trying to put them to sleep. We have too many potential spiritual giants who should be more vigorously lifting their homes, the kingdom, and the country. We have many who feel they are good for something, strong patriarchs, courageous missionaries, valiant temple workers, devoted quorum members. In short, we must be shaken and awakened from a spiritual snooze."

We all have this amazing potential inside us to be something more, but first we need to wake up! We need to try our best to unlock our spiritual potential and be the best we can be. How we can be the best we can is simply trying to become more like Christ every single day. Try to love a little more, have a little more patience, and a little more kindness every single day. I know as we do this we can unlock our spiritual potential and be the son/daughter of God that we should be.

Com amor,

-Elder Eliason

"We thank thee O God for a Prophet"

BOM DIA

Hello friends and family!! 

Another week in the books. I cant believe I've already been here in Fortaleza for 5 weeks. Time flies when you're serving the Lord. Anyway, this week was a grind. Here in Fortaleza, the week after New Years is the week where everyone goes on vacation so it was difficult to find people we set appointments with, but we were definitely blessed this week. 

While talking with Roberta, she introduced us to her friend Isaac and his little cousin Kauãn. We talked a little bit with them and set a time later that day to teach them. We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and both of them accepted to be baptized!! Isaac has some problems with smoking and coffee but he is ready to give it up to be baptized. Its amazing how the gospel of Jesus Christ can open the hearts of people here. Then, another day we were having a lesson with Roberta and her boyfriend walks in and she encouraged him to listen to or message. His name is Josias. We taught him and he accepted to be baptized as well!

Its crazy when I look back on when we first met Roberta. We were looking for a contact that we had made earlier that day and we decided just to knock on a random door and Roberta answered. We taught her and two weeks later she was baptized. Now we have 3 other investigators with dates because of her help. It would've been so easy just to say "Oh well" and go to our next appointment but we followed the spirit and knocked on that door. One lesson that I have learned and that President Chamberlain has emphasized "If you feel like you should do it, do it." Simply acting in faith when we receive a prompting will result in miracles.

With the passing of our prophet Thomas S Monson, I have been thinking a lot about what he said in his last conference. That we should read the Book of Mormon every single day. Something so simple like this can easily be set aside because we think "Duh. I already knew that." But when a prophet of God says something, we better pay attention. So this week I have been focusing on reading the Book of Mormon, (in Portuguese heyyyyoooo). Its so important that when we read the Book of Mormon, that we apply the teachings to our lives. Often times, we read just to check a box. There is a young woman in my ward that said she read the Book of Mormon in 2 weeks. I asked her, "SWEET. What did you learn?". She couldn't think of anything. When we read the Book of Mormon we need to:

1) Read - Read the dang thing

2) Understand - Try to understand the meaning of the scripture

3) Apply - Ask yourself "How does this apply to me?"

When we do these things we will receive answers to our questions and we will receive power to overcome our trials like our prophet testified.

AMO VOCÊS

-Elder Eliason

P.s. no pics because I am in the sketchiest lan house of all time, but double pics next week

"We have to walk a small part of his path, in other words, we have to have trials."

FELIZ NATAL/FELIZ ANO NOVO!!!!

Hello family and friends!!! I hope all of you had a great Christmas. I know all of you are going to knock 2018 out of the flippin' park.

It was so great to be able to skype you guys on Christmas, I was worried that seeing you guys would make me miss home. I prayed so hard that I would be able to focus on the work after. Even though I did feel a tad bit trunky after, seeing you guys on skype helped me realize my purpose here. You guys looked great too.

This week, Roberta got baptized!!!! She is so amazing. Right before the baptism, we found her in her room just bawling. Me and Elder Momesso had a moment of panic, but we were able to calm her down. We taught her a very important Gospel principle, that "there is opposition in all things". Many times, when we are about to make an amazing decision, like baptism, the adversary whispers in our hearts and tries to pull us away. The quicker we realize this, the quicker we shut off that voice and turn to God, the happier we are. Right after that, Roberta got up, brushed herself off and we went to the Church. We asked her earlier in the week who she wanted to baptize her. She said, "Elder Eliason". I said "Why me?". She replied "Because you need the practice". Lol she was right, I need as much as practice as I can get and I was able to baptize her!! 

We had a zone party on Christmas Eve in the church, it was so fun. We had all types of candy, soda, and weird Brazilian cakes that are the best thing I have ever tasted. We were able to watch the Christmas Devotional which was really cool. I couldn't understand a lot, but one thing that I got out of it was that we should have the Spirit of Christmas always. Like the great "Buddy the Elf" said, "The first rule of Christmas is to treat every day like Christmas." What a movie.

We had another party on New Years day, where we had Basketball (Me and Elder Welling dominated the Brazilians), Futbol, all you can eat chicken, we watched the Saratov Approach. It was so much fun. The reason we had these 2 parties is because we didn't have a lot of time to proselyte because President wants to keep us away from all the fireworks and the bebedos (drunk people) haha.

One thing that I wanted to share is a quote from Jeffrey R Holland, "I am thoroughly convinced that the reason missionary work is so hard is because it was never easy for Jesus Christ.... Salvation is not a cheap experience." Missionary work is hard, life is hard too. Sometimes we wonder why is it so hard to find a job, why is it so hard for me to forgive, why is it so hard for me to keep going? A prerequisite in order to be like Christ, is having to feel a sliver of what he felt in the Garden of Gethsemane when he paid for our sins. We have to walk a small part of his path, in other words, we have to have trials. Trials are a part of Gods plan for us, they are necessary for salvation. The way we react to those trials and hard times is the true test of our character, but we don't have to be perfect. That's why Christ suffered for our sins, he loves us so much, he wants us to be like him. 

1 Nephi 19:9 "...wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." 

LOVE YOU ALL

-Elder Eliason

Roberta's baptism 

Zona Oeste Festa de Natal!!! 

Me, Elder Welling, and the worst basketball player I have ever seen Elder Santos. He wanted to be in the picture haha. I also didn't know we were smiling haha.

Christmas Skype with the family!

"We’re excited to see the work that he is going to do!"

Dear family of Elder Eliason,

Here are some pictures of Elder Eliason when he arrived here at the Brazil Fortaleza Mission.

We’re excited to see the work that he is going to do!

Sincerely,

President and Sister Chamberlain

My trainer Elder Momesso!

"Something I learned this week is how important it is to be humble and teachable."

BOM DIA MEUS AMIGOS

What a week. To start off, we had the a mission-wide conference with President and Sister Chamberlain on Thursday. We had some speakers come talk to us about the importance of Natal. They talked really fast but I got the gist of it.... I think. It was so great to see the MTC buds again, even if it had only been a week. I have Elder Welling in my zone, the one who looks like a Dad haha. For the conference, our zone got called to sing a hymn and explain a scripture. Guess who had to expound on a scripture relating to Natal, me. I think I did okay haha. We had some amazing food too, the members had to make enough food for 132 starving missionaries, they did great.

In Parquelandia, we had 2 of our investigators come to church, Kellyanne and Roberta who have a baptism date for Christmas Eve!!! The work is really picking up here and we are starting to see so many miracles in our area. Everyone in Fortaleza is always willing to hear our message, but very few want to act in faith on our message. We have been searching for people who are being prepared to hear our message, and we were blessed with 6 more investigators with a date for the 31st! Man, the work here is so exciting.

The food in Fortaleza is SO GOOD. Before the mission, you could definitely call me a picky eater, but anything they put on my plate is always amazing. The juices they have too are just so amazing. To save money (and cause I am lazy), I just have Cereal with a banana in the morning and Ramen at night. Yuuummmm.

Something I learned this week is how important it is to be humble and teachable. When we "humble ourselves in the depths of humility" and put others before ourselves, we learn so much. There is always something we can be better at. Especially during Christmas time, we can always serve others and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Here in Fortaleza, people don't have enough money for presents or a Christmas tree. They are such a humble people here who always put the Savior first. These people have set an amazing example for me and what Christmas really means. 

UNTIL NEXT TIME!! FELIZ NATAL!!

- Elder Eliason

 ACAI with the members

 Squad at the Christmas Conference

Me and Elder Momesso with a Pizza

"This week has been really hard for me, but I have learned the power of trusting in God."

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

This week has been #crazy.

We all left the MTC on Tuesday, and got on the flight to Fortaleza!! We landed and President and Sister Chamberlain were waiting for us (President gives great hugs), and we went to the Mission Office!! Later that day, we went to their super nice mission home and spent the night.

The next day, I met my trainer Elder Momesso!! He is the coolest guy ever. He is from Sao Paulo and I understand about half of what he says, but we get along great. He's been here 6 months, and this is his second area. We got in a taxi and went to our area, (BTW, Taxi drivers in Fortaleza drive like they're playing flippin Need for Speed). Our area is Parquelandia!! 

This Sunday, I got to confirm one of the recently baptized members. His name is Rian and he is super shy and small but he is the coolest. People here in this area are super open to hear our message!!! However, it is difficult for people to want to follow up on their commitments and act. We have 5 progressing investigators already!! Alejandre, Vilani, Junior, and Mateus e Maria. They're eager to learn and we are VERY eager to teach.

The first day was very hard. I quickly realized I was in a different country, speaking a different language, in 90 degree heat, walking on foot to every place in our area, and that they don't have peanut butter. It's hard for me to understand anyone here because they have a SUPER thick accent. Even Elder Momesso can't understand some of what they're saying.

Despite all of this, I have been called to serve here in Fortaleza for a reason, to serve the Lord and to teach his gospel. I have felt his love for me while in Fortaleza. I have felt the love he has for his people here. This week has been really hard for me, but I have learned the power of trusting in God. When I feel overwhelmed, I simply put my faith in the Lord and work as hard as I can and God provides me with the energy to keep going. My confidence in my Portuguese took a hit when I first got here because I couldn't understand anyone, even my companion, but my faith in the Gift of Tongues has increased. Every time I open my mouth to preach the gospel to someone in the street or in a baixo (some weird type of store), my tongue is loosed and I can speak. It's still broken Portuguese, but I can bear my testimony with power and with strength. I'm so grateful to be here, and I absolutely love it here.

Amo Vocês!!!

-Elder Eliason

"I AM HERE IN FORTALEZA!!"

ESTOU AQUI

Hello parents, I AM HERE IN FORTALEZA!! I'm so excited to get to work here.

The flight was long and it's really hot here but I know I'm going to love it. I'm so excited!

Love you guys, just wanted to tell you that I am not dead.

- Elder Eliason