Spencer's Christmas!

Sounded like Spencer had a wonderful christmas!! talking to him yesterday was so so fun! can't wait to have him back home for next christmas!(: here are so pictures he sent us of his day!!

December 19th 2012

Hey everyone!!

Feliz Natal from Brazil! It is hot here....but the weird thing is is that yesterday it started HAILING!!! Yes, there were actual ice balls falling from the sky. But it was still hot and they melted when they hit the ground, but still. It was weird.
Ten new missionaries got here yesterday. I was there to help them out, give them trainings and stuff. I realized yesterday the importance of EXAMPLE in our lives. Really, we all look up to somebody, and we never know who is watching and who isn't, so we should always be doing what is right, even when we think that no one is looking.
What a blessing it is to be here serving the people of Brazil during this holiday season!! Last wednesday, we had our mission Christmas presentation. About 300 people from the two stakes here in Goiania were there to watch and I was able to talk to all my friends from Ala Novo Mundo again! It was so awesome!
Then on Sunday night, we had our Mission Christmas Conference. We performed the presentation again with the choir and then had a huge Christmas dinner! With about 95 missionaires, the house was full, but it was still fun to just celbrate the Holiday together. :)
Last week was stake conference and Elder M Russell Ballard presided. It was a wonderful conference. He talked about how the doctrine of the Church is so simple. All we need to do is follow the five principles of the gospel and LOVE others and we will be able to go to the celestial kingdom.
Something I have always told our investigators is that they just need to take life one step at a time, think of things in a simpler way, dont complicate it if you dont have to....I think that is good advice for all of us.
Things have a way of working out!

Love, 
Elder Spencer Eastwood
Alma 22:18

December 5th 2012

Hey everyone! How is life going?

Im doing great here. We have a baptism all set up for this weekend. She is the sister of a recent convert and we are all very excited for her to get baptized. She knows A LOT. Yesterday, we went to teach her about prophets, and she already knew basically everything! It is a real privelege to be able to be one of the missionaries sent to teach her.

My testimony has grown so much about the Savior's love for us. Many times, He sends us to help His children who are in trouble. That is why we always need to be ready and prepared to serve others. We never know who is going to need our help. Pres. Eyring once said that we should treat every person that we meet like they are in danger....that way we will truly help those in need. We can even save souls that way. Many times, we think that the phrase "Let me know if I can help" is a good thing to say, but, while well-meaning, it really is no help at all. Think of it this way, if you came across someone who was drowning, would you call out to them and ask if they need help, or would you jump in and save them from the deepening waters?

This gospel is all about true LOVE. If we can learn to really LOVE others, the veil will become thinner for us and we will be able to "know the mysteries of God"! I testify that that is true, because I have learned so much here on my mission. And I notice when the Spirit is closer to me and it is always when I am truly loving everyone.

Matthew 22:38
-Elder Spencer Eastwood.

November 28th 2012

Hey everyone!!!
It is another P-day on the best mission in the world and I am doing very well.

This week was a little disappointing. After much prayer and fasting....all of our baptisms fell through. Not one happened. It was a little sad for us as we had to watch many of our investigators tell us that they did not want to get baptized and some said they didnt even want to hear our messages anymore.
But it happens! We just have to keep pressing forward and working harder than ever before!
I like this scripture found in Philippians 3:13: "[Forget] those things which are behind, and [reach] forth to those things which are before."
I think that is a good basis for our lives. We should forget our past mistakes and look forward to what our lives have in store for us. Our life here on earth is such a blessing. I am so grateful to my Father In Heaven for the life that I have....for the opportunities I am able to enjoy....for the challenges I face in order for me to grow....for the testimony I have of the Savior.
This week, I discovered the awesome Bible Videos that the Church has been releasing online about the Life of Jesus Christ. Wow...talk about incredible.
They are so real and spiritual and inspiring. It is a huge privelege to have the technology to "see and hear" about the life of the Savior. It is almost like we are able to walk with Him, in His steps.
You should all check them out!

This week was good in the office. The mission president is doing zone conferences so we had to prepare everything for him to travel. Get all the materials ready to send to the other missionaries in far away places. it was pretty hectic in the office this week. We are practicing every Monday morning for our choir Christmas performance...it should be fun!

Anyway, love you guys! Thanks for the prayers and support!

Love, 
Elder Spencer Eastwood

Matthew 14:25-33
Luke 24:36-39

November 21st 2012

Hey everybody! This week was pretty great.

It was a real trial of my faith though.

My companion and I have been fasting almost everyday, trying to mark baptismal dates with our investigators and help them enter into God's kingdom through the step of baptism. But this week, almost every single date fell through. It was a real struggle for us as we are trying our very best. I think I am working harder than I have ever worked on my whole mission. It took me a year to realize the best way for me to work. To realize how the Spirit talks to me. And to realize what God wants me to do for him.

I have learned that what Pres. Monson says is completely true: "We magnify our callings simply by performing the duty that comes with it."

My work in the office is very good. It is such a privelege for me to work so closely with the mission president. He listens closely to our ideas and opinions and I really think this is my chance to help the Brazil Goiânia mission become the best in the world.

My companion, Elder Comsa, is from Springville, Utah and he is basically one of my favorite companions I have had so far. He is so awesome. It is good to be with someone who knows how to work and what he is doing after training new missionaries for my last three companions. It is a real blessing. I feel like he and I are going to continue to be great friends even after the mission.

 

We have zone conference on Friday. And we still have two dates for this Saturday. I hope that we can help these people get baptized. One of them is a girl from Thailand that moved to the US to learn English and then came to Brazil to check it out. She only speaks English. So my comp and I have to speak English together to help each other switch back and forth between Portuguese and English. For about 8 months I was able to speak Portuguese without an American accent....until I could even convince people that I am really from São Paulo. But now that Ive had to speak english a lot, my accent is coming back into my Portuguese.

The other baptism we have is with a guy who was released three months ago from a rehab center. He quit smoking this week and gave me all the cigarretes and alcohol that he had in his house. It has been such a blessing to teach him. As I have learned a lot about how to help others with personal problems.

 

I will close with a quote from the Lion King that has been on my mind a lot lately.

"Look inside yourself. You are more than you have become. Remember who you are."

I hope we can all remember who we are! We need to look at ourselves and try to see ourselves as the Savior sees us.

 

Keep smilin'

-Elder Spencer Eastwood

November 14th 2012

Hey everyone!!!! 
Sorry about no email on Monday....about that...
Last Tuesday night, my mission president called me and said "Elder, pack your bags. you are being transferred." Then he hung up.
So I was kinda worried. I got all my bags ready and the next day I was back in Goiânia at the bus terminal. The president met me there and then we went in his car back to the mission office.
While driving, we just kind of talked and then I had the courage to ask him where I would be going.
He said I was being called to be one of his secretaries!
So for the past week now Ive been working in the office and helping the mission a lot.
The thing is is that my P-day got changed to Wednesdays now.

But this is really cool! I have the opportunity to work very closely with the president and with lots of other missionaries.
Plus, we leave the office at 5:00 and still have the chance to teach lots of people.
Speaking of that,
I have a favor to ask you all! We are teaching many people and have lots of chances to baptize and help them this month.
I would ask you to PLEASE remember these names in your prayers each day:
-Terezinha
-Hernani
-Pan
-Diullyani (like Juliane)
-Leticia 1
-Leticia 2
-Soraya
-Bruno
-Max
-Douglas

Please ask Heavenly Father to help us to mark dates with all of them for the 24th of November and that each one of them can stay strong and get baptized on that date!!!! I know that you can help us a lot. With our combined faith, we can have a miracle.

Thanks so much for everything. Im excited to be here working where Im at! It is going to be a fun adventure.

Love, Elder Spencer Eastwood

November 5th 2012

Hey everyone!!

Well, it happened. I got transferred! I knew it was going to happen,
so it didnt come as a big surprise. I was sad the first few days that
I left Novo Mundo, but my new area is awesome!!
Im in a new city, called Anápolis. It is about an hour away from
Goiania. It is a little cooler here. It has rained every day since I
arrived. Im the district leader here too. The city is really pretty,
lots of trees and parks and water fountains. It is a lot cleaner than
Goiania too!!! Im liking it a lot so far. The ward is great, Ala
Anápolis of the Anápolis Brazil Stake. It is great. The members are
willing to help us out.
The roads are all up and down....so Im getting a pretty good work out
here, but luckily my other area helped train me by having me walk so
far!!

It seems like this area has gone a long time without many baptisms.
The first day that I arrived, we committed four people to baptism!
That just proves to me that there are people waiting for ME here! I
just have to find them.
Halloween was great. It came and went without much happening.

Anyway, that is about it for now!!!
Have a good week (is there snow yet?)
Happy Election day tomorrow!!!!

Love, Elder Eastwood
D&C 10:5
1 Nephi 22:17

October 31st 2012

Well, this week was a great one!!!

Friday, we had a Halloween Party in the ward....(unfortunately, the computer Im using today is not working with my camera, so I will have to send pictures next week.) 

Of course, for my costume, I went as Bono....I had the sunglasses and everything!!!

It was really cool and the decorations were just like in America!!! It reminded me a lot of being home. It was really fun to be there with all the ward members and to hang

out with them some more. I think this will be the last party I have with this wonderful ward. I have that "feeling" that I will be transferred either this week or the next.

I will miss the ward a lot, but I am ready to move on. This will definitely be the ward that I visit my last Sunday on the mission though!!! Ive already planned it out with

the members here....my favorite family is already planning the "Farewell Party" for next year....hahaha.

Anyway, we are preparing a family for baptism! They went to church yesterday and loved it! They invited us to have coffee with them one day, and we just said that

we dont drink coffee. So they stopped too! We hadnt even taught them about the Word of Wisdom....we are doing that tonight. But they are totally being prepared

by the Lord to become members of this Church! I think that one of my purposes here was to find them and begin teaching them.

I learned a lot this week about the importance of fulfilling our responsibilities as priesthood holders. If we dont do our duty as priesthood brethren, the Lord has no one

here on Earth to help his other children. It is OUR responsibility and OUR privelege. I learned this when I helped my companion give his first blessing. He was very nervous

that he would not know what to say or what to do. I explained to him that it doesnt matter what the words are, all that matters is his faith and the faith of the person he will

be blessing. That is true for all of us!

To hold the priesthood of God and use it to bless the lives of others is the greatest privelege we men can have in this life.

Love, 

Elder Spencer Eastwood!

D&C 121:45-46

October 22nd 2012

This week was wonderful!

We had another baptism! I had the awesome privelege to baptize little Samuel, that special little boy that I have talked about before.
It was a baptism like none other. He entered the water and it was like he truly felt the sacredness of the ocasion. He looked around
and took in every single detail: the water, the steps, the mirror, the celing, the doors, everything. And then he looked at me and I 
felt the strongest impression from the spirit that he was doing the right thing. I felt like God was accepting him into his kingdom.
I also had the opportunity to confirm him a member of the church and give him the gift of the holy ghost. It was the first time
I had confirmed someone on my mission, and it was a wonderful experience for me!!

I love my mission. I dont know what I would be doing without it. Our lives move so quickly that often, we miss the best moments if 
we are not really looking for them. Im grateful that I have kept a journal and have not missed a day so far. Im grateful for all the photos
I have and the memories and friends I have made. A mission is the best thing I think anyone could do. I know that Heavenly Father
is preparing me at this time for my future life with my future family and friends. What a blessing!

Anyway, this week was not too stressful. I had an interview with Pres. Prieto and he helped me set some goals for the next year of my mission.
He is so kind and loving to us. I am so blessed to have him serving as my mission president. It was very good to talk with him and really take
time to have a good conversation with him. After our interview, I am almost POSITIVE that I will leave this area next transfer. Which is good 
and bad. I will miss here a lot, but I think Im ready to leave.

Love you all!
-Elder Spencer Eastwood
3 Nephi 9:19-22

October 15th 2012

Well, this week was a good one.

We had a miracle yesterday!!!! I got to the church and the Bishop asked to speak with me. I went into his office and he explained that there was a non-member who had already received all the missionary lessons and was directly participating in the church services, but had still not been baptized. He said that he had spoken with Pres. Prieto and that I could interview her that day and she could get baptized that afternoon! I went in, resumed all the lessons with her, and then interviewed her and....she passed! We had a surprise baptism in the ward!!! That was really miraculous! Im grateful that the Lord has allowed me to recognize miracles in my mission and in my life.

This week has been good. We are working with two children of an incomplete member family. The son, Samuel, will get baptized this Saturday. And the other daughter, Samara, will get baptized soon after, I hope. She is really afraid that if she gets baptized, she will have to change every single thing in her life and have to walk around dressed like sisters all the time.

I have gotten in the habit of talking with the members here and asking them about their conversion stories or what they felt when they first gained a tesimony or how was their first visit to the temple. What I have heard and learned is amazing. The faith of these members is unshakeable and it builds my testimony every day. Their examples make me want to be a better and more faithful member of the Church when I return home and begin raising my own family. Because one of the most important things Ive learned here is that there is NOTHING more important than a family established in the gospel of Jesus Christ, who lives the gospel faithfully together. Family Home Evening, family prayer, and family scripture study need to become consistent parts of our life!

I also finished reading the Book of Mormon this morning for the sixth time on my mission. I know with all my heart that that book is true - even the most correct book on earth.

I love you all! Thanks for your faith and prayers in my behalf!

-Elder Spencer Eastwood

D&C 76:22-24