August 30th

It is 4:28 in Salta de Pirapora and it was started to get really hot! This past week was really great. We had our first baptism on Friday and had a lot of adventures with it. We went to go fill up the font in the morning and do our morning stuff at the church, but it ended up being a little adventure. All the water coming into the church was having problems so it only filled up about 8 inches and then stopped. Then the water we had started to drain, because the plug wasn't in quite right.

We stared filling it with buckets because the water to the other pipes in the building worked for a while and then those stopped working too. We said many prayers and eventually it all worked out. The girl who got baptized is 11 years old and her 8 year old sister had an interview too, but changes her mind about baptism everyday. She agreed to being baptized and Elder Shoen and I were so pumped and she was already to go in her white suit, and then after 10 minutes she changed her mind. It was nuts! The older sister who is so strong has to wait to be baptized for an unknown amount of time while she waits for a police report to be completed. It was so sad delivering the news after she had quit smoking and totally changed her life but she is staying strong! It is so wonderful. We baptized Jussara and it was great.

That same day we taught Samira (a girl we've been teaching since I arrived) and her mother. We challenged her mother to baptism after the first lesson and she accepted and went to church the next day! It was awesome. Samira is such a cool girl and hates going anywhere alone so she brings a friend to every activity. Saturday was wonderful too, we taught a man named Agnauldo who is great. He lives with his mother who is very old and sick, and also has 2 young girls stay in his house at times as well because their mother is not very stable for them. We taught the first lesson, and he accepted baptism. He is very soft and gentle, and although he doesn't know the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I can tell he knows the Savior. He made reference to an experience that he couldn't share with us that he had had and also made a reference to something sounding or being familiar about us and our message. I didn't understand exactly, but it was another miracle that I saw.

Yesterday we had an appointment about 2 miles from where we were teaching, and then we had to return back to that area after. On our way walking, we saw a woman dragging a couch with her little boy walking beside her. We grabbed it for her and took it in to her house, and we will return and teach her this week. When we got to the appointment, they weren't there. As we began our little 2 mile walk back to where we were before, Elder Schoen said "Isn't it awesome the way the Lord works, and put these people in our path?" This happened again as we walked past a family playing at the park and we set up a time to talk to them. It is amazing how the Lord works.

I want you all to know how merciful the Lord is. I know that He answers prayers. I can testify that happiness is dependent on you and your relationship with the Lord. I am grateful for my Savior. I love being here and being a missionary. I feel so much purpose. It is such a challenge!! It really is hard and there is so much I want to learn and master. I feel a HUGE sense of ambition coursing through my veins that is unlike anything I've felt in myself. I feel it now as I write, which is evidence of many prayers in my behalf, and most importantly the mercy of the Lord.

Prepare everyday. Improve everyday. Cry out to the Lord everyday. A fulness of joy comes through our Savior Jesus Christ. My challenge to all who read this is to align your will with the Father. Read Alma 32, and make sure you pick a good seed together, with your Heavenly Father. I know Christ lives. I know He is my Savior. I know the plan is perfect. I once heard great guidance for reading the scriptures. Someone was asked how long they studied the scriptures, and they answered "Until I feel the Spirit". Take questions to the Lord. In searching do we really find. I believe that we are thrown pearls in nearly every verse we read of the scriptures. But we decide by our ability to ask questions, and search, if we will be a collector of fine gems, or swine. The same scriptures that inspire men to do the work of the Lord, are the same words that we read everyday. I love the scriptures. I love the Lord. I love you all. Love, Elder Calvert

Pictures

Pictures from Elder Schoen's blog

Check it out at:

http://elderjdschoen.blogspot.com

Lunch. . . Yum!

Spencer Teaching Elder Schoen to play the guitar.

August 23, 2010

We didn't have the baptism this past weekend. We completely lost contact with Jessica and we didn't get ahold of her until Thursday night. The other 3 girls in the same family fell aswell as one of them was trying to quit smoking and couldn't do it in time. She will be ready for this week along with her sister who was ready but waited a week to be baptized with her. The little girl, Lorena changes her mind about baptism a lot so I'm not really sure what will happen with her. We have two strong dates for this weekend.

This past week was great. But, I only really remember enough to tell you about the last few days. Saturday we spent a lot of this day with this one family. They had asked us about fasting a lot and expressed how much they wished we could spend a lot of time with them one day and how much help it would be. We taught individual lessons to each member of the family, played guitar and sang, and ended with a church movie. It was a wonderful, extremely exhausting day. It was so nice to be able to speak to the individual concerns of the family, and the next day 6 of the family of 8 went to church. The other two have been suffering from depression and have started to improve some. We have a lot more work to do but I know one day they will all be sealed.

We were walking to church with the family, and everyone that drove by knew the father of the family so we are excited to get some references from him. Last night to bring in the p-day we made quesidillas. We found tortillas in the grocery store and it was amazing. We ate it again today, made salsa and gaucamole, Elder Schoen made cookies and it was so, so good. We also went to the healthy part of the grocery store and I got some oatmeal and flaxseed. I'm excited, this morning I made some cinammon/banana/flaxseed/vanilla oatmeal and it was healthy and good. I like it.

I love you all very much. I am suffering right now from what I will call morning sickness. I feel kind of discouraged in the mornings, but I look forward to the time I have to study my scriptures. I need that time everyday. I am still reading Jesus the Christ, and it really has changed my life. The perspective it gives you on the life of the Savior is tremendous. I'm so grateful for trials and the purifying fire. In the moment, it is so diffcult but it gives everything so much beauty. I'm so grateful for this plan, for the contrast of happiness and misery, and for the opportunity to preach the gospel of happiness to the people in Brazil.

I love you all very much. Love, Elder Calvert

August 16, 2010

My Family!

This week has gone by very very fast. It's amazing how much happens in a week and the days seem so, so long but all of a sudden I was kneeling next to my companion last night and it's p-day again!

Last Tuesday we had a family night for investigators and the ward members and I played and sang Child's prayer in English and in Portuguese with my new guitar. I seriously love it and I think I'm going to be able to find a lot of use for it here. Wednesday we went to lunch early and lady showed us how to make bread. We made this delicious bread and Elder Shoen and I are going to make cinnamon rolls with it sometime too, it was sweet!

We have still been teaching the family with the little girls and it’s been so cool to see the rest of the family enter the room to hear the lessons. 2 or 3 nights ago we were teaching all 8 members of the family that live at the home. The wife has had 2 dreams about baptism and their 14 year old son has as well. We have 4 baptisms for this Saturday and 3 of them are the daughters of this family. We were trying to think of a pump up lesson to get their oldest daughter Naiara pumped up about quitting smoking. She used to smoke 2-3 packs a day and she was down to only 2 cigarettes on Saturday but we could see it was weighing on her. We decided to do an object lesson in their home first. Elder Schoen knew that my record in the morning for pushups was 61, and he decided we were going to demonstrate the power of positive motivation so he cheered me on while I did 78 pushups in their home. We went on to teach about how the rest of the family who is struggling to get over smoking needs to support her, and how most important, this is only possible with the help of God (Matt. 19:26). It was really wonderful. The whole family will be baptized one day. I know it. I really enjoy teaching in that home.

Later last night we went to another investigators and I sang Lord I will follow Thee and then extended the baptism commitment for the first time. It was an awesome experience. I feel this change happening inside of me and I just love it. I feel that the gospel is the only thing that will make changes for the better in all aspects of life. We can participate in good things, and strive for wholesome things in our lifes, but the only thing that will cause proper balance and order to be given to all of these things, is the gospel.

I have come in the last week to a greater, deeper appreciation for my Savior, and Heavenly Father. I can't write the things I learned, because it was far more than words from a page. Feelings were communicated to my heart and emotions that will change my thinking forever. I have been praying to have the type of scripture study where my mind is enlightened and I learn far more then what is on the written page and I have had them. I'm so grateful to the Lord.

I love Elder Schoen. He's such a good missionary and such a good man. He has so many gifts and talents that I am so blessed to be around everyday. I love you all so much. Keep praying for me. I feel your prayers. I'm so blessed.

Love, Elder Spencer Wade Calvert

Elder Calvert's desk in his apartment. The picture is of his nephew

Max, praying before a t-ball game. The other picture is

Spencer's Dad when he was 18.

Spencer's washing machine?

Week 10-August 9, 2010

These past few days have been wonderful. It is so interesting to not speak very much but the Lord is blessing me with so much patience. Wednesday night we went to the Bishops house, and then went up to the church building where members and non-members play soccer every Wednesday and tried to find some people to teach. The Bishop is a great guy, I really like him a lot.

The next day was the first full day of work and I really liked it. We are teaching a lot of people but the people I get the most excited to visit is this family of tons of little girls.

They are crazy and wild and we walked with them to church on Sunday. The family lives in a rougher neighborhood, and the contrast of the message we bear and the surroundings is very apparent and it's wonderful. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I just love it.

Elder Schoen and I sing a hymn during almost every lesson. I love it and it's something the President has been encouraging us to do since a Zone Conference right before I came so I am very happy to be able to do that. Elder Schoen seriously is so great. I'm extremely dependent on him, extremely but I love doing what I can. I think that a big plus of being able to speak so little is when I do speak, the people really strain their ears and try to listen. Right now we have 6 people on date for baptism and it's great.

One investigator who Elder Shoen and the previous Elder had been teaching for a while experienced a miracle in his life. We went and saw him on Saturday, and he has been trying to find the money to get married so he can be baptized. There have been so many struggles with his last job not paying him and he was feeling hopeless. He was reading The Book of Mormon and everywhere he read it talked about pushing on and the blessings came. He was laying on his bed when the phone rang and it was the bank, and I don't know the details but he was blessed with more than sufficient money, and later his old job paid him.

Sunday was wonderful. We had 8 investigators at church and Elder Schoen said that was a lot to have come so that was great. I bore my testimony and Elder Shoen gave a talk. Everything is great here. I really love the work and I feel very happy. I can't wait until I can speak more. It will be so much fun to be able to feel like I can adequately communicate my feelings to the people I teach. As I sat in the home of all of the little girls, I had a profound whisper of the importance of the work. The answer that will solve all problems is the gospel. The message that I get to preach everyday will improve lives and relationships.

Today for pday we went to a mall in Sorocaba and I may have bought a guitar for $250. ....I did. But I love it and I'll find a bunch of times to use it on my mission. It's really nice.

After that we had Big Macs at McDonalds.

Oh man the rice and beans in the homes is soooo. . . good. The rice just plain is amazing. A woman who was cooking for us on Saturday asked what our favorite meals are and Elder Shane said something and I said rice, beans and eggs. No on really responded, like there was some confusion and Elder Schoen was laughing after because apparently that's like the super poor meal. I love it though, it's so good. I Love you all, Elder Calvert

Salto de Pirapora- Companion: Elder Schoen

My Wonderful Family, August 4, 2010

I am sitting in an internet cafe in Salto de Pirapora. I look out of the window behind me and I see green hillsides with a few homes on it. It is beautiful here. It reminds me a little bit of Orcas

Island if you can imagine one in Brazil. I'm not sure if pictures on the internet would do it justice, but it really is very pretty.

Tuesday morning we met downstairs at 7:00 and were driven to the mission home. I felt a profound peace on the way there. I felt the Spirit of the Holy Ghost wrap around me in a way I couldnt explain. The situation was so new and scary, but it was as though the emotions and feelings of my heart were different then my surroundings. I know it was a great blessing. We arrived at the mission home at about 8 and I found so much comfort knowing Jacob had been in that very building. We received a lot of orientation type of stuff, and then we went to the Presidents home and ate a really nice meal. Their home is beautiful and looks out over Sao Paulo. After eating we returned and I had my interview with the President Cooley. He is a great man. I'm really grateful for him and I look forward to getting to know him and his wife better.

Last night I slept inside the mission office because all of the beds out in the back were taken, so I may have slept in the very bed where Jacob did sometime. I think it's great I'm here in Sao Paulo because I am extremely sentimental and I love feeling connected to our wonderful family.

This morning all those going to the field waited all together while the rest of transfers occured and our trainers were in a meeting. There was such an excitement in that little pitstop for missionaries, it's amazing. I saw Elder Rader, Zackary's cousin who is one transfer in front of me and he told me how wonderful his first 6 weeks had been. It was a big boost to see him and hear his encouraging words. Waiting outside the conference room in the mission office as the new Elders got called in one at a time and met their Trainers was very intense and a little bit like Christmas morning when you turn the corner and see who you have. My trainer's name is Elder Schoen and he's from Gilbert, Arizona. He is such a sharp guy and every one of the Elders in the office last night said, "you are getting the best trainer!" I am really excited for the opportunity to serve with him. He is obviously a bi-lingual man and I think it will be great to have him explain principles to me real quick and I will be able to learn so much as long as I can be diligent in using as much Portuguese as I can.

We are an area that is one of the furthest one away in our whole mission. We took a hour bus ride with all of the Elders going to the "interior" and then another hour bus ride by the public buses. We stood together along with probably a hundred people as we got to our area.

We went to our home and it is great. I really like it. I feel very safe here in many ways. The Lord is being so merciful to me. In D&C 78:17-19 the Lord uses the phrase "I will lead you along." I have felt this, and will continue to as His tender mercies unfold in my life. We ate mac n cheese for lunch, and talked and now we're emailing. After this we are going to meet the Bishop who is a 27 year old American from American Fork Utah who served his mission here, and married a girl from Brazil. It's pretty crazy, I'm excited to meet him.

Over all, know that our prayers truly have been answered, and in a way only made possible by the Lord, I feel so peaceful here. I have a desire to speak and no feelings of lost time. I have a desire to share the gospel. I have a desire to be friendly and smile a lot and try to understand. I really feel so, so good.

I attached 2 pictures I hope it worked! My companion is the second one from the right, and Elder Briggs is on the far right. The Brazilian Elder is an Elder that Elder Gilbert has trained, and Elder Briggs trained Elder Schoen. The picture at the top is a picture from the internet cafe that we took when we were waiting for the internet to work again. I love you all very much! Keep praying for me please and I will for you. I know they're being answered.

Love,

Elder Spencer Calvert