Zone Conference (August 22, 2011)

David with his Nose Flute (birthday gift)

Another week has come and gone.
On Wednesday we had a partially expected surprise. President stopped by to drop off our mail and to have interviews with us, but our phone was broken and the assistants couldn’t find us, so Elder Brelaz and I didn’t  get our interviews. We were told that we would be leaving the next day for zone conference in Uberlandia. We packed our bags and headed out. The bus ride was terrible, because its only a one and half hour trip, but it took us two and a half hours to get there.
At the zone conference we learned a lot of important things. President Prieto talked about being obedient and having a pure heart that isn’t muddled with things outside the mission. Sister Prieto talked about keeping the houses clean and about teaching shrimp, not potatoes. She shared an example of when you boil potatoes they get soft, but when you boil shrimp it stays firm. The moral of the story was that we have to through out our soft investigators who aren’t progressing, and focus on our firmer investigators that we can baptize in two to three weeks at the most.
Elder Grandy was there, so beforehand we got to catch up and share some mission stories. Elder Grandy said that my grandchildren are going to have his girlfriends eyes. I’m glad that we’ve decided to have our children marry each other.
The night we got back from our zone conference, we went and set a baptismal date with one of our investigators for this Sunday. The problem has been that he works on Sundays, but we were trying to everything possible to make things work so that he could get baptized Sunday moring before church. He got his baptismal interview Saturday, but he still didn’t know if he’d have work or not until seven-thirty in the morning. We got up extra early to fill the font, we gave him a call to see if everything worked out, but we couldn’t get through. We found out later that he got called in to work. So that was lame, but we’ll baptize him this week instead.
We had a couple who were at church for the second time so we can baptize them this week as well.
I’m praying really hard that everything works out this week.
But you don’t have to take my word for it. I’ll see you next time.
Love,
Elder David Short

Can´t complain about paradise (august 15)

So the week started out really slow. We weren´t finding people at home to teach them and nothing seemed to be going right. Saturday we hit the pavement hard and we were blessed. We found a family that others missionaries had taught, years ago. We taught them the first lesson and set baptismal dates! The only bummer is that they couldn´t come to church this week.
I´m getting really anxious to baptize. It´s been awhile since we´ve baptized here and I want to get the wagon train a movin´.
This morning the shower commited suicide, by sparking at me when I turned it on this morning, so it´s cold showers until we buy a new head.
Everything continues to improve, we just need to baptize.
We had a service project on thursday, where we cleaned out someone´s yard so that they could pour cement. It involved a lot of raking of dirt and some very weak axes. Parrots and owls seem to be following us everywhere. I have never seen so many different birds up close like this before(other than the zoo). Right now I´m just waiting for them to land near our house.
We should have zone conference this week.
Time continues to fly. My ability to speak and teach continues to improve. Lunch continues to have beans and rice. I continue to be happy.
Until next week
´´good night and good luck´´
Love,
Elder David Short

pics

pics of move

Moving day!

Well we have a change of address as of today. Yesterday we had our bags all packed, and this morning we got up at five-thirty, ready to get the moving van a going. It was going to be really expensive to make the trip in two loads, but we a had a sort fish and loaves miracle, and we were able to make everything in one trip. Much of today was spent reassembling beds and unpacking clothes. I was able to find some time to take a nap in the middle of everything. Our new house is really awesome. We have a lot more room and a rooftop view of downtown.
We were going to have a baptism Friday, but our baptism´s dad didn´t think she was ready, and that she needed to visit the church at least for four months, but she works most Sundays, so we´re trying to find her a new job.
This last week some pretty awesome stuff happened. We contacted an elderly couple, and the wife said that she had always seen missionaries walking the street, and had always wanted to know what it was they did, but never had the chance. She and her husband came to church on Sunday, and I´m praying that they´ll get baptized next week.
Someone tried to baptize me this week. We were sitting at a bus stop, talking with a girl, to see if we could teach her, when a pastor of another church comes up and invites to get baptized on the 14th, in the name of Christ. He also told the girl we were talking to that she could get baptized too, but that she´d have to give up adultery. We tried to ask him about how his church had authority to baptize, but he just ignored our questions and snapped at us to pay attention, when we´d look down the street for our bus. It took everything I had to keep from laughing.
We heard that our mission President might be visiting soon, to have interviews with some of the men in the branch, so that they can receive the Mel. Priesthood.
I think that that´s about all I have to share week. More exciting things to come.
Love,
Elder David Short

The second epistle of Elder Short (received July 25) with pics

Hearken O ye nations.
Long has the been the time of my deliverance from the valley of the shadow of Lovell WY.
It has been spoken and prophesied that there shall be many which shall say: A letter a letter. We have written Elder Short a letter. O thou fool! knowest thou not that there is more than one week in a transfer, and that there are many transfers in a mission? My family shall write and I shall receive letters, and my friends shall write and I shall receive letters, and all this that ye may know that I Elder Short yet live.
There also shall be many who will shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall write. And if we put off the day of our writing the missionary will beat us with a few words and it shall be well with us at the last day of his mission.

Monday there were heard many rejoicing of timbrels and of trumpets and of guitars, and all were in the habit of making merry, for it was the birthday of Elder Pimentel. And they did eat of the meat, and did drink of the Guaraná.

And on the fourth day arrived a valiant servant, who had finished his mission. And he spake: Behold! and I beheld and he began to hug his girlfriend and spake ´´this is the best part of getting off your mission´´, and we were wroth with him

And when I, Elder Short, had arrived at the chapel of our branch, we saw that we had a great lack of investigators, for they numbered zero. And the mornings and lamentations of us missionaries was great. We fell upon the ground and wept for those who had not chosen to fulfill their promises, by visiting the house of the Lord.

As I and my companion were traveling to our next appointment, we were tempted of a snakee who had wanton eyes, who made a tinkling with her feet walking and mincing as she went.

But we were blessed in the land of Itumbiara for there were many sheep that we found, that were not yet of our fold. Them too did we invite, that there might be one fold and one ward.

Love,
Elder David Short

P.S. Hopefully at least part of this made sense.

We Shall Baptize! (received 18 July)

We had a lot of exciting stuff happen this week. Our awesome house, we found, got approved and now we´re getting the paperwork finalized, so we should be moving by the start of next month. Our new house is in downtown Itumbiara, which will be awesome, and it´s next door to one of the better grocery stores.
We did a good amount of finding new people this week. Our most awesomely find this week was a referral from a recent convert. There´s four in the family. We found them at home Friday, taught about the Restoration, and then asked if they´d be baptized. They accepted. The golden investigator of the family is the daughter, because all her questions are about what it´s going to be like after she´s baptized. Only her and her mom were able to make it to church Sunday, but the dad and brother should make it next week.
There are four things that love missionaries
1.Dogs
2.Snakees
3.Drunks
4.the Elect
We ran into all four this week. Yesterday was the most interesting, becuase a guy who was doing the drunk shuffle down the street told us all about how he was the first member baptized in Itumbiara. He said many a thing, but most of them don´t make sense.
We found a lady this week who a year ago was super rich with her own business with more than three hundred employees and now she has nothing. These last couple months she hasn´t been able to work, and she because of everthing that has happened she´s turned athiest. We tried to leave her with the comfort of the message of the Atonement, but we´ll see what happens. I think she could be a miracle. We´re going back this week to see what happens.
I´m so stoked with all the new possibilities this week has brought.
Elder Rowberry invented a new word: Preparating
Today is Elder Pimentel´s birthday, so we´re going to be BBQing later today. Oh how I love Brazilian BBQ.
Hopefully in two weeks I´ll be sending more pictures of baptisms.
Love,
Elder David Short

Pics:
Nefi as Iron Man
Our district as X-men ELder Pimentel: Nightcrawler Elder Rowberry: Cyclops ELder Brelaz: Wolverine Me: Colossus
The most disgusting meal I´ve helped make on the mission thus far. Ramon noodles: three different kinds, Egg, hotdog, bologna, rice and corn, with ketchup on top, but it tasted alright

Change is in the Air (received 11 July)

Well to begin this weeks letter I will start with last P-Day
We had lunch with a part member family at their weekend house near the Rio Verde (green river). After our lunch worthy of the celestial kingdom we went down to the river and took some pictures. I spent the greater part of P-Day sitting in a hammock while writing letters. Oh how I want a hammock. I got to try sugar cane juice for the first time. My mouth was all confused. I kept thinking it’s like soda...nope, It’s like juice....nope, it’s like cake...nope. Why does it taste like all things good?! And then I remembered that I was drinking pure natural sugar.
We found out this week that we have to move, because our landlord doesn’t want to renew our contract for the amount of time the church wants. So some of our teaching time was comprimised by our house hunting. We were able to find a house that’s near the church and would be perfect for us, but we won’t find out if we’ll be moving in until later this week. I hate packing.
Elder Pimentel and Elder Rowberry had a baptism Saturday, and I got to give the talk about baptism and the Holy Ghost.
This last week we’ve been working a lot on a training thingy we gave the branch last night. Right now our chapel is a house that the church is renting, so in order to get a real chapel the branch needs an attendence of 80 people for 3 weeks and then we can apply to start construction on the chapel. My part of our training was about the atonement and loving one another. I think everything went really well. Hopefully we’ll see some miracles these coming weeks from our efforts.
Love,
Elder David Short

P.S. Write me a letter....please

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