It Has Been ONE YEAR! (Week 52)

My friends and family, this week was an absolute boogie. I hit one year on Wednesday and I am forgetting how to like express myself in English ahahha it's such a sham. I tried to talk with one of the American Sisters in English and my English was just a doozy haha. I felt like a goober.

But Wellington and Vanessa holy smokes my Brethren and Sistren of God they are so rad. Their baptism was so good and just the level of pure happiness that is visible in their lives is such a beautiful thing to see. I am truly touched and seeing how useless I am without the Spirit in my life haha. I have seen changes in people's lives that literally don't freaking make sense hahah like 0% sense at all. There is something so physically different in a room or in a conversation when your emotions are elevated by the Spirit of God. It's so rad. But Wellington and Vanessa are now members of The Church hahahah sooooooo sick, when Wellington was entering the font he slipped and almost bailed to the Spirit World early hahah. They both just didn't stop smiling the whole night hahahha it was so sick. I'm gonna miss all of them so much I freaking love them and their 3 kids.

Something that made me extra happy inside my little missionary heart was to see how my problems have come to benefit my life, and the life of others in this last year. This week I had 3 missionaries who were feeling super crappy come to me and ask me for advice and magically they all were going through the same things I have gone through. I'm so freaking grateful Heavenly Father has given me these experiences, and also helped me overcome them, so that I can help other people with the knowledge I have gained. It made me feel so grateful for every hard time and just showed me how worth it every hardship really is. The crappy feelings are drowned out 10 fold by the feelings of joy and happiness from helping others. I am eternally grateful for the way God is prepping my life. He's a total bro.

Every Saturday we decided as a Zone that we were only gonna study about Jesus Christ. I gave a nice look at a rad story in the Book of Mormon that talks about when Jesus came to the Americas. In 3 Nephi 11 right after Jesus came down from the heavens everyone was like OH SNAP, that's Jesus, and everyone fell to the ground. 2 verses later in verse 14 after Jesus saw everyone on the group he says "arise and come forth unto me.” I just think that's the raddest ish on the planet. Everyone was all grounded and Jesus told them to come unto Him, and feel the marks in his side and hands and feet. He invited them to arise, and to come unto Him. I was super touched by this and I realized how that is constantly what Jesus is inviting us to do. To arise and come to Him. Every time we fall down, for whatever reason, we can expect the Savior to come and if we arise, if we go to Him, He will give us the comfort and the love we all truly need. I have the strongest testimony that He truly exists. That the man called Jesus Christ is real, and that he was resurrected, and that His love can fill us and make us feel so good when we get up and do what we are asked to do. My worldly brain cannot make sense of how all of this works, and for that I am incredibly grateful for the confirmations from the Spirit that these things are true. Prayer is real. It is how we receive answers to our most profound questions. Be honest as you talk with your Heavenly Father.

Coming to a close, a super cute cat was meowing at our door for like 10 minutes to we took her in and gave her a bath and milk hahaha and gave her the name of Elle. Elder Soares thought that was a good strong American girl name hahah, so now we have a cute cat living in the front of our house drinking our milk.

Here are pictures of this week.

With much love my friends,

Elder Porter

Wellington & Vanessa’s Baptism yewww!

All of the freaking houses are the freaking same in this one freaking neighborhood. Reminded me of Tentacles Acres hahaha that one community Squidward moved into.

Cat bath

Dry cat

Submitting to Heavenly Father's Will (Week 51)

Hey you guys! This week was just super duper good. It went by so fast and it was just calm and I just felt the Spirit and I am just so happy and relaxed and this is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. I feel so good right now.

This whole week Elder Soares and I saw so many blessings in our work. We did our very best to just obey the rules and pray and stay close to our Heavenly Father and everything was just good. So for a couple of weeks I have been feeling super strongly that Soarino and I needed to leave the house right at 10:30 after we study in the morning and go do contacts and find people to teach. I'm not kidding something would always come up or we'd start studying late, so we never got around to leaving on time until Saturday came around. I got up, went for a run, and I was so freaking tired haha but was determined to have a good day. A drunk dude laughed in my face while I was running because who the cuss knows why, then I showered and we got studying. We ended our studies around like 10:20 and then got all ready to leave and met one of the coolest kids ever, before we had lunch. His name is Ildo and he normally isn't home because he likes to hangout in the streets and we happened to catch him leaving his house and he told us he'd go home around 6:00 to talk with us. We went to his house and we're talking to him about how God loves him as a son. He was telling us that his dad lives in another city and that he misses him a ton. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and when I pulled it out I go dude I promise you this book will help you overcome the challenges you are having right now, whatever they may be. God will give you the strength as you read this book. He just looks at us after and goes I was literally gonna ask you right now if this book could help me get out of the streets and make better decisions with my life. Every time I have the desire to go out and get jiggy with my friends I think I'll just chill a tiny and read this book. I really felt so lucky to have met this kid and I know that we met him because we chose to obey what God was telling us. Here in the mission I am painfully learning the importance of obedience. I am realizing how obedience really is what brings the blessings God has ready for us. It sure has been painful figuring out how to be obedient, but nothing is more comforting than knowing that as we are obedient, we are doing what God would want us to do. There is something so comforting in knowing you are choosing the right over just wandering around hoping you are boogying down the right path.

Wellington and Vanessa are way way too good these days. Everything is just an absolute beauty with them. On Friday Wellington lost his wallet and was mega bummed out haha. I told him a story about how I lost my wallet and prayed a frick ton and then found my wallet like 5 days later. I told him God is wanting to test him and that if he prayed to find his wallet he would find it. We left and he was like super uber bummed haha but many prayers were said after we left and nonetheless he found his wallet on Saturday! Prayer is way too rad folks. We had a super special lesson with just Wellington Sunday night because everyone was sleeping, and we taught him about family history. We explained it so simply and the Spirit spoke so strong to all of us there. Through teaching about this my testimony grew so much. I realized how legit it is that we have the opportunity to help people who have already died here on earth but are well livin on the other side of the veil. I truly know that life continues after death and that Gods plan is perfect for us. It's so sick we have the opportunity to seek out our bros and ladies on the other side and lend them a helping hand.

I feel so truly blessed to be serving a mission. At times I am getting absolutely railed and it can be such a bummer out here but that's all just part of the shim sham. I always end up realizing how vital for my spiritual growth the little tiny crappy A times are, and it makes me trust in God more and more every time. He just wants me to be super rad like Him one day, but He can't do anything unless I let him, you know. I know it's hard to fully submit yourself to our Heavenly Father but I haven't had a better 2 weeks in the mission only just trying to give my will to the Father. It's legit stuff dudes.

Just to end up really quick, on Sunday our lunch fell through so we made pancakes at home. I ate 4. We got hungry for dinner so we made more pancakes and I ate 3 more. I am running on 7 pancakes right now haha, but mom don't you even worry your little biscuits of course I'm taking my vitamins!

Love you guys!

Elder Pooter

We are gonna to an activity at the church that requires gold plates as a prop. We got this TV box and had to walk home 15 minutes with it. haha

Ivo and Marly moved... we talked to the Elders in their city and I know they'll be well taken care of. Here's the only ghetto photo we got with them.

I'm on a Mission (Week 50)

What's up dooooooods this week literally went by faster than a giant underwater Texan worm. So many insanely rad things happened this week and my testimony grew so so much it was so cool. If there was a salty splatoon in heaven my spirit would definitely be tough enough to enter after this week's occurrences.

This week we had Zone Conference and they told us to study a part of Preach My Gospel that talks about the Book or Mormon. I had one of the most eye opening experiences ever while studying, and I realized how important it is to read the Book of Mormon every flippin day. I realized that just like my body needs food, like a nice Panda Express meal or a Double Double, which would be so nice right now, also my spirit needs some nice food too. I realized that the days I didn't pray and read the Book of Mormon my spirit would be like dude I'm freaking hungry gimme something good to eat, and although my body had food, my spirit was toasted. I realized also that every time we read the Book of Mormon we should be in contact with God, and ask him to continually renew our testimonies of the truthfulness of this book. Testimonies, like they say, are like a plant, and if you stop watering the little dude he's gonna get all crispy and die. It's simple. Water your testimonies every day dudes.

Alright so the most bonkers thing happened on Sunday with Wellington and Vanessa. First off we show up at their house to go to church with them, and we see all 3 of there kids wearing white shirts hahah way too rad. Naua even had a little future missionary sticker on his shirt. Even better than that we look inside and see Wellington wearing a white shirt, who claims he hates white shirts. We get to church and during second hour we were reading in Acts 22 and I read like 3 verses and stopped at verse 14 then Wellington was like let me read bro and literally just stripped the Bible from my hands, and I was just so dumbfounded because the dude doesn't even like reading in front of us at his house. So he reads in front of the whole group at church, is wearing a white shirt, and here is where is gets even better. We get home after the meeting and go into their house to leave a message. We felt super prompted to invite them to get baptized and so we did, and Vanessa as always was like I'm in, and Wellington was like ehhhhhh, then out of freaking nowhere Vanessa was like dude, I don't really like to talk much about coincidences, things just happening randomly, but Wellington I want you to read the 2 verses that you read at church for us really quick. She pulled up Acts 22:15-16 and handed him the phone and he just starts reading “For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou: arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” and DUDE I LITERALLY HADN'T EVEN NOTICED IT THE FIRST TIME WHEN HE READ IT AT CHURCH HAHAHAHAH and when he read it he just like started laughing and looked up at us and was like welp, looks like I'm getting baptized hahahahahah it was freaking insanity. I am so so grateful for prayer and for the ability to Fast and to realize that when we truly pray and when we truly ask with faith, MIRACLES HAPPEN.

I love this gospel so much and I am so exited for Wellington and Vanessa to get baptized on Aug 17th!!!

So this week I wanna give a shoutout to Micah Bode, my Mom, and my older brother Drake. You three gave me exactly what I was needing, exactly when I needed it. Last Monday after we got back from emailing I knelt down at the side of my bed and offered one of the most difficult prayers I've ever offered. I painfully fought through my self pride, my impossible self centered desires, and told God that everything that I have is His. That I am ready to give myself to Him for as long as my days may be. This week I saw my love, and my desires change. I realized how much I have to change, and never had a single moment where I felt overwhelmed. I feel as if God is guiding me, and although I might have 1000000000 freaking things to change, 1000000000 things wrong with me, He doesn't give a freak. I know without a shadow of a doubt that as long as I do my best to get better every day, I will feel God’s presence.

Love you guys gotta bail already because I'm hungry as a horse, but until next week <3

An assortment of Zone Conference photos.

This is called terere. It’s a mixture of herbs you drink with cold water. I love it

No keys - no phone! (Week 49)

What's up family and other dudes this week was definitely a one of a kind. It was actually a pretty stressful one hahah. On Thursday the Zone Leaders traveled to Primavera do Leste to do splits, and locked the lock on the front gate. Interestingly enough Elder Soares lost the keys somehow inside the house, so we had no way to leave the house. And to top things off I must remind you that Elder Decker lost our phone 2 weeks ago and the office still hasn't sent us a new one, so we had no way to leave home and no way to call anyone. We magically got a hold of some people at the bar across the street, so we called the Sisters and they walked to the key place and sent a guy to our house and he came and switched everything out ahhaha. We ended up losing all of our visits that night and had no way to call the people to tell them we couldn't make it to their house. Also Elder Soares got me sick so it has been a LONG week hahaah, but there are always little miracles in every day through all the other ish.

Saturday morning I was studying and feeling a little bit crumby so I said a meaningful sincere prayer asking God for some help. I then continued my studies and accidentally bumped into Doctrine and Covenants 76:6 which says "great shall be their reward, and eternal their glory” yea cool scripture I know, you're probably thinking it has nothing to do with anything when you take it out of context, but that's just the point. I was studying in Portuguese, and in Portuguese depending on the context the word “their" can also be singular, which is “your". So as I stumbled upon this scripture I read it out of context in Portuguese, and it read "great shall be YOUR reward and eternal YOUR glory” it really was exactly what I needed and it just reminded me how everything that we go through in this life is just to better ourselves. That God has a plan for every single one of us. I really am gaining a stronger and stronger testimony of prayer day after day out here and I have 100 percent certainty that a prayer of faith is stronger than nearly all other things. That humbling ourselves before God is not weakness.

Friday night we did a super rad activity and had a Karaoke night and it was so funny. There is this like middle aged woman in the area here who always tries to hit on the missionaries, it's the worst dude, and she kept trying to sing songs in English and it was soooo bad hahaha. On Saturday there was a huge party thing at the church and Wellington and Vanessa came and they loved it so much it made me so happy. We talked to Wellington and Vanessa... Wellington said he is so close to getting baptized which is such a miracle. The quantity of miracles we have seen in the last 2 weeks, without a phone and without keys, but with some solid faith have been miraculous.

Throughout this short almost year that I've been out here I have really seen how much God does for us. 90 percent of the time these things go unnoticed. In life we get so rushed and so nutty that we forget to just chill the pill and we miss so many things that Heavenly Father is doing for us. In the mission it has been specifically difficult for me to just chill on the stressage and just enjoy life even in the difficulties. It is something that I am learning to do better day after day, and I am incredibly grateful that I have this opportunity for another year to improve and be shaped by our perfect and Eternal Father.

Got some good photographs to recuperate from last weeks one picture pity.

The gate

My shoes are 3 shades lighter of brown from the dust in the streets I kid you not

Soares and I

This is Wellington & Vanessa’s youngest kid Pietro

Another friend

11 Months DOWN! (Week 48)

Sup dudes. So for reals, this week was just not cool at all. It was the most average week ever hahah. Elder Soares got sick, got a nice case of the little boy flu, so we had to go to the freaking hospital which I freaking HATE here. Hospitals are the worst here. We get there and they sent us to a different hospital to get an X-ray of Soares' chest, and while he was doin all that jazz I fell asleep in the check in room with my heck cocked back and my mouth just gaping open haha. When I woke up like an hour later I realized it was just me, and the 5 check-in desk ladies were all just looking at me because I was the only other person in the place haha. I was a tiny bit embarrassed. I sure hope I didn't snore.

But since Soares got sick we would leave after lunch to work and like 30 minutes would pass then he'd magically feel the most violent wave of flu you've ever witnessed in your life haha so we passed 3 days at home. It was pretty rough actually I hate sitting around it sucks. I got some good studies in but like reading gets kind of old. One day I was so tired I laid down on the tile floor with the intent to sleep for 10 minutes and woke up 2.5 hours later and I swear to you the back of my noggin was flat hahaha literally flat dude.

Something that I realized this week is that it's okay to have like super duper lame weeks in life, and in specific in the mission. We should always be striving to make every day super rad and do our best to be optimistic, but like we shouldn't get all butt hurt if a day or week just turns out kind of lame. Just gotta pick yourself up and keep going to the next week. Actually a super special quote that I read this week from a super great, unnamed cousin of mine goes like this. "In prison they tell you to not drop the soap, but to you I say don't drop the hope.” So that's about as clear as day my friends, don't ever drop the hope. Even when the soap and everything else in the week has been nothing but a huge bummer. hahahahha

So Wellington and Vanessa are doing super good this week. Actually being stuck in the house a little bit this week turned out to be a bigger blessing than I had realized until now because it gave me a lot of time to read in this super cool book called the Book of Mormon. Chances are you've already heard of it, but if not it's rad, the story is pretty cool if you read from the beginning. We decided to just start from 0 with Wellington and Vanessa and teach them about the Book of Mormon and the importance it has. I really feel like people don't understand truly how rad this book is, and that's why they don't read it. Sadly until this week I hadn't truly realized how freaking bad a this book is. As I read the introduction, the last paragraph talks about gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon, or in other words having a confirmation from God that this book is super awesome. It talked about how, by knowing that this book is super awesome, or in other words having a testimony of its truthfulness, we will also come to know Jesus Christ is our Savior. That was just so insanely and simply profound to me. I realized that as I read this book I truly feel as if I have someone who knows exactly what I'm feeling. Who came to earth literally just to feel my pains to be able to help me out. In other words all that jazz means that this dude who came to earth, Jesus Christ, is my Savior. And that means if I have a Savior, I am saved... but saved from what? Through every time we make a mistake, doing better the next time, we show Jesus that we don't wanna do that stuff anymore, we ask Him to forgive us for doing that, and, because he already suffered for that stuff He has the power to take the pain from us. So what He has saved us from is feeling all the pain of every mistake we've ever made, forever. I've made some hefty mistakes in my life, and I could count about 3 mistakes that, if I didn't have a Savior to take these pains, would probably melt my brain and I would die from spiritual distress and pain. Dudes, I can't explain how important the Book of Mormon is. I know I'm a full time missionary and I know I do this work every day and I know you can think of 10,000 excuses why it's easier for me to find time out here to read the Book of Mormon than you, but no one is forcing me to do any of this. No one is forcing me to wake up at 6:30am or study at 8:00am or go teach people all afternoon. I choose to spend my time in this manner. I promise each one of you that if you choose to take a teeny tiny quantity of minutes every week, and then work toward every day, you will find purpose in this life, you will feel that Jesus Christ isn't just a dude, but that He is THE dude, and that He lives and loves you more than your freaking brain will ever understand. I beg you to just read a tiny bit of this book because it will change your life. It was no easier for me, than it is for you, to just pick it up and give it a read, and I promise you that nothing has changed my life more than this book. I love my Savior and I feel His love for every single one of you. He will give you this same feeling.

I don't have many pictures from this week. I got a haircut tho. Didn't take pictures of it tho.

Love, Elder Porter

p.s. Sorry I just realized this email is the same size as a children's short story haha.

The new district

Inspired changes (Week 47)

On the real this week was full of some ish if you know what I'm sayin. Elder Soares and I are gonna stay here together for another transfer!! Its gonna be so so fun! A literal miracle happened this week. So after Elder Erik and Decker came back from the Leadership Conference they broke some super special news to us. There was an insanely inspired change that happened in our mission. Before this week we had a box load of just freaking crap that we had to keep track of, like so many numbers that just were so stupid. Like how many lessons we gave and how many addresses we got and just a bunch of nonsense like that. This week we got word that they are doing away with all that and just focusing of 4 principle things. They are starting to have a vision that this work should be truly motivated by love and not numbers. I just am so so grateful for the inspiration of our leaders it's just the most amazing thing. At the very moment this news was broken I nearly shed a tiny tear of joy, and ever since then my life has been a beauty. I've never had such a relaxing, spiritual weekend, and it just re-boosted my gas tank of love. I'm not gonna lie she's been runnin a little bit low lately for the last little bit I have been feelin a tad bit crumby. I have to say, now as I am coming out of my difficulties though I can see how many things God has taught me. I was talking with a Zone Leader at the beginning of this week about how I have really been feeling super clogged up. Like I'm just not progressing, I truly felt as if I was digressing. It was incredibly hard to feel that, especially out here you know. As I prayed and conversed with my Father in Heaven through all of these difficult times I see now how he was just beefin me up to be a better kid, and I literally was thinking the opposite. I bear testimony to you guys that every tiny freaking molecule of a problem that you have, or will ever have is being cared for by God. That He knows exactly what you need and that you will come out of it so much better. Even if you feel like freakin crap, or like a bag of bricks, or like a lump of clay, you will come out of it better. I promise. I have felt like such a giant bag of bricks sometimes out here and I've never had more certainty than I do now that every moment was to make me better. I promise every single one of you that everything will be okay. <3 If I could I would give all of you a tiny hug right now. haha

Sadly Vanessa's baptism didn't go through. Wellington was feeling a little left out you could say, and was like no I don't want her to get baptized with out me, so it was just kind of a complicated situation. I know that she has a testimony super strong though like she really does know these things are real. It's just gonna take a little longer than we thought (: no worries.

There's a super awesome family coming up on the rise. It's John the Baptist and his family hahah his wife Luziene and his kids John Kennedy, Crislaine, and Kailane and they are so rad. I got so stoked when this kid told me his name is John Kennedy it had me dying hahah. Freaking Brasilians. We were having a lesson with them about the Book of Mormon and I asked them what they were struggling with in their lives and Joao Batista was like dude I am really needing work. I felt the Spirit super strong tell me to promise him that if he read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it he would never ever have to look for work again and it really caught me off guard. I thought about it for a sec and then the Spirit was like stop thinking and spit it out bro, so I did and the Spirit was just insane in the moment. He was so shocked and felt the Spirit so strong and it was just a really tender moment with these dudes. Love em.

I don’t know if you remember Salete from Primavera do Leste (my greenie area) but she was here in Rondonopolis and just happened to be staying at her daughter-in-law's house in our freaking area 10 minutes from our house so we got to go and visit her! I kid you not, her testimony is so insane. I have never seen someone grow so firmly in the gospel, it's insane. I am so grateful for her she's such a blessing in my life. It was actually on the walk to her daughter-in-law's house that we met Joao Batista and his family.

Ivo and Marly are doing super good and the Branch offered to pay and plan their whole wedding and also like get a dress and a suit for them and Marly told us the other day that she woke up crying because she had a dream about their wedding and she woke up crying from happiness. So cute. Should be so good.

But I just wanna bear my testimony super rapid mode about the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I need you guys to know that the Holy Spirit it real, that he leads and guides us in incredible ways. I have the strongest testimony that it is not by my own doing that people come to know this gospel, but through the Spirit of God. I love this gospel, and this mission. God helps me see the good in every single person through the Holy Spirit. The pure happiness that I truly feel out here, and in specific right now is something I never want to lose. I promise every single one of you reading this, that a greater peace and relaxation is prepared for you.

I love you guys! Have a solid week and make it better than the last one.

Prado and I. . . goodbye

Salete

One of the member's daughters has this doll. It was its birthday on Tuesday when we had lunch there so we got the pleasure of singing happy birthday to Lucas. He is 3 months old.

Ivo got a new do

We Moved! (Week 46)

Sup fools this week was full of just some very interesting things. First off we moved houses which was super good. Our new house is way bigger and so much better, but we found a centipede and a lot of spiders in here over these last couple days so were gonna have to get some poison to drink so that they won't wanna bite us because we'll have poison in our system.

The other companionship that lives here with us had a baptism of this chick named Camila that they've been teaching for a couple weeks. She's super rad and is gonna be such a rad member of the Church. Every once in a while Elder Soares and I go to do visits at her family's house with the other companionship and it's always super solid. I was doing her baptismal interview and at the end I asked her who she wants to baptize her and she thought for a sec and was like well could you baptize me: and I was kind of just taken a tiny skootch by surprise and was like absolutely hahah. So I had the opportunity to baptize her and it's always just really special to be the first person to see someone after they get all purified. Reminds me every time how real these things truly are. I can absolutely bear an honest testimony that I know that this Church is true, that it is the Church of Jesus Christ. It's so much more than just a once a week 2 hour commitment on Sunday morning, it's the true and only way to find lasting peace and confidence in your life, and I testify of that.

We had lunch at the District President's house this week and he came and picked us up from the chapel and had to go withdraw some money from the bank and he parked in a super illegal spot and the got out of the car running and he was like don't let the police give me a ticket and we were like we'll try our best and then he was like use the priesthood if you really need to hahahahaha!

Last Monday we were sitting there in the internet cafe and I had just ended a nice chitty chat with my lovely mother dear and my father and this lady just taps me on my shoulder and goes hey dudes I really need your help... I really need you guys to give my daughter a blessing. She goes I used to be a member and I was sealed in the temple but then my husband and I got separated and I just haven't been super well lately, but I really need my daughter to feel better. Can you guys give her a blessing even if I'm not an active member, and I was like heck yes we would absolutely love to. I stopped typing on the computer and started to talk to her for a sec and then she told us that the night before she had prayed to find some Elders, and when she walked in the internet cafe and saw like 8 Elders all talking to their family she was just overwhelmed. I stood and just told her I want you to know that you are never alone. That God still loves you so much and He cares about what you are worried about and He still cares about your life. He hasn't, and won't ever forget about you. It was just a super tender moment there in the computer lab. We had the opportunity to go to her house later that night and give her kid a blessing. She was the cutest little kid on the earth. In their house lives this little girl, her mother, her grandma and also her great grandma. We had the opportunity to give great grandma, mom, whose name is Sicilia, and Geovana who is the daughter a blessing, and it was a super rad experience to see the priesthood bless these people's lives. It really really made me feel so special to help someone feel God's love, and in specific help Sicilia realize that God never ever gives up on His children no matter what, and is always doing everything He can to help us come back to Him. Experiences like this are what make this mission worth it!

Sadly Elder Prado is getting transferred. It's all good tho because he'll be moving to Utah right around when I get home, but this week we got sushi and it was so delectable.

Sushi

Happy 4th! Tehe

Camila’s baptism

Prado and I <3

Oops! (Week 45)

**Unfortunately Porter’s keyboard/word processor that he uses to type his weekly letters/updates was having technical difficulties yesterday and erased his entire weekly update.😩 He didn’t have time to try to type it all again, so he sent this quick note. . .

Hey so these are just pictures from my week. We got a lot of coconuts and also cut a coconut tree in half with an axe. Also Wellington and Vanessa are doing super well. Vanessa is gonna get baptized next weekend and we are so exited! I'll try to send an update about this week next week. Sorry I don't have time to write a full update about this week. Something that I really learned this week was how simple the gospel is. I realized the more simple and happy I teach it the more it affects those that we are around. The Lord's love for us is simple and he wants us to feel it. Don't complicate it. Sometimes it doesn't really matter how many swear words you've said or how many stop signs you have stopped at. As long as you are simply trying to be better the Lord will help you. It's simple. I know that these things are real and that they are so simple. Let the Lord help you simplify your life <3 Love you guys!

Choose to be Happy (Week 44)

This week was such a blast and a half my goodness gracious. So many lovely things happened and I am just so grateful for these opportunities I have to learn out here. Presidente Granja is the best man on this whole entire earth.

On Monday night I had a super good interview with Presidente Granja. I sat down to talk to him and he was like hey Elder Roskelley how are you doing are you feelin happy: and I was like no dude I'm pretty jacked up right now I need something. He started to talk to me about the Spirit and how the Spirit is what always makes us happy. He told me then that the reason I am sad is because I am not feeling the Spirit. It wasn't that I wasn't worthy of the Spirit it's that I wasn't allowing myself to feel it. Something that I have learned is that things don't make you happy, you make you happy. If you choose to be happy regardless of what's going on in your life you choose to allow the Spirit into your life. When we choose to be sad we aren't allowing God to help us out. We close ourselves off to His blessings because we choose not to help ourselves.

On Friday night we had a super lovely activity in the church. We decided that we wanted to have a little movie night and that we'd pop popcorn for everyone and slap on a nice church film. Side note, this week all of the Sisters in the Zone got sick and they were throwing up so we had to help them a lot this week hahaha. But they were all sick on Thursday and when Friday came around they came to the activity like half zombie. We had Ivo and Marly come with us and they loved the movie. After we got everything all cleaned up after one of the Sisters came and asked me for a blessing because her stomach was still messed up I guess haha. We proceeded to give the blessing and for some reason I got like super nervous before the blessing. We laid our hands on her head and gave a super nice blessing and the Spirit was insanely strong. Then after that, one of the other Sisters asked for a blessing too and so I got to give her a blessing and it was definitely the strongest I've ever felt the Spirit in a blessing. It was absolutely wild and it just confirmed to me once again the reality of this Priesthood and how powerful it truly is. After we gave the blessings I was feeling so strongly the love that our Heavenly Father has for these people it was absolute insanity. I went out back of the church for a sec alone and just took a little walk and said a prayer and just was overwhelmed by the Spirit. I felt in that moment how real our Heavenly Father is, and I felt His true parental love for me as one of his kids. I was all teary and full of the Spirit and I thanked Him for for this experience and then I felt like I should go back inside so I did and right when I walked back in I saw my companion lookin for me all frantically hahah and then life just returned back to normal. I feel so honored and blessed to have been trusted with the opportunity to have this cool little spiritual experience, and it really helped me realize I think why God gives us spiritual experiences. Our lives aren't going to be blasted with spiritual overload 24/7 it's just not reasonable. When we have the opportunity to feel the Spirit at a more elevated level, we must take advantage and remember what it's like to feel that Spirit. Life isn't always easy and it turns pretty doozy sometimes, but for that exact reason God gives us spiritual experiences. To boost us through the normal, and sometimes a little worse times.

We spent a couple lovely mornings down by the river studying and it was so freaking relaxing. I never thought I could feel so calm and at rest just skippin some rocks and reading the Book of Mormon. Heavenly Father is such a Bro for helping us find the river. GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND GO DO SOMETHING IN THE NATURE.

So we have arrived now at the end. I really am craving Chicken fil A right now. And I'm definitely missin hot pilates down at Thanksgiving Point lately.

Movie night

Down by the river

Elder Bleazard

This sign says “The Porter is in Rondonopolis literally opening doors” hahaha

Howdy! (Week 43)

What's up guys this week I fell asleep 2 nights without brushing my teeth and I know you know that feeling of waking up with a nice 16 hour unbrushed mouth. Such a great way to start the day ahhaah.

This week was a little bit tough I'm not gonna lie. We tried to find new people but we are just not having a ton of luck. It's been a tiny bit of a bummer. But one day we were walking down the street and we walked in the front of this house and I saw this lady talking on her phone and I felt this tiny little feeling tell me to go back and talk to her. We walked back and I just waited until she finished her phone call and then we asked if we could share a message with her. Her name is Yasmin, and we shared a message with her about the Restoration of the Gospel. We finished up and gave her and the group of people there a Book of Mormon to read, and then she stopped us and asked us if we could bring her her own copy because she lives in a different city. We went back the next day and started teaching her more about the Book of Mormon. I told her that this book was incredibly different, and that she'd feel a difference in her life as she read it. She looked up at us and in an effort to talk found herself in tears. She told us, fighting through the tears, that since the moment she saw us walking down the road she felt something different, and she was so happy when we came back and talked to her after we had passed. She told us she knows something is different and will read the book and pray about whether or not she should follow what it teaches. I am super stoked that I had the opportunity encounter someone, at least just one person this week, that felt what I feel about this gospel. 

We had an opportunity to do a service project for a lady the other companionship is teaching. We helped her move into a new house, and then we started talking about fishing, and she told us there is a river super close to her new house, so we went down to the river and chilled on the shore for a little bit. All I gotta say is that I love nature and I miss her so freaking much. I wanna invite you guys to appreciate and enjoy the nature this week, because I love her and I promise you guys you will feel God's hand as you observe and spend time in the beautiful, undeveloped nature God has created.

I got an X-ray this week on my lungs because I thought they were jacked, but turns out they're fine and so I'm just confused, but at least I got a rad X-ray out of it. I decided to slice up my X-ray and slap it on the front of a weekly planner, so I'm gonna send you guys a picture of it. It's pretty cool.

Also we got a new pet this week and his name is Heraldo. I'll attach a pic of him at the end of the email.

I hope you guys have an absolutely marvelous week. Don't feel shy to send me an email haha it's always nice to hear somethin new. Email: proskelley@missionary.org

Love,

Elder Porter

The riverside

The dudes

The lung planner

The new pet

Plan of Salvation (Week 42)

Warning hostile units, this email might be a little lame because this week was kind of just full of sickness. I got a raging throat infection in the tiny little back of my cute throat and now she's all sad and I took an antibiotic already and it just didn't go away. I have a nuclear virus inside of my throat skin. LET'S GOOOOO BOYS

This week started out with a lovely phone call from the Sisters. They live 2 hours away from us, if we were to walk, which I find quite ridiculous. How the clam am I supposed to help them in a crisis if they live in a completely different biome. They called in a state of utter panic because the lights in their house went out and so they locked themselves in the bathroom because they were scared. At the lovely hour of 11pm this was just the call I would want. We got a member to call an Uber for them to go to the other sisters house but, and I mean freaking but, there was not, I repeat, NOT enough mattresses in their house so Elder Prado and I had to get a taxi which is more expensive than fine and fancy cheeses and meats, with 2 of our mattresses, to their house. We get to their house give them the mattresses and then the taxi just peeled out of there and so we got stranded and had to ask two people drinking in the bar to call and Uber for us. At least we got their contact information. 

Our apartment is uglier than a monkey's uncle, and smaller than his monkey step sister, so we went and walked through a house close by that we might move into. The house is so rad I'm not even messing around, I would live in it. There is this a super poppin back yard with FREAKING GRASS and oh my brother how that made me exited when i first saw it. The more grass there is the more stuntable the area becomes. Also there is a little grill thingy to do a nice barbeque so, in a week or two, if we get this new house, I think I might just stay here once my 2 years runs out. Mom, tell Sami I love her, and tell Ryker to take good care of her. (his Jeep)

I was supposed to give this super crispy talk about the Plan of Salvation on Sunday but the lady who talked before me talked for 25 dense minutes about who knows what, so the dude in the Branch Presidency told me that I'll be talking next Sunday.... but, I gathered some nice intelligence while preparing this talk that I would like to email to you. As I studied the Plan of Salvation I realized it boils down to 2 things. 1 is the Atonement, and the other is repentance. Christ came to earth to suffer for us. Without His act of profound and perfect love we would be flippin messed up here on earth. There would be no way to return to the mother ship after this life ends. One uncalled for action and we'd be toast. BUT there's good news. He didn't come here to just suffer for us, he came here to know how to counsel us and how to love us and motivate us in the perfect way, and also take our sins for us. He knows you and knows that it's hard. I have a testimony burning inside of me that He is real. That He loves me and that He is here every day to take away the pains and disappointment I feel from making mistakes. Repentance isn't, and shouldn't be treated as something we only use every time we make a super gnarly mistake. It's for the times we stub our tiny little toes on the corner of the table and let a fat word rip. It's for the simple things. Repentance is the KEY to returning home to our Heavenly Father, and I know that. I promise you guys that you will feel the greatest and most lasting happiness you've ever felt through just getting in the habit of repenting. Treating it with respect, but making it more normal. It doesn't need to be a stranger. I am truly coming to know my Savior more through repentance on a daily basis. One day we're gonna play chess together I swear.

We've got some insanely freaking money cash bills families cookin down Blessings Avenue on their way to baptism. Ivo and Marly are chuggin right along and Wellington and Vanessa who Elder Moraes and Lara passed to us have now been to church with us twice. They bought us mugs and gave them to us after we went to church Sunday and told us they are super grateful for us. We're gonna plant a calm baptismal date on them this week. Pray for them pretty please with a cherry on top. They're really getting railed by the satan man.

It was a good one folks. Bring home the bacon this week and don't forget to brush your teeth alright.

Ivo and Marly

Anti zit ISH

New roommates in the house (back: Elder Prado & Elder Decker)

A homemade Lambro

Letter of the Week (Porter's 19th Birthday - Week 41)

This week started out so good. We went to a super fancy livin Squidward style restaurant, and ate sushi. I gobbled down so much sushi my tiny little stomach was just so confused on whether to be happy or sad. Poor dude hahah. 

This week I saw one of the strangest sights I've yet seen here in the lovely land of Brasil. I was walking down the street and my comp just goes "dude what the freak is that” and points inside a church and to my complete and utter surprise I saw a lady with a freaking JELLYFISH NET collecting tithing from everyone in the crowd literally just like Sponge Bob scoops up jellies in the fields in the outer reaches of Bikini Bottom. Unexplainable.

Thursday (Porter’s 19th Birthday) was one of the best days I've had in so long. After I talked to my family for a quick sec, which was quite lovely, we ran up to Ivo and Marly's house and had a super rad lesson with them. Earlier in the day Marly sent us a message asking us if there was some way the Church would be able to help them buy a little bit of food because they're having a few problems right now. We started teaching them and they opened up to us about how they came here to Rondonopolis to find work and they aren't finding anything and it has been super hard. Ivo told me one of the most touching stories I've heard. He said that a man showed up at their gate today and asked them if they had any food that he could eat. Ivo told him no, which was honest. The dude then looked at him and was like could you just spare 1 dollar for me dude, I'm being sincere I'm really hungry. Ivo remembered the last $5 that he had in his wallet, and with much difficulty pulled it out and gave it to the dude. Ivo told us he was saving that $5 to buy cigarettes. The dude at the gate, all emotional now, told him that he promises God will double his money because he decided to be kind. With tears in my eyes, in that exact moment, I remembered the $10 that I had in my wallet. I slipped my wallet out of my back pocket and snuck the note out calling as little attention as I could, and at the end of the lesson I asked if I could leave a part in the Book of Mormon with them. I used the $10 to mark Alma 7:11,12,13 and then we left. In this moment, leaving the house of someone who, in a state of such need, decided to give to someone else, I was incredibly touched, and full of the love Heavenly Father has for His children, and I heard a thought in my mind, whose English words spoke “I love you son” louder than I've ever heard any English phrase in my life, nor has any English ever stood out from the millions of other Portuguese vocabulary words more than this. In that moment I felt the pure love that a Father has for a son, and I have never felt it so concentrated in my life. I know, without the smallest sprinkle of doubt, that there is a Person greater than we are, watching over everything, and that His perfect and infinite love extends to everyone. I struggle to express the love that I feel that He has for every person on this freaking planet... it literally confuses me. But I promise you this, reader, that if you pray with a sincere desire to feel of this love, you WILL feel it, and it will change your life.  

There were a ton of changes in the Zone this week. 10 out of 20 missionaries are leaving this area hahah, including Elder Lara and Moraes, the fools that lived with us. I'm gonna miss those goons. Elder Moraes always convinced us to stay up late playing Dungeons and Dragons with him and I may or may not feel some fault in that haha. Also I got the call that I'm gonna be District Leader. Time to put on my big boy pants and start being more serious about everything.... NOT hahah were gonna have such a hoot. I'm stoked for this next transfer.

This week was quite lovely, all thanks to my lovely mother and family and all you folks who made my Bday so great!

Sushi

I burned my big toes playing futball on hot cement. It was a bore to walk this week.

Food donations

The raddest weekly planner you've ever seen.

Happy Memorial Day (Week 40)

This week was quite an interesting one. I really had kind of just an interesting week. It wasn't bad, there were many glimpses of good, but I wouldn't consider it great haha. It was kind of like a shake weight. It looks like it won't make you strong at all, but you buy it anyway. It shows up at your house and you start using it and you realize it was a horrible investment, but every time you use it, it makes you laugh. Even though you are not strong, and you are now poor because of your shake weight investment, you are happy. That is how my week was.

We had the opportunity to go to Cuiabá this week and have a nice little reunion with the Area Seventy, Elder Bassett (he taught us a ton about sacrifice which was nice), and good ol Presidente Granja. It's impossible not to love the dude. He's just such a quality dude. The conference was great, but something Presidente focused on a ton was the true desires of our hearts. He told us that Heavenly Father counsels us on the true desires of our hearts, and if our desires are bright and rad, so will our path be, through life. Pretty clean stuff Presidente always lays down on us. 

I had the opportunity to just dive into some lovely American cuisine this week. There's this store that sells cans of Dr. Pepper, only the finest of liquids in all the lands, for like $3, and my taste buddies literally exploded when I took a hefty swig from my can. First slurp in 9 months, it was indescribable. Also I forgot McDonalds makes apple pies so when we stopped by to get some knock off American food I inhaled 2 apple pies and it made me so freaking happy. Heaven have mercy on my tiny tastebud souls hahahah.

I'm not gonna lie this week was a little bit tough. It was cool to see though how the Lord was still being a bro even when everything was falling through. It was very evidently shown, His hand in our lives this week. I got home Sunday night from a nice long day, and my tiny foot bones were all pooped. I was about to go pee when I got a feeling that I should ask for a blessing. I asked Elder Soares and Elder Moraes (elder nerd) for a blessing and it was truly exactly what I needed. The comfort and true lasting peace that was brought through a blessing really re-energized me for this next week. I am ever and so lastingly grateful for everything our Heavenly Father has given us to give us guidance and peace in this life. He doesn't want us to suffer or be sad. He loves us so much, and I feel that so strongly. I am so so grateful for the priesthood and its influence in my life. I am incredibly honored and feel so blessed to be a priesthood holder.

There's a ton of Venezuelans arriving here in Rondonopolis and they only speak Spanish and it struck the desire in me to learn Spanish. Yo estoy aprendiendo bien hahah so if everything goes right I'll come home speaking Spanish too. I just have no clue if I spelled that Spanish phrase right. Elder Lara from Mexico has been helping me out. He told me he is a Trump fan so I'm all hands on deck with this guy hahah. 

That's about it for this week. Also I got to see KEV BONE CASTRO at conference hahah he's still such a goob. Also Elder Bleazzard, the bro who I met at the Christmas conference a few months back, is buddies with Gib Kroft haha. Gib was my Chemistry partner a couple life cycles back at Lone Peak High School. What a small world right folks?!

Thanks to everyone for the birthday love! (:

Love,

Elder P Roskelley

the KEV

the PEPPER

the CAKES

Week Another (Week 39)

I literally got my chicken fritters frozen off this week and I don't even know how it felt so cold. One night it got down to 60 degrees and I had to wear a sweater to visit our people and then had to sleep with a hoodie when I got home. Our shower doesn't heat water so I was just a piece of cubed ice after I showered haha. I've never had 60 degrees feel so cold in my entire life.

On Tuesday night we went to this one restaurant that has this deal where you buy a bread bun for 6 Reais, which is like $1.50 and then there's like a ton of meat and toppings and you can just put whatever you want in the bun. I woke up Tuesday morning with the most sour gut and just absolutely upchucked the freak out of this hotdog. It was horrible hahaha and then I literally just laid in bed all day until 5:30 pm. It was a horrid experience, and it was super cold all day hahah. Such a hose job all around.

This week I really realized something super incredible. I am here away from the people and things that I love the most, helping people who are here in Brasil. What's kind of crazy is that after these 2 years I'll go back home and continue on with my life, driving fast cars with hot chicks, and eating some huge A hamburgers, but there are people here whose lives are literally obliterated. Some people literally live in houses the size of my bedroom and they're struggling to find happiness. I know it's an insane sacrifice to be out here but i can't even comprehend how little my sacrafice is compared to the pain and sadness that so many people feel here in Brasil. I am so freaking glad for the opportunity to help these people and help them become truly and everlastingly happy through the knowledge we have of our Savior Jesus Christ. I just wanna tell you guys how sacrifices always come around to benefit us. Every single sacrifice we give ends up helping us way more than we thought. Whether that be going out of your way to visit a bro, or leaving your house for 2 years be a missionary, we will never be able to weigh the effects of our sacrifices in the lives of others. Don't ever be afraid to sacrafice what you have, and love, to benifit others. God will take care of you. <3

Just as a closing driplet I'd like to note something super quick. As I continue to serve here 100000 freakin miles from my house, I notice more and more how much I love my family, and how much they love me. I find it incredibly interesting that an increase of physical distance brings an increase in the love. We don't have to be right next to those we love to show them we really love them. It's the demonstrations of the love that do just that. I feel like it's the exact same thing with our Heavenly Father. It doesn't matter how far away from us He physically is, we can feel the love He has for us as much or as little as we desire, based on our actions. I promise you guys if you do the little things to pull yourself closer to God, you will feel his love, and your relationship with Him will grow immensely. I promise you the thing He likes the most is hearing about your day. Say a prayer and talk to Him about how you're doing. He gives pretty good advice if you listen.

Shout out to Caleb Johnson, love you bro you're gonna be an incredible missionary.

Elder Porter

After I hurled and we left the house in the 60 degree weather, and I got sleepy.

Pizza

I got up on the roof of the Chapel.

Yew Week 38 Letter

What's up dudes. This week we walked like the dickens and my tiny little legs are a bit tiwed. I hope you all had a marvelous week and Mother’s Day!

After church this week on Sunday one of the Sisters asked me to give her a blessing. We proceeded to a different room and I started to give her a blessing and felt so clearly the Spirit guiding my every word. I hadn't even asked her what was wrong or what she was struggling with, and I had unmeasurable certainty that exactly what was coming out of my mouth was what she needed to hear. It was really insane and I've never had that feeling before. To have such certainty that what was coming out of my mouth was from God and that she needed to hear exactly what I was saying. After the blessing finished she looked up at me and just had one little tear in her eye haha. But after the blessing I was truly humbled to be the person that was allowed to bless one of Heavenly Father's kids in such a special way. I know that the Priesthood is real and that Heavenly Father blesses his children immensely through the Priesthood. I have such an incredible testimony that blessings are real, and that I truly was being used by our Creator to bless one of His struggling daughters. It was truly one of the most humbling experiences I've had out here in the mission and it was so simple. I love my Heavenly Father and I can truly say without thinking twice that He loves every single one of you. I cannot express how strongly I feel that in this moment.

I also had such a rad Fasting experience with Fasting this week. On Wednesday Soares and I decided we were gonna do a Fast for personal reasons, and we didn't ask each other about what we Fasted for. We're walking down the street Thursday night and in the neighborhood that we were in it is normally super quiet and dark because it's a super dangerous area, but there were like people out walking and sitting in front of their houses so we just talked to everyone. Everyone was like insanely receptive which was just so odd I'm not even teasin and I just turn to Elder Soares and I'm like dude, I can't freaking deny the power of Fasting now because yesterday into today I Fasted so that we could find people who are needing the gospel in their lives and just everyone is letting us in today, and he just looks at me and goes “Brooooooo you're freaking kidding I Fasted for the same thing" ahhaah and then I just got so amped and I was like WHAT'S UP hahahahah then we just had one humongous high five and just were so stoked on the gospel. It's so wacky how things like this get me so stoked. Like before the mission hot girls and motorcycles, and sometimes the combination of the two got me more stoked than anything, but now not eating for 24 hours to find people that want to talk to me in Portuguese is what gets my fancy. I freaking love being a missionary more than anything hahahha.

I just wanna tell you guys that I love you all a lot. Really. And I am truly grateful for those of you who read my letters. It really does mean a lot. I am incredibly grateful for this mission that I have to serve people for 2 years. It is super duper incredibly humbling to see God's hand so profoundly in the lives of others, and my own, every single day. I bear testimony to you guys that everything is possible through a willing heart and love for your Heavenly Father. I hope you guys have the best week on the earth and know that if you ever need anyone to talk to I am here. For reals. 

Love you guys.

Elder Porter

Some nice blue sky.

The return of the nuggets.

We lost our keys so we had to get new copies and I attached my Lego to the new copy.

Rondonopolis! (Week 37)

Yowdy dudes. This week wasn't a super rad week in any sense. It actually was just a normal week. I got here in Rondonopolis on Tuesday morning and the freakin missionary that I took the bus with overnight thought it was freakin rad to like wake me up every couple hours to try to talk to me haha. I tried to be nice and tell him to just buzz off in a mannerly tone, but after he woke me up the third time to look at the sunrise I kind of just had enough and a half hahah. 

The Rondonopolis district had a super big activity way outside of the city on Wednesday and we got authorized to go and hangout there for the day. We get out there and the sun was just a total brute. My skin got pulverized hahaah. They had beach volleyball set up and so all the Elders got together and made some teams and we were out playing for like 6 hours. One of the members when he saw me just yelled so loud "this white boy is BURNED!” hahahah and his voice had a little flamey tone to it so I just died laughing. Then another little kid came up to me after we finished and was like "woah you're a little redster” hahaha and it was just so odd the way he said it. Wednesday was the day I met like all the members so everyone thinks I'm just a fried fish stick now because of how burned I was. It happens...

This week we had Zone Conference. I got to see Elder McBride (MTC companion) and it was fun to talk with him a little. Presidente Granja gave a talk that really marked me. He told us about the best missionary that he had ever met in his life. This short ugly illiterate kid. He told us that this kid learned to read in the mission from reading the Book of Mormon. He told us how with all of his difficulties and issues he learned to trust in the Lord to truly make his weaknesses into strengths. I truly feel like some missionaries think that the mission is like a "how epic you are" fest. So many missionaries think these 2 years are like an Iron Rod measuring contest or something hahah. Presidente then went into the thing that really stood out the most. He started to get overcome by emotion which is really uncommon, and then he told us why this short kid really was the best missionary he'd ever met. He goes “This kid loved God. He loved the people he was serving. He was just a good kid. He wasn't the raddest, but he was just good. The reason you guys are out here as missionaries is to just be good kids. Just be a good person. Just be good.” and I really got so emotional as I thought about the simplicity in his words. The Spirit spoke to me so loud in this moment and I really realized that I don't have to be perfect. Nobody has to be perfect. We just gotta be good. As I thought about this it sat so well with me and I felt so calm and the Spirit really testified to me how true this really is. When we get so worried and caught up about everything we should or shouldn't do, or everything others think we should or shouldn't do, we don't feel happy. I know for a fact when I think and stress about every freak nagging rule on the mission my white keester gets all frazzled and I can't feel the Spirit. When I choose to just chill my pill and be a good person I feel the Spirit really helping me out. Guys I know it's not easy to just forget about all the do~s and don't~s, but I promise you guys your lives will improve incredibly. Just forget about it, whatever it is that is bugging you, and stop stressing about it. Be a good person. Be who you know that you're capable of being. Allow God into your life through being a good person. It's so heartwarmingly simple.

This morning when we were cleaning the house I dumped some water onto the plants from our window on the 2nd floor hahah and then this mega old lady came out with her walker and started yelling at me haha. I talked to her from the window and I was just trying not to laugh so hard. She was like "you kids are always making such a ruckus and before I know it you guys are gonna cause the building to fall down” and I just was dying haha. She was the most stereotypical old lady I've ever seen in my life.

Here are some photos! Love you guys

My comp made Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet

Last photo with Thompsinho

President and Sister Granjinha

Elder Soares (native Brazilian)

Apartment in Rondonopolis

Elder Soares crocheted me a rug and painted my name on it hahahaha!

Love you nerds (Week 36)

Alright so I had a thought that boggled me while I was studying this week. Lately I have really been trying to improve my prayers and make them like a real conversation. I was thinking about how prayer really is rad. Like we are actually talking with God. I started to think about how I would talk to like Donald Trump if he was in front of me, or like Post Malone. I would be 100% focused on them because they are freaking rad people. Then I started to think how rad God is. The dude literally created freaking galaxies that's actually insane. As I started to think about that it really became real to me how special and important prayers are, and the insane opportunity that it is to talk with the most powerful being in the existence of existence. That is absolutely wild. I have such a different outlook on prayer now and I wanna challenge you guys to really try to talk with God, and respect him as your Father but also talk to him as the person who loves you more than anyone. Changing your prayers will change your life. It's changing mine.

Yea so every freaking person except for one that we teach told us that they don't want our visits anymore. On Wednesday night I got home and set my bag down and just looked at my comp and yelled "nuts dude” hahahah and then we kind of just freaking did freakin nothing hahaha freak. Sometimes stuff happens. I have been praying for the Lord to help me truly encounter and help his prepared children and the harder I pray for that the more people are just absolutely rejecting me hahah. It's more black and white now which is super nice. Like the other day I tried to stop this lady and say "hi my name is Elder...” and stuck my hand out to shake her hand and she just didn't even look at me and said “no” hahaha and I literally involuntarily laughed so hard. I mean I guess I am getting what I am asking for hahahah. Thanks Heavenly Pops.

On Thursday it was kind of a crumby day. I'm not gonna lie I just really wanted a hug. We got home and I decided I was gonna buy a hamburger. I got this one burger with bread, homemade mayonnaise, a nice meat slice, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, an egg, ham, and lettuce and BBQ and I literally never had such happiness enter my body. I literally just inhaled this burger and like I can’t even explain how good it was. I called the restaurant after I finished and just was like "I just wanna tell you guys thank you for making such kick A food” and then the dude was like "well my man I just wanna thank you for appreciating our kick A food, and just know we're always here for you man." This burger actually strengthened my faith. I freaking love Brasil hahaha.

Just to wrap it up, Tiago totally got married this week haha. He called us and was like “Yo Roskelley, I got married bro” and it was the raddest call ever haha. I got the opportunity to baptize him and it was absolutely beautiful. Immediately when we started the ceremony for the baptism the Spirit was noticeably there. As I walked around to the font entrance with Tiago it was just us 2 and the Spirit was so sweet. I felt a genuine care and love for him. We entered the cool, but not cold water, and Tiago was super nervous haha. I won't ever forget the image of the guy underneath the water in that font on Saturday April 27. I have never seen such a change in my entire lifetime. It was so quiet and peaceful during the baptism and I just get emotional thinking about it. He told me he just never wanted to leave that water. I don't know how certain words in a certain order and dippin someone under the water can make such a difference in someone's life, but maybe that's just the beauty of it. To my carnal mind these things don't make sense, but in the moment after I baptized Tiago my heart told me that it doesn't need to make sense, because the feelings that the Spirit brought into us are far denser than any logical answer ever could be dudes, I love this gospel, and I cannot deny the love that I have for my Savior. I know without the smallest doubt that he loves each one of you. He doesn't freaking care how much you mess up. He loves you. I wish I could express to you better, and in person these feelings that I am having right now but I just want you guys to know that Jesus loves you so much. He is real and the love that I feel he has for you isn't something just spiritual. I feel it physically. I love this gospel and this is the gospel of change. The gospel of becoming better, the gospel of overcoming the gnarliest of addictions. This is the way you guys and I know there is no other way. I love you guys so much.

Last thing, I got transferred to Rondonopolis. I’ve got an 8 hour bus ride ahead of me at midnight tonight yew! My companion is a Brasilian and it's gonna be my first native companion hhaha. Should be rad. I'm exited to see what comes next. Love you guys here's some photos.

Me on a horse

This leaf bug flew in our house so I caught him

The burger

Tiago’s baptism

Letter yes! (Week 35)

Hey you guys I am actually like so freaking stoked this week it was one of the best weeks ever. I am sorry about my recent letters I know they were a little bit lame I was just kind of emotionally charbroiled. But I’m back homies!

So I am not even going to lie I am one of the happiest, if not THE happiest missionary in all of the lands. I don’t know if you guys have heard yet but my mom, yes, the reddest of heads, and the loveliest of Lynda’s sent me a package, and inside this specific package I discovered Chick-fil-A sauce. Upon the sight of such celestial nectar my companion and I decided we need to buy some form of chicken. As we entered the super market we found chicken nuggets, and then scurried back home to stimulate our taste buds. I have never been so influenced by a sauce in my entire life. After the first 27 nuggets ran out, we decided we must go back and buy more, so we went back and bought roughly 8 more boxes of chicken nuggets. I would like to dedicate this email to the most special lady in my life, my mom. Mother I love you very much, and not only because you send me sauce. <3

With all the sauce festivities and taste buds becoming taste buddies, we also were able to do some missionary work. Tiago’s baptism didn’t work out this week because he was not able to find time off of work, but we were able to have a super special lesson with him on Thursday. He and I talked a lot and he just told me how much he has noticed that, even though his life is so much more difficult and he has so many more things stressing him out, he feels like he has more love in his family. He feels like he has more peace and comfort in his life and he feels like he is just happier. He then went on to tell us how grateful he is for our work and how much he admires what we do. He starts talking to me directly and just goes, "you have no idea the influence that you are making for good in the lives of people. I know it is hard for you guys to see the outcome and the benefit in people’s lives because you are always moving, but I want to tell you that I notice the difference." I was so touched by his words and it really helped me truly realize why I’m out here. It’s super cool to have baptisms and all that jim jam, but to see the changes and the little joys that this gospel brings into people’s lives is really why I’m out here. Helping them encounter lasting love in something that has true structure and base, even the gospel of Jesus Christ, is what just warms my little heart. I love this gospel so much and I am so grateful for people like Tiago that teach me more than I could ever teach them. It is really interesting for me to see that the more I immerse myself in this gospel and focus on others, the more I see myself being taught and blessed by the Savior through those same people. It’s the most beautifully and perfectly organized thing in the world. I love this gospel and I love being a missionary of Jesus. Nothing is better than that. I also gave Tiago a Chick-fil-A sauce packet hahaha.

One of the raddest things happened this week... Elder Stevenson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to visit our mission and gave a devotional to us. The sweet spirit that he brought really touched my heart, and I knew in that moment that we have modern day Apostles and a living Prophet. Even though we only got to watch the devotional through the TV I felt incredibly grateful for all that he told us. The thing that struck me most that I would like to share with you guys is this… Elder Stevenson told us we MUST STAY EXCITED and HAPPY in our lives, because when we become discouraged our faith weakens. He literally used those exact words. An Apostle of Jesus Christ. Dude, that is freaking crazy. In our difficulties we are not meant to feel discouraged and sad all the time, God isn’t planning your difficulties to discourage you and weaken your faith and make you feel like a deuce, in fact He plans quite the opposite. He gave his Only Begotten and Perfect Son to this MESSED UP world to take upon Himself all of our pains and afflictions. He has planned for you to have a perfect Counselor and a perfect friend in your hard times, and I promise you as a missionary of the only true and living gospel on this earth that Jesus Christ will comfort you, will love you, and will help you to KNOW that everything will be okay. I beg you to come to Him.

Along with that I would just like to close with my testimony. Guys, this week I have felt my Savior’s influence incredibly strongly. I just want to tell you guys that I know that He lives. That He loves you… you in specific. You! That he literally felt physically what you feel. It’s not a freaking imaginary thing... it’s incredibly REAL. He knows exactly how you feel. Jesus Christ is our literal older brother, and He loves you. I know that my Savior lives. 

I love you guys so much <3

Elder Porter

I caught a lizard and named it Carlton and he stayed on my shirt for 15 minutes studying with me.

Saucy Tiago

Nugget stack

Weekly email number 30 something (Week 34)

Another week another dollar folks. the time is flying out here I am just absolutely buckled down. I've never had a week that I walked and worked more in my entire life. Like I told you guys I got a haircut last P-day and I decided to shake it up so I asked the dude to give me a fade and he just gave me the most wicked fade ever hahah. The back of my head hadn't seen the sun in a while so now its just completely crisped. It's pretty bad. I ended up having to put sunscreen directly in my hair and it was just so unpleasant. Geez. 

But on the bright side Emerson's baptism happened! (: Sadly Tiago's fell through because a couple months ago when he was moving to a new house and someone stole all of his possessions out of the moving truck so he has been working like 13 hours a day to try and get some money back. He didn't have any time to get married. But back to Emerson. So the baptism was just awesome! We tried to invite a ton of members and people but not really anyone ended showing up and turns out that was exactly what Emerson wanted hahah. He asked the Bishop if he could baptize him and the Bishop is like 5 foot 4 and Emerson is like 6 foot 2 and he looks like Elvis so it was quite funky in the font haha. But after Emerson got dunked his just stayed in the font running the baptismal water over his arms and hands and then he just looked up and gave a speech chillin in the font hahah it was so rad. He just goes “Firstly I'd like to thank the Academy for getting me here” hahaha nah just kidding he just stood there for like 3 minutes though telling all of us how grateful he was for our influence and how happy he was to be a part of this gospel and it was actually really nice. He's changing so much and it's making me so happy. He just seems so much happier and that's just such a testimony builder to me. This gospel, simple and sweet, is the true source of lasting happiness through our Savior. It doesn't need to be complicated. I promise every single one of you as you simply just let Christ's love fill you through his simple and perfect gospel, and do your best to not fight or complicate the process, you will encounter a greater happiness than you've ever felt in your life. 

Something that I have really been learning lately is that there does NOT have to be a reason for everything. Sometimes things are just how they are and they must not be more complicated. For example... I know that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. I know that truly. How high they were standing off the ground, or where exactly were they, or how long was Jesus' hair does not matter. What matters is that is happened. It truly happened. One day we will have the answers to all that our heart desires, but for now simple and sweet is all that I need. 

During the baptismal reunion Vanderline's kid was watching a little show on his dad's phone but he turned the volume way up like right in the middle of the meeting so I just reached up to the bench in front of me and turned the phone off and he just turned around and looked at me with such rage I have never seen and just says "I am going to kill you alright” ahahah and I just lost it laughing and the thing that's even better is the Bishop heard it too and couldn't help laughing hahahah. This kid is a wild one. I'll take a picture of him and send it to you guys next week.

Last thing. This week my older brother Drakey taught me one of the most valuable things that I will treasure forever. When I was emailing him last week he told me to be more grateful in my prayers. Like for example don't ask God to bless you with a good day, Tell him you're thankful for the day, and go make it a good day. That really hit me and this week as I tried to do that I noticed the incredible difference I had in my life. I truly felt happier, I felt like my week went smoother, I felt like I had more energy, I literally just saw my whole life go smoother. I wanna challenge you guys to firstly, if you don't say your prayers start saying at least a morning or night prayer thanking God for what you have. It will change your life. If you already pray then this week try your hardest to really focus on thanking Heavenly Father for what is already in your life. I promise you blessings and happiness will fill your life. The difference is humungous.

Welp the end has come. Thanks to all of you who still read these giant things. I love you very much. Even if you're one of those dudes who just skips to the end and reads this part and looks at the pictures I still love you too. 

Also a bird deuced on my sheets while they were out back drying. Extra sheety sheets. So unfortunate. Also Tiago said that he is literally going to do everything he can to get married this week because he really wants to get baptized this Saturday. (;

Weekend baptism under the lights (Emerson)

Me wolfing down a post baptism slice

I made hotcakes for Elder T and a member who did visits with us.

Week 33 I think! Love you guys

Alright you guys this week was the freaking best week ever I love being a missionary more than anything on the planet.

First off I met a dude this week named Adobar. We were walking home on Wednesday and he was walking in the middle of the street and I yelled GOOD EVENING DUDE haha and then he just looked at us and came running over to us and was like having a really hard time and was super drunk but like just so sad so we just chatted him up. We talked to him for sec and I just felt so strong that God loved this dude so I gave him a big old hug and felt like I should say a prayer with him and Elder Thompson right there on the street. We did that and after that finished we just told him to come to church and started walking the other direction and he just went walking up the hill with his stray pet dog. As we were walking I felt like I needed to run back to him and ask him if he was hungry so we just sped walked to where he was. I asked him if he was hungry and then he just looks at me and goes "so hungry” and I was like let me get you some nice Burger King haha and then he just got so emotional and was like “thank you so much, is it okay if I split it with him?” and then pointed to his dog. In that moment I was just kind of shocked. This homeless dude who was just starving was so ready to give something he wanted and needed so badly to something else. It really touched my heart to see how much love he had for his dog. When I brought him the food he just started bawling and was like "God loves you so much” and I just was so touched by this dude. I gave him another hug and told him I loved him. It was already super late so we didn't have much more time to talk to him because we had to head home, but in that moment I felt Christ's love for Adobar.  Homeless and drunk and without food or water didn't mean anything when it came to the fact that the love of Christ extends to all people. I love Adobar and I know one day I will encounter him again.

Things are all lined up for Tiago's baptism this week, that is if the bus that marries people for free comes to the city again when it's supposed to on the 9th. He's so exited to be baptized and just doing everything he can to stay away from his old addictions. A couple of days ago we had just gotten home and I got the feeling freaking strong that I needed to call him. He's been having a super hard time with money lately and he's been super stressed out and we haven't been able to meet with him as much as we like because he lives 1.5 hrs on the bus away from us so its been hard with him. When I called him he kind of just answered all bummed out and was like "dude today was some booty, I really had just a sucky day" hahah and we just started talking and he was like "I'm gonna be honest with you I literally almost went and bought cigarettes because I was just dying today but then I watched a couple of old talks from the Apostles and that helped me a ton", and I was like that is so RAD. This weekend he had to work Saturday and Sunday all day and he was so sad he couldn't make it to Conference but we're gonna go to his house another day and watch some of the talks with him. It's wild to see his testimony of the Church, and specifically of the living Prophet grow and give him strength to overcome addictions he's brawling with.

This week was an incredible thing for me. I read this talk called “If You Don’t Like It, Change It" I think is what it's called, and it just talked all about how if we aren't diggin somethin too much in our lives we gotta change it:  https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/carrie-roberts_if-you-dont-like-it-change-it/ Shout out to Elder Micah Brown for sending me the talk link and changing my life. Love you bro. But I really just got thinking and praying about how I could be happier and more full of love for the people who are around me. I had been waiting for some magical like fairy or some cheesy ish like that to come and make me happy and make me love these people, and I was pretty TICKED OFF it wasn't happening hahah. This week I really realized the importance of CHOOSING to be happy. Choosing to love people. Choosing to do whatever the freak it is that you want. Being happy really is a choice, and everyone says that but it's so true. In every single lesson this week I just wanted these people to know how much Christ loves them, and I wanted them to know that life doesn't have to suck eggs. In 2 Nephi 2:25 we read that the whole purpose of our life on this earth is to freaking have joy. It's so simple. When we choose to be happy and choose to let the Savior fill us with His love for others, life becomes just a ball. If you aren't happy, choose to be happy, change what needs to be changed, and let the Savior give you a lovely hug. hahahahaha

I am going to get a haircut today. Should be nice. Hope all is well with you guys wherever you are. I love you guys so freaking much. I just remembered that it was Spring Break last week for you guys so I hope that was good. We should have 2 baptisms this Saturday. . . please pray for our friend Emerson that he’ll be able to keep away from smoking his FREAKING cigarettes!

Love, Elder Porter

Me with Adobar

Me with Tiago

Squad (my district)