Monday, October 26, 2015

Life in the Office. Working hard or hardly working....


Dad's questions:  
Getting settled into the new routine?  Any idea why you got the position?  Yeah things are good here. I share a computer with Elder S who's the other assistant and is super chill. I know exactly why I got this position. because when I got here Elder W was waiting in the bus station with my comp and i literally look at him with this stale face and he busts out laughing. it was him that begged the presidente to send me here cause we´ve been buddies for a while now. haha hes a goon. but its chill here. 

What can you tell us about Juiz De Fora?  Is it a really big city? Juiz de Fora isnt that big of a city. The center is pretty big and busy but our area is like a 20 minute bus ride from center and its like a suburb where there isnt that much hussle and bustle. its pretty calm. but Juiz de Fora is a beautiful city with even more beautiful girls. literally there are so many beautiful women here. its redicious.

Are there a lot of missionaries in the city?  yes. this city has about 6 pairs of missionaries, 2 are sisters.

Are there a lot of wards? Well im in the same ward as the AP´s and the other 2 secretaries share a ward with the sisters. so here in Juiz De Fora there are really only 2 wards. but they are growing fast.

Who else do you work with in the office? I work in the mornings so every morning, (not friday or sunday) we go to the office at 10-12:30ish to pass references to people, see if they contacted these references and help the other secretaries. I work with the two other secretaries and my comp, the financial secretary and the secretary of the mission which is Elder B, my buddy from the mtc in provo. The assistants normally only enter the office at tarde or at night. We work after lunch in our area while the other 2 secretaries come back to the office. So basically im calling half the mission every morning passing references and chatting with my buddies so its supppper chill. haha our phone is one of the 3 phones on the mission that can send texts and can call anyone in the mission so thats taking some adjusting to.


But yeah I have yet to see the presidente because he was off traveling to other parts of the mission, but I am loving being in the office. its super chill and everyone here is one of my friends from earlier on in the mission.

One hard part about it is we live next to the office, so all the newbies and the guys going home sleep in our house and last week we had the an [interesting] group of newbies in our house. They were all supppper loud and talking about how many people they're gonna baptize and how their dad was assistant and all that. Then they all walked suppppper slow so we were late taking them to a meeting with the assistants and president. but yeah the good news is this next group leaving will be Elder M, Elder C, Elder W, Elder L, Elder R, pretty much everyone I love on the mission will be going home the 1 of december and I'll be in the office to see all of them!! Thats a tender mercy. 

So the other night we built a mega fort in our house because we have like 20 mattresses and blankets and it was pretty much the best fort ive ever built. We had two rooms, one where we all slept there and the other was the War room where we played War the board game. haha it was awesome. We drank coke and ate candy too. ill send you a picture.

Also this week we taught this young mother about the Restoration. While I was trying to help this lady with her doubts about Joseph smith and if he really was a prophet using the Book of Mormon she really just wasnt understanding. So I was saying that the Book of Mormon is the key to know if all this is true and that she has to read it, at least one page, to know if the book really is sacred scriptures. She still had her doubts so I deicded to bear my testimony one last time about the joy this book brings into my life and while I was bearing it she kinda started laugthing and I looked at my comp and he was kinda smiling because she started laughing at random and when I asked what was funny she said, I can see you know this book really is true. I can see it in your eyes, there's almost like a flicker of flame in your eyes when you are telling me that this book really is scriptures. And I said, This is my joy. This is why i left my house, my family, my friends, for two years, because I know this book can help you. And she decided to take the challenge to read the book of mormon and ask God! it was sweet. 

Miss you guys!
Love,
Elder Hamm

Monday, October 19, 2015

Transfers








Saturday, October 17, 2015

Kids' Day!

Monday, October 12th

Sadly today is kids day so I can't really send you guys a good email because all the lan houses are closed -_________- so we're using the Wifi that they installed last week to send stuff to you guys but the computers are trash. So Tuesday we have to go to petropolis  at 5:30 in the morning for a meeting with President that will last all day but wednesday ill try to get permission to go to the lan house and send you guys something.i love you all soooo much and am doing good aha love you guys! 

Friday, October 16th

Do they have piƱata’s there? no.... I have yet to see a single pinata here.

 What is your favorite snack right now?  hmmm fruit. this week I was walking down the street and we passed a street vendor selling jabuticaba! which isnt a rare fruit but no one sells it and all the jubuticaba trees are in peoples yards. so I bought a bag full for 5 reais! hahaha so we sucked on them this week. I ate so many I had diarrhea haha. but thats part of life right? all things in moderation.  

What is your favorite door approach? normally I clap my hands to call people to the gate and sometimes yell "oi de casa" and start off with "good afternoon im elder hamm and this is my friend elder G, we´re missionaries from the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. have you talked to missionaries like us before? no? Well you´ve probably seen us walking up and down this street a few times, sometimes in the rain or the burning sun right? No? well as missionaries we go door to door as messengers from our Lord Jesus Christ to share a message with you that will bless you and your family with more happiness and peace in your lives." sometimes i add "Im from the united states and my friend is from bahia, we left everything for 2 years so we can help other have the joy that this gospel brings to us, and our family." but yeah if I throw in a little smolder, 90 percent of the time, it works  ;)

haha I was talking to sister and she said that you emailed her and I told her you made the bad joke of not telling me the date i will leave. she said oh then I wont tell you either. hahaha I said nooo! if I ask my dad he´ll tell me if I really wanna know (which i wasnt really sure of) and she said I think you guys are our last group right? you guys will leave the 21st of june. so theres that. haha 

The smallest boat in the ocean cant be sunk by the biggest waves, unless the water gets into the boat. you cant let the least amount of sin into your life. I heard a little bit of priesthood session and thats what Thomas S. Monson said. love you dad i miss you a ton

im better now mom! I love you!! miss you guys alot! this monday is a so a holiday again so I dont know how we are gonna email you guys but im good the work is going well. monday is also transfers so well see how that will go. I think me and M will leave. Love you mom!! miss you so much!!!

Monday, October 5, 2015

The week where I was pretty much dead

This is L, the Stake presidents son. Hes in our ward and hes super chill haha. 

Dad´s questions

Not trying to make you homesick or trunky but what is something you miss most on your mission?  Haha talking to girls. Thats definilty something im missing. That and adrenaline. You dont get much adrenaline on the mission because... well youre not really doing anything daring or life risking.

What is one thing that being in another culture has taught you that you will try to incorporate into your life? Just to be grateful for the little things. And try to see things from other peoples' viewpoints. It´ll make you understand them better, sympathize better and really love them better.



So yeah this week was the struggle... I got this virus on friday from someone at the talent show and when we arrived home it was straight to the bathroom. Me and Elder M. So that kinda began my long night of throwing up and having diarrea every 30 minutes. And on top of that Im pretty sure I got vertigo in the middle of the night too. So everyone else wakes up saturday at 6:30ish (I didnt wake up because I really never slept...) and Im like "yeah Im gonna call sister C". So I call her and she tells me to go to the hospital and drink some tea..... Yeah she always says drink some tea... Haha 

So I try to walk but im literally so dizzy that I couldnt even walk to the hospital that was a 20-30 minute walk so M starts calling a few people and find out that im not the only one with this virus. But we finally call a guy in the ward whos always super nice and always wanting to help us out.  So he picks us up and in the car he starts talking and just the stuff he was saying, the fact that he was helping us out, I was kinda tearing up in the car. He said, "Oh you guys gotta call us earlier when you guys are sick, we´re here to help. I dont care if it's the middle of the night or early morning, we´re here for you guys. I know what its like, im the same way. I don't like to inconvenience people or make people go out of their way, but we´re here to help.  Do you guys need medicine or some fruit or something to eat?" And I was so dizzy I couldn't really respond but I don't think he will ever really know how grateful I am that he was there to help us and how his words really helped me out. He really has the love of Christ in him.

So we arrive in the hosptial and the nurse is trying to take down my information and I'm like, "M talk to her for me?" haha and M starts laughing but he tells her my information and stuff.  So long story short, I stay in the hospital for a few hours taking an IV with some medicine and then they tell me to go back home and to come back if im not feeling any better. 

So I slept through the first session of General Conference.  General Conference is a world-wide conference held by our church every 6 months.  There are 5-two hour sessions on the first weekend in April and October.  The living Prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson, the twelve apostles and various other church leaders speak.  It rocks!  It is uplifting and informational and inspirational and really cool.  Plus at home, we watch it on TV sitting on the couch and eating yummy snacks, together as a family.  


We went to a member's house to watch the second sesson. What kinda stinks about Brasil is that conference is only broadcast at the stake center which is in Volta Redonda. a 45 minute bus ride from here. But Sunday we got a ride to go there so I was taking some HEAVY medication in order to not explode during confrence and made it home Sunday night. 

But yeah that was about my week. We also had a talent show Friday where we had about 10 investigators show up and we all did a talent and a bunch of other people shared their tallents and then it kinda turned into a dance fest and someone put on that video game just dance and lets just hope for my sake that the mission presidente doesnt get his hand on some videos some members taped. Haha 


but yeah  Ilove you guys!! miss you all so much!!! 

Elder Hamm