Dear everyone,
So this week was really eventful and good. So First off another baptism down the hatch and that just makes everyone feel good. Me and Miller are like sharks man we go out on the street and smell baptism. We have been marking a lot of baptisms for the fallowing weeks, We have baptized every week he has been with me and it is not about to change either. We baptized a little girl named Carolina and she was way happy and has been waiting a long time to be baptized. The one old lady Maria do Carmo who me and Onofre baptized is also real strong in the church. This last week there is a member and we went to her son's birthday and next thing you knew it turned into a huge cake fight. It got messy but it was real fun. i got pictures but it is a bit hard to send them at this lan house. So the world cup fever is hitting Brazil real hard now and everyone is going crazy to get these books of all the teams, then people buy stickers to put in them. Everyone has one and apparently your not cool unless you have one, so you can bet your bottom dollar i got one now. One of the missionaries left our district and it sorta sucked because he was a good kid, but that's the mission experience for ya. So basically for me and miller it is work work and more work, but this kid is funny as heck. Yesterday we were walking buy this catholic church and the had a statue of saint peter with his hands out and we put a book of Mormon in his hand, people were looking at us weird but it was so funny. There are a lot of churches or apostasies(that's what we call them)here in Brazil and it is crazy hard sometimes, but real easy too. More easy than hard actually. So that was basically the week for me not on the beach like the cuz(Cousin Bradyn) but sure feels like it. Tranquilidade!
love
Elder Rodriguez
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
April 28, 2010
hello everyone,
so this week went great cause there was a baptism this week heck yes! We baptized maria do carmo which was awesome. This week was good cause we ran into a bunch of gold investigators with only minor problems. There is this one kid who is the nephew of maria do carmo and he is good to go and baptize, we just got to get him to church. So the baptism went real good we threw this fiesta afterwards and she loved it. We also spent so much money on it too i only have 50 reis until probably next p-day or something. but the money is not the big problem, were going good as long as the miracles keep on coming along. So yesterday i went on splits with another missionary and it was tough. i only got a couple of lessons, and because of yesterday now i know how hard it is to be a senior companion. but I'm ready. Yesterday it stormed like crazy during a lesson and it was windy and it even started to hail it was crazy. The aftermath was nuts too you just see all these trees ripped out these stores all broked, buses broken, all the lights were out. So when this happened we left. It was a bit funny cause we could not see but everyone could see us(because of our white shirts) so we just went home. the week went well and we might baptize some kids this week too yesssss! awesome week
love, elder rodriguez
so this week went great cause there was a baptism this week heck yes! We baptized maria do carmo which was awesome. This week was good cause we ran into a bunch of gold investigators with only minor problems. There is this one kid who is the nephew of maria do carmo and he is good to go and baptize, we just got to get him to church. So the baptism went real good we threw this fiesta afterwards and she loved it. We also spent so much money on it too i only have 50 reis until probably next p-day or something. but the money is not the big problem, were going good as long as the miracles keep on coming along. So yesterday i went on splits with another missionary and it was tough. i only got a couple of lessons, and because of yesterday now i know how hard it is to be a senior companion. but I'm ready. Yesterday it stormed like crazy during a lesson and it was windy and it even started to hail it was crazy. The aftermath was nuts too you just see all these trees ripped out these stores all broked, buses broken, all the lights were out. So when this happened we left. It was a bit funny cause we could not see but everyone could see us(because of our white shirts) so we just went home. the week went well and we might baptize some kids this week too yesssss! awesome week
love, elder rodriguez
Thursday, April 22, 2010
April 21,2010
well hello everyone,
I'm doing terrific not only because of conference but because i got the packages. it was awesome to have them finally and i got a butt load of candy which is awesome. grandma got the camera and dad got the package of the shirt and the beef jerky and the pen drive and Annie Anne(Aunt DeAnn) thanks for the candy. nice! So conference was Good and i was not really paying attention because i just wanted my packages so i eventually got them which was cool. i also got a boatload of cards too which i will reply too to. The week has been cruising smoothly and guess what? we are going to baptise that 65 year old lady this week. that is not it, the other missionaries are going to baptize too which will be cool. This whole week we have ben keeping on top of that lady so the devil wont have a chance on her, and so far it has been working. Yesterday i said hi to a lady and she yelled at me!! man, sometimes there are just weird people here in Brazil. but you know a mission would not be a mission without these things ha ha. the weeks have been pretty hot and one night a car almost hit me again but I'm fine. with my cat like reflexes nothing can touch this hahaha. so it has been going good here an I will try to send some pics to you.
love Elder Rodriguez
I'm doing terrific not only because of conference but because i got the packages. it was awesome to have them finally and i got a butt load of candy which is awesome. grandma got the camera and dad got the package of the shirt and the beef jerky and the pen drive and Annie Anne(Aunt DeAnn) thanks for the candy. nice! So conference was Good and i was not really paying attention because i just wanted my packages so i eventually got them which was cool. i also got a boatload of cards too which i will reply too to. The week has been cruising smoothly and guess what? we are going to baptise that 65 year old lady this week. that is not it, the other missionaries are going to baptize too which will be cool. This whole week we have ben keeping on top of that lady so the devil wont have a chance on her, and so far it has been working. Yesterday i said hi to a lady and she yelled at me!! man, sometimes there are just weird people here in Brazil. but you know a mission would not be a mission without these things ha ha. the weeks have been pretty hot and one night a car almost hit me again but I'm fine. with my cat like reflexes nothing can touch this hahaha. so it has been going good here an I will try to send some pics to you.
love Elder Rodriguez
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Im Sick!!!!
hey everyone,
I'm not good. I've been sick for like 3 days and have not gotten better. I have a headache, sore throat, my ears hurt, and my body aches. it really stinks. I couldn't even get a good nights sleep but I'm pushing through this thing. So besides the sickness i have been doing good. The week went real good. We are going to have a sweet baptism this Saturday. We are going to baptize a girl who is 20, named Lais. It is gana be intense. I'm way excited. transfers will also end this week and i will hopefully get all my packages here. One of the assistants came down this week and checked out our area, and i made a miracle happen. Me and the assistants companion were way far and we had to catch a bus what was basically impossible to catch,but we cought that bad boy. It was intense and i almost died a couple of times, but i managed to dodge the cars. Luckily it has not rained in a while which makes the days a bit hot here. I also got soom new shoes and bought some yucky medicine for my sickness. i think i got the swine. i feel like i have been going crazy lately but this is sickness for ya. well I'm gonna get some rest and get better hopefully. love everyone
Jordan
mom,
i miss you and need you. my head hurts and I'm so sick. it blows not having someone to take care of you. but i look at your picture and it makes me feel better. my plans for Easter is to watch conference. My area is really good and also has a lot of hills but I'm good here. londrina is in a state called Parana, but in in Sao Paulo now. remember how big my mission map was well now our mission is like a quarter of that, but it is nice. it is like Texas but more green and not as hot.
I'm not good. I've been sick for like 3 days and have not gotten better. I have a headache, sore throat, my ears hurt, and my body aches. it really stinks. I couldn't even get a good nights sleep but I'm pushing through this thing. So besides the sickness i have been doing good. The week went real good. We are going to have a sweet baptism this Saturday. We are going to baptize a girl who is 20, named Lais. It is gana be intense. I'm way excited. transfers will also end this week and i will hopefully get all my packages here. One of the assistants came down this week and checked out our area, and i made a miracle happen. Me and the assistants companion were way far and we had to catch a bus what was basically impossible to catch,but we cought that bad boy. It was intense and i almost died a couple of times, but i managed to dodge the cars. Luckily it has not rained in a while which makes the days a bit hot here. I also got soom new shoes and bought some yucky medicine for my sickness. i think i got the swine. i feel like i have been going crazy lately but this is sickness for ya. well I'm gonna get some rest and get better hopefully. love everyone
Jordan
mom,
i miss you and need you. my head hurts and I'm so sick. it blows not having someone to take care of you. but i look at your picture and it makes me feel better. my plans for Easter is to watch conference. My area is really good and also has a lot of hills but I'm good here. londrina is in a state called Parana, but in in Sao Paulo now. remember how big my mission map was well now our mission is like a quarter of that, but it is nice. it is like Texas but more green and not as hot.
March 24, 2010
hey everyone,
So this week i know my password and what not so I'm happy again. I got my stuff from the support people in Utah so now I'm real good and it is nuts to respond to all these letters. So the week went really well. The thing what popped out to me was that the spirit rocks. Dude me and onofre have been working hard and getting good people like no other. The lord has been seriously hooking us up with some awesome people. So we also marked a lot of people for baptism too. Next month is only going to be water! At least i hope. This morning today we went ahead and played soccer with the Brazilians vs the Americans. it was intense and i managed to get some goals in. it was real fun and good too kick back with no pressure. Oh so elder onofre has a fear of dogs because he was bit and a pitbull chased him on the mission. So whenever we go into a house with a dog i have to protect him, haha jk but it is real funny to see him. One night we went to a family we are working with and the guys boxer attacked his Chihuahua. It sorta sucked but it was also nut's. so I'm in need of some new shoes cause my shoes are dead and my feet kill so send money in my account. But the work is going real good and tonight is gonna be epic!
love, elder Rodriguez
p.s. hey mom
so I'm good as you can tell and that stinks but is good that you can spend more time with Ivan now. I think you should do the same thing as me and get lost in the work. Mom please put a bit more money in my account, my feet kill. I swear when i get back I'm going to the spa and the chiropractor. Well gotta recharge today for the week mom. love you lots, hey did grandma sell her boat i love that thing, well peace out mom.
So this week i know my password and what not so I'm happy again. I got my stuff from the support people in Utah so now I'm real good and it is nuts to respond to all these letters. So the week went really well. The thing what popped out to me was that the spirit rocks. Dude me and onofre have been working hard and getting good people like no other. The lord has been seriously hooking us up with some awesome people. So we also marked a lot of people for baptism too. Next month is only going to be water! At least i hope. This morning today we went ahead and played soccer with the Brazilians vs the Americans. it was intense and i managed to get some goals in. it was real fun and good too kick back with no pressure. Oh so elder onofre has a fear of dogs because he was bit and a pitbull chased him on the mission. So whenever we go into a house with a dog i have to protect him, haha jk but it is real funny to see him. One night we went to a family we are working with and the guys boxer attacked his Chihuahua. It sorta sucked but it was also nut's. so I'm in need of some new shoes cause my shoes are dead and my feet kill so send money in my account. But the work is going real good and tonight is gonna be epic!
love, elder Rodriguez
p.s. hey mom
so I'm good as you can tell and that stinks but is good that you can spend more time with Ivan now. I think you should do the same thing as me and get lost in the work. Mom please put a bit more money in my account, my feet kill. I swear when i get back I'm going to the spa and the chiropractor. Well gotta recharge today for the week mom. love you lots, hey did grandma sell her boat i love that thing, well peace out mom.
March 17, 2010
hey everyone,
sorry i did not get your e-mails because i forgot my new address. I had it down but everyone was rushing me to get out of the house to use Internet and next thing you know i forgot my planner in the house so it sorta stinks like the guy who is sitting next to me. So i will write down my new account: jordan.rodriguez@myldsmail.net so now you know i just need to find out how to get into the dang thing. Well besides now the week went real good. We got some really good lessons down and marked down some people. I also blew a lot of money on magic. There is this one magic guy in this market and he has all these cool magic tricks and me and onofre bought a bunch of them. So now in lessons we show people and there kids mostly our magic skills. It is funny to see there reactions to the tricks and what not. There were also some other days in this week when it poured. it rained unstoppable this week. The other night me and onofre we walking in the rain down this one road and there was like an antenna next to us and a bolt of lightning hit it. PEOPLE! we were close. me and onofre were so scared we ran to each other man. it was also loud as heck. So it rained a lot and we got soaked, i even made a trash bag vest thing what looked legit. We also had interviews this last Sunday with the president and those went good. The pres. said that i will need to learn how to take care of an area, and what that meant is that i will turn into a senior companion soon. I'm pretty nervous but it will be cool. All the other missionaries are fine, so if i haven't told anyone i live in a sweet house with 3 other missionaries making it a grand total of 4 dudes in the same house. Whenever we are in the house we just play pranks on each other. Right now we are all in a prank war so it is nuts. Last night i changed every ones clocks a hour ahead, and in the morning we made a deal if we did not wake up on time that we could splash each other with water, so this morning i got everyone. hahaha so ya it is going good, not sure if we got baptisms coming up, but we will.
love, Jordan
sorry i did not get your e-mails because i forgot my new address. I had it down but everyone was rushing me to get out of the house to use Internet and next thing you know i forgot my planner in the house so it sorta stinks like the guy who is sitting next to me. So i will write down my new account: jordan.rodriguez@myldsmail.net so now you know i just need to find out how to get into the dang thing. Well besides now the week went real good. We got some really good lessons down and marked down some people. I also blew a lot of money on magic. There is this one magic guy in this market and he has all these cool magic tricks and me and onofre bought a bunch of them. So now in lessons we show people and there kids mostly our magic skills. It is funny to see there reactions to the tricks and what not. There were also some other days in this week when it poured. it rained unstoppable this week. The other night me and onofre we walking in the rain down this one road and there was like an antenna next to us and a bolt of lightning hit it. PEOPLE! we were close. me and onofre were so scared we ran to each other man. it was also loud as heck. So it rained a lot and we got soaked, i even made a trash bag vest thing what looked legit. We also had interviews this last Sunday with the president and those went good. The pres. said that i will need to learn how to take care of an area, and what that meant is that i will turn into a senior companion soon. I'm pretty nervous but it will be cool. All the other missionaries are fine, so if i haven't told anyone i live in a sweet house with 3 other missionaries making it a grand total of 4 dudes in the same house. Whenever we are in the house we just play pranks on each other. Right now we are all in a prank war so it is nuts. Last night i changed every ones clocks a hour ahead, and in the morning we made a deal if we did not wake up on time that we could splash each other with water, so this morning i got everyone. hahaha so ya it is going good, not sure if we got baptisms coming up, but we will.
love, Jordan
We are up and running!!!
Sorry to those that follow Elder Rodriguez's blog but the editor has been busy and with no computer but we have fixed that problem! So back to the good stuff!!
March 10, 2010 - Letter received this day also, check bottom of this e-mail.
ok ok Hi everyone,So yeah got transferred. I´m in Presidente Prudente, and the ward here is great. The people here are great, it is just good here. The house what we live in is even great. We live with 4 missionaries in the same house so it is always fun. We always have something to mess around and goof off. Haha. Don’t even get me started with the showers. They feel so good and hit hard, it is way nice. So it is confirmed that elder Onofre is my new companion again which is good cause man do we throw out power lessons. We are both like lez's here (Zone leaders) in our area so it gives us a butt load of responsibility to make sure that all the other young bucks are doing everything right and well. We have to set a good example too, which we have been doing. So we have some real good investigators here too, which only need the step to either marry or stop smoking. I only wish that everyone was like my one baptism of Israel, and they could just stop everything in one day, but it does not work like that.
So the past days have been real hot, and I forgot to mention our area has a butt load of hills too but it is ok, cause my legs are like crazy strong now. The members are cool and we made friends real quick with them. They are all pretty cool. Today we had lunch with some investigators and have family home evening with them too. So the rest of the week shall go smooth. We have a lot of people progressing, and it looks like there will be quite a few baptisms on the way. So keep us in your prayers. Oh ya our area has a lot of pigeons and one pooped on Onofre’s back during a lesson. You gotta watch out these days. haha We will have stake conference this Sunday so I might get a package or a letter or something, I hope. haha Well that was about what happened this week. loveElder Rodriguez p,.s. hey grandma)onofre is a good guy and we work good together b)me and Hyte did the prank together c) did not get the camera yet d) my p-days are still on Wednesdays. love ya grandma keep you guys in my prayers for good. love , Jordan
The following is a letter dated February 18, 2010 – thought it was good and wanted to share it with everyone:
Hey Grandma and Grandpa,
Well, got your letters and the Valentine package. It was good but kind of messy (chocolate does not send good). Well, I’m writing you during study right now cause I can. I have to ask you “how have you been blessed by obeying a specific commandment (for example, tithing)?” So in your next letter answer that. I wish we had more study time activities like this but that won’t happen. Through this one at least I could send some out. I’m going to send some of my friends letters, especially Bishop Wold.
Well, as you might learn my arm is doing well. We also marked a baptism and we reactivated an old investigator. Me and my companion are really confident and wanna get baptisms like crazy now. We got this desire after Conference here, which was two days ago. Conference was really good and we learned a lot. I feel like it recharges a missionary and makes them want to work like no other, sorta how I feel now. Over this last week, I learned how wonderful the mission truly is.
A missionary named Elder Paulsen (from El Paso), told a personal experience about how he and his companion prayed on the front of a street, to run into a person who could be baptized. The second house they hit, they baptized. This story as you might know is real similar on how the missionaries met with Great-Grandma Wilton in New Zealand. I stopped and thought about how the gospel has blessed my life. It all started with God and our creation, then he sent prophets to save people, then Jesus Christ here to start the church. Imagine if none of this happened, I wouldn’t be here on the mission. I wouldn’t be here if those two missionaries had not knocked on my Grandma’s door in New Zealand. And now because of those two missionaries, my children, my children’s children, my children’s children’s children will serve missions and save nations to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. A missionary has to power to save millions. As they say “A butterfly’s flutter, can cause a typhoon half way across the world.” – Chaos theory.
Well, it is not a theory to me cause it will happen. Well we also baptized a kid named William which was good too and that he went to Aaronic Priesthood camp. He is really doing good. His mom is a recent convert too, but I did not baptize her.This last P-day was good. We ate at McDonalds then went bowling afterwards. It was real fun. We were in Centro and got a couple of pictures. I’ll send some more next P=day. Well, got to run, hope this letter was good for you. Love you and everyone there. Love Jordan. PS Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.
March 10, 2010 - Letter received this day also, check bottom of this e-mail.
ok ok Hi everyone,So yeah got transferred. I´m in Presidente Prudente, and the ward here is great. The people here are great, it is just good here. The house what we live in is even great. We live with 4 missionaries in the same house so it is always fun. We always have something to mess around and goof off. Haha. Don’t even get me started with the showers. They feel so good and hit hard, it is way nice. So it is confirmed that elder Onofre is my new companion again which is good cause man do we throw out power lessons. We are both like lez's here (Zone leaders) in our area so it gives us a butt load of responsibility to make sure that all the other young bucks are doing everything right and well. We have to set a good example too, which we have been doing. So we have some real good investigators here too, which only need the step to either marry or stop smoking. I only wish that everyone was like my one baptism of Israel, and they could just stop everything in one day, but it does not work like that.
So the past days have been real hot, and I forgot to mention our area has a butt load of hills too but it is ok, cause my legs are like crazy strong now. The members are cool and we made friends real quick with them. They are all pretty cool. Today we had lunch with some investigators and have family home evening with them too. So the rest of the week shall go smooth. We have a lot of people progressing, and it looks like there will be quite a few baptisms on the way. So keep us in your prayers. Oh ya our area has a lot of pigeons and one pooped on Onofre’s back during a lesson. You gotta watch out these days. haha We will have stake conference this Sunday so I might get a package or a letter or something, I hope. haha Well that was about what happened this week. loveElder Rodriguez p,.s. hey grandma)onofre is a good guy and we work good together b)me and Hyte did the prank together c) did not get the camera yet d) my p-days are still on Wednesdays. love ya grandma keep you guys in my prayers for good. love , Jordan
The following is a letter dated February 18, 2010 – thought it was good and wanted to share it with everyone:
Hey Grandma and Grandpa,
Well, got your letters and the Valentine package. It was good but kind of messy (chocolate does not send good). Well, I’m writing you during study right now cause I can. I have to ask you “how have you been blessed by obeying a specific commandment (for example, tithing)?” So in your next letter answer that. I wish we had more study time activities like this but that won’t happen. Through this one at least I could send some out. I’m going to send some of my friends letters, especially Bishop Wold.
Well, as you might learn my arm is doing well. We also marked a baptism and we reactivated an old investigator. Me and my companion are really confident and wanna get baptisms like crazy now. We got this desire after Conference here, which was two days ago. Conference was really good and we learned a lot. I feel like it recharges a missionary and makes them want to work like no other, sorta how I feel now. Over this last week, I learned how wonderful the mission truly is.
A missionary named Elder Paulsen (from El Paso), told a personal experience about how he and his companion prayed on the front of a street, to run into a person who could be baptized. The second house they hit, they baptized. This story as you might know is real similar on how the missionaries met with Great-Grandma Wilton in New Zealand. I stopped and thought about how the gospel has blessed my life. It all started with God and our creation, then he sent prophets to save people, then Jesus Christ here to start the church. Imagine if none of this happened, I wouldn’t be here on the mission. I wouldn’t be here if those two missionaries had not knocked on my Grandma’s door in New Zealand. And now because of those two missionaries, my children, my children’s children, my children’s children’s children will serve missions and save nations to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. A missionary has to power to save millions. As they say “A butterfly’s flutter, can cause a typhoon half way across the world.” – Chaos theory.
Well, it is not a theory to me cause it will happen. Well we also baptized a kid named William which was good too and that he went to Aaronic Priesthood camp. He is really doing good. His mom is a recent convert too, but I did not baptize her.This last P-day was good. We ate at McDonalds then went bowling afterwards. It was real fun. We were in Centro and got a couple of pictures. I’ll send some more next P=day. Well, got to run, hope this letter was good for you. Love you and everyone there. Love Jordan. PS Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.
Monday, December 28, 2009
12/28/09
Well this is how this week went down!
First off this week was great because I got to talk with everyone and it just felt real good. Conference was a bit boring but it then it got good at the end, we got to see all our old companions, I was able to see Elder Lyman which he is doing great and I got to see Elder Onofre too. Elder Onofre told me some real good news that made my day. He told me that he baptized a family that we were teaching and it went good. He even showed me a picture which made me tear up. It feels real good to see the work you put into people finally pays off. At the end of conference they had a play and gave a bunch of lame presents but it didn't matter because its the meaning of the gifts that matters most.
On Christmas Eve I did something what made my Christmas the best. In our district we have an Elder who does not like his companion very much and on Christmas eve everyone in the district was to spend the night in the centro with everyone at the same house. However, this certain companion did not want to go and was throwing a fit about it. So I did the ultimate sacrifice(not really but it was a sacrifice) I gave my Christmas eve to my friend. It felt good to give someone my Christmas.
The following day was of course Christmas and it was pretty awesome. We had a BBQ and then we went to the bus station to call up the family. I first called up my mom and her family which was awesome. Ivan started crying, that shows he got s heart and it felt good to me. Everyone there talked to me and it was great. I then called my dad. I basically told him about all my experiences and he was proud of me. I was able to call my grandma Martha too because I know she would freak if I didn't call her too. It was cool to hear that my aunt Bianca is getting married and I was able to talk to them in Portuguese and they understood. The calls felt real good and real relieving for me. Basically the rest of the week we did nothing, visit a couple of members and that was it. I now feel that home is like the celestial kingdom. You cant see it, yet you know how great it is and you have to serve an honorable mission to get back there.
Well to everyone have a happy new year! hahaha Love Elder Rodriguez
P.S.
hey Mom! it was good to hear your voice too. I was also with smiles the whole day too. Christmas was real good, spent it with the Elders in my district. I also ate nothing but chocolate too. It was great to eat American chocolate. Well thanks for being an awesome mom, mom. Love you bunches Jordan.
First off this week was great because I got to talk with everyone and it just felt real good. Conference was a bit boring but it then it got good at the end, we got to see all our old companions, I was able to see Elder Lyman which he is doing great and I got to see Elder Onofre too. Elder Onofre told me some real good news that made my day. He told me that he baptized a family that we were teaching and it went good. He even showed me a picture which made me tear up. It feels real good to see the work you put into people finally pays off. At the end of conference they had a play and gave a bunch of lame presents but it didn't matter because its the meaning of the gifts that matters most.
On Christmas Eve I did something what made my Christmas the best. In our district we have an Elder who does not like his companion very much and on Christmas eve everyone in the district was to spend the night in the centro with everyone at the same house. However, this certain companion did not want to go and was throwing a fit about it. So I did the ultimate sacrifice(not really but it was a sacrifice) I gave my Christmas eve to my friend. It felt good to give someone my Christmas.
The following day was of course Christmas and it was pretty awesome. We had a BBQ and then we went to the bus station to call up the family. I first called up my mom and her family which was awesome. Ivan started crying, that shows he got s heart and it felt good to me. Everyone there talked to me and it was great. I then called my dad. I basically told him about all my experiences and he was proud of me. I was able to call my grandma Martha too because I know she would freak if I didn't call her too. It was cool to hear that my aunt Bianca is getting married and I was able to talk to them in Portuguese and they understood. The calls felt real good and real relieving for me. Basically the rest of the week we did nothing, visit a couple of members and that was it. I now feel that home is like the celestial kingdom. You cant see it, yet you know how great it is and you have to serve an honorable mission to get back there.
Well to everyone have a happy new year! hahaha Love Elder Rodriguez
P.S.
hey Mom! it was good to hear your voice too. I was also with smiles the whole day too. Christmas was real good, spent it with the Elders in my district. I also ate nothing but chocolate too. It was great to eat American chocolate. Well thanks for being an awesome mom, mom. Love you bunches Jordan.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas Greetings from Brazil
Oye!
So we were blessed to hear our missionary on Christmas morning calling from the bus station using the public phones( he said that everyone was staring at him because he was speaking English). Ivan and I spent the night at the Sanders house so that we would not miss his call. It was really nice to be able to share it this special moment with everyone that loves Jordan. When we heard his voice through the phone, he sounded the same and had his unique laugh that only Jordan can produce, so of course we( meaning Ivan and I) started crying like babies! We miss him so much but so proud( When I told him how I was so proud he told me in missionary form that its a sin to be prideful, lol). We passed the phone around the circle so that everyone could say Hi, it was really neat for Jordan and us. Jordan even blessed us with his testimony in Portuguese which was awesome. He actually speaks better Portuguese than he does English! He told us about the conference and other stuff. What surprised me was that he said that time is flying by and he only has 17 more months to go! That seems forever to Ivan and I but I'm glad that he loves what he is doing. He says that he is being prepared for the rest of his life and not only spiritually but in all facets. Wow! This is my son!! It was the best Christmas ever! We only talked about 25 minutes or so so that he could call his father in California. Now I just have to wait till May for the next call!!
So we were blessed to hear our missionary on Christmas morning calling from the bus station using the public phones( he said that everyone was staring at him because he was speaking English). Ivan and I spent the night at the Sanders house so that we would not miss his call. It was really nice to be able to share it this special moment with everyone that loves Jordan. When we heard his voice through the phone, he sounded the same and had his unique laugh that only Jordan can produce, so of course we( meaning Ivan and I) started crying like babies! We miss him so much but so proud( When I told him how I was so proud he told me in missionary form that its a sin to be prideful, lol). We passed the phone around the circle so that everyone could say Hi, it was really neat for Jordan and us. Jordan even blessed us with his testimony in Portuguese which was awesome. He actually speaks better Portuguese than he does English! He told us about the conference and other stuff. What surprised me was that he said that time is flying by and he only has 17 more months to go! That seems forever to Ivan and I but I'm glad that he loves what he is doing. He says that he is being prepared for the rest of his life and not only spiritually but in all facets. Wow! This is my son!! It was the best Christmas ever! We only talked about 25 minutes or so so that he could call his father in California. Now I just have to wait till May for the next call!!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
11/27/09
A letter dated 25th November: Dear Aunt Joan and Uncle Klaus, I am sure you are wondering how I am doing. I got transferred out of my last area to a new area. My new area is called Alvarado, Apucarana. My area is the largest hat manufacturer in the world which is pretty cool. The only not cool thing is the hills in my area. They are really steep and could be a pain on your knees. One missionary went home because of the hills wore down his knees, so I guess I have to take it easy on these hills. My ward is so small it is not even considered a ward, it is a district. Usually we have 40 members every Sunday which is little compared to my last area. The members are real nice as usual too, they feed us good. The people here in general are real nice too. When we knock on doors we usually get a lesson real quick. Oh yeah, and my companion's name is Elder M. Rocha, and he is pretty much my favorite companion yet. He is really relazed on the rules which I need but the bad thing is he is going to leave the mission this month, so that is kind of a bummer. He is a real cool guy. Antway,s that's basically my new area.
November 25 letter to everyone: I'm in my new area now and it is right next to Londrina. It is way smaller than Bauru, but it is a good thing because my area has a butt load of hills in it. Yup, I said hills, well more like mountains. I feel like a robot when I climb up the hills, I don't even feel my legs any more, when I walk up the hills. I love the area though because the people are pretty nice here and when we knock on doors or clap at gates, the people generally accept our message. Another cool thing is my companion whose name is Elder M. Rocha and he is from Nordest or North Bra zil. He is really relaxed on everything is good for me, because I'm a relaxed person too. I'm the type of missionary who works and baptizes, that is all what is important. The only thing what is not cool is that he will go home in the beginning of December, but it is all good. The investigators are also pretty nice, we teach lessons real good, with the Spirit, so they are really powerful. Have not gotten a baptism here but we have baptismal dates for people. The ward here is pretty small, it is so small it is called a district and on Sundays only about 40, 45 people show up. Big difference than in Arizona or Bauru my last area. The members are nice and they feed us good too.
I ahve not really had any funny moments in my new area. The only close thing is when a weiner dog attacked meand he bit at my ankles and ripped my pants, but I'm fine. I fixed my pants and did a pretty good job on them. The night before I got here out house got broken into so you can imagine how I slept the first week, but now I sleep with a kitchen knife next to my bed so it gives me a bit of comfort. The neighborhood is not that good at night too. We talked to the President about this and he wants us to move to another location, so we gotta keep our eyes peeled. Elder Nielson, who is from the same district I was in at the MTC, got robbed not long ago by a guy on the street. But he only took his cell phone. The President was ticked because in reality, we are to leave our cell phones in our house, when we're out and about, but all missionaries take them out.
Our area has really been worked a lot. Almost all the doors have been knocked, but we try every day. So far we only have one really good investigator here, his name is Antonio. He has a slight problem with beer, but not really big. Once we baptize him we are gonna have no more investigators here. So we have been having a couple of slight difficulties with that. Another thing is that a lot of members here are slackers. If all the members here went to church we would have a ward. A sign that our area has been worked a lot is that everyone here knows the missionaries, which is real funny.
The city of Apucarana is built basically on an inactive volcano and right on the hole of it is a big Catholic church. I bet when the Second Coming happens that church is going to explode into flames. Well, I really do like my area, after all my area has one dollar sodas called Tubainas. Thanks for all the packages and stuff. After a week I am already out of Mike and Ikes, but the caramel pops I didn't really like, just the Mike and Ikes. It's fine though. Thanks.
November 25 letter to everyone: I'm in my new area now and it is right next to Londrina. It is way smaller than Bauru, but it is a good thing because my area has a butt load of hills in it. Yup, I said hills, well more like mountains. I feel like a robot when I climb up the hills, I don't even feel my legs any more, when I walk up the hills. I love the area though because the people are pretty nice here and when we knock on doors or clap at gates, the people generally accept our message. Another cool thing is my companion whose name is Elder M. Rocha and he is from Nordest or North Bra zil. He is really relaxed on everything is good for me, because I'm a relaxed person too. I'm the type of missionary who works and baptizes, that is all what is important. The only thing what is not cool is that he will go home in the beginning of December, but it is all good. The investigators are also pretty nice, we teach lessons real good, with the Spirit, so they are really powerful. Have not gotten a baptism here but we have baptismal dates for people. The ward here is pretty small, it is so small it is called a district and on Sundays only about 40, 45 people show up. Big difference than in Arizona or Bauru my last area. The members are nice and they feed us good too.
I ahve not really had any funny moments in my new area. The only close thing is when a weiner dog attacked meand he bit at my ankles and ripped my pants, but I'm fine. I fixed my pants and did a pretty good job on them. The night before I got here out house got broken into so you can imagine how I slept the first week, but now I sleep with a kitchen knife next to my bed so it gives me a bit of comfort. The neighborhood is not that good at night too. We talked to the President about this and he wants us to move to another location, so we gotta keep our eyes peeled. Elder Nielson, who is from the same district I was in at the MTC, got robbed not long ago by a guy on the street. But he only took his cell phone. The President was ticked because in reality, we are to leave our cell phones in our house, when we're out and about, but all missionaries take them out.
Our area has really been worked a lot. Almost all the doors have been knocked, but we try every day. So far we only have one really good investigator here, his name is Antonio. He has a slight problem with beer, but not really big. Once we baptize him we are gonna have no more investigators here. So we have been having a couple of slight difficulties with that. Another thing is that a lot of members here are slackers. If all the members here went to church we would have a ward. A sign that our area has been worked a lot is that everyone here knows the missionaries, which is real funny.
The city of Apucarana is built basically on an inactive volcano and right on the hole of it is a big Catholic church. I bet when the Second Coming happens that church is going to explode into flames. Well, I really do like my area, after all my area has one dollar sodas called Tubainas. Thanks for all the packages and stuff. After a week I am already out of Mike and Ikes, but the caramel pops I didn't really like, just the Mike and Ikes. It's fine though. Thanks.
12/14 Good Bye Elder M.Rocha Hello New Companion(we dont know his name)
Hey everyone,
Well transfers went on this week and it was ah, well it was interesting week. Well it started out sad cause man my companion, Elder M.Rocha was leaving. He is seriously my best and favorite companion and it stinks to lose him. Well the day came and it was hard but he took off. I went with elder Yuri and Nielsen and the day before was p-day, and they were in Londrina so they did not have a p-day so they had one with me. so in reality i had 2 p-days. it was pretty legit. the next day i went on a service project with elder Nielsen and Yuri to help them out well you know me I'm just rel nice like that.The service project was alright it was just pulling weeds and knocking beehives. Ya that's right i said knocking beehives! It was pretty intense. We knocked them then ran it was also pretty funny. Elder Yuri got stung but he is alright. ha ha after the service project we went straight to the house and i was so busy that i forgot my shoes at the house, my good ones too. We booked straight to the rodoviaria or the bus station to get my companion. We did not even change to our church clothes. Now my new companion, A lot of the elders have stories about him, and not good too. they all say that he is pretty feminine, or other words gay real gay. Well he got here and did not appear gay he actually is OK,but pretty gay too. I'm actually missing Elder Onfre now, but one thing i learn on the mission is to get along with people. At some times it is hard but hey, no one said life is easy. Well this week i was a bit lost with where the streets were and what not because my old companion was good with these type of things but now i think I'm good. Our numbers were also kinda in the dumps but this week were gonna get them back up. This last week we helped one of the missionaries with there baptisms and saw a fresh dead dog, blood was coming out of that bad boys head like crazy, it was pretty nuts but another thing only a week and a couple of day's till i call the family so that is good. remember to give me your numbers to aunt DeAnn's house or grandmas either one is good.with love,elder Rodriguez p.s. hey mom i will call on 25 probably around 12 1 or 2 or 3 so I'm not sure just be at there house the hole day.
Well transfers went on this week and it was ah, well it was interesting week. Well it started out sad cause man my companion, Elder M.Rocha was leaving. He is seriously my best and favorite companion and it stinks to lose him. Well the day came and it was hard but he took off. I went with elder Yuri and Nielsen and the day before was p-day, and they were in Londrina so they did not have a p-day so they had one with me. so in reality i had 2 p-days. it was pretty legit. the next day i went on a service project with elder Nielsen and Yuri to help them out well you know me I'm just rel nice like that.The service project was alright it was just pulling weeds and knocking beehives. Ya that's right i said knocking beehives! It was pretty intense. We knocked them then ran it was also pretty funny. Elder Yuri got stung but he is alright. ha ha after the service project we went straight to the house and i was so busy that i forgot my shoes at the house, my good ones too. We booked straight to the rodoviaria or the bus station to get my companion. We did not even change to our church clothes. Now my new companion, A lot of the elders have stories about him, and not good too. they all say that he is pretty feminine, or other words gay real gay. Well he got here and did not appear gay he actually is OK,but pretty gay too. I'm actually missing Elder Onfre now, but one thing i learn on the mission is to get along with people. At some times it is hard but hey, no one said life is easy. Well this week i was a bit lost with where the streets were and what not because my old companion was good with these type of things but now i think I'm good. Our numbers were also kinda in the dumps but this week were gonna get them back up. This last week we helped one of the missionaries with there baptisms and saw a fresh dead dog, blood was coming out of that bad boys head like crazy, it was pretty nuts but another thing only a week and a couple of day's till i call the family so that is good. remember to give me your numbers to aunt DeAnn's house or grandmas either one is good.with love,elder Rodriguez p.s. hey mom i will call on 25 probably around 12 1 or 2 or 3 so I'm not sure just be at there house the hole day.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Guess who had a birthday?!?!?! 11/08/09
Hello Everyone,
Man, do I have a lot to tell everyone! I got a transfer baby!! YA! I am now in Apucarana but I will tell you what went down on the last p-day until now. So after we used Internet on the last p-day we got a call that I was going to be transferred, where one of my good friends, Elder Nielson was . At this time I still didn't know who my companion was. Well when we got home I started packing my stuff and then I went and visited the families who are important to me. When we went and visited the first family I gave away my LiveStrong bracelet to a kid named Lucas. His family cried, he cried and I almost cried, so it was basically an emotional mess. The we went to Rogerio and Gracellas house( they live right next to us) he said that he would give me a ride to the bus station the next day which was way cool, and then we went to another family's house. These people we are teaching and I paid for their wedding. I did not really want to leave Bauru but I sort of want to visit new areas, so it was bittersweet. I told the people that I would visit them which I plan on doing. The next morning we went to the rodoviara( bus station) and said goodbye to Rogerio. I then went to Marilia and I saw another good missionary friend, Elder Pumphry who also was in my district but he did not get a transfer, we switched buses there and then went to Londrina. On the way there Elder Aider( he is also from Mesa) told me a story called The Kimberly Story, look it up, it is a good one( I didn't sleep too good for two days because of this story). We were able to see the movie Ice Age 3 on the bus :). When we got to Londrina Elder Yury and I got some food and juice and then left to our new area in Apucarana( which is close to Londrina). Got to our area and saw Elder Nielson and had to give him a huge hug, then I met my companion! My companion's name is Elder M.Roch. He is from Brazil but man, do I love him. He is so chill and not strict. We got our bags and headed into the house. The house is huge!! The night before the house was broken into, so you can imagine how I slept this week. Our ward is real small and guess what, I'm 20 now! Weird!!All in all I like Apucarana except maybe for the giant hills!!
--------Elder Rodriguez
P.S. Hey Mom my birthday was fine, Ive had better. It looks like my picture had a better one than the actual person but Im good. Way to make me homesick! Ivan looks like HotRod and wow he looks like a giant now! And to answer his question i would be a Grizzly Bear( Ivan wanted to know what kind of Bear would he be)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
It's been awhile, sorry!!--The Mom
Well it has been awhile since I last posted, sorry! Nonetheless, Elder Rodriguez is doing good and growing each day. He his still in the same town with the same companion. I thought that I would post a letter that Elder Rodriguez sent to my Uncle and Aunt since the letters that he sends to me are mostly his wants and needs( I thought that I would have two years free of that, oh well).
Dear Aunt Joan and Uncle Klaus--
First off, I heard that Clint and Maryanne got the baby! How exciting to have a new family member. They must be crazy with happiness. About the writing letters, its OK. It just takes awhile for the letters to get to us because we only get them when the mission president comes down or during transfers, which is every 6 weeks. So its usually my bad, with the letter writing.
I heard about the blog, but I only been on it once, we are not really allowed to go onto other sites but, that might be one exception.
I love it here. It is funny that you say the field is ready to harvest because today I was reading in Jacob 5 about the Lords vineyard, then I compared missionaries to the servants. I like that section! My old companion, Elder Lyman left and now I have a Brazilian, his name is Elder Onofre and he is from Rio de Janero. He is real nice and loving. We have two baptisms in our area so far, which is great!
The area which I am in is called Murechal Rondom, and the city or my district is Bauru. I love the people here, especially the members of the ward. They are all real nice. We try to have fun activities every P-day but this P-day we are writing letters to our families. Next P-day we are going to the zoo. I also try to take pictures on P-days as well.
Well I'm not roasting nor chilling here, but more like dripping! It tends to rain a lot in my area but on the days that it is not raining it can get hot. In our area we walk but when we go to the Internet cafe or to our district meetings we take the bus.
At church we attend a ward or an alag. There is a pretty good amount of members who attend. On a regular basis on Sundays or Domingos, we have about 150 members show up. It stinks because we are the only missionaries in our area but I guess it is alright because that means we get a greater opportunity to teach more people.
My companion and I live in a small 3 bedroom house, one room is our study the other kitchen/laundry/bathroom and the other our bedroom. We don't get asked out for dinner a bunch but we have lunch with members everyday except for our P-days, so we do just fine.
It sounds that everyone is doing fine over there in Arizona. Yesterday I went on splits with an Elder from Arizona as well. Mesa in fact! I thought that was neato! Well Aunt Joan I think I answered all your questions. Thanks for the greenie package but by the time I received it I was not considered a greenie. I'm in my second transfer already but the package was a great moral booster. Well whenever you feel the need to write a letter you know who to write too!!
Love Elder Jordan Rodriguez
Dear Aunt Joan and Uncle Klaus--
First off, I heard that Clint and Maryanne got the baby! How exciting to have a new family member. They must be crazy with happiness. About the writing letters, its OK. It just takes awhile for the letters to get to us because we only get them when the mission president comes down or during transfers, which is every 6 weeks. So its usually my bad, with the letter writing.
I heard about the blog, but I only been on it once, we are not really allowed to go onto other sites but, that might be one exception.
I love it here. It is funny that you say the field is ready to harvest because today I was reading in Jacob 5 about the Lords vineyard, then I compared missionaries to the servants. I like that section! My old companion, Elder Lyman left and now I have a Brazilian, his name is Elder Onofre and he is from Rio de Janero. He is real nice and loving. We have two baptisms in our area so far, which is great!
The area which I am in is called Murechal Rondom, and the city or my district is Bauru. I love the people here, especially the members of the ward. They are all real nice. We try to have fun activities every P-day but this P-day we are writing letters to our families. Next P-day we are going to the zoo. I also try to take pictures on P-days as well.
Well I'm not roasting nor chilling here, but more like dripping! It tends to rain a lot in my area but on the days that it is not raining it can get hot. In our area we walk but when we go to the Internet cafe or to our district meetings we take the bus.
At church we attend a ward or an alag. There is a pretty good amount of members who attend. On a regular basis on Sundays or Domingos, we have about 150 members show up. It stinks because we are the only missionaries in our area but I guess it is alright because that means we get a greater opportunity to teach more people.
My companion and I live in a small 3 bedroom house, one room is our study the other kitchen/laundry/bathroom and the other our bedroom. We don't get asked out for dinner a bunch but we have lunch with members everyday except for our P-days, so we do just fine.
It sounds that everyone is doing fine over there in Arizona. Yesterday I went on splits with an Elder from Arizona as well. Mesa in fact! I thought that was neato! Well Aunt Joan I think I answered all your questions. Thanks for the greenie package but by the time I received it I was not considered a greenie. I'm in my second transfer already but the package was a great moral booster. Well whenever you feel the need to write a letter you know who to write too!!
Love Elder Jordan Rodriguez
Monday, September 21, 2009
September 21, 2009
Iguazu FallsHey Mom!
Well this week did not go so good. I had a pimple under my arm and it became infected so bad that it affected my whole arm. So I had to go to the hospital and give myself treatments at night and take medicine. but I'm OK. I will spare you the gross details but the ordeal is not going to stop me from doing the lords work. Another bad thing happened was that the last would-be baptism did not happen so now I only have two under my belt but on a happy note is that we have so many investigators now that I have a native companion. His name is Elder Onofre and he is from Rio de Janerio, which is pretty cool. I'm speaking fluent Portuguese now(with a lot of errors). I learned that I may be here in the city of Bauru for 6 months or longer. If all the missionaries in the Londrina area get a baptism we will all go to the Christmas Conference at the Iguazu Falls, they are huge falls that were shown in the last Indiana Jones movie. That's nice that you helped AuntieAnn move, I figure that is you help people that when you need help they will help you. Our church building is the second largest building in our area, the first is the market. I love all the members here, they are super nice. All of them call me "menudo" or "Ricky Martin" because I told them that I am Puerto Rican, it's pretty funny. I really like Elder Onofre even though he is a neat freak. He is always going around cleaning everything but I love the guy. Our area is real humble as well( in referring to Cousin's mission in Mexico). The temple is 7 hours away right now so we don't get to go to it. Well please tell everyone hi and I love them. Love Elder Rodriguez
Well this week did not go so good. I had a pimple under my arm and it became infected so bad that it affected my whole arm. So I had to go to the hospital and give myself treatments at night and take medicine. but I'm OK. I will spare you the gross details but the ordeal is not going to stop me from doing the lords work. Another bad thing happened was that the last would-be baptism did not happen so now I only have two under my belt but on a happy note is that we have so many investigators now that I have a native companion. His name is Elder Onofre and he is from Rio de Janerio, which is pretty cool. I'm speaking fluent Portuguese now(with a lot of errors). I learned that I may be here in the city of Bauru for 6 months or longer. If all the missionaries in the Londrina area get a baptism we will all go to the Christmas Conference at the Iguazu Falls, they are huge falls that were shown in the last Indiana Jones movie. That's nice that you helped AuntieAnn move, I figure that is you help people that when you need help they will help you. Our church building is the second largest building in our area, the first is the market. I love all the members here, they are super nice. All of them call me "menudo" or "Ricky Martin" because I told them that I am Puerto Rican, it's pretty funny. I really like Elder Onofre even though he is a neat freak. He is always going around cleaning everything but I love the guy. Our area is real humble as well( in referring to Cousin's mission in Mexico). The temple is 7 hours away right now so we don't get to go to it. Well please tell everyone hi and I love them. Love Elder Rodriguez
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