The Gospel Can Change Lives!

        Elder Heath with President and Sister Souza, Fortaleza, Brazil Mission

        Branden's Companion  Elder Sampaio breaking open a coconut.

June 24, 2013

Family,

This week was fantastic!

On Sunday I was not able to attend the training because we had the last dinner for 18 missionaries at Presidentes house. I have only heard good things about the video, and Presidente said that we can look it up on the internet when we get home. ha It was a very special moment to be together with the missionaries that will go home this transfer. Many of them are my best friends on the mission and I felt very privileged to be there with them. We had a dinner at Presidentes house and then we had the best meeting of the night. Each one of these spiritual giants bore their testimony. It is incredible to feel the spirit of these amazing missionaries that have about finished their mission. I was called to bare my testimony too, because I will be going to the other mission. I love baring my testimony!!! We found out too that during the training that passed my companion appeared twice!!! Elder Reynolds! He is from Toppenish, Wa. He appeared with his suitcases, and also when he received his name tag!!! What a stud!

This week we had a spiritual experience that I would like to share with all of you. We met a woman and her son through a member two weeks ago. We went to teach her this last Friday and while we conversed with her she said with tears falling down... she had just returned from a burial of her oldest son that was killed because of drug involvement. She continued to explain that just four months earlier her husband was taken too because of the same problem with drugs. She was desperate to find comfort, and when we opened the scriptures to 2 Nephi 9 the feeling in the room completely changed. We explained about the atoning sacrifice that happened 2000 years ago and her tears ceased. We told her exactly where her son and husband are, and why this has all happened. But the real change happened when we spoke of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that he died for us, and that his eternal love is felt through the challenges in our lives. He suffered the sacrifice that we couldn’t, so we could have the life he didn’t. Because of that sacrifice we all have the chance to return and live with him.

I love being able to share that message with others! I love being a missionary!

Elder Heath

Happy Father's Day!

June 17, 2013

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!! I hope you had a wonderful day, and that you are able to see all the fruits of you being a father! There are lots!

It looks like Danielle, Mom and Dad are my color now! A little red. ha The pictures that Danielle sent are beautiful! Hawaii is such a beautiful place! I’m glad to hear that all the activities were a success! Dad, if you are still wanting to open a clinic there in several years... Hawaii is a great place to send your son! ;)

I am very excited to see Kylie and see all of the funny things that she does... Picking up batteries for an hour.... Kylie is just trying to work out, pump some weight! haha In the last family letter, I loved the picture of Dad and Kylie, where Dad is holding her in the kitchen! That picture is ADORABLE!

Go Dallin!!! Learn how to drive that boat, and get the tips from your dad on how to pop me up high in the air!!! I am very excited!!!

So this weeek was MADNESSSSSSS!!!! I am learning more and more about my responsibilities here in the mission. We had three missionaries that arrived from the US this week who needed trainers, and we also have three missionaries with knee problems, where two of them will have to do surgery. We had to do an emergency transfer with several missionaries. So Tuesday we sat down with Presidente Souza to look at everyone and decided who would go where. It was a very neat experience. Presidente Souza let it be up to us where, when, and how to do the transfer. We advised all the missionaries to pack their bags and to be here Wed. after lunch. We held a meeting and did the transfers. Right when they all left, these three missionaries arrived. We gave them a training to start their mission really motivated!!! It was all in English which was good practice! My Comp Elder Sampaio also used his English to speak to the missionaries. It was a very interesting feeling baring my testimony in English. We ended and it was about 8:30 at night just in time to grab the bus home!

We are preparing everyday to receive Presidente Fusco! I am very excited to meet him and his family. Elder Sampaio and I will get him at the airport and bring him to Presidente Souzas house. We are going to meet with Preidente Souza tomorrow to learn even more to help him.

This week we ran around to teach our recent converts and also to teach a young man that was baptized on Sunday. We had a miracle happen on Thursday night. We had found a couple on the street and marked to teach them. They were ready waiting for us which is a good sign. They listened and had a very spiritual lesson! It was great! They accepted to be baptized on the 30th thin month. They had been searching for the truth and found it. Sunday morning rolled around and where they live is a pretty dangerous place. Sunday morning there were some confusions close to their house that made lots of members stay inside their houses, but this couple arrived at the church. They said that they didn’t want to miss the church for anything. They said a prayer and used their faith! They have a little baby that is very cute! All the members (relief society) were right there to hold the baby.

We had a baptism of a young man named Alan which was very spiritual too! There was a man baptized last week that is in the army. He had to go to train Sunday morning and when his sargent said he needed to stay, he said no, that he needed to go to church and left! I was very happy to see his dedication to the church, I hope nothing bad happens.... I’m sure he will be blessed!

I received two packages this week!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for the goodies! I miss American food a lot! I hope I don’t get too fat when I come home!!! haha

So I won a camelback backpack here on the mission, that isn’t new but in good shape. It is small (a daypack) will someone want it?

With lap tops, I was told today that mac books don’t have windows installed... I think I will need to buy windows to install too... is it true?

And is my cell phone still at home? Will I be able to use the same cell phone or should I buy a new one? I never thought that coming home would be so expensive!!! I think I will have to start donating plasma to pay for all of this haha

I love being a missionary!!!!

Good luck in the tennis tournament!!!!


Elder Heath

Getting ready for the new Mission President

June 10, 2013


Heath Family!!!

I think I am on the same track as you about the all season pass. I would like to have the pass that moves around and is cheaper. Who knows I will be able to meet lot of new people and who knows my future wife! ;) ha

Sounds like you all are having a wonderful time at Hawaii! Danielle isn’t it worth it to finish high school? ha Take lots of pictures to send of your beautiful faces on the beach!!! The reason I am not sending pictures is because my memory card has a virus.... oh well

This week was a blast and I will tell you why...

Tuesday we had a meeting for 7 hours with Presidente Souza where he told us everything we need to know to help Presidente Fusco when he arrives! While we were in the meeting President Fusco called!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Presidente Souza let us hear his voice but we couldn’t talk to him. In this meeting I realized how much work it is to be a mission Presidente and How inspired this work is. Presidente Souza is a great example to me. Elder Sampaio and i are going to pick up Presidente Fusco and his family on the 27th at1:30! Presidente Souza will be at his house making lunch, so we are going to receive them at the airport and bring them to Presidente Souza´s house! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, we prepared our training for the zone leaders. Every transfer we give a training to the zone leaders and they pass that training to their zones the next week. I was with Elder Sampaio, Elder Reynolds, and Elder Wadsworth and we all prepared the training together (the other two are assistants in the other mission) There were lots of inspired ideas floating around.

Thursday we gave the training and it ended up being better than we thought!!! After the training Presidente Souza got up and said, I am happy that I can always count on my assistants. That made my day. After we returned home and taught a couple lessons, and marked two baptismal interviews.

Friday we had a normal day in our area!!! Hoo Hoo We were able to work form 1:00 till 9:00! It was so nice! We found a new family to teach through a contact on the street. And we had one of our interviews, and he Passed!!! Baptism on Sunday!

Saturday we got a normal day too! WE had another interview that, he passed too! Two baptisms on Sunday!!! We taught many lessons and invited everyone and their dog to church! ha Walking home we saw some members from my first area!!! It was so nice to see them again! They all asked if I had grown..... (Watch out dad ;) ) ha maybe it’s just because I was on a curb. ha

Sunday we woke up and i wrote in my journal and played a little guitar. At about 7:30 our bishop called and asked if we could give talks today!!!! We said OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!! I based my talk on Elder Eyrings talk in 2012 October ``Help others aim high`` and it was a privilege to give that talk! We had lunch at the other end of our area, which took about 1 hour to walk to. We found out that where we were you walk 30 more min and you are at the beach!!! The beach is part of our area!!! At night time we had the baptisms and a very interesting experience happened. We invited two members to baptize the two men and the first member that entered put his arm up and the power went out! (we are in a rented mansion and the baptism is in a pool) The power box caught on fire and that didn’t stop the member from baptizing this man. haha luckily there was lights from the house that let the testimonies see the baptism. The fire got put out and the next baptism happened perfectly. But that first member has POWER!!! haha

That was my week! I think I will leave my diary with you when I am at college so you can read more about my mission. I have done my best to write everything in my diary and you will be able to learn more about my mission that way. ahha

I love you all so much!!! Have a great time in Hawaii!!!

Danielle you are beautiful! I got you graduation card today!!! I loved the colored pants too!!!

Elder Heath

June 6th, 2013


Heaths!

Thanks for the e mail after the Crazy weekend! So many good things happened, and I am very proud of each and every one of you! Danielle congrats on graduation!!! How do you feel to be done with high school!!!! WOO HOO!!! Was it fun walking down the Aisle? I bet you looked just like a model on the red carpet!

Did you all like the Bragadeiro? That is defiantly something that we eat a lot here! It is a fun easy treat to make! And now you all are going to be in a climate very similar to me!!! The sun shining bright! But you all can jump in the ocean, so that is a plus!!! I just take lots of showers! Today on p day I took 4 showers to stay in the cold water. I almost felt like I was swimming! ha

This week all 25 missionaries arrived. We called a bus to pick us up and it was a lot of fun to welcome them all to Brasil! It is incredible how well the missionaries are speaking Portuguese already! They only have six weeks and they are fluent already! We have a special room where the new missionaries meet their trainers and with fifty missionaries in that room it was so excited!!! Elder Sampaio and I gave them all a training about the rules and how a missionary’s life is. Elder Sampaio in Portuguese and I was translating. It brought back so many memories of when I was in their place thinking... how do those missionaries speak so well?! How can they understand to translate?! It was a big privilege. One of the sisters that arrived roomed with Kimber Hayden at BYU! Cool ehh! What a small world!!!

We were in meetings with Presidente Souza all week and Elder Sampaio and I are getting the hang of all the responsibilities as an assistant. Slow and steady we are getting there! Presidente Souza said that tomorrow from 2 till 9 30 we are going to have a meeting and he is going to show us everything that Presidente Fusco will need to know to run a mission! After we got that call it was a little shocking but like Presidente said, this well be great preparation if we are ever called to be Mission Presidentes. :)

Then after on Wednesday we are going to meet up with the other two assistants to prepare a training for the zone leaders, which we will give this Thursday. It is going to be a very busy week but I would like to share the tender mercies that the Lord is giving us as a big help.

Monday night we were passed a reference of a young man that has already visited the church a lot and he received an answer and will be baptized this next week. Another young man has been going to church for 5 months and we went and taught his family and they will all go to his baptism this next week! Something changed their hearts. And also a man has been taught by missionaries for 4 months. His family is baptized but he couldn’t give up smoking. We taught his twice and invited him to pray and in 3 days he completely stopped smoking!!! That was a clear miracle that Heavenly Father is carrying us along the way. This man Luciano will be baptized this week too!!!

I am very excited to learn more and more and more!!! I am very excited to meet President Fusco too! He arrives this month on the 27th! And I have been very humbled this past week.

I know this church is true and I know that Heavenly Father is always watching over us and guiding us to do what is right! I am very grateful for President Souza and all that he has taught me. I am very grateful for my inspired leaders and the counsel that is given to me. I love being a missionary!!!


Elder Heath