Why does this always happen? August 24, 2014

Queridos amigos e familiares!

     I'll jump right in to the bad news, and then we'll get into the good stuff, alright?

 
     I'm sick. Again. This is something that always happened when I was at home. Every year in August when the school year is just about to start...I got sick. This week, I found out that this rule applies no matter where I am in the world. I thought I'd be able to escape it this year, but I guess not. Ah, well...

     Now the good stuff! Felipe was baptized yesterday!!! His mom came to church and sat through every minute of all three hours, and then stayed to watch Felipe's baptism, and she absolutely loved it. She's progressing really well in the discussions, too, and I have no doubt that it won't be long until she follows in her son's footsteps into the baptismal font. Felipe has the full support of not only his mom, but the ward here has done a fantastic job at integrating him in with everybody at church.

     Rosangela, Juliana, and Christiana didn't make it to church again, unfortunately, but they're still loving our lessons. They just need to stop scheduling things on Sunday, and we'll be good to go!

     Things are starting to heat up a lot over here, and that may be why I got sick. We went from cold rain and floods to super strong sun. Okay, I know, cold here is not even close to cold in Utah, but y'all know what I mean. Wishing all of you a fantastic week from Vitória, Brasil! Love you! See you soon.

Elder Crapo

What do you mean, nobody was? 18 de Agosto 2014

Bom dia, gente!

     So, yeah...we got the transfer call yesterday, and to the surprise of everyone involved, nobody was transferred again. I've never seen an area stay with the same four missionaries for three transfers in a row. Elder Lima and I are happy, though! Felipe and Ana are progressing really well, and have already cut coffee out of their diet. Unfortunately, we had a lot of rain yesterday which caused some flooding, and I think that's why they didn't make it to church yesterday. They did make it to the family home evening, though, which they loved. Wahoo!

     This week we started teaching member referrals Rosangela and her twin daughters Juliana and Cristiana. They are super receptive, and are loving the lessons. I can tell they have been prepared and I doubt it will be difficult helping them get to the baptismal font. Juliana and Cristiana have already accepted baptismal invitations and their mom, Rosangela, isn't against the idea, but was a little hesitant in committing. After talking with her a bit, we found out that she's worried about how the church works: tithing, music, church attendance. She just doesn't want to make the wrong choice, which is really good. When we left from our most recent visit, she seemed a lot more relaxed about the whole situation, and they were all extremely worried that we would be transferred. Good thing we weren't! They're a great family.

     Elder Lima and I gave talks in sacrament meeting. Elder Lima spoke on why we share the gospel, and I was given the simple topic of ``How inter-religious involvement helps us become better saints.´´ They wards here always seem to find a way to help me stretch and grow. At least the feedback I received from the ward was all positive. I definitely had a little help from the pulpit, because to me it seemed like I was just rambling.

     That about wraps it up for this week. We're all pretty excited for at least one more transfer. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Love you, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo

My faith increased: 11 de agosto 2014

Family and Friends,

     This week, we received a member referral from the Relief Society president, Irmã Alba, and her son, Luis Henrique. Yesterday, Luis Henrique brought 14 year old Felipe to church, and the ward did a great job at helping him feel welcome and comfortable. In visiting his home later that evening, we met his mom who told us that she does Irmã Alba's nails and watched Luis Henrique grow up, leave on a mission, and saw the change in his life when he came back. She said she really likes the attention and care we take in our youth and has been impressed in meeting several LDS missionaries on the street in the day to day. She also told us that in the end, the decision is Felipe's, but if she could choose for him, she'd choose to put him in The LDS Church because of the young men's programs. Felipe told us he loved church yesterday, and that he's excited to go again next week. 

     As we taught the Restoration, Felipe's mom, named Ana, told us about her story in searching for the truth in the many churches, and it was a story similar to Joseph Smith's. As we told her about young Joseph's experience and the First Vision, she sat quietly and listened close. When we said the final words of the First Vision, she whispered, ``That's God. It's true.´´ Both Ana and Felipe accepted baptismal invitations and promised to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I know they have been so prepared by the Lord, and we are so grateful for the faithful members who are helping us find and teach those who are ready to receive. They'll attend a family night close to their home tonight and meet several members there. Wish us luck!

     The talent show was a giant success. We were a little worried about the turnout because we found out that several other activities in the city and at institute had been planned at the same day and time. However, several people came prepared with talents and even more came to watch. My companion and a member of the ward helped me choose Michael Bublé's version of ``That's Life´´, and it was huge hit. The panel of judges (the bishopric) awarded me by unanimous vote 1st place in the show, and now videos of the song are posted all over facebook for those who missed it to see. It was a lot of fun to get up and play with my voice again, and the audience was super gracious in giving me back even more energy than I was giving them.

     That's about all the news I have for this week. I hope you all are well! Love you, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo

4 de Agosto 2014

Ei, Galera!

     It was really good to see little Miguel´s baptism on Saturday. He was so excited and ready, and his parents seemed to be really pleased. He´s already looking to the future. While he was changing into his baptismal clothes, he said, ``I didn´t know it was so easy to be baptized! Now in just a little bit, I´ll be a missionary!!´´´

     Other than that, this week went by normally. Jonas didn´t make it to church yesterday because he went to sleep over at a friend´s house on Saturday. We also found 3 more inactives who want to come back to church: Two sisters Carol and Daniela, and their Dad. They also have another sister and their mom who haven´t joined the church yet, so we´ll get going on that.

     We found out that Pedro and Sheila have some problems to sort out before they can get married, and we´ve set an appointment for them to meet with the bishop so he can help them sort things out. They´ve been giving us some referrals, though, so we´ll be taking them on some visits this week!

     We´ve planned a ward Talent Show for Saturday this week, and we´re running crazy recruiting members to do something and preparing our own talents as well. I still don´t know what I´m going to sing yet, and all the missionaries are going to get the audience to participate in some improv games (Like ``Who´s Line Is It Anyway´´).

     I think that about wraps up what´s going on over here. I hope you´re all doing well, and that you have a fantastic week! Love you all, and see you soon!

Elder Crapo

Vamos que vamos! 28 de Julho 2014

Family and Friends,

     Things are starting to calm down and we're getting to work a lot more normally now. We had a really good productive week, and we've been weeding out less actives and contacting the people from the addresses we have. Last week, we held a family night at a member's home and invited our recent convert family to join in. The parents weren't able to attend, but the kids went and they loved it! We're so blessed with amazing members who help us out so much. We gave a message about the armor of God complete with a little paper soldier that the kids could color in, and then we ate some home made Brazilian hot pockets (that's the only way I can describe them. They were soooo good!) and cake. 

     Right now we're helping Miguel prepare for his baptism on Saturday. He's the 7 year old son of Luis and Gisiela who are preparing for a their wedding and are waiting for their documents to arrive. Miguel will turn 8 on Friday, and asked the bishop at church the other week ´´I turn 8 on August 1, what do I have to do to be baptized on August 2?´´ He's a really smart kid, and soaks in everything we teach him, and loves to read the Book of Mormon with us. His mom was a little nervous about him being baptized so young at first, but luckily now she's on board, too.

     We also visited with 11 year old Brunella this week. One of our members brought her to church last week, and she loved it. She also has started reading the Book of Mormon that our member gave her already, and loves learning about anything that has to do with church. Her mom seemed pretty receptive when we showed up, so hopefully we won't have to fight too hard to help Brunella get baptized. 

     We came in contact with Jonas, who got baptized a while ago, but hasn't come to church for a while, and I'd never met him until his sister sent us over to their house yesterday. He seems like a really great kid who got into the wrong group of friends and starting making some wrong decisions. He told us that he's been trying to come back to church, but he's having a hard time. We'll be getting a firm hold on visiting him frequently to help him make it back. I think with just a little push he'll be great.

     I'm just loving being here on the mission. The only time I speak English is when I write to you guys, so I hope my letters still make sense. For now, we're just making the best of every day and having a fantastic experience. Thank you all so much for your love, support, and prayers! I'll see you soon!

``Eu! Sou Brasileiro! 

Com muito orgulho!

Com muito amor!´´

Elder Crapo

21 de Julho 2014

Family and Friends!

     This week went really well. We've been focusing more on reactivation this week because the general authorities left a training with the mission presidents of Brazil, and said the baptisms are high, but the retention is ridiculously low. We had the clerk print off a ward list, and we've been trying to contact people by neighborhood. We've already had one reactivation, contacted another inactive, and learned the whereabouts of two others this week. It's a start. We also were inviting people to church like crazy this week, and nobody was able to make it, but the Lord saw our efforts, and we had some super members bring their friends to church! We'll be contacting them this week.

     The birthday was really good. After studies, we went upstairs to visit with the Bishop and his wife, and they had a surprise gathering there waiting for me with a cake in the form of a German flag (oh, yes they did). They gave me a really beautiful blue tie as a present, and it was a really nice morning. After that, it was a pretty normal day, work work work, but it was good. Thanks so much to all who sent me a birthday e-mail, it really made my day! Love you all so much, and I'll see you soon!

Elder Crapo

ALEMÃO!!! 14 de Julho 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

     I have never been called a German so many times in my life. Ever since the German team creamed Brazil 7 to 1, everyone has started to think that I'm a German even more every day. It's gotten so bad that I don't think we went an hour of work without someone asking if I'm German or whispering to their friend, ``The German!´´ or shouting at me, ``GERMANY!´´ this week. I decided to just start having fun with it, and brush up the German I learned a million years ago by responding in German to a select few that I knew wouldn't kill me. The reactions are usually pretty priceless. The shock of , `holy cow, he really is a german´ passes the faces of the kids, and we get a good kick out of it. However because of the World Cup, this week was the hardest yet. We had p-day on Monday, as usual, a Game on Tuesday, work days Wednesday to Friday, another game on Saturday, and the World Cup finals yesterday (Congrats to Germany. Now the situation is even worse. Even the lady who runs the computer lab today asked me if I'm German). SO...not much progress was made. Now that the Cup is over and done, we'll be able to really get some work done, and I'm pretty excited for that.

     I really don't think I have more news than that. I'll have much more to tell you guys next week. I love you all, and I'll see you soon!

Elder Crapo