Trainings and Travel

May 19th

Hey! Another good week!

We had Zone Conferences this week, and so we got to give trainings and travel around which was a lot of fun. In our training, Elder Niedert and I focused on the importance of working with members. It turned out really good and we're looking forward to see the results in the mission!

This week in our area, we had it a bit tougher because a lot of the people that we had been teaching lost interest and said that they didn't want to learn more. There were a lot more people than normal and it was pretty sad to see that they can't see the importance of the gospel. Like I've said before, I think this is one of the hardest parts of being a missionary, but it gives me an idea of how our Heavenly Father feels when we don't keep the commandments. This is something I'm really grateful for that I've learned on the mission. It seems like now I have a clearer view of what's important. But, the Lord was still able to bless us with a really cool couple to teach, and they said they're excited to go to church this sunday!

We also did splits with the zone leaders in a zone in Ribeirão Preto. I was with Elder Molinari who is one of my good friends here on the mission. He's heading home on the 4th of next month, so it was our last chance to work together! We focused on finding new investigators that would progress. We had a cool experience with this. We sat down after lunch for him to pass me all the appointments they had marked, and then right as we were about to end someone in the house close to us went in and out of their house. We said a prayer during the prayer I felt like we should talk to the person, and then as I got up I said "let's go talk to that girl who just went into that house" the Elder Molinari said "I just had that same feeling during the prayer!" So we went and taught her and her boyfriend, and they were super interested! They really understood the message, especially about the importance to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet or not. It's so cool to see how the Lord guides us in all we do!

But, that's about it for this week. This next week we'll be traveling almost all week again, including to my last area! It should be full of great experiences. I love you, until next week!

Elder Odom

Visiting Araçatuba and Bus issues

May 12th

Hey there!

Wow, it was a great week! This past week we basically just spent traveling around to other cities to do splits with the zone leaders. On Wednesday I got to go back to Araçatuba and work in my very first area again! It's been a year and 4 months since I've been there. I ran into the bishop at the church building and at the end of the day I got to see my very first baptism, Eunice! She was super excited to see me. It was funny, because at first she didn't recognize me because it was dark outside. But once we got inside she turned and saw me then gave a little scream! But it really was such a fun time to catch up with her and see that she's still going strong at can be in the church.

The next day we headed to another city called Birigui, and I got to go out with Elder Cleverly from my group, one of my best friends on the mission. It's kinda funny because even though we've been on the mission this whole time together, we've never gotten to work or teach together! So it was a blast to spend a day with him. We taught a family of 5 that he's teaching and I was super impressed with them. In the family there is a mom, her sister, and 3 little girls. The mom has gone through a lot of hard times in her life but now is super excited for her baptism. She's already totally converted and hasn't even been baptized yet! We taught about temples and they already got super excited to go to the Campinas temple to do baptisms for the dead for their ancestors. 

After the day was over, Elder Niedert and I were planning on taking an overnight bus to Ribeirão Preto because we needed to be here early friday morning to plan for zone conferences. So we headed out but once we got to the bus station at 11:15 at night, we realized that the ticket booth had already closed... Dang! But we knew we'd still be able to pay the bus driver in cash, but the problem was that we only had money on our cards! So we went to a restaurant to see if they would let us pass R$100 on our cards and give us cash back, but they said they couldn't. As we were looking of anther place to take out money, a member puled up out of nowhere and asked "Elders, what are you guys doing? Need help?" We explained our situation and he told us to jump into the car. We zoomed to a bank to take our money, but the door was locked. We went to another one and even though the door was open, all the atms were broken! So we went back to the bus station and found out from a homeless guy that the bus had just left 2 mins before... So, we went back to the other missionaries apartment and and then ended up taking the bus the next morning. It was a funny experience!

It's been a really good 3 weeks so far here in the office again. My comp Elder Niedert is a great missionary and I'm learning lots everyday. I'm so grateful to be here and for everything that happens out here in the mission field! Until next week!

Elder Odom

What!? Back in the office!

May 5th

Hey!

Wow, sorry for not writing for the last 2 weeks! it's been super busy for me! But a lot has happened... 

So to start, I was called back to the mission office! This time as an assistant though. But by the end of my mission I'll have passed 1 year in the office. A lot of time! I couldn't believe it when I found out, I never would've guessed I'd go back! But, I'm looking forward to the new opportunities that I'll have to learn in this new position. So a few of the cool things that happened this last week...

When I was still in my last area with Elder Silva, we were walking on the street at night and we say a family coming up the street. I leaned over to Elder Silva and said "go make a contact with them!" and so he did! The family turned out to be super interested and we were abe to go back and teach 6 people that same week, and 3 of them went to church that same sunday. The mom of the family has already talked to the misionaries 20 years ago but her ex husband didn't let her go to church, and she basically bore her testimony during the relief society meeting that she knows that the Lord sent us to find her after all these years. How cool?! It was a little hard to follow up with them during the next week though, we only got to talk to them once. But, this week I got a call from Elder Silva saying that the mom in the family got an answer to her prayers that he church is true, and if her boyfriend doesn't want to get married she'll leave him! Man, I can't believe how many blessings just keep coming!

We also baptized Larissa and Jó last week! They were so happy, they even cried when they bore their testimonies. Missionary work is awesome!

My new comp is awesome, his name is Elder Niedert and he's from St. George. I only have 5 more weeks of mission time as him. He's a great missionary and is super funny, so it's going to be a blast working with him during these last 2 transfers! What's cool is that we have an investigator that we're also going to baptize this week. Her name is Patrícia. I'll send pics next week!

But I'll let you know about more cool stuff that happens this next week. Love you and until next week!

Elder Odom

Just keep on teaching

April 16th

Hey! So this week was another busy one. I went with Elder Pinheiro to another city to help some other missionaries out and it was a lot of fun. It seems like we've been spending a lot of time out ouf our areas doing stuff like that, but it's been so cool to see how the Lord has blessed us. It seems like people literally come out of nowhere for us to teach! This week the assistants came to our area to work with us as well. I was with Elder Niedert from St  George. He's a super cool guy and he actually has 1 less transfer than I do so pretty much the time time on the mission. We were on out way to an investigators house, but when we got there nobody was home. So we were talking outside of the house and then out of nowhere a lady comes up to us and asks if we're pastors. We told her we're missionaries, and then she starts crying and says that she needs direction in her life and she needs Christ. We went right to her house and taught her a lesson then and there! It was a really cool lesson and she was able to understand super good. Not sure if she'll progress or not, but it still goes to show that miracles happen everyday!

Jó, Larissa, and Augusto are still looking for for their baptism. We actaully had to push it back 1 week to the 28th because Larissa had to travel to São Paulo for some reason, but she still really wants to be baptized. We have a few other families and people we're working on. The tricketst part of the area is bringing people to church becuase it's pretty far away, but we're making it work!

This week something that I've really focused on is patience and not letting things out of my control get to me. We've been having a few problems with some missionaries and it's been stressful at times. But really, sometimes there's nothing we can do! We just have to do our part and let go up the rest. What I can control is how I react and my own work. I've seen soooo many times here on the mission when people get offended, annoyed, hurt, mad, etc over things they cant control. it happens with missionaries, members, investigators, everyone! But it's really not necessary! I still remember something that President Nelson said in the General Conference of October 2016; "Latter-day saints have the ability to be happy in ANY situation!" It's true!! We really can! It just depends on us. We choose our own happiness.

But, that's my week. Have a good one!! 

Elder Odom

Miracles in the Field

April 9th

 Well, this week was a busy one. We really stayed busy. So in our area, we've been getting blessed a ton! In a few weeks we've been able to get a pretty good teaching pool together and we have a good amount of investigators that have lots of potential, especially Jó, Larissa, and Augusto! All 3 of them went to church yesterday and they said that they loved it! The ward did a great job of welcoming them and making them feel good. When we went back later that day to talk about what they thought about church, Larissa, who's 14, said that during testimony meeting she really wanted to go up there and bear here testimony, and it was her first week at church! Jó and Larissa are super excited about their baptism that's coming up in about 2 weeks. They said that ever since they've been learning about the gospel, they feel "as light as a feather" and "like wind". Then Larissa said that next fast and tesimony meeting she will bear her testimony. She said "I'll be up there in front of everyone, you can be sure about that!" Elder Silva and I are just so grateful to be a part of their conversion. We are also teaching a family that has a mom, Marlene, and 3 kids. The mom has had a really rough life and she's even involved with drugs now. But she said that ever since she started praying to know if what we are teaching is true, she's had more energy and strength to do things, and she's even seeing a different reaction in her kids! They're being more obedient and are happier.

It's so cool to see how quickly the gospel blesses the lives of those who don't have it. The Lord is anxious to bless us, and if we do our part He will! Marlene's family is cool because it's the 2nd time I've met someone here in Brazil that has actually blonde hair. Her 3 kids all have blonde hair and her youngest daughter who's 5 or 6 yearsold has super blonde hair and blue eyes. When you aren't used to seeing people like that it really takes you by surprise! They also like to talk to me because of my light colored hair and eyes haha so that's cool.

 Another family we're teaching is Juliana's family. Well, we actually haven't met her husband yet but she's already gotten an answer to her prayers and is recognizing it more and more each day. She also has 3 kids. They didn't go to church this week and we aren't sure why, but we'll keep following up with them. So like I said the Lord is really blessing us. It's not because we're super good missionaries that know all the right things to say, but it's because the Lord puts us in the right places at the right time to meet the people that he wants us to. It's been such a cool experience this transfer back in the field seeing miracles happen everyday.

I don't have much more time to share, but I'm looking forward to another great week!
 I love you guys, until next Pday! Elder Odom


 

Time is Going By Too Fast

April 2nd

 This week was a good one! I always love watching general conference. But we got a Brazilian apostle!!! How cool is that??? That's actually going to help us in our teaching now, people will feel better about the idea of having living prophets now that there is one that's from their country, so were all super excited about that. I really liked all the talks during general conference as usual. One of the ones that was really cool though was from Elder Larry Y. Wilson. I don't have my notes with me right now, but I'll have to re-read it a few times for sure! And how crazy are all the changes that happened? No more visiting/home teaching, the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums are together now, etc. They're really cool changes that I feel will really help the church. I like the more personal focus in ministring to induviduals. The prophet and President Eyring also gave great talks about receiving personal revelation and listening to the Spirit.

 This week we had our Leadership Council in Ribeirão Preto, and it was super cool. Elder Pinheiro and I were asked to give a training about how to follow up with both our investigators and with the missionaries in our zones. But, we didn't have much time to prepare the training... Training new missionaries and trying to help the zone and keep track of al lthe missionaries has been a lot busier than we thought, so when we got to Ribeirão we didn't even have the whole training planned out. We did our best to seek revelation and help from the Lord in the small amount of time that we did have to prepare. So we made an outline of what we wanted to say and trusted in the Spirit. It was super cool to see how it worked out! We really felt the Spirit putting questions into our minds and things we could say during the training. In the end, it ended up being more of a council than an actual training, the other leaders really helped us out and gave great insight! We were all able to learn a lot and we were very grateful that the Lord helped us out even though we didn't have a ton of time to prepare. It was just one more confirmation to me that if we do our best, the Lord will make up for us!

 In the field, we're making some good progress with our investigators. We have 4 people that have lots of potential, Jó and her granddaughter Larissa, and a couple named Marcos and Denizete. What's cool is that during the first week here we tried really hard to become friends with the members and show them that we're here to help, and after that they gave us referrals for these investigators! Members can make our work so much more effective. Marcos and his wife Denizete said that they've never really listened to anyone who wants to talk about religion, but for some reason they just open up to us and tell us about their lives, problems, etc. They also said that they know it wasn't coincidence that we started to teach them. How cool! We've only been able to teach them twice, but we're going to follow up with them more this week.

 Our other solid investigatos, Jó and Larissa, are really cool as well. A member invited Jó to church and she went and then we started teaching her. She's super interested and she's already told a bunch of her friends and family that she really like the "mormon church" and said that she wants to invite people she knows to listen to our discussions! She has an ex-husband that's been in on 2 of our lessons now and he understands really good and askes really good questions. We're really being blessed!

 My comp Elder Silva is doing great. I really love his desire to work. Not sure if I mentioned it already, but he doesn't have a super good knowledge of the gospel but he's willing to learn, and really for me that's the most important thing. I was just commenting with Elder Pinheiro the other day that with everything we have to deal with, we really got good comps. There are some new missionaries that have lots of problems, so we're grateful we got who we did!

 Well that's my week. I'm looking forward to another busy week, it seems like we never stop! Time is going by too fast! Sorry no pics... I forgot my camera at home. I'll send them next week. Love you guys! Elder Odom

First Week Back in the Field!

March 26th

 First week back in the field!! It was a super cool week full of miracles. So, about the area. Just after a week of being here I think that it will probably be my favorite ward. The members here are are awsome! It's a reeeaally big area, and it's been a pretty long time since there's been 2 companionships so the ward is pretty happy about that. We're taking the bus almost everyday to get to where we work, but we received a lot of blessings this week and we were able to have success. We got to know some of the members as well and they are all willing to help. It should be a great transfer!

 So my new comp. He's awesome!! He's probably one of the most humble people I've ever met. His name is Elder Silva (pretty common name) and he's from the city of São Paulo. He's 21 years old and really likes to work. I'm super happy about that! He also is really ready to learn. He's always asking about how he can improve and then looks to put into practice what I say. He comes from a family of members, but right now only his mom and his sister are active, but his whole family really supports him in serving a mission. He actually was inactive for 5 years and in November of 2016 he decided to go back to church. During these 5 years, he was reeeally inactive. He got caught up hanging out with the wrong crowd and his friends were all in the gang and stuff. Even though he never directly participated in bad stuff, he was around it all the time. But he said that in the back of his head he always thought "Is God happy with what I'm doing?" When he decided to go back to church, no believed that he was there. He said that everyone thought that he was a lost cause, but man he's completely changed! From the hood to the mission haha. I'm super grateful to be able to help him out at the start of his mission.

 I'm living with 2 other Elders, Elder Pinheiro (my zone leader comp) and Elder Flores. I was really happy to be ZL comps with Elder Pinheiro. Hes super funny and a great missionary. His son's (companion that he's training) name you won't believe though.. He's from Laredo, TX, on the border of TX and Mexico. His parents are both Mexican, but he was born in the States. But his full name is Antonio OBI-WAN-ABINADI Flores. How sick is that!?! He said his dad is a die hard Star Wars fan, and he is too. He actually has a brother named Anakin and a sister named Asohka. But he's a cool guy and I'm looking forward to getting to know him better.

 This week we really focused on finding new people to teach, and we were blessed with quite a few! We've started to work in an area that the missionaries haven't been to for awhile, and it's been paying off. The people are super prepared there and we're started to get our teaching pool together! We don't have any investigators that I know super well, but I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes though. 

Super grateful for the area, my companion, the ward, and everything! I need to take advantage of every moment here for sure!
 Love you guys, until next week! Elder Odom