Milagre Milagres

This last week was so amazing! Yeeea! Loved it!

To start off with a cool experience. So it was my second or third day here and we were in another area within our area...neighborhood I guess....sorry I’m forgetting English please forgive my grammar...not that it’s ever been great...but any way we were walking to an appointment and I saw this lady sitting down with her child. I felt so strongly the spirit prompt me to talk with here about the plan of happiness. Well we had to hurry to contact an investigator before she left to work, and we go there and she wasn’t there. I knew why. So we hurried back and I went and talked with her while my comp was calling an investigator. I told her of the Plan of Salvation and how it is meant to help our families feel love and peace when we can’t find it. She then told me how she was split up and on her own with her son. Well this last week we went to contact her and she was there and we taught her about the restoration and the Book of Mormon how through it we can find peace! She loved and accepted a baptismal date! It is so amazing! Truly love the miracles we experience every day!

Another one is an investigator Gabriel, he is 14 and amazing! We have been teaching him and his faith is so amazing! He is working towards baptism these next few weeks and every time we pray he focuses on blessing us, his family and friends! I see him and then I think of a 14 year old that prayed in faith and because of that prayer we have the ability to receive eternal life! So amazing! I love Joseph Smith and what he did for us! Every time we share the first vision God manifests his love to all of us, and it breaks my heart when I know that others feel that love and turn it away. Those moments are the saddest moments of the mission.

Elder Costa and Elder David Evans came to our mission! It was so amazing! Elder Evans quoted something that Elder Nelson told them a week before, “Our stand on the family is going to be the great difference between us and the world. Many people of this church may leave because of our stand on the family but, thousands upon millions will hurry to the church to seek safety within the family." it was so amazing! It gave me so much hope to know that I don’t need to fear with my future family if we have the gospel!

Sorry this is so long, but I love being on a mission! It is so sad to know that time is counting down...I hate it...but I love where I'm at and I'm happy all the time. it’s hard to explain but somehow we are still happy when we have a million mosquito bites, appointments falling through, me tripping and then smacking into a sign in front of people, forgetting keys on a bus in Campinas...you name it we’ve had struggles but we have been happy! I’ve thought about it, and if we truly love and strive to serve the Lord, even when we aren’t perfect at it, he gives us the needful things to go forward with a joyful heart in all things! This gospel is so true! I love it, and I need it!

Some of my favorites this last week!

Isaiah 12: 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

2 Nephi 2:22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

Psalm 36:7 How precious is your loving kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings.

Love you all so much,

Elder Loveless

 Elder Raudney and Elder Loveless

Street named after Spencer W. Kimball

Reese isn't the only one to find a Chica Store

(Chica is the nickname of Margaret that her siblings call her. Both Reese and Gary found a store with Chica on it on their missions. Gary in Brazil (top) and Reese in Africa (bottom).)

Itupeva!!!

Oi a gente!

Can I just say how much I love it here! My new area is Itupeva, only about 30 minutes away from Jacare, but i love it here so much! There are 6 missionaries here, 2 sets of sisters and Elder Raudney and I. Elder Raudney is an answer to my prayers! He is from Recife, and is so amazing. He doesn't speak any English, but he sits at my side during language study and helps me the entire time with pronunciation, and reading, and grammar! (My grammar in Portuguese is better than English I think...) haha but he is so amazing! Truly do love him!

So this last week was seriously amazing! Loved it! I started out the week with this scripture, and it has changed me since, (sorry translating from Portuguese I hope its right,) "For I the Lord your God will take the by thy right hand saying, fear not, I will help you", it is so profound, simple and true. He is always there by our side, holding our hand and whispering, fear not, I WILL HELP YOU. We just have to look and feel Him at our side to recognize.

With that in mind, I have it written in my planner where I can continually see it. Well we were out contacting and about to go into a lesson, and I was getting a little worried about what we would teach, and who this person was because at first I thought he was a member till we started. I at first started to panic, but then the spirit brought to my remembrance, Fear not, I will help thee. It all started to come! I was able through the spirit to know exactly what to say in my broken Portuguese and what we needed to do! The Lord loves us, and is with us always. I know it, and I feel it! I'm so grateful that this past year I've had my brother at my side, and this next year I will have him always by my side. I truly am grateful that we can have the Lord speak to us through the Holy Scriptures.

So our area has a statue of Christ like the one in Rio, it is very small, but it is on the mountain and we will visit it soon! But Itupeva is amazing, the members are legit, and it is fun every week we get to teach English...lets just say it is hard! I forgot how to say the word "also"...i'm starting to forget English...its weird when in my dreams I talk to my sisters in Portuguese...they don't speak it at all...but they reply back in Portuguese...no joke Chica and Melba! Its scary...but legit! Haha

Love you all so much,

Gary

 Elder Raudney and Elder Loveless

Leaving Aligator

So we got transfer calls last night, and I will be leaving Jacaré, and receiving my new comp tomorrow! Super excited, but also very sad to leave here.

This was my scripture for the last week, Psalms 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” I really came to realize how ungrateful I really was, and with my parents, we only gave prayers of thanks this past week! I felt so much more sustained, and grew so much with the help of my dear Brother, and Father. I know that if we are to recognize the blessings they do for us day in and day out, they will reward us with more blessings for continually looking unto them!

So I had an amazing experience yesterday. Elder Mendes and I had two investigators after church that wanted to talk with us, so Elder Mendes taught the one and I was teaching our other investigator. I asked him if he was still willing to be baptized in two weeks. He told me that the only way he would was if the church could prove to him that God lives. Well it was amazing because during the sacrament I felt prompted to read certain scriptures, and it turns out that those scriptures in the Book of Mormon that I had marked were the ones that he needed! As I explained to him that I can’t, that no one can but God himself. As I gave him the book of Mormon, at first he wouldn’t accept it. And I knew that if he read at least one verse in it he would. So I asked him if he could just read one verse. As we read Moroni 10:5 "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." he said wow! That is amazing but how, I want proof. I then told him how I too wanted proof, and I found it as a young teenager while Reading 2 Nephi 25:29 "And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."  and to this day is one of my favorites! He accepted the Book of Mormon and an invitation to pray! The Book of Mormon is so amazing and has power beyond imagination! With him reading a simple verse the spirit worked through that Holy Scripture and touched his heart! Only a perfect book can do that! It’s true, and I know it!

Well, I love you all so much, thank you for your prayers and support!

Elder Loveless

Some of my favorite members, Luciana, Edvian, Emanuel, and Marcos!

Elder Mendez and Elder Loveless

MUITO QUENTE

So it is ROASTIN here! It was so hot last week! Everything we drink we just sweat it off...it's so hot and wet! Haha i admire all you freezing people...I miss the snow! haha

So we had a cool experience today actually, and it was so amazing to see the Lord's hand in everything,

We were trying to find this store that we needed to go to, and I turned around to see this lady pushing her car, so I yelled to Elder Mendes, and we went and pushed her car to where she needed it. Right as we stopped pushing her car, we were in front of the store! I know it was "just a store," that we needed to get to, but it is so amazing how the Lord's hand is in everything! He loves us and is Always guiding us!

Also we have had some amazing experiences with the Book of Mórmon!  I've made it mine own goal that everywhere I walk that I will have one in my hand to give to someone, and the Lord has Always guided me to whoever needs it! Jacob 6:5

We are so blessed to have the Book of Mórmon...there are so many imperfect things in this world,  and we have few perfect things in our possession, and the Book of Mormon is what is holding together this great plan! I love that book!

So some things I love about Brazil,

-pão de queijo

-churros com creme (thanks Big R)

-maracujá

-Guaíba

-of course...Guaraná!

-açaí

-feijão

-BRASIL

bad thing is...all this stuff is changing up my insides!

Love you all so much!

Elder Loveless

:)

This last week was great! We had 2 baptisms! Priscila, and Janie! It truly was a special experience to able to help them come closer to Christ and help them receive salvation. It is so amazing that we get to help others walk towards the celestial kingdom; and we don’t have to be a full time missionary to do it. I really feel blessed to be able to help my savior in His work to bring our Father’s children back to him. So amazing.

This last week was so amazing! Loved it! The language is coming a lot better than before! It has increased so much! I was looking so hard for the big miracles of my language improving when i was looking past the small simple things my Father was blessing me with! Something Reese taught me before the mission that has helped me more than anything, “look for the small miracles every day, and you will see them compile into great miracles." It is so true! As I’ve looked for the small things day in and day out, I see the Lord’s hand more, and it is Always there!

Special experience yesterday during sacrament. I was thinking a lot about how blessed we are to have His sacrifice, and as i was picking up the bread to partake, i felt so strongly in my heart that i was literally being held by Him. His hand really is Always there, and the sacrament is the key for us to continually be worthy of His love, to receive answers to our prayers. I love this gospel, I know it’s true! I know it!

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/come-unto-christ-2014-theme-song?lang=eng
http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos?v=2859421267001

Love you all,

Gary

Jaine Baptism

Priscilla Baptism

Gary and Jordan Caplin (Gary's cousin's friend) in Indiana

It's...HOT! :)

This last week was great! The language is starting to come a lot more but it’s still hard. I am grateful for my struggles though because without them we wouldn't grow! I love teaching the plan of salvation and especially about how the fall was necessary for our happiness! We are all meant to have our own falls in this life so that we can partake of the true happiness of the gospel! I love this quote,

"Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in Good Things to Come." - Jeffery R. Holland 

So we had the craziest thing happen this last week! We were walking up this huge hill last week! (it’s like 3/4 mile long and steep) and this lady was stalled on the side of the road and was crying! She was about to get hit and she wasn't moving the car. We found out from her that her car was broken and the clutch wouldn't work. We looked in the back seat and saw that she had a little girl in the back. Elder Mendes and I looked at each other and knew we had to move the car! We had her get in the back and I with Elder Mendes drove her car down the hill so she wouldn't get hit. We then were praying and we asked that Heavenly Father would send someone to help, and that the clutch would be fixed enough for her to get home. Well as soon as we know it, bishop drove around the corner and he was able to get the clutch to work just for the moment! I’m so grateful for the power of prayer! It is so real and powerful! Our Father ALWAYS answers our prayers! 

So I haven’t said any more weird things this last week during appointments...I was trying to say a word and I messed it up and it sounded like a really offensive word! Good thing no one heard but my comps! Haha I’m so glad that I have opportunities to laugh at myself! 
Well love you all! Missing the snow right now!!!!!

 Renato (Mission Leader), Elder Loveless, Elder Mendes

 Elder Loveless and Elder Mendes

Muito Chuva!

This last week was great! We were able to pick up many new investigators, and 2 families! It is so amazing! We have the best Ward mission leader in the zone! We have a meeting with him, and each week when we are with him he calls up his friends, (oh his name is Renato) and tell them he is bringing the missionaries over to share a message about Jesus Christ! He is so amazing! So yesterday we went to a lesson with Renato, and it was so amazing. Renato told us how when he first joined in Recife, he would walk 16 miles to go to church, he is a saint.

So yesterday after that lesson with Renato and the Family we visited, we got dumped on! In a matter of minutes the streets had 6 inches of water! It was legit! I was soaked! We got a Picture, I will try and send it soon!

The language is starting to come a lot more than before. It’s hard still but I know I’m not alone. I’ve received a lot of comfort reading the Book of Mormon. I don’t understand it all in Portuguese, but I know what I feel. I know that it is said, "If we want to talk with God we pray, if we want him to talk with us, we read the scriptures." Sometimes I feel we need to read the scriptures not to learn more of what is taught, but to feel God’s love, and feel him telling us that all is right and he loves us. The Book of Mormon has so much power, I feel bad that I’ve not put more trust in it in the past!

Love you all so much! I can’t thank you for the prayers, and birthday wishes,

Gary

 Elder Loveless and Elder Eller with President Cleveland before leaving Indiana

Elder Loveless and Elder Eller with new mission president, President Perrotti