Next Saturday, June 4, 2011, Elder Eyring will arrive home in Provo, Utah, USA. Signing off.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
104/000 110530 Homeward Bound
Next Saturday, June 4, 2011, Elder Eyring will arrive home in Provo, Utah, USA. Signing off.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
102/002 110516 Testimony
I wanted to write a little about how my testimony has grown on my mission. I have learned much about how God works with His children, and truly how loving He is.
There was one part of my mission where I was not baptizing. I passed weeks without a single baptism, and when you are part of a mission that baptizes weekly, it is really challenging to work your all without having results. I had recently been taken out as a zone leader and one of my companions that I was training decided to go home. Even through all of this I was still working as hard as I could, but without having results. Everyone around me looked at me and treated me as if I was one of the dead elders in the mission. Eventually my back started giving out and I passed through much physical pain as well, all the while hearing and seeing many others think the worse of me. There were many who were close friends before in the mission that thought that I was just faking the pain I was feeling and that it was only in my head, that I was just finding excuses to not work. There were weeks where I had firmed more than 4 baptisms and they all fell through, one by one, throughout the day Sunday.
Needless to say, it was a difficult part of my mission. But this part of the mission is the part of my mission that I am most thankful for.
During this time God helped me understand a certain story in the Book of Mormon much better. In the Book of Mosiah it talks about the people that Alma the Elder leaded. He baptized them in the Waters of Mormon, led them away from the wicked king Noah, and started a prosperous people. They were a very righteous people, all of them recently baptized and with much desire to serve God. Yet, even with their righteousness, the trials came. The Lamanites came, found them, and promised their freedom if Alma´s people helped. This they did, but the Lamanites did not keep their promise. They put them in bondage, and put over them as leaders the wicked priests of Noah who before only caused problems to the Lamanites and had stolen their daughters. They suffered much. Alma was also recognized by the wicked priests as the one who had run away, and punished him more. With time though, God freed them because of their faith.
During this process there is one scripture, Mosiah 23:21-22 that God finds it convenient to test our faith and our patience. But, if we trust in Him we will be lifted up in the last day. And this is what happened with this people, and what happened with me.
I eventually left this time of difficulties. Since I have I left that situation I have had 18 weeks, and I have baptized 12 of these weeks. Since then I have baptized 32 people and 21 in this last transfer. I am now respected in the whole mission as a great baptizer, a great missionary. I am finishing happily as a district leader, but my district is baptizing more than a zone and in this transfer has baptized 31 people, a large part being men and families. Miracles have been happening.
I know that all these blessings came from my time of trying. I learned so much in that time. I am so much stronger as a person, so much firmer in my desire to follow God. That time of trials determined what kind of missionary I truly was. Now I can truly say I know that I am faithful to my God, that I will follow Him. I have learned that God's greatest acts of love are letting us pass through our pains, sorrows and trials. His greatest acts of love is that even though He hurts even more then us when we suffer (imagine the price our Savior payed for our sins in Gethsemane, God suffers our pains more than we do), He lets the pain happens so we can learn. He lets us grow, He lets us choose. He truly is a loving Father.
I am very grateful for what I have learned in my mission.
I know these things and give my testimony now at the end of my mission in the name of him whom I tried to represent, Jesus Christ, amen.
101/003 110509 Mother's Day Phone Call
Yesterday was Mother's Day. It was wonderful to speak to Elder Eyring via Skype and telephone.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
092/012 110307 Carnival in Rio
Picture: Carnival in RioMar 4 (mid-week)
So, this week here in Brazil is the ever famous carnival. So, this week I will not be going to internet until Wednesday (Mar 9), and I'm emailing to tell y'all. I hope there isn't any problem.
I hope all is well.
So you know, my new companion's name is Elder Teixeira. He is from Espirito Santo, but lived in Fortaleza, Ceará for a year and a half.
Monday, February 14, 2011
091/013 110228 Happy Birthday
Picture: Happy Birthday ElderI had a good birthday. Barbecues, cake, lots of stuff. It was really nice.
Oh man, snow. I miss snow a lot.
090/014 110221 Horsing Around
Picture: Hannah
Picture: GavinWe found Nathan's rocking horse in the basement. Now the next generation in habing fun.
089/015 110214 Happy Valentine Day
Picture: TreinomentoWhat a week!
And a cool quote . . ..
Elder Scott disse: em Outubro de 2008 ao visitar nossa missão.
“Satanás investe muito no Rio de Janeiro porque sabe o quanto o Rio de Janeiro é importante para a Igreja. Se mudarmos essa situação aqui, o Rio de Janeiro será o centro de treinamento para líderes do Brasil e se tornará o centro de força da Igreja no Brasil”. (Outubro de 2008 reunião com os presidentes de estaca e missão do Rio de Janeiro.)
Elder Scott said, in October 2008 when visiting our mission.
"Satan invests a lot in Rio de Janeiro because he knows how to Rio de Janeiro is important for the Church. If we change this situation here, the Rio de Janeiro will be the training center for leaders of Brazil and become the center of power of the Church in Brazil. "(October 2008 meeting with stake presidents and mission of Rio de Janeiro.
088/016 110207 My Mission is the Best
Picture: Have you been Jimmered?I sometimes think about how one day of course I'll be talking about my mission with other people. I also have the chance to talk to some missionaries in this mission that had to serve stateside for a while because of visa problems and having to wait for it all to go through. I then start realizing how blessed I am to come to this mission.
One, I really can talk about those physical sacrificing things. The hot sun, the crazy rain, shortly followed by the hot sun, the miles and miles of walking. Etc. etc. That just makes a mission sound cooler and more of a sacrifice to God (at least in my opinion).
Then I can talk about the natural disasters (mostly huge rain storms) that have happened in my mission while I've been here. I mourn for those that have suffered and those that are, but that is a point of my mission that does make it kinda point out a bit.
Then there are the favellas. I have seen things I never have thought I would see in my life, its great. During my mission there was war inside of my mission. And I want to say war. One of the favelas, Morro do Alemão, started burning buses and cars and motorbikes in Rio (others did too, but this was the principal) and so the police started fighting back. The fight got bigger. So there came in the Rio police, Federal Police, BOPE (an elite police group of Rio that is like the marines), and the military. Brasil sent more then 8,000 men for the fight. The drug traffickers had a bunch as well. There were holicopters shot out of the sky and all of that.
Quick note, I was never in that area and even the missionaries that were there were taken out and not a single missionary in this mission has died. We are very protected. Even missionaries that break rules and are idiots don't die. God has his hand over this mission.
My mission is also awesome because of things that have happened while I got here. When my mission president first got to the mission (one year before me) this mission was something like the 26th lowest baptizing mission of Brasil out of 28 missions. Last year in total we were 2nd and we have months were we baptize the most. I have seen the formation of new stakes. The mission baptized 40 in a month, now we have had a week we baptized 100 and months this last month there were 328 baptisms. While I was in a Mission District I saw more than 25 men be ordained to the Melkezedik preisthood in 3 to 4 months. And many many more things. I have seen miracles, and participated in them.
I also am in a city that is shortly to be in world view constantly more. The world cup comes here 2014 and the olympics either 2016 or 2018.
I love my mission!
I just wanted to brag a bit . . . hehe, I'm kinda prideful I think its ok overall though
Have a good week everyone!
- Elder Eyring
Saturday, January 29, 2011
087/017 110131 Rio is wonderful!
Picture: Rio CountryI love being in Rio! I love this city! I love my new area! I'm in Curicica in Rio.
My new companion is Elder Walker. We actually were in BYU marching band at the same time. He kind of remembered me, and I kind of remembered him. Probably more him to me though because, well, drumline gets more attention then any other area in marching band. The violence is much better, and my area wasn't having the problems. It was over in Morro de Alemão (German hill), Bom Sucesso (Good Success), e Ramos (Branches) that were having problems.
085/019 110117 A little water logged
Picture: Marcio & CompanionJan 12
At the request of President Bezerra:
Please be advised that all of the missionaries in our mission are safe.
The accidents and tragedies that happened in Teresópolis did not affect any missionary residence.
Thank you.
-Elder Evans
Executive Secretary
Brasil Rio de Janeiro Mission
Jan 17
I'm in a safer area for the rain, so all is well. I heard about Australia as well, the news here is saying (supposedly from what people told me ;p) that they had much better emergency programs set up there, so even though the rain is even worse then here, there are much fewer deaths. But yeah, for me, I'm not really in the mountains. There are mountains close by here, but we aren't going to go there. And I'm getting transfered in a week.
084/020 110110 Bus Ride
Picture: Corney Ice CreamA funny thing happened this week that shows perfectly how my area is (small and rural):
We were taking a bus back to the area from the local city (about the size of Orem/Provo) which takes about a hour. On the way back there was a loud noise and people started half screeming. The back tire broke and we had to stop and pull over. When we were out I decided to take a picture of the tire because I was having many difficulties this week of actually being in my area and this was a perfect example. When I took the picture everyone got interested and someone said how I was going to put it into the newspaper. I laughed my head off. I said I just liked pictures, and everyone got dissapointed.
Sadly, the most interesting thing that happened that day in Macabu was the fact that the tire erruptured and we were stuck on the side of the road. Only here would people think that so interesting that it would be in the paper. I should have sent in the picture, maybe it would have been!
Oh, and that reminds me of one excuse I had to not go to church. The person talked about having to milk the cows. I was far away from my full out area, so I just laughed and accepted and went on my way.
Have a good week all!
Elder Eyring
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