You will lift his body from the shore and bring him home

July 25, 2011

I think I might have already used that line as an email title. Oh well.

So, my mission is officially over. Pretty nuts, huh?

I figure that last week was really my big, final email, so I figured I'd just pop in and say hi to everyone.

I already had my last interview with President Prieto, so that was cool. Tonight all of us missionaries are going to have dinner with President and Sister Prieto and then sleep in a hotel. We have to wake up super early on Tuesday morning to go to the temple in Campinas, after which I will sit in the airport in São Paulo for a good six or seven hours (I'm planning on finishing the Book of Mormon again sometime between São Paulo and California). And then I'll sit on and switch between planes for the next twenty hours, and then (some of) you will see me: greasy, scruffy, and sleep-deprived. But it will be great!

My last week in the field actually ended in a miracle: we baptized! Yup, after not having a single baptism all transfer, everything somehow worked out, and we baptized a woman named Anésia after church! It was actually a crazy insane miracle, but I'll have to tell you all about it when I get home, because I have to go with the other elders so they can buy souvenirs!

I love all of you! See (some of) you in about 48 hours!!

luv

elder wiggins

California, California, here we come

July 18, 2011

So, this is it. Unless I get to send emails next Monday when I leave my area (and even if I can, I don't know if I will), this will be the last email I will send to you guys as a full-time missionary. I will see some of you and talk to the rest of you next week, when President Lindberg will take away my super powers and I'll turn into a normal person again.

Isn't that mind-blowing?

I figure I'll just give you guys a little update now.

I have my flight itinerary here with me this time, so I can tell you exactly how everything is going down: I leave São Paulo at 8:50 PM on Tuesday, July 26th and arrive in Atlanta at 5:55 AM on Wednesday, July 27th (10:05 flight duration). Then I take a plane at 8:15 AM from Atlanta to Salt Lake, where I will land at 10:22 AM (4:07 flight duration). Then I get a plane at 11:10 AM to Burbank, where I will land at 12:13 PM.

It's not included on the flight plan, but it's safe to assume that the next stop (somewhere around 12:18 PM) will be at In-N-Out, right?

So yeah, that's that.

This week was pretty good for us. We have been working with some good investigators and making things happen, but the baptisms just aren't happening. We haven't baptized at all this transfer, which is a real downer. A miracle could happen this week, though, so we'll see.

I had a really cool experience this week that I'd like to share with you. I was on a division in my area with an elder who is in his first transfer. We walked to a really distant part of town to go to an appointment that I had scheduled with a woman that we met on Sunday. We got to her house and she wasn't home. The next appointment that we had to attend to was in an equally distant neighborhood, but in the other direction. We didn't have to make that long walk for a little while, though.

So we decided to knock some doors. The other elder went on one side of the street and I stayed on the other. We tried a few houses with no success. It was hot and we were almost out of time, so I wondered if it was even worth continuing. But I wanted to teach someone, so we kept trying. I came to a house with a blue gate and knocked once. No one came. I waited a minute and knocked again. Nothing.

I bowed my head and offered a silent prayer, asking Heavenly Father to guide us to someone who was ready to receive us. I knocked a third time on the blue gate, waited, and nothing happened. A little disappointed, I moved on to the next house and rang the doorbell. After just a moment, though, someone came to the gate at the last house that I had knocked at. A guy in his twenties opened the gate, I called my comp over, and the guy invited us in before we could even really explain who we are. This guy's name is Marcos, and he has turned out to be a pretty amazing investigator. We taught him about the Restoration of the gospel, and he was really receptive. I went back there later with my normal companion, and we invited him to be baptized. He accepted. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and he received an answer! He even went to church yesterday!

It was a really cool experience for me. It's just a shame that he will be baptized after I leave. I don't even care if it was an answer to prayer or simply a coincidence, because Marcos is one of the most promising investigators we've taught for a while.

Anyway, that was this week. I want you guys to know how much I love you (it's a lot)! I'm excited to see all of you!

Now I'm going to bear my testimony. I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. I know that he is the Savior of the world, and that he atoned for our sins. I testify that God the Father and His Son appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and restored the Savior's Church. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only path that leads us to enduring happiness and eternal life. I love being a missionary. I love this work. I know that these things are true.

I LOVE YOU! See you all next week!! A missão e o melhor lugar no mundo!! Amo vocês!

luv

elder wiggins

Sometimes you can't go home; sometimes you're already there

July 11, 2011

Bom dia everyone, como vocês estão?

We had a zone leader council on Tuesday, where my mission president instituted a new standard of excellence (padrão de excelência) in our mission. We used to have to do 160 street contacts a week and get at least 40 addresses from those contacts. And then President made it more specific, where we had to do 160 contacts, with 50 of them being with men, and 60 of them being done knocking doors. And now the new pattern (that's what we call the standard of excellence) doesn't include contacts or addresses. I know this probably doesn't mean much to any of you, but it's actually a pretty huge change in the mission. Now the focus is on finding new families each week that have either accepted an invitation to be baptized or have gone to church; the mission doesn't really care how you find these people, just so long as you find them. I almost wish they had made this change sooner, because it seems pretty awesome.

At the council, I also received my carta trunky (trunky letter), which is what the mission gives you when you're in your last transfer. It has your flight itinerary (!), the schedule for your final interview with President (!), and some other papers about serving faithfully and stuff. Anyway, I forgot to bring my itinerary to the LAN house, so I don't have everything laid out in front of me, but I know that I'll be leaving from the international airport in São Paulo at 8:50 PM on Tuesday, July 26th. From there, I go to Atlanta, where I thiiiiink I should descend at about 6 AM. From there, I go to Salt Lake, and from there to Burbank. I know that I land in Burbank at either 12:13 or 12:31, so I'll get there just in time for us to get some In-N-Out for lunch! But yeah, I will land in Burbank a little after noon on Wednesday, July 27th. And that's that.

This week was pretty normal. We tried desperately to find some new investigators in between the interviews and divisions, but that didn't work out. We helped the stake president move, which was a fun time. There's a girl in the ward who had her mission farewell-but-don't-call-it-a-farewell yesterday, which was a cool reminder of what it was like to leave for the mission -- I feel like I was so naive about things back then. There's a guy from the ward who will be leaving for his mission next week, so we'll have another farewell-but-not-a-farewell, and then it will be my last Sunday here. SO. WEIRD. We're going to sing "Deus Vos Guarde" ("God Be With You Till We Meet Again") each time, I think.

The coolest thing this week was that an inactive older couple named Nelson and Sueli went to church yesterday! We have been visiting them for the past few weeks and trying to get them to come back, but it wasn't working out. They used to be really strong in the Church -- they were even sealed in the temple -- but then they fell away because of a few arguments and misunderstandings. They hadn't been to church for about two years; in fact, Sueli had actually started frequenting the Catholic church nearby, and didn't really want anything to do with the Church. But we kept going by there and really working with Nelson, whose heart was a little softer, and they ended up going to church yesterday! They even showed up early! It was so cool to see them there together after so much time away. I just hope they keep it up.

Anyway, things are going well. I am not trunky. I am just in denial. I am pretending that my mission isn't actually almost over so that the shock of it all will smash into me like a tidal wave on my last day in the field. Looking forward to it!

See you one more time next week! I love you! The Church is so true!

luv

elder wiggins

I think I'm cured; in fact, I'm sure of it

July 4, 2011

Feliz Dia da Independência, pessoal!

Do you guys have big plans for today? We do! It's a little overcast outside, so conditions aren't exactly ideal for a Fourth of July barbecue, but we're going to have one anyway! Another dupla in the zone is putting on a barbecue for everyone, so we're going to head over here later. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I think our barbecue this year will be a Brazilian one -- that means there won't be any hot dogs or hamburgers, just steak, sausage, and maybe some chicken. Vamos ver if it turns out well. I'm going to miss the fireworks this year, but I'll survive.

I had forgotten that today was Independence Day until this morning when my companion blasted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the national anthem. America! America! God shed His grace on thee! Woo! USA! USA! We're both wearing red and blue ties today to celebrate.

Anyway, this week was pretty normal. I'm convinced that this city is trying to kill me, though. I have never gotten sick so many times in a single place than here in Araraquara. This week I had a pretty serious head cold. I still do, actually. Sister Prieto told me to take Allegra-D, so I'm reminded of the Sheffields every time I take my medicine. I can't tell if it's making much of a difference, though, because I'm still horribly congested. And the foot doctor told me before that my toe isn't healing because of my cold (it seems like I've had a cold off and on for the past month or so). So there's that. Also, I think I have athlete's foot. Yeah.

But the work must go on! This week ended in disappointment because one of our most promising investigators, a thirty-ish year old woman named Simone, was interviewed, and even though she passed, she wants to wait some more time to be baptized. But then she doesn't want to schedule a baptismal date. So, yeah. And we've already taught her everything, so I don't really know what we're going to do with her now. I just hope things work out!

I went to my last fast and testimony meeting in Brasil yesterday. Weird. I bore my testimony.

Something cool is happening that I don't think I've told you guys about yet: a guy named Einstein has been investigating the Church for a few months now. I think I mentioned him before -- he was found as some of the old elders were knocking doors. He couldn't get baptized, though, because he isn't married. And as odd as it seems, his "wife" was the one who didn't want to go through the process of making their marriage legal. She's also not too interested in the Church, so that might have something to do with it. Anyway, for whatever reason, Einstein's wife came around, and they have already paid for and scheduled the wedding. The "wedding" is really just going to be the signing of the documents, but we're planning to have a lunch for them and then baptize Einstein (and hopefully his wife and son) later that day! The only bummer is that the earliest they could schedule the marriage process was on the 30th of July, which will be a mere three days after I leave Brasil. I really wish I could be here for the wedding and baptism, but I guess it's more important that it happens at all. Cool, though, huh?

Anyway, that's that. I hope you guys all have a great Fourth of July and a great week! I love you! The Church is true!

America,

Elder Wiggins

It's just your accidental death

June 27, 2011

Good morning, everyone!

This week was pretty normal. Luckily, we didn't have any sicknesses or other such things get in the way of our work (although I think I might have a foot fungus), so our week was pretty normal.

President Prieto called me on Tuesday morning when we were getting ready for district meeting and had a pretty serious talk with me. He was just encouraging me to give everything I have to the work and not worry about home or anything. He said I need to give my blood to the work, and that I should be dying from exhaustion on my last day in the mission. And then, he said, I can get on the airplane and rest. It was good to have a little wake-up call (no pun intended), because this phase of my mission has proven to be pretty crazy emotionally.

I'm trying to stay focused on the work, but it's hard sometimes, not so much because I want to go home or anything, but because it's already tough to work for the right reasons as a zone leader. I find it difficult, anyway. You have to be an example in everything, which means that key indicators that represent your work have to be pretty much perfect every week. It's hard, gente. But I'm doing my best to work as hard as I can and still maintain the right perspective. It's easy to fall into a routine and forget about the miracle that is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have been teaching a woman named Simone for the past few weeks. She's dating a less-active member who we're also helping to come back to church. Almost every lesson we've had there has been pretty powerful. I don't know why, but I feel like the Spirit was strong in each one. We taught the Law of Chastity and tithing last week and then watched The Restoration. During the movie and afterwards when we were bearing our testimonies, the Spirit was so strong. I have learned to cherish those moments, when I feel such a sense of peace and security that the gospel is true. On the mission, sometimes things just seem so clear. It's like, of course it's all true!

We're working a lot and all that. Things are going well, and I'm happy. I love you guys!

Um abraço!

luv

elder asas ("wings" in portuguese)

We just want to emote 'til we're dead

June 20, 2011

Good morning, everyone! Tá tudo bem aí?

This week was pretty quiet for me, because I have been kind of deaf the whole time (see attached photo). I was unable to hear anything out of my left ear when I woke up last Monday. We went to a little health clinic, and it turns out that both of my ears are pretty clogged up. So that's kind of nasty. Anyway, the doctor gave me some ear drops that I've been using, but they just make the ear wax softer so you can flush it out. And because we went to a little health clinic, there isn't really anything else we can do there. We managed to find an ear, nose, and throat doctor, and on Thursday we scheduled an appointment with him, but he unfortunately couldn't attend to me until today. So I'm going there today at 11:30 to hopefully get my ears unplugged. It's a good thing, too, because it felt like I had earplugs in all week. I can't tell when I'm muttering or yelling, so I probably freaked out a few investigators when I shouted out our whole lesson. Sorry!

Our week was pretty normal; we walked and worked and taught. It seems like we have had some kind of setback every week for the past month or so. One of us gets sick, or we lose a day of work because we have to go to a conference in Ribeirão, or something of that sort. This week was the ears thing. I'm hoping that this coming week will be free of annoying little hold ups.

The ward had a festa junina on Saturday night, which was pretty cool. It's a tradition in Brasil to have parties in the fall / winter part of the year where they basically celebrate being rednecks...? It's hard to explain, and it doesn't help that it's a completely bizarre idea. Basically, people dress up in flannel shirts and overalls and draw freckles and beards on their faces, and they leave really loud hick music playing in the background and serve all kinds of traditional Brasilian "caipira" (hillbilly) foods. Pretty much all the food has some kind of corn in it. They serve popcorn, a delicious sweet corn dessert called canjica, hot dogs, cake, caldo (it's basically split pea soup without the peas), and a hot drink that's kind of like Mom's Christmas punch, but without the orange and pineapple juice. The ward's party turned out really well. There were a ton of non-members there, and we had a little stand set up with pamphlets, pass along cards, and copies of the Book of Mormon to give out. And the ward had a trampoline and a big astro jump slide for the kids, and some little events to pass the time. They made the four elders that were there (including yours truly) participate in a potato sack race. I lost because my potato sack fell down. Bummer.

Anyway, that's pretty much it! Oh, I'm the ward pianist again. I guess all the people who they could count on before to play in sacrament meeting all have stake callings now. So now I get to play again! Woo!

But yeah, things are going well. I'm still in denial that this is my last transfer! I'm not getting trunky! Never! I love you guys!!

luv

elder wiggins

Dear shadow, alive and well

June 13, 2011

Hey família! How are all you guys doing?!

So, the big news from this week is that transfers were today. Elder Woolley and I both stayed here, so that's not too exciting. The only reason why this transfer is important is because it will be my last one! Yeah, I can't believe it, but my mission will be over in six weeks. How did that happen? Anyway, it was kind of a relief to find out about transfers because now I know where I'll be and who will be my comp when my mission ends. Elder Woolley is a great missionary and we get along well, so I'm excited. I have been doing well so far on not getting trunky, and I think I can keep it up. To be completely honest, the part of me that wants to go home is a lot smaller and a lot quieter than the part of me that wants to be a missionary. I love being a missionary! And the more I remember about what it means to be a normal person in the States, the less I want to go back. I love the protection and the Spirit that comes from being a missionary and keeping the mission rules. I am afraid of losing that support net after the mission.

Mas, em fim. I'm just trying not to think about the end too much. I still have six weeks, anyway! I think my comp and I are going to make a goal not to talk about home at all this transfer. And we were thinking about only speaking Portuguese to each other, but I don't know if that one will hold up. We'll see.

For my companion and me, this week was kind of a porcaria (that means it was bad). We just had a string of really lackluster days, so our week just kind of fell apart. The zone did well though, and part of the reason why we weren't able to work so much is because we had to do some baptismal interviews, so that wasn't exactly a bad thing.

The coolest thing ever happened this week, though. So. When I was in my last area, that one little city called Américo Brasiliense that's right next door to where I am now, we baptized that one couple who I talked about a lot, Fernando and Cristiane. There son, also named Fernando, was at the time studying and living in Utah. He was already a member of the Church. Anyway, we baptized the parents, but the thirteen-year-old daughter Natália, didn't want to be baptized. Well, I got transferred from there and two new missionaries started working in Américo. One of those elders is from São Paulo, and his name is Elder Alves. He spent his last transfer in Américo, and throughout all this time, it seemed like Natália wasn't ever going to progress. AND THEN, pretty much out of nowhere, she decided she wanted to be baptized! Honestly, I still don't know what changed, but as far as I'm concerned, it was a miracle. Elder Alves baptized Natália last night on his last day in the mission, and that family is now complete in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. I love them so much! I attached a photo of the family with me and Elder Nobre, who was my companion in Américo.

Anyway, that was easily the highlight of the week. As far as the rest of things for now, yes it is stressful to be a zone leader. We had a zone leader council this week with all the mission leadership, and it stressed me out pretty hard. It's like, the mission was already hard enough before I had to worry about training missionaries and solving their problems and getting perfect numbers every week and all that. But it's good. Learning, growth, discomfort. It's all part of it.

I am so excited to be able to work for six more weeks out here. The mission is paradise! It's so hard, but I love it! I know that the Church is true! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, and He loves me. His restored gospel is the only way to true, enduring happiness. What a blessing it is to be able to share it with others! I love you guys! Have a great week!

luv

elder wiggins

PS The other photo is of my zone. Just for fun.