Christmas and Time!

I loved being able to talk with you guys, too! I really didn´t have much else to say, but I didn´t want to get off haha! I miss just sitting with the family talking to everyone.  It was really cool because the family whose house we were using was playing monopoly! I was like "ha yaaa great memories!" They actually stopped in the middle of it because it was takin' so long! haha I was like "What!? How can you do that?!" You guys had grilled cheese sandwiches on Christmas?  Man, I miss those!!  :)

But ya, this week was really not that great as far as our work goes..... I´ll admit I´m glad that Christmas has ended. It's great every other time of my life, but for a missionary it seems like the month is filled with meetings and trainings and parties that it makes hard to focus, but it's also real fun... just not when you see the numbers for the week! Haha.

Something really awesome finally happened! I finally got to baptize!!! Man did I miss that joy I felt yesterday, and now that I´ve figured out what I need to do, I´ve got 9 months to make up the the lost 7 I had this last year!

Man I can´t believe how fast time is goin' now! Transfers are already here again next week! And also this week will mark a year in Brazil!? What the!? haha it's went by waaay too fast! But it's good I´m seeing it because now I know how precious time is and I just got to get my head down and work like crazy for this last bit!!

I love y'all!!!
Elder Sharp

Semana Antes de Natal (Week before Christmas)

This week was great! I loved it so much!  We had worked real hard this week for our investigators! We also had a Christmas "get together," and it was great!  I was part of the program, too! I sang in a group that my zone made and also the Mission Choir! Man, I didn´t realize how much I missed singing with people that can actually sing! We sang "A Tiny Child Will Come" and "Joy to the World" (em português)  We also had brownies for dessert! (That´s a rarity in Brazil! They usually just make chocolate cake and call it brownie) It was great to see a lot of old friends, and sadly it was the last time I´ll get to see a few other friends - one that had really changed my mission, Elder Alonzo, and also another that is actually waiting to serve in Mesa, Arizona Elder Parrella. It was also weird because they did the last testimony of a lot of real good friends of mine! Man, I feel so old on the mission... all my friends are going home! haha 

But this week I had a really cool experience! I went on splits with the other elders in my district and served with Elder Jesus again (from Embu!).  It was really cool to see how much I've learned since serving with him! Usually he was the one always leading the conversations and  the lesson, but this time it was more even - if anything I was leading more and also saw that there were things that he had also gotten better at.  I pointed them out to him and he didn´t seem to have noticed that he had changed.  It made me realize that we are really changing more then we think we are! And that thanks to This Gift that God has given us, His Son, We´re able to change this way with the new year coming up.  I've been thinking of a few Goals I want to make with God for Him to help help His children! Man, I´m really excited for 2015 - It's gonna be great! 

I love Y'all!

Elder Sharp

P.s. I´ll be calling on the 24 with all the details of what's going to happen on Christmas!

Recent family who was baptized

14 Months!

Beautiful Sunrise over Autodromo

Elder Parrella

Elder Alonzo

A law in Brazil:

"Before you get on the elevator, make sure it's on the correct floor" 

haha

Awesome Conference!!!

 Man, Kody is really starting to look more confident and like an athlete - it's really cool to see! Glad to here all is well! Speaking of Christmas, I have no idea when I´ll call you, but I´ll get to call on Christmas Eve with more details...

This week was pretty great! We got to have a conference with Pres. Costa! Man was it cool!!  He said that when General Authorities shake hands, they are having a mini-interview with us! I was like what!? He said that he didn't have a talk written or a training planned- that he would go off the Spirit and what he studied with a questionnaire that we did about our work.  He actually, while teaching us, answered all of our questions! Without asking! He also told Presidente Dalton that our mission was so spiritual, that he felt that he should tell us things he wouldn´t have told other missions! (He goes to missions and talks to them once a week!) It was a conference really inspiring for my life and mission! The part that was really important was when he said he KNOWS that Joseph Smith saw a pilçar of light and that he KNOWS that light.  The power of his testimony was so strong! I loved it! 

Also, this week we taught a lady that's been learning about the church for I think 4 or 5 months..... And she's now going to be baptized on the 27th of Dec.! She´s just gotta stop smoking, and we´re gonna teach her about temples and the work that goes on there (she´s lost her mom and her daughter) When we taught her about the plan of Happiness, she lit up -- it was so cool! She wants to be with her mom and sister forever, and now she knows that there's a way to get there!!

I love being a missionary!

And I love y'all!

Elder Sharp

Interlagos!

I´ve moved 3 time this year (which for a missionary is very little hehehe I love it!) So ya I´m loving it here in Interlagos! This place is really awesome!  We´re teaching a lot here and findin a lot of people to teach.  Sadly this week we had no one in church agh! It's really annoying because we fought hard for them this week! ...and still the enemy one....just for this week! For sure we´re gonna fight real hard for the one that we´re already teaching and really teach them about opposition (a new lesson that Pres. Dalton made) and we´ll be able to have baptisms for sure in these coming weeks!

Recently I´ve been learning a lot about faith and I´ve changed the way I invite people. I´ve learned that faith literally is an action.  I`m literally acting as if the people I already talk to already said yes, and it changes the way they react.  They almost can´t say no!  I´ve learned about applying things that I´ve learned, too.  Me and elder decided we´re going to apply everything new that president taught us and miracles are happening!  We had a lady that's been in investigating the church for almost a year and she told she want to be baptized.  She´s been trying to stop smoking for awhile alone and almost did it, but now with us there she´ll be stopping soon and already be baptized! It looks it's gonna be a white Christmas for us!

I love you all! thanks for your support!

Elder Sharp

Thanksgiving Lunch

Autódromo!

 

Sunrise!

My name!

Really old style of pia batismal! 

Someone broke into the church!

Elder Richins and I 

 Ya missions destroy insole but the shoes will be good for another 4 months! 

Then I´ll have my other pair to finish the mission!

Quick Hello

Hey mom sorry today is going to be a little short, but I want you to know I love my new area! I´m with Elder Richins! I was his district leader in the MTC and now we´re together in a great place called Interlagos.  Have dad look up Autodromo de São Paulo and you´ll see my apt from there! 

If I have time after I´ll write more.  

I love you!
Elder Sharp

Being Transferred

Man, Guilherme!!   This kid will be a friend after my mission for sure! I´ll miss him a lot for sure! These 4 and a half months here have been great!! All the youth here have been a huge blessing! I`m really grateful for every thing I´ve learned, but we are to meet the people God has prepared for us! And I guess I´ve already helped the ones I need to here. I have met a lot of less active members here, and on Sunday we had almost all of them at church! I couldn´t stop smiling with the joy to see God´s children back into the fold. I wanted to take pictures but I didn´t have my camera.   Tonight we have a Family home evening with everyone so I´ll take pics and videos there! haha It was really funny this week because you had asked for pics of me from the members here, and like 10 people came to me ask for photos! Thanks for talking to these people, it means a lot that I`ll be able to come home and stay in contact with them! 

This week was also really great because we finally have a group of people to teach! (yes again the area has baptisms ready and I´ll be somewhere else.) I´ve learned a few techniques I'm trying that are working out great! Something I´ve learned a lot about this week is applying the things I learn in trainings, study, or splits with other missionaries. Once I started doing that, I felt different about the work.  I finally felt like I´m starting to be a good missionary! Something else I re-learned is that God will help/bless you after you start trying to help your self. Man did I see that this week!  It looks like our area exploded with Part-member families, new investigators, and lots of other successes!

 

I love y'all!

Elder Sharp

Pictures sent to me this week from members of the ward:

Elder Sharp and Claudia with her son

Elder Sharp and Guilherme

Guilherme sent me this picture of Elder Sharp at the last Family Home Evening with this family before transfers. 

UPDATE:

Guilherme went with Elder Sharp to transfers Tuesday.  I received this message from him:

Hey Jen. Elder Sharp was transferred to my area in the mini mission. He is in Interlagos ward, in Interlagos Zone. His new companion is Elder Richins. They were in the MTC together and now, are companions!!

Promises, Miracles, and a New Focus

Mom, your email really helped me a lot.  (note: this past week 3 different young men and a young mom in Brazil sent me the sweetest messages about how much Elder Sharp has helped them and how much they appreciate him being there... I forwarded those to him so he could see what a positive impact he was having there in that ward.)  Something  I´ve discovered this week is that I´m really hard on myself.  I literally don't think I´m that great, but  I´m having to start looking at myself through other's eyes because mine aren't seeing that clearly.  So thank you very much for sending me that. I´ve been really stressed out this week about not baptizing. I think that's why I´m not seeing what I´m capable of because there's that voice in my head saying "You can't actually do this.  You aren't doing good.  You haven't even helped anyone.  You're not having any success." 

So this week I've been trying figure out what Heavenly Father wants me to do because I´ve been promised a few things.  I wasn't seeing God's side of the promise being done, so I was looking for what I needed to do for my part to be complete.  I realized the joy I feel when I help less-active members come back to church and realized that this is a success for a missionary, too.  Then we had a meeting with President Dalton, and he said a promise that really helped come to the conclusion that I need to work with the members more. (active and less-active)  He said "I promise you that if you reactivate a less-active member, you will baptize, too!  If you don't have anyone to teach, go to a less-active member's house and rescue them!" I was like alrighty then that's what we´ll do!   Elder Aguilar and I talked, and we both made a plan to work with only less actives and active members this week! I can´t wait to see the miracles and people coming to church again.  It´s gonna be great!

This week we did something called a blitz where we go to different missionaries' areas and just work - talking to everyone on the road, getting referrals, and then all the numbers and the results (numbers, new investigators, etc.) go to that companionship! It's really fun to do - like opening a new area! Well, we started to do that but it started to rain at 3:00 and we planned until 5:00, and with rain the blitz wouldn't have been as great.  So I thought to pray for it to stop, but I thought that'd be really ungrateful.  We've been praying for rain here... (we´re having a shortage of water here because of the heat and lack of rain) and now it had come and I´d ask it to stop... So I decided I´d ask for a pause till 5:00. Well, it stopped! And we had great blitz!!  Then at 5:00 on the dot BAM! the bottom dropped out!!  Haha it was a huge rain storm!!  It was really cool!!  I loved it!!  It really shows that God really does answer prayers. He´s our loving Heavenly Father... Why wouldn't He answer?!

I love y'all!

Elder Sharp

Craziness

I can´t believe how old everyone is getting! It's so weird! hahaha its so strange! Ya I love the people here!  They have the strongest testimony - it's so great to be here with them! 

This week was really interesting - you remember Milena? Well we passed by there again and couldn´t talk to her (her family doesn't like us).  So one day we were walking and saw her on the road coming home from school and she explained that that Sunday her brother (who´s the adult responsible for her legally) was really mad because when he got there she wasn´t there and was at church.  So we had all that drama... then we went and tried to talk to the family there to see if we could help them understand - but Milena's ex-sister-in-law started to get mad at us and started saying stuff like "If you talk to Milena again, I'll have to call the cops for pedophilism." That made me mad but we knew we couldn't do anything so we stayed calm and I explained our purpose why we´re teaching her and she got calm and I was like "YES!  She´s calming down maybe we'll be able to help her out too."  Then she started saying that Milena only went to church because we sent a young man to be her boy friend.....I had to believe a bit when she said that because I knew that she knows that it isn't like that, and she knew I didn´t believe it. So she went to go get Milena and at the gate the young man that was with us said he say her say ex-sister-in-law say "You say anything and you'll see what'll happen" and so Milena said it too and we saw her expression and she didn´t want to say a lie but she had too because of her ex-sister-in-law.... so ya we had that this week it was really frustrating.  Elder Aguilar and I  talked a bit and we felt that for sure that she will one day she will be baptized! We planted a seed in good ground - it´ll just have a lot of trials to grow through! 

I'm excited for this week though because we´re praying for a miracle this transfer that we can have a baptism before the end of the transfer (in 2 weeks) and it´s gotta happen through a miracle too! 

I love you guys so much cant wait to see you in Natal!

Elder Sharp

Weekend of Loucura!

.....Kody cant be 12! That's not allowed! haha Wow time is flying by so fast! 

Anyway this weekend was crazy awesome!  First, we had a Testimony meeting really powerful on Sunday where we had an investigator that visited for the first time....and she BORE HER TESTIMONY!  She said that she could feel the Lord's presence in the meeting and that she know that this church is true! I couldn´t stop smiling!  After that, it was such a huge testimony builder about testimony meetings! Her name is Milena, and she´s had so much adversity with church in general and her family! But she´s a fighter and we´re gonna be able to help her a lot too!

We also went to another investigator's house and she sadly couldn´t go to church because she had her tonsils taken out. But we taught her and she´s really interested!  She asked if we could come back and teach more but when she can talk so that she can ask us questions! 

Because of these experiences, I know that God answers our prayers.  That we just have to ask for the blessings we need and explain why we need them, and He´ll respond!  Something I´ve learned is that He will respond as fast as we are prepared to receive the answer.  Sometimes He´s gotta teach few other things to get to the point where we can understand the response to our original question.  In other words, He´ll give us milk until we´re ready for the meat! 

I love y'all! And I love this gospel!

Elder Sharp 

Another Week

 Something I´m learning a lot here is that we should start making decisions with a goal in mind so for us to decide he should think about who he wants to be be or where he wants to be be at the end and which decision will help....basically like Elder Godoy said i cant wait for the Nov Liahona to come! 

Presidente Dalton got permission to print a book called "Evocando os Poderes do Ceu" or "Evoking the Powers of Heaven." I haven´t read a lot but WOW it's a really great one.  I highly recommend you guys reading it (mainly you and dad) Because it just opens your mind! I'm really starting to learn a lot about making goals and plans for those goals! President Dalton taught us he had six rules for goals that helped him get the success he needed. 

They are:

D = Deadline

R = Realistic
E = Etched in Stone (written down)
A = Always Reviewing (review daily)
M = Measurable
S = Supreme Being (God should always be the first priority)
These the 6 rules to attain our dreams!

Once I started to do this along with the things I´m learning from that other book, I´m starting to reach my goals. I´m realizing now how much I missed out on because I didn't really make goals very well. But now God is helping me alot! I´m so grateful for Him and His love! 

This week we had a baptism but sadly we can't count as ours because she doesn´t live in our mission. So I don't know if you remember about when Elder Aguilar had to recover more from his surgery and he would stay home with a member and I would leave with Guilherme and work in our area, but ya during that time He was at the member's house (Mateus's) he and Elder would teach a girl through Skype! And well there was a lot of adversity in this baptism.  Satan fought until the last minute too! I don't have time to explain it all, but she (Ana) is going to be a strong member in the church.  We had to Fast 3 times for this baptism to happen! And the elders from her area weren't doing anything so me and Elder Aguilar did basically everything through Mateus and calling haha.  Also, her Adoptive Dad isn't even talking to her since she started going to church (Both her parents are dead, we believe that they helped and are helping her a lot through the veil) But ya that's not the coolest part she actually heard about the church when she was 15 and her parents didn't let her go but she really liked it, so she said a prayer with her member friend and asked Heavenly Father that when she´s 17 she would meet a young man that would bring her to Church.....she met Mateus at her 17th birthday party! This was such a strong experience for me! I know that God hears our prayers and that He will respond, it´ll in His time, but He will respond! 

I´m so glad I came on my mission and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! Things I´m learning here will stay forever with me!
I love y'all! 
Elder Sharp

This is us with a storm coming in behind us

Elder Assunção and I right before he left on his mini-mission

Little Moments

I know I can't listen to this song, but it's what comes in mind. This week, nothing really big happened, but a lot of little things made this week a great one. The first thing that happened is my companion and I are starting to work better together and now we´re teaching people more! I have realized how great it is to teach people!  We´ve found a lot of people who´re needing to get married, too, and I´m getting to see how the gospel saves relationships.  I´m seeing families become more united!  People are also starting actually understand me better again.  For the past 2 transfers people haven´t been really understanding me and it was getting really frustrating. Then I started to study Portuguese, and I´m starting to speak better grammar now! (go figure huh?!)

We have a lady that she actually asked me about how I got a response to my prayers about the church, and for the first time in a long time I got to bare my testimony about my conversion story.  She´s now REALLY wanting a response to know if all this is true!  She was almost baptized, but couldn't because she wasn´t married... but now they're separated!  She was baptized in a different church, but we´ll help her understand and she´ll be baptized!  Man I miss the feeling of baptizing someone I actually taught! But they're coming in a few weeks! 

The only sad thing that happened to me is that I´m seeing that my mission is going a lot faster now that I've been out for a year.  I´m like "NOOOO!!!"  It's so crazy how much faster it is now!

But ya that's all I can remember to write!  Elder Assunção will go on a mission, too! I´m really excited for him!

Love Ya´ll,

Elder Sharp 

PS I´ll get to stay here one more Transfer!!!

Conference and a Stolen Moto

Man this conference was WAY too fast! I couldnt beleive it! I can´t wait till it comes in the Liahona next month! It was so good this year! I loved how a lot of the speakers were really direct, especially Jörg Klebingat -- I loved his talk a lot, and also from Elder Bednar that explains Why we as member we always want to share the gospel (or why we should share it haha).  I loved a lot from the conference.  There were so many things - I cant even think about what to write specifically! 

This week was great, too!  We are teaching a lady that is progressing great! She sadly had her Moped stolen so she couldn´t go to conference, because of all the things she had to do to get it reported as stolen (rrgg satan!) But she's great! It's really cool that we found her teaching another family, and she was there, so we decided to talk to her haha!  She is just really addicted to Coffee, but we used our time between the Sessions to practice for her, and we´ve gotten a few ideas to help her out! 

We are also teaching a family haha - the dad is awesome! He really wants to be baptized, but sadly isn´t married yet, and his wife isn't really wanting to marry right now.....but it's all good because we´ll just need to teach her and help her see how the gospel really can help her family get better! It was really cool... this week we Fasted for their nephew (one kidney failed and the other is failing AND he got some bacteria, too) and he´s getting better now! It was really awesome!  I´m really loving this family a lot.  I really hope they can get baptized.  They REALLY need the gospel in their home!

I love you guys! Thanks for the support and letters!

Elder Sharp

There are two young men in the ward who have been going on splits regularly with Elder Sharp.  For his one-year date, they invited him over and had made pizza for him.  They also gave him a gift that they had talked to me about.  Guilherme had Elder Sharp make a list of things he missed, then gave that list to me.  We were able to make a package for him based on that... but one of the things he mentioned missing was his motorcycle.  So with my help, Guilherme picked out one that looked like Elder Sharp's bike.  I thought that was so very thoughtful and really appreciated them making his day special.  

Ahhhh!  ONE ANI!!! (year)

Guilherme and Me

Matheus and Me

Another pie we made with Guilherme and Matheus

A view of my area

One Year!!

I love that the whole family likes to sing!! It's gonna be so cool when I get back!  Yea, I know, right?!  I can't believe a year has passed, either!  I'm realizing that this thing will end way sooner than I want! I´d love to write a lot, but this computer is going really slow.  I´ve been waiting 30 min for it to work. grr. But I´m doing great!  I had planned to write a big letter, but looks it won't work out too well because I still need to write my president. I´ll talk about this week and maybe write about the year on paper. 

But então [then] this week I´ve learned a lot about recognizing the spirit and how powerful fasting is.  We (the missionaries, the ward missionaries and the ward mission leader) fasted that we could teach people and find people to teach and in fim [end] baptisms!!  Now that me and elder are able to work, we are finding people to teach.  We have a family that went to church on Sunday and then 2 other investigators that we didn't even think would come! We also found a few others that couldn't come this week but next week will! So there really is a power in Fasting! 

I´ve been studying a lot in chapt. 4 in Preach My Gospel (Recognizing the Spirit) and... WOW!  I have been having so many moments where I knew that God´s hand was in it! I´ve also realized that my prayers are changing and becoming way more meaningful! I love the relationship I'm developing with My Heavenly Father and as I have been doing this, He's been answering my prayers!... or I`ve just been able to recognize Him. He is definitely making me a Instrument sharper in His hands! 

Now we´ll have a huge opportunity to hear from our Prophet! I´m super excited for this!!  I´ve been reading the Liahona from Conference of November 2012 this month... And man it's getting me super pumped for this weekend! 

Well, that's about all the exciting news from this week, but I´ll send pics too haha.  We cooked this week!  I also got a present from Guilherme, but I´m wasn't able to take a picture with him, and so that will come next week!

I love y'all!

Elder Sharp

 We made Pie!!

  And Chicken stroganoff 

My pants split at a multi-zone conference!!!

 ...But Sister Dalton helped me out!!

WORK

This week I learned a lot about how your desires are more important that any number. This week Elder Aguilar and I got to start working! Gosh it never felt so good to leave the house to work, and we just went crazy! It was so nice to just work I realize that before this period of a broken companion, I was starting to be more worried about what others saw in my numbers and not what the Lord saw in my work... so God made sure I couldn't work for a few weeks and let me go crazy.  Then taught me about having confidence in Him. Now we´re just wanting to work! I love it -- it's so much easier to work this way without comparing myself to others and just working because of my love of the Lord and this gospel! This week is gonna be great!

Another thing I got to do is study a talk given to a mission by some mission president somewhere in the world called the fourth missionary. It's really good!  It talked a lot about how the 4th missionary is the missionary that is obedient and does his work for his love of the work and puts his heart AND mind on the work! And that's something I´ve realized I gotta do better. And I think I'm starting to do that and I´m way happier workin' now! I think that the goal of Satan is for us to forget the "Why"  that we decide to go on a mission or any other thing we do.  As we read the scriptures and go to church, we learn or relearn that "Why." 

I love this gospel!  I came here because of the change it did in my life and the change I know it can put on families. I've seen this message save families and marriages!

Eu Amo Vocês!
Elder Sharp

Learning Lessons

So  I am learning to be more specific in my prayers haha!  One time we were praying to find more new investigators and we found them, but they were all for the other area (this was my last area).  My Companion and I were like,  "Oh OK, Heavenly Father, we get it... be more specific." He certainly has a sense of humor haha!  After we prayed more specifically we actually started to find more! It's really cool when you think you learn something and you try it, and It actually all works out!

This week was a little stressful. My companion is still recuperating.  We tried to set up with the members for me do some work, but it didn't work out as great this week like last week, so I wound up staying home for 4 of the 7 days and went a little crazy. (I´ve learned don't like to be stuck at home! haha) But I asked for a blessing from my companion. and I realized how much I was mistrusting in God. I was like,  "Wow!  I´ve had so much trust in Him and when things start to look off, I stop."  That's not right, but that the great thing about missions - you go through a lot of tests to see where your weaknesses are and then you WORK on your weaknesses!  After that blessing, I got much better, and I know that everything is going to be all right the end! 

Sadly we'll have to drop Cida and Jenny (the deaf girl).  They aren't progressing so we'll have to let them go and let Heavenly Father prepare them a little longer.

I love the Gospel Principles class, too! In Brazil it sometimes get funny because here almost all of the other churches have a lot yelling and so sometimes they start to yell or they believe in some of the craziest things, but I´ve heard that there was a prophet that said that he learns more from that class then any other class that he went to. It makes sense, because they're not always the same primary answers you know? 

It's really interesting being a District Leader.  I have to plan trainings for my District based on what I see needs to be better and revelation, and I realizing that I´m learning how to give talks or how to do the things that I´ve always been scared of doing! It's so cool to see things I couldn't do before and now I´m doing it every day or week! 

Thanks for the support and the email! I love the counsel, Dad, and I´ve been learning that a lot... the greater the sacrifice, the greater the growth.  It's a little annoying to not have baptisms, but I know that God is preparing something BIG for me - and I cant wait!

But ya It's great! Elder Aguilar should be good on Thursday!

I love y'all,

Elder Sharp

Great Week!!

Mom, I loved you said about the people wanting to go to the temple. The General Presidency sent out new instructions for us to teach all 5 lessons. So we teach baptisms for the dead before baptisms, but it's really cool because we have them imagine a loved one that they lost and teach them that this loved one has already learned about the gospel and wants to be baptized, but she can't because she's a spirit. Now the person is waiting and watching anxiously to see what decision the investigator will make! It's one of the most powerful things I´ve ever taught here! And it works! Sometimes they´ll have doubts about baptisms for the dead, but there's proof in 1 Peter 3:18-20 or 4:6 also in 1 Corinthians 15:29.

 But ya this week was cool! We did a lot of splits with the young men (mostly Guilherme and Mateus). We tried our best to find more people to teach. We found a few, but not really firm yet... but It was really great going with the youth because I got to see how much I´ve changed and improved! I realized that habits I'd had disappeared. It was a really great experience! I´m also learning a lot about things I need to teach better and stuff like that too! It's crazy, but being District leader my mind has opened up and I´ve been improving in a lot of weaknesses. Like having the courage to correct someone disobedient and correct in a way that they know I´m not trying to have authority over them. Heavenly Father has been helping a lot with that part haha!

 I´m loving it here! We´ve been finding people to teach... and even greater I`m getting to find families! We´ve found 3 families in the past 2 weeks and in the month 5!  Our focus has changed from Baptism to Temple! And thanks to this, we are being blessed with FAMILIES!!

 Man, haha, this church is so true and so great! I love this Gospel and my Savior!

 I LOVE Y'ALL!
Elder Sharp

Another Week

That's awesome that y'all got that break!  It's crazy to think that Dustin will already be 16! 

This transfer I'll be on the mission for 1 year! It's crazy how fast it's gone by! But in such a short time, a lot of growing and changing has happened! I definitely am a different person- haha and it is definitely a good difference!

Sadly this week I don't have much to write.  I had to stay at home (again) for basically the whole week because my companion is still recovering from a surgery.  It started hurting and getting swollen, so I had to stay home. I've noticed that I´ve had do this every transfer here in Brazil haha, and it's never because I got sick haha. 

At the end of the week, we got to do a big family night at the church, and at the end we had a game called "torta na cara" where we had questions and 2 people had to answer the question and the one that was slower to respond or responded wrong go pie-d in the face haha!  It was really fun and then at end Guilherme snuck on me and BAM I was pie-d!  Haha it was really fun and really helped the ward get animated!

That's about it for this week!

I love you guys so much and miss you all too!

Elder Sharp

We had an activity called torta na cara or pie in the face and well after the activity the elder were attacked too! hahah I went Super Sayan  :P

I finally ate Mcdonald's - haha it's the same here.

I'm Teachin' a Deaf Girl!

Thanks for writing me what you could (my letter to him was shorter than normal).  There are moms who aren't even writing their missionaries - so thanks so much for that! 

So this week was really interesting.  We´re finally starting to find people to teach! I have missed teaching a lesson in a house so much haha! We´re teaching a family that has a Daughter that´s deaf, so I´m trying to learn how to do BSL (Brasilian) but it's really cool, and we´re teaching the mom too.  She´s have trouble understanding my Portuguese, so I´m having to speak really slow, but it's good for me to learn how to say the words better and pronounce better, too. 

Being a district leader is fun, too.  I´m getting to learn a lot and actually help other missionaries. I feel I´m finally fulfilling my Patriarchal Blessing when it talks about my mission. I finally doing everything it says that I would do! 

We also had someone come up to us and say that they want to get baptized, but sadly his mom is a hard-headed catholic.  After we taught him, we left and his mom said a lot and he couldn´t stay strong (he´s 26 but thanks to his mom he´s more like a 13-14 year old) But as I thought about it, I realized I did everything I could, so there´s really nothing that could´ve been done and remembered Jacob 1:19 and I know that one day he will receive the gospel!

That's cool about Guilherme emailing you.  He's a great kid and can teach really well.  He already knows a lot about the scriptures.  Actually, all of the youth here are really awesome in this ward!  They are like super humans haha.  They´re actually a lot better then most of the adults, which is kinda funny!

But ya that's this week - I love this work!!

LOVE Y'ALL,

Elder Sharp

Lots of Changes

Wow so this week was so crazy!! It was like I made a decision to just go super from now until the mission is done and what happens? My companion has to go to physical therapy, and I had go with him.  Then the next day he had so much pain from the therapy that he couldn´t (it's something with his feet).  The next day he was transferred to be closer to the doctor (he has to go 10x and that gets expensive using the bus 10 days!) So he was transferred, and it was really sad because I loved working with him.  He was one of the better companions I had. We were great friends and laughed a lot and taught well together... but God has a different plan for me.... so we went to the Mission office and Pres. Dalton asked if he could talk to me.  I was like, "Sure!"  We went to his office and he said,  "Elder, this is a little earlier then I was planning, but God´s ways are higher then our ways. So, Elder Sharp, you are now the District leader of your district......"  I was like WHAT!? Haha it was crazy!  I really do know that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor because every time I start to get the hang of things, He throws in something new or a new responibility... haha but ya, so now I´m a District Leader!  It's really cool the feeling of peace I have with me.  I know that God has a plan for me and has things that I will teach and also learn from this calling. I also live with the Zone Leaders and they´re helping a lot! haha Other than this, I really don't have anything exciting!

That's about all for this week.  Sadly we didn't get much work done this week. But this week is a new week and it's gonna be a great one too!

I love y´all!

Elder Sharp 

My new companion

PIZZA!!

First baptism that I did the interview for.

 I found the announcement that changed my life!!

Sò batismo!

MY MISSION!