Life in the House and on the Street

Hello everyone!

The first thing I want to say is,  I'm sorry for the strange missionary work/ fly fishing analogy last week... .I was super tired. 

Dallin Seguine will be going to the Marshall Islands where he will be speaking Kiribati. Give the man a pat on the back. I was guessing somewhere Spanish speaking because of his knowledge of and practice in the language but this really goes to show that you are called where you are needed. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. We may study Spanish for years but we will end up speaking an extremely foreign language helping people that we have never seen or heard of before.

I'm tired.... But happy::)  

Last week the constant walking and rain really got to me and was a little down, but now...tudo bom. (It's all good.)   I'm still tired but its a happy tired. For those who have seen Elder Forsyth tired and really happy they know what it is like.....goofy. Sometimes the little goofyness brings a smile to the people we teach. I have a bag underneath my right eye that looks like I was hit by Elder Lima Silva in the middle of the night.  Many people have asked if I got in a fight on the street because that sort of thing is normal, to say the least. But no, it is just plain ol' tired. The best thing about being a set-apart full time missionary is that even when you are strung out and exhausted you will always have the the power of the Lord to lift you up and comfort you. That happened a lot this week. Leaving everything for the Lord to fix and hanging on to his endless power that he sent. Whew, you can receive a lot of comfort when you use all of your faculties just for the sole purpose of trusting in the Lord.

President Fernandes - The man of the hour

Our new mission president is all business and I love it. He has grabbed some fire and thrown it under us to get us moving and thinking more about the work we are carrying out. He was born in Angola Africa and served his mission in Manaus. He is a man of great faith. It was extremely humbling in our last Zone Conference because I came to the realization that I am a man of very little faith. Almost dust. My focus this week has been to place all of my trust in the Lord and just be an instrument in his hands.  It is working.  Especially when I pray.  I have changed the format of my prayers; praying more for the well being of others and giving thanks more than asking for blessings. ALMA 31:26-38 has been a a key focus in my studies lately. The way he prays is a prayer of confidence but at the same time a prayer of utter humility. I want mine to be more like this prayer. Confident yet humble enough to know that I am nothing.

Missionaries in the House

Elder Rico from Chile was transferred to open another area (Pinherino) in the middle of this transfer, so that shook a couple things up. New Elder Lima, who was a part of my original district in SITIO CERCADO, is now living with us. We now have Elder Lima Silva from Rio Grande do Norte and Elder Lima from Forteleza. We add on the cities to their names to make it more clear in the House. But, Holy Mother he is excited to do missionary work.  I had the privilege to do some splits with him in the other area inside of The Fazenda. It was a learning experience the whole way. It is super funny to say the least. We have a blast on the street.

Sounds and Tastes of The Fazenda

Sounds - Strange music and a lot of buses screeching their brakes. We have a little carnival in the center of the city too! It looks a lot like the carnival from the Sandlot if you remember. Lights and all.  Angry Brazilian women yelling. I love talking with them on the street because when you start to speak in a calm voice their disposition changes completely and they want to know more why you are helping them in their current state of yelling.

Tastes- Lots and lots of beans, rice, potatoes, and meat. When we are walking on the street you can always count on the constant flow of fresh bread because of all of the Bakeries (Panficadores). Freshly baked bread with banana in the middle is always a good break from the constant rain and lighting. Oh yeah, I forgot. Two days ago we took a shower because of the tempest that rolled through. I asked a Geology teacher why the weather in the Curitiba area is so strange. He explained that Curitiba lies on the top of a mountain and it doesn't have any natural barriers to stop the weather from the ocean, Paraguay or Argentina. It takes it all at once. We had a gnarley lightning storm two days ago. My shoes are still recovering.

Mom, I got my package that you sent in July! The fast breaks were still good and all of the goodies were still usable. Que Bençâo.

The package arrived and I was able to hang with the man, Elder Bastos, at zone conference.

Feel the love sent from Brazil and stay sweet, everyone.

Sinceremente, sua missionario

èlder Forsyth

p.s. The Book of Mormon is a recipe for a perfect life yesterday, today, and forever. Read it. You won't want to put it down.