Dynamic Duo

Bastos and Forsyth

Whew it was a good week. Why am I so happy all the time? It is really strange because several investigators "nos cortarem" -- "cut us". In missionary language this means they said, "Hey, I love your visits and all, but feel free to stop by next time if you need a glass of water or something." Sometimes we get the "cut" in this manner but sometimes it is much different, like, "Yeah, I don't want you in my house anymore." It is easy to get discouraged but also really easy to turn the situation upside down. We talk to several people each day, right? The way I see it I need to talk to 100 people to find that right "one". So these people are just part of the 100. No big deal.

Also, you know how when you were a kid and you asked your mom if you could eat a cookie and clearly she said no, so your next outlet is your dad, right? You hope real hard that he says yes. And sometimes he does. In the mission field this is a tactic I am starting to use. If you find a couple on the street make sure you remember both of their names when you note their address. We had a funny experience the other day. We clapped hands to call our potential investigator outside of his house to talk to us. We noticed the door was open on the second story so we called his name. (To not disclose the name I will use a false name) "Oi! Raphaelzinho" this is a name here in Osternack. He saw us through the glass door and shut the door while staring at us. At first it seemed really rude but I decided to call his wife immediately after. I was a little scared of the reaction I would receive. "Rosanna!" She came and spoke to us for a little but said that today probably wasn't the best day. Understandable, Rosanna. Obrigado. Remember that the other part of the couple could be waiting for a message that will change her life.

As promised, the face of Elder Bastos when someone says he sounds like an Americano

The mystery fruit that Elder Bastos made me eat

Little kids. I love them. I have started to make some friendships here with the Primary kids. You learn some great Portuguese. And sometimes strange facts about their parents. But speaking of little kids...I never notice fully how pure they are. They love you unconditionally and will tell you what's on their mind. You will always learn something new about the gospel because they see it in a different way. We attended a baptism for 8-year-old Guillerme. The past week we had lunch at their house and I taught him a little bit of guitar. Heaven. The baptism was great, but what I took home after the service was the idea of a new life. I wish I could remember my baptism but witnessing another 8-year-old's baptism was good enough. His face when he exited the water was so happy and clean! (sidenote: I cried a little). There weren't words to describe the rushing power of purity and innocence that slammed everyone right in the heart when we saw his face. Afterwards he gave me his classic high-five-fist-pound and a hug! That made me feel good:) 

We have one more week of this transfer. Will Elder Bastos  Stay or Leave? Will I leave and leave him here in Osternackistão?  Or will he leave and I stay? Who knows. It isn't a really big deal but here are some pictures that sum up the dynamic duo. 

Looooove, love, love...

Querido Rapazes, Moças, amigos, Família, e caras.

This week was a great one to say the least. Elder Bastos and I have had a great run here in Osternack...and it is not over. I forgot to inform you that we both stayed here in the beautiful area of Osternack during transfers. The work still continues with the same elders. The funny thing about it is, I am pretty sure we have stopped almost everyone who lives in Osternack on the street. It is starting to get really difficult finding people that don't say, "Dude, you've already talked to me twice...in this same spot." It is slightly embarrassing, but the good thing is we talk to a lot of people each week. 

Sotaque (Accent) 

Speaking of talking to people, everyone that Elder Bastos talks to thinks he's an Americano. "What part of the United States are you from?" He gets that one a lot. They say he has an American sounding accent. I don't hear it. I have a perfect picture of his face when people say this to him. But the sad thing is I forgot my camera adapter for the computer. So next week you'll see his slightly annoyed Brasilian Face. You have to cut him a little slack, though because he has been living with Americans for about four months. 

Translating from Portuguese to English. 

My Journal these days is a little atrocious. There are so many words crossed out because I accidentally wrote in Portuguese or I forgot how to spell in English. I have to consult my dictionary a lot to find if certain words exist in English. I like it and I don't like it. It is a weird feeling when you can't speak your native tongue very well.  But the good thing is, I don't need to speak English with anyone here. Except for our Bishop. He speaks English fluently so we have some fun in between sunday school. 

Sad news. A lot of our dates for Baptism have fallen through for one reason or another. So a couple of people I wrote about aren't exactly keeping with the path to Baptism. But, really it is a part of missionary work. Honestly, missionary work is easy because of the blessings that you receive but the hardest part is respecting the free agency that Heavenly Father gave us a long, long time ago. Misha Tulek, photographer, debonair gentleman, and great friend of mine, gave me a great piece of advice before I left for the field. "Conserve your happiness. At times it may seem like there is none left, but find it." There is really no time to get down and out here in Osternack because we are constantly on the move from apartment to favela, but there are times when the enemy can get to you. Something that I learned that I will always keep with me for the rest of my life is to always remember my divine inheritance. For everyone who thinks that their potential is less than their fellow man, I'm sorry but you are terribly wrong. We are all children of our Heavenly Father and we all have the same objective: to live with Him again forever! In complete and eternal happiness. I see a lot of people living in boxes, with the dogs on the street and many of them seem like they have no chance. But how can we help them?Love them and love them some more. Be a good Samaritan and see others in their full potential. All in white with a wide smiling face. We have agency, too, you know! We have a knowledge that so few people have. So why not share it? You don't need to send the missionaries at first for every situation. Just share how your life is different because of the gospel. Even if it is a few sentences I know that it will touch their heart. They will recognize that you are sharing with them this divine knowledge only because you love them. Loooooove, love, love. The Beatles sang it well.

The mission forces you to leave your comfort zone. Especially if you are speaking a foreign language. Elder Bastos, the Ward Mission Leader and I hosted a ward fireside. It was legit. We shared a message of the Atonement of Christ. I shared an example that I learned from our District leader: placing food coloring in a water-filled transparent container and then placing água sanitário (i don't know what it is in English, sorry) and the water returns to its pure original state. Isaiah 1:18 was an awesome scripture to read while the experiment took place. But I was able to speak for a solid 10 minutes in Portuguese and have people understand me. Half the things I said I don't remember but I know they made sense. It took a lot of faith. But God only works through us by our faith. We can produce miracles great and small even when all we can muster is a desire to believe (Alma 32).

Next week I promise pictures. Fui minha mal. I am shooting my imaginary love gun to everyone at home. Feel it and stay sweet.

Love,

Elder Forsyth

Shout out to all the Moms

Dear Friends:)

This email will be dedicated to my momma! So for all of you who "don't" want to read about  my favorite super hero in my life feel free to lounge facebook or something else less cool.

If there is one person who knows how to serve people and dish out loads of love it's my mom. There really isn't anyone else that I can think of that loves more unconditionally. Back in the days of high school when I would goof up or fall through a ceiling she was always there to lovingly support me and help me improve as a young man. Without a father at home for three years of my high school life was tough to say the least but I always had a best friend to hug me until I stopped crying and to tell me "everything was going to be alright." It wasn't just a phrase but it was a bearing of her testimony that in the end, if we keep on persevering, withstanding the trials in our life and continue to lose ourselves in serving other people, everything will be alright. I have a strong testimony of mothers, everyone. She is the real friend that sticks with you and helps you endure through your trials. They tell you "we do hard things" when all you want to do is sit on the couch and watch ESPN for the 3rd time over. When you receive a bad report card, she doesn't reprimand you but shares with you a scripture that would forever change your life. Ether 12:27 is my motto for just about everything. We have weaknesses in this life that teach us to be humble enough to learn how to transform them into strengths  She prepares you for battle like the Mothers of the Stripling Warriors. The battle of life. I feel  I am more prepared for the adversities that I will face on the mission and the life after the mission because of my incredible and humble mom. I have my priorities straight and a foundation she help me construct and improve. She stays up late with you when you want to show her the "cool" song you wrote on the guitar. Even when she has to teach seminary and wake up at 4:30 am. She also stays up late to wait until you come home after a late outing with your friends. She always wants to hear about the movie you just watched even if it's not her taste. She teaches you the value of saving your money for things that you will actually need and not just want. She enriches your day with Bach constantly flowing through your ears because of her awesome work ethic on the organ. Somethings of the loving things she does you don't notice throughout your day because she does them discreetly. The humility factor. She writes you every week to give you that extra boost for the upcoming week. She teaches you to invest your time in things that are worthwhile like education, friendship, music, integrity and honesty. She teaches you to always apologize even if you think you aren't wrong because you cherish a relationship more than your own ego. 

She doesn't toss your torn up gross red authentic Vans in the trash because she knows how much you cherish them and all of the experiences you lived in them.

 "OK, I'm off to get several bags of donations ready for Purple Heart.  No baseball cards, though.  Never those.  Not even your red Vans, although you know I would love to see those exit the building.  But I'm not that kind of mama.  :-)  I love you so much, Ian.  You are a wonderful person, a beautiful person with a glowing spirit and testimony and a heart full of love to share the all-important message that you are there to share.  I am, as always, your loving and proud mama."

There are several more things that I could write but to summarize it all, I love my Mom with all my heart. I am writing this letter to the people reading my blog, from Brazil, because of the love and guidance I received every day before I boarded the plane for this incredible life changing journey.

Love, Elder Forsyth

p.s. shout out to all the moms

My momma

My method of teaching English

Hammocks, hats and happiness

Alright everyone,  this week was testimony boosting, spirit lifting, hard laughing, and baptism-inviting filled. Vamos la.

To start things off, I want to thank everyone who is praying for me and supporting me on my mission. There are times when I am walking down Eduardo Pinto da Rocha (our main retail street) and I can feel all of the hugs coming my way. Thank you all so so so much. I really am so grateful.

To answer the questions of momma...momma's questions...the Portuguese grammar slips into my English sometimes....We are still work monsters. We taught 22 lessons this week, have a baptism set up for the 31 of August right after our investigator's wedding. The baptism will be the climax of the wedding party. What do they call those? Ah yes, receptions. Slick idea by Elder Bastos to close the party off with a baptism. We are so excited for her and I will tell her story after the baptism! 

We have 2 other baptisms marked and ready to go but we are still praying and fasting for them and our abilities to help them prepare. We also found 13 new investigators and two families, which is huge change for Osternack. Work work work work. All this work being outside as the left of my face and  neck (the missionary collar tan) have gotten very dark. Brazilian like.

The language is coming along. I  can finally understand probably 90% of what people are saying and respond with thoughtful and slightly educated sounding things to say. The boost in my language skills has really been a blessing because I feel like I can relate with people more, share stories of home and principles of the gospel in more real manner. Before I think I sounded a little like a robot programmed to speak a phrase here or there with a robot accent. The accent is coming along, too! Everyone at home knows how much I love to mimic voices and speak different accents. Everyday I am listening super hard when I contact random people on the street, because everyone has a wild accent. Every accent is unique and sometimes you come across people who live in Uruguay. When you know Portuguese you can understand a Spanish speaker also. Daniel, get ready. 

We found a hammock in our residence that a missionary left here. Lounging with our Indiana Jones P-Day hat. 

and our ladybug friend we found in an abandoned tire

Also, I am gaining weight ...SO in the upcoming week i will be buying new slacks. It is a miracle. Brazil has done the trick that I was never able to accomplish in America. I started drinking a lot of milk. About 2 liters a day and I think that has been the game changer in my weight. 

Also for people that want to write me, I would love to see pictures of what everyone is up to! That means you Dallin:)

Time to head out. We are playing basquete with the district today. I'm excited. Next week I will post a picture of my shoes. They were black. Now brown. 

Love,  Elder Forsyth
stay sweet and send pictures

McPheeian sends his love from Osternack!

Good morning, everyone!

Snow in Brasil. It was a jaw dropping experience for everyone here.   -3 C.   It was Elder Bastos' first time feeling the magical white stuff. He was running around on our neighbor's roof, he was so happy. Our neighbor´s roof is below us -- we can simply walk onto it. It is the perfect spot to gaze at the stars at night. You can see so many of them down here. One of my favorite things to do at night is just sit on the roof (our neighbor's) and read. When you are without your guitar and facebook to guide your day, you start to find other hobbies on the mission. Like star gazing. :)

Speaking of my lost hobby of playing the guitar. I had a guitar contact. Yeeeeeah. :) Thanks to our Founding Fathers and their diligent pursuit of many different kinds of freedom, we have been blessed with religious freedom. One thing led to another, and Joseph Smith restored the same church that Christ established when He ministered on the earth. Many years later, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was born and went on to win Grammys. There is a story my mother can tell you of when I was an infant and was instantly calmed when she was watching the taped recording of the Choir singing at General Conference (because my birth got in the way on October 1). Ever since my early days I have adored music, constantly trying to find new genres and new ways I can express myself through music. Thanks to my family, with a father who played a slick clarinet, a mother who is the queen of the organ, and three brothers that play several instruments, I grew up in a home where music was always on at least someone's mind. Usually on the mind of my Mom and my brother Eric when they would try to schedule around each other's piano and drum lessons:)  I discovered John Mayer at Jonathan's mission going-away party. I have a distinct image of Jeff Meise and Eric playing "daughters" and everyone singing along. I think this is when my desire to own a guitar was born. Christmas of 2010 my mother surprised me with a brand new guitar. At the time, I didn't know that the wooden phenomenon would become my new best friend/ girl friend. The nights when I had nothing to do I would just sit and play "Charlize" (my mom can explain the name). I started playing at school. I met two awesome brothers at college and even started a band! I left for a mission and had several opportunities to play primary song medleys with members in Ohio, but never with a complete Brasilian stranger. Then, two weeks ago, Elder Bastos and I were in contacting mode and Elder Bastos pointed out a man with a guitar across the street. At this moment I was really missing my guitar while feeling my not-so-calloused-anymore fingers. I immediately ran across the street, a Fiat had to slam its brakes, and started talking to the young man and asked for the guitar (kindly) and Elder Bastos and I explained the Restoration in song..... and we now have baptism marked for this young Brasilian fellow.  Music is grand. :)

2 things I miss from home that can't be sent to me on the mission because they will get ruined  in transit.

1. Wawa Hoagiefest. Nothing like that glorious month exists here.

2. Water Ice. ditto. 

More found hobbies in the mission. Teaching ENGLISH! We have an hour to study the mission language and Brazilians have a chance to learn English if they have an English speaking companion. We have recorded some hilarious videos that I will have to transfer onto CDs and send home. 

OK, almost out of time, but here is a list of people to pray for:

Cida

Flavio

Amadeu

Isaque

Vanessa

Gilson

Daniele.

Pray for them.

Seding love  - stay sweet, everyone.

Elder Ian Forsyth

Diamond in the rough

Hello everyone!  Seja Bem-Vindo ao blogo de Elder Forsyth...

We just received our new rules from our new mission president and we only have 1 hour to email home. Alright, I will get to writing really quick.

A couple days ago, Elder Bastos, the Ward Mission leader and  I (in the spirit of member missionary work) decided to set up a meeting with all of the newly called ward missionaries. We got each of them a fresh Preach My Gospel beforehand. The ward missionary companionships here are generally all married couples. It was an awesome meeting and everyone was super excited to get to work. The role of the ward missionary is to teach the recent converts the five lessons over again. The Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Commandments, and Laws and Ordinances. The purpose of our meeting with the ward missionaries was to instruct them in basic teaching skills. Like, how to actually begin an official lesson, teaching with your companion in unity, asking questions, and listening. I was in charge of teaching "Asking questions" and "listening". Two things that are still a little difficult for me since I am not a native Brasilian. To say the least, I was pretty scared. I had a segment of 15 minutes. And I had to fill the whole time with worthwhile information guided by the spirit... in Portuguese. My first question to get things rolling no one understood except for the Bishop. The thought rolling through my head was, "oh, no....no one understands me!"  But afterward something miraculous happened. I said a little prayer in my heart for help, that my tongue could be loosed and I could say something that would touch the hearts of the couples in my ward. After I prayed I received an extreme boost of self confidence and taught with all the power in my heart. This meeting was a turning point in my language skills because now I feel comfortable teaching principles of the gospel to several people not just one or two investigators. Afterward, I received a lot of kind words from the ward missionaries, which has given me new confidence. You can find these topics in chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel.

If there was one word to describe the town of Osternack, I would immediately say rough. All in all, it is rough. People have rough life styles, the homes are rough, sometimes family situations are rough for the people. But we found a diamond. Yes, a diamond in the rough. This art has to bring a smile to anyone who passes it. It for sure did for me. Good thing I had my camera to document my happiness. Elder Bastos will send them to you because of my faulty computer. Spiderman, my childhood hero and hero still, is in Osternack.

I am out of time  so I will have to include my awesome story about my guitar contact next week.

Stay sweet, everyone.

Music, Love and Futebol

Good Morning friends, family and other people that are reading my blog. I consider you to also be my friend, :)

ED IS THE BISHOP!! (Ed Seguine was called as the new bishop of the Doylestown Ward.)  Tell him I send my regards:) By the way I forgot to include in my other emails that I recieved his dearelder letter 3 weeks ago. It made my day on the way back from zone conference. I read it on the ônibus since it is illegal for missionaries in Brazil to proselytize on public transportation. I received lots of comfort from it. I love Ed, Jen, Dallin, Taylor and of course Cami. I am so thankful for all of their awesome letters that they have sent me. Cami - continue to be awesome...okay?
I didn't have the time for a photo shoot this week...hahaha. Let it be said that taking pictures in Osternack with a nice digital Canon is not the smartest idea. So it might have to be in our apartment. With our electric blue walls. 

Our water situation for all of the worried mothers out there

Don't worry, only some of the water is not the cleanest. We BUY our water from a very established proprietor. It is the liquor store that is right next door to our house. Don't worry we are only there for their water supply. It's 9 reais and it comes in those big blue jugs. It is the highest quality water we can get. So far I have not received any signs that the water I have been drinking is bad for me. 

Tender mercy of the week

So this week I had, more or less, a sinus infection. I got it last Segunda-Feira (Monday) and it finally calmed down last night. Right now I feel good as new with a sniffle here and there. We were teaching a person we met on the street the past week and when I would teach a principle it was clear my voice was going out and I was sick. I continued to teach and my sickness continued to show. It was that way until a man who had a good taste in music drove by. I was able to hear the music because we were teaching the lady on her balcony. "Could you Be Loved" by Bob Marley was soaring through the air and my voice miraculously came back and I continued to teach with power and fervor. I know this sounds dumb...but...music really does make the difference in my life. When we are walking down the streets there are 9-10 different FIATS playing different kinds of music and  they are all blasting at full volume. It's a little nauseating. The people in this town are really into buying super expensive speaker systems and hooking them up in their car. It is really strange. The cars are all decked out but the homes are made of wet cement thrown on top of very old wood.

A little more about Elder Bastos

Two nights ago we felt like we had taught a good amount of lessons and we needed to find more investigators for our upcoming week. So we hit the pavement contacting anyone we could find. In the in-between moments I would ask Elder Bastos about his life and the conversation eventually came to what is your favorite movie. It was really hard for Elder Bastos. He loves Americans films and he is like me -- it is one of his favorite things to do. After many minutes of analyzing it came down to Dance with Me and Notting Hill. Mom, I told him that you and he would be best friends. He is a big Hugh Jackman and Richard Gere fan. I was taken aback at first but I accepted it.

(In answer to questions about his district and zone): I don't know my zone very well. But we did have a conference with our new president. Our Zone Leaders are Elder Martínez and Elder Morales. Both are not from Brazil. Martinez is from Uruguay and Morales is from Chile. So when they are not teaching or having meetings with us they speak Spanish. Our district is awesome. We are all pretty far away from each other. Our District covers Osternack, Bairro Novo, Sito Cercado, and Jardim do Sol. I was instantaneously loved and my language improves every meeting we attend because everything is in Portuguese. I will have a picture of them next week. We have district meeting tomorrow so I'll take a photo. 

More Pictures of Osternack. I have to secretly take them. That is why the angles are all goofy. I am not trying to be a hipster, I swear.

Futebol

So the other day I bought a CORITIBA FUTEBOL CLUB jersey. This came with a cool keychain that I attached to my backpack. First mistake. Soccer in Brasil is a religion and if you show your team outwardly it is like having a different interpretation of the Bible. Everyone has their views but in this case everyone has their team. The team that Elder Bastos supports is Santos. Many people like this team but there are so many teams that people would lay down their life for. So when people see my keychain they...first...immediately think I speak fluent Portuguese. Secondly...they start to contend or joke about how their team is better than my "team" or in my perspective my dinky keychain. Whenever people ask about it Elder Bastos has an involuntary response, "He's a santista...don't worry."(santista = follower of team Santos) I just go with it. I asked Elder Bastos which team is the worst in Brasil. The worst team in the nation is Corinthians. I say this now just to get people's attention. They look at me really funny. It's a hilarious face. For all those who are acquainted with the look Francesca, my sister-in-law, has coined "the Forsyth look," it is alot like that. Ask one of my brothers and they will demonstrate for you. I think Daniel has mastered it. Ask him

(I asked him about his efforts to love each companion and each potential investigator) This love has helped me so much. I have decided to stop everyone on the street. Especially the ones with a "Skol" (a really famous Brazilian beer) in their hands. There was one guy drinking away and was about to walk past us until I stopped him. He was taken back in shock. He said every religion he sees rejects him and he pointed to his beer and asked what we were doing stopping him. We told him who we were and how we can help. He was full of gratitude and cried a little. He doesn't live in Osternack but came down to have a couple of drinks with his friends. He will be meeting the missionaries of Bairro Novo soon, I hope. We gave him the information and how he can call for a free Book of Mormon. I'll admit not every drunk guy I can understand because of the language and the way they slur all of it together. But no matter who it is, they decided to come to earth and return to their Heavenly Father, right? I think beer is the least of our worries.

Stay sweet and don't leave the guy with the beer behind.

Elder Ian Forsyth