A Pic is Worth a Thousand Words...

Here are some pics from Elan's recent adventures in Brazil:

Happy New Yearrrrr!!!

whoa i havent written since last year! I´m sorry if you were worried... don´t you fret Im fine.  

  

   Well I´ll start with Christmas...

                 We woke up. studied. got ready. played some guitar.  Lunch time rolled around.  We started our exepedition.  We were scheduled to lunch at a members house who lived at least 8km away.  The sun beat down on us hard.  It was christmas day and at least 100 degrees... Dont forget the fact that Pelotas is the 2nd most humid city in the world.... ok thats something I just heard... im not sure.  Anywhayyyys we  had to stop in the shade because it was so hot.  However the shade was just as hot and the wind was brutal.  it just brought more heat to our sweaty faces.  I thought i was gonna die.  Then our phone rings.  We answer and the worst news ever.  Lunch cancelled.  that point right there was when I was like someone please just carry me back home.  We were all dying..... so after a few minutes of gathering strength we started back to our apartment.  Then the sisters called.  we told them our predicament.... they invited us to their lunch and yaaa.... how gracious, the only downside was that we had to walk an extra 8 km to that house.  but to make my day better we took the onibus!!! yaaaaa.... we had my uke and we just played that in the bus and sang... our christmas was getting better.  Then we arrived to the house.... (fast forward) .... ate a delicious churrasco.... then I tried to play a caviccinho... ukulele type instrument but alot more dumb because I couldnt play it haha.... anywhays the highlight of Christmas was that I talked with my family!!! yaaa they are doing good..... I was so happy to see them,.... So the Christmas day ended up being really good.  

     The next day had some fun highlights...

                  We went to a members house to eat lunch..... we arrived. they forgot. but they let us sit down and watch tv while they prepared a lunch for us..... shhhh dont say anything haha..... well we watched Power Rangers in Space.... the only thing that made it better was that the Ninja turtles were in it too!!! dream come true! it was even better because I understood 75% of what they were saying! hahaha Power Rangers meet the Ninja Turtles in Portuguese,.... who da thunk.... ahhaaha

                  E. Aires and I went on splits today.... E. Aires is such a great missionary.  he´s so outgoing and people just love him.  he makes people feel so good.  I learned so much from him.  I hope to be outgoing like him one day.  Hes very effective.  I loved going on splits with him... He made me teach and bare testimony.... it was really cool because if I ever started to fade he´d help me out and just work it.... yaaaaaaaa.,.... 

     E. Tafarel and I have one investigator that is progressing.  All the other ones are stale.... they dont complete commitments... anywahyyyys this specific investigator bought us yogurt the other day,  shes our neighbor and shes just the sweetest thing.  shes like a grandma to us.  The only downside with her is that we commited her to come to church and we went to go pick her up so we could walk with her and she stood us up!!!!!!  Thats the second time I´ve been stood up by a 57 yr old woman.... hahahahaha jk ok that was the 1st time.  WEll it doesnt matter, i didnt like it..... i´ve never been so bummed! I was so bummed that she was missing out on so much.... next time I see her Im gonna give her a piece of my mind.... hahaha welllllll thats about it thats happened.

     THe walking is horrible.... The weather is worse.... The contacts we make dont want anything to do with us..... but each night I go to my room and pray and I feel like I gave it my all and that I just havent found the elect yet.... maybe i need to search harder? idk.;... Im doing alll i can... I love my mission.  its the true mission.  theres no other place i´d rather be :)  I know that this church is true and that God lives... He directs this church via a living prophet.  THe prophets name is Pres. Thomas S. Monson.  HE was called of GOd and HE converses with GOd.  I know that this gospel is the gospel of Christ, which only through Him can we be saved and receive eternal glory if we are baptized and take His name upon us.... i love what I do.... I work hard and work so I wont have regrets 2 years from now.

Much Love from Brazil and Elder MAynez

PS.  THanks to you all for all your letters!!! i really appreciate that you take time out of your days to send me notes :)  The prayers are felt.... Im striving to be like Ammon... A great missionary....  I love you guys and I am here to make you proud but mostly to make God proud! love you!

Christmas Pics

Talking to Elder Maynez was the best! It was our moms favorite Christmas gift! It took forever to finally get Skype to work, and we had it all set up for Elan to show up on our tv...the thing that ended up working the best was our dads iPhone! #technologyfail

Email #2: From the Field CHRISTMAS EVE

WELLLL its Christmas Eve!!! I´m so stoked for Christmas!!! If u are too then clap your hands....

Lets see what happened this week.....

   - I walked a lot.... WE did lots of contacts.... there were lots of people that were "interested" in our message but they weren´t home when we got there or they gave us a fake address.... bummer sauce.... its ok its good exercise... haha buuuut ya we did meet a lot of interesting people.... I love my companion Elder Tafarel because he is amazing at contacts...  He can take anything they say and apply the gospel to it and make them see why they need the gospel.... Hes pretty suave with that ...

   - We were visited by Elder Godoy.... HE gave us some training.... he told us the only reason why were here is to baptize.... haha yup thats a good reason to be here... he said within the first lesson we should invite them to be baptized,,,, crazy sauce.... but my comp and i do that in our lessons now.... it does work.... we just gotta make sure they follow through with them.... people here have problems with commitment... we´ve had choke people commit to baptism but then we go to teach them more lessons and they are never there.... WE keep working hard.,... Its like that darn hill we used to run for swim team,... its really hard going up but then on the way back down we get to walk downhill haha... 

   - Today we had a christmas party.... We did a secret friend.... I got a pineapple.... cant wait to eat it hahaha.... i bought my secret friend a toothpick holder.... it is a penguin.... U push his head and a tooth pick comes out!  he figured out how to launch the toothpicks.... now I want it back. hahahaa jk jk but seriously...

   - Im so sorry peeps because I planned on emailing choke pics today but I forgot my camera sooooohooo not happenin.... Im so bummed.... Ive been taking quite a few pics.... Id run back to the apt to grab the camera but thats a 8km run and im chafing.,... tmi? too bad... haha but ya.... i do lots of walking... 

   - So last saturday we had a NATAL BRANCO which means White CHristmas.... all the baptisms in the stake were mashed up into one huge mega giant baptismal service.... it was awesome. the SPirit was so sttrong... it makes me wanna have my own baptisms.... im gonna log off this computer and go do work... I need to save some souls.... I love the work I do here....  I know the Lord will bless me as I keep his commandments and devote my life to him for these 2 years.... I love having that knowledge.... I feel so bad for those dont have the knowledge of the gospel... thats why its my calling to go forth and spread the word like butter.... 

    -  This last week we lost all our investigators or pesquisadores so we decided to do a billion and a half contacts.... we only got like 100.... not a billion and a half but ~100 was good enough for me... so this week after christmas we´re gonna go to work,,, its hard to work around christmas time because no one wants to let us in and "disrupt their peace" but we knock on doors anyways.... The people here are nice and warm but ya its christmas time and they wanna spend it with their families and not with two strangers haha i see where theyre coming from but its all good.... After Christmas we´re gonna knock on their doors again haha .... 

I honestly have no idea what else to write.... the major events are listed up above.... thats about all that happened....   Life is good when ur doing the Lords Will... I love Porto Alegre Sul!  Its the True Mission, the best mission, the promised mission.... I love all you guys and I´m doing my best out here.... SO ya be good.... 

#churchistrue #muchlovefromBrazilandElderMaynez

Email #1: FROM THE FIELD

Where do I start??? i cant think right now because I just ate so much food for lunch.... ughhhhh i cant even breathe.,... all the blood is in my stomach right now... haha .... alright... here we go...

So I am out of the CTM.... I have been transferred to Porto Alegre... I am serving in Pelotas Tres Vendas....  Dont ask what that means... I just work here...  

I met with my mission president... Presidente Castro... ya he´s pretty cool.  So we got oriented then we met our new companions... Elder Mayo and I were broken up....  The dream team separated... Its all good though because he later ended up being in my zone haha cool huh....  

WEll i met my comp... Elder Tafarel... Pure bred brazilian .....  We said hello and got on a bus and rode 4 hrs to Pelotas then took a taxi....  arrived to our place and i unpacked.... i did that all while in a suit....  i about passed out...

The apt is nice... no crazy spiders, snakes, lizards, bears, tigers, just an Elan and 3 Brazilians.... so about as bad as it gets lol.... The elders i live with are E. Tafarel, E. Melo, and E. Aires.... Theyre all crazy.... i love it... but no worries cuz we still get work done.... So we dont really have food around the house so that is dumb sauce.... we all know how much i like to eat.... on the upside we have an electric shower... Electricty. Water.  I dont know a better way to wake someone up....  hahah well i havent been shocked yet... still not looking forward to that.... 

The first day we had a zone conference.... I think thats what it was called... i met all the other missionaries.... they are all pretty cool.... i find it hecka hard to speak in portuguese to the americans because I KNOW they speak english.... buuuuut ya .... i need some english relief some of the time nawmsayn? haha welllllllllllll after that my comp n I went tracting.... awesome!

We went around and I met some families in the ward.... They are all so cool!  I drank some Chimarrão.... soooohoooo good.  its literally ground up hay (for horses) and hot water.... the cups they use are awesome... Im gonna buy one before I leave....  i mclove it.  We´re not allowed to make it at the apt because missionaries just sit around all day and drink it... haha i can see where they are coming from....

Lets talk about the food now...... oohoooo yaaaaa.... the main meal here is lunch so everyday members make us lunch.... I dont even know where to start... Every meal is just amazing... Everyone here knows how to cook....  I went to a churrasco at a members house... that was fun.. We drank gauraná, played guitar, played brazilian music, and ate.  The food was amazing... there were like 10 elders just having a great time.....

       So it hit me finally that I was in brazil when a little kid was trying to talk to me... I felt like Nemo´s dad when he´s cruising the EAC.... "youre really cute but I dont know what youre trying to say!!!!"  hahaha The people here are really nice.  Very loving and cool......  Soooo I heard this area is 2nd to last with the most baptisms.... I guess we try to re-activate more than baptize.... idk... im thinking imma change that to reactivate 100 and baptize 100 a week.... hahahah we´ll see,,

The other day I was visiting a family and I was leaving a message.... I started getting all spiritual bearing my testimony and then out of nowhere a little kid ran into the house and yelled BOO!  haha his face was covered in white plaster stuff.... top 10 funniest things ive ever seen... Lucas was his name... that kid is so cute... he couldnt shaka to save his life.... haha poor guy lol....  My other fan is Dominique.... Hes 9 years old and he looks up to me alot... I showed him my breakdance moves and he loves it....  he always comes to me and talks when Im around... he tries to teach me portuguese too... its really cool. THe mission is humbling... haha...... what else....  Oh ya we had a Christmas party.... that was so fun.  Members here know how to have a good time... haha the stake center is HUGE.... it is more built vertical... its only 2 stories but the ceilings everywhere are almost 20 ft high haha ... . wellllllll what else.... my comp has a guitar and i have my uke so we jam when th

I am so thankful for this opportunity I have to serve the Lord...  Im doing all I can to make you guys happy.... Theres no where else I~d rather be... I know this church is true..  Ive never been so happy before in my life... Im so happy,  I know that happiness comes from sharing the gospel.... Thanks for everything and for all your support!!! Love you!!!!

Email #8: Is This Real Life?

Ay OH!!!

    Wow so im hearing news about weird stuff going on in the states.... whats up with that?  I leave the US for 8 weeks and this is what it turns into?  Well now I have to come back after to years and fix it.... sheesh... hahah well in further news, life is awesome.... I leave the CTM in 6 days and 15 hours.... ohhh ya.... so lemme tell u about my week... it was pretty solid.

     So it rained a lot...  i mean alot as in u step out for 1 minute and you´ll be soaked head to toe.... so what are u supposed to do when it rains that much?  Run in it of course.... I took my sock tie off and grabbed my buddy Elder Spiller and we ran around the track... we ran slow because some elder ran on it while it was wet and slipped and busted his face.  ER visit... haha anywhayyyys everyone was cheering us on... it was so funny... we were half way done then it started hailing.  quarter sized hail pieces... they hurt.  We finished our lap and took shelter under a roof.... we came out victorious... so we thought.... we were celebrating then all of a sudden almost at the exact same time E. Spiller and I looked at each other and started scratchign ourselves... we got super itchy we ran upstairs and got into the showers because this rain isnt noraml rain hahaha glad that happened..

    Que mais... we placed 4 Book of Mormons.... ahhhh ya.... MAyo and i rocked it... it got me so excited for the real missionary work we´ll be doing.

           

1.  WE talked to a woman washing windows... we got to know her a little bit and she was interested so we gave her a book and committed her to reading it and calling the number.... it was sooohooo cool cuz we did it all in portuguese...

           

 2.  We were walking down a hecka steep street and i saw this woman staring at us.  I waved and we decided to chat with her.... She worked at a car wash place.  We talked with her and we bore our testimonies to  her and she wanted a book of mormon... this was getting ridiculous because it was too easy hahaha...

           

 3.  We got rejected by almost 30 ppl but we were still of good cheer then we saw a man in the street.  his car died and he wwas pushing it.  we helped him and he jumped in and steered the car to the curb.  he parked and said thank you.  we said no problem and have a good day.... we walked away and were like what 20 yds away then we asked eachother. Should we go back?  haha we ran back and while running we heard his car trying to start.  I prayed, "please dont let his car start yet!"  so we made it and i said "we forgot to give u a present!" hahah lame i know... buuuuuut it worked... he said he would love to read it and i bore my testimony and we walked away... he went back to trying to start his car and it worked.... first try... awesome huh.

            

 4.  WE gave a presbetarian woman a book... she said "without god I am nothing!" we testified of how true it was... Gave her a book and invited her to church.

   

  I can~t believe how much fun i had doing that.... Mayo n I prayed before so that the Lord would guide our feet to people who would want to hear our message.... WE had faith and we went and walked with faith.  We talked to a lot of people.  We got rejected by alot of people.  We invited alot of peolpe to church.  It was amazing though.... we found 4 ppl who wanted the Book of Mormon.  I know without god I am nothing so I boast in his strength not mine.  Alma 26.12..... This church is so true.  I cant wait until Im in the field doing real work.  as for now i gotta study as much as i can so i can be more and more prepared!!!! I love it!!!

Much love from Brazil and especially Elder  Maynez

Week #7: Hash-tag-a-go-go

Wooohoooo!   starting week 8!!!  Im basically a scriptorian, a brazilian, and joking..... I love it here.... The spirit is sooooo strong.  It can bench at least 350kilos... ha wow my sense of humor is dead.... well anywhayyyys life is good.  I love learning here.... Im learning so much.  I pray for the Spirit to Help me learn and I can tell the difference from when the Spirit helps me and when I dont pray for help.  I love the scriptures so much.  I´d rather read them than eat......... seriously tho.... crazy.... I love teaching too. 

Sometimes with our fake investigators I just get so into it I wanna start shaking them because they didnt read the book of Mormon.... im like what the heck sir?!?!?!  but then I remember, "Christ never shook nobody"...... so yaaaa....

I went to the temple today and that was awesome.... I love it.... It rained alot today and that was fun because it actually burns ur skin.... cool huh?  lol jk.... Im enjoying my time here and I~ve only got 2 weeks left.... I can hardly wait for the adventure that awaits me....  I wanna go proselyting but i can~t until next week!  Its whatever!  I~know the time will come faster than I think..... these last 8 weeks flew by.  knowing that makes me realize that the 2 years will fly by and that i need to yolo and live each day with no regrets.... I wanna serve 110 percent every day. every hour of every day....  I love brazil.  The people are amazing.  They are so loving.  They have fun sense of humors.....

The other day I had a brazilian friend E. Lavigne line me up.... he used a razor.... a straight up razer blade.... i looked good and I walked out fine.... that was cool

A bunch of districts just left to the field.... i´ve made it a tradition to go to their rooms and sing them songs the night before they leave and have them sign my ukulele..... it helps them calm down.... half of them were peeing their pants but i offered them my testimony and sang them a song of comfort and they were asleep before the song was over.... hahah  good stuff :)

Missions are amazing!  IF you have any desire to go on a mission and youve asked the Lord to know for sure.   then here´s your answer HECK TO THE YA!!!!  haha ok well im out of time to write but id like to leave my hashtags

  #thischurchistrue

  #GodLives

  #Heloveseachandeveryoneofus

  #IlovetheBOM

   #Portugueserocks

   #TCHAU

               Love

ELDER MAYNEZ

Week #5: Nawmsayin?!

Hey Hey Hey

   Tudo bem?  well thats about 1/10 billion things i´ve learned here.... Wow I love the CTM. I am learning so much!  It seems like the days are meshing up so lately I´ve been writing in my planner about how the days are different....  "nawmsayn?" -brady parks

   So the scriptures.... Everyone.  You neeeeeeed to read them.  They are UH-MAZING!  I love reading them!  I would rather read and study them than eat!.... oh wait..... hahahah I really do love them though.  Everything from them is just fantastic.  I have been blessed more with the spirit because when I read them I understand them and I am picking up on subtle spiritual messages! 

The other day someone asked me "if your scriptures are holy then why do you mark them up?"  I highlight scriptures that mean something special to me.  In a sense I personalize my scriptures to my needs. 

I love praying.  It helps me be comforted.  it helps me be strengthen.  It helps me focus on the work.  I know with all my heart I can kneel down and pray to Heavenly Father for support.  HE WILL provide.  

So lemme tell u about my experiences.   Today (PDAY) we went to the temple.  Its so pretty, even when acid rain is falling from the purple sky lol.  k the sky is gray not purple.  I went to the Distribution Center with my comp and I bought an oil vial, scripture case, and a primary song book in portuguese.  Imma be playing some primary songs with my uke now :)   que mais?  sei là..... OH YA today we went to a all u can eat buffet.  R$30... i ate all i could.... my buttons are busting at the seams... haha but ya i ate so much meat.  so much loving.... ahhhh ya!  

     

The other day I taught my instructor how to say "nawmsayn" it was so funny.  too bad shes moving back to Recife.  Its all good though.  She was a great teacher.  Well other than that I dont have anything else to say.   except one more thing.... eu sei que esta obra que eu estou trabalhando em é a obra de Deus.  Eu sei que  esta Igreja é a Igreja de Jesus Cristo. Ele é nosso Pai Celestial e ele quer o que é melhor por nos.  Eu sou grato por esta oportunidade para sevir-Ele.  Eu digo estas coisas em nome de Jesus Cristo.  amém.

 

Thanks for reading this whole thing.  hehe love you guys and continue being good.  #tchau #churchistrue #studyponderpray

 

Love,

    Elder Elan Maynez

Week 4? Definitely Not Week 23

ay ohhh.... i think this is email 4.... maybe 3. definitely not 23... i know that for a fact...

     soooohooooo my thoughts are super scattered.... i just got back from walking around São Paulo with Elder Mayo.  Its crazy... the drivers are insane.  People are j-walking left and right.  ya.... the upside is that i get to walk around (my legs are basically atrophied) and see new faces and test my portuguese!  i dont like being trapped in the CTM.  I prayed for help to study harder and the Lord has answered that prayer.  I have learned so much.  I love the scriptures.  I have learned so much from them.  I am picking up on so many little insights Im like whoa!!!! whered that even come from?! nawmsayn?  Just moments like that I love.  Those moments keep me going. 

     So more about São Paulo.  Elder Mayo and I explored every single store today.  We were only gone for maybe 1.5 hours but within that time we found all sorts of stuff.  ITs so cool over here.  EVery store played some crazy american music.  One had "Low" bumpin another had some good ole michael jackson.  Ya,....  cool.  I bought some hot dog flavored chips.  just cuz ... no need to explain.  i bought a 1.5 litre water bottle cuz a man can get thirsty down here!  what else.... oh im starting to reap the benefits of being a missionary.  for example... my facial hair is starting to grow faster!  wha wha whats up!  hahaha speaking of hair... tomorrow im getting my first haircut... my hair is getting long... so ya... time to chop it off.  im going to take a before and after picture. haha

     So yesterday Elder Mayo and I woke up and ran a little bit here at the CTM because our legs are so atrophied.... so we´re running on the track and a giant beetle jumped us. i tried to fight it buuuuut it had a mean bob and weave so it was able to escape unscathed.  I could have literally punched it in the face it was that big.  highlight of my week.

    Ahhh this morning my brazilian roommates left!  Elder Mayo, Elder Sly, Elder Crowther and I woke up this morning at 4 am to bid them farewell.... They were some of the coolest people I´ve met.  They both had cool background stories and its neat to meet people who didnt grow up in the church.  its neat to also know that the church is so true that it makes people not only convert but to drop everything to go and serve a mission.  IT was like lehi and the tree of life.  He tasted of the fruit and desired to share it. 

     I love what i do.. i am learning more about the gospel.  I gotta obtain the gospel before I can declare it.  When im outta the CTM i can~t wait to start teaching real people.  I know the Lord has got my back.  I know that with Him miracles can happen. .. .. well i wanan say more but im being kicked off,,,, ahhh man.  I am a slow typist?  well ya just know that as I learn more about the gospel I want to share it with those who werent fortunate to have it their whole life.... good bye I love you guys.  Tahnks for ur support and excuse the typos lol.... #Godspeed #Churchistrue #Aigrejaéverdadeira #atêmaís

Week #3: Contraband Items and Video Games

Elder Maynez lookin' good and enjoying a treat at Mr. Cheney's! 

day 20.  Almost a month.  We've only lost one person from our district.  We are all still going strong.  Satan is trying to discourage us with portuguese.  IT works 0% of the time, all the time.  I have a bowl of açai sitting next to me and i think its melting.... yup i was right. its melting.  

   

 so everything here goes by really slow.  Well days go by really slow but weeks go by really fast.  Make sense?  nope. not to me.  well portuguese is coming along.  Its weird though.  I speak fluent (by fluent i mean i don´t struggle a lot) in the ctm but as soon as i step out i become a babbling idiot.  Idk what the dealio is.  so i was smart to take notes durante esta semana da coisas que aconteou que eu quisse escrever sobre.  whoa... i promise i didnt use google translate for any of that.  lol.  Well here are my notes

~~everyone do yourself a favor and look up the "hino nacionale do Brazil".  we sing that er´fireside (so every sunday).  The thing that makes it even cooler is that our presidente da missão plays it on the piano.  he´s kinda old n feeble but as soon as he starts playing .... ya words cant describe.  seriously youtube that right now.  coolest thing eva!

~~I play my ukulele every night and everyone comes in my room and come and listen to me.  I love that i learned how to play.  Not gonna lie but i wouldnt be me without it.  jus sayn...

~~so the other day a guy got locked in his room.  idk how.  the door jammed or something.  anywhayyyys no one could get him out.... so the janitor.  freakn (sorry no other word would suffice) awesome super man just jumped up in the air and kicked the door with both feet.  It looked like a video game. UNREAL.  then the damsel in distress was saved.  hahah highlift of the year so far. 

~~so i have a contraband item (my uke) and one of my roommates has a radio... i can~t turn him in cuz he can turn me in. They know one direction and justin bieber.  The love bob marley and jason mraz.  Well they happened to have Gangnam style on his ipod.  He played it one night and then i got up and started dancing to it.  Thats when we knew that we were perfect roommates for each other lol 

.

   thats about everything.  You guys are all awesome.  The church is so true,  my testimony is so strong.  almost as strong as my biceps.  lol jk its waaaaay stronger than that.  well keep being good and making good decisions. Return with Honor.  #churchistrue

Week #2: To Teach Them Is My Real Call...

Week 2 down fo da count!  wow things fly when youre having fun.  Where to start with my adventures?  ok.... so i was cooking na... never mind.  ok so about the CTM.... on a scale of 1-10 ... I love the CTM.  So like a 10.  Everyone here is so cool.  We are all on the same team.  (whos on the Lords side... who who who who. hymn 260)  we all have the same preposito and we all are rocking the same name swag.  PS i feel weird speaking english.  so excuse any typos because im basically braziliero.  So much happens in one week and it all happens so fast so writing emails is hard.  its really hot right now.  I dont like wearing pants but ill do whatever it takes to serve the lord.   

    So im learning to become a missionary.  I love it.  Im learning to become a better teacher,.  I taught swim lessons over the summer so im a good teacher, but now im learning how to teach ppl sobre o evangelho de jesus cristo.  I have two investigators that I teach.  They are my portuguese teachers and they pretend to be investigators.  One is Fátima and the other is Irma.  Fátima is really nice but just not into religion... my comps (elder sly n elder mayo) have almost cracked her lol.   Irma on the other hand is impossible to teach.  She yawns and dozes off while we~re teaching and having her read scriptures. . . .what the what right: sei lá haha.....

     So I~ve got this joke i play on all the brazilians.  I ask them what does "sei lá" mean? they say, "it means i dont know"  Then im like what? you dont know?  dont you speak portuguese?  I keep that going for like 2 min then they get that im playing a joke on me and they love it.  Brazilians are funny ppl.  I blend right in.  except I dont speak portuguese.  If im having this much joy in my life right now just learnign how to serve I cant imagine the joy I will have affecting peoples lives.  Every morning I wake up I know I have another 16 hours to learn and prepare to become the missionary the Lord has called.  I want to make the Lord proud and have him remember why he called me to where he did.  I want to become the best I can be.  I wanna be the very best.  That no one ever was... to teach them is my real test to baptize them is my call.... i will travel across the land. searching far and wide.  each investigator to understand.  The spirit thats inside!!! pokemon! haha i hope some of u caught that and sang along with me.  I used the rest of my time to write that.  Wow...... i need to grow up.  put on my big boy pants and stop using pampers,. 

     Feel free to write me.  I am doing the best i can.  Be good and remember dont run with scissors

     Love Elder Elan Maynez

Pics from the Mission

Elder Maynez visted the Sao Paulo temple on Tuesday. 

Here he is with his district. 

And here he is on his p-day!

Write him ya'll. 

He'd love some letters from you guys/gals. 

Week #1

Dear Bubbs, 

  Im alive and i dont know how to use this keyboard.  All the punctuation is weird. . . . eh whatever.  Well Im ok and everything is good.  I feel like ive been here forever.  for forever. foeva. its not even been a week.  lame sauce.  but ya im learning so much.  they kind of throw you on the ground and expect you to start being a missionary.  it was hard especially with my district especially because they are all 19 yr old boys.  thats all i need to say.  well the mission president and his wife love me.  Maybe they are just nice to everyone. . . nahhhhh they love me.  Well today is my first pday and i went with my companions (im in a trio) to the grocery store and to all sorts of stores.  Im one of the best portuguese speakers in most of the ctm (minus the brazilians) but when we were out in the real world I didnt understand anything.

     I went to a store that had alot of really cool soccer shoes buuuuut i already have some.  The guys inside asked me to do some tricks with a soccer ball they had.  I did my stall and then put it on my neck and did some pushups... Oh ya we went to the Sao Paulo temple today.  IT was awesome.  It was cool because it was in english and i could understand something for once.  I love being here in the CTM because everyone here is on the same team.  They all have the same goal.  So theres really never any contention here unless we have idiots trying to start fights.  That still hasnt happened but im waiting for one.  Theres this one roommate situation where the american boy thinks hes the coolest thing since sliced cheese so he acts all cool.  HIs roommate is the Brazilian Juijitsu national champ.  My money is on the brazilian..  haha welll enough of that.

     The language is easy to understand in the ctm.  out in the real world tho... not so much.  I dont get it.  ITs ok tho.  My ears just need to hear it more.  My testimony is growing so much.  I study all day every day.  Its crazy.  I went from a bum on byu campus to doing something every minute from 6am-1030pm.  Its difficult but this is something where you can see the benefits right away.  I would describe my district, theres only 7 of us. 

Buuuuuuuuuut no one really stands out.  My two companions are elder mayo and elder sly.  Haha mayo and maynez. . . perfect combo.  HEs easy to get along with buuuuuut kinda creepy sometimes.  Its whatever. . . then theres sly.  hes cool.  We have our arguements pretty often because we have similar egos.  ITs ok.  Well live.

      My goodness im tired of sitting down.  I wanna just run around and be out in the sun buuuuut im too lazy to do that.  I do 100 pushups every morning and night.  My chest hurts. . .hehe the ppl here are really good at volleyball.  PS bubby i get your emails and I understand them hehe

     Love you guys so much

    CHurch is almost too true haha jk

       Satan sucks. . . imma do some damage to his plan

      chupa uvas hehe

    Be good... this email is shortish but my time is up and i have 23 seconds to send it.   OMG I feel LIKE IM DEFUSING A BOMB!!!!!   TCHAU

Elder Maynez' Address

Write Elder Maynez lots of letters yo.
Keep it classy.

Like this gentleman. 

Elder Alexander Maynez
Brazil Porto Alegre South Mission
Brazil Missionary Training Center
Rua Padre Antonio D Angelo, 121
Casa Verde 
02516-040 Sao Paulo- SP
Brazil 

He Made it to the MTC!

Elder Maynez successfully made it to the MTC!
Mom is happy.
We all miss him.

But look how happy he looks! :)

Brownie in the middle.

Elan is Leaving today!

This is Neltje, Elan's older sister, and I will be in charge of the ol' blog. 

Elan is leaving today!!!!

He was set apart last night, and we are all so excited to have him serve the Lord for two whole years!

We hope you continue to support him in his cause! 

He reports to the Brazil MTC, and he is beyond excited!

My First Post

My farewell is less than a week away! :)