Merry Christmas!!! Family SKYPE Time with Elder Bryson Hammond!!!!

Merry Christmas!!! 

When our son's or daughters are on missions, we are able to SKYPE, Face Time or have a Phone Call (whichever is available for them) two times a year on Mother's Day and Christmas. "Excited" doesn't adequately describe the feelings of how we felt, to have this opportunity and time with Bryson! Between Mother's Day and Christmas, he emails us on his preparation day aka "P-Day" which is typically on Mondays. On occasions it changes based on Brasil holidays, or events going on there around him. Usually he is emailing us from an internet cafe, and those are typically closed on holidays. 

We made it through the first stretch of these two opportunities to SKYPE him in 2017. The stretch from Christmas to Mothers Day is lesser....and that is a good feeling for me as his mom right now! 💓 Each time to witness his smile, hear his voice, his humor, his Portuguese accent mixed of English and Portuguese is fun and cherished! I told him, we can not be the ones to disconnect the call. So when it's time for him to go.....we wait for him to let us go, because it's too painful to be the ones to hangup on him. It's truly something beyond words to express...this time with him, and having to say goodbye again for a while. It's hard, but we wouldn't miss this chance to see him and hear him for anything! 

So now we wait....wait between his p-day emails on Monday's, and wait for Mother's Day this year May 13, 2018!! Then we will do this one more time on Christmas Day 2018, and then spring 2019 he will be HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😍😘😍😘

We love you Bryson!!! So glad to meet your new companion and also Elder Hill who you served with prior in the CTM!!!! So thankful to hear your voice, some jokes, laughs, some tears, see your expressions regarding corkey things your siblings got for Christmas and most important hear so many wonderful things you are experiencing and witnessing on your mission as you get to serve the Lord for 2 years in Brasil!!! We are SO PROUD of you!! So proud and full of gratitude for the man you have become, and your confidence and testimony in all good and spiritual things has increased!! 

So proud to call you are son, brother and friend!! 

I love you, forever and always B!!!!! 💕

Love, 
Mom 

3rd Area!!! (Week 41)

Today starts a new chapter in my mission because i will be serving in a area called Colonia Rio Grande and i will also be training a new missionary that just left the MTC so he has no experience whatsoever in the mission. Now is my job to show him how to teach, make contacts, and follow all the rules ! I was a little on the side of not wanting to train a new missionary 6 weeks ago but for now i know that i am ready to train and super super excited to help another missionary teach the restored gospel in the Brasil Curitiba south mission! So not only am i training a missionary but i am opening this area because President sent the two sisters out because its a little dangerous for sisters but this means we are starting out fresh there! I am also going to be in the same house as my companion from the MTC Elder Hill!!! So i am really really excited to be in the mission right now and time is flying by so so fast! next week is Christmas and i will get to skype my family and life is just great in general right now!! 

This week we has a huge hard time bringing our investigators to church and activities that we are trying to plan always. Its very hard to plan these when we need members to help with a ride. Anyways i learned a lot in Fazenda Rio Grande in the aspect of the importance of a investigator having a friend and a recent convert having a friend, a calling and be nurtured by the good word of God! Anyways i do not have a lot of time to right because i will need to meet my companion that i will train ( in the mission we call this having a son and so i would be his father in the mission lol.) and i will have photos of him and me next week! 

Love you all!

Elder Hammond

3 Nephi 5:13 

I think its that verse lol. Working on memorizing it! 

More photos if I have time in a bit!

All of these pictures are taken of Bryson in his current area before his transfer.

9 MONTHS ALREADY?! (Week 40)

Hello family and friend!!

This week flew by so so fast and we are already heading into the last week of this transfer which means i will know if i stay here for 6 months or move onto another area to spend mu first Christmas in Brasil and first New Years! Its crazy how time can fly so fast in a blink of an eye when you are staying focused on your goals and always teaching in the beautiful hot sun ( i want winter to come lol ) . But its great because i am getting somewhat tanner as time goes by so fast. So this week was a little tough because we had a lot of days that we had 5 set appointments every hour and then we got there and they had started a party with family. I have never seen so many cook outs on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in my life lol. I think what is happening is that its getting closer and closer to Christmas and news year that everybody kinda takes small vacations through the week when they have a break off of work. 

This past week we have been sharing a lot of the attributes of Christ in our lessons and that has gotten me to actually study those myself more and apply them to my life and especially ask God to help me apply these to my life to be a better man, husband and father one day! Our days should be opportunities to share the Gospel with our friends and family in all kinds of ways. Especially this Christmas but continue this though the ear too. Maybe it seems out of our comfort zone but we feel so much better when we are kind to others and share the love and charity of Christ for them. My scripture for this week is Moroni 7:44-48 but i think i already shared this last week or a couple ago so here is another for this Christmas 2 Nephi 19:6 in The Book of Mormon! Anyways this week was great and we have the Christmas zone conference this Thursday!! I will gain 5 kilos for sure!

Love you all andddd.... I KNOW THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

-Elder Hammond

 

 

 

Fazenda rio Grande 4 Months (Week 39)

So I have 4 months here in Fazenda rio Grande in the pioneer ward and its a bit crazy because a member yesterday called me a member and not Elder because I have been here so long. lol If I stay another I will have 6 months here! 

This week we had an opportunity to sing for more then 1000 people which was so cool! We sang one for one which I think was written by Elder Niel L. Anderson but we sang it in Portuguese which was awesome! Firstly we walked down the stairs of 200 missionaries and at first it was quiet and then we started to sing and I had chills down to my feet because the presence of the spirit was so so so strong. I have never felt singing so strong in my life until this day. I love singing and especially with the missionaries here. I may not be the best but they smile that brings to the faces of others is the best feeling. There were members and non-members there and they all said we almost cried or did actually cry. For sure I will be singing in the church in just the ward or stake or anything that I can do lol. 

This week has been a rough week, to say the least from seeing girls that are 15 with their first child to having somebody return The book of Mormon to us because he chose to not understand. We cant make somebody try if they don't want to but it makes my heart hurt for them. Also finding the pass out cards on the street with The baby Jesus and Mary. Any religion or church I could never throw a picture of Christ on the street. This week was for sure a mind opener of how these are for sure the last days because of how much hurt and pain people are suffering. I am honored to share the Gospel with people in Basil every single day. I am seeing the world from another perspective more every single day. Sometimes the children are hurting and want to listen but the parents won't allow us to enter. My companion and I have been seeing girls with 15-16 already raising a 4-day old baby alone with the father being a son of a pastor. 

I know this Gospel to be true on the earth today and that we need to open our eyes for a chance to help another that is suffering in life or just needs a person to give them a hug. Be the light of the world this season but continue through the year too! You all can help another person in any form! 

Love you all!

-Elder Hammond

300 Popsicles! (Week 38)

Hello everybody!

This week we had zone conference so we were there all day on Wednesday it seemed like. Anyways we learned more about our purpose and how we can establish goals better. This training is what is exactly what we needed because it seems like a lot of us are making goals that are really high. 

So this Saturday we had a activity that was gincana which idk what that means in English but I know what it is. anyways we had these tournaments or small games with 4 teams. It was things like the egg race or the wheel barrow and also bible questions with a smack in the face with whip cream! I lost one of the questions so I got whip cream to the face because of Elder Bezerra . One thing we want next time is more investigators to have fun and have friends in the ward. Oh so with 20-25 people we had 300 popsicles so I think this day I are alone 15 popsicles which was great because it was I think 90 degrees outside. This email is kinda random but this week was super great learning more and helping our investigators. 

Another thing we learned this week was that the church has the Christmas program again this year. I will put a link at the bottom but it shows a video and shows 25 ways we can be the light of the world in this season! They have a video for every 25 days also! Its so great seeing how we can be a light for the world. So like we do with every street contact... How can you all be The light of the world this Christmas season? Go to this sight! 

https://www.mormon.org

I couldn't find the English link so just Mormon.org!

- Elder Hammond

 P.S. I Really Liked this Video! 

https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/a-good-samaritan

After church yesterday with members...

I GET TO SPEAK ENGLISH!!! (Week 37)

So as you call all read in the title I have a chance to speak English in my area now and its not because I am teaching English but for the time that I am here I get to translate church for a investigator that just moved here from Africa that only speaks English and only has 2 weeks in Brasil. he came here to find better work so as he is living here we will be teaching him in English about the Restored Gospel today! I arrived to church yesterday and one of the members of the other ward said "Elder I have a friend here and his name is Cromwell and he only speaks English so I need you to translate everything for him so that he can understand and learn. He liked church but I told him I would translate better next time because to be honest I forgot a lot of words in English when I was trying to translate form him. Good thing or bad thing? I have no idea but it was really cool because he was like "wait you are American? I thought you were from Brasil!" In the Gospel Principles class we taught about talents which I thought was cool because I don't have a perfect talent to speak Portuguese but I can understand 100 percent of what is being said so I had the chance to help our friend Cromwell understand what was being said. sometimes we don't know we have talents because we are not working on it. Like in Ether 12:27 it talks about God gave us weaknesses so that those can become our strong points. I have a strong testimony that our weaknesses are sometimes what we need so that we can work to make them better and then we can be stronger in the end. 

We are having a activity this Saturday with our investigators and ward members to help build our ward strong together and our investigators can be friends with the members. Because some day the missionaries will move and they need a friend there to help them keep going to church after we as missionaries return home. I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and its forever growing day by day! I know the church is true and Christ lives and is our savior!! Love you all!

Until next week!!

-Elder Hammond

Scripture: Moroni 7:44-48

Matthew chapter 27 (the atonement)

Semana de 06/11/17-12/11/17 (Week 36)

This week has flown by so fast and I don't even know how to think that November is already halfway done. It has flown by super fast and I don't want it to fly by any faster. Its been a week of really hot in the morning and then cold and sometimes rainy at night so I get to feel all 4 seasons in one day 7 times a week lol! This week we have been really working harder to make contacts in the street and like always knocking doors lol but it's been great because we can talk to so many people during the day and teach them too! Actually, sometimes people make contact with us and talk to us first and then we do the rest and make a missionary contact and share about The Book of Mormon. Speaking of this week I have gotten to the book of Alma in reading so I will be here for a while with as many chapters as there is! My Portuguese is still getting better as time goes by too! 

This time of the year is the best time of year I think! This month on the 27th my mission and I think Mission Curitiba we will sing for Christmas as a huge group and for our ward, the 4 Elders will be singing in Sacrament and maybe I will have a part in English but that solo part is no guarantee yet lol. But for sure we will be singing for our ward soon! 

This Sunday that just passed we learned a lot about missionary work and it was interesting because how it wasn't focused on the missionaries like you would think but it was centered on the members of the church and how we can all be missionaries and share the gospel! You don't need a name tag to bring the gospel into somebodies life! Its all about being an example and opening your mouth to shard the truthfulness of the restored gospel today!

I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ on the earth and restored today! I know that The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ today! I have been reading it every single day and I haven't found joy in reading until my mission and really understanding and practicing what I read is what is making a difference in my life! 

-Elder Hammond

Scripture for today: Alma 5:16-19

"Pictures of the missionaries in Fazenda rio Grande. In the first photo idk what we were doing." lol - Bryson

"Que frio da cebola" (Week 35)

Today was transfers and tomorrow is my 8 months in the Mission in Curitiba! So I'm going to stay here in Fazenda Rio Grande for yet another transfer and I couldn't be more excited, to be honest! I will be here 4 and a half months by the time this transfer is over so I will be here the same time as my first area!!! 

This week it rained and rained hard and that is why its summer but everybody is in jackets as of now! I am not much of a fan of the cold because I always lived in the heat in Florida where its 100 degrees every single day lol. 

Also, one thing different here is in Brasil on the 2nd of November we have a holiday that is named deaths day "dia dos mortos" where everybody goes to the cemetery and visits lost ones. It was sad because we saw some people that died really really young. But what were we doing there? We were teaching The Plan of Salvation and handing out the Book of Mormon for people there. We had a total of 12 missionaries at the Cemetery walking and talking to everybody that we could. In a total of the 12 missionaries, I think we have 50 people to visit now which is great! This was a huge mind opener because lots of people believe that we can be forever together but don't know how its possible we can have this. Through revelation, we know that families can be together forever and eternity but we have to do things on the earth to make this happen!  I love the Plan God has made for us that we can return to his presence some day and have happiness without end. I can't even imagine happiness without end but I know it's worth working for!

This email is shorter but I know that We have the fullness of the Gospel on the earth today and that we have a living prophet that speaks to God and leads us to be closer to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ! I am reading The Book of Mormon every single day and am feasting upon the words and applying them to my life! I know the Church is TRUE!! Love you all and have a great week!! 

-Elder Bryson Daniel Hammond

P.s. No more dogs have tried to bite me!

Week 11 - Fazenda Rio Grande (Week 34)

So this week was interesting, to say the least! Mainly Saturday is what I will talk about a little. So Friday was tough because was raining again which I don't like the rain here because its super super cold. Anyways about Saturday! So on Saturday, we had I think 2 appointments, One was 3 pm and the other was 8 pm so we had 5 hours to knock doors and visit whoever we wanted so this was good because we could adjust our day to reach our goals we had. We were visiting Ane, Janaina and Beatriz and they were not in their house so we went to our alternate plan which was not far at all. At this moment it was 4 pm so we had to get going. We walked to the end of the street which led to another and we saw 3 girls playing which we just said hi like normal and continued and I saw three dogs playing in the grass which is normal because I see 3 million dogs in the street a day ( not really 3 million, but in the hundreds.) . Anyways they were playing in the grass and then all the sudden they chased us and the one brat but my leg 3 times and cut a hole in my pants and I was bleeding... My companion said let's go to the hospital now. Lol no I said just let's clean it and then continue to work because I don't want to stop till tonight. We tried to call Sister Cuvelier but a lady named Maria answered and hung up. Lol That's besides the point. Anyways so late this night with permission from President we went to the 24-hour clinic and I got shots and medication because it was a stray dog. Wanted to kick the dog but it's not very good to do that when I have the name of Jesus Christ on my nametag.... So the little dog won this time  

Needless to say, this was an interesting weekend for me. Still, super tired because we got home at midnight after the clinic!

Favorite scripture this week Moroni 7:33

"And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me."

-Elder Hammond