Semana 12 (3 months)

Eu não acridito este! Semana ?!?!?!?!

  I can't believe that my 12th week has already been done and has passed into week 13 in the mission. Officially been in the field more than I have been in the CTM and it went by wayyyyy faster then the CTM did lol. This week we have had a lot going on with pesquisadors and new missionaries coming into the field. Another gringo is in the house and I actually met him in the CTM on his first week and my last week. His name is Elder Eddington and is from California Sacramental area which is really cool because my Dad served his mission in California Sacramental.

  My pesquisadors have been given a lot of stress this week because of stupid things at times that they argue over. Not going to be listing names but let's just say I was really stressed this day and very much tired. It all came down to the fact of not reading the scriptures and or praying together as a family. I want to make this family read and pray together so bad but life just doesn't work that way now does it?

  Other pesquisadors have had excellent progress and this explains us having 9 baptism dates marked for this transfer which is the coolest thing ever to see peple commit to a goal date and see their progress as they grow closer to their Heavenly Father with some this happens over night which is a Missionaries dream come true! lol We had very little people attend church this week one was because of a family problem. This family has progressed really fast because they were taught a while back but the missionaries taught lessons, not the people. Elder Quaresma and me always teach the people NOT strictly lessons. If you teach lessons people don't learn for their life. Lebny, Karina, Kauane, Gabriel and Abner are the people in this family. It's sad here because they all have different fathers and the same mom. Also, the parents have all passed away and they are ages 23 and younger. We only teach Lebny, Gabrial and Abner because they are the only ones that want to learn and they already have a baptism date which I am so excited and happy for them this next coming week. The boys are ages 15 and 13 so about your ages Josh and Stetson and like the similar things. I am happy for them to have The Book of Mormon in their life and the Bible and to see their growth!

  Other pesquisadores always say I don't have time for a Baptism one lady, in particular, has troubles moving and she said i will be baptised in July and no sooner.... This is stressful, to say the least lol. Baptism is literally 30 min and 1-hour max lol. Anyways we probably have to cut her and I hate having to do that but we have a lot of others that are having progress we need to focus on more. Brenda that was baptized about 2-3 weeks ago has a little sister that is 13 that we started teaching this week that we will probably mark another baptism with her tonight. I want her to follow Brenda's example for her future. Great family but Brenda is the biggest example in their family as of now. She invited us all to her Birthday party last night. In fact, she invited the 4 missionaries which was awesome because cake and more food in general lol

  We talked to Adelino the father of Ryan (14 years old) and he still has not permitted baptism for his son who was first contacted by the missionaries almost 8 months ago now... He said the only way he will be baptized is after 18 years old. We will continue to visit Ryan and Adelino as much as possible! Ryan is such a great kid I hope his dad allows this sooner than 18 years old for Ryans life.

  I love this work even though I am always tired! My testimony is very strong as of now and has just started to grow from here. It feels great to show people how to feel the Holy Ghost (Espirito Santo) in their life on top of the Light of Christ that enters the hearts of those willing to feel these things are true. 

Ate mais!!

Com amor, Love you all

Elder Bryson Hammond

Olá - Semana 11

  This week has been weird, to say the least... First, it's crazy that I am already done with my first transfer but I am excited for this next one because I am in the same área and same companion which is awesome. I have learned a lot more this week. One that you will not Always like your companion BUT at the end of the day you Always do like them. Its weird but it's because when you talk about those things that bug you then everything becomes better. Two I had more splits this week and although my goals were not met for that day by goals were much much better than my first splits and this is just because of practice. I think of this Always like the game of Football and we are on Gods team, if me and my companion don't work together we can't succeed in anything, LITERALLY!  We are put into companionships because we need to help each other Always! Idk why the "Always" word does a caps A but oh well just know it's not me doing that lol.

  I want to talk about my friend and investigator Ryan for a second. He is 14 years old and has been taking the lessons since I was living in Florida..... He wants to be baptized so badly but his dad doesn't allow him to be baptized. Elder Quaresma and I have fasted so many times for this boy and his Family to allow a baptism but his father won't budge and it's making me mad lol. This week we actually taught his dad and he was silent the whole time. This week coming up we are going to talk to his dad with a member about a baptism this Saturday! We are going to fill out the papers and ask again for his permission. Ryan is a huge example to his entire Family who smoke and drink. He is the definition of persevere ate o fim!

  Second, I want to talk about AnaPaula e Julio! I am so happy to hear this week that they will be getting married this next month and they will have a baptism the next day !! This Family is awesome and I will get pictures with them this week for my next email! I keep forgetting to get fotos with them because i don't like to carry my câmera around because its not safe lol.

  A lot is going on here like today we will FINALLY get a light in our kitchen and buy more food today as well after we eat at a restaurant called DENVER which is so good! We also have investigators that work there too so sometimes we get a Burger on the house :D

  I promise next week I will have more to write about but I forget so much during the week because it happens so fast!! I also have more pictures my mom received through famílias here in Brasil that I think will be on my blog!!!

Love you all!

-Elder Hammond

Cardápio de Feijoada Banoffee dessert Made with banana and dulce de leche - Thank you Sister Ozely Sadzinski for feeding our missionary, and welcoming him and his companion Elder Quaresma to your home! This mama can't thank you enough for feeding Bryson and welcoming him to your home while he is so far away from us! 💓

Olá Everybody!! - Semana 10

I can't believe its been 10 weeks and into the double digits for weeks. So everybody knows I put the weeks in the title not because I am counting down but for my Missionary journal I know where I was in this time lol. I love it here, the struggles, the good times, joking times and the times when Brazilians say the hate Americans and show me their devil sign tattoo on their thumb knuckle so I just say thanks and good day! This actually happened yesterday before Skype with my Family and i actually felt bad for the dude because he said he doesn't like Brazilians or Americans... I think he lives in the wrong country lol.

Anyways.... moving onto exciting things! I had my second baptism Saturday but this time I actually entered the water and baptized Brenda!! Brenda is 17 years old and has been taking the discussions for a month so basically the whole time I have been here in Curitiba but her older brother had the discussions before but hasn't committed to baptism yet but his sister is a great example for Bryan her older brother. Also for her Family. This week was tough for Elder Quaresma and me because some goals were not met but the baptism goal was met this week :D There are tons of people ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's up to me to listen to the Holy Ghost and find those people ready for this. I am just glad that I have Elder Quaresma to help because sometimes I don't understand nada!! Oh speaking or Portuguese the first minutes of Skype it was very difficult to speak only English, I kept adding in Portuguese with English or English with my Portuguese. Also this semana I had splits with Elder Armenta in my área so it was hard after 4 weeks leading another missionary with my investigators but I grew a lot from this experience. Oh and of course we bought another pizza for this night's dinner.

I have learned thatIi should never have free time because durring free time i start to think too much aka no work or study is thinking about home. Using free time for study time in the scriptures or language study helps me keep focused and excited for the next day to talk to new people and have my 1 hour of personal study which that hour flys by so fast its crazy!!

I had a lot of city bus experiences this week because other missionaries in our district had interviews for baptisms as well. But the busses are crazy! The girls on the bus usually stare at me because obviousely (spelled right?) i am White and american but i have to stay focused lol. Eler Quaresma always laughs about it after we get off at our stop. And other crazy people too like ones that think its okay to have pda on the bus with kids which is not appropriate for anybody to have to be around. Its just awkward for the whole bus lol.And our last bus ride felt like a roller coaster because he drove in the "mountains" but i couldnt stop laughing the whole time lol :D

I dont remember much more from this week because it went by so fast but i have some fotos to share :)

Tchau Tchau!

-Elder Bryson Hammond 

It was beyond words amazing for us to SKYPE Bryson on Mother's Day!!! The best feeling for all of us and the hardest feeling was letting him hang up!! Many tears shed after saying our goodbyes till Christmas Day. He looks so happy, is glowing with the light of Christ and so very happy serving on his mission! We can't be more proud of you Bryson! God be with you, our son and brother!

The Ties that Bind

Bryson and his cousin Grant Malquist left exactly 1 month apart for their missions. Grant, Bryson and Grant's younger bother Hunter (also Bryson's cousin) will all 3 be serving missions over virtually the same 2.5 years. All 3 boys bought matching ties for the men in our family! Grandpa Michael, all 5 Uncles, all the dads, and all male cousins that are over the age of 12 got the same tie you see Bryson wearing in this photo. The idea they had was to keep them all connected no matter where they are in the world! (When they presented this at a family gathering before the boys left, there where LOTS of tears and hugs!) 3 Warriors of God out serving, and all the men together united by wearing these ties each Fast Sunday (the first Sunday of each month) for our church. This is their "Fast Sunday Tie" and is proudly worn by all the men and young men in our family! We have such handsome men we are so proud of in our family! 💕

Cousin Grant Serving in Malaga Spain February 2017 - February 2019 These boys love that they are serving across the world together! Such great cousins! We love you Grant! So proud of you! 💓

Our Papa Michael wearing his tie. He's always such a spiritual rock for our BIG family! 💓

Uncle Jerry Silva - Love that happy face! He's a great example! 😊

Uncle Chris Wozniak - "Dr Wozniak" is in the house, such a cool dude! He's so funny! 😁

Uncle Ken and Papa Grant Malquist both wearing their ties! Uncle Ken sets such an example for our family! Papa Grant is technically Papa for Grant and Hunter, but he feels like our Papa too! He always has wisdom, advice, and stories he shares. He's such a blessing to our entire family! Our family grew when Uncle Ken and Aunt Michelle got married. We gained a Papa Grant and Grandma Alice who we love as our own! Grandma Alice is an angle in heaven, as we also knew her on this earth with us. She is and has always been a breath of fresh air to anyone that knows her. Grandma Alice is one of the most genuine and loving ladies this earth has ever been graced to know. We are so thankful to have Papa Grant in our lives still today! Never a dull moment with Papa Grant around. 😊

Uncle Ken, Cousin Hunter (Soon leaving for his mission to Concepcion Chile) and Cousin Taylor. My goodness such handsome men in our family! Uncle Ken has been such a rock for our family all these years! He was the first to marry into this family of 6 daughters! (Brave man!) Hunter is going to make an amazing missionary in Concepcion Chile! This young man is going to touch so many hearts with his sweet spirit! Taylor is such a fun spirited young man, and caring for those around him.

Semana 8 (Week 8)

Olá todo mundo!

This week has been kinda crazy sometimes because i miss you all and miss home and on top of that i miss my CTM amigos! I guess missing your friends and family is part of this mission experience! Uhm so i am always hungry and this Saturday to Sunday we fasted 24 hours for our investigators that are prepping for baptisms because we have 5 people down for a date. They are prepping for this special day! One of our investigators just got baptized this past Saturday and that was a wonderful experience to see my companion do the baptism! Speaking of my companion he is awesome. Making sure i understand everything that i need to learn about to become the best missionary as possible. When we have lessons its crazy how much he knows about the scriptures and knows a scripture for everybodys life situation. Even the other day there was a family that a boys brothers take drugs really often and we were able to enter their house and give a prayer of comfort in their life. After prayers i can feel a calmness in their life and they always allow us to come back because its the Gospel that brings joy to their hearts. 

Another funny experience is we went to visit an investigator and the daughter was at another church with the clothes we got donated for her to attend our church. I could not believe this lol. So me and my companion went and attended a little bit. When the pastor announced we have guests my companion and i said we are Elders representatives Christ from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Everybody turned and looked right at us lol. 

Another thing that happened to me this week. My first week i lost my ring that my mom bought me before i left it says CTR (Choose The Right). As i was praying about finding it a thought came to my mind. I CANT imagine how God and Jesus Christ had felt when this gospel was lost and not on this earth before the restoration through our prophet. I cant imagine how it must of been to have the world be lost. Now i cant imagine the great joy THEY had when the gospel was restored with THE BOOK OF MORMON! As i continue to pray and read daily numerous of times i am so greatful for the words of God through the Bible AND The Book Of Mormon Another testament of Jesus Christ. I hope this isnt too much for an email but this service brings me so much joy you cant imagine till you are in the work yourself!!

I have more photos this week and some may repeat but thats because i was rushing last week lol. Photos of the baptism as well. I will personally do the baptisms the next one :D 

Love and miss you all so much!

- Elder Bryson Daniel Hammond

Bryson & his companion Elder Quaresma

   

Temple

Artwork in CTM

4 missionaries in the house!!!

Elder Valdivia lol - In CTM

First baptism - Leonardo

meu favorito lol

Boxing Practice