Year One, Letter Thirty-Nine

Nine Months Today

hiiiiii dad, mom, stuart, morgan, blake, lauren, and the soon-to-be baby in morgan´s belly. <----this list was done in order of age.

so this week was good. elder santana is from Bahia. he is great. we have been getting along great. his last couple companions were big slackers. this morning, i told him that every p-day, we clean the house and i asked if he would be willing to help. he just goes, "wait...are you asking me? or telling me?" and i was like, "uhhh...i am asking"
and he just looks at me and says, "you know that you are senior companion, right?" i just cracked up. i just told him that i don´t and would never command him to do anything and that i would just ask him and the decision would be up to him. he just looked at me and goes, "yes, i can help you clean the house. i am just surprised that you are asking and not telling me to do something." and i just told him that i was having a good time being able to work with him and that he was helping me a lot and he told me that it meant a lot to him when i said that. the only problem? the poor guy is dying here. we work our butts off and when we get home, we plan for the next day and then he just falls into bed and crashes. he told me that he is working harder this transfer than ever before. when he was at the first lunch with Rosangela (a return missionary in our ward), she asked how he was liking it and how he was liking me as his comp and he just looks at her, then me, and pauses, and then says, "he likes to work." she just started laughing. but seriously, he works, but it is tough for him to keep up. i think it was hard for him because he was accustomed to working with slackers and now we are moving to another area in the city to work and it is pretty rough. he just needs a few minutes every now and again to recover. but he is cool. this morning i finished my winter cleaning of our house. it included scrubbing the floor of the kitchen. we don´t have a mop. and the floor was so dirty that a mop wouldn´t do much. so i was on all fours with a scrub brush and a bucket of soapy water. lol that sucked. good thing i had 19 years of preparation for moments like these.

wanna know something excellent that i realized yesterday? we were eating lunch. rice, beans, chicken, spaghetti, and tomatoes. so we were eating and without even thinking, i got some tomatoes, loaded a bunch of them on top of my chicken and rice and beans, and started eating. and then i realized that i wasn´t doing it just because i needed vegatables and because i knew it was healthy...but because i was actually, legitimately liking it. like....it had a good taste. and i kept eating...and ate all those tomatoes. are you guys realizing how big of a moment in my life this was?? i didn´t even have to go to italy to like tomatoes. maybe it has something to do with the brazilian tomatoes?? i dunno...

so. we are working with juliano, ana paula, and eduarda still. we are going to try and make a baptismal date probably towards the end of june. that means they will have to get married and probably stop drinking (because i don´t know if they are still drinking alcohol). we found a family of 5 who were way interested, but they need to get married as well. we are going to go there this saturday. we also found another family of 3 that we are teaching. i made a contact with a man named josé a few weeks ago and we went to his house and he welcomed us in. and then showed us his book of mormon. and doctrine and covenants.
and pearl of great price. and the liahona magazine. and the tithing and fast offerings that
he will be paying at the end of this month.
yeah, talk about crazy. he already has a testimony about everything, but he isn´t baptized because he isn´t married, he drinks a little, and he doesn´t feel like he would be able to stay strong in the church because he sees how many inactive members there are. so we are going to work big time with him. any ideas? we also are teaching two young guys - Gabriel and Lucas - that are 17 years old each. they both accepted a baptism date and they said they wanna go to church this sunday. so lots going on. like i said, we are working our butts off and basically starting the work over again in another area. but anyway.

how is the office coming? how was tara´s surgery?? i hope that her surgery went well. that is awesome that JP went by the house. if you see him again, tell him hi for me please. everything is going alright here. just working to see some progress. that is awesome that the suns tied the series. do you think it would be wrong to pray that the suns can beat the lakers??
i hope not...cuz i am gunna.

anyway! so that was my week. and now, my comp is dying from hunger. so we are gunna go eat something. i love you guys a ton! i hope everything is going well. i am gunna keep at it.

love and miss you all!

OH AND FAVORITE SCRIPTURE! D&C 25: 2 and 15

love!
tchau!

elder scott ghormley

Year One, Letter Thirty Eight

olaaa

hey everyone. so how is everyone doing? busy busy? what has been going
on in everyone´s lives?

um favorite scripture? D&C 88: 81 - 85

so elder da silva left yesterday. i stayed with two elders in my
house. it was pouring, so i cleaned our house big time for the new
elder to get here. it was disgusting. it hasn´t been deep cleaned for
like 2 years. DISGUSTING. but now i did most of the tough work. my new
companion is elder santana. he gets here in a couple hours. i don´t
know anything about him. i am senior companion now. he has been on the
mission for about 3 months from what i have heard. i guess i will find
out later. i am only using internet for 20 minutes or so today because
when he gets here, i will have to take him to the lan house to write
his family. so i will just use it later on today. but i will find out
a little about him. i don´t plan on working him to death, but he is
gunna have a wake up call. ourinhos is one of the bigger (-est) areas
in the mission, so he will get to walk. a lot.

hey mom, if you haven´t sent that package yet, could you send a USB
memory card with it? i don´t know how to say it. a pen drive? just a
USB stick. that would be great.

this past weekend sucked. on saturday we called regina to set up her
baptismal interview. she just told me that she didn´t want to be
baptized anymore. meaning that she won´t allow mateus or michael to go
to church. she said that the people in church don´t have any joy. she
said that church shouldn´t be so quiet. i asked her what she thought
reverence and respect had in common and how we are respecting jesus
christ with our reverence. she said that wouldn´t go back to this
church and that she wouldn´t be baptized. she changed from day to
night. completely changed to a different person. the bishop is
convinced that it is because of an inactive member that went one night
to our activity at church and regina was there and he knew her. he was
talking a bunch with bishop asking about her. so, bishop thinks they
had a problem in the past. he is gunna let me know this week. sad. and
the majority of our other investigators have been cut. so, i will be
starting over in ourinhos and moving to another part of the city to
start working in that area. it will be a tough start. i appreciate the
prayers.

what happened to tara to make her get a brain tumor?? what are they
gunna do for the treatment? and yeah, i went with tara on the mutual
date that the ward set up. jake and emily buckhannon were there as the
other couple. lol wow long time ago. but yes, i will keep her in my
prayers.

you guys almost done with the office? that will be cool. one more
project will start right after i am guessing? lol

the suns got smoked huh? will they play again tonight? i hope that
they will have success. they can´t get destroyed by the lakers. that
would suck. and blake can´t watch the games in sports bars. that isn´t
allowed. evite aparência do mal, blake.

and dad i will try to avoid getting throw in pits, prisons, caves, or
furnaces. for now at least. but i might have to start going to drastic
means to get these investigators to go to church...

well i don´t really have much to report. it is getting kinda cold.
ingrown nails are still annoying but whatever. we have officially
started the last transfer of president leal´s mission. he will go home
on june 30th. and is very last talk? will be in my ward in ourinhos.
so i have to get a ton of investigators there. lol this will be
awesome. i am excited and nervous to be senior companion. it will be
tough. but i will definitely turn to the Lord in all things. i will
need it..

i will be on a little later today. i hope you guys are all doing
awesome. i love you all so much. keep on in the straight and narrow.
stay strong in your faith and always strive to build your testimony. i
love you!

tchau!

elder scott ghormley

Year One, Letter Thirty Seven

heyyyyyyy...yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy everyone. long time, no see. BUT at
least i got to talk to you guys :) i mean it is the second best thing
right? mother´s day was spectacular. i loved talking with everyone. i
wish i had several hours, but unfortunately i don´t. but don´t worry,
when i get home, you guys won´t even want to talk to me for more than
5 minutes. lol. oh and i do NOT have an accent. i speak normal.

so favorite scripture...

1 Nephi 13: 22

alright so that is not true. but i enjoy that scripture. the book of
mormon has an answer for everything.

1 Peter 3: 12 - 18 that is the real one. i like it. a lot.

so i dunno what i have to report here. the SUNS swept the
SPURS!!!!!!!!! that is one of the greatest things in the world of
sports. finally the talent and not the acting won. oh and mom...i am
glad that my happiness doesn´t depend on the outcome of the game, too.
mainly because one update per week really isn´t enough to make me so
involved lol. but i hope that the suns destroy the lakers...

um news here? today is elder da silva´s last p-day. i made pancakes.
maybe to celebrate that he made it to the end of his mission...or
maybe to celebrate that i made it to the the last p-day of the
transfer without seriously hurting him. we will never know. but the
pancakes were delicious. i still got that touch with my cooking skills
;) but overall, we had some good moments. it was tough sometimes, but
it was good. we are going to end the transfer as...friends. and we are
probably going to baptize regina this saturday and her son, mateus, on
sunday. we really turned this area around. that is the important part.
we worked together and we worked our butts off. that is what i will
remember in the end. and please...hope with me that i will not train
lol

um it is officially cold. like...freezing. it was raining and the wind
was blowing last night for the last 3 hours of work. and we didn´t
bring sweaters...or umbrellas. it.was.cold. i saw my breath for the
first time in brazil. i didn´t even think that would happen. but
yeah...cold! at night, i wear sweats and socks to sleep. what
happened?! last week was hot!!! i am sure this is just a teaser. it
will get hot again...and then the real cold will arrive. yikes. lol.

i suggest that everyone do what dad is doing...read the scriptures
every day and write in a journal every day. i don´t know who is, but
he is the only one who told me that he is. haha so if you already are,
congratulations :) if not, start now :) thanks to the mission, i
started doing both. and it is something that i hope i will never stop.
i am way psyched to get the new liahona (ensign?) with the conference
talks. i hope i get one in english...it makes the reading more
enjoyable. lol

i am way psyched to see the changes that you guys have made in the
house. i mean, i am sure when i get home the house will still be a
constant project, but one day, you guys won´t have any more projects.
and that will be....an interesting day for us all. :) the "normal"
life - as mom calls it - will end one day haha

well sorry that this letter wasn´t incredibly interesting. we are
still working with ana paula, juliano, eduarda, regina, mateus, and
michael. we will see where this leads. next week should be very
interesting. and should include a LOT of changes. just pray that i
will be able to deal with...whatever the Lord throws my way. i love
you guys! thank you all so much for everything. the emails and letters
and such are always so great. you really can´t understand how
important they are and how important the advice and such is. i love
you all so much!

tchau!

elder scott ghormley

Year One, Letter Thirty Six

heyyyyy everyone

scripture: Mosiah 18: 21 - 22. it is talking about the church members,
but i am pretty sure in my case, it is referring to my companionship.
i am still having patience and struggling to develop those christlike
attributes, but it is...annoying in many ways. but i have two weeks
left of this transfer. so i will fight it out.

mom - as for that package that you were talking about last week...i
don´t have lots of ideas. maybe a tie? deodorant? one of those
washclothes that you sent at christmas? the exfoliating kind? pics?
toe/finger nail clippers w/ a file? yeah, i actually take care of my
nails, but the nail clippers i have are awful. and one of those oil
vials that you got for me before i left? a guy in the ward asked if he
could get one and i said i would ask how much it was. would that be
possible? um if it is possible, i would like to have the next suns
game sent to me via package. because dad and blake´s description was
just....oh it made me jealous. haha. but mom, i do not - DO NOT -
need: chapstick, sunscreen, bugspray, or itch cream. lol i have lots.
and you can cancel that skinID account. i will start again when i get
home if i need. but it is just too expensive, so you can cancel that.
and whatever else you feel would be necessary/cool/delicious? lol i
made browines this morning. they are delicious. but i am going to give
them to a lady in the ward. but the few that i had were good. nothing
compared to the kind i make at home, but i am not at home. so i gotta
deal with it.

but this transfer ends May 19. so it won´t get here at the end of this
transfer. the next ends June 30, so if you wanted, you could send it
likeeeee towards the end of May? or maybe like may 25? that way it
should get here by the end of the transfer. you can track it so that
you can know when it clears customs and such. but that might be the
best idea. you can decide. you guys are probably smarter than me about
these things. i just know the dates of the transfers.

the suns beat the spurs!!!!!! oh that is splendid. i am glad everyone
enjoyed the weekend at home! sorry that i wasn´t able to provide the
entertainment at cards or beat you all. :) that is cool that Adriane
will send a CD out to the missionaries. that is way cool. and i am way
sad to find out that Connor won´t be coming out to the mission. that
really hurt to hear that. how are Doug and Mendi with that?

dad - like i told blake, i always think about what it would be like to
be your companion or his companion in the field. i always think about
it. it makes me desire and strive to be better. it makes me think to
do things in a way that would make you guys proud of me. that is
something that would be so cool to do. that is why i was psyched when
blake said that he might come back to his area during my mission and
then come to my mission to go work with me for a few days. but i dunno
if that is allowed or possible. i would have to ask permission from
the president. and yes, i am positive that i will be staying in
ourinhos. the address (mom) is Pará 316 Ourinhos, São Paulo. i don´t
know the whole address and everything right now. i already sent it to
you guys once, so you will find it in one of the last emails. but i am
pretty freaked right now, because i will be senior and maybe trainer
the next transfer, and ourinhos is huge.

ok as for the phone call on mother´s day. they moved it. we aren´t
allowed to call on mother´s day anymore....ok so that was a joke. you
probably hate me now. but it´s cool. i will call you guys on saturday
to let you know what we are going to do. and then we will plan for
sunday. i will try and call around 5:00ish our time to get one of you
guys at around lunch time. i will call to one of your cell phones. and
mom, you can conference them in, but i don´t know how. and i don´t
know how i can call to them after. i would have to call them and they
would have to call back i think (i am talking about the girls/stuart).
so if that would be possible, then yes, i can call them.

i got grandma´s gift card by the way. i sent her a letter back. has
she not gotten it yet?

um ana paula and juliano are great. he just travels a lot, but they
are doing everything to get marriedand baptized. we can only teach
them when he is home, so it is very sporadic, but we will get there.
we have a few good prospects right now. one guy (espedito) bore his
testimony in church. that was crazy. he talked about the first time he
saw missionaries and how everyone was cussing them out in santa
catarina. he actually said the cuss words. thank goodness it was in
english and i was the only one who understood. he is having trouble
believing the book of mormon, so that is tough. we´ll see what we need
to do.

cool thing that i learned. read 3 Nephi 10: 16 - 17 about the prophets
Zenos and Zenock. then you will know why they aren´t in the bible.
they testified of the book of mormon and the people of the book of
mormon. like, specifically testified. so they were removed from the
bible by a certain other religion (the great and abominable church) so
that the bible wouldn´ttestify specifically of another peopleand
another testament of christ. yeah, that is nuts. but what a cool thing
to learn.

anyway. i gotta go. i am so glad that i can serve a mission. i love
you guys and thank you for the example that you are to me. can´t wait
for sunday!!!!!

tchau!

elder scott ghormley

Year One, Letter Thirty-five

hello. i miss you all and love you all.

favorite scripture: D&C 18: 10 - 22. that is just kinda my theme right now.

so big news...Rafael was baptized on Sunday. that was awesome. only

the second baptism, but a baptism that will be an absolutely firm

member of the church and is already planning the day that he will take

his wife to the temple to be sealed. he is only 20, but he is HUGE.

kinda bomb. so two baptisms in Ourinhos that are way firm. that - in

my opinion - is better than 20 baptisms with people who wouldn´t

really be strong members of the church. Juliano and Ana Paula were

there for the baptism, too! that was great. we went on a trade with

another companionship on Monday and i stayed in Ourinhos with Elder

McCombs, a new American in his first transfer. that was kinda fun to

be the senior comp with a greenie. lol. we taught the Gospel of Jesus

Christ to Ana Paula and Juliano. it was funny to be the one that they

were looking to for a translation. but anyway. they are waiting for

everything that they need to get married. that was an amazing

blessing. i just hope that everything goes right. i want to baptize

them before elder Da Silva leaves, which is around the middle of May.

so anyway. it is incredibly difficult right now. finding people to

teach has been way tough. we are going to have go through old

investigators and the teaching records to find some people that might

be ready to hear the gospel now. getting people to go to church is

nearing an impossible point. it is RIDICULOUSLY hard. so many people

just disregard everything that we teach. so we have had quite a few

days of nothing more than knocking doors and knocking more doors. most

of our references are being cut because we get to their house after

walking way out of our way and they are just like...hmmm i don´t have

time right now. come back another day. so just pray that we can find

the people who are actually ready and willing to hear and follow the

gospel.

IT`S A BOY! oh wait...Morgan already told me that. BUT THAT IS SO

COOL!!!! i am still going to be an uncle! but i will have a nephew.

that is tight. will he stop growing or will he just keep growing until

he is bigger than i was? that is awesome! congratulationssssss. and

congrats to Stuart for not dying after one year of law school! just

watch legally blonde...that will teach you all that you need to know

about internships and law school. isn´t it great to have a

brother-in-law with such intelligent insights?

the testimony gloves activity went well, yes. we have had a lot more

success with Juliano and Ana Paula because of Eduarda, so in that

sense, yes we have taught more lessons because of the primary

activities with her. we are just waiting for the marriage. but i still

have like 30. so i probably won´t need anymore.

and it is okay that you are getting a break from cooking...i will eat

a ton again one day. so you don´t have to worry about it right now :)

where is Blake with school? if he is doing sports medicine and

physical therapy what is he doing in school? what is he studying? and

is he dating another girl right now? because elder Da Silva was

confused when i told him that Blake isn´t married lol. the Brazilians

here have the mentality that you should be married after 2 months that

you return home lol. there are 5 or 6 Brazilian missionaries that i am

aware of that are engaged already.

that is good to hear that all the missionaries that left around my

time are doing well. how is Connor doing? has he returned yet??

that is nuts that Morgan and Stuart are having the two year

anniversary already! and that Lauren will be 21. and that i will talk

to you guys on the 9th. and that i will be 20 in June. lots of moments

coming up. i will leave the teenage years? how sad. as for a package?

i have no idea. definitely more deodorant. i still have deodorant, but

i will just take advantage of the package. so deodorant. i will have

to think. i will tell you next week, okay??

andddd Lauren. i am good. i am alive. and for the most part, bug bites

are a little more rare...but i still have plenty. um the

baptisms...might be coming. but it is tough. and you don´t need to

worry about me. i have a sweatshirt, and if i need to, i will use it.

and if i absolutely have to, i will buy a sweater here. but it is

still hot here. so i am not needing one right now. it doesn´t get

freezing here. just in Rio Grande do Sul where Blake served and where

your roommate is from. so how are you? dating anyone that i need to

know about and still need to approve of? are you wanting to work with

cosmetology again?

anywho. so i got mom´s email saying that dad´s email is coming...but i

don´t know if i will have time to write back to what he says or if i

will even have time to read it. i hope so. but i am not sure. so for

now, i love you all. thanks for the constant support. i miss you all

and i hope everything is going great! and that mom and dad aren´t

killing themselves with projects. i hope everyone is healthy and

stuff.

LOVE YOU ALL! tchau

elder scott ghormley