Monday, July 23, 2018

Week #100 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #15 - Combati o bom combate

The mission was certainly the hardest thing I´ve ever loved to do as I learned it would be from a letter Uncle Paul forwarded me while I was still in the CTM. I have had countless incredible experiences, learned many life lessons, met so many people, and have developed a love for a country and culture that I once knew so little about. When I opened my call, I had no idea what the mission would be like but I truly felt the Spirit confirm to me that that´s where I was supposed to go. As I finish my mission, I am filled with peace and gratitude knowing that I have met the people I was supposed to meet and have done my best to serve as an instrument in the Lord´s hands to help bring others unto Christ.

Ever since I entered the CTM, I have been put through the refiner´s fire having to put my pride aside and sincerely rely on the Lord´s help. I remember my first week in the field feeling extremely unqualified; not understanding what people were saying, not knowing how to teach, feeling lost, having to walk more than ever, but always trusting that the Lord would be by my side. I am thankful that the Lord has trusted in me as well despite of my weaknesses as he said he would in D&C 1:23, ´´That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world...´´.

I am more thankful than ever for Christ´s example and for His eternal sacrifice. There have been many moments when I have been extremely tired or frustrated but I would think of Mosiah 15:7 which says, ´´Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the son being swallowed up in the will of the father.´´ This scripture has helped me many times to do the Lord´s will and not mine. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that He took upon Himself the sins of the world. I know that He resurrected and was victorious over death. Because of Him, we can be clean from our mistakes and cleansed of our impurities. We will be resurrected and we can live with loved ones again. ´´Which of the founders of major world religions declared himself to be divine? Buddha did not. Muhammad did not. Nor did Lao-tzu, Confucius, Abraham, or Moises. Only one religious leader made such a claim and then backed it up by the way he lived, the things He taught, and the miracles He performed - Jesus Christ.´´ (Brad Wilcox).

Usually when I talk to strangers I ask them if they have ever thought about their purpose here on earth or if they think there is life after death. Some would say that they have thought a lot about it and others would say that those questions have never crossed their minds. I am always happy to testify that our life does have purpose and there is more after this life. A philosopher said, This is the terror; to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life, and self expression - and with all these yet to die. It seems like a hoax.´´. It has been an amazing experience to teach people about the Plan of Salvation and see them fill with understanding and hope as the Spirit testified to them of these truths.

I have felt the pure love of Christ as I have learned to care about so many other people. I will never forget the people I have met and the relationships I have created. People who were once complete strangers turned into eternal friends after knocking on their door or talking to them on the street. People would tell me their life stories and ask for help just because I was wearing a name tag that says Elder. Many humble members would act as if the Savior was in their house and make us a feast. Being a representative of Christ has been a very humbling experience. Although my love does not come close to that of Christ, I´m thankful for the opportunity I´ve had to feel a portion of what he feels for each of us.

I will surely miss this place, but as the apostle Paul wrote, ´´...the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.´´ Thank you all so much for your support and prayers. Thanks to all those who read my emails!! You guys are the best and have helped me so much. I love you all!!

Elder Scheer






Week #99 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #14

Hey guys! Sorry for not writing much this week but next week I will write a good letter.

Have a great week!






Friday, July 13, 2018

Week #98 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #13 - The First Vision

Sad week here in Brazil with the loss to Belgium... but we had a great week as missionaries. 

2 highlights from the week:

On Tuesday we got to teach an awesome young couple named Thomas and Breda that was a member referral. We taught them the Restoration and I think it was one of the most spiritual lessons of my mission. The Spirit was almost tangible. When I shared the First Vision, Thomas almost jumped out of his seat. The member that gave the referral said that after the lesson he told him that the room was vibrating with energy haha. Brenda went to church on Sunday and loved it. Sadly Thomas couldn´t go because he plays music at noon every Sunday, so that will be a challenge.

On Sunday we were in front of the chapel welcoming everyone and waiting for investigators to show up when out of nowhere Diego and Adriani show up! They are a family that I have been visiting since I got here. They were all set to get married and then Diego didn´t want to anymore or even go to church. But I really felt that I shouldn´t give up on them. I have been praying so much for the Lord to soften his heart because he really lost all desire to live the gospel. When they showed up I was so happy. That afternoon we went to visit them and they said they talked to Bishop and have decided to get married!! So hype! Sadly I won´t be here but it´s alright. It was incredible to see how their semblance had changed just for making that decision. 

Time is passing fast and I´m trying to take advantage of what I have! I love you all!!

Elder Scheer



Wednesday, July 4, 2018

Week #97 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #12 - Go Brasil!!!

Today President let us watch Brazil vs Mexico since it´s Pday. It was pretty hype! It´s not as crazy here as I thought it would be, but it still is a good time. 

This week was super tiring, but a good time. We have been going out to work earlier than usual and getting home at 9:30pm everyday. We are really just working hard to try and find new people who are interested. This week we were hoping for a bunch of new people at church and we had 6 show up, which was pretty good. We are hoping to help some of these people progress even more this week! 

Elder Santos and I are working really well together. We have been able to feel the Spirit very strongly in our lessons. This week we were teaching a girl named Juliana and she was telling us how she is going to a church but she always goes to different churches because she doesn´t know which is right. I got so excited haha. She understood the Restoration really well and showed a lot of interest. 

I´m also learning all about documents and certificates in Brazil because we are trying to get a divorced man married with a widowed woman. Haha so many documents! 

This week I was able to bear my testimony for the last time in testimony meeting. I talked about how I´ve seen how the Book of Mormon has blessed and changed the lives of so many people. I know that it is truly another Testament of Jesus Christ. 

A quote I heard this week: ´´It´s not necessarily how much we read, it´s what we do with what we read that matters.´´ If we seek to apply what we learn, we will be so much more happy and successful. 

Love you all!! Have a great 4th of July!! 

Elder Scheer

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Week #96 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #11 - Birthday in Brazil, 20 Yrs Old!

I have written so many of these letters hahaha. But I´ve had a great first week with my new companion Elder Santos! He is a great guy and likes to work. 

This week we worked a ton to contact and find new people to teach. We were able to have a good amount of success and on Sunday we were rewarded with 3 great references!! Best thing ever when a member brings a friend to church haha. So we are super excited to work with these people and help them learn more.

We were able to have a few people progress this week as well. Raimunda is ´´married´´ to a member in the ward and she moved here recently from Fortaleza. This week we taught the Restoration and invited her to pray and she said that she has been feeling a lot of peace. She said she feels really good during our lessons, when she reads and at church. This week we are going to mark a date for them to get legally married so that she can get baptized! 

Also Jenni is the smartest 11 year old I have every taught. She lives with her grandma and they both want to be baptized but sadly her grandma can´t because she´s not legally married to her husband. And if she were to get married, she would lose a pension that she recieves and she needs that money to live. But this week we are going to mark Jenni´s baptism! 

This week I turned 20 which is pretty crazy!! We didn´t really do anything special haha but it was a good day! We got to teach a good amount of lessons. At night a family came by our apartment to give me a present which was super nice! And on Sunday, the family that gave us lunch sang to me and made me the best dessert called torta de bolacha. 

World Cup is has been a good time here! During the games everything stops, even banks close haha. But so far we have been able to teach people during the Brazil games! 

Have a great week! 

Elder Scheer



20 Years Old!!





Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Week #95 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #10 - Farewell to Elder Anderson

Hey everyone! 

This week was great! It was also Elder Anderson´s last week in the mission which was crazy. As he was packing his bags I got slapped with a reality check that that will be me in 6 weeks.s My new companion will be Elder Santos and he has a year and 2 months so I´m excited to go as hard as I can and leave everything out here. 

The highlight of this week was definitely Victor Hugo´s baptism! It was a super spiritual experience. Elder Anderson and I sang 'Come Thou Fount" and I played the ukulele. I also got to baptize him! Sadly I forgot my camera at home so I´ll have to send pictures next week. But after his mom came up to me and said ´´who knows if that will be me in the future´´. So cool! She really felt the Spirit.

The bummer of the week was Kauê not getting baptized. He decided to tell his parents two days before and they weren´t having it so he decided it would be better to wait a little. So we are praying for them to soften their hearts!!

This week in Elder´s quorum we talked about Elder Robbins´ talk ``Until Seventy Times Seven´´. I really loved this talk and it gave me a different perspective about making mistakes and using them to get better. He uses the example of someone learning to play piano and how they have to make thousands or even millions of mistakes to become an expert. Same thing with learning a language. If we never messed up we wouldn´t be able to progress. I'm so thankful that through the Atonement of Christ we can always be forgiven and constantly replace our errors with light..

Lastly, happy Father´s Day to my amazing dad!! Love you all so much!

Elder Scheer

                            

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Week #94 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #9

Hey everyone! 

This week I don´t have very much time to write because today is Elder Anderson´s last pday and he wants to do a few things. But Kauê and Victor will be baptized and we are hyped! Everything is going great as usual! 

Love y´all!

Elder Scheer





Friday, June 8, 2018

Week #93 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #8

What´s up everyone!? 

So last Monday we got a surprise call from President. He said that Elder Silva was going to be Assistant and that Elder Anderson was going to  be my new companion. Crazy! It´s funny because Anderson only has 2 weeks left til he goes home. But it has been a good time because we are going to be neighbor´s in college and we've always wanted to be companions. 

The emergency transfer kinda threw us for a loop but we still had a great week. Victor continues progressing incredibly well and will be baptized on the 16th and Kauê will also be baptized. They are both 18 and Victor already wants to serve a mission! 

Everything has pretty much gone back to normal since the strike. The only annoying part is that the mail services were shut down and we are waiting on a document so that Lucas, Dayane can get married and baptized. 

On Wednesday we had a really cool lesson with a guy named Miguel. He was telling Anderson how we met him and he said ´´At first I just wanted to practice my English with them, but now I just look forward to the messages.´´ He told us that he feels a really good energy when we are with him and that his family also feels it. We told him that it is the Spirit! Way awesome.

Yesterday was Stake Conference and there was an Area 70 that gave a super good talk. A few quotes that stuck out to me: ´´Conversion happens when we apply gospel principles and doctrines in our lives. The more principles we apply, the more converted we become.´´ , ´´What am I doing now that I need to stop today? What am I not doing now that I need to start doing today?´´. 

Hope everyone has a great week! Love y´all!

Elder Scheer​

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Week #92- Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #7 - Revolt of the Truck Drivers

I´m not sure if this news has reached you guys yet but gas prices went up here in Brazil and the truck drivers are not happy. They decided to protest and stopped working so basically the whole country is slowly coming to a stop. There is no more gas in the gas stations and no food getting delivered to stores. It probably won´t last much longer but we shall see. 

Besides tha,t everything is great! This week we had Teixeira´s baptism! It was supposed to be on Thursday but when we went to fill up the baptismal font there was no water... so we had to move it to Saturday. But on Saturday everything went well and it was a powerful experience. 

On Thursday, after we decided to move the baptism we didn´t have anything to do. The gas station next to our chapel was one of the last ones in the city with gas left and there was a huge line of cars waiting to fill up. We decided to go contact all of them since they weren´t doing anything. After we contacted the first one and he said that we could visit him, a car passed by saying that there was no more gas and everyone left :( I was excited to talk to all those people not doing anything, but oh well haha.

On Wednesday we had a really good lesson with an 18 year old named Victor. He told us that he has been praying everyday and has been feeling something that he never had before. He is already in Alma! We marked his baptism for June 16th

Not anything crazy this week but #prayforbrazil because if things don´t change it´s going to get rough! Love you all!

Elder Scheer






Monday, May 21, 2018

Week #91- Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #6 - Go Knights!


Go Knights! When I left Vegas the Knights didn´t even exist and now they are in the Stanley Cup?? #lit

This week was good as always. We are working with a bunch of investigators that we have been able to find these last couple weeks. The only frustrating part is that every week we have so many people say that they will come to church and then 4 or 5 show up. But it´s all good. 

Everything is good to go for Teixeira´s baptism this week so we are pretty excited. He´s 60 years old and he´s a big guy and chose me to baptize him so we will see how that goes haha.

Last P-day we hiked up to White Rock which is what our area is named after with a family we are teaching. It was super beautiful. We were able to see the entire island of Florianopolis from where we were.

This week we got to teach a family that is half member half non member. The dad and daughter are members and the mom and other son that just turned 8 aren´t members. She loves church but there have always been some obstacles keeping her from getting baptized but everything should work out this time! We will mark a baptismal date with her and her son this week!

This week I was studying about charity and I learned that we can measure our charity in three ways:
1. How we listen
2. How we give
3. How we love

If we can have true charity in these 3 things we will be so much more like our Savior. I think as a missionary it´s been hard to have charity with listening. I have a bad problem of zoning out when people are talking haha. But always remember that charity is the most important attribute we must have. He said that if we do not have charity we are nothing. 

Have a fantastic week!!! Much love
Elder Scheer

The hills that you can see in the very back is Florianopolis





Monday, May 14, 2018

Week #90- Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #5 - Happy Birthday Elder Silva!



Hey everyone!!

Not any huge news this week but a few cool things happened. Also we have started using Uber a little bit because it saves us a ton of time and it has gotten really big here. 

But this week we got to visit a reference that we received from the church site. His name is Victor and he is 18. He alreadyk new everything about the restoration and had already read all of 1st Nephi. He also went to church yesterday with his mom so we are pretty excited.

But besides that, not much is new. We are working with the people that we have found and trying to help them progress! 

Love y´all!
Elder Scheer

Celebrating Elder Silva's 20th Birthday!







Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Week #89- Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #4 - Another Week of Miracles!

To start off, a huge miracle... so on Monday we went to mark one of our investigator´s wedding so that he can get baptized. After that he dropped us off at the store to buy food for the week. While we were walking through the store, I saw a guy along with his wife and son that I had taught in Rio Tavares almost a year ago. I´m sure if you look in my blog a little less than a year ago, I talked about Dayane, Lucas, and William. Dayane stopped breathing when she saw me haha. Anyway, I started talking to them and they told me that they had moved a couple months ago and weren´t able to get in touch with the missionaries. They are living in my area now, on the very last street of my area! I was so happy. I know that this isn't a coincidence. All three of them want to be baptized and already know everything about the Church. They just have to get married!! It is not common for the people in Brazil to get married, but I told them that they have to get married and baptized before I go home and they agreed.
Last week we started teaching a really cool family. The dad is into triathlons and stuff and the mom is a scout leader which is really rare here. One thing that I have missed is that most of the people here in Brazil don´t really have hobbies like we do; but they have been super interested and went to Church on Sunday with their 10 year old son, Guilherme. They loved it! 

Ever since I arrived to this area I have been asking Heavenly Father to share the vision He has of this area with me. We have been finding a bunch of new investigators with a ton of potential, so I think I´m understanding what he´s trying to say to me.

This week I was reading a book called ´The Continuous Atonement´ and I came across a phrase that really made me think. It said something like this, ´´It´s not our good works that will earn us a good place in the end, it´s the person we have become through our good works.´´ Many times I just do things because I know I should, but it doesn´t change who I am. It´s easy to change our behavior but to change our nature is much harder. It is only possible to change our nature through The Atonement of Christ. Through lots of prayer and diligence, we can really change and become more like Him.

Sorry for all the rambling. Love you all and Happy Mother´s Day to all the wonderful moms out there!

Elder Scheer

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Week #88 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #3 - Miracles!

This week was a week of miracles! We worked super hard and we were able to find a few famillies with a lot of potential.

One of the highlights from the week was when we were walking and a guy pulled over in his car and called us over. He said he knows a little about the Mormons but would like to learn more and practice his English. So we marked to go over later that day. He is a policeman and his family is really cool. He has a 15 year old son and a 12 year old daughter. He believes in God but has never had any religion. At the end of the lesson, we knelt down and invited him to pray. When he accepted, his wife looked kind of shocked haha. He prayed and the Spirit was really strong. 

Another cool story: We were walking to our next appointment and a guy came walking by us and stopped us. He said that he has been inactive for a long time but he felt really strongly that he needed to go back to church. He decided to walk to the chapel in the afternoon to try and find us but no one was there. So he walked back to his house but felt like he should take a different path and ran into us! He had the biggest smile on his face and was so happy to be at church on Sunday.

We are having a bunch of great experiences. I am so thankful for the Holy Ghost that guides me daily as a misisonary. It is truly such a huge blessing and we should never take it for granted.

Love you all! Have a great week!!

Elder Scheer

Monday, April 23, 2018

Week #87 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #2 - White Rock

Hello everyone! It has been a great, hot week here in Pedra Branca.

The highlight of our week was with a guy named Luis. He was the first guy I contacted here in Pedra Branca. He was super excited to talk to us and he said we could visit him any day so we marked for Tuesday morning. On Tuesday we looked at our map but we could not find his street or even the neighborhood he lives in so we said a prayer and asked the Lord to bless us with someone in our path to help us get there on time. We left our apartment and started walking and about 3 mins later a car pulls up and tells us to get in. He told us that he is an Uber driver but won´t charge us and took us to our appointment! When he dropped us off he told us that he is a return missionary but is inactive. He really was a huge blessing because we would have never found Luis´s house. We taught him the restoration and it went super well. He accepted to be baptized if he receives an answer!

We have a few people with some good potential but we are really working on trying to find more people.

This week we also had mission tour with the President of the Brazil area and it was really good. He really motivated us to work a lot harder. Our mission is needing it!

Hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Scheer

4 Generation Family

Elder Scheer with companion, Elder Silva


Monday, April 16, 2018

Week #86 - Pedra Branca/Palhoca - Episode #1 - Irmão Alexandre!

Irmão! Já que você é a pessoa mais fiel de meu blog queria mandar um grande abraço! Desculpa que tive que sair com tanta pressa! Fui pegou de grande surpresa. Mas por favor, mande um abraço para todo mundo para mim! Obrigado por tudo que fizeram para mim nestes últimos 4 meses. Se cuidam!

Hello everyone! This week has been pretty crazy! On Friday morning at approximately 8:34 am I was studying and the phone rang. President told me I was being emergency transferred to Pedra Branca and the I needed to pack my bags! It was a huge surprise. I was pretty bummed to leave Lages without getting to say goodbye to anyone. I have met so many special people there and I will miss it a ton.

But now I´m here in Pedra Branca in a city called Palhoça! We are basically doing white wash because my comp has only been here a week and a half so he doesn´t know much. But this area has a ton of potential. 

I´ll let you guys know more next week! Love y´all!

Elder Scheer



Irm

Monday, April 9, 2018

Week #85 - Lages - Episode #19

Hey everyone! I have very little time this week because we are about to catch a bus to Florianopolis for a leadership meeting.

The highlight of this week was probably that I got to confirm Debora on Sunday. It was a special experience as always. 

Things are going well with my new companion, Elder Antolini. We have some good plans to help the ward in working more with the members, we are serving in what has been the same Stake for 25 years so something has to change!

One of my favorite scriptures is Mosiah 15:7. It says : ´´Yea even so He shall be lead, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father´´. It´s so incredible how Christ put His will to the side and perfectly followed the will of his Father. I know that as we strive to do that, we will be full of joy and light because our Father in Heaven wants nothing but the absolute best for us, his children.

Have a great week!!
Love, 
Elder Scheer



Sunday, April 8, 2018

Week #84 - Lages - Episode #18 - Brazilian Apostle!



Everyone´s pretty happy about Elder Soares being called as an apostle, pretty cool stuff!

Starting with Thursday, we received transfer calls and Elder Almeida was called to be Assistant and I will be serving with Elder Antolini who is from Argentina!

Friday we had Debora´s baptism! It went super well. She is really shy and didn´t want many people there, so there were only two families to watch. She is water phobic as well, so we were kind of nervous, but everything worked out perfectly. It´s been incredible to see how much see has changed over this last month. 

Conference was absolutely incredible.  I whole-heartedly sustain President Nelson as a Prophet of God. Such a great opportunity to receive answers and feel the Spirit. I think my favorite talk was President Nelson´s about personal revelation. He said something along the lines of, ´´Find a quiet place, humble yourself, pour out your heart, and listen. Then write down your thoughts and follow through with promptings.´´ I always get nervous thinking about the big decisions that I will have to make over these next few years , but I really felt the Spirit confirm to me that He will guide me as long as I seek personal revelation with real intent. 

Saturday we also had a lesson with Amanda in between sessions and we got to teach her with the Sisters. She was feeling hesitant to commit to baptism but we helped her feel better and she will be baptized on the 14th.

Sorry I forgot my camera so I will have to send pics next week :(

Love you all!
Elder Scheer