The Weekly Epistle: From Juazeiro do Norte

Hello again, everyone!

This week was pretty crazy and busy, but it was a good one!

After months of renovation, the capela (``chapel´´, or church
building) had a public visitation (I´m not sure why they don´t call
them open houses any more, but they aren´t using that phrase in the
Church here any more). We were there to give a little part of the tour
on Thursday night, which was the first night. However, we actually
just ended up running around getting things ready for visitors, and
didn´t really teach any of the nonmembers who came through. There were
few people who came the first night to begin with, but I think that´s
a little bit to be expected.

Anyway, on Friday the other Elders were there at the capela for the
visitations, and Saturday morning we were there to have interviews
with President Souza, which we have once every other transfer, and
again that night for the dedication. Then, on Sunday, we were there
for church. AND we were there at the capela today for P-Day to play a
little bit of basketball and to watch a movie (``Glory Road´´ in
Portuguese. I was happy because, towards the end, I realized that I
had been focusing on the movie and the story of the movie with
thinking about the fact that it was in Portuguese. I didn´t understand
everything still, but I understood enough to get sucked into the
movie). In our mission, you can watch one Disney film that is
``livre´´ (Brazilian rating system, it´s basically G-rated movies) per
P-Day. Until today, we didn´t have the capability to do that, so it
was the first time for me to watch a Disney movie on P-Day.

Anyway, we spent A LOT of time in the capela this past week. I am so
grateful for the blessing it is to have a such a beautiful and special
place to gather together and worship. It truly is a blessing, and I
hope that we can all see how blessed we are, and that we can be
grateful for the things that we have taken for granted in our lives.

Anyway,``the time is far spent´´ (that´s actually a hymn title, and
I´ve been hearing a lot about it the past few days from Elder Call,
and also from a conference talk that I read), and I need to go, but I
love you all, and wish you the very best! Keep moving forward, put
your shoulder to the wheel, and remember that you truly are a child of
God. He is mindful of us. And He loves us so very much:)

And, I love you all too! Don´t forget that either:)

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

Hello, everyone!

This week was a little bit tough, but we worked hard and we´re looking forward to the next.

It´s so hard sometimes when people think fundamentally differently than you do, and they don´t understand the implications of what your saying. For example, Juazeiro is basically all Catholic (we say, ``católica até o pó,´´ which translates to ``Catholic into the dust´´ or ``into the dirt´´; ``atè o pó´´ is a phrase everyone uses for something that is really, really a certain way, like saying that they are Mormon until the death, or something is expensive beyond belief. It´s not just used to describe Catholics, I promise:) ). Because so many people are Catholic, they sometimes are Catholic without even knowing why they are. They pray every day, and go to ``misa´´ or mass once or twice or even everyday of the week, and yet they don´t really know what they believe. We talk about Joseph Smith, and ask if they think that he was a prophet, and people sometimes say, ``Com certeza,´´ or ``Of course.´´ They think that he could be a prophet, and all of those things could have happened, but don´t realize that means that the Church is the only true church.

Also, we ask people to pray about Joseph Smith, and then some people say, ``I pray everyday before I go to bed. Yeah, I believe praying is so important.´´ Yet, they sometimes don´t realize that they need to pray specifically about these things if they want to get a specific answer that they are true. It´s just kind of a struggle sometimes, but I am trying to improve every time, and to improve in how I explain things that it can be clearer and make more sense to the people that we are teaching.

One day this week, I was really feeling down, and really not feeling like things were going the way they should. I was trying to pray a lot about it, and seek the Lord´s will and guidance, and yet it was still hard. We left the house and started walking to one of our appointments. I was thinking about what was on my mind, and I was praying in my heart as fervently as I could. As I was thinking, I thought about my covenants that I have made, especially the covenants of the temple. As I focused more on my covenants of the temple, the thought came into my mind: ``This is My covenant, too.´´ Just as I covenanted with the Lord, He covenanted with me. And He will never back down from His covenants. If I keep my part, and honor my covenants, I will receive the promised blessings.

And as these thoughts went through my mind, the hymn ``How Firm a Foundation´´ popped into my head as well. As I began to sing the words in my mind, I began to tear up as the Spirit touched my heart, testifying to me that the Lord will always bless those who are obedient to Him and His words. In D&C 82:10, He says, ``I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.´´ And, in D&C 58:31, He says, ``Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?´´

We have covenanted with the Lord, and He has covenanted with us. If we are faithful to our covenants, and honor them, and remember them and Him, we have the Lord´s promise that we will be blessed. It may not be in the ways we expect, or according to the timetable that we want, but the Lord´s promises ``shall all be fulfilled´´ (D&C 1:37-38, or verses 36-39).

I know this to be true. I love you all so very much:) Keep fighting the good fight, relying on the Lord, and following and remaining faithful to His words, and His promised blessings will come to you in ways that you cannot now imagine to be possible.

I love you all so very, very much! Don´t forget it:)

Com amor ``até o pó,´´

Elder Reid Powell Empey

P.S. I did receive the letter package with the tree and the banners. Thank you so very much! I love the notes that people wrote on the banner, it means a whole lot to me. We didn´t put the tree or the banners up, because it came quite a bit of time after Christmas, but I am so glad that I have all of the comments, and I will be sure to keep them with me and read them often:)
P.P.S. LOVE YOU ALL TONS AND SCOOPS! :)

Brownies for the missionaires!

A Week Indeed - From Juazeiro do Norte

Hello, everyone!

So, a couple things happened this week.

First, on Tuesday, the police in Fortaleza went on strike, and the strike gradually made it´s way down to Juaziero do Norte, where I am at. At around one o´clock on Tuesday, a whole bunch of stores got robbed in the ``downtown´´ of Juazeiro (it´s called the Bairro Centro). Anyway, they basically all got robbed at the same time, and nothing could really stop them because the cops were on strike. 

So, as Elder Call and I walked through the Bairro Centro around 2 pm, all of the stores were closed in the middle of the day, and we weren´t totally sure what was up. We asked a few people on the street, and headed to the church. We called our leaders, and they got a hold of President Souza, and he said that we all needed to be in our houses by 6 pm. So, we called a bunch of people in our zone to let everyone know, and we headed home. We taught one more person after that, but the rest of the day we spent in the house. Pretty crazy! The police are not on strike anymore, and the Brazilian army actually got there the next day to make themselves known. So, everythings basically back to normal.

Second, on Thursday Elder Call and Elder Borrêa, another elder who live in the same house as us, went to Fortaleza for a leadership training, because they are both trainers (Actually, Elder Borrêa is training Elder Nielsen, my first companion in the MTC, so it´s pretty cool!). So, they actually left on Wednesday night, and Elder Nielsen and I worked together on Thursday. Neither us us speak fluent Portuguese yet, so it was quite the experience! on Wednesday night, I slept in Elder Borrêa´s bed, and the next morning I woke up with a huge pain in the left side of my neck. It was like I was getting a big Charlie Horse every time I turned my head that direction:( Anyway, I called a bunch of people, got a hold of Sister Souza (the mission president´s wife is typically responsible for the health and physical welfare of the missionaries in the mission), and she told me to go buy some ``Dorflex´´, which is a muscle relaxant. So, I´ve been taking that, and I feel lots better!

I am out of time, but I hope that you all know how much I love you, and that things are trucking along here! I was thinking today about the importance of love in our lives, and how we receive the love of Christ as we become true folowers of Him (Moroni 7:48). It reminded me of the talk I based my farewell talk on, from Elder Gonzalez in the April 2011 General Conference. I highly recommend it!

Anyway, I love you all, and I will talk to you again soon!

Love always,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

P.S. For those of you in the Connell area, all I have to say is that we always find some way to get on the map:)

P.P.S. For those of you at BYU, I would like to tell you that I love you all so very much, and that I don´t you are having the time of your lives up there:) (Weird, I´m pretty far down, aren´t I....:) )

P.P.P.S. For my dear family (and adopted family, so ALL of you), I LOVE YOU TONS AND SCOOPS! Keep moving forward, and don´t forget: you ROCK today:) Tchau!

Hello Again!

Hi, everyone!

The week leading up to Christmas was unlike any other this year, but I磎 glad that I got to spend it with my companion and cousin, Elder Call:) What a blessing:)

I was thinking about some experiences that I have had in the mission so far, and I thought about something that I am so grateful for about my area: the people talk to us! It is incredible to me how much we talk to people on the street or just while we磖e going somewhere because they call us over to talk to us. This week, we were walking down the street, and an older woman was standing in front of her house. As we walked by, she said, ``Hey, come here for a minute. I want to read what your tags say!创 We talked to her a little bit, and learned a little bit more about here. She is a sweet, dear woman, and yet she has health problems that make it so that she hardly ever leaves her house. We asked if we could share a short message with her, but she said she didn磘 have time then, but that we could pass by anytime, because she磗 always at home. We will probably pass by in the next couple of weeks. I磎 so glad that we got to talk to her.

I feel blessed, because things like this happen all the time on the street, and I feel like this sort of thing wouldn磘 ever happen in many other missions in the world. The Brazilian people are so open to talk, and not afraid to ask you if your German or something (It happens quite a bit, and I was never expecting that...), and they are a very loving people. I am so grateful for the chance I have to be here. What a great blessing!

I love you all so very much! It was great to talk to my family yesterday, and I am so glad for the blessing of families in our lives. It truly is God磗 plan for us! And through them, we receive the happiness and joy that He wants us to feel and have:)

I love you all so very much! Thank you all for the letters, and the packages, and the prayers! They all mean so very much to me:)

Love you all tons and scoops,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

P.S. Aunt Marilyn, your package came, and we are so grateful for the gifts! We wore the ties on Christmas, and showed them off at church while we gave our talks:) Also, thank you family again for the package! I will let you know when the others get here:) Love you all tons and scoops!

Merry Christmas, All!

December 19 Email

(I am so very, very sorry, but my email to Presidente Souza deleted itself again! And I had to re-type it completely...therefore, this will be another very short email:( But, I will try to make the best of it!)

Hello all! I hope that the coming days are exciting and full of joy for you. Christmas is a wonderful time, especially for family and friends. It is a time to ponder the things that are most important in our lives. And, it is a time to be grateful and express thanks for the matchless gift of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Of all the gifts that we will receive in the coming days, we need to remember that none of them are as wonderful and grand and joyful and loving as the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. What a blessing, that we can repent of our sins, that we can be free from the pain and burden of our transgressions! We can be clean again, and return to the presence of God, with our families. This is one of the most glorious parts of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, that through His Gospel, His sacrifice, and our willingness to be obedient to His commandments, we can be sealed to our families forever, and live together with Heavenly Father for all eternity.

The Atonement surpasses our capacity to comprehend, yet as we apply it in our lives, we begin to feel of the joy and happiness that is to be found in repentance. And, through the Atonement, we can change. We can let go of the habits and tendencies and character traits and attributes that cause us discomfort, pain, and sorrow in our lives. We can take upon ourselves His name, His attributes, and His goodness.

What a glorious gift our loving Heavenly Father gave to us! And what great love doth the Savior have for us, that He would lay down His matchless and perfect life, take upon Himself our sins, our imperfection, our weaknesses, and our pains and afflictions, that we can be made whole, and that we can truly become as He is.

My dear family and friends, let us never forget who we are. Let us never forget that the hands of the Savior are always extended out to us, no matter what we have done, what we haven´t done, or how we feel in the moment. He is there, waiting for you. And if you accept His invitation, and be willing to obey His words and commandments, you can feel that joy, love, and peace that you so desperately want to feel.

Let us never forget, also, that the love that we have and share, one for another, is God-given, and that as we feel it and share it, it will grow, and our love for the Savior will grow, and we will begin to experience just a tiny, little, infinitissimally microscopic piece of the wonderful joy and love that our Heavenly Father has for us, and that we can have forever and ever one with another, even into the eternities.

I love you all so much. Please remember this Christmas the marvelous gift of Jesus Christ, and His Atonement, in our lives. And also remember that this gift is simply too good not to share with others:) As we do, our own love and gratitude and joy of this matchless gift will grow even more.

I love you all so very much. Please remember that too!

Hugs, and kisses, and bucket fulls of love,

Elder Reid Powell Empey

P.S. Neither the letter nor the package have arrived as of yet:( Maybe tomorrow, but maybe not. So, even if it doesn´t come know that I still love you all so very, very much! And that I will most likely get it some time in the future:)

P.P.S. Geneil, the things from you guys hasn´t come yet either:( But, that´s okay! I love you all tons!

P.P.P.S. I´m not sure yet what will happen as far as calling is concerned. You will be getting a call sometime during the week, most likely on Friday. So, please keep your cellphones on and with you. If I can´t get a hold of one of you, I will keep trying for all of you until I get somebody. So, please be ready!! Love you tons and scoops!

Happy Holidays and Birthdays and Wedding Days and More!

December 12 Email

Hello all!

I´ve heard all sorts of news about weddings and birthdays and Christmas plans and stuff like that, and I´m glad to know that things are still bustling and jumping all over the place like usual:)

It is strange to be in a tropical climate around Christmastime. It´s hot (actually, this time of year is the hottest:) It will be hot until the rain season starts....it will be an adventure to say the least.), it´s humid, and even the thought of snow is impossible to even entertain.

I love the scriptures:) I´m so glad that we have them to guide and to help us in our lives. Through them, we truly can invite the Spirit into our lives, and learn more about Heavenly Father´s will for us. We can learn what we need to do differently, and what lies we are telling ourselves that are hindering us (Hel. 3:29-30), and we can find the assurance to continue pressing forward. Please read the article written by Elder David A. Bednar in the October Edition of the Ensign. The whole Ensign is about the Book of Mormon. Even if you are not a member of the Church, please read this magazine (Ensign is the name of the magazine). It explains more about the Book of Mormon, why we have the Book of Mormon, and how it can bless our lives. Here is a link to read this edition of the Ensign online: http://lds.org/ensign/2011/10?lang=eng.

Anyway, the article by Elder Bednar (http://lds.org/ensign/2011/10/lehis-dream-holding-fast-to-the-rod?lang=eng) is about the importance of continually holding fast to the Iron Rod, or the word of God. He discusses the significance of the story of Lehi´s Dream in the Book of Mormon, and what we can do to learn what we can learn and what we should and need to learn from the principle of continually holding fast to the Iron Rod. It really is a wonderful article:)

I am almost out of time, but I want to let you all know that I know that I am where the Lord wants me to be. I know that He wants to bless each and every one of us with the things that we need, and sometimes even the things that we would like too! But, He cannot bless us unless we are being obediant to the commandments. Also, we can´t keep the commandments if we don´t know what they are, or perhaps if we have a wrong understanding of what they are. Because of the need to know clearly the commandments of the Lord, He has given us those who can show us the path, and tell us how we need to prepare for the future. We have the blessing of the Lord to have the guidance and the direction of prophets, both the sacred words of the ancient prophets and apostles in the holy scriptures, but also the priceless and heaven-sent guidance of a living, latter-day prophet. I bear my testimony that we truly do have a prophet on the earth today, and that he leads and guides the Church under the direction of Jesus Christ, who Church this is. I know that Thomas S. Monson truly is a prophet of God. I also know that everyone can know that this is true for themselves, not just because I say that it is so. If we will pray to Heavenly Father, in the name of Christ, really desiring to know and to act upon the truth, He will show us, through the power of the Holy Ghost, the truth of all of these things.

Please, never forget that you are never far from the gaze of a loving Heavenly Father. Pray to Him. He wants to hear from you, just as badly as you want to hear from you children, the same as you what to hear their voices and hear the things that are going on in their lives. Sometimes we just want to hear from each other! And so it is with Him:)

I know that as we seek after Him, in prayer, in scripture study, and in being obediant to His commandments, we will find joy and peace and happiness in our lives. He will shows us where we need to be, where He wants us to be, and we will be better able to see His Hand in our lives. And not only that, but we will begin to see that His Hand has always been in our lives, and directing our path for good.

I know these things to be true. I love you all so very much:) Please, don´t be afraid to follow Him! You will be blessed more than you can know see or perceive. Pray that He will open your eyes. There is more at work than you can see (

I love you all so very, very much! Keep moving forward, press forward in Christ, feast upon His words, and you will find the joy and the happiness that you seek.

Love with all of my heart,

Elder Reid Empey

P.S. So, some not so fun news for the family: no Skype:( But, that´s what President says, and that´s how it´s going to be. So, you will be hearing in the coming weeks about when the call will happen, the details, etc, etc. I love you all so much:)

P.P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I love you:)

P.P.P.S. Good luck to all of you will your traveling, driving, and meandering! Love you tons!