Last week's letter (I forgot to post)

Hey, Hows it going? This week was good, we are teaching allot more lessons too. My comps. name is Elder Campos, he is cool. And we are in Macaé- Rio de Janeiro. We are about 2 or 3 hours north of the center of the City. Today i finished the Book Of Mormon and i am currently studying the New Testement. I will start the Docrorine & Covenants here soon, becasue i started to wake up earlier to study so its cool. Sounds like the week is going good, Jord- how was basketball and hows Doug? My teeth are alittle better, they were way bent but somehow -power of god- they are alittle straighter. I talked to the dentist the other day and he suggested that he remove the bar to see if the teeth will straighten themselves up but he said that i need to get new braces to fix them completely. I marked another appointment on the 20th so email the pres. or something so i can know what you want me to do, he plans to remove the bar. The other day was cooler than ever!!! we were visiting an investigator that is preparing to be baptized this saturday and we sung a hymn then read and studied about Jesus Christ then we read chpt 17 of 3Nefi and the spirit blasted the room to utter destruction!!!!!!!!! until the point that Antonio, the Investigator, said himself that the Book Of Mormon is true. What else is cool is that since we have been putting more effort into teaching more lessons, we are also making more contacts on the road in between the lessons. We have to make a certaint number of contacts each week and I thought it would Have slowed the contacts down but it is increasing the number so the lord is preparing the way. cool. The sand rail sounds good, and we already passed the time switching situation- yes we have time savings, one time we didnt know and we were late to church because of it. mmmk. HAAAAAPPPPPYYYY Double b-day, Jordan.Have a good week and I know the Book Of Mormon is true, because of the guidence it brings in my life and becasue the lord said so also. the church is true and Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of the lord today so we can follow the lord. in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.-- hey, one cool thing i learned the other day about the Book Of Mormon is that it is the corner stone of the truth, so if we dont make the BOM apart of our lives then we wont be able to keep our testimonies. so read it every day. and congrats for uncle dan--YES!! Elder Davis

Kenzie's letter from March 18, 2009

What, that was like the coolest emails i have ever gotten!!! So Dougalognie is dating? be carefull. that was cool to hear from him again. That is soooooo awesome that dan got married. I recieved his open house invataion from his wifes side. I dont think i have ever been so proud of dan. Mmmmk. Not that im old or anything but its cool. Cool marrage story too. Jordan--- YEEEESSSS!! I want to buy like a truck or something becasue you got your eagle and are almost done with the bom!! I finished the other day and how the lord responded to me was different, I thought i would get a similar experience as last time but it was different. While i finished studying moroni 10 I felt way good, and then after finishing I thought like moroni says about the kindness of god since the beginning and then I asked if the bom was true... I didnt feel anything big, nothing shook me but i felt more peace and calmness than i have felt on the mission. I just understood that its true and felt good. So you just have to pay attention to the spirit becasue he talks to us in different ways. seems like everytime i ask to know if the bom is true or something i get a different response everytime. If you ask wanting to know the lord will let you know. So I dont get that much baptizms but i know if i do my part then the lord will do his. Even if it takes time. Yesterday we had a mission tour with Pres. Didier- It was sooo coool.the spirit was way strong and his wifes mother came too and bore her testimony- she only speaks french. So it was cool. After we had lunch at a restarant and nobody was sitting by pres. Didier and his wife etc. so i though- its not everyday that you can eat with a 70. So i sat by them and ate too. I always thought that he was german but they speak french for their native lang. and they are from some place that starts with a B. Pres. Didier speaks a ton of lang.!! Wow. Thats awesome that Dougs back, if he stops by again he can just stay in my old room if he wants. JK. Have a good week, I really Know and am converted not just convinced that Jesus Christ is our savior and through him we are forgiven of our sins, and if we follow his gospel we will be able to return to our Hevenly Father again. Em nome de Jesus Cristo amem. Elder Davis

Kenzie's e-mail from Feb. 25, 2009

hey, hows thing going? if i was at that conference and heard that talk i would have have headed to the bathroom. i laughed just now. this week was good, awesome!!! we are in an area where the members are down our throughts trying to visit our investigators and stuff. we taught 8 lessons in one day that we did splits. yesterday was cool, the spirit was with us durring the whole day so we were happy and we taught a person that was incredible!! we taught the first lesson and the spirit was so strong that i couldnt stop smiling through the lesson and the person really opened up and told us her difficulties so we could help, she has problems with her family being together- her kids use drugs so they are rebelling. as we taught the spirit testified to her that her family would be helped through the truth. and she will go to church sunday. she was so touched that she read a section of salms (a big one) to us that she liked. it was way good. later we were invited to have a family home evening with a less active and our new missionary leader in the ward. we watched a film on the resoration and it was good becasue it brought good feelings to the less active. this week was carnaval, so we had to return home every day at 7 o clock and we studied from 7-8 and comp study 8-9 then we planned. we had to wake up and work at 8 in the morning too. it was a huge mess every where with huge parties nad lots of beer and stuff so its good we avoided it all returning home early. they had some wierd contests in the evening too where they made some bulls out of bamboo and put cloth over it and painted them adn stuff and then one guy went in and made the bull dance while others played drums so it was interesting. it was a contest to see who made the better bull and stuff. im in moroni 7 now!! yes. i wish i could eat and drink knowledge so i could get it faster. i started to wake up earlier too adn read the bible( new testement) i need to know these things becasue the people interperet the bible wrong. today while i was waiting for a bus i made a contact with a guy and he tried to teach me lies to we corrected him and it was pretty funny. he started to get alittle mad and nervous and tried to tell a bunch of boloughnie. but was knocked down by the power of the lord. but.... have a good week and keep reading the book of mormon --- jord.-- i love you all Elder Davis

Last Week's Second Letter

wooooooooooooooooow, hows things going? happy birthday courtney. my comps name is E. Rezende, from uberaba, minas gerais. ( the best of brazil- its what my comp said right now) im still in the same area; caju, campos. so dougalonie will be visiting hmmmm, hey douuuuug!! can you get him the mesage please and tell him to keep writing. sounds like the week was different, my week was different too. we are talking to almost everyone on the road. our pres. is telling us to talk more and profess the gospel. we are having alittle trouble finding people that are willing to go to church and pray so we are on a shortage right now besides 1 family that we are teaching. the other day was good teaching them, we taught the first lesson and marked dates with them for bapt. the husband drinks and smokes and wont go to church so hes alittle difficult, creuza, the wife went to church 2 times already and likes it. but still hasnt prayed to know if Joseph smith was a prophet. but we are trying to take a member there to help, the spirit is guiding us allot too. yesterday was interesting becasue we were walking down the road and made a contact with a guy, and he said he was a prophet and after listening to him we helped him know that he isnt a prophet and a few other things and he exploded adn got really really mad at us. and later durring the night while we were planning for the next day our room became infested with flying ants so we left the room but they still kept entering in, and they bite too and it swells up when they bite. so we spent a while killing ants. and they are not small,... huge! on the 13 of march pres. didier of the 70 is coming to talk to us so it will be good. today we went and had a barbeque and i cooked allot of meat. sausage and steak so it was good. and i read 2 more chapters in the bom. now im in ether 8. almost done!!! happy valentines day and i love you all. stay strong with the basic things, going to church, reading the bom, praying etc. have a good week. Elder Davis

Last Week's First Letter

so ivé got alittle more time to talk becasue the reference site says -- nobody-- so, are people still eating ice cream and playing games and stuff? you know one thing that im alittle nervous about when i get back, is returning to the world because ill loose alittle bit of focus on the things of the lord. hows the cool car? is dan married yet? the other day i was studying and i found some interesting stuff- that peter, james, and john when they went to the mount of tansf. they saw the transfiguration of the world. so i thought that was interesting. you know what will be cool? is when i get to study D&C, and overload the mind with knowledge. you cant be saved in ignorace so load up. times up but have a good week -- heres a challenge.. i want all of you to ask the lord if the book of mormon is true again, so youll need to read a chapt, think about it then ask if the bom is true. because you have to fight to keep a testimony. you cant just recieve a response 1 time and thats it. thanks Elder Davis

hey, hows the week. IM IN A NEW AREA! today, at 2:40 we got up and me and on of the other mishionaries -elder burris, left and headed to rio. i am now in a new area, do you remember the times when i said we had a conference in macaé, well now im serving in macaé. the name of my area is areoporto. its cooooool! our house is like a rich guys house, i have my own bathroom, a good bed, huge kitchen and its the coolest area and house ever!!!! but, things are going good. thats cool that dan will be married! thanks for the letters and the emails. happy birthday courtney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my comps name is elder campos. he has 1 transfer on the mish. ( 1 month and 2 weeks) hes pretty cool, hes a brazilian. one cool thing that happened the other day in my old area was we were walking down the street to return some pots we borrowed from a member and lately i have been asking for opportunities to serve and i felt i should pray while i was walking so i did and it slowed me down a little bit and because it slowed me down i realized a guy was having a hard time walking. we went over and helped him becasue he broke his foot and was returning from the hospital but it was killing him, so we carried him to the bus stop and helped him on. it was a good experience that shows the lord answeres prayers, and shows how good it feels to help others. he was way greatfull. in my old area we were having a bit of trouble finding people who would go to church, wow it was hard. but we kept at it and prayed and fasted, the lord helped us find a few less active members and a few new investigators and on sunday we left really early and went to the end of our area and woke them up by clapping or calling them by phone adn we were blessed with a answer to our prayers and fasts by having the less active members and new invest. come to church!!!!!!! it was great and i new they felt the spirit. so sounds like things are going good, im in moroni 5 now, almost done and ill start doctorine and covenants. i was thinking the other day about stuff and thought about how the enemy blinds us without even trying, if we dont read the book of mormon, go to church and say our prayers we will forget him and get lost in the world. so do the basic things every daY!!!!!!!! i know the bom is true and Jesus Christ lives. god hears and answeres every sincere prayer. in the name of Jesus Christ amen. Have a good week and i love you all, remember to please recieve a renewed testimony of the bom. thanks for the emails dad. ill keep fighting. Elder Davis

Feb. 4, 2009

hey, hows it going? this last week was good, we talked to about a billion people on the streets. we are talking to more people now, yesterday we had a conference with the president and learned we need to talk more and open our mouths and proclaim the gospel. so we are making allot more contacts with people. sounds like the cold is what is nice... and sounds like some interesting stuff is going on. im in mormon chtp 9 now. and soon i should be starting to study doctorine and covenants soon. yes!! ill be loaded with knowledge. the camp out situation sounds anoying, send the letter and put my name on it too. and have fun with the sweethearts dance... lucky, i never really got asked like that. but be carefull. how was the trip to chicago? is there allot of black people there? there are allot here, ive got nothing against blacks. its just a question. because now im used to only seeing dark people. but they are way nice and funny too. have a good week, leard how to type and shop away alexis. jk. i know the lord loves us and if we follow the profet we will be protected against anything. becasue its a promise. the book of mormon is true and the church also. the only church established by Jesus Christ that will take us back to our heavenly father in happyness. Elder Davis

January 28, 2008

hey, tudo bom? today was really different. the president let us watch another movie- called -facing the giants-, about a football team and how they trust in the lord and when you work, never give up, even when it hurts. it gave me allot more desire to work and never quit. after we went to an old folks home and visited some old crazy people and one was hitting a chair because she was hungry so it was pretty funny. sounds like good weather, im dying of heat!!!! when i get back ill just lay in the snow. has there been any new campouts or stuff? sounds like stuff is normal, thats awesome that dan and landon will get married. you know one thing that i have learned these last couple of weeks, that life is hard but you cant quit. you cant wait for something to happen or for others to do something, you have to do it yourself. like dad was talking about. every day seems like a fight and you just want to give up, but you cant- you have to fight the good fight like king benjamin. so i have been here for 6 months - almost- in this area. i should be transfered in a few weeks. this next teusday we have a conference in macaé again. so i heard doug finished his mish or somthing like that. i havent heard from him in a while so i guess he finished. hows the cool new powerfull car? i have almost finished the book of mormon in portugues, im in mormon now. im pretty much addicted to studying now, i want to know everything but i only have a few hours to study each day. it would be cool to study for an entire day. how is jordan and the rest of you doing in reading the scriptures? thanks for the letters, they are good to read. no they are not annoying. everyonce in a while you feel overwhelmed with all the stuff so the letters calm you down. have a good week and never stop fighting, the scriptures and stuff have really opened my eyes about the real world around us and our part on earth. i know Jesus Christ lives and is our savior and he will help us in our problems. and our hevenly father also. this is my testimony. in the name of Jesus Christ amen. have a good week. and if you get the chance tell uncle dan hi and congrats, and uncle josh- hes going down. and uncle scott- thanks for being cool. love you all, Elder Davis---mmmmk- jordan-mmmk

cool pictures, sounds like the trip was good. so this week was good, we had a zone meeting the other day and we had some good news- we used to have to get atleast 70 adresses from the people (written down) every week and it kindof restricted looking for people who really want the message because you usually focused on the number at the end of the week but now they took the rule away so now we can focus on the people who really want to hear!! yess!! there are billions and billions of mosquitos here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and billions of cockroaches also. so usually i sleep with the sweater and pajama pants and sweat all night- but is better that getting the disease -dengue- and scratching all day. im way sick of mosquitos you dont even know. the cockroaches usually stay away when you clean the house but they still come in. there big. and even after smashing them they move for another day. the work is going on slow here, being that almost the whole town went away to the beach so the town is uninhabbited. but we found a guy yesterday that is real good. its a constant search for those willing to go to church and stuff and usually they dont. but have a good week and i love you all. jordan looks pretty different in the pics. Elder Davis i know that Jesus Christ lives, the book of mormon is the word of god to guide us and pres. thomas s. monson is a true prophet of god...em nome de Jesus Cristo amem.

The kids are learning to twirl the fire knife...sans fire, but they did have the important background drums!

This is Jordan and Alexis shaking their "thangs" at the luau. Courtney also was chosen to dance, earlier.

This is the beautiful background for our luau on Wednesday night. It doesn't even look real...but it is!

We were looking for whales, but found this...(whales, too).

The rainbows were magnificent!

Courtney created this turtle by herself!

At Pearl Harbor...Alexis with the Arizona Memorial in the background.

Courtney's favorite flower (before we even went to Hawaii)...the Bird of Paradise.

Us in front of the Laie, Hawaii Temple!

hey, hows it going? me and my new comp are doing good, you know frankenstien? hes almost exactly the same----seriously. the same size, square face, moves nothing but the mouth so its pretty funny. this week went by really fast. sounds like hawaii was pretty cool, i got my desires for getting coconuts done with. there are billions of coconuts everywhere on the ground so we usually just kick them around. how was snorkeling? and jordan did the hula dance? no i cant recieve emails from other people, so bro mckissick cant email me. have you had any campouts yet? (dad and jord.) what is bro casto doing now that hes out? the car sound cool that you got dad. and thanks for the tips, dont worry about preaching because they are things that help me durring the week that i remember and they arent anoying. we do contacts everywhere. we have to get atleast 70 adresses per week so we talk to the majority of the people on the roads as we go to our appointments. the work is going good here, right now we are loaded with references. so this week we are just focusing of references mostly. we have been finding new people and marking bapt. dates so i hope they will fall through. it is getting really hot here also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow!!!!! you just sweat all day. and you have to ask for water every half and hour because it goes away that fast. and you cant stay in the sun all day becasue your brain gets fried. yesterday was a cool day, me and my comp were thinking of how exactly our hevenly father talks to us and we found some interesting things--- when you ask to know if some thing is true( a specific question) you usually get a response through feelings- happyness, peace, burning in the heart, etc. and when you ask the lord for a response ( not specific) you usually get a thoughts as a response, thoughts of what you should do/teach etc. that are reassured through good feelings. so its pretty cool. but have a good week and try to ask the lord for some stuff and recieve revelation and you will be guided more. jord- im in 3n18 now in the book of mormon so ill finish here soon, where are you? Elder Davis