tudo bem! December 8, 2008

ok so i will be fast before it erases againa, i am getting very mad at this computer, it has erased my emails 3 times now, soi have abeen writeing to you guys but this comptuer is awesome, i found the worst computer in the world in gama leste! how lucky am i?! so anyway things are going very well here! we have been working with this family these past few weeks, this is a golden fmaily! they have abeen ready for baptism for along time now, they knew the missionaries a few years ago and have been waitin to get married so they can be batized! so we helped them out and took them to the civil place and now they will be married next month and then baptised!!! aits all gold here in gama! these last few weeks have been alot better too because we have been living in our area and not walkeing like a million miles to the district leaders house. well on other news, i took my shoses to the shoe master the other day and got a new sole put on them, like new again!!! i wanted to send those pics that i took of me and the suitcase and the dr pepper!!! i loved it! all the americans that i told bout it were pretty jeleous! ya thats right ihavea family that aloves me 6 cans of dr pepper worth...down here thats aton!!! hahahah well lets see what else, soory nothing is running through my head, but maybe cuz i dont have that much room up there for stuff to run through, but anyway i am not thinking, iam very stressed out with this computer and i just want to hurry and send this before i have more problems... hope everyone is well. i am doing GREAT! did you guys get the other tape yet....no one has said a word yet...i sure hope so. well hope everyone is having a wonderful christmas season! christmas is sure different down here but its awesome.....i think i just cry now becuase of the lack of snow..hahah jk! but i do miss the snow... well gotta go before this deletes again!!! love ya guys tons1 thanks again for everything!!!
eu amo voces!!!!!!!
elder davis

after 2 weeeeekksss!!! DECEMBER 2, 2008

its been awhile ya´ll!!! whats new with the fam? well i bet your all wondering whats new here, well first of all this last week on pday we had to go into brasilia and pick up a contract to our house. and we stopped at burger king, of course and by the time we got back to our area we didnt have time to email so i sent a quick one to mom to let her know that everything was good and that i was just with out time. and once again i am rushed for time today because we arrived in our area late, but with just enough time to write you guys. :) but the new news here is that we finally found a house but sorry mom i still dont havce the cep for that house, ihave the address but not the cep so you will have to wait till next week. you guys know that you can send letters to the office, its alot safer....just send them there, i always get them, mom you ahve that address, its on the back of all the letters i send to you guys, just send your letters there, you dont need to wait for my new address just send them there, oh and before i forget...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIN!!! hope you had a great birthday sis. love ya! i cant believe you are 15, thats crazy, and once again thanks EVERYONE FOR THE SUITCASE! it was awesome, everything in the suitcase was just what i wanted. the only thing that happened that i didnt like is that i didnt have time to find and give out the kids clothes, so i gave them to irma ruth because she is the 1st conselor in the relief society, and i thought she would give them out, but she ended up giveing them out to members that already had kids clothes, not to the poorer members, and she wanted a bunch of ties to give to people in the ward, she metioned the stake pres. and i was thinkin why? there are aton of young men in the ward that dont have ties, so i am keeping the ties and giving them out as i see fit... :) but anyway everything went well, the suitcase was great, i took a bunch of pics but dont have the memory card with me today so ya you´ll have to wait on that one. other then the move nohting else way big happened, me and my companion chowed down on the dr pepper and the m &ms, that was awesome! can you guys believe, that i will be calling in like 3 weeks or so! ya i am way excited! this year is almost over and then i will reach the one year mark and then bam its all over, time passes way to fast here in gama. hows the snow been going there? here its been raining for like 2 weeks straight, i like the rain but not that much. i have a bunch of new pics to add on to shutter fly but that will have to wait till next week. so with the work going on here, these last few weeks we have been running into alot of less active members that we make contacts with, so we have been visiting alot of them trying to reactive them, so we have been working alot with them this week, less active members always hav alot of references, which is great! we had a missionary here in my ward, leave for new york to serve there, he was way excited! oh and i dont know if mom told you but she wants to write to elder nunes, my last comp, so ya you all will write to him....:) ok? anywho i am great and things here couldnt be better. hope all is well up there in salt lake, love ya guys tons!!!THANKS AGAIN FOR THE SUITCASE!!!! LOVE YA GUYS!!!!

elder davis

asgioid---portuguese? BENS LETTER NOV 18, 2008

hello hello hello!!! how is everyone, first off i would like to thank everyone who helped with the suitcase, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! it really means alot to me that you guys did that, i really am so gratfull to have a family like you guys,. I LOVE YA GUYS TONS! thanks so much. well mom was telling me that my letters are getting a little dry...for lack of a better word..hahah jk mom love ya but i can understand, sometimes i get to pday and i forgot alot of things that happened, cuz alot of stuff happens in a week here, and when i go to write, i forget everything and i just put the stuff i remember that usally isnt very much..hahaha but this last week we visited this old man, and we spent about 10 minutes in the door talking to him, after awhile he warmed up to us and invited us in. he wanted to show us this room, so we went in and the room that he showed us was filled with antique stuff...he had like a million things, really. everything you can think of he had, money, sewing machines, cameras, insects, tvs, books, shoes, key chains, lots of coins, i mean everything, and it was all from like the 1920´s. it was like a little museum, we let him show us around and before we knew it, we had been there 3 hours! haha it was pretty cool, he was way into doing family history work, so we are going to help him get all the info to do his family history! it was way cool, he was just a little old nice man, that had alot of cool old stuff. he had a book of mormon that he found years and years ago, and we marked to go back and explain the book and teach him about it. the lord works in his own way. we are just intruments. well now on to the reading...so how is it going with everyone...everyone still on track or at least close to finish before the end of the year? this last week was awesome! i have definitly developed a love for the book of mormon, there is so much stuff in there that we can use, that you really have to read it a million times, and even then you cant get everything. well i hope everyone is doing great. thanks again for the suitcase, you guys are awesome!!!! hope everyone has a great week!!!
THANKS SO MUCH, LOVE YA GUYS TONS!!!
um braço,
elder davis

TRANSFERS! November 3, 2008

so does everyone want to know where i am going....!!!! cuz i am sure you all or waitin to hear....cuz guess what i am going to....NO WHERE! i am stayingin gama leste for another transfer, thats almost 8 months in gama! i dont think i will ever leave gama. but its all good. no worries. gama is a good city, but i am gettting a new companion again. elder tenorio or somthing like that. i cant spell his name but ya its another brazilian. but we are still living in the houe at gama sul and the elders there will be elder nunes still with a new american...so there will still be an american there with me! haha ok so i put some new pics on the internet this time, and i think you guys might like them, lets just say that it was a pretty sweet halloween!! and then the other night elder o sullivan and me wanted to celebrate the end of the transfer so we bought ice cream and coke sat night so that sunday night we could party..missionary style, having coke floats rockin out to the byu mens choir!! ha ha ha ya it was pretty sweet. so thats what happened the past few days. this last week we were doing a trade so i worked with elder o sullivan in setor sul, so now i have worked in all of gama and have been to all the 3 wards....sweet! this last week was pretty good though, workin with an american was way different though. especially when we are talkin in english like all the time, it was the most english i have ever spoken!! well at least in the past few months... well now to some more serious stuff...so how is it coming with everyones reading...i hope you are all on track with me.... i forgot to right down the page number that you should all be on but its in alma i think like 31 or 32 or something, when alma is giving all that consel to all of his sons....so ya how is the reading coming iwth all of you guys. this time has been really cool, becuase having some of you tell me your experiences and reading with you guys i have really learned alot more this time, i hve definitly grown a new apperation for ammon and the sons of mosiah, the things they did with the lamanites was amazing, the work of the lord will move forward, always but the lord needs children here on earth to make those right choices to be in the right place so that things will happen. its coming up on 9 months and time is just flying by, derek and chase have already hit there hump day!! its crazy. a few more transfers and i will be over my hump day..thats weird to think. time really just goes by way to fast. well i hope all is well up there in salt lake with you all and in arizona with jill and in washington with anne and brandon! :) once again thanks for all the letters you guys. well i will keep you guys updated with whats going on here but as for now....i am great and still in gama...the end.
love ya guys tons hope all is well!
com amor,
elder davis

HAPPY BIRTHDAY on Nov 4th ELDER DAVIS!!!

PICS of GAMA LESTE!!

whats up ya´ll!!! OCT 21, 2008

hello everyone! so how is everything up there is salk lake? this last week has been pretty good. i hope you are all reading with me still, cuz the end of the year is pretty close. but this last week of reading was awesome. one of my favoite parts in the book of mormon is when alma and amulek are preaching and they tell all the people what they are doing wrong, so they get all mad and put them in prision, dont give them food, take away there clothes, people smite them. they go through alot of trails, but not once does either of them cry out and murmur or anything like that. its near the end of all this that the spirit touches alma and he knows the time is right and cries unto the lord for help, and the lord destorys the prision. and this all happened because of the faith that they had. thats alot of faith, to be able to shake the ground and destory a building! it says that after that everyone fell to the ground in fear that the judgements of god had come upon them. can you imagen 2 men, held in a prision and the prision falls, and they walk out unharmed. just thinking of this scene....i dont have words, its just one of those reall cool book of mormon stories. thinking of how this applies in my life, there are times that you think that everything is going agaisnt you, but the last thing we should do is murmur, we need to wade throught our afflictions and if we can do this, god will bless us more then we can imagen. anyway hope everyone is reading! :) so now about here....i am still in gama sul, living with my distrct leaders. we have been looking for somewhere to live but no luck yet. things have been great, no problems here. the 4 of us today,( the other dupla) went to subway for lunch, it was on the americans.....hahah. it has been kinda nice cuz there is another american that is living in the house so i have been working on my english too...so i dont forget. he lives in washington, close to anne...i forgot the city but its on the otherside of the puget sound. anyway hope everyone is doing well. not to much change here, we are still working with that one family to help them get maried, we are taking them into brasilia tomorrow to do the legal stuff and then mark and date and all that for the church wedding. but other then that, nothing to new. its was allot faster today to clean the house with 4 guys, but its amazing how dirty the house can get in one week...with four guys. well things are great here, not much else to say. i love ya guys tons and thanks to everyone that has been putting stuff in the suitcase....i cant wait to get it!!!! well hope everyone is haveing a great week!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
elder davis

OTISSIMO!!!! OCT 14, 2008

well to start off this week was great!!!! the lord really blessed us this week! we have had some families that we have been teaching, but the biggest problem we have down here is when we find ne families to teach the majority of them arent married, they just live together, so enable to baptise them we have to help them get married, well we have to families that we have been working with and that that family that i was talking about the weekend of conference, went to church this week too, and you could really tell a difference in their attitude. sunday night we made a division and i went to one of ou families and elder almeida went to the other, well when we arrived and were talking with them, they both told us that they are ready to get married and want to get baptized!!! its amazing to see the lord working miricles!!!! so today we took one of them to the cartorio, where you have to do all the government paper work and all that and get them ready, and now me and elder almeida are planning a wedding!!! so were gettin all the member to help us with food and decorations and what not. its awesome! and the new chapel that i sent pics of, should be ready in acouple of weeks so i am pretty sure they will be able to get married in the new chapel and get baptised there! so yes this week was awesome. we also had an investagator that we have been working with and when we visited her the other day, the only thing that was stopping her from getting batised was a few doubts about, having to serve a mission and baptisms for the dead and what not, but we had a member there with us and let him answer her questions...man the spirit was so strong! once the member got done talking my companion felt insipired to ask her if she would be interviewed for a baptism this sunday!!! and she wants to be baptised this sunday! so yes this week was amazing, me and my companion have been very blessed this week. well that was pretty much my week. the only other thing that is happening is that we are getting kicked out of our house....the pres. wants us to move in with the district leader untill we find a house in gama lest, so that the sisters can live here in gama centro, so we are mving today after we use the internet. so thats what the plan is for the rest of the day. well i hope that everyone is haveing a great week. i will kept you guys updated on the wedding plans, ha ha. well not much else to say, thats about all thats happening on here. i wont lie i am getting more and more excited for this suitcase......you gotta let me know if you dont get ahold of her this week mom, so i can figure somthing else, i think i can have her sister call her from here and work something out. let me know. well anywho....thanks again everyone, i love ya guys tons!!
hope everyone has a great week!!!
Elder Davis
Gentle push and a mild arc and the cow hide globe hits home!

otimo semana!!!! OCT 7, 2008

once again i send my greetings from BRAZIL!!! time passes all to quickly, i know that you all are dying to have me back....cough cough....but i will be honest 2 years sometimes feels like not enough time. well first i would like to know whats going on with everyones reading....? well this last weekend was awesome, in the book of mormon we got to read through the words of mormon, which is the part in the book of mormon with king benjamin! i love the part at the end of chapter one where it says that king benjamin labored with all his might and the faculty of his whole soul....thats gotta be pretty hard labor right there. i love that scripture becuase it is a perfect example of serivce, king benjamin, a king, was always laboring for his people doing all he could {laboring with all his might and faculty of his whole soul} and also it is through service that we can be the answer to someones prayer. in verse 7 it says that the lord will work through me, according to his will. alot of the times we are the answer to someone elses prayer, because the lord uses us according to his will. we need to be constantly working with all our might and faculty of our souls so that when the lord needs us, he can use us according to his will to answer prayers, comfort those that stand in need of comfort, lift those with feeble knees. king benjamin to me is a great model of service. and then to top it off we had conference this weekend!!! and yes i was wathcing it live! it was so AMAZING! all of the talks really were exactly what the church in whole needed to hear. i dont have time to talk about all of it, so i will just metion one, my favorite speaker. Jeffrey R. Holland, he talked about angels and how the lord still sends angels to help us and to comfort us. i loved the story he told about the little boy and the cows, and that there really are angels immortal and mortal. our families are angels, our spouses are angels, are leaders can be angels, the lord is always sending angels to help us becuase he loves us, and wants to help us as much as he can with out taking away our angency. i love the scripture he used in D & C 84:88 and it says something like, the lord is on our left hand and on our right hand and he will be before our face and our rearward, and he will send angels to bear us up. i know that the lord as sent angels to bear me up in the most difficult times, but he has also sent angels in time of joy to lift me up. i love to hear elder holland speak, becuase he just as this way of speaking that.....wow, its unexplainable. you guys know. anywho, conference was awesome! and i hope that all of you had the chance to watch it and to really listen to the messages that we will use to guide our lives for the next 6 months. anyway now i little about whats going on here. well as you know i did get transfered but i am still livig in gama centro, due to some problems so it kinda feels like i havent changed much. but my new area is great. and my new comp is awesome! the other day we were making some contacts and we stoped and talked with this guy, the next day we taught him and his wife, and invited them to conf. they went to the first session sat. and liked it so much that they wanted to come back on sunday. its amazing seeing the spirit touch someones life, i wish you all could have that chance sometime in your life. there is no way that i could do this work without the spirit. well thats about all the new stuff thats going on here, at least all the exciting stuff. well i hope that everyone is haveing a great week! keep me updated on all the stuff going on up there. love ya guys tons!!! thanks for all the love and support!!!
LOVE YA
elder davis

ói! bom dia, boa tarde, e boa noite! SEPT 30, 2008

como vaí todo mudo! entao eu estou aqui em gama centro ainda..... well how is everyone? i hope everyone is doing well...conf. is coming up here this week so you all gotta be pretty stoked about that. at leat i am! i am freakin out! we get the chance to hear from the prophet, and me being all the way down here in brazil get to hear it live.... how cool is that. i am way stoked. so just fyi my pdays are now on tuesdays and will stay like that for the rest of the mission so just thought you should all know, its kinda important. at least for me ha ha. well how is everyone doing with the reading in the book of mormon...

this last week we have been in 2 nephi and i dont think i have ever felt like this before while reading it. wow! i really like when nephi bears his testimony and you can really feel him talking to you...its so powerfull. i like the part that talks about prayer and that to know the truth you have to open your heart and let the holy ghost bring the truth INTO your heart. when i was reading the part we were teaching a man named bill. he is 70 or something, pretty old, but he has always been catholic. well he was telling us that god has abandon us here on earth and that becuase of all the bad things going on, god turned his back. we shared the first lesson with him, abou t how god still loves us and that god has always been with us. and i marked this part in the book of mormon for him to read, its really powerfull to me. and i just happened to be reading it on the day that we went to teach him. on our follow up visit, he was still pretty agaisnt the fact that god is still with us, but he really liked the part i marked, and said he will keep reading the book of mormon. so we have been praying from him, that the spirit will touch his heart and help him to know the truth. its amazing when you see someone really change because they found the truth, you can tell when the holy ghost really touchs their hearts. its the closet feeling i have felt that i can compare to the temple. its amazing. thats definitly one thing that i miss...you guys really need to take advantge of having a temple so close. thats one thing that i miss the most is being able to go to he temple, its amazing there. so dont take it for granted. on another note, how is the family home evenings coming? i want to invite everyone again, to really make that effort to get together one night a week and do somehting as a family, i know through seeing it here, that it really will strenghthen each one of you. doing those little things together really do help. well alittle about the area now. as you know i got transfered and i am now working in gama leste with elder almeida! man i love him, he is the funniest kid ever. we really do get along really well and i wont lie, i like him a little bit more then my other comps...(can i say that) well its been said. anyway the first week was a little tuff cuz we are both new to the area, so we didnt know any memebers or investigators or the area or anything. so its been a different experience. they call it opening an area, (kinda) the area had missionaries before but we are both new so ya its a little difficult, but i have learned there isnothing you cant do when the lord is by your side! so the missionaries that were in the area were sisters and the apartment they lived in, the nieghbors, were only women. so we cant live there, so we have been looking for another apartment in the area, but while we look for one, we still live in gama centro and the sisters still live in gama leste. but we both work in our own areas, so its kinda tiring to have to walk to your area in the morning and then walk back at night. but we found an apartment, its acutlly pretty nice, we got it checked off with the zone leaders, now we just have to get intouch with the lady that is renting it. but its been good. so thats whats been going on here. about my comp, well his parents are divorced as well, he lives with his mom, as well as his other brothers and sisters. he has 6 of them. his whole family is in the church and the biggest thing, he is lactose intollerant( thats spelled wrong) haha but ya he cant have chocolate or anything with milk. so thats my comp. he is a great guy though. i love him. anyway the other day we made cookies, the chocolate chip ones, for a family night and ya they were good, but i feel bad cuz i froze all the cookies cuz i like them frozen....and my comp broken his braces eating them, so ya, my bad. but all in all things are good. the members here in our area are awesome, we have a ward mission leader that...wow. he is to cool, he makes visits and makes contacts and passes references..ya he does it all. i love it! it really makes the difference in missionary work. when you have a good ward mission leader that works with the ward and with us really well. it really helps us out a ton!!! well i cant think of to much to say....i have kinda spilled the beans. i sent a tape with ruth this last week, and she will be in salt lake city for conf. so here in a little while you should be seeing her!!! she is a cute lady, you´ll love her. she tries to speak english...its funny. but shes awesome. and she has something for you mom.....
well i better get going, time to finish out the pday. i love ya guys tons. hope all is well up there, listen hard to conf this year, i can feel it, its going to be AWESOME!!!
love ya guys!

ps jake...where did you go, i havent talked to you inwhile.... whats up with that bro...!!!!

ELDER DAVIS

whats up! SEPT 22, 2008

well hello again from good old gama centro! so first off transfers were today and if you are all wondering...i did get transfers so dont use the address in gama centro to send letters! but anyway i got transfered too.....GAMA LESTE! ha ha same city, same ward building, pretty much the same, but it is a new area which is nice and i will still get to see the new chapel in action so thats going to be cool. lets see oh ya i ate at subway today, just thought you all should know. so i need you all to do me a favor. so you all know that mom is sending a suitcase my way, and she said that everyone wanted to help put things in it. well what ever you were going to buy dont! instead everyone put your money together becuase i need a quad set of scrips with 2 scripture cases. dont worry about sending anything else, i told mom about it so if you would mind just give your money to her and she will get them, cuz i need some names on them too. and i am talking abou tlike 10 dollars here, it doesnt need to be more then that. so if you could all do that it would be very helpfull! THANKS! anyway someone was telling mom that we dont knock doors down here, we clap. its true, it was a little strange at first but now when i knock....its weird! haha everyone here has gates and what not, there is not one house that you can just walk up to the door and knock, it doesnt exist. so you have to stand outside the gate and clap your hands till someone comes out. i dont knw why they do this becuase it is very ineffective. someone can be clapping and the houses on either side think its for them, if you clap really loud you can get 4 or 5 houses to come outside, its kinda fun to see how many house in one clap. you just got to be really loud....hahah but really its kinda lame. anyway yes we clap. mom was asking what i did all week and some things i do with investigators...well we teach them..ha ha jk well we have some meetings during the week and fri is always the planning day so we spend more time in the house to plan for the next week. but other then that we are always outside doing something. talking to some one, in someones house, walking somewhere. you just dont stop here, we do get to stop once a day...and thats at night when you sleep, other then that we are always doing something. but its great! i am having a great time, and it just seems like it is flying by. i am getting transfered and oh i was thinkin it will be good cuz i will be really close to that ladies house when she gets here with the siutcase...so it all works out. anyway things are awesome here. i am getting another brasilian companion. i know who he is but i cant spell his name at the moment so i wont even try, so you will have to wait to find out who it is. anyway today we have to go to brasilia to make the comp switch. and we will have a little fam night with all the missionaries and those that are going home, so that will be pretty sweet. elder buck if you rememebr was my comp in the ctm, he is in the office now, so now i got the hook ups in the office! as they say down here...i have a fish in the office! and no i havent been cooking anything new latly but i had a bunch of members ask me to come to there house and show them how to make the choclate chip cookies.... haha well i think i had better get going. love ya guys tons! hope all is well oh and i put some pics on fly shutter so you can check those out.
LOVE YA!
elder davis

whats up ya´ll! SEPT 15, 2008

oí yall! how’s everything in the great salt lake valley! well as for here in gama...hot and very dry. it has been really hot these past few weeks, I have been cooking. this is supposed to be the hot and rainy season but the rain hasn’t started yet....just the hot. but its good. I have coming up on 6 months in gama! ya its a long time, let me tell ya. I like gama but I am ready for a move. the only reason I want to stay is because of the new chapel. have you seen the pics of that thing! wow, it’s so nice. they will dedicate it in Oct. some time. and this transfer ends here in the next week, end of Sept. so we will see what happens but after 4 transfers here I think I will be leaving gama for sure, so heads up on the letters. don’t send them to the house this week. send them to the mission home. well in other news...how’s the reading going? I hope everyone is reading with me. I on page 70 right now so you all should be some where close. I got an email today that was talking about what someone read and it was exactly what I was thinking. it’s really comforting to know that even prophets have hard times. in 2 Nephi, Nephi talks about how he sorrows in his sins and calls himself a wretched man....if he is a wretched man...I don’t know if there is a word for me..ha ha well things are going great here in gama..today I am actually emailing you from Brasilia because we had to come here for an appointment for my comp. so we stopped in McDonalds!!!! gotta love it baby. and I bought a really cheap tie...ya its sweet. trust me when you only can change the color of your tie, you start to crave ties like no other. but other than that, nothing to big going on here, there is an elder that is going home here in Nov. and he will bring home a tape...he lives in salt lake city and went to oly high. we pretty much new the same people and I saw him alot before the miss just never knew him. anyway he will be bring home a tape so hopefully this one will make it....I have confidence in this one. ha ha well not to much else to say. I am doing great here in brazil, I am kinda looking forward to this next transfer cuz I kinda want to see some other areas. 6 months here its starting to drain me. well I hope you all are doing great! thanks for your support and prayers. they really help, trust me. well gotta go. gotta catch the bus back to gama! LOVE YOU GUYS!

boa tarde! September 8, 2008

so how is everyone? hope all is well up there in zion. first ihave to start off with a little review. does anyone remember what i wrote last week, i hope so. so who took my challenge.....i got 2 emails this week from sibling who wanted in.....i am still waiting on the rest of you. for those of you who did, and are reading at least 5 pages a day, you should be around page 35 or at least close. well i hope that everyone who didnt start with me last week will start this week. there is one thing that i am come to love.....that is the scriptures. you really can find any answer in them. everytime i read them, i always feel the spirit and my day is always better. i am so gratefull for that oppurtunity that i have everyday to sit down and read from the scriptures and study the gospel, i have learned so much. i promise you all that if you start reading the scriptures everyday, that any difficulty that you are having will seem smaller and that everyday will be better. the gospel is amazing, it was really hard to realize that being home and dealing with all the worldly things, but being here and having the oppurtunity to put every hour of the day to serving the lord and his children has really opened up my understanding of the gospel. i have no doubt that this, is the true church. i love you guys tons and i am so gratefull to have my whole family in the church. both of my companions are the only members of their family in the church. i cant imagen, thats gotta be difficult. but anyway about the scriptues, you guys can email how your doing and where you are and experiences your having...i like. so anyway on to other things, i know everyone has been waiting to get a tape from me and i have sent 2 and 2 have been lost...so we are 0 for 2 right now but the 3rd time is the charm. i will try and get another one home in the next month or so...so dont be waiting around for it but one just might show up. haha who knows maybe the other ones might just make it to the end. their are fighters i know it. well i am still kickin it here in gama, transfers are coming up so i think this could be the last one here in gama. but its has been fun, the members here are way nice and i really like my bishop, he is a good guy. so i have been making a lot of cookies latly, mainly oatmeal, and i have been giving them to members and investigators and what not, its weird but no one here knows what a homemade cookie is, they only have store bought, and they arent the best, good but not the best, i really think i could make some money selling cookies if i wasnt on the mission. haha maybe i will open up bens world of cookies after the miss or something. ha ha ya proably not but good name right? i like it. so kari was critizing me on my awesome missionary humor...k i know its lame....i will get help when i get home, but for now....this is how its going to be. anyway cant think of to much else to say, nothing to new going on here, just workin away here in good old gama. i have been talking a little bit of english with my comp, but its really hard to understand him and most of the time i think he says something completly different then what he actually said, so ya good times with that. he is a way cool guy though. he definitly liked the cookies though and wanted to know how to make them. oh and i had some members asking me to come to there house and show them how to make them...ya everyone loves your cookies mom! we are having a cookie/family home evening tomorrow where i will be making lots of cookies....its a cookie feista!!! well i know there is something that i wanted to tell you guys but i cant rememeber and i forgot to write it down so i guess we will both be wondering what it was....forever and ever and ever. anyway love you guys tons, hope everyone has a great week! until next monday, which i am pretty sure is right around the corner. LOVE YA GUYS!
elder davis

TODO BEM SEPTEMER 2, 2008

boa tarde todo mundo! como voces estão? eu estou muito bom. meu novo comp. esta muito legal, e coisas aqui está muito bom. ok thats enough of that. has cool as that is, you guys dont understand and i write alot faster in english. so anyway how goes things there in ZION! everything has been cruizing along here in gama centro. we have been workin our butts off, but its good cuz i dont really need my butt anyway....hha ha missionary humor ( not really funny) ha ha so i saw something really strange the other day... we were at lunch and the members we were eating with reminded me of aunt janes family, there personalities were almost idenitical, it was fun i was laughing almost the whole time, and i think they just thought the american was a bit off his rocker but oh well. but the whole family did something really weird, they had rice and beans and some other stuff that was normal but they all put bananas in their rice and beans...it was really weird, and they kept giving me banans to do the same but i was just like..no thanks i will eat it seperate. ha ha ya strange. well another month went by and we are already in sept. i really dont know where aug. went but thats just how things go here, you never have enough time to do what you need to do in a week. so guess what i have another challenge for everyone....and this time i will be checking up on it weekly....guess what it is...yep you guessed it ( or maybe you didnt) we are going to start reading the scriptures together. prophets have promised us that if you read the scriptueres daily there will come into your life a new spiritual strength. i have found this to be true in my life and the lives of our investigators. so tomorrow we are going to start in first nephi if you are already reading you can continue where you are, just end up there at the end of your reading, but if you dont mind, just start at the first. what we are going to do is everyweek i will be checking up on where everyone is and if you are on track cuz the goal is to read the whole book of mormon before the end of the year, which means at least 5 pages a day. thats really not that much, so every week i will be checking up on where you are, what i want you guys to do is to send me letters or emails everyweek telling me of a spiritual experience that you had with the scriptures. i will do the same for you guys. i know that if you do this the lord with bless you. and your days will be so much better. i have a testimony of this, since i have been on the mission you study 2 hours a day and i always read from the book of moron, and i know the lord as blessed me so much and i am so gratefull for that. anytime i am struggleing or whatever, the scriptures are always a source of strenghten and i know they will be for you too. i dont know who my mom forwards this too but whoever ends up reading this i challenge you too, to read the book of mormon before the end of the year. so starting tomorrow 5 pages a day....dont forget. :) well anyway things here are going well, dont have any new pics this week so you´ll have to wait on those. but things have been good here, me and my companion are going to try and make some chocolate chip cookies today...so we will see how that goes. its been 4 transfers here so i will probably be leaving gama here in a few weeks. maybe. the other day i was talking with someone and wasnt really thinking, just talking....after the conversaion i realized what happened. the lord really does answer prayers, just in his time. you have to been patient and wait for his answer. i love you guys tons. hope everyone is haveing a great week and i hope you are all excited for the snow to start here in a few months....cuz i wont lie, i am jealous! :) i have been cookin down here and nowi have the sweetest lookin tan line you have ever seen. i will proably wear a white shirt and tie when i get home, so i dont show the lines! ha ha jk well time to be on my way. i love ya guys tons. ps dont forget we are starting our reading tomorrow, and i am talking to everyone here...jill jake erin meg kari nick mom anne (and family) dad....and for whoever else recieves this email. well love ya guys tons!! HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEK!
TCHAUZÃO!
elder davis

hello to you and to you and to you AUGUST 25, 2008

hello again family!!! boa tarde! entaó eu espero que todo mudno esta muito
bom e todos coisas são boas. ok so thats enough of that....i can speak but i
feel special ed when i write, its takes me too long. ha ha well i hope
everyone is doing well. it sounds like some of you had a very fun filled
weekend. i myself,have had some good times...but not really. nothiing to big
as been goin down...here in GAMA. after awhile you start to get the
crazys...if there is such a thing. gama is good but i start to see people
that you taught and didnt like you, or people that you taught and really
really didnt like you, or people that just dont want you in there house
anymore. ha ha its interesting to find them in the streets and go talk to
them... they really like it. but hey i just want to help them out. but ya
things are great, the new comp is a clean freak. i know you would like that
mom, today we cleaned the house like any other pday but man did we
clean....everything is spick and span...i kept saying to my self, geez this
is the way mom would clean. ha ha so yes our house is very clean. and i am
going to make some cookies again today for some of our investagators. the
cake cookies, they are cheap and everyone loves them so bonus 2! (its ok
that you dont understand that) well well well what else can i tell you about
my experince here in gama. its alot different here, the houses are small and
right next to each other. and everyone has a gate with bars and everything
so somthimes i think geez...its like a prison, no wonder the people are
cranky. but seriously though its sometime depressing. haha so we have been
walking all over gama oeste...teaching anybody that will recieve us, you can
always tell the difference between the people that want to receive you and
the people that do it just because they do it. ha ha i will say one thing
though, i love the members here, they are so great. they always want to help
you out and most of them are converts so they already know how things work
with the missionarys and stuff so they are pretty good at helping us where
we need it. my new comp as been switchingthings up alot latly but to be
honest i really like the change its nice to be doing somthing different
after 4 and a half months of the same thing. so when i got that maple....ya
we had pancakes right away...first thing we did! ya they were awesome
possums! k i really sound like a nerdy missionary......crap! ha ha so we had
zone conference last week and wow. i can tell you for sure that i know that
pres. pizzirani was called of god to further the work here in brasilia. he
really is a very inspiring guy. he knows how to get a going. i wont lie his
wife is a little weird, but sweet and definitly wants to make sure that all
the missionaries are healthy. and yes if you were wondering i am healthy, i
even eat my lettuce at lunch.... i am working on the tomatoes but ya those i
am still haveing a hard time with....not likin those yet.....so did i tell
you i busted out a new shirt at my 6 month mark, not sure i shared that with
the group yet. its true, i went on ya splurge...its was pretty bad, but i
have a new shirt! its crazy how fast time flies here. i really still feel
like i just left the ctm and now its already been 6 months, creeping up on
7. before you know it, it will be 2009 and then bam! i´ll be home. well i
dont have any cool stories for ya this week, i will see what i can do next
week to make things a bit more spicyier...ha ha hope everyone is doing well,
i love ya guys tons...thanks again for all the letters and what not. they
mean alot to me. I LOVE YA GUYS!
até mais
elder davis

boa tarde! AUGUST 18, 2008

hello!! how is everyone?! well i am rockin things here in gama centro. as
you know i got a new comp...did you know, well if you didnt you know now.
his name is elder nunes, and he donest speak english so it has been only
portuguese for the last week now. well i think i have been slacking on the
picture thing the past few weeks, cuz the computers that i have been getting
have be really really high tech.... but this week its working so there
should be some new pics on there that you guys can look at. well about my
comp. he is from curatiba, in the south and he lived with his aunt before
the mission. the only people that are in the church from his family, are him
and is brother which is 15 i think. he is way cool though, he doesnt speak
any enlgish, alittle, i have been helping him learn so thats kinda cool.
but mostly its been portuguese which has really helped me out. and the last
week was his first here in the area so he didnt know anything....wow it was
way different. because he doesnt know anything i had to be the senior for a
week so kinda show him around and introduce him to everyone....it was hard
but really good at the same time. by the end of the week i was pretty
exhustated. but no things are going good here, he kinda has been changing
some things up from what elder leite was doing, so thats kinda weird. but
thats how it is right, everyone has there own way. we moved the beds around
so we dont have bunk beds anymore, which i am glad about cuz i wasnt a fan
of the top. so the other night we were at this members house asking if we
could do a family home evening there and i cant explian it....its impossible
but the members name is messias and he really is like dad in almost everyway
except he speaks portuguse....and i mean that in the very best way dad....i
was at his house and i just couldnt help but laugh and no one knew why and i
couldnt explain it to them either...but dad i found your long lost twin! he
even has grandpa davis´ ears....hahaha thats all i can say. well things are
going great, we have been working with the same girls i thinki wrote about
in my last email...so nothing to new. i have been getting everyones letters
and it sounds like everyone is doing great...jill i moving!!!! holy cow and
jake is workin...school, no school... and erin is living the teenagers
life.... megan is spoiling her self...jeaallloouusss! anne and the gang (
wow that sounded like dad....love ya dad :)..) are doing great...traveling
the states to visit family. dad is doing his thing, and mom is still
planning the suitcase...ha ha. well things are great here in brazil, the
weather is still hot and dry and the rainy season isnt supposed to start
till oct. so i still have a few months.
there is one thing that i did learn this week that really helped my
testimony to grow. after getting the new comp and things kinda mixed up and
having to take over the senior postion for a week, there is one thing that i
am very gratefull for. the power of prayer. when your away from family and
you need help, the lord is always there. everytime i needed some extra
strengh to keep going, or some help on where i needed to go or what so
say...he was there. and when i knew that i needed some more help, i knew i
was being strenghen by all of your prayers. you guys really dont know how
much it means to me to have all of you behind me, supporting me and praying
for me. both of my last 2 comps have been the only members of the church in
there family expect the brother of my comp now, but still i dont think i
could do that. it would be so hard to leave my family and not have them
behind me supporting me. just knowing that you guys are behind me and that
you are praying for me, makes things just that much better for me, it really
does strengthen me. i want you guys to know that i love you all so much and
i am sl grateful for this gospel and that through jesus christ we all have
the oppurtunity to live together for ever! what a great blessing that is!
there isnt any greater. and to know that all of my family is in the church
and that i will be able to live with them forever is such strength to me. i
want you guys to know that i know with out a shadow of a doubt that this is
the true church, that chirst lives and that through him and his sacrifice we
can live together forever. nothing means more to me in this life then you
guys. stay close to the savior and turn to him in all of lifes difficulties,
he is there waiting at the door, all we have to do is let him in. i love you
guys so much, i hope everyone has a great week! i heard abou the spot you
set for me at dinner in honor of the cinnamon-less french toast...ha ha love
you too.
ate´ proximo semana!!!

tchauzão!

elder davis

mudancas!!! AUGUST 11, 2008

heeeelllooooo!!!! so whats up? well the big news this week is transfers came and i am........staying here in gama centro!!! but i am getting a new comp. elder nunes! my last comp elder leite will go train another american somewhere else. well thats the big news of the week. oh and of coarse, we had a baptism yesterday....woot woot! we went quite some time with out one but we finally pulled one off. we baptised a father and a daughter, the dad is dating a member of our church and i think they will get married! which is awesome!! but thats the big news this week. i will put some pics up of the baptism. but other then that, nothing to big going on here. this will be my fourth transfer here in gama centro, so when its over i will have spent 6 months here!! thats a long time. the members here are way cool and i love the area, but when you stay so long in one area, after awhile you start to get sick of it and ya i am at that point. but at least i will be getting a new comp tonight and that will be a good change. i dont know anything about my new comp just yet so you will have to wait untill next week. but can you believe that its already august and in no time it will be sept. ya i dont konw about you guys but time is flying by here. erin will be back in school soon and sounds like everyone else is just working hard. ok so i have been trying to get the computer to work but it wont read my card reader..some work and some dont so i will try and get the pics on there next week. sorry. well today we have been kind rushed cuz we have to be in the chapel in aza norte at 5 oclock for the transfers. so i dont have to much time today. oh but the other day was my 6 month mark!! ya baby! so i decided to celebrate and whip out one of the white shirts that i was saving! so ya i have a new white shirt( thanks mom). well things are going well here, we are working with some people this week to baptise this coming sunday. we had this young boy that we were going to baptise this week, and everything was working out, his mom even gave permission and everything. but friday alot of things happened and she told us not to talk to her son anymore....some people were saying alot of bad stuff about our church to her. its sad that, this kinda of thing happens. which is happens quite often, but when it happens you just got to keep on keeping on. but ya things are good, i am doing great. last night i had to direct my first baptism meeting for some other elders...ya it was pretty funny. pretty sure i said some stuff that didnt make sense cuz some people started laughing but ya it was fun. i had a good time. well erin good luck with school and what not, jake hope work is going well for ya man. megan, dont take to many vacations geez. kari and nick..... hello ha ha. jill...jill jill jill....hopé efy was fun, sure it was. anne and brandon and the kids...waz up!!! harold... wear a seat belt. ha ha and mother....take it easy this week ok? :) well time to be getting on my way. i love ya guys tons and i hope everyone has a good week. i´ll let you know about my new comp next week. LOVE YA GUYS!!!
tchauzinho!!!
elder davis

onde é julho? JULY 28, 2008

so where did july go? this last month just flew by...and it will be agosoto
this week! wow! well things are going well transfers are coming up in a
couple of weeks and i am pretty sure i will get a new comp, elder leite has
been here for 6 months, so ya. anyway i should probably tell you about this
last week...i am only guessing but i think you want to konw. well monday we
went into brasilia to buy some pants for elder letie...and while there we
stopped at burger king....ya you read that right burger king. it was proably
the best thing ever! i miss american fast food. i bought the bk stacker with
4 patties and elder leite got the whopper. with 2 meals big como it was 36
ries! it was so worth it though! ha ha that was proabaly the coolest thing
that i did on my pday so far. so the other day i was looking through my cam
and i found some awesome pics that nick took on my last sunday.....thank you
nick.....they made me laugh for quite some time. ha ha they were pretty
sweet, nick knows what i am talking about. well lets see what else, we have
been working really hard with these 2 girls, one is married the other isnt,
but i think they both will be baptised this coming sunday. as their baptisms
are getting closer, you can tell satan is doing everything he can to stop
it, they both didnt go to church this sunday cuz one got robbed sat night
and the other one, her husband went one a big drinking bing, and he hasnt
drunk in 8 months. so ya we have to trying to do all we can to help them. so
on fri we had an investegator that had a birthday and they invited us to we
stopped by, thats what those pics are of. that was pretty sweet. oh and i
bought a pizza today....and it made me think of...its not delivery its
dizornos! ha ha, cuz i bought it at the store and....nevermind. oh so i took
some peanut butter to a investagators house and they loved it...pretty sure
everyone that eats it, loves it. but ya things are good here, the new pres
is pretty cool, very calm, but cool. well not much else going on here. we
have alot of work to do this week, so its crunch time baby! i love ya guys
tons. hope everyone has a great week! i will talk to ya´ll next week!

LOVE YA GUYS

elder davis

ps i have the coolest lines on my arms and neck...you all would be so
jealous!

Monday July 21, 2008

helllloooo!!!! how is everyone? sounds like things are going pretty well
from whati have heard. anne is coming down and what not so that should be
fun. well lets see whats new in the life of elder davis? we have been
working really hard so thats good, but the past few weeks we havent had any
baptisms. but there is one thing that i have learned from all of this.
things start to get really hard before the miracle, you have to push even
harder to get to it. and we are on that path. we found 2 new investigators
last week that are awesome. one, her brothers were baptised and she lives in
our area so it was a reference from some other missionaries but we have only
taught the first lesson and the book of mormon and she said that she
believes it...because it makes sense! thats the first time i have heard that
but its true! we have a baptism date for her in 2 sundays and i think she
will be baptised! so thats really good. then there is this other girl who
found the missionaries in 1998 and then again in 2004 and was never invited
to be baptised! i dont konw what those elders were thinkin cuz she is way
cool and she asked if she could be baptised with out her husband, he is way
cool but doenst want to be baptised becuase his family is cathiloc and all
that kinda stuff...but we are workin with him. but i think she will be
baptised this sunday!!! i am getting way stoked. so lady made this really
good cake...it was like the best cake ever....it was this coconut cake (
they eat alot of coconut down here) but it was soooo good. so i asked her
how to make it and i made it today, but it has to sit in the fridge for a
couple of hours so i have to wait but i will let you know how it is next
week. so today we are going on an adventure!!!! elder leite has to buy some
pants and we are going into brasilia to buy them and guess what they have
there.....BURGER KING!!! so we are going there for lunch!! i am way stoked.
i am going to get the biggest meal ever! i will take some pics and you guys
can see how it goes...so guess what the other night we were walking around
and i saw the brazilian style cat lady. she had like 50 cats i am not
kidding you, it was ridiculous....but it made me laugh. my companion didnt
understand why it was funny..ha haha well other then that things are going
really good here. i mean today i am eating cake and burger king and we have
some baptisms comin up. doenst get better then that. oh so last week i made
the cake cookies...pretty sure we ate them in one sitting so the next day we
went to the store again and bought some more cake mixes and i stayed up a
little later so make some more cookies...ya they were way good. i am just a
cooking machine. ha ha oh so this family asked me what i eat for dinner and
i told them about french toast....they wanted to know how to make it so i
exlpained it to them, not sure if they ever made it, i forgot to ask them
but it proablby wasnt good thats why they didnt say anything to me. all they
now how to cook down here is rice beans and meat...seriously. and you would
think they know what burritos are, but they dont. most people havent even
heard of them. strange i know. well i better be going....OFF TO BURGER KING
I GO!! ya i am way excited if you couldnt tell. well i love you guys tons!
thanks for all your support and your prayers. i hope everyone has a awesome
week!!!

falou!
elder davis

Monday July 14, 2008 hey familia!

hey familia!
hello from brazil! well how are things? sounds like you guys had a good b
day for jake and what not. jake hope you got that card. anyway jill is home
and leaving again and erin is gone again and gezz is anyone staying home
this summer. holy cow. well things are good here, mom wanted me to tell you
a little bit about my comp. seeing how i have had the same comp for three
transfers which is like 4 and a half months, i better know some things about
him. well he lives up north here in brazil, joão pessoa. he is the only
member of the church in his family which is amazing to me. because his story
is really cool. its long so i will shorten it. but he has been catholic for
his whole life and he moved to campinas where john is about 3 years ago, got
converted there and then went on a mission. the people down here are
amazing. i dont think i could do that. he has the biggest sprirt ever, i
promise. he was in the army down here for about a year, and he has been out
in the field for one year and 4 months now. he goes home next march. but
after 4 months we are starting to get along really well. we dont have much
in common but we both love the church and want to serve so thats all we
need. its funny cuz we are away from our families we always say all i have
is you...that sounds really weird now that i wrote it down, but its alot
better in person, its acutally funny in person. ha ha maybe its the way we
say it. he speaks really good engllish and wants to study at byu when he is
done with his miss. i told him to come to the usa and i would take him to a
good brazilian restuarnt. rodigio grill!!! lets see, oh we might do a trade
this week with the zone leaders which could be good i guess....good and bad.
ha ha but ya all is good. we are going to have a family night again tonight
with a family and we invited the whole ward. usaully not very many people
show but its good to get the whole ward together down here. its
different....just the ward and the way they do stuff but its good. so i
bought my self a water melon and ate like the whole thing...i took some pics
so you guys can see...ya its pretty sweet. anyway i am doing great and i
hope everything is going well there at home. oh cool story, so the other day
we did a contact and the guy that took our card threw it on the ground about
50 feet after he left us and this lady found it and picked it up and called
the number and now we are teaching her and it looks really good. she said
she was looking for the right religion and when she saw the pic of jesus
christ on the card she said she felt really good about it and wanted to
call. THE LORD WORKS MIRCILES!!! its amazing how the lord works. i love
this work. the gospel is true and there is nothing on the entire face of
this earth that can make someone more happier then being the member of the
true and only living church of jesus christ. this is the true gospel and it
is such a blessig for me to be here and spread the word, to help create
those eternal families. i love you guys tons, dont forget it. hope
everything is well. thanks again for your support. you guys are the
best!!!! be safe and wear your seat belts ha ha

elder davis

Tuesday July 8, 2008 tudo bom!!!

hellllloooooo fammmmmiiilllyyyy! hello....what is going on with you guys?
well lets see same area same comp, things are great and i have plans today
to go buy some frosted flakes....or surchios down here, they are on sale so
i will be buying alot ha ha. but ya things are good. iadded some new pics so
you can check those out. but lets see...well last night we had a family
night with this family and wow....are they the loudest fmaily i have ever
met. holy cow. everyone talks at the same time and when everyone was talking
the dad started singing a hymn and the top of his lungs....it was not a
house of order...freak. my companion was freaking out, i was just kinda
laughing at the whole thing. but it was fun. so we got a new pres and the
only big rule that he changed was we have to be in our house at night at 9
no later. the last pres said we could be out as late as we wanted if we were
teaching.....i kinda like the new rule, i wont lie. :) i have been pretty
tired latly. but all is good. anyway things are moving along. we were
teaching this little girl the other night she is about 12 or 13 but i think
she loves americans cuz she wouldnt stop looking at me the whole time, so we
are going to baptise her. ha ha well from what i hear this summer has been
completely different. everyone has been gone and what not. sounds ufn. but
guess what...school is around the corner for some of you....wow actually its
just erin...that sounds weird. erin is the only one left to graduate
highschool. wow! this is weird. well i think todays is going to be short cuz
i cant think of anything else to say...ha ha we have just been working hard
and i think this will be the last transfer with elder leite so we both are
trying to work as hard as we can. so some new american elders arrived
and...oh ya sister kevern is here now...jake knows her brothers. we talked
for a bit, she is pretty cool. she is going to be a really good missionary.
but ya some new blood arrived and i wont lie it made me feel alot better
about myself...cuz they are really struggling. it reminds me of me. ha ha
but to see where i am now really helps me out. so it was kinda good to see
someone else struggling really bad. that kinda sounds mean but ya. well time
is wrapping up here...i am way excited for you to get my surprise...its
going to be so sweet! and i am still very bitter towards the post office
down here...they lost me last tape, i dont think i can ever forgive them.
well i hope everyone has a great summer, whats left of it anyway. from what
i here its really hot up there. its actually really nice down here. its like
perfect weather. but that will only last till the rainy season and then say
good bye to clear skys....wow that sounded really lame, i am becoming a
goober! crap! ha ha well love ya guys tons, keep on keeping on......thats
what i always say. ha ha HAPPY 4TH OF JULY AND 24TH OF JULY oh ps i sang the
national athem for elder leite on the 4th of july and then had some
watermelon....its tradition geez. i had to celebrate some how. well time to
go love ya tons!!

elder goober
or
elder davis ( i prefer davis)

Tuesday July 1, 2008

hello family!!! can you believe that we are already in july!! before you
know it, it will be 2009 then 2010...thats generally how things work....9
comes before 10 and so on. anyway things are great here...you want to know
about transferss.....dun dun dun dun..... i am in.....GAMA CENTRO STILL can
you believe it....i can. and my new companion is..... ELDER LEITE
STILL....nothing changed for me. elder leite and me both thought he would be
transfered cuz he has 3 transfers here and this is his fourth. but nope the
lord needs him here with me....there must be a fmaily here that needs to
hear the gospel from us....so i need to get going here so to get out there
and find them! well things are good here though. our district changed up
abit we finally have more then one american! its not just me anymore! but
its not like we speak english anyway. so last transfer was not so good, we
worked hard but we didnt do as well as we wanted to, so this transfer we are
kickin it into high gear and getting things moving along here in good ole
gama. i feel more and more comfortable here everyweek, cuz the lanauge is
getting alot better and i understand alot more. i can actually respond to
people now...its crazy right. i think so. well other then the big transfer
news, everything seems pretty normal here. i finally got the pics workin so
i added some new pics to the site. you can see me in my first all brazilian
wear....sweet uh? ya i know. i had to get a jersey i mean i am in brazil.
come on. and there are some other goodpics on there. some brazilian food
that i ate...called cush cush, i dont konw how to spell it but thats how it
sounds...not to bad. and i cant remember all the pics i added so i wont
explain them all but ya you can check those out. well we got the new
president now....he is ofically in. but i wont have an interview with him
till zone conf. so that will be in like a couple of weeks. well we did a
changed last week with elder j. lima that was difficult, i wont lie, it was
one of those companions that you just love.....because if you dont love him
you are going to kill him. ha ha but all was good. it was only for the week
so not to bad but i will have one more transfer with elder leite! so
ya....one more with my father. oh and i dont really want to let this info
out cuz it is top secret....but....i have gained like 16 pounds...crap. oh
and the weather....its alot better then its sounds like up there. its only
about maybe 80 to 85 down here and thats in the middle of the day, the
nights are cold for the brazilians, they all wear coats, but i love it! its
perfect. the weather is actaully really nice. so i am gratefull for that.
and we are in the dry season right now so i havent seen rain for like a
month which is cool i guess. oh and guess what...i told you last week but
there is a surprise coming for you guys, should be there soon!!! you
exciited cuz i am! well things are great here, i´m safe and e]healthy and
working hard. i love you guys so much. thanks for your support and love, it
really helps me.i am so gratefull for such an awesome fmaily. alot of people
dont have them or they are just not that great, so to have a family that is
so close together is such a blessing for me. i love you guys tons. hope
everyone has a great week and everything is going well. dont forget to help
mom with the yard work everyone!!! and i am being serious ha ha

i will leave you with my favorite quote... in d & c 128 i think
brethen shall we not go on in so great a cause, go forward not backward,
courage brethen, onward, onward to victory!!!!

GO ONWARD EVERYONE!
i love ya tons, have great week!!!

Tuesday June 24, 2008 Hello Family!

hello again! so this last week was pretty good, nohting to big happening. we
had our last zone conf with pres aidukitus which was kinda sad cuz he is an
awesome guy and i really good leader. he knows how to get ya working. so
this next transfer will be with the new pres. so thats going to be cool i
guess. plus it looks like i will be getting a new comp for the next
transfer. plus this week elder leite is doing a trade with some other elders
so this week i will be comps with elder j lima. and then the next week i
will get a new one for the next transfer. so cool cool. anyway so the other
night i had some really good food, wish you guys were here to eat it with me
:) it was this stew thing you put over rice and it was made out of all the
stuff in the middle of the cow, heart lungs liver..ect all the stuff except
the stomach..and i wont lie it was pretty good, i am glad no one told me
what it was till i starting eating it....ha ha but ya it wasnt too bad....oh
and guess what ! i have a suprise for you guys!!! but you wont get it till
next week...maybe it might be 2 weeks but it is on its way and you guys are
going to freak out! ha ha but i wont tell you so that you stress and freak
out about it ha ha. but its good trust me. anyway things are great here, we
are working hard. we have this one investegator that...wow we are not doing
anyting, the lord really did prepare her for us. she works everyday at this
school so we only have 15 a day to teach her so we show up and teach and
then leave...no time for anything else, but she just accepts everything we
say and is reading the book of mormon and praying and everything! the lord
really did prepare her, cuz it feels like we are not doing anything, she
asked to be baptised!! how cool is that. its amazing what the lord can do.
the first time in church she asked if she could have a principles of the
gospel book so she could study and read to come prepared for the next
lesson. members dont even do that!!! its awesome to see her change and
prepare her self for baptism and guess what i get to baptise her! sweet uh?
ya its definitly a miricle! nothing less. well other then the sweet food and
working hard things are good. i am doing great, i might have put on a few
pounds but my pants still fit...ha ha so all is good. its crazy that we are
already in june, almost july! holy cow time just flies by. i am loving it
out here, i miss you guys tons but i wouldnt change it for the world. i cant
think of anything else to put in here....we are just working hard and
enjoying the peanut butter ha ha! oh so i think i already told you guys last
week but i dont rememebr. so i went to subway and wow....it was the best
thing ever! i almost cried and then i didnt, ha ha but ya it was awesome. it
was a good break from rice and beans, ps last week i said i was going to
load some pics but the computer was freakin out and i didnt get a chance to
do it. and this week the same thing, the computer is freakin out so i will
try next week. well everything is great here i am healthly working hard and
building the kingdom of god. oh so we had a member who gave us 4 contacts
that she did in the road one day...guess how old she is...10 years old...the
little girl went up to complete strangers and told them about our church and
then took address and numbners and passed them on to us...freakin cool uh?
ya i thought so. well time to go, so till next week.
i love you guys tons! thanks for all your support and letters! i love em...
ps dont send anything through mission ties to my house, send them to the
mission house. mom make sure everyone knows. well i love you guys. hope
everyone is haveing a awesome summer, cuz i am! stay safe and i will talk to
you next week...erin and jake no fighting whoe gets to mow the lawn ha ha ha


LOVE YA GUYS!


elder davis

MOnday, June 16, 2008 hello again family!

well family, another week down and on to the next. things here are great and
it sounds as though things are still moving there too. so today we went and
played some futeball!!! ya it was awesome, we actully played some futeball
and ping pong...it was fun to acutally do something on pday instead of just
clean shop and study, then work at 6. i took some pics of today and of our
desks after we cleaned them...can you guess which one is mine, pretty sure
you could. its just like me.... anyway there was some stuff that was going
through my mind the past few days and i wanted to write you abou tit. in
this church people have to make sacrifices, thats just how it is, good
things arent easy and thats why its hard for some people to be baptised.
because they are so used to thier church were they arent asked to do
anything expect pay money for there sins and then all is well. our church we
ask them to go to church every sunday and stop drinking coffee which is a
huge thing down here...if you dont drink coffee your not brazilian, serious,
even little 7 , 8 , 9 year old kids drink it. its ridiculuos. oh by the way
i had my first coffee down here last week ha ha the memebers drink this non
caffinanted coffee and they gave me somne and i didnt konw how to give it
back with out being rude cuz coffee is a big deal down here so i drank it
and wow do i hate coffee...anyway back to what i was saying. we ask the
investigators to make sacrifices, maybe small to you but its not for them.
even with the members, they nver do family home evening so we always hold
one eveyrweek and invite all to come. so i got thinking about the whole
family home evening thing and did some studying on it, and its amazing the
promsied blessing that come to the families that hold family night once a
week and fmaily prayer and scrip. study. the blessing are there we just have
to take them. and we try to get the members to realize that. but a big issue
is you cant force kids or parents to do it, people have to want to do it or
the blessings wont come. i have seen some of the families here that inact
these things into there lives and wow it is just a huge difference. now i am
not saying this to make any of you feel bad or anything like that but i tell
you this because i have seen first hand the blessing and how happy families
are when the do these very small things. and it comes down to sacrifce. you
have to sacrifice your time in order to do these things, but the blessings
that come are amazing! i promise families every week that if they do this
the lord will pour blessings out upon them. because he really does. now the
reason i write this whole letter is to challenge you guys to inact this into
your lives. it wont be easy i can promise you that, but i can also promise
you that if you do these simple things that your lives will change
dramaticlly. you will see a difference in everyonces life. i challenge you
to have family prayer and read from the scriptures everyday. even if it is
only for 15 min. one chapter...one verus,.... but everyone has to be willing
to do this, now that the summer is here it might be more difficult but thats
what a sacrifice is. now mom can come down and wake everyone up and make
them come out and listen to her read and what not, but then it is no good.
what mom is going to do...if thats ok mom...ha ha is come down and wake
everyone up and let them know that she is going to start in 5 min. and if
you want to go out and join her you can if you dont want to you dont have,
but i can promise you that everyday will be better. its amazing to me but i
feel like since i have been out here on the mission being so far away from
you guys i have really grown closer to all of you. just throough letters. i
love you guys ton and i am so glad to have such an awesome family. hope all
is well and hope everyone has a good week!!
check out the sweet pics...

ps nothing to big here just workin hard and playin futeball!!!!! love ya
tons! ps erin i am way good ha ha ha

elder davis

Monday June 9, 2008 is it really junho?

hello again family! well whats new and exciting with you....well not sure
cuz i didnt get an email about all that this week, so i guess everything is
good, or you all went on a big trip without me and didnt want to email me
becuase if you did i would be really jealous. well i´m not because guess who
is in brazil, oh thats right, its me! its awesome here, i definitly miss
some things from home that they dont have here but you learn to love the
stuff here. so ya things are great. they had this sale at the grocery store
this week and so i pulled a mom...i stocked up on cereal! ha ha i bought
like 4 boxes. its just frosted flakes but here its called surchious...weird
uh? its made by kellogs and it has tony the tiger on the front so i am
pretty sure its the same thing. plus i got the peanut butter from mom and i
have been putting it on everything. my pancakes, french toast, just bread,
cookies, bananas, apples, cearel, pretty much anything i eat i have been
using the peanut butter, proabably not healthy but its so good! anyway
things have been going good. we might go on splits for the week, my comp
isnt sure yet but because he is the district leader and everything he can
choose when so i think we might go on splits for the week so that will be
cool i think. well we have been working our butts off. and it pays off! the
lord will bless you when you are working hard and praying for miricls. so
from what i hear its hard to find a whole family that is interested and
baptise everyone. and we found one! we are still working with them but
everything seems really promising. they are progressing and everything and
we are hoping to baptise them in like 2 weeks! i am way exited. there is
nothing better when you can bring a whole fmaily into the gospel and great
something eternal! wow that sounds like a long time. but just knowing you
can create an enternal family really makes you want to work that much harder
to bring them into the church. things are good here though. we didnt have a
baptism this last sunday because the 2 that we had didnt show up....kinda
lame. so we were going to play futebol today with some kids from the ward
but that fell through so i am kinda bummed out about that. but i got awhile
to play some futebol down here. so i had to sew my first sew....does that
make sense, it does to me, is that bad. ha ha but anyway i mastered it.
pretty sure i could sew anything, i am that good. well mom thanks again for
the package! i think you can tell how much i loved it. and the usb thing is
working out great. thanks a ton. and to everyone else..... aí! hope everyone
is doing well. can you believe it has already been 4 months. crazy. so at
the ctm my district and i planned to have a district meeting at chilis when
we all get home...cuz everyone lives in utah, and one of them as never been
to chilis cuz he lives in oak city....the milker, elder shipley. anyway just
thought you might like to know, i cant think of anything else to put cuz
nothing is coming to mind. but i am doing great. i´m safe, healthly and
working hard. couldnt ask for more right? well i love you guys tons. we
might have zone conf this week so i am way excited about that. i love zone
conf, its the best, you always get fired up after and plus sister aidukitus
gives out candy, cant beat that! well time to go, still gotta clean the
apartment and what not, pday isnt play day, even though sometimes i wish it
were. well love ya guys tons, hope everyone has a aweseome week! talk to you
guys next week! later!

elder davis

Tuesday June 3, 2008 what up family!

hello again family! wow it seems like so much stuff happens in between our
letters everyweek. well this last week i had the oppurtuniy to go to the
dedication of the curtiba temple which was so freakin cool. its amazing the
spirit that is there with you as you watch it happen miles and miles away.
then on mon i got to go to marina hall in brasilia to hear the
prophet...wow. it was so cool elder nelson and his wife spoke and then the
prophet spoke and wow the spirit was so strong. the prohet spoke on
choices...and how the choices we make determine our destiny. we need to do 4
things to help make those choices that will help us get to that destiny that
we want....we need to seek to listen, seek to learn, seek to labor, and seek
to love. i love it when pres. monson talks, you can feel the love that he
has for each of the millions of members of this church and the sprirt that
he brings with him. its amazing. it was like a spiritual boost for the rest
of the week. it was really cool. anyway next week is zone conf. and its the
last one iwth pres. aidukitus, then we get our new pres. so that will be
good i guess. i love pres aidukitus, he is so awesome. he really motivates
you to work. its awesome. so there is a new elder in our district who went
to olympus high and he konws some of the people i know...i didnt know him,
but knowing the same people kinda creates this bond when you are so far
away. its cool. and i get to see elder buck my ctm comp everynow and then.
its awesome cuz we were really close, so thats always nice. anyway things
are good i did get the package i just havent recieved it yet. it made it to
the office and an elder picked it up for me, its at the setor sul mission
area which is right next to mine so i will get the package toomorrow during
our district meeting...so i am like freakin out....PEANUT BUTTER! i am so
freakin stoked. but ya things are good. i am learing stuff everyday from the
language to just how much the lord will bless you if you work hard and put
all you have into this work. this week has been so good so far. the
dedication of the temple and then the prophet. it has really strenghten my
testimony of the truthfullness of this church! and that we really do have a
living prophet on the earth today, how cool is that! no other church as
that....well i cant think of anything else. i am having a great time serving
and i am so glad i am here. i miss you guys tons, but i am so glad i have
the oppurtuniy to serve. from what mom was telling me it sounds like you
guys are doing good. school is out by now i think and summer begins...its
crazy its starting to get cold here...not for me but all the brazilians wear
like long sleeve shirts and pants and hats and what not. and i am over here
sweating my pants off. you gotta love it! well hope everyone has a
wonderfull week and dont do anything to fun this summer! :)
i love you guys tons, thanks for you love and support. it really helps me
get through those tuff days...which i mean i never have...i´m a davis i mean
come on. ha ha

love ya guys tons!

elder davis

familia!!!! profeta em 6 dias!! May 27, 2008

hello!!!!!! family its me again! arent you just glad to hear from me again,
i will guess yes. anyway i made it through my first transfer! whoaaaa its
was long and tiring and fun and quick and different. it was alot of things
but i am starting to get the hang of things around here. well nothiing is
changing for me. i will stay in gama centro for another transfer, you can
send stuff through mission ties again to that same address just fyi, at
least till the end of this transfer. so i am way excited to stay here cuz i
will be able to hear the prophet and get to see the new chapel they are
building. it is way big and its proabaly the nicest chapel i have seen in my
life and i have seen some chapels lets be honest. so exciteing exciting. i
should be getting that package soon so i am like peeing my pants waitin for
it...i want some PEANUT BUTTER! so the other night to celebrate the end of
my first transfer i went to the store to buy ice cream which is a big deal
here cuz its kinda expensive, (thats what that last charge is on the card
mom) anyway i got this kind called flocos.....its kinda like cookies and
cream...its really good. so we had some ice cream and celebrated. so its
still me and elder leite hittin up gama centro... workin hard. and when i
say hard i mean hard....man am i tired at the end of the day. its not hard
to fall asleep. so just one thing, mom in my car in the glove box there is a
secret compartment in the bottom, would you make sure nothing is in there
and save the licence plates for me... :) thanks! anyway back to brazil. its
crazy how you can get along with someone so well one day and then not the
next and then have to live with it, cuz you cant be alone...ya its something
new. but things are good. i have been cooking pancakes and french toast
alot. i wont lie i kinda get depressed when i eat french toast cuz i always
rememeber french toast for dinner at moms. sad. but i get over it. anyway
things are awesome i am doing great, the language is getting better and
better everyday and i am getting used to brazil i think..... i have had
enough rice and beans to last me 10 years but thats pretty much all you
eat.... thats why i always try to make a breakfast cuz i konw rice and beans
are arond the corner and i cant have them every meal...i mean come on. so i
bought this pizza the other day for lunch cuz on fridays its planning day
and we dont have lunch with the members so i bought this pizza from the
store and heated it up...some chicken pizza thing but it was pretty good and
it made the house smell like subway..... cool uh...well the comptuer keeps
tripping out so i am going to send this and then keep writing on another
email just in case i lose all of this so i will be right back.....


ok i am back...anyway hope the power of attorny thing worked out mom...let
me konw if you need me to do anything. so family. i mean jake and
erin...school is getting out and summer is coming up, sweet! dont do
anything to stupid this summer....and i am not talking to jake...cough cough
love ya bro :) well i am not sure what else to say other then i love you
guys tons! thanks again for your support and love. it always strengthens me
to konw i have a loving family behind me. you guys mean so much to me,
espeacially when i see some of the stuff down here, i feel so blessed to
have you guys. i love you guys muito! well i hope everything is going well
for each and every one of you. everything is just fine here. i havent worn
out anything yet so thats good and i havent put on to much weight...only 11
pounds since i left home, so not to bad. anyway things are great i love you
guys and i will talk to you next week.

LOVE YA

elder davis

May 19, 2008

anyway things are good here, i am currently úploading some more pics...from
the ctm so you can check those out. anyway transfers are coming up so dont
send any thing to the house this week...from mr cheneys..mission ties thing.
i might be transfered, we will know next week on monday.. and from what i
hear next week pday will be on tues, the day you do the transfers and stuff
so next week dont freak out if you dont hear from me on monday. but ya
things are good here...i cooked a cake for dads birthday....so happy
birthday so you harold!!! it was choclate with no frosting...sad uh? but
still good. anyway i cant think of anyting t write cuz i normal put stuff
down in my planner and then i write about it on pday but i left my planner
at the church and i wont get it till tues..tomorrow so i cant think of
anything. and i know when i get my planner i will see that i had all this
stuff to tell you or to ask you and then i will be freaking out cuz i didnt
get to do it. but thats life. welcome to the mission right.....ya my comp
says that like 50 times a day when somthing happens, thats weird. but ya
this week was like drunk week. there were the normal number of drunk people
but this week for some reason they all decieded to stop us...i think theyhad
a meeting and stuff cuz every single one stoped us i swear. and we talked to
them and what not but ya it was weird. but we are still baptising everyweek
so thats way cool. and lets see.....i did alot of dishes today that was
fun...and i cant really think of anything else....i love you guys tons and i
am so sad that i missed yard work day :).....no but really i am. its hot in
the day and cold at night...its like utah. its really not to bad, but i hear
in another part of the misson you sweat like 24/7. so thats going to be fun.
lets see my cloths or holding up and i havnt worn anything out yet so thats
good. well i have to go write the pres now...the weekly report so love ya
tons

hope every one as a awesome week!!!

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

elder davis

May Pics