Letter #71-"You were everything i wanted. but i just can´t finish what i started.‏

There´s no room left here on my back. it was damaged long ago. though you swear that you are true, I´d still pick my friends over you!"

OPA!!! Hello family! Hah I sure do love you all! From all the updates going on, it sounds like everything is just going fantastic at home. I sure hope so! 

This week has been crazy!!! We marked a few dates. Bruna is gonna get baptized this weekend. Which we are all super happy about. The only thing is I won´t be there to watch it... TRANSFERED!!!! 

I am now in the beautiful city of Guarapuava!!! Which is about 4 hours (by bus) from Curitiba. Needless to say.... LONGGGGG!!! I got the bus this morning at about 7:30 and arrived at 11:15. All that time on the bus... I didn´t feel too well. That´s too much time for the bus. hah. but it´s fine. I am here now. My new companion, Elder Gabriel, is an old friend of mine. He used to be the assistant. He is super awesome and one of the greatest missionaries in our mission (maybe in Brazil) I am super excited to work with him. I am a blessed man.

Yesterday was filled with telling everyone goodbye. The family that we had lunch with gave us money (a lot) so me, elder andrade, elder harper and elder deivid (they live with us) went out to eat. It was a blast.  Then elder andrade and I went to Roberto and Rose´s house. They´re getting baptized in a week and I love them so much. They are super awesome. I was sad to leave. I got a little teary eyed, but it´s good to know that they will be baptized!!! We also went to Adriano and Loriane´s house. That was hard. I told them I was leaving and it was sad. elder andrade and I left to get some food for us to all eat together and when I came back their kids, Fabricio and Flavia came up and said, "Elder, when you leave I will miss you a lot and probably cry." They are super cute and sweet. We ate a meal together and Adriano said that meeting me was one of the greatest things that´s happened to him in his life. I was so blessed to be able to baptize him. He and his family drove us home and when I hugged him goodbye I cried and we walked away. As we were coming home, elder harper and elder deivid were also coming home. We all hugged each other as we walked to our apartment and elder harper sang 'God be with you til we meet again.' It didn´t really help the situation. 

I spent the night packing my bags and at 6 this morning one of our friends swung by and picked us up. His son and wife will be baptized soon. He´s been a member for over 21 years! They took us to the bus station and we said goodbye and left. His wife was crying. Elder Andrade said something that really is true.(speaking of missionaries) "We come to leave" It´s sad to think about but I know one day I will see them again and I have the opportunity to be with all my loved ones again one day in the Celestial Kingdom. God Lives! Jesus Christ is His Son and our Savior! Joseph Smith was His prophet and the Church of Jesus Christ is again on the Earth. I love you all!

Com amor

-Elder Askins!

Letter #70-"I comb the crowd and pick you out. my mouth moves too fast for you to figure it out.‏

It starts eyes closed, to fingers crossed, to I swear I say. To I swear, I say."

Dear family. oh how I love you so much! This week has been... CRAZY. 


On Friday we had Zone Conference. It was awesome. We learned a lot about following the Spirit and using the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a powerful tool. Actually the most powerful tool that we can use. I loved it. The Zone Leaders had an opportunity to do trainings. I was in charge of teaching the first lesson in 3 minutes with an invite to church. It was a lot of fun.


This weekend we had 9 people set to be baptized in the Zone, Elder Andrade and I did a LOT of interviews this weekend. I became sad because only 3 people passed the interviews in our Zones and were baptized. This is good, but it could have been a lot better.

Sunday we had lunch with Alexandro, Josiane, and Teverson. It was awesome. Churrasco!!! They invited their parents (who are super Catholic) to eat with us. Afterword, we shared a little message. They are being prepared to hear our message.

On Monday, we taught a girl that a member brought to church. We marked a date. She has been looking for the true church of Christ. She´s found it and then that night we had family night with Adriano and Loriane and we went to Loriane´s brother´s house and taught the first lesson. While they didn´t accept a date to be baptized, they will be baptized. I have faith. So I had my Preach my Gospel hard-backed. It is so awesome it says, "PREGAR MEU EVANGELHO" and at the bottom "Elder N. Askins" I also hard-backed my Journal. I have 2 journals "The Best Two Years" How awesome??!!!!

Well, this week we are looking for new people. 

They have a new Joseph Smith movie! Watch it! It is fantastic!!!  At the end when Joseph and Hyrum are martyred, Joseph is holding Hyrum and says, "What do we hear in the gospel that we have received. Truth out of the earth. mercy from heaven. A voice of gladness for the living and the dead. Shall we not go on in so great a cause??" It´s Joseph´s life from the point of view from his mother. At the end she is in front of the saints testifying of the life of Joseph Smith and says "I don´t know that I will go west... I am the first witness of the restoration of Christ´s church upon the earth. I leave the world at liberty to pass judgement upon what I have spoken as seemeth them good but this much I will say: All that I have told you is true and will stand forever."
It is great. Watch it! I love you all so much!
Don´t Stop Believing!!!!
Com Amor,
Elder Askins!

Letter #69-"You Can´t Always Get What You Want.‏

But If You Try Sometimes, You´ll Find, You Get What You Need." -The Rolling Stones

This week was awesome family!!!! We were doing weekly planning and we were reviewing our investigator, Teverson, and realized that he was ready to be baptized that weekend (he had a date for the 21) and so we prayed and felt a strong impression that he should be baptized. We went to his house that night and said "Listen, we were praying and planning this morning and we feel that you could be baptized this weekend, (one week earlier than we marked). Would you like to be baptized this weekend?" 

He looked at us and said, "You know what? I would like to be baptized this weekend." And so he was. It was a fantastic baptism. I got emotional. You see, he is 20 years old and his sister who is married and lives behind him, was baptized about 7 months ago. She started bringing him to activities and then to church and then we started teaching him (in her house) and then he was baptized. At his baptism, she bore her testimony and I couldn´t help but think about my family and my sisters. I felt the Spirit so strong and I knew that if we grew up in a family without the gospel and any of my sisters found the gospel that they would do anything to have me become a part of this great blessing. The love that exists in our family is so special.

Today we got the zone together to do personal and companionship study together. For personal study, we watched a talk by Elder Holland that he gave to a group of missionaries. At the end he talked about Peter. He said that after Christ´s death Peter became the leader of the church and he felt the weight and the pressure of the prophetic mantle that feel and he was so nervous. After seeing the empty tomb what did they do? They decided to go back to Galilee and do the thing that they did before Jesus Christ called them. They decided to go fishing and then they passed the whole night and didn´t catch anything. In the morning, a figure appeared on the shore and told them to try on the other side. They did and caught a ton. Then they realized it was Jesus the Christ. Peter jumped out to be with him. When they all got there, He prepared a breakfast for them. Then Jesus asked Peter "Lovest thou me?" "Yes" "Lovest thou me?" "Yes" "Lovest thou me?" "Yes Lord you know I lovest thee" "Then feed my sheep" and Elder Holland started getting passionate. He said "Then don´t go back and do the things you did before I called you! When I called you to be an apostle it was forever. WHEN I CALLED YOU TO BE A MISSIONARY, IT WAS FOREVER. The life you knew Peter, before your mission is over and you are mine now. You must be completely devoted to be because I called you to serve me forever." 


I will end my mission but I will continue to be a missionary. Some of these rules, I will keep forever and I  will never go back to the way I was before.

After the video we practiced teaching the first lesson in a minute and then after, in 3 minutes. It was great.

The work is true! This church is true and is the only true and living church of God. I love you all so much!!!!

-Elder Askins

Letter #68- "Tell me what you thought about when you were gone and so alone. the worst is over‏"

You can have the best of me. we got older but we´re still young. We never grew out of this feeling that we won´t give up!

 

Family! This might be the shortest email of your lives, but I am planning on writing an awesome letter to you guys to make up for the lack of a good letter. This week was good. We had the Zone Leader Council. Which is awesome.  Always neat to see friends and old companions. We also did a division with the assistants. Which was fun. We marked a date and I´m outta time I love you!

Com Amor!

Elder Askins!

Letter #67-"I´ve Just Seen a Face I Can´t Forget the Time or Place or‏

Where we just met. She´s just the girl for me and I want all the world to see we´ve met, la la la la la. Falling. Yes I am falling. and she keeps calling me back again."

This week has been super busy. Last Friday we had a mission conference with Elder Tobias.  It was super awesome. I learned a lot!!!! We all practiced the first lesson. (yeah, imagine practicing the first lesson in front of a member of the seventy. Not an easy thing). But it was well worth it. The coolest part was when I went up to get letters in the office afterward and I was leaving with my companion and Elder Tobias was walking in and I shook his hand and said "Elder Tobias, I think you have the most wonderful first name in the world" (his first name is Natã, which is Nathan in Port.) He smiled and looked into my eyes and said "Elder Askins, don´t disgrace our name." And then we left. But I will never forget we share a name. Like I share a name with my family, like as a missionary I share a name with the church and as a member of that church I share a name with Christ. "Never disgrace our name."

Today was neat. we went to Curitiba to participate in a stake activity. It was us, 10 elders in our zone, the stake president, and President Cordon. We had a little meeting in the morning, like a devotional and then afterward we played futébol and ping pong (that´s why I have a pic with Pres. Cordon dressed the way we are) 


I was talking to a missionary there and he started talking about Elder Paiva´s family (his sister-in-law will be baptized!) So I, with this missionary, went to Elder Paiva´s house to give his family a visit. It was great to see everyone again!!! and that is why I have a pic with Elder Paiva´s family.

Well fam. I love you all so much. The church is true! There is no doubt in my mind. The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God! Jesus Christ is our Savior. I love you all!!!
Com Amor,
Elder Nay 

Nathan with the family Paiva <3