Cidade Jardim

My first area is in Cidade Jardim in Teresina. Some streets are dirt roads, others are very roughly done cobble stone roads, cobble stone, and asphalt. The streets are shared with horses and wagons, dogs, chickens, cats, and pigs. It´s in the low 30´s Celsius everyday and it´s usually been raining in the evening. So, the seasons here are hot and hotter. Right now it´s in the hot/kind of wet season. I´ve tried some new fruits that are kind of exclusive to being close to the Amazon. Which I am not that close to but, much closer than São Paulo was. One is called Pitomba and the other is called Cajá.

Around Easter time there is a tradition in Brasil to give Ovos de Pascão (eggs of Easter) with are chocolate eggs. Some have surprises inside. It´s exciting. My mission President (Presidente Dias) and his wife gave us all eggs. It was delicious and there was a toy inside. I miss speaking English, but Português is coming along. At least I´ve been told that I don´t have an accent, but it´s very obvious that I don´t know the language very well. People are very nice here, even though they laugh at me because I don´t understand hardly anything. But if I´m paying attention I can kind of get the gist of what they are saying.

My new companion Elder Souza is great. We were at the CTM together, he´s Brazilian. I have been feeling homesick lately, but I´ve found when I´m teaching people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am happy and I remember why I´m here. It´s truly an interesting phenomenon. I love sharing the Gospel, it´s really the only thing that keeps me going and keeps me from being too homesick. My dear friends, talk to the missionaries in your area and you also can know why I am so happy and why I am here. I apologize for not sharing something so precious with you before, and if I have, look into it more. My life is blessed everyday because of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know He lives and I know that His church has been restored and is on the earth today. We have a living prophet today who speaks with God and in whom God reveals His secrets just as in times of old (Amos 3:7). I love you all so much. I´ll write more next week.

Love,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba

NEW ADDRESS!!!

This is the new address to send letters and things to Elder Sam Chiba. (This is the address for the mission home in Teresina and should be Sam's stable address for the remainder of his mission time.) Postage is the same as before, a regular 1 oz letter costs $0.98 and the Post Office actually has a ninety-eight cent stamp.

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Brazil Teresina Mission

Rua Tersandro Paz N° 2129, Salas 105-108
Centro
64001-380 Teresina - PI
Brazil

I'm In Teresina!

This week's blog has to be short because I don't have much time but I want you all to know that I´m safe and in my first area is Teresina. It´s hot and I want people to send me pictures. The best address to send things to right now is the Teresina Mission Home.

I want you to know that I love you all very much. I know the gospel is true and I am serving the Savior because He can never ask too much of me. I´ll have to write more next week.

Elder Samuel Hisashi Chiba

Leaving the MTC

Hello People!!!

I am leaving the CTM next week for Teresina. I´m totally excited!!!

We went proselyting in down town São Paulo. It was awesome! Such a good experience. The first person E. Epperson and I found was awesome. Unfortunately I don´t remember his name, but while we were talking to him (in Português mind you) the Spirit was so strong. About ten minutes later we tracted into this man named Tiago(James pronounced Chee-ah-goh). We talked to him for about 45 at least, it was a really long time. He was in the middle of a park and mostly he talked to us, and we tried to understand what he was saying. Eventually, I had to tell him that we had to go, but I bore my testimony to him. We left on a good note I think. So, by this time we have 4 more books and a little less than a half hour to give them away. So, we attempted several times and wandered around for a bit no luck. We prayed and then started to head toward the direction of the meeting spot. We saw some people struggling to push carts up the hill, so we took the opportunity to help them, and we gave the two guys each um Livro de Mórmon. They were really appreciative and accepted the books. Many people tell us that they don´t have money or ask how much it costs. And we tell them it´s free and a present for them. And they are happy.

After we were done proselyting, our instructor walked us around down town. São Paulo is crazy busy. It reminds me of a mix between San Francisco, New York, and Washington D.C.. Some fun fruits that I´ve tried since I´ve been here. Maracujá (passion fruit) which has a really nice flavor but it´s really sour! When you open it up there is just seeds and nector inside and it looks like frog eggs, but smells amazing. I´ve also had real guava i think the name for that is guaiaba, but i could be mistaken. It´s tasty, but the seeds are really hard. Papaya, pineapple, those are also good. I had some awesome juice a couple weeks ago. It was made from a fruit called graviola, and I´ve never heard of this fruit before in my life, but it´s awesome.

Lately, I´ve been studying a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so amazed at how much love He has for all of us. He took upon himself our sins, our mistakes, our pain, our sorrow, and our heartache. And I know that if we turn to Him, we can be forgiven of our sins, and also He can heal our pain and heartache. One of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon helped me realize this. It´s in the book of Mosiah chapter 24 verse 14. What happening in at that time is that there are a group of people that are in bondage and they are pouring their hearts out to the Lord to help them. And what the verse says is that ´I the Lord do visit my people in their afflictions.´ There is more to it, but I don´t have it memorized. And it is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that He can ease our burdens. There is also a scripture in Isaiah 53:4-5 that gives some more insight to the scripture in Mosiah.

Anyway, I don´t have much time left, but I want you to know that Jesus Christ lives, and that He loves each and every one of us. I know that if we rely on the Savior we can find happiness and peace in our lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve Him, and I am honored that I am allowed to represent Him and His church. I love you all.

Love,

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Days Of The Week in Português

Here is another language lesson from Elder Chiba. The Days of the week are:

Segunda Feira - Monday

Terca Feira - Tuesday

Quarta Feira - Wednesday

Quinta Feira - Thursday

Sexta Feira - Friday (Buzz, I know you´re laughing)

Sabado - Saturday

Domingo - Sunday

As for months, I know them but I don´t know them....

Oi todo mundo!

Oi todo mundo! (which means whole world, but it´s a Brazilian expression to say everyone)

Ok, so today was the first time I had Brazilian Rodizio. It was amazing!!!!! All you can eat awesome food and they walk around with slabs of meat and cut it fresh onto your plate. I also tried chicken heart... it was interesting. Good flavor, interesting texture. But, the idea is the main thing to get over. Anyway, I always plan on writing letters on preparation day, but I never have time because there are a lot of things to do. I would try to write on other days, but number 1 we´re only allowed to write on p-day, and number 2 there just isn´t any time to write letters. I think once I get into the field I´ll have more time on P-day to write letters. We went to the temple in São Paulo this morning, it was great. It always is, going to the house of The Lord brings me so much peace. Along with the Book of Mormon, I´ve really been enjoying reading the New Testament and the Old Testament. It´s amazing, I never really read much of anything before, and there are so many awesome things in the scriptures. This week we´ve been studying some of the commandments and the blessings that we get from following them. Also, we´ve been studying ´The Word of Wisdom´ which is modern revelation from God to the prophet Joseph Smith. What that is, is a guide to how to be healthy essentially. Healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. Speaking of modern day prophets, I´m really grateful to have a prophet today, Thomas S. Monson. How amazing it is that we have a prophet to help us know what our Heavenly Father wants us to do, just as the prophets of old in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Anyway, I´ve got two more weeks until I head to Teresina. I´m excited. OH! I almost forgot, we´re going proselyting in down town São Paulo this Friday. It´s going to be awesome. Sim, so anyway, I love you all.

Sinceramente,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Sam in the News!

As some of you have seen on facebok, there was sighting of Elder Chiba in the Mormon Times. There was a picture in an article about the census of the CTM and how it dropped so dramatically, and Sam (sorry, Elder Chiba) was sighted in the background. Here's the link to the full article and picture with Elder Chiba.

http://mormontimes.com/mormon_living/mission_life/?id=13367&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+ldsInTheNews+(Around+the+Church%2