Hot Nuts! New Baby! The Letter "T"!

Yesterday I saw how you roast cashews the Brazilian way. It was really cool and kind of dangerous. And I don´t know how to describe it except there was a lot of fire and the liquid in the cashews is really flammable and likes to explode. I wish I had my camera to make a video, but unfortunately I forgot it at our house.

Anyway, today I received some amazing news!!!!!!! Eu sou um tio!!!! (I am an uncle!!!!!!!!!!) My nephew, Anson, was born on the 20th of May. Isn´t that great?!?! (I realize that asking questions is kind of pointless and will always be retoricle, so the answer to that is WOOHOO!!! YAY THERE´S A NEW BABY!!!!!!!!!)

Moving on, today´s Portugués letter is the letter "T." It´s like a regular ´t´ sound but softer. Also when placed before an ´i´ is pronounced chi like Chiba (also when it´s placed before an ´e´ at the end of a word).

So, today I´m going to talk about Faith in Jesus Christ, because you can have faith in a lot of things. Faith in Jesus Christ is a belief that He is the son of God, that He atoned for our sins, and that through His atonement we can be cleansed of our sins and live with our Heavenly Father again. Faith in Jesus Christ is the driving force behind all of the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It´s a force because faith isn´t only a hope but also an action. Things are great! Thank you for you love, support and prayers. I love you all!

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

The World Cup is in Less than a Month!?!?!??!

Oh man, it sure is warm here. The lan house we´re in today is not air conditioned. Also there is no verb for e-mail. In English you can pretty much make anything into a verb, but not in Português. I´m not sure what to write about this week....

Ok, so my companion is sick. It´s rather unfortunate. We were at one of the branch members´ house for lunch. And they have two little kids, and one of them sneezed all over the food (mind you just the salad). And my companion is now sick. I fortunately have antibodies of steel. (that is a lie, I´ve been sick twice so far during the mission and it´s only been four months....) So, as for my Português, some people say that I´ve improved greatly. Also my companion says I´m very clear and understandable, but then every once in a while someone says, "What did he say? He doesn´t speak correctly." I suppose I have moments when I may not be perfect in my speach. (has anyone caught on to the sarcasm yet? i know it´s difficult to tell because you can´t hear my voice, but I´m trying my best to type my tonal inflections.) As for my weight, I weighed myself in my exercise clothes and i weigh less than I though. So, when I started this journey, I weighed about 220 lbs or 101 kilos and now I´m about 88.8 kilos which is roughly 195 lbs. (Mom, it turns out I don´t really need those pants you packed just in case I gained weight, but just so you know, I am wearing them right now and at least once a week because they are comfortable). So, O Copo Do Mundo or The World Cup is in June. June 11 to be exact. That´s pretty much a government holiday here. Actually I don´t know, but maybe it will be..... So, I´ll be cheering for BRASIL!!!!! (Sorry United States of America and Japan, normally I am an avid fan of my mother countries, but for soccer or futebol it´s Brasil all the way.)

Anyway, the letter of the week is actually 5 letters which are....... THE VOWELS!!!!!!!!!

A- sounds like "ah" or at the end of a word "uh"

E- sounds like "eh" or at the end of a word "ee"

I - sounds like "ee" all the time

O - sounds like "oh" or at the end of a word "oo"

U - sounds like "oo" all the time

Today I would like to tell you how Heavenly Father views little children. Heavenly Father is infinitely loving and merciful. So, the commandment of baptism to be saved doesn´t apply to little children under the age of accountability or to anyone who is mentally handicapped who is childlike in their mentality. The age of accountability is 8 years of age. By this age any child knows the difference between good and bad. Some children do mature faster or more quickly than other children do, but 8 years of age is when anyone knows what they are doing is good or bad. In the book of Moroni in The Book of Mormon, in chapter 8 verses 9-20 we learn about God´s love and mercy towards children. I know that God loves us and that His mercy is endless. I know this because I know that The Book of Mormon is truly the word of God. I know that you can know for yourself also. Read Moroni 10:3-5. I love you my friends and family. You´re always in my prayers. Also, please write. I´ll write back to you, it may take some time but I´ll write back.

Love,

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Mormon Chapter 8 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/morm/8

Moroni Chapter 10 verses 3-5: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/10

Alrighty! Let´s get a move on!

Olá minha familia e meus amigos!

Yesterday was Dia Das Mães. Yes you guested it, or already know...... Mother´s Day! And you know what that means? I got to call home yesterday. It was wonderful. Whenever the phone picked up and I heard the voices of my family, my eyes welled up in tears and a huge smile took place of my worried face. (worried if the call would go through or not) So, now I´m all ready to work harder and more productively. You know what´s interesting. I meet people all the time here that remind me of others from home. I´m not sure exactly why, maybe it´s some facial expressions or maybe the way they carry themselves or maybe their spirit is similar to you all.

Anyway, I decided I´m going to start a Português grammar rule of the week. Well maybe not grammar, but pronunciation. So, the letter of the week is........ ´R´ so, when ´r´ is placed at the beginning of a word it is pronounced like an ´h´ or when there is ´rr´ so a double ´r´ makes an ´h´ sound also. Any other time it´s just a slight flight/roll of the tongue. But depending on where you´re from your accent is different. I don´t know how to type how it´s pronounced here.

Also, funny story real quick. The other week we were teaching about the five basic priniciples of the gospel of Jesus Christ (which are Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentence, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) Anyway, we were teaching this family outside under a mango tree (mangueira) around dusk. They have chickens and the chickens like to nest in the tree during the night. So, the chickens climb on a fence and jump up into the tree. But, one of the girls (about 13-15) decided to throw some of the chickens up into the tree. Unfortunately, the chickens never made it up into the branches. They fell/fluttered helplessly to the ground with a thud and a cluck. This happened several times. And here I am trying not to laugh, but I´m crying from laughing. Oh man, it was hilarious.

Also, there are lizards everywhere. We were walking down the street one day and you know how lizards always run away. Well lizards like to run/climb up walls to escape, but there was this one wall that was slick with smooth paint, and there was this lizard that ran at the wall multiple times trying to escape but it just kind of bounced/fell off time after time. Why are animals so funny?

Anyway, talking with my family yesterday strengthened my testimony of Heavenly Father´s purpose for the family, and how important families are to Him and how central they are to His church. I´m so grateful to my Father in Heaven for the wonderful people in my life, family and friends. I know that families can be together forever. And that families can be sealed together for time and all eternity in the temples of the Lord. How marvelous temples are. I´m so grateful for this knowledge and for this gospel that I share everyday. Especially being far from home, the knowledge of the gospel and of eternal families is very comforting to me. You should all go visit an LDS temple that´s closest to you. For friends at home you can go to the temple in Oakland. Don´t worry it´s in a safe neighborhood. It´s so beautiful there. There is also a visitor´s center there where you can learn more about the temple and the church. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Olá meus amigos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Olá meus amigos!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hello my friends). You know what´s interesting about Português is that when you pluralize a word you pluralize the possesive article too. Example: meu amigo, meus amigos. minha cadeira (my chair) minhas cadeiras....... Anyway, I´ve known that for a while but felt like sharing. Teaching English is fun. It´s surprising how many sounds we have in english that don´t exist in other languages. It´s fascinating. It´s fun to teach too, especially words with ´th´. Everyday, I love it here more and more. (then there are some days like the day with the spider that make me want to run away) But, in general, I really enjoy it here.

My companion Elder Pio and I work a lot. Teaching people about the gospel is pretty much the best thing. I´ve been realizing lately how amazing my calling as a missionary is. I realized more fully lately that the authority to preach the gospel is given to missionaries. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is truly the Church of Jesus Christ which has been restored and is the same as it was during Christ´s time on the earth. We have a Prophet, we have 12 Apostles, and we have the Authority given by God to govern His church, to baptize, and to preach the gospel. I´ve met a lot of amazing people, and if it weren´t for this gospel, I wouldn´t have had the oportunity to be blessed with the new friendships I have.

If anyone is curious to know if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is God´s church on the Earth today, pray. It´s simple, just pray. Any man, any person can tell you that their church is true. Even I will tell you without a doubt that this Church is true, but you shouldn´t take my word for it. Pray and talk with your Heavenly Father, He will answer your prayer. In The Book of Mormon in the Book of Moroni chapter 10 verses 3-5 (but especially 5) we learn that we can know the truth of all things by the power of the Holy Ghost. Then in Galations 5:22 we learn how to recognize the Holy Ghost. You can know for yourself, from the ultimate source of knowledge, but you have to take that first step of faith and pray. I love you all.

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Moroni Chapter 10, verses 3-6:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faithin Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

Galations chapter 5 verse 22:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

St. Matthew chapter7 verse 20:

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.