(A Little Background on Sião Luís)

Hello Dear readers of Elder Sam Chiba's Blog! This is a message from the sisters behind the screen:

Here's some information found online about Sam's new city & photos of that city. Click on the links below.

About the city
pictures

Tchau Camoceu

Well, today is kind of bittersweet. More on the sad side of things. We´re being transfered and the mission here in Camocim is closing for now. I´ll be going to São Luis in Maranhão and Elder Braga is going to Teresina. But you know, I´ll go where the Lord wants me to go. So, São Luis it is. I´m excited to experience more of the mission though. I´ll be training another missionary and I´m going to be the District Leader in my area as well. So, I guess that means I´m expecting.

If anyone gets the chance to come to Camocim, you should. It´s a little slice of heaven. That´s why we call it Camo-ceu (ceu meaning heaven). I don´t have much time today because we need to pack everything and clean the house before 2 am.

But, I love you. The gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is true.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

From Ireland?

So, today, we went to buy our bus passes to go to Sobral tomorrow for our district meeting. I saw some caucasion people at the bus station that were trying to get to Parnaíba, and I thought I heard english. But Brasil is kind of a confusing place, because there are also caucasion people here that are native Brasilians. Also, because Elder Braga and I speak a mixture of english and portuguese to each other I get kind of confused if I am hearing english or portuguese. So, I proceeded to ask them "Vocês são da onde?" And they said "sorry, we don´t speak portuguese." in a very timid kind of way. So, I asked them "where are you from?" And guess what, they are from Ireland. I think they´re on an 8 month adventure exploring South America or something like that. They were going to take a taxi, which would have been very expensive, but they decided to take the bus instead. (good choice). I asked them if they wanted help with buying their tickets, and they gladly accepted. Then we pointed them in the direction of the bank and some places to eat. I´m not easily recognized as an american. They were appreciative. Also we told them a little bit of what we do, which was way weird to try to explain missionary things in english. I had to think really hard. That made my day though.

Camocim is a touristy kind of place, but until today, I hadn´t met anyone english speaking. It was fun, and we helped some weary travelers. I remembered later though that I should have explained the difference between a motel and a pousada. Don´t ever use a motel if you come to Brasil. It´s only a place to go to "hook up".....gross. Pousadas are good though. It´s like an INN or something quaint like that.

Anyway, our job is to preach the "Restored Gospel." Restored, because after the time of Christ, simple and precious truths of the gospel had been lost and/or distorted. The Gospel of Jesus Christ consists of 1. Faith in Jesus Christ, 2. Repentence, 3. Baptism, 4. The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and 5. Endure to the End. For this purpose a restoration was needed. In fact, the gospel can be found in the Bible, but it´s difficult to put it all together because of all of the translations the Bible has gone through. So, God gave us the Book of Mormon as a means to restore the fullness of the gospel of Christ. I know it is true, and my job right now is to share the good news with everyone. It's so wonderful. The gospel blesses my life everyday, and it´s amazing to see it changing lives here in Camocim. I love you my family and friends.

Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Did you know cockroaches fly?

Did anyone know that cockroaches fly? Because I learned that this week. My companion and I went to the market at centro to buy some fruit. There was something that landed or fell on my head. Then in fell onto my pants. I saw it, but I didn´t quite realize what it was. It was a cockroach. Like the size of my thumb. Mind you that my hands are somewhat big. Then it fell to the ground then flew away. I asked the girl that was attending us what that "bichu" (creature/thing) was. She said it was a barata (cockroach). I proceeded to ask her, "Baratas voam?" (Cockroaches fly?), she was surpised and kind of laughed at me and responded 'You didn´t know that?!'. That same day I saw another cockroach fly and I was still in shock from what I had learned. Needless to say, people were laughing at my naivety that day.

Also, this time of the year the weather is getting hotter, and apparently the big spiders leave the fields and enter the houses. Fortunately, our house was bug/spider proofed not too long ago. Also, I have a goal to make real P.O.G. (passion, orange, guava juice) because I have access to all three fruits. So, we´ll see how that goes. I´ll try to remember to keep you updated on how that goes.

As far as preaching the gospel goes, things are picking up here in Camocim. We´re working all day long and we're double booked a lot of the time. We have to do divisions/splits a lot to cover all of our visits. The thing that is amazing though is to see the changes in people. We´ve been working with a family lately that had some relational problems, but as we´ve been teaching them about the gospel and teaching them how to apply the principles of the gospel to their family they have changed dramatically. At first they were having some problems, then the problems got worse to the point of them almost splitting up, but then they applied what we had been teaching them. It is truly amazing, the healing power of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It´s a testimony to me how real the gospel is, and how important it is to live it´s teachings. I know that what I am teaching is true. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly Christ´s church. There is no possible way for it not to be. I love the gospel of Christ, I love my God and my Savior, and I am so happy to me an instrument in His hands to serve my brothers and sisters. I love you my friends and family.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

What?! Sushi?!

Hey Everybody!

Things are well here in the great Northeast of Brasil. Nothing really exciting happened this past week except for the training in Teresina that I went to. The training was for all of the leaders in the mission (Assistansts to the President, Zone Leaders, District Leaders, and Trainers). So, technically, I´m still training, so I went. It was fun. Teresina is a nice city, but it´s very hot and the buses are kind of scary. The nice thing was, I went to this restaurant place and they had sushi. I was thinking to myself that sushi in Teresina probably isn´t that good. And because I am recognizably Japanese, the Elder I was working with in Teresina asked the sushi guy if I could try it because I´m a real Japanese person (which is very uncommon here in the Northeast). So, I tried the sushi, and it was delicious to my surprise! So, I bought some. It was a little expensive, but oh so worth it. I think my love for sushi has increased. You know, distance makes the heart grow fonder right?

When I got home to Camocim there was some sad news. One of the members´ husband had died. So, the day that I got back was dealing with funeral things and trying to be a force of support for the sister.

My friends, death is a hard thing to deal with for anyone. And many times it catches us off guard. But, I know that there is life after death. Our Father in Heaven has a marvelous plan for us, and the knowledge of God´s plan for me is truly comforting.

If you have ever lost a loved one, if you feel lost or without purpose, you will find comfort in Heavenly Father´s Plan of Salvation. So, if you have ever wondered where we came from, if you have ever wondered what the purpose of life is, or if you have ever wondered what happens to us after we die, just talk to a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they can help you meet some missionaries who will explain everything to you. Because Jesus Christ lives, we all will live again thanks to His atoning sacrifice for us. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that God loves us, and it is because of His love for us that we are here. It´s because of His love for us that He sent His only Begotten Son to save and redeem us from sin and from death. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His true church. I encourage you to meet with the missionaries to learn about God´s plan for you. I love you my dear friends and family.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

We are doing a service project at the Branch President's house.

that´s my hammock

We´re all by our lonesome....

So, our house was full of joy and kind of noisy, then transfers came. So, now it is only me and Elder Braga. We get along great, but we miss the others. So, monday nightlast week was pretty fun. It was me, Elder Braga, and Elder Iglézia. We went to the lan house to email. They were both not feeling well, but you know emailing isn´t that strenuous.... I thought. They weren´t well, at all. We ended up at the hospital afterward. Oh dear. We left the cell phone at the house and we needed to get a hold of our mission president and some of the church members to help. So, we were in the hospital. The two other elders lying in beds. What was I to do? Well, I had to break a rule and ran home all by myself to get the phone. I was all stressed and stuff, and praying the whole time that everything would be ok. Fortunately, Camocim is not that big and it only takes like 10-15 minutes to run from the hospital to the house and back. Everything is fine now. My companion had eaten something bad and the other was sick from what seemed to be induced emotionally. Anyway, that was an adventure.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I know it is true for many reasons. Some reasons are really basic. For example, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, we follow Christ´s example. We try to live in accordance with His teachings and commandments. Another reason is that everything makes sense. There isn´t any doctrine in the church that is contradictory. The more that I´ve been studying and teaching the gospel, the more I realize how everything is connected. It is mind boggling, but so amazing. But most importantly, I know that The Book of Mormon is true. The Book of Mormon is the cornerstone of our religion. The doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures (The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price) are the foundation of our faith, but The Book of Mormon is the Cornerstone. If the Book of Mormon is false, than my whole life and my whole purpose in life, especially right now, is a lie. I challenge anyone who has any doubts, who has any curiosity about The Church of Jesus Christ to read The Book of Mormon and ask God, in faith that He will answer, if The Book of Mormon is true.

I know what I know is true. I know that God knows that I know, and I can never deny it. The gospel that I have been called to teach is for the salvation of souls. How wonderful it is to be here, to see lives change, because of the blessings of the gospel. I know that Jesus Christ lives. It is only through Him that we can be cleaned of all of our sins and live with God and our families forever. I love you my friends and my family.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Staying In Camocim

To My Beloved Friends and Family,

Well, Transfers are here. Elder Braga and I are staying by ourselves here in Camocim, and the other missionaries Elder Iglézia and Elder Melo are being transfered. So, we have the whole city to ourselves. This week has been very calm. Not much to talk about. Except, remember how I said that there weren´t very many animals here? I think I´ve gotten used to random animals in random places. There are cows that roam the streets here. One time I saw a cow eating out of a garbage can. It took the garbage bags out of the can and shook it about to tear it open to get whatever was inside. You know when you´re camping you have to put your food and garbage in a place where the bears and racoons won´t get to it. Or maybe in the city, there are cats or racoons that dig through the garbage, but here in Camocim, there are cows.

We all have our weaknesses. We all have our troubles, but if we are humble The Lord will make us strong, and make our weaknesses our strengths. In the book of Ether we learn this.

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

This, I know to be true. If you have faith and trust in the Lord, He will help you overcome anything. I love you all.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba