Good Food and Conference with Elder Ballard and Elder Soares

This past week was pretty good! I mean... what can I say.. I got to hear from two apostles of God... not much can be better than that. But other than that, it was actually a pretty normal week. It was full of some pretty cool experiences, and of course some pretty solid food! This past week I had some yummilicious TUNA FISH!!! Yeah.. you read that right... Tuna Fish sandwich here in the good ole' Bandeirantes of Maua!! So delish!! Also... how about you throw in some yummy food from a member who made some yummilicious tacos (it's been at least a year from the last time I had a taco).. and some Reese's Peanut Butter Cup dessert!! Yeah... they don't have Reeses here, but this members mom sent her some Reeses and she made a dessert out of it just for me. Wow... one way to make a missionary happy. Peanut Butter is so good!!! I will never take peanut butter for granted ever again.

How about the good stuff now!! I had the privilege of hearing from two Apostles of our God.. Elder Soares and Elder Ballard. Both of them were so good and I learned so much on Friday. Elder Soares spoke Portuguese (of course) and Elder Ballard spoke English and had a translator. Elder Soares spoke first and left a lot of time for Elder Ballard... but his testimony and sincerity really hit me. Elder Soares started off by almost crying and telling us how grateful he is to had the opportunity to be with us and to be in his own homeland. He told us with great gratitude and sincerity that we "are privileged to serve in the great country of Brasil" and that he is "so grateful for our service and our willingness to help God's children in the beautiful Brasil country."  It was sooo sweet and his testimony really blew me away. He said... "When you open your mouth and speak to others, the Savior Himself will manifest Himself to those that are willing to accept the message." He shared the importance of opening our months and inviting others to come Unto Christ and to not be afraid to share the Gospel. Then Elder Ballard focused on that same topic of opening our mouths and sharing the great joy of the Gospel. Elder Ballard said... "Is your faith in Jesus Christ deep enough in your heart that you are a ´fearless finder´..? The trick is making the move of faith from your mind to your heart. But when you do that, you will become fearless, and be changed FOREVER."  This really hit me hard as I thought about my own faith. As I was thinking about it.. I thought about the knowledge that I have and the faith that I think that I have. But that I really do need to make the change from my mind to my heart. I need to feel and to be passionate for the true life of our Savior and the blessing of His Atonement. I need to let my faith change me, so that it can in return.. change those that I may teach. I am grateful for the faith that I have and the growth that occurs each time I see a miracle, study, ponder, pray, and live life through the ups and downs. Faith is the first principle of the gospel and is the principal focus in our lives. Faith is the structure in which all of our belief is based. Elder Ballard also added..."It is my belief that if Jesus Christ was here, He would say... ´I love you. Thank you for your courage and strength to bring my message to the world........ now do you trust me!´.... I am a privileged special witness that Jesus Christ lives, and that He guides and presides over His Church on the Earth today.. which is TRUE!!  If you can kneel down at night after a long, hard day of work and say to your Heavenly Father... `I have done my best today' then you are a GREAT missionary!"  You guys I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to be there and hear some of God's true servants. 

I am grateful for the things that I learned and the spirit that I felt testify to me the truthfulness that was being shared. 

I love you all so much!!

Love your favorite Sky... and happy Elder... Elder Abel! Ü

Elder Abel & Elder Maia

MTC Buddies 

The Zone

Mud and the Holy Ghost

This past week was pretty good!! It was a full of lots of ups and downs... literally.... we flippin' live on a mountain and we have billions of hills in this new area. The joke's on me when they told me my new area in Ribeirão. I was thinking of another place... but the Zone Leaders actually live in Maua which is full of some ridiculous MOUNTAINS to climb each day... one being the mountain that we live on. haha. I went into Ribeirão Pires twice this week and it was so beautiful. 

We all united together in a meeting and President Acosta announced some pretty big news!! The big news is that we have two apostles that will be coming to talk to us on the 24th. It is going to be awesome!  All of the São Paulo Missions will join together and we will be able to hear from Elder Ballard and Elder Soares.... live as they are coming to teach and to train. It should be very good. I am excited to see what they have to say and excited to learn more from our sweet apostles. So I will be sure to let you know all about that in my next email... It should be AWESOME!!!

I had a pretty amazing thing happen to me, that really humbled me from the simplicity of the spirit. This particular day was pretty rainy...and especially muddy in the area that we were working. As we were climbing a Mount Everest of hill that was ridiculously muddy... the clean Sky was taking his time to make sure that he didn't get mud on his pants, shirt, or rain coat. We got to the top of the hill and I was so proud of myself... I was clean and spotless from mud. Then we were making contact with a guy, and as we were explaining the importance of baptism to him, out of the corner of my eye I could see a car coming and I felt prompted to move. The noob Skylar just watched this car pass us and everything was good. We continued our contact and I saw the second car from the corner of my eye.... I felt it again... move Elder Abel.... and nothing seemed to happen. He turned before us and all was good. As this man was climbing the muddy hill the car started to slip... there was the voice again... "MOVE SKYLAR" and as I finally decided to move... the dude peels out and shoots mud from his tires all over me. My pants, shoes, raincoat, and white shirt got covered in the mud and the only thing that crossed my mind was how much I deserved it.

You guys... this story is kind of silly and really didn't do a whole lot of pain or damage other than a sad Elder Abel and some filthy clothes for the rest of the day. But it really humbled me to know of the importance of listening to the spirit no matter how big or small the problem is. If I would've moved the first or second time... I would've had more time than the third time when I finally decided to act. I am so grateful for the Spirit and really regret not moving when he warned me. I can't help but think that the Spirit and our Heavenly Father just laughed as they watched it all in slow mo of what happened in that very moment. It really was a valuable lesson as to how small and simple the Spirit is and how humble you need to be to hear its whispering. I am grateful that I was covered in that mud, to be reminded for the rest of the day of how important the Spirit is. I know that the Spirit is one of our constant companions. He will keep us safe, teach us, guide us, direct us, show us love, give us comfort, and do all that we need if we just stay worthy and always be humble to hear, act, and learn. To me it is a pretty neat thing. The Godhead is made of a loving Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus Christ and our comforter the Holy Ghost. What a blessing and honor to have the sacred companionship of the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost. I sure do love the Gospel and I am grateful for the blessing it is in my life. I am trying each day to be more humble and to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ completely in my life.

I love you all so much and am thankful for all that you do for me!

Love your most favorite Sky... Elder Abel!

I KNOW It....I LOVE it....I want to SHARE it!

Well hello there my favorites!! Dang it is always nice to hear from all of you amazing people and to feel of your love!  I am just so grateful for each and everyone of you and I hope you never forget that. I am so lucky to have you all in my life!

This past week wasn't too shabby. It seemed to be pretty long as we anxiously awaited our transfers... but it was full of a lot of good and some pretty crazy miracles!!  How about them transfers!!!  It looks like my journey has came to a close here in Bosque as I have packed my bags and am moving to the other side of the mission. Literally... it is clear across the mission. But don't be deceived... our mission is the 2nd smallest mission in the world, right behind the Temple Square Mission.  It is only like an hour and a half travel between buses, trains, and subways haha. I am heading to Riberão Piros to the area of Bandeirantes. My new companion will be Elder Maia (who seems to be pretty cool, and a hard worker like Elder Fortes my trainer).  I will also be a Zone Leader. Pretty crazy news if I do say so myself.. I really didn't see it coming. But I am so excited for the new adventure. I have been wanting SO BADLY to go to Riberão Piros, because it is supposed to be the most beautiful part of our mission with tons of trees and some wild adventures in the forests. Ü Of course I am going there with a purpose to help the people... but I will for sure not lose the opportunity to have some fun forest adventures. I am pretty stoked to head there and to be able to serve those amazing people. I am super nervous to be a Zone Leader and all.. but I am excited to be challenged a little bit more as I put my faith in Heavenly Father.  Also... I will be the ONLY American in the entire zone... so that should make for a very fun experience. I guess I can just kiss my English goodbye now!  Ü  But I truly feel so blessed to be able to have this opportunity and to be able to be a missionary of our Savior.

Leaving the District in Sul Saude

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview someone to be baptized this past week. It was a pretty good interview and she passed easily... but the only problem was that she just had so many doubts and just didn't really have the desire of being baptized this week. I tried to help clear her doubts and I did everything that I could to help her understand the importance of the Baptism and all of the blessing that she will have. After two hours of trying to help her... I realized that I was trying to convince her and wasn't trying to convert her. I realized that I wasn't really using the spirit as I should have been. She was kind of getting heated up and she almost walked out of the interview because she just did not want to be baptized. As she finally told me that she wasn't going to be baptized and told me that she would continue praying and going to church and search for her answer... I asked if I could just bear my testimony to her. Irritated she told me that I could and so I did. I bore my testimony on the life changing event that takes place as we accept the Gospel into our lives, I shared with her the importance of baptism, and made promised blessings if she would just act in faith and let the Savior do the rest. As I bore my testimony and stood as a witness of our Savior... the room filled with the spirit. It was so strong that it almost lifted me off my seat. You could see the change happening in her eyes and you could just feel of the truthfulness fill the room and the Holy Ghost testifying of the words that I was saying. After I closed my testimony and asked to say a closing prayer... she cut me off and explained to me how she will accept to be baptized and then bore her testimony to me that she had just obtained. It was a powerful moment and made me realize the difference between convince and convert.  I am so grateful for the Spirit and the converting influence that He has in each and every one of our lives. He is the teacher in a mission, lesson, talk, or note. As a missionary... I am really just an instrument and with the help of the Spirit... I am able to change lives. Sure... I can convince people that the Gospel is true... that the facts show there is a God that He gave His son and that we are a part of the only true and living church on the Earth today. But that is only a small conversion, until the Spirit takes over and testifies of what I am saying and touches the hearts of these people. I am not sharing this story to brag or build myself up... but to share with you guys the importance of the Spirit and how this story has changed me. I now know that I am literally nothing without the Spirit... but with the Spirit I am used as an instrument in converting these wonderful children of God into who they chose to be, and share the plan they chose to follow before coming to this lost world of doubt, fear, sin, and sadness. I am grateful for the Gospel and the light that it is in our lives. I am grateful for the love that I feel from the spirit as it testifies to me. I am so grateful for all of my many blessings that the Gospel has brought into my life and the opportunity that I have to learn and grow every day through study, prayer, and experiences. This is the Church of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know it and I love it... and that is why I share it. I am so grateful to have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel and be able to share it to these amazing people in humility and love. I know that testimonies can change lives... I know that, because your testimonies each week have changed mine.

Thanks so much for all you do for me.  I love you all like crazy and think about you daily. Have a wonderful week and smile lots!!

Love, your favorite Sky... Elder Abel! Ü

It's HUMP Day!

Well hello there my wonderful humans!!  It is so good to hear from you guys and I always am so grateful for your love, support, and the testimonies that you share.

So.... how about a shout out to me... because.... Guess what day it is everyone... Yep... it's HUMP DAY!!!  Wahooo!!! I will be hitting my year mark this week and I am so excited. I can finally start my race down the hill.. I have a lot to do, a lot to learn, and a bunch to grow but I am excited for the journey that I will have this upcoming next year.

This past week was pretty good. Not a whole lot of success, but it is August so that is pretty awesome!! It has been raining all week which really sucks because your shoes just don't dry here when it rains. So I've been walking in soaked shoes all week... so that's awesome. Also... I got a pretty awesome blister the size of my mission tag!! Wow... you know you have been a missionary too long when you start comparing things to missionary weirdness like that haha.  Another solid part about the week was some splits with Elder DeYoung and Elder Francis. Splits are always nice!!!

I will be hitting my YEAR MARK in just 3 short days!! I don't know if I should be shocked that a year has already passed by or if I should crawl up in a ball and cry because I have one more year haha. But I think there is a little bit of both with the emotion. Time is flying... but I still have a decent chunk of time left. I have really learned so much here in Brazil and on my mission. I have grown so much and I have realized the importance of our journey here on earth.  Something that I have learned and grown the most is my testimony and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan that my Heavenly Father has for me and for you.  I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father. He lives and He loves us. He truly is there and He hears and answers each and every one of our prayers. He gives us the opportunity to be healed, forgiven, and have our sins, trials, mistakes, and weaknesses forgotten. I am so grateful for a loving Savior who paid the price so that we can utilize the atonement as an opportunity to obtain eternal happiness. The price is payed.. the suffering is done... the road is set... and it all just depends on our faith and our humility. I am so grateful to be here in Brazil as a servant of our Heavenly Father and a representative of Jesus Christ. I have the opportunity to share with these wonderful people that we have a Savior... that He is full of mercy and love. I am so excited to be able to have one more year to show my faith in the Savior and share the good news of the gospel here on the earth. I know that I was called by a prophet of God that leads and guides the church through prayer and revelation. I know that I am a missionary of the only true and living church on the earth today. I know that we are in the last days before His coming and that the preparation is happening each and every day.  That is why this mission is so important.  I have been truly strengthened this past year. I have learned more and more about our Heavenly Father and our Savior than I have in my entire life. My biggest regret that I have before the mission was the lack of prayer and the lack of recognition of our Savior and His infinite atonement. What I have learned this past year is that prayer isn't just for those that are in need, and the atonement isn't just for those that are sinners... the atonement is for every little detail in life that may bring us pain, hurt, or weakness. Our access to the atonement is through prayer... and through true humility and faith.

I love you guys so much and thank you for your love and support through this first year of my mission. You all have really helped me through the journey and I am excited to continue to learn and grow with you all. Thank you for your prayers, love, support, and faith... you guys strengthen me and I appreciate your example in my life.

Love, your happy and almost over the hill Sky... Elder Abel! Ü