Sunshine From Brazil

February 10, 2013

EYYAA MAMA!!
How ya doin? Ha eu estou doente e muuuito preguiçoso. Que bom é P-day! Eita, I forgot to switch languages! So yeah, I am a bit sick and super lazy, it’s a good thing it’s P-day. 

 Anyways, you asked me how it is going, right?  So it’s going good. My companion is super not trunky so it won’t ever be a problem. Thing is though instead of looking forward to going home and getting sad, he looks back and gets sad. He doesn’t feel like he ever was a great missionary. So I’m working with him on that. It was cool how in the beginning of the week we got all psyched and every time he gets down, we stop and get him psyched again. I am happy I am having this opportunity to learn how to use loving words to lift him up.

As for baptisms... we are getting there. We had a really good week this last week. We started working in a different place in our area and found some good families. We had 5 people go to a ward FHE and 6 people go to church. New records in almost everything for this area. Talking about the ward, like I might have said in other emails, I am trying to improve our work with the members. I am learning a lot and am seeing that this is where I really can leave a mark in the Ward.

Besides that we cleaned our house real good today, that always gets me happy and we are gonna work to keep it clean. What else...? It’s going good! Hit me up with more questions and that’ll help me out!
=P Love you all
Tchau!

-Elder Zac Cetraro

February 3, 2014

Heeey Derr!
Ha, so I will be honest. I still am not trunky. I really don’t think about my family to much to be honest. Clearly I think about my real life and I think of you all, and you guys are in 1 or 2 of my daily prayers, but I don’t let my mind wander to often.

Ha speaking of letting my mind wander that is actually one of my goals for this next transfer. So today was transfers and there weren’t to many changes. We got a new Elder in the house, Elder Colvin.... we just discovered he has Pass the Pigs... Aaaaah!  And one other Elder in the Zone left. Also I am now a Great Grandfather in the mission... My "Son’s” (Elder Medrado) son (Elder Vasquez) is now training! Woo Genealogy! Anyways... about mind wandering.... ha, this last transfer wasn’t the greatest to be honest. I would have to say it was one of my most relaxed transfers. I think it is because I have always been a good go-getter, let’s work missionary, and with Elder Villalba I tried to be a little more chill to let the Spirit work more. So since I have got here I tried to stay not so stressed. So this last transfer I have been with Elder Christiansen. This last week he got sick, it’s been a looong time since I have had a sick day like that.

But though the work has been slow I am still learning and growing and loving everyday. I can feel like this next transfer is going to be a great one. It is my Comp’s last transfer and I have made it my biggest goal to help him go out with a blast, so he can always look back confidently on his mission and know that he returned back valiantly! It will be good. I am excited.

I am sure you guys have prayed a lot for me, and I feel the power of your prayers, so I would like to ask you to pray to help me finish off my mission BAPTIZING please. I could use all the help I can get, and that is what I know God has sent me here to do. BAPTIZE. =) So thank you all!
Have a great cold week! 
Eu Te Amo
até próximo!
-Elder Cetraro 

January 27, 2014

Hey theree!!
Pois é, last week I started typing up the email for the fam but the energy went out and P-day was almost over.  Last week was good. Training, interviews, and we baptized Espírito Santo HA!! So good stuff.

Our Zone needs to baptize more but it’ll all work out. Anyways, This week I decided that one of the things I want to improve here with the mission is how we work with members. So I started with myself this week. It was great because Espírito Santo is suuuuper shy, but this week we brought 2 members that are her age to be her friends and there also was a FHE that she liked a lot. Last week I was afraid if she would continue on firme forte, but after this week I know she is in good hands.

We also worked with 2 other women this week who visited some people. You feel really good when you help others serve, I feel better for helping them serve than the actual service they are doing for us. One was a less-active member who whined and didn’t want to show us her friends, but once we got her on the street and after the first lesson, she got super  excited and wanted to show us even more and more of her friends.

Anyways, those are some things that are happening. Unfortunately a lot of the people we planned to be baptized all fell through, but I can say that we are at least getting better and yes I am feeling a little bit more settled in. Ha, in the talk I gave last week in church I told how my nickname before the mission was Sunshine and now half the members are calling me by that, ha! It’s contagious, huh?

Today I got the other Zone leaders to grab the materials for us this P-day, so I will have like the first real P-day that I have had in a loooong time, I will learn how to make my own music on the piano with a freakin’ talented ward boy here.
Cool huh? Alrighty, love ya folks and good week for you all!
-Elder Sunshine Cetraro