Hey there!!

WOOT YAYY!! What a great birthday present to me?!?!  I am very happy, but it looks like you are faaarrr more! Ha, just about all my friends from the mission are studying at BYU. Ha, it’s a party house for return missionaries. Well, I don’t know what to say, it really just seems like the right option to me for now, I am sure I will like it when I get back. (Zac just got the news he has been accepted to BYU)

Alright. My Birthday. HA!! Well I sure didn’t spend the whole day in a hospital again like last year, but the way we ate I am surprised I didn’t. I woke up.... and I was extra pumped to do some good work outs YES! That was good, then my comp made crepes and I felt like I was drowning in sugar... Nutella, Creme, Peanut Butter, Syrup..... and Chocolate milk to wash it all down. I felt like I was eating the 5 basic food groups in the movie, Elf! But I was very happy because I knew they were all doing it out of love. Then we planned for the week... and as you know I love weekly planning. Then lunch was AMAZING. I don’t know how that Irmã knew but she made my favorite... Brazilian Pancakes! Yuum! I ate sooo much and then out of nowhere she whipped out a giant cake as well... Oh my! Oh it was lovely. It had chocolate hair on it like me. Ha, I liked it. I thanked them in the Lunch Message. I began to talk about my love for the great people here and I really couldn’t... I had to fight back tears and finished. But I left there so grateful.

I feel SO LOVED. If there is an abundance of anything here on the mission it is Love for the missionaries. Sure maybe everybody isn’t perfect and they don’t do everything that we ask but I know they have love for us and it’s their imperfections that hold them back not their love.

The rest of the day was great, we spent the whole afternoon on a bus with our two investigator Love Birds, who we helped sign papers for their wedding. Then at night... we worked! The best lesson would have to be with a man named Junior who for the last 3 weeks it was hard to talk with him because he was drinking and there was a death in the family. It’s incredible how God prepared this man. Before he was a normal wishwashy man who accepted to do everything but didn’t do it. This time we talked a bit about the Plan of Salvation to comfort him, then we talked how we need to prepare ourselves to meet God and how drinking drags us off that path. He accepted to stop. We then invited him to a FHE on Friday.  As we were returning home Thursday night I wanted to hurry and swing by everyone to remind them about FHE. My comp didn’t really want to, but we went. Friday, when we took Junior to FHE (the theme of the FHE was recognizing how the Spirit works in our lives) he bore his testimony about how when we passed by the night before he said to us that for sure he would go and he felt good about this decision. After work before coming home he had many friends inviting him to drink and party it up on the first night of Carnaval with them but he turned them down and now he was there in the FHE. He felt very good with this decision and he said after the FHE he felt a great peace and relief in his heart. Sunday was testimony meeting, and his stepdaughter who is a member took him to church and he went up to bear his testimony in testimony meeting. He said how it’s his first time seeking to be in a church and how this is his first time visiting, and he knows that God is very happy with him spending Carnaval at church. All this he said choking up on tears. Wow, he is proof to me of how the Spirit can change anyone, and how good the Spirit is to us as we repent and make good choices. Junior is very happy with how the Spirit has helped him.

Anyways... rest of the week... a lot of things. Well, we baptized two more kids in Espírito Santo´s family. Riandra and Randerson. It is super funny because their Mom since the beginning has been a bit irreverent and it doesn’t help to have her around in the discussions. But recently we have started teaching her and it is crazy how slowly she is improving as well. Before she discouraged her family members from being baptized... then gave permission for her daughter to be, then she visited, during the visit she talked bad but she came back this week.  Before she said she would never be baptized but now she said she will in a couple years maybe. Ha so that’s progress... the Spirit it working very well with her. It’s great!

Oh and probably I should say something about Carnaval right? So I don’t know what you guys know but basically it is just Marti gras out of control. Fortunately here where I work it is just like a normal holiday with everyone in the streets blasting music and drinking beer. But now everyone painted their hair bright colors and are throwing flour and throwing eggs at one another. Ha, I think about the Festival of Colors I went to, so they aren’t as crazy. I did fun stuff like that too. 

Cool, and to finish off I will put what President said in my email this week. In the Conference he said he has seen the growth of many Elders here during the mission. I asked him what he has seen in me. He said "Sobre sua curiosidade acerca de seu crescimento na missão, digo-lhe que você já chegou amadurecido, porque você aprendeu muito bem disciplina antes da missão. Na verdade, eu não tenho qualquer registro de problemas relacionados a você durante todo nosso tempo. Seu crescimento foi mais no sentido espiritual e de liderança, por conta dos conhecimentos e habilidades adquiridos. Parabéns!" or 

"About your curiosity about your growth during the mission. I would say that you already arrived very mature here in the mission because you already learned discipline very well before the mission. Actually, I don’t have any records of having any problems with you during our time together. Your growth has been more in the spiritual and leadership sense due to acquired knowledge and abilities.. Congratulations!"

So parents!! Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back for President said that I came well prepared to the mission. Know that you raised a well disciplined son that didn’t cause any problems here on the mission!! (after many many times being kicked out of sunday school.) Ha awesome! I was suuuuuuuper happy to read that.

I am a dedicated missionary and one of the first things I said to President Souza in our first interview was that I am not here to be a slacker and I definitely don’t want to disappoint  him or the Lord in my service. After all this time I know I have been fulfilling my purpose and boy it feels good!
Love you all! Good week!

Elder Cetraro

......Oh yeah, my birthday huh? Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes. I really don’t have much planned for tomorrow. My favorite day of the week my whole mission has been Tuesday because that is weekly planning day where we always make new plans and get psyched for the new week. I know lunch will be good! I also will being going downtown to be a witness in the wedding of some investigators, that’s awesome! Then I will probably just work! Which I love to death so I will be happy, and maaaybe, there is some sort of cake involved in all that. Hmm awesome!

Well well well, as for the week! uuuuh.... Ha well COM CERTEZA the highlight would have to be the Zone Conference we had. There is this new chapel here in Fortaleza where they just basically threw a bunch of everything inside. Parking lot, Chapel, Classrooms, Institute, Get-a-job place, headquarters for some other things, anyways... it’s a monster and has 6 floors! Ha, so that was cool.

During the Conference something very cool happened. In the last few months I have always tried hard to receive personal revelation to help the Zone. Whenever we give training, we share what the Assistants say, then I will try to put my own thoughts in there as well. My Companion sometimes questions me, thinking we should share it straight, and that is the obedient way to do things. When we did this last training with the Book of Mormon, we shared everything right, but I put in two little touches in the practices. One, was that we need to show people how much we love the scriptures as we use them. As we do, we will show by example the importance of reading the scriptures in their own lives. We need to teach the commandment of the importance of reading the scriptures. The second thing is, as we help people with their doubts and objections by asking them to Read, Ponder, and Pray about the Book of Mormon, we need to make it very clear that we are here to help them with their faith, and how the testimony of the Book of Mormon fits into the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So those were my two touches: Love for the Scriptures and Faith in the Gospel. Well in the Conference the Assistants followed up a bit on the Training they shared and had two different practices. Guess what the practices were about. Showing the importance of reading the scriptures, and teaching the first two principles of the gospel. WOW. So I don’t say this in a way that, they are copycats or stealing my thunder, or it’s my idea. But what I learned is that really, the leaders here in the mission are in tune with the spirit. These two touches I learned as I sought to prepare the training through the Spirit. That same Spirit talks with the other leaders in the mission. The Zone probably just thinks that those two touches I put in the training the other week came from the Assistants but it didn’t, it came from the Spirit. And the Spirit confirmed it one more time as the Assistants touched on it in the Conference. So I really did gain a testimony, that as a leader, I am inspired, and I am an instrument in God´s hands to help these missionaries here, and even more, learning myself!

In the Conference, Presidente Souza left his two Motto’s very clear. "He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother" and "Encantar e Surpreender". The Spirit really confirmed that these two mottos are perfect for my mission and that Presidente Souza also is a man prepared and inspired to be my one and only Mission President.  Also, My comp and Elder Villalba bore their final testimony before everyone. It was great. Yikes... I am next.

Also in the Conference guess who I saw?! My "Son" Elder Monical, and his "son", my "grandson" Elder Franco! Wooow! It has been a while since I have seen him, and it’s the first time I met my "Grandson".  Ha, and if you think that is great, my "Grandson" Elder Vasquez is now training, so that means that I met my "Great Grandson" Elder Thiemes! Ha! That’s right, here in the mission I am a "Great Grandfather" already, now that’s old!

Ha alrighty.... the rest of the week was pretty chill. I did another exchange with Elder Gregersen. We made a ton of a delicious shake that they just have here called Pó of Guaraná! Mmm.. also we invented the "Ants on a Log" shake which is Banana, Peanuts, and Chocolate.... Oh boy it is good!

Our investigators are good. This Sunday, Espírito Santo continued her streak of bringing a new person to church from her family and it was awesome because they were late, and this week 9 people all entered in and sat in the front. Good stuff.

Anyways that is my week for ya!
Good week for you all and thanks for the birthday wishes.
Love you all!
até mais!

-Elder Zachary Cetraro

WOW!!! Thank you all! =) You guys are all great. I really appreciate a Happy Birthday from every one of you. =) Ha, I had a feeling yesterday that I was going to have a good surprise on my email for my Birthday. It (my b-day) definitely was different and was a little adventure but it was all good. I definitely gave the whole big 2-0 a big thinkin’ over. I’m done with my wild and crazy teenage years that really formed me into who I am, and now I am starting the most influential decade of my life. Where I will finish off my service to the Lord, pick a major and finish school, find my eternal companion, and probably start a family.

 AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Scary but thrilling right?! Well I know time is only going faster, but when I hit double digits at age 10 it definitely seems like NOT yesterday (a lifetime ago!). So I will take it as it goes. I am thoroughly convinced though that life ONLY gets better. You just need to find the thrill in each season of life. I love the snow, I love the heat, and I love everything in between. So I am chill with the great adventures in front of me.

Anyways I’ll tell ya about my day. I am writing ya’ll a day late for a reason. So the highlight of my day was definitely the first hour. I woke up and read the letter from David and Laura’s Family that they told me to wait to open until my birthday. I really enjoyed it, tell them thank you. I thought the “Stand a Little Taller” thought was perfect for a missionary birthday =). President and Sister called and wished me a happy birthday, and I made some DELICIOUS açaí and busted out some letters! WOO!

A member family that we have been working with to baptize their 23-year-old nephew, who moved to live with them, invited us over for a lunch FHE. WOW, it was Chinese noodles awesomeness. Probably the only Chinese food I’ll have on the mission. It was good. But during all of this, my Comp was dying. He started to have some intense pain in his kidneys. Sunday and on my birthday it was killing him. So Sister called up a taxi and we spent the rest of the day until 9:30 at night, just to confirm that he really did have a kidney stone.

I think here on the mission one of the greatest lessons we have to learn is that we are here in this life, especially as a priesthood holder, to serve and not to be served. We have Jesus, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Kings of all Kings, who showed us His life of doing exactly that. On a B-day, naturally we assume to be served because it is OUR day. I think Heavenly Father gave me a special birthday that showed me the spirit of the missionary service on my B-day as a gift. Also He gave me an opportunity to exercise charity, one of the biggest goals I am trying to develop here on the mission.

At the beginning, we just sat and waited, I wrote letters and read the BofM. It came to a time where my Comp was put on a bed and injected with medicine to ease the pain. For some reason during the first IV/injection hour, the pain only got worse. We were awfully confused, being two Americans in a Brazilian Hospital, and the whole process and examination wasn’t very well explained to us. My Comp was tossing and turning and I felt like I should put down the letter and help some how. I really felt helpless because I didn’t know what I could do to help. I wasn’t no Mom. What can a man do to help? I really didn’t know what was going on, neither did he. So I felt like I should give him a priesthood blessing and then aid him with getting water, and just standing there, being there for him and communicating with the nurses and doctors and such for him. Shortly after the blessing and me talking with a nurse, a different medicine/IV was put in, and he zonked out. He’s been doing good since then. This morning after reading some thoughts from a year ago I felt inspired to make a good breakfast for him, and clean up a big mess that he has been putting off for some time. Ha, so that was my birthday experience this year.

Besides that the week was pretty good. We are getting better at getting more lessons in and keeping up on the many contacts. This week was a GREAT one. WOW and do I have some great news for all of you! So this week we had Zone Conference and there were some announcements that blew my socks off! So first, the AP, Elder Araújo, who has been the AP since I arrived here, is leaving early for college this week. So my good friend Elder Reynolds (the tall American Zone leader from Juazeiro that I lived with) got called to be the new AP, and he is the first American AP since President Souza has been here in the last 2 years, big news for us. My old comp, Elder Hodson, then got called to be Zone Leader there in Juazeiro, something I KNOW he will be very proud of. All this made me very happy, but now for the BIG NEWS. President Souza was in conference this last week with some other Presidents here in Brazil, and it was decided that my Mission is going to be SPLIT!! HA, that’s right, there is going to be a Mission Fortaleza, and a new Mission Fortaleza Leste. So here in March we will be getting another Mission President for the other half of the mission, and July we will do the official split. HA, which means it will be possible for me to serve in 2 different missions! Ha cool huh? Our groups were made to sustain one mission, and now we will be split to cover two missions, which will be receiving many new missionaries to lead. Ha, I just know here soon things are going to step up for me and I know that I will see a lot of God’s hand in this transition process. It is He who planned this all, and it is just cool that I will have part in helping with this new big change in the new age of missionary work. So you guys will be hearing a lot more about that here in the near future.

This week we had a baptism of a really good kid, Jurandy. A friend brought him to church last week and we prepared him to be baptized this week. He did everything we asked and so in the space of one week everything happened for him to be baptized. Read, pray, receive an answer, learn and obey the commandments. Sad thing is though we received news yesterday that he will be moving this week. I thought it was a little funny since my first baptism in Juazeiro moved and I never saw him get confirmed (he did though), and now my first baptism here is moving too (he WILL be confirmed).

Besides that I also did a division with Elder Flores, a Gaucho Elder who only has been 1 month in the mission. He LOVED it and said he learned a lot. I gave him a tie and introduced him to Guacamole (they eat Avocado sweet down here). I felt pretty well with being the Senior and basically training, but at the same time I felt pretty humbled because I will need divine help for sure.

So yeah. There is a nice big Birthday email for you all. Parabéns Riley on the Eagle. That is awesome, Mom must be really proud. And yeah, I love you all and I am doing great down hereLove you all, and good luck with everything! =)

-Elder Cetraro