elder

Welp, Elder Peressute will be transferred to finish the training of another Elder. He asked the President to train someone, so he´s super happy. My new companion will be Elder Arana! This will be his first transfer as Zone Leader, so I´m going to have to show him the ropes. I´m super excited to be his companion. I got to know him, as he served in the Ômega ward after I left. He´s pretty awesome.

This week was AMAZING for our zone. Presdent Bonini is really happy with us. Basically, every week all the missionaries have to pass by how many baptism dates they have marked for the week, and it´s our responsibility to help these baptisms happen. This week the zone baptized more than we had baptism dates. So the President is ecstatic. I am super happy with our zone. They´re the best!

I am also super happy with our work! I´m loving our area. We found a new family that appears to be extremely good. They follow up super well with all of their commitments. I´m sure they will accept baptism. We also found a young woman that has accepted baptism and is super firm in her word. However, she wasn´t able to go to church yesterday because she got locked in her home! Her mom left early in the morning and took the only copy of the keys. I am very excited for this transfer.

Our zone has changed quite a lot. Many people in the zone will now be serving as leaders on the mission. So the challenges will be quite new. However, I´m confident that Elder Arana and I will be able to help our zone this transfer. 

Daqui a pouco!

Elder Bispo

Hey Mom! 

The story behind my hair is pretty funny. Although I like how it turned out. Basically, we went to cut our hair, and there´s a less active here that cuts hair for free. I told her to be careful not to cut my hair too short, because of my coulick. Well, I don´t think she took my advice pretty serious. My hair cut turned out pretty awful. So I´m styling my hair like that until everything grows back to normal. However, I´m liking the new look!

Being Zone Leader has brought more responsibilities, however it´s basically the same as district leader, except with more missionaries to take care of. Also, we have a lot more contact with the Assistents and the President. It´s nice to finally get to know my leaders better. 

The public transportation here is pretty easy. You just have to know how to ask directions, and you can get anywhere!

Of course I remember Johnson´s Shut-ins! Full of hillbillies and fun! 

Wow, I miss high adventure! Sounds like they´re in for loads of fun. I can´t believe they´re going to go caving! I always begged to go caving on high adventure, but it was never approved. Great to hear that they´ll be able to cave now.

WOW! Everyone is getting home! Tell Jake and Alex to send me some emails in Portuguese!

As soon as the church pays our itinerary the mission office lets us know, so nothing has happened yet. However, I believe it will come this transfer.

LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Elder Bispo

On Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 9:08 AM, Stephanie Bishop <sebishopmobile@me.com> wrote:

Dear Elder Bishop.         JUNE 7

What a fantastic picture of Silvio, Luzirene, and Nicole´s baptism. I see such joy, commitment and purity in their faces. I am also amazed at your maturity and growth!! Your appearance has certainly grown and evolved!! You are a very handsome young man with awesome hair!!! I imagine that wearing a FULL suit is rare and that when you wore your suit you were very hot in the 86° weather.

Your duties as zone leader have certainly taught you many things. I imagine that your organizational skills and travel skills have improved due to these responsibilities. Your familiarization with the city is a great benefit to you as you travel and meet with other missionaries and other converts to conduct interviews. Are you able to use the public transportation systems without problems now?  I look forward to some of the stories that you will share of the specifics of this travel.

We are enjoying a rainy summer so far. Each day it has rained for the last month. The trees, flowers, and shrubs and other living things are beautiful and green. We hardly have had to water the plants that I have planted. Carson and Jesse are happy to not have to do that Chore.

This is a busy and fun week for Carson and dad. They, along with seven other young men will travel to southern Missouri and participate in outdoor activities including zip line caving and a outdoor water park called Johnson's shut-ins. Our family went there when you were about 10 years old. Do you remember floating down the river and sliding on smooth rocks into a shallow pool? It is quite a remarkable natural wonder. I hope they survive because the heat will be rising this week and the bugs and the tics will surely be biting.

Jesse and I will enjoy our three days together.  Somehow we will make it through.

Alex Evans arrived home safely this past weekend. We  will look forward to hearing him speak next Sunday. Chaz Suby also arrived home last week to his family in Utah. Jake Hershey arrived home several months ago and is here in Kansas.

When will you know your itinerary for getting back to Kansas?  It would be helpful to know the date and the airline and the timing of your arrival.

We love you and pray for your success and safety each day. We are so proud of our Brazilian missionary.

Love MOM

Stephanie E. Bishop
BLOG:  theanimalshaveescaped.com

I hardly recognize ELDER BISHOP...

Hey family, friends, and future friends! Our week was super duper awesome and jam packed of stuff for us. We were running all around in our zone this week, because there were lots of baptism interviews for us to do. Silvio, Luzirene, Nicole, and Brena were also baptized. Silvio and his family are super happy, and so are we. Brena is also very happy. For those that have not heard about Brena, she is the daughter of a recent convert that we starting teaching two weeks ago.

Silvio, Luzirene, and Nicole´s baptism was great! They were all shining, and the ward was all super excited for them. Everything worked out great, and we are extremely happy that we were able to be part of the conversion process of such a wonderful family. Sunday, their confirmations went real smooth also, and Luzirene´s mom came to watch.

Brena has showed an amazing growth in her road to baptism, and she has really surprised us with her wonderful commitment to all of our invites! We are really happy to have been able to baptize one more member of this family. Our former Assistent to the President is the one that baptized Neide, Brena´s mom. Now Elder Millet (the Assistent) has been asking us for Brena´s baptism pics. It´s great to see everyone´s joy over one more soul that has entered into God´s fold.

See you all later!

Elder Bispo

Mother's Day Phone Call

We got to SKYPE with Hunter for the LAST time on Mother's Day

Brad and Jessie made me breakfast in bed and Brad made delicious SALMON for dinner

Weekly update: MEMORIAL DAY

Well, unfortunately our baptisms this week fell through. We have no idea what happened to Vitor. He just seemed to disappear. And Mikael will need a little more time before his baptism. However, Silvio and Luzirene will be baptized this week, along with their daughter, Nicole. We are also planning the baptism of Neide´s daughter (Neide is a recent convert that our former Assistent baptized). This week we also went on exchanges with the Assistents to the President.

I went to Parquelândia, which is the Assistents area, this past Wednesday. I went on exchanges with Elder Carvalho. He´s from Portugal. He´s the only missionary from Portugal in our mission. I learned quite a lot with Elder Carvalho. Elder Peressute and I are trying to help out our zone the best we can, and the Assistents gave us a few tips. This week will also be our Mission conference, and I´m excited to see what President Bonini will talk about. Our mission is growing in success everyday due to our President´s new counsels and techniques. 

The mission is great, and my time is up here, so bye! See you all soon!

Elder Bispo

Elder Bishop reports this week--Memorial Day

Well, unfortunately our baptisms this week fell through. We have no idea what happened to Vitor. He just seemed to disappear. And Mikael will need a little more time before his baptism. However, Silvio and Luzirene will be baptized this week, along with their daughter, Nicole. We are also planning the baptism of Neide´s daughter (Neide is a recent convert that our former Assistent baptized). This week we also went on exchanges with the Assistents to the President.

I went to Parquelândia, which is the Assistents area, this past Wednesday. I went on exchanges with Elder Carvalho. He´s from Portugal. He´s the only missionary from Portugal in our mission. I learned quite a lot with Elder Carvalho. Elder Peressute and I are trying to help out our zone the best we can, and the Assistents gave us a few tips. This week will also be our Mission conference, and I´m excited to see what President Bonini will talk about. Our mission is growing in success everyday due to our President´s new counsels and techniques. 

The mission is great, and my time is up here, so bye! See you all soon!

Elder Bispo

THE BEACH EXISTS

This week, Elder Peressute and I went to our mission's Leadership Counsel. It was my first, as it is a meeting only with the Zone Leader's and the President. We learned quite a few cool new techniques, and I'm excited to put them into practice. It was also real fun to see all my mission buds. Many of them are also now serving as Zone Leaders.

In Tancredo Neves this week, we have been contacting and teaching a ton of people! As Zone Leader's we have to give a good example for all our missionaries, so we've been working our butts off to baptize! Because of our work, I believe the Lord is blessing us. We have found two wonderful young men that are excited to be baptized this week. Hopefully everything will work out alright with the progress of these two future missionaries. Mikael and Vitor already have friends in the Church, and were super excited when we contacted them and invited them to church. They have both accepted baptism and are steadily preparing for this next Sunday.

Our family that we are teaching, Silvio and Luzirene, are doing great. They are super excited for their wedding, and even more excited with their baptism. 

I went on exchanges this week with Mucuripe, which is an area that is basically just the beach. So yeah, I taught very close to the beach. And I actually got to see the beach. That was crazy! 

Tchau!

Elder Bispo

Meet the newest Fortaleza, Brazil ZONE LEADER

Hello every man, woman, child, and dog. Tranfers have come, and I will now be serving as Zone Leader with Elder Perressute. I know Elder Perressute fairly well, and I´m super excited to work with him. I will be serving in the Tancredo Neves ward, which is actually in the same Stake as Dias Macêdo, my current ward. Basically you just cross this one street and you can get to my new ward. It´s awesome.

This week we had a special visit from Elder Christofferson. He spoke a whole lot on how important it is to read and study the Book of Mormon. He gave us the promise that if we gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and if we are able to help others grow the same testimony of it´s truthfulness, then we will never go astray from the path of Christ. As I have made it a goal to always study the Book of Mormon in my personal studies here on the mission, I can certainly testify that what Elder Christofferson said is true. As my testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown and flourished here, I know how much it has affected my personal conversion. Also, I have seen when others began to plant this same testimony in their hearts, and I know how much it means to them. The Book of Mormon is true, and I know it. Many of my converts know it, and I am certain that that knowledge will bring them eternal happiness. I know that anyone can recieve these blessings when they are established upon the principles of righteousness that the Saviour taught. I know that Elder Christofferson is an Apostle called of God.

This week was so amazing here in Dias Macedo, and I´m pretty torn to be leaving this amazing ward. We have found two other families that have shown so much desire to get married and be baptized. Although I won´t be here to share in such wonderful moments with these wonderful couples, I know that I will be able to see them again, whether in this life or the next. 

Well, that was my magical week. 

Elder Bispo

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