{May 12, 2010}

Dear Family,
It was really awesome to talk to you guys last night!! Oh yeah and one thing I needed to tell you was that for a shirt for my companion it can be a medium and also medium shorts. Soooo yeah he is going to give me money to give you guys so dont worry about anything.
Oh yeah and I was also going to ask you if you could email me the mp3s from the CD Eclipse Sacred Praise I think it is called that I had. It might be in one of the cars, I dont know. And if you can find an mp3 online of that Adam Ashby song, How Can I Be? I am sorry that I am asking so much!!!
Soo I am trying to think of what happened this week. Oh yeah and before I forget I think my companion knows Alise (only if her last name is Smith) because he served in Teresina for a while and his name is Elder Lopes.
Let´s see what happened this week. So I got a letter from mom and from Dad which and from Grandma Tanner which is totally awesome. (But she sent it to the MTC address in Sao Paulo, so just tell her my address in Fortaleza, the one with Santos Dumont in it). So thanks to everyone for the emails and letters!
So this week went well so one cool thing that happened was that we were teaching this one old lady on the street on the sidewalk, because that is where we teach half the time, on the street. So we were teacing her and this other lady comes up to us and is like ´´I knew the missionaries before you guys and they always came to my house and ate and taught me´´ so we were like sweet. So we went to her house and taught her and she is like I already know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. And she already knew about everything and she is like I know I have to be baptized. And we were like totally shocked. But she just needs to start coming to church because she has never been yet. So that is aweosme.
Also we were teaching Felipe again and he wants to be baptized but like its hard for him to come to church because like lots of weekends his dad comes and picks him up. So we were teaching Felipe and he was like my friend wants to get baptized. So we talked to his friend and she wants to get baptized. THe only problem is that her mom wont let her. But we havent had the opportunity to talk to her yet so we are going to try to teach the mother. So thats about it and I really am running out of time!!!!

Um abraço pra todos,
Elder Willoughby

{May 3, 2010}

Dear Dad,
Hey thanks for doing that. I will try and do the following. I will try and call you guys with that number Saturday and tell you the time that you can call me on Sunday. Alright hopefully it will be 7oclock on Sunday night Fortaleza time. The number is 085-3235-0829 or maybe you dont need the zero I dont know and it is the number of the Ipanema chapel.
So this week went well. Elder Lopes and I are working hard. One thing we did was have family home evening at a members house with two investigators which went well. We have a lot of investigators that need to get married. We have Janaina who comes to church every sunday with her daughter without us having to wake her up or anything and already is paying tithing. She just needs to get married. And also we have Iracy who comes to church with her son without us having to pick her up or anything. She probably can get married in June. Another marriage that is being planned is that of Jonathan and Darlani. I talked about them in mylast email. Darlani read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and asked God in a prayer if it was true and she totally knows it. So yesterday we were teaching them and I was talking with her and asked her if we could make a goal for their marriage to be next month, and she accepted. I wish it could be sooner but I was definitely led by the spirit in making this goal because that is the earliest they would be able to get married anyway. So yeah they are totally awesome.
Also this past Saturday we had the oppurtunity to baptize Lucas who is the son of Iracy. He is totally awesome. We were asking him the interview questions the day before he was going to be really interviewed and he was like I studied those little pamphlets and he like knew everything perfectly. He is awesome.
Hey well for some reason this week the computer keeps on freezing so I am already out of time but I will call you guys Saturday!!

Love,
Elder Willoughby

{April 26, 2010}

Dear Mom and Dad and Family and Friends,
First thanks for all the emails and letters. And I havent got the package yet but people say it takes like a month. Letters take like 2-3 weeks. Oh my gosh and thank you for sending a package, I know it takes a lot of work and especially money to send a package here. And I can receive pictures by email just so you know. I wrote a letter for you and dad today and brother and sister martin that i will send today and i will try to write more next week. Sorry if this is really scatterbrained. I only get to email once a week and i have to remember everything to write.
So that is crazy that Isacc´s mission call says to bring long underwear because if Teresina is anything like here he wont want them but the mission president there probably knows what he is talking about. All the stuff I bought is working out well. I like the pants from Ferrells about 10 times better than the pants from MR MAC. The pants from Ferrells are cool because after you wash them you dont have to iron them. And when i put my sweaty arm on them it like wicks away the moisture. One of my shoes has started to fall apart, but dont worry because if I need shoes they sell pretty nice shoes at the mission office for only 30 reais, which is like 18 dollars.
I really like hearing about what you guys are doing so thanks for the updates.
Alright so Elder Holland was awesome. It was Elder HOlland Elder GOdoy and Bishop Edgley and their wives that talked to us. ONe cool thing was that Sister Holland encouraged us to take our time in praying. First sit in the middle of the room when no one is around. Then think about Heavenly Father for a few minutes, what He looks like, what HIs nature is, and then thank him for everything that He has ever given you, and then at the end ask Him for what you desire for most in the name of Jesus Christ. THen sit and ponder for a while.
Elder Holland was cool, we all knew he was going to burn us, and he did. He talked about how he interviewed us when he shook our hand and that we were all doing alright. He said he was proud of us and then he emotionally encouraged us to keep all the rules in an Elder Hollandly way. It was really neat. Oh yeah and it was cool because I got to see all the Elders from my group like Elder King,Subacz, Birdsall, and Morrow. They are all doing well. One funny thing that happened to Elder Subacz was the following. His first area was Juazeiro which is 10 hours by bus. But he got off at the wrong stop in the middle of the night and somehow he got a taxi that brought him to the right place even though he barely knew any portguese at all!
Alright so my new companion is Elder Lopes, and he is actually from Juazeiro do Norte which is in this mission. He was serving in Belem but because of the Climate he will finish his mission here. He only has 4 months left. He works really hard also. As we have been keeping all the rules I can feel the Spirit work stronger through our teaching.
One of our investigators is Aline. She is really cool because we just found her when we were trying to find another person, and we taught these two women who were washing clothes at this one well. It reminded me of Jacob´s well in the bible and it was really a neat experience. She said that her husband was a member but hadnt gone to church in like 15 years or something. So we came back and taught her with him and it was suuuppppppper cool because we could tell that he remembered his conversion and wanted that for his family.
Oh and another lesson that we taught that brought me SSSSOOOOOOOOOO MMUUUUUCHHHHHHH joy was last night. So there is this 19 year old man who was baptized many years ago, fell away from the church, and now is living with his fiance. But he wants to have an eternal family so like a few years ago he stopped doing drugs and stuff and now he really wants to build his family in the gospel. So we taught him (Jonathan) and his brother Jefferson and his fiance Darlinha. Oh my Darlinha just needs to read a chapter in the book of mormon and pray about it and receive an answer and get married and oh the joy that will enter their lives. oh yeah and afterwards she can be baptized. Seriously that lesson we taught them made me so happy!!!!1
Alright so our apartment is pretty small. It is cool though because it is above a small store and from our porch we can see a lot of Fortaleza and we always see planes coming and going.
So the ward is really good. We always eat reallly good and get referalls and our lunches almost never fall through. We are working really hard here and the past 3 weeks have been really awesome, with just 2 things wrong- Elder Szpack going home and the fact that we havent had a baptism here. But I can see the Lord preparing the people.
Oh flip my time is up but I love you guys. This week I am going to try to buy a memory card reader so I can send you guys more pictures. Thank you guys so much for everything!!!!!

Much love,
Elder Willoughby

E aí minha mai, tudo bem? Tudo ótimo aqui no Brasil [And there my mother, everything well? Everything great here in Brazil]. Yeah how are doing mom? And you Dad? I keep getting letters from him. And mom thanks for all the emails. And Sister Gingrich and Sister Martin thanks for the letters! Hey guess what, we get to see Elder Holland talk today!! Crazy I know. Sorry this email is going so many places but my mind is everywhere now, wondering what I should tell you guys first. OK, first I am doing super good. All is well I am healthy and happy and I think I am getting a little better at Portuguese but I am not sure. OK so second, my companion Elder Szpack was sent home on Friday for some things he did in his last area and we will leave it at that. So Thursday night the president called us and we had to go to the office. Friday I spent with one of the assistants working in his area (I already have worked as an assisstant!) and then on Saturday and yesterday I was with Elder Toledo working in my area. After the conference with Elder Holland, President will tell me where I am staying or going and with whom.
We didn´t have any baptisms this week but one cool story is that Saturday night I was like counting how many investigators would probably come to Church and I was like it will be a miracle if 5 investigators come. So Sunday morning we were picking up investigators and like no one answered the doors, just one of our investigators, so I was kinda bummed, but then at Sacrament meeting 4 more came by their selves so we had 5 so it was totally a miracle.
So I have to go but dont worry about me at all I am doing fine. I know that God loves us and we are His children. I know that He answers our prayers and He is a God of miracles. I am really excited to see an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ speak with us. Hey thanks for all you guys do, I gotta go but fica firme-forte [stay firm].

Um Beixão

Dear Ben and Jessica and Caleb and Emily,
I have a feeling that you guys are pregnant. It would not be cool to hide this from me just because I am in Brasil:-P
Anyway thanks so much for the email. It means so much! And oh my goodness my sobrinhos are so big. I really enjoyed the pictures! Hehe the small kids here usually go around either naked or with just underwear on and it was really weird at first but now it is just normal. Yesterday we had lunch with a couple that had a little boy that reminded me of Caleb because he was always getting into trouble and a little girl that reminded me of Emily because she was always smiling and singing and stuff. They have the name Emily here but I havent heard Caleb yet. So yeah this past week was totally LEGIT.
So my new companion is Elder Szpack and he works really really hard. The assisstants were in this area last transfer so neither I nor Elder Szpack know the area very well. He only speaks Portuguese so that is good for my learning and growth, I am always thinking of how to say things in Portuguese. We didnt have any baptisms but we taught a ton of people, just trying to get lots of new good investigators. We are busy all day everyday!! And Elder Szpack is cool because we do a ton of contacts. We have lots of investigators with potential. Our 2 most solid investigators are women who are not married civilly to their husbands, so we have to have 2 marriages which they say takes like a month and stuff.
So this area of Impanema is a little bit more rural than Benfica. There are some cows and chickens and mules and what not. It is funny we were walking down this dirt road these cows just are walking towards us and we just walk in the middle of them. Its different. Our apartment is way nice except for there are a lot of bugs but its all good in my neighborhood. And the people here are a lot poorer, which is sad but good because everyone usually is really receptive to us leaving a message with them.
Alright so I think it has passed enough time that I can tell you guys this. I didnt want to tell mom or you guys this when I was in the MTC because she would freak out but when I was in the Sao Paulo MTC I had this really hot fever and stuff of like 101 and I was miserable and they werent sure if I had swine flu so they put me in isolation for like 3 days where all I did was rest. But seriously I didnt have swine flu. So yeah dont freak out, I am fine, Brazil is awesome. ALright I gotta go, I would appreciate it if you guys could send this email to the family and stuff, you dont have to send the part about you guys being pregnant if you dont want the others to know. JKing but seriously I love you guys and thanks so much for the email. Alright tchau family!!!!

Elder Willoughby

PS- Elder Holland is coming here next week!!!!

Email from April 5

Dear Mom and Dad and Family and Friends,
Happy Easter yesterday. We were able to watch conference, and there was even a room for English and it had air conditioning and everything. All the sessions are live and I think they pre-record the translations for most of it in Portuguese. We couldnt watch the Priesthood session in english though.
Umm as far as calling on Mothers Day I do not know. Hey and I am pretty sure that I have like 200 or 300 dollars in my account but can you guys just make sure to check the balance every once and a while. I dont want to be bouncing any payments. So it snowed there crazy.
Hey lets see last week we didn´t have any baptisms, sad, but in 5 weeks we baptized 12 people which is like really really great. Like super great its basically because the Lord blessed us. So yeah, guess what. I got transfered. I am now serving in Impanema with Elder Szpack who is Brazilian from Curitiba. So its super hot here but I am looking forward to it. Everyone says Elder Szpack is really hard working and a really good teacher so I am really looking forward to this next transfer. He is the district leader. So I was gonna tell you guys that I actually got cold the other night which was crazy. I dont use a top sheet, just me and my garments with a fan blowing on me all night.
So I was thinking and if you wanted to send me a package anytime in the future that would be alright with me. I found out that I only have to pay customs on electronics. Oh and soon I am going to buy a SD card reader so that I can send you guys pictures every week. So yeah.
So yeah I don´t know what else to write so I guess I will let you guys go. Tell Dad and Sheila thanks for the letters. Pray for me and I will do the same for you guys.
Oh yeah and I encourage you guys to make a comprehensive study plan to fully understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ as suggested by Elder RIchard G Scott this weekend.

Boa Sorte,
Elder Willoughby

Email from March 29 (sorry its way late!)

Dear Family and Friends,
Well this week has been pretty good. How are all you doing. I hope well and by the way this computer is weird and I can~t find any punctuation. Alright hey I got a bunch of letters since the last time I emailed. I got one that Aunt Sheila sent I think on the 12th of Feb to the Provo MTC and I got 2 letters from dad and a bigger packet thing from Dad. It looks like it takes about 2-3 weeks to get letters. So yeah.
I don~t really know what to write about. We had a baptism this week which is totally awesome. His name is Jefferson and he is 18 and he is a friend of Joyce that also introduced us to Alef and Dienhe. Dienhe was supposed to get baptized but she didn~t. Its complicated. At first Alef and Dienhe broke up so she didnt want to get baptized because she would see him at the chapel all the time, and then Elder Carvalho like got both of them from their houses and put them in the same room and they got back together. Then Dienhe decided she would not be baptized and now Alef didnt come to church yesterday and it is complicated.
Joyce is like 14 years old and always brings her friends to church which is awesome. We had lunch at her house yesterday. We had rice and like beef and fish and this stuff they have here that I cant explain but is yellow and crunchy and yeah. She has a 12 year old and 16 year old sister and her mom that live at the house.
Well what else happened. Portuguese is still troubling but it is coming. Lets see who are we teaching. There is this family in the Maraponga ward that we are teaching. Francisco read and prayed about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and he felt all these awesome feelings and he recognized it as an answer from God but he didn~t want to be baptized because he has always been Catholic. This frustrates me a lot. The rest of his family in Maraponga said they would read and pray but didnt but they will have by the next time we come!
One cool thing is that we saw this guy that takes the tokens on the bus this week for the second time. The first time we saw him a few weeks ago he asked to be visited by the missionaries because he had been taught in the past. So he lives in another area so we got the missionaries there to visit him. And this last time that we saw him he said he is being baptized like next Saturday. That is awesome!
I cant think of anything else so tchau!

Elder Willoughby