Why are these two serving together?

December 8, 2014

I think Elder Gooch said it best when he said, ``I feel bad for any poor soul that has to be taught the Gospel from you two...`` 

Solid week with my MTC bud Elder Crooks.  With the volcano still going off, and us still feeling the effects from it, it was a strange week.  

We had a zone conference, and we did a sweet musical number, ``Angels We Have Heard on High``.  I played the piano with Elder Naylor, Gilbert, Crooks, and Pauli singing.  That went as well as it could have with us five, and they asked us to do it again this week for the Christmas party with President.  

It was kind of a crazy week chasing everyone down, but we ended the week with a couple of baptisms, and everything went well.  

Friday morning we went and filled up the fount preparing for Saturday.  Then we got there Saturday morning, and some little seminary student had drained the water.  He was actually there when we saw the fount empty Saturday morning.  He proceeded to laugh, thinking he was the funniest kid ever.  So Elder Crooks and I carried buckets of water for about an hour and a half to fill up the fount.  It was a little inconvenience, and I was more than a little frustrated at the kid.  But Elder Crooks are trying to be more positive during this Christmas season, and we forgave the little child.  I'm sure all of us have our own little draining the fount moments in our life haha.     We also had 110 people at church, and its amazing to see the Lord work with these people here.  

I love being a missionary, and I love serving with Elder Crooks.  

Hope all of us keep Christ in our lives, and try to be a little more like him everyday.  ``The only thing you can really give Christ is your agency.  Its the only thing that is really ours to give.  And when we do that, He makes us what we were made to be``~ Elder Packer  

Have a great week, Elder Jarvis 

Ill try to write a little, but we hardly have any time.  This was a sweet week from Fogo.  Im exausted right now, just getting off a van from sao filipe.  We have our christmas party this week, and that should be fun.  Sad to think that Ill prob be leaving Fogo, and not seeing if for a long time pretty soon here.

Last monday it rained like crazy, and we found a little time to email.
Tuesday we went to Estancy Rokie, and all three of our baptisms were good.  Wednesday was a normal working day.  We had a zone meeting, that was fun.
We did a special musical number where I played ªCantos anjos glorious nas ceusª or angels we have heard on high on the piano.  I practiced a sweet way to play it, we had Elder Naylor, Pauli, Crooks, and Gilbert singing.  We were asked to do it again for president this week at the christmas party this week, so that will be fun.  Ive actually done like 4 special musical numbers, I just keep forgetting to tell you guys about it haha.  

So next week in Stake Conference, and we found out that we couldnt baptise that week because people would have to wait a week to get confirmed.  And we had two dates marked for next week.  So we asked them if they wanted to move it up and get baptised this week, and they said yep! So we ended up having 5 baptisms this week.  Most Ive ever had in a week on the mish.  It was pretty sweet.
Funny experiece.  So Crooks and I go to fill up the fount friday for the baptism saturday morning at 10.  So we fill it up friday afternoon, and everything goes well.  Then we wake up saturday, after all of them passed the interviews Friday, and crooks tells me about his dream haha.  He says that in his dream, we filled up the fount, and Elder Accord was there and it was super funny.  And then some kid drained the fount, and it was a big problem.  End of dream.  So we show up to the baptism an hour early at 9.  No water in the fount.  Some little seminary student thought he was funny Friday night, and drained all the water.  So we had to bucket all the water in, because it takes like 3 hours for the fount to fill up.  And we didnt have any rope.  So I had to pretty much go swimming with my body to get the water out haha.  It was funny, and it all worked out.  The whole time I was thinking that God isnt just going to give us five baptisms without a lot of work and stress haha.  But they all got baptised, and all got confirmed the next day and everything went well.
Our frequency also got up to 110.  A little improvement from the 45 we had when I got here haha.
Everything is good here.  I love Cova.  I havent changed more in any area, and I dont feel like I have changed any area more.  Everyting is good, and Crooks is sweet! I love you guys so much, and hope you have a great week.
BTW, we have to be obedient this christmas and only skype for 45 mins to an hour, so maybe write some questions of things we need to talk about down, and that will be sweet! Thanks a bunch for everything you guys do! Love Nate

Highlights from the week, lots of pictures

December 1, 2014







No power sunday till wednesday night

No stores open till tuesday.  

Had to shower friday saturday, sunday nights because the volcanic ash and dust was all over us haha

Have sweet pics of the volcano.  

Im completely safe.

Saw and heard the volcano. 

We can see the reflection of the lava in the smoke at night, it lights up the sky red

Had a baptism

 cova is super safe, its a long way away, and it would never get here.  The town is dead during the day because everyone goes over to Cha to help clean up, and to see it what not.  Theres a ton of clean up work to do over there, and the volcano continues to go off, and they need all the help they can get over there.  Church was good.  We had a frequency of 84, with 6 investigators coming, and all 3 of our baptisms for this week came.  The work is going really well

Had to scrape off the ash so we could play ball!

Turkey Bowl Cova Figuera 2015

"The Volcano is Leaking..."

Elder Crooks, getting away...

November 26, 2015


Sorry I did not have a chance to write this P day, not sure how many of you already heard, but the Volcano on the island of Fogo went off Sunday.  I was in church and the Bishop from the other ward pulled me out and said "Elder! The Volcano is leaking!"   Things have been a little "different" on this island the last couple days.  Everything is good, and Ive been advised by my mission president not to write too much in detail.  But everyone is safe, and everything is good here on Fogo.  Please pray for the people, homes, and families over by the volcano.  Love all you guys, have a great week!

Elder Jarvis

So just a little bit more so you guys know whats going on.  I have a sweet view of the volcano from my house, and the sky lights up red at night from reflection from the lava haha.  Its the coolest, pretiest thing ever.  We live quite a way away, and we are super duper safe.  Some of teh other elders got moved but we are super safe.  Its the first time its gone off in 20 years, and its super sweet, so pretty.  We havent had power the last couple of days, but are enjoying it now.  I freaking love you guys for sending shoes, but I told you not too haha! I really am grateful that you sent them, but they are a size and a half too big, theyre 12 and my other chruch shoes are 10 1/2, but its okay! I think the cheapest thing might be to have me send them back and you guys can return them, but let me know what you think.  Also you didnt comment on my camera being stolen, not sure if I should buy another one here, or if you want to try to send me one.  Ill write more later, love you guys

No IM still here in cova.  We are safe, just never have power.  All the store were closed yesterday, so that cChristmaspackage turned more into a survival kit haha.  Everything is good now, we have a little power and the stores are open.  Ill write more about the volcano later, Pres Matthews told us not to write too much, and I don't have a ton of time, the power will go out soon.  Im safe, and I have some of the coolest pics in the world haha.  

Guess Who's Comps?

November 17, 2014





So my camera was kinda stolen from the church this week.  I left in in my bag during a noite de integressao, and someone stole it.  I was upset that the camera was stolen, but more than that pretty much all the pics from the MTC up until Assomada were gone.  And also all the video logs and almost everything from fogo was stolen as well.  Kinda really sucked, but I prayed, and I will remember all this mission stuff, I just felt bad I wont have as many pics to send you guys.  But I have sent home the majority of the stuff, and we are going to try to find who has the camera.  Its a super small town, so maybe we find the person haha.  Im not sure If I should buy a new camera here, or have you guys send me one.  But just wait for a little while, and maybe it pops up haha. Love you guys.

Elder Crooks

First week on the job with my newly aquired MTC foe Elder Crooks.  Elder Crooks is such a boss. He´s such a sweet missionary.  As of right now I have served with comps from America, Cape Verde, Mosambeque, Argentina, Tonga, El Salvador, and Texas, (yes Elder Crooks claims Texas is its own country). We had a super good week, and talked Forever about the MTC days haha.  Its funny because we both hated Portugese in the MTC, now looking back its funny to think that at some point in time we didnt speak this language haha.  He is one of the most goofy, hard working Elders I have ever been around, and I freaking love this guy.  

Estancy Hokie

There is a zone way up the mountain called Estancy Hokie that we have recently started working.  We have gone up there twice, both times by car.  On Wednesday we missed the car, and we figured we would just walk, couldnt be that far.  After an hour and a half of walking on Fogo volcanic rock, we finally made it up there.  Never doing that again. But there are a lot of prepared people up there, and we actually had nine investigators from there show up to church.  

Growth 

Sunday was probably one of the best days on my mission, meaning it was one of the best days of my life.  We went to church, and had nine investigators from Estancy Hokie come to church. We had also been working really hard with a big less active family, and we got them to go to church.  We also had a couple other less actives come to church and it was incredible.  The frequency on Sunday was 100.  My second week in Cova Fig, the frequency was down to 46 at one point.  Last week it was 68, and this week it was 100.  It was the most amazing feeling in the world to see that sacrament meeting room fill up.  Its tough to explain, but this has definantly been my hardest, most rewarding area.  And seeing the growth, and the Lords hand here in Cova Fig was one of the coolest things ever.  

Spiritual Stuff

All they call this on The Herd (sports radio show), 2 for the road.  Not that anyone reads this part of the email anyway.  

1, Had a district meeting on the talk, Tongues of Angels, by Elder Holland.  I try to read that talk once a transfer, and we did a district meeting on it and it went well.  Talks about not using sarcasm, even if you think you are skillful or clever with it. (Which I was under the impression I was) But he talks about how words hurt people, and sarcasm always leaving someone feeling hurt, even if thats not our intention. Super helped me a ton, and its something Ive been trying to overcome my entire mission. 

2, The forth missionary talk.  Elder Jaros sent it to me a little while back, and I try to read it once a transfer as well.  the biggest thing I get out of it goes along with a Michael Jordan quote that I love.  ´´Dont cheat the game, and it wont cheat you´´ If your a missionary, dont cheat your mission, or your transfer, and it wont cheat you.  Put in the work, take the extra step, run one more lap, throw one more punch. Dont cheat the game, and it wont cheat you.  

I love all you guys, have a great week! 

Elder Jarvis    

Crooks

November 10, 2015



Crooks

So obviously the highlight of my week, was getting the transfer call that I got to serve with Crooks haha.  I loved Elder Ayala so much, and we had a good two transfers together.  Elder Crooks was in my MTC district, and out of the five that came here, we were the only ones that stayed on the mission.  We had always joked that we would get to serve together, and it was soo sweet when Pres said we would.  Obviously the work comes first, but he is a sweet teacher,  I'm so stoked

Marcino

He was the most hyper baptism ever.  Hes 11, and we reactivated his mom, and his older bothers.  Super sweet kid tho.  

Spiritual Stuff

Read the first 300 pages of Jesus the Christ this week.  Crazy haha.  Its the best book ever written ha.  Ill write more next week.  I have also started doing video logs every night, and I'm still writing in my journal, so the mish is well documented haha.  Love you guys, have a great week.

The Cova Weekly

November 3, 2014

The Work

This week was sweet.  Had an all time high of people at church, and it was just a good week to be alive in Cova Figuiera.  This is a little off the subject of missionary work, but congrads to the San Fran Giants for winning the october classic.  

The Cows

For the first time ever we went up in the mountains to a zone called Stanica Hokie.  And we took the back of this hiace (a large van) to get there.  When we got in the back, there was a little cow, and we thought that was really funny.  So we took pics of this little cow that was riding in the back with us and it was all fun.  Then right when we start going up the hill, the hiace stops and picks up 4 more baby cows haha.  So here I am with my comp in the back of this hiace, with five baby cows all over us.  Drooling on our legs, and peeing on my comps shoes haha.  The driver told up the cows were super scared.  In the pic below, they are loading in the fourth of five cows that would join us.  

Ana Matilda

Ana Matilda is the funniest person I have ever met.  She was so hilarious in the week preparing for her baptism.  She is a little bigger, and she was soooo worried about drowning in the water haha.  A couple days before i asked her who she would like to baptise her, and I said it better be someone super strong so you dont drown.  Then I pointed at Elder Ayala, and she was like, yeah he needs to do it haha.  Some of the funnier things shes has said.  When we told her she couldnt drink coffee, she bore her testomony on how much she loves milk, and she will just drink that instead.  When we asked her if she knew where Jesus lived when he was on the earth, she said of course, and pointed to Australia  .  After her baptism she said she felt as light as a baloon. Kind of a strange comparison..  She was just awesome and super funny.  

The Spiritual Stuff

“A basketball in my hands is worth about $20.99. A basketball in the hands of LeBron James is worth $19 million per year; it depends on whose hands it's in. A tennis racket in my hands is worth about $17.00. A tennis racket in the hands of Serena Williams is worth about $20 million per year; it depends in whose hands it's in. A baseball in my hands is worth about $3.00. A baseball in the hands of Derek Jeter is worth about $35 million per year; it depends on whose hands it's in. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in my hands would make a few fish sandwiches. Two fish and 5 loaves of bread in the Savior's hands will feed 5000 people until they're full, and still leave 12 baskets leftover; it depends on whose hands they're in. Some nails in my hands are worth about 5 cents. Some nails in the Savior's hands will provide eternal salvation for each person who has ever lived on this earth, and all of Heavenly Father's children. It depends on whose hands they're in. When we put our lives in the hands of the Savior, we can achieve infinitely more than we ever could on our own. It depends on whose hands they're in.”

Love all you guys, have a sick week!

Elder Jarvis

Not much.....

October 27, 2014 

Elder Ayala had a staff infection, sketchy stuff, haha.  

The families are good.  We dropped two of them because they both had the husband working with visa papers for the states.  Whenever we are working with a marriage and I hear that either one of them are waiting for a visa, I drop them on the spot.  Its too much of a headache, because they wont get married until the visa goes through, and that takes up to 15 years.  Kinda a bummer.  The other is going well, just have to get them to church.  

  

I had a sketchy experience the other day when I saw a husband hitting his wife in front of the house.  I was bigger, and stronger than the husband, (Yes I have been lifting quite a bit haha) but I couldn't do anything about it.  We aren't allowed to get involved with that at all.  And this is coming straight from Pres Oliviera, so I just had to walk by, super sad...