Aaron in lego form as a missionary. 

Lessons on Problem Solving & a New MTC President

Hello all!! All is well this week. I learned a good lesson on problem solving. We had a lesson on it. It was very good. If you have a problem you need to get to the root of it. Then, you need to make a plan and you need to JUST DO IT! The the fourth step is that you need to check yourself continually.

I want everybody to know That I am so thankful for your support and all that you have done for me, it really does mean alot. One of my Brazilian companions made me a keychain out of clay and a stick. It looks like a missionary and it is really neat. I have pictures of it and I will probably send pictures home in about 3 weeks.

I got a Package! Yay! Go Longhorns. Thank you Steve and Susan. Everybody here is jealous now.

My companion and I are doing well.

The language is coming well. Friday we get to go pass out pass along cards and I have to speak Portuguese to commit them to get a Book of Mormon. Last night I practice and while others are using notebooks and reading their lessons I just let my lesson come off the top of my head and I did great! I was so excited. It is only by obedience that I have been able to learn this quickly. It is crazy! I am truly blessed! I am very excited about Friday as well. Oh and I passed out a pass along card today at the grocery store. We met a Brazilian that spoke great English and we commited her. =)

We have a new MTC President, I miss the old one but this one is sufficient, really he has a great Testimony of Jesus Christ, it was unreal! After our devotional last night, my district and I were having a chat and we were talking about the devotional. And Elder Grunig said, relating to what the speaker had said, I wish I knew more of the Doctrine of the church. I wish I was like Elder Tossey who you can ask where a scripture is and he can tell you almost instantly. It made me feel good. But I know that I am but an instrument in His hands. I would be nothing with out Him (Ether 12:27).

I have been singing in the Choir. Sunday, I am singing infront of ALL the missionaries. I am singing with 3 others. We are singing ´I know my redeemer lives´ in Poruguese. I have really been inspired to sing more. And I love it. I want to develop this gift. Plus you get extra blessings from participating in such activities!

Tell Carolyn that i am sorry about my spelling. The keyboards are a little different here and also I have Portugues on my mind continually!

I want to share something. I would like all of you to read 3 Nephi 27:19-21, and also Moroni 7. Look for the savior in those scriptures.`The atonement of Jesus Christ is central to every aspect of the gospel, everything else is just an appendage` -Joseph Smith-` we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience´.

I would like to invite all you to come unto Christ through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immerson, recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. This is the Doctrine of Christ, if you are on the stage of enduring to the end then you must start all over and go throught those ordinances by helping a fellow spiritual being recieve the same. This is Eternal Life. If you are still searching for truth start with faith and pray. Ask for repentance and become baptised. I declare that Christ;s True Church has been reestablished on the Earth with 12 apostles and a Prophet who speaks to God and therefore I know Miracles have not ceased. For I know that a Miracle worketh within me, and the same can happen within you. Read, ponder, Ask and knock, Seek and find! I want all to know that I love you but more importantly I want you to know that Christ Loves you! And that his Father and Our Father loves you and he want you to return to him. I say these things in the name of The savior as his representative.
I love you all
Elder Tossey

Mom and Dad I sent you some letters today! You should get them in about a week.
I have sent:
mom
dad
jared
Sherri sullivan
the phillips

Another email from Aaron!

Hello all!
Life in Brazil is great. It has been about 44 degrees celcius all week. really hot! I have been busy busy. But it's great i love being busy! I really do! My companion and I had it out one day this week he was being very inconsiderate and selfish. And he thinks I am like his rush puppy. You know me I am always layed back ( not that I was late any where or breaking any rules.) Really in the end it is just 2 way different people trying to get along. He is a great guy and he is here to serve so anyways we are getting along better. I filled up all my time with studying the gospel and the language and he was kinda of mad at me because of that. So i guess I need to slack of a little. I don't know. Anyways we never let that get in the way of us for long we always talk about our disputes. Any how like I said things are busy. All we do is sit in class most of the day and learn, learn, learn. But really it´s not to bad. I really enjoy it. This is deffinetly the place for me! I really enjoy that hour outside playing basquete and volley ball though. The food is really good here except it is always the same. Rice and beans, Beans and rice. I am still waiting on some cookies from the first person who feels the spiritual prompting that a brother is in need! But i am fed well.

There is one problem I won´t get to write ya´ll as much as I want to because ya´ll sent me so many e-mails and I had to read them all. I can only check my e-mail once a week and I only have 45 minutes so hmmm. More mail...less e-mail! lol (I am not yelling, I am just joshing. I have got 2 letters from Michelle and one form Devin. I haven´t recieved any others. DearElder.com is a really good way to get me the letters quick.

I want to thank everybody for there support. and for there letters. Tell the Sullivans too. Tell them I will write more letters as well and on my list for next week are the Sullivans and a few others. I am going to try to write the people that i am not supposed to write on e-mail by letter so that I can be a obedient missionary.

On to spiritual matters. I am feeling the spirit everyday. It testifies to me of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon Which testifies to me of Joseph Smith and Joseph testifies to me that Jesus Christ Lives! that his Father and our Heavenly Father Live! They are seperate beings. And the plan was from the beginning that we should have a savior and Jesus was the only one that could do it and he did it! He did it! I feel my saviors love as I testify to you of these truths. The restoration of the Church of Christ has come, we have a Prophet to lead and guide us. Today I got to go to the Campinas Temple and I was so joyful to enter the House of the Lord. The spirit dwells there and families can be sealed together FOREVER in these sacred buildings. This is what the restoration of the Church has done. It has given us those priesthood keys that are here to bind on earth so that it can be bound in heaven. I give to all of you a few scriptures to read Alma 34 ,3 Nefi 11 read these and ye shell now that The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ It really does. Pray Always my brothers and sisters of the gospel. Pray for the truth. I love all of you so much. do this---- 2 nephi 32:29
Love always!
Elder Tossey

I have sent letters to the following:
Michelle *1
Kadi Bazemore*1
Falicia *2

I promise I will do better. I haven't had a whole lot of time! Just have patience! It´s a virtue. And thank you so much Michelle and Devin for your support and your letters!GOOOOOOO! TEXAS! yay! ask mike where my quarter by quarter is!????

Aaron's first p-day

Hey there sister. How are you? Today is my first p-day (preparation day). I got to go to Campinas temple today. It was beautiful. Brazil is great, the people are so much more gracious than people in America (no offense) they just are. I can´t wait to get out of the MTC and start working with them. This week has beeen so busy and I am a little tired because I woke up at 5 to do my laundry today. I have been learning the language pretty good. I am able to carry a conversasion kinda, but I have been here a week so I am not fluent yet =). Give me a couple more weeks. I figured out in the first week that the more obedient I am to the rules and guidelines the better I am at the language. I have always heard it, but I believe it now. It takes alot as a representative of Christ to keep that special spirit with you. And the more obedient you are, the stronger the spirit. I was in the lunch room one day when I just started talking to some of the Brazilians. And words I did´t even know where coming out. The language is coming quickly. I say in 3 months I´ll be pretty fluent. I was also in class one day and we were talking about the gospel, about the restoration of the church and now alot of people look at me as a scriptorian. I thought that was neat, but i just told them that they could be the same way if they studied the scriptures and be obedient. It´s one thing to be able to talk about the scriptures it´s another to be able to have the Spirit testify to what you are saying. Anyways I am doing good I have everything I need. I love you. Thank you for your letter too. Tell everybody I love them too.
Love,
Aaron

Forgot to put Aaron's email on here so ya'll can send him messges. I'm not sure who he can write and who he can't but here it is... ELDERTOSSEY@myldsmail.net
~Laura

Aaron leaving on a jet plane... well a prop plane

Aaron getting on the plane. He tried to turn around so we could get a pic but there were too many people behind him and my timing was off.


Sorry about the red eyes in the one pic. Susan Phillips and Michelle have some other pics with them in it. ~Laura

A letter from Aaron

Hey all,
How are ya'll? I am well. Eu got here yesterday and Eu am muito bem. Eu am learning the language muito bem. You can write me using the "Dear Elder.com". Eu hope you are doing bem. They told me to talk and all with the palavras. I know you are getting maybe what Eu am saying. If you have any questions about the "Dear Elder.com" ask Michelle. Eu think Eu can only use it for the next two months. Ate Logo!
Love,
Aaron Tossey


Michelle if you check this you can write a comment and let us know how to use the "Dear Elder.com". -Laura

The Beginning

I'm Laura. I will be posting pictures and letters of Aaron and his adventures in Brazil. Aaron will be sending me letters to post on here to keep all of his friends posted on how he's doing. Ya'll can comment if you want but Aaron won't be able to see it or respond. I'll try to keep him updated on comments letting him know who's checking his blog. Any other info can be emailed to me by clicking on Aaron's profile and his email will come directly to me. It may be a few weeks before postings begin because of the mail and all. Happy blogging!