Hello! This was a crazy week. But first I forgot to say that last week we got the cops called on us. 3 of them were looking for us for about 2 hours before they finally found us. They thought we were a group of kids ding-dong ditching, but found one of our hand out cards and knew that we were missionaries. They were really nice about it and just told us to go back home because it was late. Now back to this week. A lady we were meeting with invited us over for dinner. Then we had a lesson and I thought it was going really good, then at the end she said that the book of Mormon wasn’t true and that we are deceived. Later this week we tracted into this guy that said we were a cult and he almost tried to fight my companion. We also found a pig that was on a leash. So I guess it was pretty normal actually. The weather is getting warmer which is nice, it makes being outside a little more enjoyable when it isn’t 15 degrees out. I have been thinking about President Nelson’s questions of what our life would be like without our testimony or knowledge of the Book of Mormon. I bear testimony about what the book of Mormon is quite a bit everyday but very few times do I say what it means to me and my faith. I’m just curious what you would say to that question. I think for me the Gospel has really changed my life and helped my life be so much more enjoyable and fulfilling, but the Book of Mormon specifically teaches me about the love that Jesus Christ has for me no matter what I do. The keystone of our religion is the Book of Mormon, and Jesus Christ is the center of the Book of Mormon. It also contains the correct knowledge of what we need to do to return to Heavenly Father. Without it I’m not sure where I would be or what the point of life would be. But I do know it wouldn’t be as great as it has been and is. Hope you all have a good week! Talk to you later. Elder Souza

Hi everybody. This week was good. We got new Elders in the Hershey area. That means our area got smaller. Although, we lost half of the people we were teaching so we have been tracting a lot, just about all day everyday which gets a bit tiring. On Thursday we went and picked up the Elders in State College which is about 1hr 45min drive. We drove through a snow storm that didn’t last very long but it was fun. On Sunday we had a linger longer to break a ward fast that was 40 days long. It started before I got to this area. The food was great and I ate way too much. Sorry I dont have more pictures. One of my goals is to take more pictures but I just dont know what to take pictures of haha. Hope you all have a good week! -Elder Souza

Hello! This week was quite a bit slower than last week. I had a couple of meetings and met with the mission president for the end of my first transfer meeting. We worked at a food bank this week which was fun, it was a bit of a change of pace and they had a bunch of donut holes which were really good. This week we were tracting and for most of the week it smelled like manure, then one day it smelled like Hershey’s chocolate. I think that before they sweeten it that’s what is smells like. So yes Hershey does smell like chocolate sometimes and other times it doesn’t! I’m still in Hershey for this next transfer because I’m still in training but we are getting another set of elders in our area. We cover hershey, Hummelstown(where we live) and Middletown. The new elders will be in Middletown so that will be cool having some more elders here. I have 6 more weeks then I’m done being trained and either I’ll leave Hershey and go somewhere else or stay. Thanks for the support and have a good week! Elder Souza

Hello everybody! This was good, it has been really busy. We have been finding and teaching a lot. We almost had the cops called on us but we worked it out. We were tracting in a neighborhood and the manager of the property found us and told us we can’t solicit here. We politely told him we aren’t soliciting and that we are sharing a message about Jesus Christ. He then whipped out his phone and looked up the definition for soliciting. It was something along the lines of selling something for your own gain. There are other definitions but that’s the one he chose. In my head my thought was last time I checked helping, serving, and sharing with others a message about Jesus Christ and how they can receive eternal happiness wasn’t soliciting. But we politely said we are not selling anything and that we would leave the area for now. I’ve come to realize that most people dont know a lot about our church other than what the internet tells them and many don’t know what missionaries do, but that’s why I’m out here, to help people learn more.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ has been on my mind alot lately. I’ve been learning a lot more about it and have come to some new realizations about it this week. These are a few of the things I learned and that came to my mind. The Atonement to me is the greatest act of love in the history of the world. Love is an agent of transfer to allow us to vicariously feel what others feel. It is the power to strengthen others by knowing that someone who loves them understands. It is also the most powerful, unyielding, and unflinching motivation. Obedience is the behavior that shows how we feel about the savior. It opens the door for the enabling power and love of the Savior to come Into our life. Love is how the Atonement is offered, Obedience is how it is received. Diligence is the consistency of our obedience in how we live the commandments. When these three come together that is what Discipleship is. The greater the overlap, the greater the Discipleship. Jesus Christ loved us perfectly, and when we do our best to be faithful Disciples of Him, that is when we will have the most Joy and happiness in this life. Thanks for the support, I miss you all and take the time this week to think of what the Savior and His Atonement means to you, hope you have a good week! Love, Elder Souza

This week was pretty busy and I learned a lot. On Tuesday I went on a blitz with the Zone leaders which is just an exchange with them. They came to my area and I spent the day with Elder Taylor. He’s from Rexburg, Idaho so we were familiar there. He is 6′ 7″ I think he is the tallest elder in the mission. I liked seeing how other Elders operate cause I’ve only ever been with Elder Cid in the field. Everyone has a different way of teaching and tracting and I like learning from them. When I was out with him we also saw an albino squirrel which I didn’t know existed. On Wednesday we had zone conference. Zone conference is where our whole zone gets together and meets with the mission president and we all learn from each other. I learned a lot about the Atonement there, about how much it is apart of our lives, even more than I realized. We draw strength from it daily and we still receive that strength even if we aren’t aware of it because of the love that Christ has for us. Thursday I did another exchange with the district leader and went to a spanish speaking area. We had a lesson that went really good (haha I think) and it wasn’t until the end that the lady we taught realized I dont speak spanish. With my last name and my dark skin I trick a lot of people I guess haha. The week was busy and we found a lot of people. Its difficult to find a time to teach them again though because everyone is sick right now, so hopefully in the next few weeks people will heal up and we can go teach then again. I’ve been reading the Joseph Smith history recently in preparation for April’s General Conference. I haven’t read very much yet but it made me think of all the truths in the Gospel in just the way it is organized. The Church runs very well and smoothly and that’s no coincidence. God knows what he doing and is way smarter than man is. Its pretty amazing. Well thanks for all the support, miss you lots. Love Elder Souza

Hi everybody! This week was busy. We tracted so much that its really all I can remember. We found a lot of people too. I had to look at my journal to see what else I did. We found this lady named diane who the second she opened the door let us in. She was really nice and said she has met with missionaries before. We set up a time to teach her the next day because there was no Male In the house. We came back the next day and she had already read into nephi from the Book of Mormon and she pretty much said the book was true and our message was true. We invited her to church but she forgot when sunday came around but it was still cool. I also heard tha Kobe Bryant died which is sad. We had a meeting with a guy at Wendy’s but he stood us up. However when we were waiting for him inside they had a “remembering Kobe” thing on TV so it was worth it for me Haha. The one thing that stuck out to me this week was the importance of having faith. Nephi was a perfect example of what faith can do for someone. If anything went wrong for him he wouldn’t murmur he would just trust in the Lord. Like when his bow broke or when he had to build a ship, he just knew the Lord would help him. I think, although it is very difficult to have that faith, that if we try our best to have that kind of faith we can do so much more with the help of the Lord. I’ve been personally struggling with that but I’m learning. Sometimes we dont feel like we are good enough or are alone but the Lord is always right there we just have to look for Him. I still miss home but things are good and I’m just taking it a day at a time.Hope all is good, thanks for the support. Love Elder Souza

Hello everybody! This week was good. We finally feel like we know the area and the people at least a little bit Haha. In the MTC we used to say the days go by slow but the weeks are fast. I think that is true. Everyday feels long but it feels like it was just p day. I guess that is a good thing. On Wednesday we taught a man the restoration and I had a brain fart when i was going to recite the first vision, it was a bit upsetting but my companion was able to save me. That’s why we have companions! The first vision is very spiritual and powerful and the adversary knows that, so he will do anything to stop you from saying it. In this case I was a little unprepared but that is ok, it was a good learning experience. I’m really excited for general conference. I think it is really cool that I get to serve my mission on the 200th year since the first vision. It must be a really important time if the Prophet is telling us all to prepare and that it will be special. That is my invitation to all of you as well. Prepare yourself for this general conference, read the book of mormon and pray for help in being prepared, it will be very special. I’m still adjusting to being away but I still have fun and have lots of moments were I’m really grateful to experience them. Elder Bednar says its completely okay to miss home and the people there as long as it doesn’t distract or take away from fulfilling my missionary purpose. So that’s what im working on, just enjoying the process and the experience of being a missionary. It’s not always easy, it’s cold, we knock a lot of doors and most of them dont even open, but it is worth it when we get that one person that listens. I had a really cool experience this week and it was weird at the same time. A little background first. For the last couple of years I have been really thinking about what I want to do after the mission in regards to what career I want to go into. Right now the options are going back to school or possibly becoming a firefighter. I think about it a lot! Anyway, We knocked on this ladies door and she opened and was really friendly and knew that we were missionaries from our church. We talked for a bit about what she believes and what we believe. Then she said I dont know why but I felt like I should ask, are any of your father’s firefighters? Elder Cid said no and I said no, but that I am really considering becoming one. Then she said well I felt like I should share that and good luck in your journey on becoming one. Then she basically gave me a blessing in being safe and saving a lot of people (that was the weird part). I was really surprised though, I was kinda just laughing to myself because it was so random. So maybe that is a sign or maybe not, but I’ll keep praying and we’ll see. It made me think of how the Lord sent me here for a reason, not just to help others but to help me grow too, and like I said a few weeks ago when we lose ourselves in the service of others we ultimately will find ourselves without even looking. Thanks for all the support!

Love Elder Souza

Hello everybody! I got to Pittsburgh on Wednesday. I left the MTC at 3:45am so that was a lot of fun….The first day was long and we were told a lot of information about the mission and rules and everything. The next day I got my companion, Elder Cid. He is from Chandler Arizona and he’s been out for 5 months. Right away we got sent about 3.5 hours east to a place called Hershey! The home of Hershey’s Chocolate. There were 3 sisters and 2 elders in that area but they all left and now it’s just us 2. Its has been a crazy first week because we don’t know anyone. we don’t know members, people being taught, no one. So we spent the whole week tracting and visiting members. Church was good, it made me think of Central Point 1st ward. I really miss our ward, I’ve been really blessed to have grown up there and been around the people I have, it’s no wonder we have a temple right next to us. I’ve just been adjusting to the area, being away from home, being cold, and being tired all the time. I taught my first lesson this week to a man named Anthony. He lives kind of in a ghetto part of town. He was baptized a few years ago but is no longer active. He has been through a lot and still reads his bible daily, but he has a problem with the history of blacks and the priesthood. It kind of rubbed him the wrong way. After talking with him for a awhile Elder Cid and I felt like we said all that we could. Then at the end I just told him keep studying, and keep praying, but not that his life will get easier but that he can have the strength to overcome his trials. He was taken back a bit and said he really needed to hear that. It was really cool to feel like we helped him and met a need that he had. As missionaries we aren’t here to convert anyone or change anyones mind or views. We just teach them what makes us happy and serve them and its up to them to accept it if they want. I still have a long time to go, it is hard to be happy all the time when your away from home but I’m doing my best.Thanks for all the support!Love Elder Souza

Hey there everybody! It has been an interesting but fun 4 weeks in the MTC. My First day was pretty rough. The day started at 4:30am when I left Medford. I arrived to the MTC around 10:30 and the minute I got off the shuttle it was pretty much go go go the rest of the day. To be honest I wasn’t all that happy to be at the MTC. It was a difficult adjustment to be away from home again and just letting myself be okay with being gone for 2 years was a bit of a struggle. Fast Forward to my first P-day, I got to talk to my family and it felt really good. It is weird not being around them everyday and being able to tell them about my day and things like that. Probably the hardest thing about the first week was letting myself feel like this is where I need to be at this time. Luckily I was able to listen to a talk given by Elder Bednar that is exclusive to the MTC called the character of Christ. He gave a similar talk at BYU Idaho years ago but this one was extra special because he had no notes and just talked freely the whole time. There was a lot of awesome things talked about during the talk but one that stood out to me was when he said that we are in the right place at the right time. This was really good to hear because I was struggling feeling that. The other thing that I learned from the talk and just my time at the MTC is that we don’t matter, lol. But it is true, this is the Lord’s mission. Although by serving faithfully I will receive blessings, it is really about the people we teach and how the gospel can bless them. If we forget ourselves in the service of others we will ultimately find ourselves without even looking. As human beings our natural reaction is to look inward and think about ourselves, but Christ always looked outward. Even during the time he was on the cross, all he thought about was others. His example is so important to me and how I want to serve my mission and live my life.  Christmas in the MTC was a lot of fun. It was busy but fun. We got the hear from Elder D. Todd Christofferson and listen to David Archuleta. Listening to David was really cool because he shared some of his mission experiences in between songs. Then afterwards I got to shake his hand and say hi. The rest of my time in the MTC has been pretty routine. Just learning more about how to teach people and love the people I teach. My district has been a lot of fun as well. My companion is our district leader and we get along well. Our district has gotten pretty close these past 4 weeks so it will be a bit sad leaving them. Having fun with them has made the MTC a lot more fun and enjoyable for sure. During my time here I got to go to the Provo Temple and will go again today. I have also given 4 blessing here too. One to my companion, one to another elder,and 2 sisters. It is definitely good practice and was really cool to do that as a missionary.  I want to end by saying that I have also learned that there is still a lot of good left in this world. There are people out there that have been searching for the gospel and just don’t know where to find it. The adversary is very powerful but nothing compared to the light of Christ that is within every person on this earth. My patriarchal blessing says that I am suppose to find those people. Lastly I encourage everyone who reads this to read the Book of Mormon. It is the most correct and important book on this earth. The 200 years anniversary of the first vision is this year and the Prophet is preparing something big. So prepare yourself by studying the Book of Mormon and why it is so important.
Thanks for all the support! And I leave for Pittsburgh tomorrow! Love Elder Souza

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

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