Hi. This week lots of cool things happened. We had a pretty busy week with lessons and working with members. We dropped off some goodies to people at their doorsteps again. Elder Speakman also made a breakfast casserole thing we brought to a lady we’re teaching. We also got news that this week we will finally be having Zone Conference in person! This will be my first in-person Zone conference since the very first one I went to back in January. We can also start meeting with people in person IF we keep the social distancing requirements and if they are not in the high risk category due to age or other circumstances. So nothing really changes for us because most of the people here fit that category. We also got to meet in-person for District P-day today! We haven’t done that since the beginning of March. I really enjoyed that! Just being around other missionaries again was a lot of fun. The last thing is, we got to go to church yesterday. Haven’t done that since March as well. Only 25 people were allowed to go but it went good. I spoke, along with the branch President. My Mom wanted me to put a little bit of my talk in here so here it is.
I talked mostly about how sometimes things don’t always work out the way we think they will and that God answers our prayers the same way. This has been how my mission has been so far. I didn’t know what to expect all that much before coming out, but I never could have imagined it being the way things are right now. Although it is different, the work still moves forward and we can still be happy regardless of our circumstance. I have learned more, felt more, experienced more, and progressed more than I could have ever imagined I would in a time like this. Three things came to my mind as to why that is. 1st is Prayer. It is so powerful and brings a lot of peace. 2nd is the Book of Mormon. Along with the Spirit, the Book of Mormon is our greatest tool in our conversion to the Lord. It will truly bless your life. 3rd is our attitude. A constant thing that keeps coming up is to learn all that I can from these experiences and to do so happily. I read 1 Nephi 17:2-3 and 1 Nephi 17:20. (You can look those up if you’d like) these just talk about what Nephi’s attitude was after wandering in the wilderness for many years compared to Laman’s attitude. It was far different. Nephi found the happiness where he was. Things dont always go to plan, they aren’t always easy, but we can still find happiness where we are. Circumstances do not determine our happiness. President Gordon B. Hinckley said to “accentuate the positive.” Find the happiness where you are. I believe God will make much more of our lives than we ever could. I also believe that complaining doesn’t do anything for us. Trust in the Lord, he doesn’t always lead us where we think we should be, but to where he needs us to be. Have fun. Love, Elder Souza

Hello everybody. This was a pretty busy week. We had interviews with President and Sister Wright and they went really well. It was great to see them in person and finally talk with them. Once again, we got to see our district in person which I really enjoyed because we don’t see other missionaries in person ever anymore. That happened on Thursday and on Friday we found out that Elder Fincher was being off-cycle transferred to Camp Hill (across the river from Hershey, my old area). We still have 4 weeks left in this transfer but with all the new missionaries and areas opening, we never know what is going to happen these days, haha. So we took him to Pittsburgh on Saturday and now it’s just Elder Speakman and I. I’m a little bummed we’re back down to 2, but it’s likely that can change in 4 weeks. Elder Fincher found a tick Friday night on his knee. It was just a little guy. I pulled it off for him cause he didn’t trust himself to do it, haha. The branch I’m serving in is going back to church this coming Sunday. We got the okay to go. It will be pretty weird because we have to wear masks the whole time, we can’t talk to anyone, and it’s only 45 minutes long. There will only be 25 people there as well. I guess that’s the same for a lot of places right now but that I know of, we are one of the only areas in the mission that get to go back. Hopefully yinz have a good week! Have fun. Elder Souza

Hello everybody. This was a quick week for us. We had quite a few lessons everyday but unfortunately most of them fell through. That’s just how it goes sometimes. But anyways it felt really fast for us this week. I think it’s because we have been really busy and working a lot on contacting and teaching and finding. That’s what we typically do but we have just been doing a little bit more these last few weeks. It helps me keep my mind off the quarantine a little more when we are busier. We get to meet our Mission President this Wednesday in person which I’m excited for. It’s felt like we haven’t really had a Mission President these last few weeks because of all the changes and little contact while they move in. Sometimes it feels like we’re the only 3 people in the world, haha. Anyway I hope you have a good week and hopefully I have more to tell you next week! Love Elder Souza

Hello there. Happy 4th of July🇺🇸 We had a good week. We were able to meet our new Mission President and his wife over Zoom this week. They are really excited to be here and I think they will be a lot of fun. President Wright played college football for New Mexico State and he just kind of sounds like a coach/sports dude when he talks so I really enjoy that. We get to have meetings in person in 2 weeks I think so I’ll let you know how that goes. Our new Elder, Elder Speakman, is doing good. He seems to really like being a missionary. He was having a hard time the first few days adjusting to quarantine missionary life but I think he’s doing good now. For the 4th after our day was over we went and kicked a soccer ball around at the field by our church and watched the fireworks go off around us. I listened to a few general conference talks this week that went along with America and why it is so awesome! One of them talked about how a large part of why our Nation was founded was so that we could have religious freedom. The new and unspoiled land would be the perfect place for the restoration of Christ’s church. The men who came together to produce the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were inspired by God to do that work. I am very grateful to live in such a great nation with so much opportunity and freedom and I am also thankful for all those who fight each day for those freedoms.

Have a good week!🇺🇸Love Elder Souza

Hi. So this week we did lots of traveling. We had to get a car inspection in a different area and I was able to get a haircut, finally! It had been almost 4 months to the day since I had my last haircut. My hair was probably about as long as I’ve ever had it, that’s funny to say being a missionary. We also drove to Pittsburgh and picked up our new Elder. Elder Speakman is from Star Valley, Wyoming. He is 22 and like Elder Fincher likes music. They talk about a bunch of instrument stuff and music lingo that I don’t know very much about but that’s okay. We were able to see The Mission President one last time at the airport, to our surprise. It was actually really enjoyable to see other missionaries in person. I’ve been in the same district for 3 months and haven’t met any of the missionaries in my district in person until last week. It was kind of weird but it made me realize how nice it is to be around people. We are still in our apartments though and still don’t meet in person, so that was a nice treat. President and Sister Bednar leave today and President and Sister Wright will officially take over. I’m sad to see the Bednars go but excited to see how the Wrights run things. I thought I would leave a challenge for all of you who read this and that is to try to Read the Book of Mormon everyday. Even just a little. It will really help with any situation in life. It’s been a big help for me in quarantine. Have a good week, miss you all. Love Elder Souza

Hello. So, this week is the last week of the transfer. I found out that Elder Fincher and I will be staying in Philipsburg together for our 3rd transfer. We are also going to get a 3rd companion. We will be training him, he is coming from the online MTC. All I know is he is from Wyoming. It will probably be a busy week. We have to go to Pittsburgh to pick him up at the airport on Wednesday, and until then we will be getting the apartment ready for a 3rd person. I think it will help Elder Fincher and I out a lot giving us another person to talk to haha! This next transfer is also 7 weeks because we get our new Mission President, President Wright. We will see how everything goes. I also hit 6 months on the mission this week which is pretty exciting. Not really sure if it went by fast or slow, I guess it was a bit of both at times but I’m glad I made it this far! Have a great week-Love Elder Souza

Hi everybody. This week was good, not a whole lot has happened but things are still going good. Elder Fincher wanted me to cut his hair this week so I did and it turned out pretty good I guess. He says he likes it so that’s good enough for me. It was also our last time seeing President and Sister Bednar in person. We talked with them for about 15mins and we signed some stuff and they signed some stuff and then we left. It has been really great to serve with them. I have learned quite a bit with them since I’ve been out. I am excited to meet our new mission president soon, President and Sister Wright. I think it will be another cool experience in the mission having another mission President. Hope you all have a good week. Love Elder Souza

Hello. So we didn’t get a third Elder this week but that’s okay. There is still a chance later this month and next. This week was really good. We had Zone Conference over Zoom and I learned a lot of great stuff. It was President and Sister Bednar’s last Zone Conference of their mission. It was 7 hours long! With two 45 min breaks haha, but I really enjoyed it. I recognized a pretty significant blessing during this week from the quarantine. It is hard right now to feel like I am making a real difference in bringing souls to Christ and helping others. Not surprisingly, I am not the only missionary who feels this way. One of the Sisters in our Zone mentioned that we have a great opportunity to come closer to Christ ourselves during this time. “…if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy…” D&C 18:15. Sometimes that one, can be ourselves. I have heard many times during this quarantine that some think our time is being wasted. However it’s not. If all we receive from this mission during this time is a greater knowledge, love, and testimony of our Savior and His work, then we have succeeded. The Lord is still with us, he is still helping me, and I know because I’m still here. Although it is hard and sometimes I want to go home, I don’t, and I continue to try, and the Lord is giving me the strength and help I need to help others. Every righteous effort we make means something to someone. Whether it be someone here, someone at home, or even ourselves.
Thanks for the support. Have fun. -Love Elder Souza
Ps. I need a dad gum haircut.

Hi Everybody. It was a slower week this week. I found out we won’t be getting a third Elder this week but there is still a chance next week. We’ve been making a bunch of videos for our mission zone Facebook page and our area Facebook page. It’s interesting that the last few weeks we’ve spent so much time inside and not really talking to anyone and sometimes having no luck with our finding efforts throughout the day, then suddenly at 9pm, we get a referral. We’ve gotten 1-2 referrals every week since our quarantine started. It is pretty cool to see the Lord helping us out still even though sometimes our efforts alone don’t seem to work very well. Its important to do our best though and the Lord will reward us for our efforts. Love, Elder Souza

Hello. It is finally getting warm here in PA. It is a little bit more humid than back home, but it feels good to go outside and not worry about if it’s going to snow, haha. We got word that on June 1st we will get 13 new missionaries, and then 2 weeks later we will get another 13. So half of our companionships will be in a trio. My companion and I are actually excited for that because it will give us someone else to talk to. We get along well but you can only talk about the same thing, and hear the same stories so many times, so this will help us not go crazy as fast. We have been teaching a lady named Tina pretty regularly and it’s been great. She is very honest and not afraid to ask deep questions. It has been a lot of fun to teach her and watch her progress. I think that’s where the real joy of the mission is, and life in general. When we help and love others. When we can play even the smallest part in their growth and progression. One of the most important things we can do in this life is help others realize who they really are and what they can become. I think about the most important people in my life, and the biggest influences in my life and it’s those who have done that for me. Elder Bednar said that people don’t always remember what you say, but they will always remember the way you made them feel.
Once again I hope you’re all safe and healthy. I’m missing home a little extra today because normally on Memorial Day we would be at the Dunes😂🛵🇺🇸 Have fun! Love, Elder Souza