This week we did 3 exchanges in a row in our area. That was a lot of fun and very exhausting. The results were very positive. On the first day E. Macedo and I found an amazing family that lives in the same apartment buildings as us. Carlos, Cristiane, Gabriel, Nicole and Aquiles. It feels like so long since I've worked with a complete family that's progressing. They are a really special family and I am so excited to see them continue to progress!!

On the second day of exchanges I was with E. Barbosa, my last companion! It was wonderful. I forgot how funny he is and how good it is to work with him.

Third day of exchanges I was with E. Keim! He got into the mission field last transfer and it was good to give him some portuguese tips.

Yesterday at church this old lady pulled me aside and said "your face looks like a crying baby." And then started to laugh. It was quite the experience!

Yesterday we taught a lesson to the youth about the Atonement and Missionary work. It went really well and we were able to make some goals with them to share the gospel with their friends.

I'm really excited for General Conference this week! I know that the Lord has much to say and I'm more than ready for some instruction from Him.

I love you guys! Have a great week!!

Elder Searle

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Good morning!

This week was a miracle. Nadir was baptized after investigating the church for over 6 months. I remember meeting him for the first time in an exchange I did here in December. It has been wonderful to work with him these past 3 weeks. He made it through a long process of repentance and is finally with his family as a member of the church.

We had a few conferences this week as well which were great. I learned a lot about the pre-existence and how i need to honor everything I chose there. It was nice to be with so many missionaries I have come to know over my mission as well.

We also did an exchange. It was really fun to be with my MTC companion E. Silfies again!

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Elder Searle

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This week we had mission council, did an exchange and ​bought 10 liters of Açaí. This morning I became a professional hair stylist and cut E. Higashi's hair and he cut mine. To the surprise of us two, it actually turned out really well.

This week will be busy with two zone conferences and interviews with President. I'm excited! We have quite a  few of good investigators in our area as well that we will help during the week.

I'm doing well and learning a lot. I love it here in this ward and I love my companion especially!! 

That's all I've got time for. I love you guys!

Elder Searle

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The first week after being transferred is always a busy one. Thankfully I am all un-packed and starting to learn all about my new area. My companion, Elder Higashi, is the best. He is from Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. He is very smart and hardworking. We should stick together until May when he finishes his mission. I'm very excited to work with him!

On transfer day there was a huge party on the street going on right outside the mission office, so that made for some changes in the schedule. Instead of receiving training, the new missionaries went straight to their new areas after we ate lunch at the mission home. It was a great experience to see a group of brand new missionaries coming into the field. There were 4 Americans out of the 14 new missionaries.

We have mission council tomorrow which I'm excited for. Then in the next few weeks we will have zone conferences. We will also do an exchange with some zone leaders. It will be a good opportunity for me to get lost in my new area and thus learn the streets here out of necessity.

Yesterday at church I had a spiritual experience. I was sitting there shile the sacrament was being distributed and I felt the strongest impression I'm where I'm supposed to be. I know that Heavenly Father is guiding me and will lead me to those who are prepared to hear the gospel. It's a privilege to be a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love you guys! Have a great week!

Elder Searle

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Craziness went down this week.

Yesterday we were teaching this family when we got a phone call. I hung up quickly to continue with the lesson and then saw that it was our mission president. I just about died! I was expecting to stay here since E. Barbosa has only been here for one transfer with me. When we called him back after the message he informed me that the Lord is calling me to be an assistant to the president.

My new companion will be Elder Higashi and I will be serving in the Paraíso ward. I am so excited!! It should be a wonderful experience. It's very probable that it will be my last area since I have 3 transfers left. I will stick with E. Higashi for his last 2 transfers and then train a new assistant.

Elenice's baptism was on Saturday! E. Barbosa baptized her and I realized the confirmation yesterday. Her story is amazing and I wanted to tell you guys a little more about her. When we began teaching her she wasn't recieving an answer to her prayers very quicklyl Until one day when we finished a lesson I told her about the gospel library app and downloaded it for her on her cell phone. When she saw the angel Moroni icon, she started to cry. She told us of a dream she had a couple of weeks earlier in which a yellow light came into her view in the ofrm of the angel Moroni icon 3 times. She had questioned the meaning of this dream a lot and at that moment recieved the answer she needed. When we explained temples to her I remembered her dream and showed her a picture of the Salt Lake temple telling her to look on top of it. When she saw angel Moroni she started crying again! And when we taught her about temple work for the dead this week she was so amazed by the doctrine. She owns a salon and invited all of her clients to the baptism and some of them went! She is a great example to me.

Oh yeah, and Elenice is such a blessing because today all the barber shops are closed due to the holiday and she is going to cut our hair for us in her salon! And I will be able to visit Fátima and Tayná today as well to say goodbye before I leave. It should be a great day.

Tomorrow we will leave early in the morning to go downtown for transfers. E. Higashi and I will give training for a few hours for the new missionaries and their trainers. And after that, I have no idea what my new schedule will be like. It will be an adventure for sure! I'm excited.

Almost forgot- yesterday E. Barbosa and I talked in church. It went wonderful and it was the first time I wasn't scared at the pulpit. What a tender mercy of the Lord it has been for me to overcome many fears on my mission.

Thanks for all the support. I love you guys!

Elder Searle

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Happy morning!

This week was spectacular! Let's see if I can remember all that happened..

Yesterday was pretty great. We are teaching this lady named Elenice and she progressed really quickly and recieved a lot of answers to her prayers about the church. The only problem was that a month ago this guy she had met and started dating moved in with her, so she could not be baptized. But she knew the whole time that what they were doing was wrong and told him to move out during this whole week, and two days ago he finally did! And he went all the way to Porto Alegre, where he is from. And yesterday she went to church again. And we visited her after church and challenged her to be baptized this Saturday. She accepted! I hope she is able to do so.

On Wednesday we went with Edson and Nayara to set up their marriage. In Brazil that process is very complicated, but thankfully it all went smoothly and they will be married on the 23rd of March! This week we will do the same thing with another couple so that they can be baptized as well.

Yesterday we also got a new ward mission leader! He is a great man and will really help out in the work. His name is Paulo Marcelo. Him and his wife are service missionaries in the ward and help people with self-reliance.

I studied King Benjamin's address during the week. It seemed like he was saying a lot of things just for me and I know that his words are true. I love the Book of Mormon and the difference it makes in my life each day. I love seeing that difference being made in the lives of others as well. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that it was translated by the power of God. I know that know man could write it, unless he was instructed by God to do so.

Have a great week guys! Thanks for all the love and support.

Elder Searle

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This week was full of fun stuff. Wednesday and Thursday we had exchanges with a companionship in our Zone and then with the Assistants. I learned a lot and we were able to get a lot of work done! Saturday Tayná was baptized and on Sunday she was confirmed! This week we have Mission Leadership Council and a Mission Tour with Elder Bassett!! I'm really excited.

Tayná grew a lot this week. She decided to take out the piercings in her lip and dress more modestly. She understood very well the purpose of her baptism and had a really spiritual experience during the weekend. It was a good baptismal meeting. She invited her family and some extended family members that came as well! I am excited for her and her progress in the gospel.

These past few weeks I have been having quite the experience with the Book of Mormon. I am studying in a new way that I really like. I got a fresh copy in Portuguese and I am marking in one color every time it refers to Jesus Christ, another color for His attributes, another for His words, and another for the 5 steps in the doctrine of Christ. It is helping me understand the nature of Christ and focus on the most important teachings. I am also memorizing the key topic(s) of each chapter in the Book of Mormon. Studying this way makes me happy and strengthens my testimony.

Well that's about all I have for this week. I love you guys!

Elder Searle

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