Obey, Work, Love.

Wielding the scriptures of doctrine, along with the thumbs up of a positive attitude for the day.

Hello! 

Time has gotten away from me so this letter will be short! Transfers were this week and Elder Martins and I will be staying here in Jardim Satélite for another transfer. Woot! 

We heard the news about Elder Scott’s passing this week, and we all were pretty sad. He was a good guy. It will be an interesting General Conference this weekend! 

Since I’ve been in Brazil, I’ve been told I look like Chris Pratt, Captain America, various German actors, Thor, the guy from the newest Jurassic Park, George Clooney, both Buzz Lightyear and Johnny Bravo, a Maori warrior, more Germans, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s dad, and John Cena. I think I look like a missionary.

This week went by super quick and it was both really hot, and it poured a ton too. We’ve eaten very well recently, however the members tell me I look small. The mission does odd things to you, I swear. Also, my suit pants are still in the hospital—they may be torn past repair sadly. :/

There was an activity at the chapel here that we helped out with this week all about The Family. It was a conference for the community here in São José to hear about why we must work to protect the family, and why the family is so important. There were Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Masons, Presbyterians, and others there at the chapel who were all invited to sit on the stand in support of our message—because the importance of the family is a message for all. There were 240 people there and we handed out a bunch of pamphlets! The family is important and The Family, A Proclamation to the World is an excellent source to look to as to why! (https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation). The conference here was going on at the same time as the interfaith World Meeting of Families in the U.S. this week.

Dad, I loved what you had to say about obedience and love last week, about how obedience and love is a pretty good recipe and at some point the two things become one and the same. Our mission motto is “Obey, Work, Love,” and President Silcox gave the training on that this week which was really good.

We got a call early one morning this week from Presidente Silcox for Elder Martins and I to meet him and Sister Silcox at the nearby chapel. When we got there, there were also others -- all missionary trainers and trainees. We talked about the importance of mission rules, why we have them, about goals and how we want our missions to proceed for the next two years. Sister Silcox made cookies that were really good and we were so happy to have some sweets! 

Anyways, that was really the week. It went super fast and so I don’t have too much to say! It’s getting hot here, and it’s getting hot quickly. It also sporadically rains often so that’s good. My goal to think in Portuguese is going well, and Presidente Silcox told me my Portuguese was better than his (ha ha). He and his wife are awesome! I thanked him and told him I still have a lot of work! 

Here’s a short (really short) spiritual thought for the week: We can’t become perfect unless we recognize perfection in others first.

Have a great week and I love you all! 

Elder Hughes