Two letters combined....I'm playing catch up!

DECEMBER 9, 2009-
Well, December and it's hot, how strange? Actually, just to update you guys, it has rained for 18 of the last 20 days. Including 10 days in a row during this stretch and it is about to rain again today to go 19/21. Ha! Well, I taught some really good and really long lessons this week in Portuguese. I stated teaching and just kept going and the best part was that the people understand me. It is amazing to think that only a little over 3 months ago, I couldn't say a word in Portuguese and now I can say just about anything. I hope all is well with everyone of you there, I love you all and I am sorry if I have not replied to all of your e-mails, but know that I am thinking of you all and love you all a lot. Today, we went to the center of Osasco and played soccer, ping pong, and some basketball. The Brazialians were surprised to see an American play soccer. Tomorrow morning, my companion is training as a new district leader, so if I have any mail, I can get it then. I got a stack of mail from Gigi, Evan, Nana, Shelly Bivens, Emily H. and mom. Great letters, thanks a bunch! I am in the process of responding, only problem is that it's a hour walk to the post office. Well, things are really good here. I really like my area. I love you guys.

December 16, 2009
Christmas is very close guys. I am excited and people here are too. It's weird because it's smoking hot here, yet Christmas time. So, this week was good, we have taught lots of lessons, reactivated some less active families and also have found alot of really good people that are interested in the church. I taught another lesson in family home evening in the house of Irma Elaine. It was good. I taught about Jesus Christ and His life and the things HE did for us here.
In the house of the memeber that we have family home evening every Tuesday, I was talking to her last week about her son, Dennis who is 19-21 and in the Army. She really wants him to serve a mission. I told her to pray for him and that I would pray for him also, that he can have the desire again to serve a mission. Well, last night at family home evening, I was teaching the lesson and he showed up at her house. He sat in on my lesson and then my companion asked him to share his testimony and he did. He said that he was haning out with some friends a couple of streets over and was headed to his grandma's when he remembered that his mom had invited him over, so he felt like he should come. He did and he also felt in his heart that he wanted to share his testimony and he said that he knows that he should serve a mission for the Lord and that's what he is going to do. He says he has lots of blessings, a good job, but that it won't mean anything to him because a part of his life is missing.....he said he knows it won't be filled until he serves a mission, that he knows there are families out there that need him, just like there are families here that need me. It was very spiritual and a great night. Irma Elaine was very happy and crying alot. I talked with him afterwards about missions and sports and lots of other things. It was good to get to talk with him. He is a great guy and will make a great missionary. So thats the week. We had a Christmas party at church on Saturday.
I love you all and am very thankful for the e-mails, letters, and support. Have a great week!
Love, Elder Caldwell

I am so sorry for not updating Chase's blog. For some reason, the blog won't let me copy and paste the email. It cuts off words, so each week I have to type his email in. Well, I don't have a printer, so my mom usually prints them off for me at school and gives them to me. This has not happened because there was a fire at the middle school in the room that houses the internet server and phones for the whole district so, they are without phones and computers. I will continue to keep you updated until the problem is resolved. Thank you for continuing to check on Chase!
Chase is doing WONDERFUL!! He is loving the area of Osasco! He is using the language beautifully and is getting excited to be able to talk to us on the phone so he can speak English for a change! He is teaching a lot of people and has brought a lot of inactive people back to church! He also gets to play soccer on his day off! He is happy and growing spiritually!
Thank you for checking in on him! I will update with a real email as soon as I can!!
Jeanna

November 18, 2009

Hey everybody! Another week has gone by quickly. I am doing good here. We are teaching, teaching, and teaching. We walk alot though. So we had Zone Conference last Thursday and tomorrow is interviews (with President Cooley). Last Thursday I got 6 letters and I hope that I get some tomorrow, but if not, it's okay because the emailing once a week is good. Thanks for all of the emails. I am still doing good and it is very hot here, really hot because here in Brazil it is a very rare thing to encounter an air conditioner, so I live in heat 24/7, but its fine, I am getting used to it and I am getting used to being red also.(I do use sunscreen) I will try to email some pictures next week. Depends on which internet place is open and if I can use my camera to send them or not.
Well, this week we committed another person to baptism, an 18 year old girl named Rafaela. She is investigating with her 30 year old sister who is married with kids. Also I bought some ingredients and made some pizza this week at the house of some of our investigators Sida and Patricia. It went really well and the pizza was great too. I really impressed myself. It was Callabrese (not sure how to spell, but here I jsut spell like things are pronounced). My Portuguese is improving. During Zone Conference all the new missionaries bore there testimonies and all the missionaries that are going home. I was complimented on my Portuguese several times. I still have an American accent when I speak, but I can understand most of what people say to me and can answer back. It's a really good feeling because that first day in the airport, ha, I had no idea what Portuguese was.....and now I speak it every day and don't speak English because I have no body to speak it with.
Today for p-day we went to Wal-Mart (I used the photo center to print a few photos for me) and afterwards we went to the chapel in Novo Osasco with our District which includes me and Elder Dornelles, and two sets of sister missionaries. They cooked lunch and made some really good lime cheese cake. It was great. We played Uno, talked, and everyone showed each other their photos. I had lots of fun. Tonight we are going out to eat with Mara one of our investigators and Sister Christiani. Going to a pizza buffet, suppose to be really good. Mara has come to church a few times and we taught her some lessons with Sister Christiani. They are about the same age, 20-30 area and yeah, pizza should be great. I am pretty excited about it. I went on a division this week. I went to a different area and spent the day and night working in the area of another missionary with another missionary. It went great there. We marked some baptism dates and taught a bunch of people. Sleeping there was horrible. There was a dog that barked right outside the window all night long. It would stop long enough for me to fall asleep, then start again and wake me up. Then last night we stayed at the house of the Zone Leaders, so I didn't sleep too good last night either. We played Uno, but tonight will be great, my own bed ha. Well I love you guys. I am doing great here. I pray for you all and hope that everything is going well. I hope you all have a great week, until next week.....
Love, Elder Chase Caldwell

November 11, 2009- Brazil Blackout!

Hey everybody. This week has been pretty good. We do the usual, walk a lot and teach a lot. Last night we had a Family Home Evening night in the house of one of the members. It is a single mom with a son and a daughter, but they had 4 or 5 friends each over. The lesson went great! The mom is a convert and I am not sure about the children. The son doesn't come to church because he lives with the dad in another city. So we played some games and taught a lesson, had some snacks, it was good. After that we took a bus to the center of Osasco to stay in the house of the Zone Leaders (today we the whole zone, met at the stake center and played soccer and ate pizza). We get there about 10:20 or so and about 10:30 the power goes out, that was pretty crazy, not that its a big deal here, we turned on flashlights and it was time for bed anyways, but we sat outside talking for a while and then went to bed, the blackout was all over about 4:30 this morning the power comes back and there was a portable fan by my feet and it was on, so I got very cold very quickly and woke up, moved the fan and went back to sleep for two hours. Soccer today went great, I really enjoyed playing and I played pretty well with and against the Brazilians. I scored a lot of goals. I didn't think I would get to send email because of the blackout, because some areas do not have internet access, but we found a internet shop that has internet. We have some good investigators that we are gong to visit tonight. I think that it will go pretty good. Also, we set a baptism date for Mara, one of our investigators. Its great to see how happy the gospel can make people and how happy all the recent converts are that live here. Its good to get the emails from all of you guys, thanks for all the love and support. Tomorrow is Zone conference, so I can recieve letters tomorrow if I have any waiting at the mission home. Also, next Thursday I can get letters too because it is our interviews with the Mission President that we have every transfer. The next transfer date is December 2nd, I am hoping that my companion and I both stay here in JD Velasco. We work well together and I really like it here. Oh, and I know that they say about Mexico don't drink the water, well here they said in the CTM don't drink the water or eat from street vendors. Well, I drank the water and ate from street venders and well, nothing happened, except that it was some of the best food I have ever had, ha. I drink mostly filtered water. We have 20 gallon jugs of water in our house for drinking. But some of the members don't have filtered water, and I drink it when we are there and I don't really taste a difference. I haven't gotten sick or felt sick or anything and many others drink the water, too, so I don't think its that big of a deal, yet I still bring my water bottle with me when I go places or stop by the church to get a drink, the water there is filtered. Well, my time is up for the week guys, I love you all very much! I hope and pray that all is well for you all and things continue to go great1
Love, Elder Chase Caldwell

November 4, 2009 - 2nd email from Osasco

Hey everybody! This week has been pretty good. Very, very hot week though. Sun all day every day with no clouds in the sky. Today we went to the Pico de Jaragua. It is a state park here, you guys should check it out online. It was pretty sweet. I will be sending pictures whenever I can get them developed. We taught a lot of lessons this week, it was pretty good. We do walk everywhere, except when we go to Sao Paulo for meetings or things like that then we take the crowded hot buses. We have lunch appointments everday here except for p-days because lunch is a huge meal here and dinner is really small. We spent the night at our Zone Leaders house last night because
they went with us to Jaragua today and we stayed up playing UNO for a while, ha, it was fun. Elder Brooksby got transferred, and Emily Hummel said that Elder Ellertson just got transferred out of her ward, but that Elder Bessler is there now. Things are going great here. I am no longer white in the face or arms, I am an interesting shade of red (yes I use sunscreen). Except for underneath where my watch is, my arm is very white right there. Next p-day I think I am going to get to play soccer (first time in Brazil) so I hope that goes pretty well. At our district meeting on Monday I saw one of my teachers from the CTM Irmao Rocha, he was excited to see me and invited my copanion and I, along with Elder Oldroyd and his companion to come eat breakfast with him on a p-day. He lives in Osasco very close to where I live actually, but he is in a different ward. The stake center is huge, it puts ours to shame. The stake center here is big like a school would be, with 2 floors, parking garage, elevators, etc....its pretty nice. It has a soccer area and basketball area too. This internet place is pretty nice. They have American music playing, so I can hear good songs that I like. I got some letters yesterday because the ZL had a meeting with the President and they went to the mission home and checked for mail, so I will send out replies to those whenever I get a chance. My personal scripture study, I finished Alma and Helaman, and am enjoying 3rd Nephi. Chapter 11 is a great chapter.
Well, I do not have very much email time this week. We got back later than expected from Jaragua and we have to get to work soon. I love you all, sorry if I didn't get an email sent to you this week, I love you though! Well, everyone, take care, have a great week, I love you all and will talk to you next week!
Love, Elder Caldwell

October 28, 2009 - Life in Osasco

Hey everybody!
This week has been great. I am serving in JD Veloso in Osasco. We live in a house, just Elder Dornelles and I. It is bigger than some of the houses the other Elders get in the mission, so I got lucky. Also it has a washing machine, so that is lucky too! Well, I really love the area here. The people are great. They take care of me very nicely. This Sunday was the Primary Program. It was very spiritual and a very great program. My Portuguese is coming along nicely since I do not have anyone to speak English with. I think a lot in Portuguese now too. We had two confirmations on Sunday at church, so that was great. We also have a couple of people we have committed to baptism in a few weeks, so we will see how that goes through. Richard G. Scott on Saturday was amazing. It was cool to get to meet him and have a group picture taken with him. Elder Oldroyd is also in Osasco so I get to see him once a week at our district meeting, which is cool. I remember to wear sun screen, but I do have some color on my skin for once in my life. lol I think I will continue to get darker during my time here. Richard G. Scott spoke on many things, he said that during personal scripture study we need (as missionaries) to focus on studying the Scriptures in our own Native language. He talked a lot about different aspects and teaching situations. He also shared his testimony that he knows that Jesus Christ lives, he has no doubts and knows HE lives. He has a very powerful testimony.
So on Monday or Segunda, it rained like crazy here. The streets were flooding and we were eating in a members house, then her house started flooding because the rain caused the water systems and pipes to the houses to back up, so we helped sweep the rain out and all the other sewage and laundry water into the flooding streets and we ended up being at her house for about 5 hours eating, teaching and then doing service by helping with the house. It was a fun experience. After that we walked soaking wet to an investigators house and taught, then had family night with a family in the ward where the dad is a recent convert. It was good fun. We played some games and taught a lesson and they shared a lesson. I am really enjoying doing missionary work here in Brazil. I love it here and I love the people. They are so nice and giving even though most of them do not have very much. Oh and in case you did get it last week, my permanent mailing address is this address:
Elder Emory Chase Caldwell
Rua Dr. Rui Batista Pereira, 165
Jardim Caxingui
05517-080 Sao Paulo, SP
Brazil

I love you all very much. Thanks for all of the emails, it is great to hear from you all.
Love, Elder Emory Chase Caldwell

OCTOBER 21, 2009 - First letter from Osasco, Sao Paulo

Oi familia, como voces vao? I am doing good here. The mission home was great last night. We went through some training meetings, then we went and ate at the President (missions pres) apartment, and had some amazing carrot cake and chicken. It was an amazing apartment. They had a whole floor as where they lived, basically a house, huge with loads of rooms. Then we had down time til 5:00, Brazil time, oh by the way, we put our clocks ahead an hour on Sunday, so I am now 3 to 4 hours ahead of everyone back home now, depending on what day or when you guys set your clocks back an hour. It is very hot here, and since it it summer soon or now basically it will be getting hotter soon, fortunately, it rains whenever it wants, even when the sun is out so those days will be nice cool down days. Anyways, at 5:00 on Tuesday night we went teaching, I got paired up with Elder Oldroyd to go teach with a Zone Leader. So our first appointment was to teach English lessons. There is a woman the missionaries are teaching here, who's daughter is trying to learn English for a job, so they will teach her English using the Book of Mormon and other English learning books. Afterwards we taught a lesson, we were there for a little over an hour. After that we walked for some other appointments, but a few weren't home, so we went to some other houses and made several contacts during the time we were walking around. It doesn't count to just say hi to someone and they say hi back. You acually have to talk to them for it to count, so that was fun and entertaining. We ate loads of Brazilian pizza afterwards, it was really good, especially the crazy chocolate pizza. So the next day we got up at 6:30 which is the usaual time, and went to go to the chapel (one chapel is being prepared for Richard G. Scott to come speak at) so we had to walk 30 minutes to another church building. So we get there and we have a transfer meeting, and they announce where everyone is and is going to be. It was neat. They leave the names next to the trainers blank so that the new guys to not find out their companions until the end. Well anyways, I am now serving in Osasco, in what I was told is the Ghetto area....it is a nice looking area, but there are houses and poor people everywhere. We live in a house here. (I will send pictures) It is very interesting here, but I like it, it feels like home and I am not nervous either. My companion is Elder Dornelles, he is a Brazilian and has been serving for 9 months, he does not know any English, but it is okay because we talk in Portuguese anyways. I will be teaching him English if he wants to learn since it can help with getting a job here. He is a really good missionary and know what he is doing, so I will learn and grow a whole lot with him teaching and training me on the things I should do. It is a good crash course in Portuguese too, since only one other missionary in the district (to my knowledge, speaks English), but its cool. lol. I am having a good time here. I unpacked, we have walked around a lot and made some contacts. It is p-day, too, so I can e-mail as long as the e-mail places over here (in the area) work still. I am very happy to be serving here in Brazil, It is an amazing place and the people are great. I really love it here. Oh and also I might have forgotten to mention that Richard G. Scott is coming to the mission on Saturday, so I get to go hear him speak. He is going to be training mission presidents next week and will speak to our mission. It is about an hour bus ride to the Mission Home from here in Osasco. Which the Mission Home is an old house (nice house) that belonged to James E. Faust. It is a really cool place. Well I love you all a lot, I hope all is well. Things are going great here in Brazil for me. I hope all is going well for you guys, thanks for the support.
Love, Elder Chase Caldwell

Oh, to answer some questions I got in emails.
Yes, it is very hot here and rainy whenever it decides that it wants to be.
Transfers are every six weeks starting today. This transfer ends on December 2. So I will at least be here until then, maybe longer, it all just depends.
Elder Oldroyd is serving in Osasco also (he is also Sao Paulo North Mission) He is in my Zone, but not my District. His area isn't too far from here though.
Mine has most of the Flavelias (I can't spell that word)
This week I have been reading Alma in the Book of Mormon, and I really enjoy it, the chapters about the sons of Mosiah are great.
I love you guys!

OCTOBER 13, 2009-LAST LETTER FROM CTM

Hey everybody! This week went by extremely fast. We went to the Temple again today and are about to go out to eat with our teachers because this is our last p-day in the CTM. I hope Casey is doing okay after the car incident. Good thing they traded cars for the day. I just finished eating at the big all you can eat restaurant and had my last Coke for two years(in my mission, missionaries are not allowed to have Coke, but oh well, I do not need to drink it anyways). I ate snake today too, that was one of the things they had cooked up to serve there and it was really good, along with the chicken hearts and etc. On Friday we went proselyting and we placed both of the Books of Mormon that we had. We walked around for a long time (thousands and thousands of people all around this area we went to) It was a big downtown plaza area between two big bridges that had people selling stuff on them. It was incredible how many people were there. I felt really bad seeing the homeless people all over the place. They had cardboard boxes and a blanket and were just trying to sleep and laying around all over, it was a very sad sight.
One guy we meet gave us his address to send other missionaries to come teach him(the ones that are serving where he lives) he worked at a really big BMW dealership and was fluent in at least 3 languages. It was interesting speaking with him. On Sunday night the Mission President of our mission came to speak at the fireside. It was a great talk, he spoke on obedience and being obedient. He said that we need to be obedient like Joseph Smith was to the will of the Lord, rather than how Saul was to the will of the Lord. He told us the story about Samuel and Saul in the Bible. That Saul was not obedient, therefore Samuel had to tell him that the Lord repententh of calling you to be King. He said that we do not want or need the Lord to say that He repententh of calling us as missionaries or as His servants, representatives. I am excited to get out into the field. I should be able to email every week out in the field, the only week I am not sure about is if I get transferred to a new area, so next week I may not be able to email, since I will be leaving the CTM and heading off to my first area assignment. Thanks everyone for the emails. I have started studying my scriptures and crossreferencing everything. I ended up crossreferencing first Nephi and found out that Lehi is a descendant of Mannassah(can not spell that name) and that Ishmel was a descendant of Ephriam, and all kinds of really interesting things that I did not know about. It really has kept me into my studies to cross reference things. Also the book, Jesus the Christ, is such a great book. I really love it alot. I recommend that everyone read it. It is very long and sometimes tough to read, but it gives a great appreciation for the life of the Savior and the Plan of Salvation as well as many other things. Once I get out into the field, I will start to read it again. I have already read it here at the CTM along with True to the Faith, OUr Search for Happiness, Preparation Preceeds Power(which I recommend to all the young men age guys who plan on serving a mission), the Book of Mormon, and the New Testament. Preach my Gospel is also a very great study tool. I study topics in it and then base my scripture study off of that also. Well, this week is going quickly, I am going to start getting things cleaned up and packed up so I do not have to worry about it the night before we leave because I want to remember everything and not leave stuff here. I love all of you guys so very much! Have a great couple of weeks if you do not hear from me next week.
Love, Elder Emory Chase Caldwell

OCTOBER 6. 2009

Hey everybody. This week was great, i enjoyed all 5 sessions of general 
conference. It was such a great conference, i got so much out of all of the 
talks. Elder Hollands talk was very powerful, as are all of his talks, we have 
heard several of his talks her at the CTM because he gives talks to missionaries 
(we watch on the computer) and he is such and strong and spiritual speaker. I 
really liked all of the talks, they all meant something to me in different ways 
and had me thinking of people from back at home. I loved conference. Well this 
week we go Proselyting in the big area in Sao Paulo, like with loads of people. 
Maybe in the Subway or train station or on the big street market. It will be 
crazy and interesting but i am confident that my companion and i can do it.  One 
of the members of our branch presidency said in a letter to me (we have to write 
letters to the branch presidency each week, and they reply to us) he said that 
his son is friends with Irmao (brother) Alexandre (one of my teachers) and that 
Alexandre told him that my companion and I were the best in the our district in 
speaking Portuguese and comprehending things. We teach good things and have a 
nice vocabulary in Portuguese. That was a great confidence booster for me, i am 
so happy and excited to get out there and teach. Also start sending any mail for 
me to the Mission HOme address, Mom if you could make sure that people have that 
mailing address, that is the only address that i can get mail out while i am in 
the feild, and there are only a few times that i can get mail each six weeks.  
But i will continue to write and e-mail people as i have been. I am sure i will 
still get to e-mail, but i just will only get all the letters from you guys once 
every six weeks. I am okay with that, i think it will make the time fly by 
quickly. This week we did not go to the temple, but we probably will next week, 
which will be really busy, because i leave the CTM on the 20th of October! so i 
do not know if i will get to e-mail or write you guys that week, because of 
getting transfered somewhere. HOwever wed. is the P-day, so there is still a 
chance that i can. We spend Tuesday night in the mission home (the 20th) and 
have a pizza party (also we go teaching and proselyting after we arrive there 
that morning).  So we will just see how that goes. This week if any letters were 
sent to the ctm i will still get them, but after this week they should all be 
sent to the Mission Home. Which will be my mailing address for the rest of the 
mission (remember there is an address for packages and an address for letters at 
the mission home) Well Its great to hear from all you guys e-mails. I dont need 
anymore gift certificates from Cheneys i am doing good with what i have. I have 
had a great and spiritual week. I am excited to read (whenever it comes out and 
i can find one) the conference issue of the ensign for this conference.  Well i 
love you guys, I pray for your saftey and that everything will go great for all 
of you guys. I love you all and enjoy hearing from  you all as well, Love, Elder 
Chase Caldwell 

Six weeks already!!! September 29, 2009

Hey everyone. This week was a pretty good week. I enjoyed the food a lot this week, I don't know why, but it just seemed to taste better.
Another guy in my district was sick this week, but we gave him a blessing and he is doing better now. I heard that Emily had the flu. That's not good, I hope you are better.
It was a testimony meeting here also, because of conference and everyone in my district shared our testimonies. I talked about proselyting. It was a great experience. I had a huge headache at the time we were going, so that was a little difficult, but it went well.
The first guy that we talked to was drunk and he talked to us for about 15 minutes. Then when we finally got away from him, we talked to a few others with no luck. Then we had two people in a row that we taught the first lesson to and gave them books of Mormon. It was sweet to see how excited they were as we were sharing our message with them. It was a very great experience. So, after that, we had about 15 minutes where we did not find anyone that was interested, so I told my companion that we should go back around by the CTM. So, we do and we go around the corner and nobody was there, so I said lets just wait here for a second and somebody will come. Then a minute later we see a guy walking down the street and we felt we should talk to him. We did and as we did he got so excited. We shared some scriptures with him and he told us that the missionaries came and visited him in his home in Rio De Janeiro. That he has only visited with them one time, but that he reads from the Book of Mormon (a few pages) at night time whenever he gets a chance. He said he is in like Jacob. So we gave him a chapter in Alma to read and some other verses to read, including Moroni 10:3-5. Told him just to keep reading, pray, and call the missionaries to come visit him. He was still interested just could not get in touch with the Elders. So, anyways, we share our testimonies with him and thank him for his time and he heads off. After that we placed one more Book of Mormon and talked to a bunch of people. It was a great experience and I was not nervous like I thought I would be. It was not hard to do. Well that is it for this week. I am looking forward to General Conference this weekend. I am excited for it. It is a break from the regular class time studies and etc. I love you guys, I pray for you all daily. Take care, do not get sick, and have a great week everyone.
Love, Elder Caldwell

September 22, 2009 Week Five.....

Hey, everyone. Good week for me. I hope you all have had great weeks. So our devotional speaker on Thursday was the founder and owner of the airline company Jet Blue. It was a really good talk. He talked to us about his mission he served in Brazil. (oh his company also has a big airline in Brazil also) He speaks both Portuguese and English. He just says to focus on the work here 1,000 percent and to do your best. Take advantage of the study time I have now at the CTM because I will be wanting that in a few weeks whenever we are in the field. Saturday at 9:45 we did our teaching practice with the Brazilians and I thought that it went great. We were the only companionship in our district to answer all the guys questions and make it all the way through the lesson within the time limit, all in Portuguese. We had to start with a practice door greeting and had to get into the house(classroom) in order to teach them. We had a big microphone hanging in front of our faces and a camera pointing at us from the top of the room directly in front of us, so after we taught, we went and watched how we did. The first time our instructor Irmao Alexandre watched my companion and I and said we did excellent. I did not realize we knew as much Portuguese as we actually did. It went very well and was great. I can understand a lot more when reading but am getting to the point that I recognize most of the words that are spoken in Portuguese. They sound simialar to English words and Spanish words that mean the same thing so it is not too difficult. I still wish I could learn it faster, but our Branch President told us that we will all be fluent in 3-5 months. Since once we are in the field you pretty much have to speak Portuguese. This Friday is the day that we go proslyting(walk around the neighborhood and try to get appointments and potential investigators for the missionaries that are in the field to teach and place Livros de Mormon) I think it will be fun, yet at the same time I am pretty nervous about doing it. It is easy to go to the store and buy stuff and ask questions. Some words I think in Portuguese I do not even think of the English word for it, I just naturally know what it is. Looking at a book, I think livro now, do not even call it a book. So today we went to the Temple again in Sao Paulo, it is such a beautiful temple. Anyways, I got into a conversation with a temple worker in Portuguese, he asked what mission I was going to and then said that he had been a temple worker for 11 years in Sao Paulo, and a member for 30 years. He has 6 kids and all 20 members of his family are members of the church. He was a very happy man and smiled a lot, it was fun to talk to him. I love talking to the Brazilians here about soccer. It is hilarous, not all of them like soccer, most like either the LA Lakers or the San Antonio Sours, or basketball. The ones that like soccer are fun to talk to because I know a bunch about soccer so it makes for some pretty good conversations. There are 3 big rival teams here in the Sao Paulo area and so everyone is a fan of one of the three and they do not like any of the other teams, its funny. The instructors always try to talk the missionaries into supporting the team that is their favorite. I learned some more Portuguese words and phrases this week, as usual and re-read some of Jesus the Christ and finished it, then started reading in Our Search for Happiness. Great books. The Brazilians are always asking my companion and I if we are related, like brothers or cousins or something, because they think we look alike, and then we are both from Texas (which we tell them is the best state ever). I ran into Elder Hurst the other day (mom) and talked with him for a few minutes. We are a few weeks ahead of him, because he got here late with the Visa thing. But he said his mom had told him to look for me. Well, that is about it for this week. I love you guys and hope all is well. My week was great. I hope you have a great one this week as well.
Love,
Elder Chase Caldwell

September 15, 2009-Email #4

Hey, family and friends,
This week was a great one. My companion and I have been working on our Portuguese and yesterday, we taught the first lesson in Portuguese. We get to teach to a Brazilian family on Saturday as like a progress tester and I feel pretty confident bout it. We went to the Sao Paulo Temple again today and it was as amazing looking to me as ever. I love it. This language is great, we got two new Brazilian companions in our room and I have been able to have some pretty good conversations with them about things. I still have to make some hand gestures but its okay, they understand. Thanks for all the letters this week, too guys. Shelly I did get that card from you. I still have more than all the other people in my district. Sister Hummel sent me letters from all of the seminary students, so my total jumped up from that too. KK thanks a bunch for the Mr. Cheney's certificate, I really appreciate it.
I have been reading the book, Jesus the Christ,(out of the set of books I was given), it is amazing. I have read 274 pages since last Wednesday. It has really helped me gain an even stronger testimony of Christ. The weekly devotional that is usually tonight has been moved to Thursday night, some people think that might mean we are going to be getting a General Authority or someone to speak, but I don't know. We have had the Sao Paulo Sur, and Sao Paulo Oeste Mission presidents speak this last week and they all have amazing stories, which I have written in my notebook/journal. I am still having a great time here and the food is good still. We had some the other day that was totally nasty, but the beans and rice were still good that day so it helped a lot. I really enjoyed it. I have been drinking lots of water, Sunkist, and grape juice, my 3 favorite drinks that they have here. Breakfast gets boring because it is ham and cheese sandwiches everyday. Sometimes cereal or pancakes, but it is not that great. I am really thankful for that last pancake breakfast nana made for me a little before I left, I just imagine eating that every morning when eating the boring food. Pizza night is still great, the regular pizza like cheese and pepp. tastes nasty, the weird stuff is what tastes good here. I guess just how they cook it. But I am not going to complain, I like the food. One Brazilian said that Sao Paulo Norte has the best food (he was from there) and that it is so much better than CTM food....I am really looking forward to that. Well I was a little sick this week, but got some medicine and am better now, so nothing to worry about. We are going out to eat with one of our teachers today, he is hilarious, he just got back from his mission 5 months ago. Our other teacher had a bad experience this week. He drove his car home and as the garage was closing, 4 guys with guns told him to get out and take them into the house to his sage(his family has no safe), so they tie up him, his dad, mom, sister, aunt, and friend, and they steal almost everything in their house. They were really mean until they found out that they had the wrong house and this family was religious. They in all stole about 100,000 REALS worh of stuff. Plus two cars. The mom told one theif (in the name of Jesus Christ I command you not to steal that laptop computer) and he hid it and told her not to tell the other guys that he didn't steal it. Our teacher said that this experience really strengthened his testimony, but he was so mad his car and everything was stolen. Plus he has been trying to have enough money to get married to his girlfriend, but now this has set him back, so they are upset about it, they live in different cities in Brazil. Well that is all I have time for right now. I love you all so much and miss you, I really appreciate you guys sending me letters and e-mails, have a great week.
Love, Elder Caldwell

LETTER SENT TO ME AFTER THE ONE ABOVE:
I love and miss all you guys, keep going strong.... Oh, also, I just ate at an all you can eat buffett.....I had armadillo, chicken hearts, wild boar, cow skin/fat, massive beef ribs, sausage, beans with rice, fries, and rolls. Ha, it was so good. They cook it and jusst keep throwing stuff on your plate. It was great, though sounded nasty. Well, I love you, mom, keep strong and have a great week. I love you. Love, Chase

Email # 3

Hey everyone, this week has gone by super fast for me, its crazy. I knew they would start going by faster once I started getting letters and getting to look forward to e-mail. The Elder that was sick still has a sore throat and a bad cough, and he gave it to my companion so now he is kinda sick again, thats the second time he has been sick. He hadn't been sick in forever since before his mission, but now is catching everything. Well we had some more chocolate banana pizza on Wednesday. It was just as good as before. They have so many good foods here, yet so many weird and not so good ones also. It is very interesting. I have had a great week. We have had some very good speakers at the firesides and devotionals. Sunday was a testimony meeting and some of the Elders in my branch were leaving so we heard all of their testimonies, and then time was pretty much up. (we go to church in branches at the CTM because there are at least 400 missionaries here) I love it here, this place is so beautiful. Today as we were walking to the supermarket it started raining super hard, I had an umbrella but was still completely wet. It was crazy, it just dropped out of nowhere. The rain was great, very refreshing and everything seems so much cleaner and fresh. I'm very please to be here, I know it is what I need to be doing. I love D&C 100:1-2. Great scripture there, we got it in a talk and the speaker said that it can have more special meaning to you if you put your name in for the names in the scripture. So I did that and it has helped me if I ever start to worry about any of you guys back at home. The Brazilian companions we have had for 3 weeks left today, we get new ones on Thursday, but the ones we had were so cool. I've taken pictures of them and the next p-day, I am going to try and mail some pictures home. But names are Elder Almedia and Elder moraes, Elder Moraes is a local Stake President's son, and he was excited that the four American Elders in our room were going to be serving in his area. The cookies at Cheney's are good, I enjoyed them so much when I had them last week. I have practiced my Portuguese even more and can pray, say by testimony, have people commit to reading something or praying about something, ask common questions like how is it going and everything. I know the purpose of a missionary in Portuguese, as well as Joseph Smiths first vision and some articles of faith. I feel great about the language and know as long as I continue to do what is right I can continue to learn the language nicely, my companion is doing really well with it also, his accent is more actually Portuguese sounding than mine, but people still know what I am saying. I actually remember a lot of the Spanish I learned in high school and it has really helped me out during my time here so far, and I know it will continue to do so. So take a language class in high school, it is very helpful with things you may do during life. It hasn't been the most entertaining week, but I have learned a lot. I love all of you guys very much and miss you. I think about you frequently. I kow I am doing what I need to be. Thats all for this week, hopefully next week I'll have better stuff to talk about.
Love, Elder Chase Caldwell

Email # TWO!!! SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

Hey guys, I don't have a lot of e-mail time again today, we went to the Campinas Temple this morning and got back this afternoon, it was beautiful and I had a great time, I just wish I had more time to e-mail and stuff. I did get the cookies from Mr. Cheneys and they were great, thanks for the internet time, milk, and cookies. My internet time will carry on next week since p-day ends soon today, so next week I will be able to send a much longer e-mail. Everything is still going great, I am learning more and more Portuguese each day, it is still a bit hard to understand whenever people talk to you, but not as hard to speak or pray. I can say a nice long prayer in Portuguese now, its great. I sent Emily, Camri, Emily, and Nana letters in the mail this week to reply to the ones they sent me, so be looking for those either end of this week or start of next week, because I can only send letters in the mail on Tuesdays, so anyways keep me updated on how everything is going at home. On Sunday I lead the music during Sacrament meeting, Sunday school, and Priesthood. We had great lessons and it was a good experience having to lead the music. It was a great joy getting the letters from Emily Hummel Thursday, and Nana, Emily, and Camri on Friday. Letters really help cheer me up (I don't usually get too sad anyways) so send letters if you can, right now I am leading my district with 4 letters, next two guys have 3, one with 1 letter, and the other 4 have not gotten anything yet. But mail gets everyone excited and really makes the day of the person who is getting the mail. One of the companions in my room is sick, so I really hope I don't get it, I would hate to get sick, he keeps sitting by me everytime, lol, just by chance I keep having to sit by him, its alright , I don't get sick (right dad). I am glad that people are asking about me, makes me feel good. Next week, I will bring my journal here with me and type all about my week in more detail. Keep having everyone write to me, it is great to hear from people.
I have been reading 2nd Nephi and Jacob in personal studay and those are two of my favorite books in the Book of Mormon, or O Livro De Mormon. Well, the area around here is great, there are buildings as far as the eye can see from our window. I am hoping to send some pictures soon. Things are still going very great here, we have a fireside every Sunday night and a devotional every Wednesday night, they are really great, we get to hear from some really good speakers, some are members of the Area 70, and Stake Presidents, etc. It is great.
I love all of you, thanks for the help and support.
Love, Elder Caldwell

CHASE'S FIRST EMAIL!!! August 25, 2009

Chase's email address is: CaldwellChaseSP@myldsmail.net
On to the letter:

Hey Mom and Dad, and everyone else. How are things going for you?
I'm doing good here, I really like it and am enjoying myself.
I do miss you all a lot, but i'm not homesick or letting it bother me.
We have pizza every wednesday night and the chocolate, banana and
cheese pizza is amazing. My p-days are on Tuesdays 
while i'm in the CTM. I only get a little bit of time to e-mail
so i can't get much typed. Since it is p-day i can e-mail from here,
and then go across the street to the Cookie internet shop
for more time, its just busy over here at the CTM, so thats the plan.
Do pass this e-mail address on to everyone so that anyone can
e-mail me whenever they'd like. My companion is Elder Oldroyd,
he is from Texas, Fort Worth actually. After i went through security
at the airport it was about thirty minutes before the next Elder showed up
and it was an Elder from Santa Barbara, CA.  We talked for a while then
another Elder and a Sister missionary from Utah showed up so we all went
and ate popeyes at the airport.The flight was really cool, long,
and boring.  It wasn't scary at all, just felt like a mega long
bus ride. We had a lot of Turbulance on our flight once we got 
near Sao Paulo (it was storming) and Elder Warner from Orem,
Utah threw up. Fortunately i didn't get sick. The airport in
Sao Paulo wasn't too bad, they didn't go through any bags so i got
to keep all my candy, gum, and crackers.  
Also excuse the grammer, the keys are a little bit different
on this portuguese computer, so I keep hitting the wrong buttons.
I did feel really sick to my stomach early one morning but i had my
companion give me a blessing and i've felt better since.
Also we don't eat scraps here, it is really good food, i am 
really enjoying it. Meats, Veggies, Soups, Fruits and
such at everymeal. Well the language learning is going really nicely
also, we've learned a bunch of words and grammer, as well as how to pray
in Portuguese. This is a very spiritual place and I can feel
my testimony growing everyday from being here.  I 
am thankful for all the letters i recieved from you all before
the flight so that i was able to have stuff to read on the flight.
It was very nice to read. 
Thanks mom, dad, Emily H., and Emily C.
I've read the note from Keith that night at the party, its a good one.
I will have more time to e-mail next week, it took 
a while to get it set up this week and not much is going on.
We have to prepare talks every week in our Branches here,
last weeks was on Faith, and this weeks on Hope.
They randomly call out the names of the speakers during sacrament 
meeting right before time to give the talk. We went to the Sao Paulo Temple
this morning, and it is a very beautiful Temple.
It is small but a very great Temple.
I bought a Little Portuguese Hymn book at the Distribution Center.
Oh and as typing this i just saw someone walk by with the same back pack
as me, mine is way cooler and better looking though with Elder Caldwell
stitched into it. Well i love all of you guys and hope everything is going great!
I'll e-mail you again next week.
Hopefully you got the letter in the mail with my mailing 
address in case anyone wants to right me a normal letter. Well love you, 
 
Elder Caldwell 

SAFELY IN BRAZIL.....AUGUST 19, 2009!!!!!

I received the email letting me know that Chase made it safely to Brazil! This is one of many prayers answered! We have already been blessed as Chase now begins his two year journey serving the Lord. Thanks for all of your phone calls, messages, and comments! I filled in Chase's address so please feel free to send letters!! I will be updating the blog at least once a week. Please leave us comments so we know you were here!
Thanks, Jeanna

Dear Parents,

We are happy to send the good news that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil MTC. What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they come through the front door of the MTC for the first time.

They now have companions and are settled into their rooms. They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study. The branch presidents and their wives, who are usually a senior missionary couple or mature Brazilian couple, will soon give them a second greeting. These couples are rewarded in their callings through the love they always develop as they embrace and watch over the missionaries.

The MTC has a full time live-in physician to care for their health needs. He is assisted by his able wife. We are also happy to report that the Cafeteria food is abundant and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple. This will be either Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on individual assignments.

We are also parents of children who have served as missionaries. And we have been missionaries who have left family. Please know that we are mindful of you and know of your love for your missionary.

Your very important young person is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. We hope you will be encouraged and comforted by this quote by President Lorenzo Snow: “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder [sister] when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children.”

Please accept our love,

President and Sister Woodward

Important information . . .

We Strongly discourage sending packages to the Brazil Missionary Training Center.
If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC and it arrives after your missionary has left for the field, please understand that the package cannot be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you.

WE Strongly eNCOURAGE sENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS.
CHASE'S MAILING ADDRESS:

Elder Emory Chase Caldwell
Brazil Sao Paulo North Mission
District (34-A) Box (2)
Brasil CTM
Rua Padre Antônio D’Angelo, 121
Casa Verde, São Paulo, SP
Brazil 02516-040

DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers. We can only accept mail sent through the U.S. Postal System

Saying goodbye.....AUGUST 18, 2009 DFW Airport

Saying goodbye is never easy.....or at least it's not for me! It was bitter sweet! Tears of sadness and of joy mixed together to make a bitter sweet moment that will forever be in my heart. Chase hugged everyone goodbye one last time and we watched as he went through security and then disappear down the hall of the airport. This is all I can write, for my tears take over, so I will leave you with some pictures. Enjoy.....

One last get together.....

MONDAY- AUGUST 17, 2009

Of course, we had to have one last get together! We had a special Family Home Evening at Nana's house, where we all took turns sharing our love for the Savior and special words to Chase. It was very emotional and I will never forget it! We then wrote out goals that we want to accomplish before Chase gets home in two years and put them all in a time capsule that Chase buried in my mom's flower bed. It will be exciting to dig it up when Chase returns!

Sunday, August 16th - Set apart as a missionary...

Sunday was a very special day, as Chase was officially called to be a missionary. We had 55 people that drove to Gilmer to participate in this wonderful blessing! Chase is going to be an awesome missionary!

Family - August 16, 2009

AUGUST 16TH

We've enjoyed getting to spend so much time with our family the past few days as we prepare for Chase to leave on his mission. Words cannot express the joy and gratitude we feel in our hearts. We spent time with Nene, Pepaw, Connie, Chris, Aunt Sandra, and Mamaw Chaix. Wonderful memories that will not be forgotten.
Thanks Nene and Pepaw for all that you do and have done to help
Chase with his mission!!! We love you!!!!

Family, food, and fun...all for Chase! AUGUST 14th.

We decided to get together so Chase could swim one last time before he left for his mission. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and yummy desserts! Thanks to Judd and Shelly for letting us have this at their home! We mostly had family attend, but invited a few family friends and one of Chase's friends from high school stopped by. The kids had a good time in the pool and Chase enjoyed getting to visit and talk with everyone. I am grateful that Chase has so many people that have been involved with his mission! My favorite part of the evening was when all the kids lined up at the edge of the pool and counted to three, and they all jumped in together at the same time for Chase! It was an emotional evening and one that I won't forget! Chase is an example to us all and I know he will make a good missionary! Enjoy the pictures from the evening.....

The journey begins.....with one letter

After what seemed like a lifetime, Chase received his mission call on April 24, 2009.
We called our family and friends to meet us at the church and be with us when he opened the letter. Wow! It was such an exciting moment! We had someone filming, someone taking pictures, and we had several cell phones all turned with people listening in as he opened and read his destination.
We put up a huge United States map and we all wrote on sticky notes where we thought he would be going and placed them on the map!

We also had a bag full of different items so that when he saw where he was going, he would put on that item and we would try to guess where it was he would be going! It seemed like forever as he carefully tore open the envelope!





Notice all the cell phones lined up on the table in front of him. Can you tell that I am a nervous wreck there in the background??? I could not wait to hear the news!





As he opened the letter, I told him to get out the item he needed from the bag and put it on so we could start guessing! He looked at me and said, "there is nothing in the bag to go with where I am going!" Total panic crossed my mind as I thought we had everything covered. It was then as he read the words:
You are called to serve a mission in the Brazil Sao Paulo North Mission. Everyone let a a scream of OH's and AHH's and lots of laughter....of course, I was left in shock!




Here is Chase with our current missionaries that are now serving in the East Texas mission. This is Elder Richmond and Elder Ellertson. They have been so good to let Chase go out with them on teaching appointments, etc. This not only helps to prepare Chase for his mission, but also strengthens his testimony. I am thankful that the missionaries were able to be there for Chase and share in this great moment in time!


Thanks to all you that helped us get prepared that evening with cameras, maps, videos, cell phones, etc, and just for being there to share with us this special moment of a lifetime! We appreciate all that you do and continue to be there for Chase.

more pics to follow......

The Mission Call.....April 24,2009

Waiting for Chase's mission call in the mail was so exciting! Every day, Chase and I would race to get the mail, thinking it would arrive. Day after day, we watched and waited....and then it came! I was about to leave the house when I saw the mailman approaching. I jumped out of the van and rushed to meet him halfway into the yard, followed by Chase running out of the house, jumping off the porch and over the bushes to meet him, too! Oh, to see the look of horror on that poor mailman's face! As we were rushing towards him, I was explaining to him the reason of our behavior.....I am sure it was quite a sight! When I saw the large white envelope in his hand, I quickly grabbed it and started jumping and spinning around the yard screaming, "YES!!! YES!!!! IT CAME!!! IT CAME!!! AAAHHHH!!" I'm sure my neighbors and the mailman think I'm crazy! As soon as we had the letter, we called our family and friends and told them to meet us at the church and we would wait to open it then. Oh, it was so hard having to wait..... I still look back to this historical day and laugh! Oh the joy of receiving the "mission call!"