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