Elder Gurksnis Goes to Brazil

In our ward there is us 2 and also another companionship of sisters, and this week we decided we would all stand in front of the chapel (its on a pretty main road) and literally invite EVERYONE who walked by to enter in and see how the church is. Almost everyone here in Brazil has heard of our church along with many crazy things they think that we do, so we knew if we could people inside the chapel to see how beautiful and Christ centered it is, they would have a better idea of it all. It actually went way better than I thought. We were able to do tours with lots of people. The sisters were even able to mark a baptismal date. We met some great people who are interested in getting to know the church a little better.  We also went to the church headquarters here in São Paulo for a day for a training with a financial analyst from the church. It was way cool and we were right next to the temple and the new visitors center. And of course, we ate really well at the bbq place next to ...

This week we definitely had some ups and downs. We had lots of struggles with our recent investigators which made the week a little tough. It was hard not to feel a little down, but we are always blessed with high points when we continue to trust in the Lord in these hard times. One of those high points was last night. We went to try out a new area and kind of just knocked doors the majority of the night. But the result was actually amazing. We ended up marking like 9 return visits just from one street! We found a lot of interesting people who were really interested in hearing about the restored gospel.  The other high point has been getting to know Luis. Luis is the dad of a recent convert here in our ward. His son is actually an amazing story who was taught by missionaries in the US actually, then returned home, was baptized here, and went back to study at BYU Idaho already. He is a stud from what I've heard. His dad has always accompanied him to church and has grown his own ...

so this week was a gooood one really. We worked so hard with the little time we have and we were seriously blessed for that. We are already seeing lots of miracles happening in our area. For example, 2 people that werent even expecting just showed up to church on Sunday! On Saturday, we were knocking a few doors close to the church and one guy looked out his window pretty mad and i left the best invite i could with him. Then he told me that i woke him up and started cussing me out. Long story short, it didnt go too well with him, but we found plenty of other elects on our search.  On Saturday night we were getting soaked by the rain and it was pretty miserable, but we pushed through it and went to visit a girl from our English class. Her name is Vitória and she is so cool. I've never seen anyone with so much desire to serve the Lord than she has. She knows the Bible super well and we were able to teach her a lessson full of the spirit. She asked us right away how the proces...

Gurksnis, Grayson Robert Oi Presidente, tudo bem? Estou muito bem aqui no escritório. É realmente um privilégio de estar aqui trabalhando um pouco mais perto com o senhor. Sei que isso foi um dos motivos que eu foi escolhido para servir aqui. Eu estou motivado, focado, e inspirado ao trabalhar aqui. No campo, nos comecamos um pouco devagar, mas esta semana estamos aumentando nosso trabalho e realmente nos esforcando mais. Eu sei que vou pegar uma rotina muito boa no escritorio/campo. Eu quero mostrar que secretários podem ter igual ou até mais sucesso no campo. Vamos acompanhar com todo mundo nesse final de semana e ajudar alguém para ser batizado semana que vem.  Obrigado Presidente por tudo e pela oportunidade de trabalhar no escritório como secretário financeiro.  Elder Gurksnis 03 Mar 2019 President Ribeiro Élder Gurksnis, Excelente sentimento !!!! seja bem vindo ao escritório , espero muito de você e de seu trabalho, também sei que vocês que trabalham no escritó...

This week we had a transfer and i officially finished my training as the financial secretary. Sooo im all alone now with lots of things to do lol. But we had a meeting with a financial representative of the church headquarters yesterday and that helped a lot. Also, we are gonna get to go to the church headquarters next to the temple in São Paulo for another training here in two weeks!!! and as a mission we are going to the temple and the newly finished São Paulo Temple Visitors Center on the 5th. Im wayyyy stoked!  The best part of this week was the stake conference we had on Sunday. I was able to see a few recent converts from one of my old wards and that was such a happy experience. One of these recent converts is Sara, who is thinking about serving a mission here in a little bit!! She will either do that, or marry a returned missionary lol so either way im pumped. She is super strong and ive got a good amount of people who have continued firm in that ward which is the happie...

Hey Brother Longhurst. This is Grayson Gurksnis, Matt Gurksnis' son! I wanted to write you just to be able to thank you for the many things you have done for me and for my family. I dont know how much you know about my family, but I have been out here serving in the São Paulo North Mission for about a year and 5 months now and I'm really starting to realize how this whole thing works. I've realized that all of us owe the blessings of the Gospel that we have to some 19 year old young man who once had a very big impact on the life of someone that came before us. I almost feel lucky that for my dad that experience came fairly recently if you look at it in a timeline of a church that was restored almost 200 years ago. I always remember hearing about an Elder Longhurst that sacrificied so much during his mission and had such a strong testimony of eternal families that made my dad want to be baptized. I feel like I've passed through some tough things on my mission but I coul...

ok guys so the best news of the week was i can talk with my fam every pday now! Im so happy to be able to talk with my fav people every week now. The mission is soooo great. Im so happy here in the office. We have so much fun as a staff. Im really liking being the Financial Secretary as well. Its a ton of responsibility and my phone buzzes constantly but its super fun. We work in the office from 10-4 and then take buses to our area to work for a couple hours. Its not a ton of time in the area, but I know the Lord will bless us with miracles. Im super pumped with my new companion. His name is Elder Araújo and we are really good buds and excited to work together. I think he'll end up being one of my favorite comps.  Today for pday the staff went to Presidents house. It was one of the best pdays of the mish! We played tennis lol and played pool and then had feijoada and acai for lunch. Their house is so fun and it was a good time with everyone. We are all good friends and that hel...