Well not my favorite week on the mission..... that is too say it was a rough week.

I am not working with the assistant again but rather working with the junior companion in my new area. We got moved out of the rich beach area to just the normal beach area and we are getting to know the area and we are working with that companionship. The senior companion there is my trainer, he is a Zone Leader in my zone so its good to see him and talk to him so more.

But his junior companion is not someone who really works.... so this week has been really really frustrating for me to stay positive. Especially because there was some problems with some missionaries. So the zone leader has been working with the assistant to resolve that and I got stuck a lot with this Elder. He just doesn~t have a vision for the mission so he is just kind of coasting and it drives me nuts I start stressing out. And since it is not my area I don~t know anything and I don~t really have spiritual experiences with investigators because I don~t have any. But the lord really does help he does give a few great lessons here and there to help out my attitude and some good words from my companion. So things are good.


Brazil is basically one big party from Christmas to Febuary (when carnival ends) so this normal beach area had a ton of just naked people. Which is kind of stressing because I feel very uncomfortable, partly because we stand out a ton and partly because it is just a constant headache of where to look and where not to. So this week was tiring.

Anyways that was my week. haha

So....

Glad to hear that everyone is going well back in Issaquah. Hey at our conference we watched the new Church film called 17 miracles don~t know if you guys have seen it but it is amazing ( maybe I already told you that I am tired and confused haha)

Lets see what I can write about. Oh this week I have developed a plan for this year. I usally make goals but this year is a little different because I don~t have any quantative metas that I can make so I am making a plan to change myself this year. The way I see it this is the only year that I have to be dedicated to the Lord. It probably will be the only year January to January that I have to give to him so I am using it. Every month I will work on an attribute of Christ found in Preach My Gosple and study it and memorize a scirpture on it.

This month is Faith in Christ. It is interesting that this is an attribute of Christ. I have thought a lot about the faith that He had to have. Imagine how hard it would be to say I am the Son of God. Imagine the faith that would take. To die believing that if you died that you could live again and that through you everyone else could live again too. It really is an amazing concept to think about the faith that he had.

I have also been thinking a lot about the purpose of the scriptures and how I should use them. I am going to change the way I read them. With more of a focus to understand God and less of a focus to understand the scriptures.

I love you guys so much.

Miss all of you!!!

So..... Happy New Year!!

Hope all is going well at home.
New Year in Brazil is pretty crazy haha. I wouldn~t really know because we were inside from 6pm to whenever we went to sleep. But from the fireworks (if that is what you want to call them) it sounded pretty crazy.

Highlights from this week.

1) Paula Fernandes - We were sitting on the bus on the waterfront when a helicopter landed. Guess who got out? Paula Fernandes (she is a singer super famous here kind of like the brazilian Taylor Swift) so we took a picture from the bus (descritely as not to ruin our image as ministers of Jesus Christ) she played on the beach on new years (we were not there don~t worry)

2) Weigh in - Good news I got my six pack back. In this house we have a pull up bar and some free weights so I have been working out everymorning (before it was just push ups and sit ups but now I can do more, I have been doing 120 push ups and sit ups everymorning since July so don~t worry I haven~t lost anything) Bad news Weighed in this week... wantt o guess how much I weighed 83 kilos or 180 pounds. haha crazy huh?! Looks like Romney better watch out when I get back. haha

3) My Companion - love him. He is great. He is not a frantic worker. Which I needed an example of someone who works but not frantickly (sp) because I was killing myself. I am learning how to work hard but not run faster than I am able. He teaches well, different than I would but really well, and now I am humble enough to learn from him rather than trying to show him how good of a missionary I am like I did with my trainer. We are moving areas because there are not enough people for two companionships so we are working in another area the area of my trainer who is now a zone leader. I am getting to see the leadership side of the mission which is good and bad.

It is really nice to talk to and make friends with the good missionaries here in the mission. My companions have all been good and have been leaders of this mission so I am getting good examples.

It is bad becasue I see more of the mission now. I thought the mission was this celestial place where everyone was 100 invested in the work but its not. There are people here that hold the office and hold the power but don~t do what it takes to use it in a worthy powerful manner. It is frustrating but mostly sad.

For example, I can~t believe that missionaries talk about the physical look of the sisters. There is one sister here who everyone talks about how ugly she is. I hate it. When the Assistant and the Zone Leader are talking to eachother about this and laughing I get so sad. That poor girl will suffere for the rest of her life because of this and we are making her suffering worse. And what is worse is that Christ suffered for her sins so as we make her suffereing worse we make His worse as well. That was really hard this week. But I saw some progress in myself because I didn~t get mad. Just sad.

Sorry wrestling was rough this week. Sounds like a rough weekend. But I am learning here what I learned in wrestling and am understanding something that I learned in the MTC that we learn more when we lose.

Elder Holland Said that he was thinking about why missions have to be so hard and his conclusion was that `the road to salvation always goes through Gethsemene and it was never easy for Christ so if you want to walk the same path he did it will never be easy for you.

I understood this week that that means losing. Becasue we have more opportunities to learn when we lose. And loosing early makes it easier to win later.

I have been studying Jacop as well. I love his writing. I was reading in Jacob 1 and 2 about the personable responsibility that he took upon himself to teach the people and to be held accountable for their sins if he didn~t teach them well enough. It is something I want in my mission.


Love you all,

Hope your new year was amazing!!!

Elder Noel

i have had several people ask for Wright address lately so I thought I would repost it. Thanks for loving, supporting and praying for our missionary. We loved skyping with him on Christmas, he's doing well!

Elder Wright Noel
Brazil Florianopolis Mission
R. Feliciano Nunes Pires, 42 Centro
88015-220 Florianop[olis-SC Brazil

Wow.....

What an experience to talk to all of you. That was really really good. I found myselft sick when the time was getting closer because I didn~t know what to say. And in all honesty if 5 minutes before you had asked me if I wanted to talk I probably would have said no just becuase it was so mind blowing I guess not really sure.

But anyways it was wonderful. I miss you guys. I am growing a lot. Learning a lot and serving a lot.


This weekend was rough because I didn~t feel like a missionary. I was watching movies on sunday (which I never did before) and spending time with members. It was and is hard for me to feel good about that. And to get back into that desire to work. But I will put my head down and go to work.

Love you guys so much,

December 19, 2011

December 19

Well by the next time we talk we will have talked in person. I am not sure where I will get the internet or where I will get to talk or when so just keep the computer on (skype keeps itself on usually even when you are doing other things so just keep it up and I wll try to call haha but if I can´t just relax and wait for mothers day ;)

This week was rough. oh my goodness. I am opening a new area here on the Island with the assistant. But he is working on the Christmas conference and being trained by the other assistant so he is not here so I am working with the companion of the other assistant. We both know nothing about the area and are pretty lost. Oh and by the way he is from uraguay so its pretty much a miracle that we can talk at all haha. He has 9 months and I have six somehow we understand each other and somehow people understand us. haha

He has a different attitude about this work. I don~t like talking to members because its not my purpose, I don~t like walking slow because people are waiting for me and I hate `punting.’ I want to give it all up haha. But people think I am crazy. haha I see this time as a time of repentance (change) a time to reshape my life into what I need to be for the Lord in His kingdom. So I am trying to do that. I think it is right.

Anyways this week I felt like we lost a lot of time and wasted a lot of opportunities to find people but it was necessary to open the area so I feel good. The island is really touristy and has a lot of people that speak english. Lots of super nice homes (look up jureré on google its a neighborhood in Florianópolis wow...)

So its hard to find people that want to listen and actually live here. It is difficult but I am excited to work with the new Assistant becuase he is old like 25 and I think I can learn a lot from him.

Thanks for the news about Hannah and Toni. I wrote them both these past two weeks.

Blaa blaa blaa Hannah blaa blaa blaa. (Hannah he does mention you every once in a while.) The work is hard but is so rewarding and i just feel so good. I feel like I am growing and like I am learning how to teach better and how to build my relationship with my heavenly father.
Feliz Natal!

December 12, 2011

December 12
Ok so the Christmas call.

We can skype. We have no more than 40 minutes total.... haha so if you want to set up two skype accounts then send me my password and username so we can skype together :)
This week we met a lady who loves me becasue I am a blonde american. super awkward appointment and then awkawrd church because she came to church haha but it was good.
There is not a lot more hilarious than your brazilian companion singing american music in the shower haha. He is hilarious.
Oh and I remember you saying before my mission that I would be so calm when I get back that I was stressed and rude before. I didn~t believe you but today we spent an hour in the post office waiting and I was so relaxed it was amazing haha. Something about learning what is important in life I guess. haha
Well tomorrow I will leave the area. There is an american family here that was born in brazil but lived in america for 10 years so they are all learning portuguese again and they are super cool. We planned an american party with for after my mission. Ill try to send their address so that you can send them a letter. They lived in Utah and she is amazing (the mom) but she hates brazil so they would love a letter or something.


Congrats to Hamilton! And Way to go Romney! As a Freshman almost placing at one of the hardest tournaments in the state! Wow. He is going to be so good. Haha He should go the same weight as Hamilton so that we can have two brothers in the same wieght at state :)

My companion is amazing. He really doesn~t care about numbers or baptisms but how to help the ward and how to help the people we are teaching come to Christ. He knows preach my Gosple and he does his calling as district leader as written in the handbook . He is teaching me so much more about missionary work, really missionary work the work as a representative of Christ. My dream now is to get transfered to the furthest spot away from the president and just work with a companion that loves to work. Not worry about zone leaders or Assistants or president. Just work. But because the Lord knows that that is what I want I was transfered to the Island (by the mission home) and I will be companion to the Assistant..... not really excited about it. But it will be a great chance to learn from a great Elder so we will see.

But Heavenly Father knows me. In the missionary handbook this week I read a scripture in Helaman 3:35 and this week i have prety much just studied that scripture and the heart and how the humble will suffer sometimes but it doesn~t matter because we can humble ourselves more and become closer to Heavenly Father when we give him our hearts.
Just a lot of thinking this week..

December 5, 2011

December 5

Christmas is coming here but its odd because it is super hot and instead of more clothes people wear less haha It is hilarious to see what people think is ok.

That story about Catherine is funny. Tell her to write more ;) haha just kidding

Its odd that I miss things like that but they really don~t have a big place in my life right now because I am just so busy thinking about people and my role and I am absolutely loving the scriptures. I get home and read before dinner and before bed and whenever because during personal study I don~t have time to study what I want. haha

I miss wrestling.... but all is well.

This week I have some stories for you guys..

Story Number one
First have you ever put a pick up load or a truck load of propane cans or glass bottles together and then driven over a bumpy road? You know how they just kind of bounce back and forth together swaying and wobbling. It is kind of humorous no? Well remember that image in your head.

In Brazil lots of people use buses. And the buses here have 6 seats and then a turn style and then the rest of the seats. Old people don~t have to pay so they don~t go through the turn style. This usually isn~t a big deal. But this p-day we went to the mission office (about an hour on the bus) to get Books of Mormon for our District. Apparently this day was Bring a retired person to work day because about 15 older people got on the bus. Almost all women. They, not wanting to pay, did not go through the turnstyle. So on this bus the back 3/4 of the bus had no one standing and the front 1/4 had about 11 grandmas standing up. This was a hilarious situation for anyone who got on the bus, well at least it was hilarious for the one American sitting in the back, and an even more hilarious situation because roads in my area are anything but smooth. (Sometimes standing up on the bus feels like a roller coaster) so sitting in the back I watched a load of grandmothers bounce around like a pick up truck full of propane bottles. It was hard not to burst out laughing but somehow I managed.

Story number two

In Brazil you don~t have water heaters. Just a shower head that has a heated metal coil that the water runs through and gets semi hot. Well this last week our shower head died. So after 1 day of cold showers we bought a new coil. And my companion installed it. Long story short we were treated to a small fireworks display and now we have a new shower head.

Well a pretty good week. haha I~m relaxing more and having fun. I kind of came into the mission with an attitude that I would never have fun and that I would be Christ like in a serious manner. But I think I am learning who he really was and that he had fun too. That he was probably like Presidente Hinckley or President Monson and enjoyed life. I am learning to enjoy the mission.

This week I was walking ont he street after trackting and was on my way to an appointment. I was on an exchange with my companion from the MTC and I thought lets talk to that lady sitting on her porch. I stopped and that lady had been praying for help. For someone to stop and talk to her. But this prompting wasnt scary or stressful just a thought. A quiet lets try this. It was so relaxing to me that the spirit can speak in a calming manner as well as a powerful manner.