7/16/12

Hello!

So, you are right about change. Everything has changed this last week. But, I am super happy to be where I am at right now. In the mission office! My comp is Elder Pajaro and he is the financial secretary. He does everything that has something to do with money, and I do everything else haha. We like each other, and he is always happy so there wont ever be a problem. The mission pres is awesome! its like being with an apostle all day!  I will probably stay here for 6- 8 months, just enough time to get out into the field and baptize still. I wont have a problem with leaving everyday at 6. My comp likes to talk a lot with the people that call him so he always is late with things. Also his job is way more stressful working with money. I will help him so we can at least get three hours of work every day.
I didn't know you had a Facebook! how long have you had it? and I don't update the mission page, I think pres and the wife does it.

What the heck! you guys are going to Hawaii! without me? you took me there when I was 10 years old but I don't remember anything.

The rash is great. I think i got control of it already. haha

It's funny that Dylan's mom is so excited. It will be fun to see what he says when he sees me. The mission is just like a huge family. 

So, I have a scripture for every person that gets this email. I want you guys to think about me while you are reading it, I think you will think its hilarious. Isaiah 28:20. 

Also, do you have the email of Rob Nielson the volleyball coach? an elder wants to try out when he gets back.
Attached is a picture my trainer just sent me.  I think you have seen it but thought I would send it to you again.

This week was crazy, moving into a different house and sitting behind a computer all day instead of being in the street talking to people. It will be different but fun, and i know that I am here for a reason. Whether it is to learn something or to help other people. I love you guys = and hope you have a good week! 

LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS

7/9/12

 

alô!

My week went really well. The only problem is that we got a phone call today saying that we would be transferred. We left a family ready to be baptized and i don't know where I am going yet. We go to the mission office at 6 o clock to see where we will go. I am sad, but happy at the same time.  The area here is awesome, one of the best on the mission because the members love to help. Too late for the pictures haha. next week I will take pictures of where I am.
  I already gave you the date when I will be released...25th of June. I will have already been here for two years so it doesn't matter to me how long we travel. 1 week or 5 weeks haha. you guys can choose, I just want to show you guys me converts and my areas. After that we can go wherever you want in Brazil. Maybe we will go to the temple to watch a sealing of one of my investigators. It should be around the same week! I think that would be fun for you guys. After, it would be fun to visit the south. Maybe some comps that I had from there.

Everything here is going well, just a little nervous where I am going next and why I was transferred so early but I am sure everything is alright!

so the movie Rio about the bird that goes to Brazil is something that you guys need to watch before coming to Brazil and after too. There are tons of stereotypes really funny and true in that movie. Watch it now, and after you guys visit and see Brazil in real life you guys will laugh. that's about all for the week. we would have some baptisms but we were transferred, sad, but that's life.

Anyway, love you guys and hope everything is going well in the US.

LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS

 

 

Jake was moved to the mission office so we got an extra email this week.  He also sent some pictures from his last area.
Enjoy!

I am in the office. We live in a different house, but the president is the only one that lives in the mission home. I am the executive clerk not sure what that means but I do EVERYTHING that doesn't involve money.  Right now I am typing up the baptismal documents into the computer. My comp that is training me is elder diniz and he will go to the field in 3 weeks. Elder pajaro is my comp that will stay for a little while at least.  I am happy. Its not even that much work, and it looks like we will be playing volleyball every morning! 

I think they put me in a few weeks earlier just to train me before the transfers because elder diniz would go into the field and I would do everything without training. How are you guys doing!?

Elder langlois

7/3/12

Hello!
So my comps name is Elder Lewis and he is from a small town in Nevada. He is a farmer/logger haha. He has been on the mission for 9 months already, and his Portuguese isn't the best, because he always had American comps that only spoke English. He is shocked now because I never speak English. Hopefully he can learn fast. Go to Google maps or maybe the website of the church and you shouldn't have a problem finding the names of the places. They are all neighbors on the map.
so this area is awesome. We found a family that is married and all 3 went to church on Sunday. They loved it and now we are just spending time with them until their baptismal date the 14th. Finally my hard work is paying off.

Also, I don't think I told you yet, but my investigators in my last area should have gotten married already and baptized and they want us to watch the wedding when my mission is over. It is exactly one year to wait to get sealed. Maybe we can plan on going to watch it.
There are so many people that are lost, and it is great to know that we are helping people understand that there is more than just we see that is real. Its still hard for me to understand, but every day we learn a little bit more.

Not sure if I have grown taller, but I know for a fact that I have gotten bigger. I am 200 pounds now at least, but the good part is that it isn't fat. haha so don't think that I will come back with a huge belly and cheeks the size of oranges.
It is almost one year that I am out, but i will be home one year from today, more or less haha. that's so weird to think about.
The monkeys here don't like people very much, but are very curious. There was one that was just hanging on the tree watching us look at him. They are everywhere and really funny.
So some funny things. There was a holiday here and were some parties and a thing called quadrilha. Its like a skit that we did in high school just Brazilian. We watched it on Friday haha. It was crazy and something that I don't think I will forget.
also is Brazil a 3rd world country? and do you have a recipe for guacamole?
Elder maciel visited with his mom, and I got to see him again. Its weird to see him not as a missionary. Everything here is going great, saw the family that I baptized in my first area, and they are still firm in the church and are planning to be sealed soon.
Its great to see that we changed the lives of people and how much the church can help people be happier.
I love you all and hope you have a good week!
LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS

6/25/12

Hello family and friends!

I am doing great and I am in the area called Colina which is the neighbor of Tabuleiro which is the neighbor of Benedito. Basically I am just serving in a line here in Maceió. Its really funny, but it will be good when you guys come so I can show you all of my areas that are so close to each other. I am sending pictures right now. Also my companion is giant too. He is 6 4 and is 300 pounds. hahaha everyone is scared of us! We are doing well together. Hopefully people will let us in even though we are a little scary.
Well nothing that exciting happened this week. Some funny things...

we had to carry two boxes of 20 book of Mormons to my old area. As a district leader I have to make sure the other missionaries in my district have the supplies necessary to teach. So we carried a 20 pound box while it was raining with an umbrella. haha that is ridiculous. 

Also just like you guys see squirrels in CA that is how often we see monkeys. They are they same thing pretty much. 

This ward is really good, and everyone wants to help. It is good to have an area like this. The first one! 

also something funny... we talked to some parents of a kid that plays volleyball professionally in São Paulo. They said they would give me all of the contact information to try out and see if I could play and study there haha. I don't think I will but maybe I would go there just to see if I could make the team. Don't worry, I will come back to BYU still. ha

anyway, love you guys and hope everyone is praying every night and day. I know that it sounds simple or insignificant but it really does change our day. I have seen it in so many people.

love you ALL

LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS

6/18/2012

alô família e amigos!

I am glad that Joanne is thinking about buying the house. That would be really cool to keep it in the family.
This week was pretty good for us. We found a family of 5 that are so awesome...... but I was transferred. Seems like that always happens to me when I get transferred. I am good at helping other people have success haha. I will be returning to Maceió but I don't know what area yet.

We got to watch the dedication on Saturday and the Sunday of the Manaus Temple, and it was pretty fun to watch. The first one that I have ever seen.
I have already been planning your trip, and I have some resources and some discounts already. I found a lady that has a beach house and she would rent it to us for 3 nights and 300 reais or 150 dollars hahahah. Hopefully she gets baptized so I can keep in closer contact with her and the family.

Thomas is on a cruise!!!!! what the heck!

Fathers day already passed? I don't even think they have it here. Anyway happy fathers day dad!

So, some things  that happened this week. We had the worst dessert I had ever eaten in my entire life. It is call doce de casca de laranja or orange peel dessert.  doesn't sound delicious and is not at all.

Also, I had to say goodbye to elder maciel my trainer. I cried.

I was transferred like I already said and the couple that we were working with to marry were crying and they are already planning the sealing in the temple for when I get off my mission.

Also! if you see a sister medreiros in our ward she is from Fortaleza serving in our mission. She goes to the mtc in November.
Next time I talk to you I will be in another area! hope you guys have a good week

obrigado por todos os orações e todo o apoio que vocês me dão.

LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS

6/11/12

Hello!
Well, this week wasn't too great in terms of working, but I did get to go on another exchange with Elder Maciel. He is going home this week and I am super sad. I think I am going to cry when he leaves haha.
This week there was a celebration of the Manaus temple so almost all of our Saturday and Sunday were dedicated to that event. Not sure if you guys can watch the thing from Saturday but Tyler was in it. He was walking around with all of the missionaries. Pretty funny to see that he hasn't changed haha. It was funny to see that the 138th temple of this church was dedicated this week. It's crazy to know that from the work that we do here on the mission can lead to temples and tons of strong members. We have a wedding planned July 7th or 14th, but we aren't sure when yet, we are just waiting the papers and with the wedding and then we will baptize the husband to complete the family. They are awesome people. Other than that, we are searching for people that actually want to change/better their lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully this week gets better.
hope all is well there, and that it isn't too rough because of the funeral.
LOVE ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS


Jake wrote a letter that was read at his Grandpa's funeral last week.  Thought we would share it with you.

Dear Grandpa
It is sad to know that he has passed on, but we know he is in a better place. When I think of the memories with him they go on and on, but I would like to share a few with you today. Just like all of the other grandkids we would always spend the night at Grandma and Grandpas’ house. The shoe fairy or grandma would come and grandpa would always ask if we wanted the grandfather clock turned off.  We always said no, but he turned it off anyway. We would wake up with the smell of toast and hot chocolate and see that grandpa was eating his bread and milk with a huge bitter grapefruit. He always offered, but no one would ever have courage enough to try it. We would play games with him and grandma and they would always let us win... I think. Then came time to pick the raspberries, apricots and plums. Grandpa would follow us around saying only pick the really purple ones! Of course we always picked some that he didn’t approve and stuff them in our mouth before he would see. With the apricots he would always be amazed that I could pick the ones way at the top, every single time he commented about how tall I am. He was someone that always made us smile and always made us laugh. His love for us, his grandchildren, was so much, and we will be forever grateful for him. We love you grandpa! And will see you soon.

All my love Jake

6/4/12

Hello!
Sad to hear about grandpa, and me not being there again.
haha so I said that we had some marked baptisms this week right? No one went to church so every single one fell through... at least for this week hahaha. wow. It crazy how this always happens, but we just have to keep trying and let the people use their free agency.
I want the board game that they have, if no one else claimed it yet.
You said its nice to have Sara home and have noise. Does she make a lot of noise? hahaha
Glad that Steve and Thomas played cod in my honor.
  I don't have much for this week, because it was just another week working hard. Only have one thing that was interesting that I tasted the other day. Does anyone remember that Mexican candy lucas? I tried an ice cream here and it has the exact flavor as lucas! the weird thing is, is that the flavor was from a fruit with a crazy name that I don't remember. Lets just call it a lucas fruit.
Since my grandpa passed away I bear testimony about the plan of salvation. That God really does love every one of us and wouldn't let the happiness that we have during this life end. There will be something after, and I know that death is something bitter, but with the plan that God made for us we have hope that we will be together again. I know that this is true, I teach it every day and people's lives change just because of the hope this message gives them.
  I love you all!
ELDER JAKE LANGLOIS