See Elder McGregor's new Georgia Atlanta North Mission blog here:

http://eldertrentonmcgregor.blogspot.com

Elder McGregor in Rio

Here is a picture of the entire Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission in December.  You can see Trent in the center of the front row of elders.  (double click to enlarge)

Elder McGregor with Presidente & Sister Bezerra in January:

Elder McGregor with Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar)  in background

 Tram going up to Sugarloaf:

Atop Sugarloaf:

 

View from Sugarloaf (see Cristo Redentor on top of tall hill in background):

Ipanema or Copacabana (I'm not sure which):

Elders McGregor and Jibson:

 

"Deus fez o mundo em sete dias, dois foram necessários só para o Rio de Janeiro"

("God created the world in seven days, two of which were needed just for Rio de Janeiro" - Brazilian proverb)

Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission.  

Double click to enlarge

Trent's Brazilian Sister, Carnaval, and 105 degrees plus humidity!

This morning our '05 Brazilian Exchange Student, Carol,  came to visit.  She was in San Francisco taking a course and will be with us through Thursday.  Very very fun!  She even brought us a Brazilian flag, which is now hanging in our entryway  : )  Anyway, we told Elder McGregor she'd be here, so he chats about that and then puts in a paragraph to her where, among other things he asks if she can make a typical Brazilian meal for us so we can experience native food.  (She said she'd have to call her mom for help : ]  )   He also tells us that Carnaval is coming right up (Carol says it's this weekend, which is why she's flying home on Friday.  Love the missionary Carnaval rules he mentions.  Carnaval in Rio - as a missionary - YIKES!    

And two of his cousins have new baby girls, so he refers to that happy news as well.  Oh, and he mentions that it's 105 degrees and very humid.  I checked Caxias on The Weather Channel, and sure enough - it was 104 there today with 89% humidity.  I remember that well from Ecuador.  Dripping sweat   all   the   time... (well, "glistening" for the sister missionaries  haha)   So here's his letter:

Hey guys!!
 So how super exciting is it that Carol gets to visit? Dang, I wish I could be there. Super funny--the last time I saw her she spoke some crazy language that just sounded weird. Now I make those same funny noises and she understands me, hahaha. So I guess I'll include a little something for her as well (that you can read to her tomorrow):

Oí Carol!
Como é que você está??? Como é que tem sido o tempo nos Estados Unidos?? É provável agora que você fala inglês que nem um americano, neh? É bom que tu está lendo isso, e não pode ouvir meu sotaque horroroso, rsrs! Espero que tudo esteja bem contigo! Tenho um pedido para você--tu acha que pode fazer um almoço para eles verem como é que a comida é no Brasil? Eles sempre perguntam como é que é. Então, se tu pudesse fazer arroz e feijão, macarrom, e tudo mais para eles experimentarem, seria legal demais. Talvez tu possa fazer um feijoada e realmente mostrar as delícias do Brasil, neh? rsrsrs =] Continue a ser legal, Carol (mas tu teria feito isso de qualquer jeito, neh?)!! Tchau!

So I'm glad everthing's going so well at home. Things are going well here in Caxias. Carnaval is coming up, so we're going to have some new rules for a few days in a couple weeks. Return to the house by 6, pray for an hour every morning, etc. Evidently, it goes nuts here (I'll let you guys know later--Caxias, or so I've heard, isn't one of the worst places to be during Carnaval).

So that's so incredibly exciting about my...second cousins, right? Yay more little precious babies in the family! I suppose, though, when I get back, they'll already be pretty big, huh?? A little under a year and a half =]

BTW, thanks for all your support. It means a whole lot to me. I realize you guys don't hear from me a whole lot--one email a week, and you haven't gotten any snail-mails recently (what's up with that?) But I'll see if I can't "dar um jeitinho para vocês!" (do a little sum'n sum'n for you guys)  =]
Love you guys, hope all is well! Have a fantastic week. Enjoy the chilly weather--remember I'm here sweating my butt off in 105 degree heat (it's crazy humid here too)!!

Love you guys, tchau!
Elder McGregor

                      Carol, Trent and Kelsey 2005

                           And here's Carol at Kelsey's wedding

ZL Roommates, sleepy juice, air conditioned mosquitoes and silly pictures

Oí família!
Como é que vocês estão?? Tudo bem??

Things are going well here in Caxias. It's been a little hectic the last two weeks because we now have 4 missionaries in our house. And we've had to split our little area. So our teaching group has decreased, sadly (stinking ZLs! ;] ) which is probably one of the reasons we haven't had a whole lot of lessons recently. But it's all good. We're gonna hit it again, even harder, this week!

So that's basically the news. Sadly, the people we've been working with have all run away, and we haven't been able to baptize anyone in the last two weeks (we're starting to feel the pressure). And we have the ZLs in our house. Which makes things pretty hectic. But it's all good. We're happy, we're working, etc. etc. =]

So I'm glad everything's going so well at home! I'm glad Seminary's so much fun for you, mom. Really--a good teacher makes all the difference. A great teacher does even more. You're making a difference in the lives of those freshman =]. Keep fulfilling your calling! They're blessed to have a wonderful person like you as a teacher, mom =] And I'm glad what I wrote was able to help you with the class =]

So... I don't know the emails of G&G Fillerup/McGregor... But I'm more than happy to send them an email. So if you could pass those to me, I'd appreciate it =]

Love you guys! Hope all is well!

And some questions:
Did you get to go to Outdoor Ed Camp in 6th grade?

--I did. It was pretty fun too. But it wasn't some super-ridiculously awesome experience because I went camping so much as a boy scout. So it was fun to be in the wilderness for a while without that whole tent-sleeping stuff. =]

Did you ever get an October General Conference Ensign?

--I didn't. =[ And yes, it would be very nice to receive one. =]

When are the next transfers?

--Next transfer will be around March 1-3. So you can send letters to the house. I know you guys know the house number because it was one of the first things we talked about during our christmas phone-call. And I'm almost positive I sent it in a previous email as well. I have it written in my planner from last transfer. But if you guys don't have it, it's all good. Just send it to the escritório =]

Have you made pancakes?

I have =] I made them for my companion when we arrived in Caxias, and I made them for the Assistants when they visited us, and I made them for the ZLs when they moved into our house at the beginning of this transfer. Everyone loves pancakes =]

Are you getting our letters that are sent to the Office? (we send them every week).

Last time I went to the office (mid-January) there wasn't anything there for me. So, to be frank, I kinda don't have any idea if there getting there or not. But they must be, because if you're sending them in the same way you've always sent them, there shouldn't be a problem. The next time I'll see any letters that are at the mission office will probably be mid-late February (Zone Conference). But it's all good. I'll survive =]

Have you had any fruit juices - like acai, or maracuyá, or that cool one the sales guy told you about?

Yes. I don't remember the cool one that the sales guy told me about, but we have fruit juices often. People make them all the time for us at lunch. And açaí isn't really a juice. It's more of an ice-cream. A really really tasty ice cream that's actually pretty good for you. =] Also, maracujá (com j no Brasil) is a fruit juice that can make you super sleepy. So, notwithstanding it being an exceedingly tasty beverage, it is meet that I not drink it, that I might not fall into the depths of a great slumber. Hahaha =]

Do you make those milk, chocolate, banana, oatmeal shakes in the morning?

Every once in a while. It's not super convenient to pass by the supermarket frequently to buy the needed ingredients, but when I do make it, I quite enjoy it =]

Wow, how is it having air conditioning at night!?

Fantastic. Haha, there's really no other words to describe it. It's the only chance I have to stop sweating.

And ... mosquitoes?  Of course your face, arms and hands are about the only exposed parts they can snack on, so hopefully it's all good.

Mosquitoes, surprisingly, are not a huge problem. Only a slight one. I really only get bitten at night in my lovely air-conditioned room. So I'm still happy =]

and what would a mission be without ridiculous pictures of other missionaries?:

Jedi Master Elder Gardasz (ZL)















Elder Scream (with glasses)

Email 25 January

Oí Família!

So sounds like you guys are having fun at home! Things are going really well here--as you may have guessed, I'm still here in Caxias with Elder Nogueira. However, we received another "dupla" here--Elder Otthon and Elder Burrell (the ZLs--oooooo... =]).

But we have a loooot of work to do in the area, so it's quite a good thing we got more missionaries. The only thing that kinda stinks is that we have to split our investigators with them. Hmmm. Kinda lame. But it's all good, we'll survive. But I should have quite a few baptisms to report to you guys next week. This week'll be a big one =]

I love you guys, sorry for the short letter. And no pictures. Lame, I know, but this computer doesn't have a way to do it. Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah =]

Love you guys!
Elder McGregor

"Divisions" (splits), 6,000 Kilos of Cestas Basicas, baptisms, and a reference machine

Oí família!! Tudo bem??
Sorry it's been so long--these last few weeks have been pretty nuts. Here's the story:
Two weeks ago we had a baptism--I'm pretty sure I already told you guys about it. Tamires, 18, was baptized. It was a great baptism =]

The following week was pretty interesting. We had a few possibles to baptize, but all of them were falling through for various reasons. Saturday arrives. We do a division with the Zone Leader and an Assistant, and as we arrive at the Chapel to begin the division, there's an enormous truck in the front. The guy comes up to us, asking if we were from this church. The truck was filled with "cestas basicas," or in other words, emergency food kits. We started to unload them ("we" being the four missionaries). After about ten minutes, we discover we're going to have to unload 400. Kind of a problem, because each of them weighed about 15 kilos (that's over thirty pounds). It took us three hours to unload them all, and the chapel walls were lined with groups of food-package-things (something katie would say, right? =]). 

As we were finishing, one of our investigators who had gone to church the last Sunday showed up and started helping us. When we finished, we taught him the first lesson, and invited him to be baptized--he accepted. Since we had an AP with us, we did the interview right then. He came out after the interview, smiling, and told us he would be baptized the next day, Sunday. And baptized he was. It was a fantastic baptism, truly. His whole family went, whom we are now teaching to probably be baptized next Sunday. Super special.

So that was last week. Now this week. This is a super special story. It starts way back at the beginning of last year, with a guy whose name I haven't the faintest. But he lived in Espírito Santo, the state northeast of Rio. He visited his family in São Paulo, and was baptized into the church. He returned to ES and introduced his friend Morgana to the church, who also became a member. Morgana's mother was then baptized. Arlete (mom) visited Caxias three weeks ago and brought the whole family with her--mom, ex-husband, sister (Ana), sister's daughters (Bea & Bárbara). And we baptized Bea this last week. 

Super special. We're also hoping to baptize Bárbara this Sunday. Mom and dad have to wait a bit--they're not legally married, but they'll continue to go to church =]
 We're also working with Célio, who visited Morgana in Espírito Santo, who got to know the church through her. He was never a churchy guy (believes in God but doesn't go to church), but when he saw the activity of the youth in the church and met the missionaries, he found the church to be true (he already told us =]). We hope to baptize him this Sunday as well. We'll also start working with his family and neighbors--he's a reference machine. He wants everyone to know about the Church =]

And that's not even half of our teaching group. I can't go through all of them right now, but needless to say, we have a HUGE amount of work on our hands. I hope we can get it all done this week. We gotta plan super carefully, haha. But I love you guys. Hopefully this filled the canteen for you guys. I've been having trouble sending pictures lately, but hopefully you guys got a few of them. Check the .mac account for a few you maybe haven't seen yet?

Love you guys, hope all is well! Amo suas tripas!
Elder McGregor

Excellent letter from Trenton to Kelsey & Jordan dated 12/4-5/09

This was a great snail mail letter from Trenton to Kelsey that she shared it with us.  I thought I'd put portions of it here on his blog.  This was written in early December while he was serving in Conselheiro Paulino, before being transferred to Caxias, where he is now:

Feliz Natal para voces!  So I'm glad you enjoyed teaching the marriage lesson with your (eternal) companion.  Yeah, everyone's got their own teaching style, but E Morris and I have pretty much got it down.  He's a pro at teaching members and people who will be baptized, but has a hard time helping people see why the commitments we make will help them and their families, where that's something I'm good at.  Rooting around in all the excuses they give until we finally arrive at the real reason, and then ... attack.  I really should thank Mom for all the training I received from her  : )  hehe   I wasn't sure what to make of this, but Kelsey assured me "he’s saying you always called him out on his crap”.  So that's a good thing, right? and was part of his missionary training  : )   And like I said, E Morris has his strengths - teaching to bring the Spirit, which testifies of truth.  So between us both we lick the platter clean  : )  
...


... So about the spirit and promptings from our Heavenly Father.  They happen often here, and I don't always know to what outcome.  Often I'll have a prompting to visit someone that wasn't home only to find out that again, they're not home.  And sometimes it seems like we waste 30 minutes walking to their house.  But I know that no prompting is a waste of time.  And, in fact, yesterday I had one such experience.  I had in my agenda that we were to go find a street contact we had done the other day, but I had a flash of a thought to go visit a less active family, whom we knew where their house was, but hadn't made contact with them yet.  So we went to their house to see if they were home.  They weren't.  But as we talked with the neighbors, one said that the missionaries had passed by and given her a book a long time ago.  I asked her if she still had it.  She said yes, and excitedly went off and brought it out to me.  I asked, "Have you read any of it?"  She responded that she read it frequently with her son.  I asked, "Have you prayed about it?"  She said yes, and that she had felt good.  This was all within the first 5 minutes of meeting her.  We'll teach her tomorrow.  As we continued to talk, another neighbor told us that the family (the one they had originally gone to see) had moved 3 years ago, and told us exactly where they lived.  We found them last night and they have a son 18 years old whom I would love to reactivate and prepare to be a future missionary.  And all that because of following a flash of thought to visit that family.  Yes, the promptings of our Heavenly Father and of the Spirit are real.  I nkow that, and I try every day to follow them.


And now, something you guys may or may not know about my mission.  The Mission Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, out of 27 missions in Brasil, was #26 in the # of baptisms before the current mission president, Presidente Bezerra.  We are now #6.  Last week we had 91 baptisms in the mission in one week.  A bad week is 45.  And why do I tell you this?  At our last zone conference P. Bezerra spoke about the misconceptions the Rio de Janeiro Mission had before he arrived.  "Rio de Janeiro doesn't baptize."  "The members are weak, unwilling to help."  "Such an idolatrous city doesn't have people that could commit themselves to the Gospel."  Often in the CTM in Sao Paulo people would ask, "So where are you headed on your mission?"  "Rio."  "Do you have your bullet-proof vest?"  The general conception of the RJ Mission is that the members are slackers, the members are unmotivated, and that we don't baptize.  These ideas, being repeated so often, slowly became true.  The missionaries became slackers, the members became unmotivated (still kind of a problem...)  and the missionaries didn't baptize.  For three presidents before Pres. Bezerra it was like this.  In our area, I look at the area book and see that all the old missionaries did was knock doors.  Every day, almost all day.  Think about how many missionaries go through a mission in 9 years!  All those missionaries so happy to plant tiny seed after tiny seed, when they could have done so much more than that.  To me, if you've done everything you can for an investigator and they still refuse to be helped, then you say, "Well, I planted that seed.  Let's move on,"  For 9 years missionaries planted seed after seed.  And now we are reaping.  The RJ is one of the most white, ready-to-harvest fields that exists.  It is so sad that the lies and misconceptions hid this beautiful field from the reapers.  But Satan's lies do not hold a candle anymore.  We are reaping, and will continue to do so.  I'm so thankful to be one of the missionaries to turn this mission around.  Of all the missions in the world, I was placed here in this mission by a prophet of God (and therefore by God : ))  I'm here for a reason -- to help turn around the terrible lies that permeated this mission.  Recently Elder Richard G. Scott (who speaks Portuguese) visited Brasil for a mission president conference thing (not sure what the actual title is [obviously]).  P Bezerra sat next to him at lunch and Elder Scott said, "Oh how I would love to see a temple built in the Rio de Janeiro area!"  Guys, that time is soon coming, and I will not rest until I see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears the prophet say, "We are pleased to announce the construction of a new temple in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil."  When that happens, I will throw my arms in the air, rejoicing.  I think I might cry.  And I will do everything within my power to see it happen.  


As I was reading your letter, Kelsey, the distinct thought came to my mind, "One person CAN make a difference."  I see you doing it.  You are making a difference.  Of the almost 7 billion people in this world, YOU are changing the world and lives of those little girls in Africa.  In all honesty, I've often struggled with that idea - can I make a difference?  I would always look around and see others who served better, taught better, helped better, and just were better.  And because of that I would step back and let them do it -- they did it better than me.  But the Lord repeatedly says, "Thrust in YOUR sickle with your might," not, "Let your neighbor thrust in his sickle for you because he does it better."    WE, as individuals, make a difference when we work.  The Lord didn't pick a smart, well-educated, respected man to restore the gospel in these latter days.  He picked a 14-year-old boy -- the weakest of the weak. And look at the giant Joseph Smith became -- the mightiest of the mighty.  And look at the difference he made in the world.  More than any other man, save Jesus Christ.


Guys, I am incredibly weak.  But, I am promised that if I go to work and open my mouth, it will be filled.  I, too, am a rough stone rolling, but the Lord will bless me as I roll through troubles and toil in this great work.  And I WILL roll (and maybe rock as well  : ))  onward, ever onward, with God as my strength.


...


... Often people use the words, "an instrument in the hands of God," but I think they don't really understand the profound meaning of that phrase.  We must literally give ourselves to him, put our lives in his hands and we will be that instrument.  And though we may be a dinky little hand screwdriver, he will make us a DeWalt Power Drill.  And the greatest part is this -- that we never could have done that by ourselves.  And the fantastic joy we will receive as a result will be overwhelming.  President Hinckley once said that everything good that ever happened to him in his life was a result of his service in the Church.  He understood what it meant to be an instrument.  Job said, "Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in mine hand?  Though he SLAY me, yet will I trust in him."  Job knew what it meant to be an instrument.  Ammon said, "And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the MEANS of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some."  Ammon knew what it meant to be an instrument.  I want to understand that as well.  I want to be an instrument; I want to make a difference.  Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing.  In my family, I want to.  In the mission field, I want to.  In my ward, I want to.  With my friends, I want to.  Everywhere, anywhere.  And I know that as I give myself tot he Lord, I will.
...


...I love you guys.  Stay awesome, be excellent to each other, K?
Ate proximo -
Elder McGregor


Wow.  

Happy 20th birthday Trenton!

Amost 20, a new jersey, and a super special baptism

So it's almost my birthday--crazy! So I don't have any pictures this week--we're in the crappy LAN house again. But I got my Official Jersey from the Palmeiras from São Paulo. It's awesome. I'm just going to have to be careful where I wear it cuz I don't wanna get jumped. (Although I don't have to worry about the Swiss anymore--I'm back in normal brazil here in Caxias). Although it cost a bit more than I expected--R$170! But it's all good, because with the birthday $ from Gma&Gpa it comes out just about right =]

 I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm gonna be 20. You don't even notice time going by anymore. Wasn't it just November?? What the heck??

 But we had a baptism Sunday--it was super special. I baptized Tamires (sim, foi eu que joguei ela na agua). (He got to perform the baptism himself).  And then yesterday, which is normally pday we had our zone conference, which was fantastic. Super sorry, guys, I don't have much time. I'll expound next week with sweet pictures and stuff! Love you guys!

I hope all is well, and if you've got any specific questions, I'll answer all of them =] Love love love!
Elder McGregor

PS That is my entire address that you guys have. It's not an apartment--we live upstairs in the house of a member. Tá legal? But then again it's 2 weeks until transfers, so just send letters to the mission office until I confirm I'm still here in Caxias! Love you guys!

Snail Mail dated 14 December '09

Well, we didn't get an email from E McGregor today, but we did get this letter in the mail this afternoon. Good, thing, cuz I needed my fix 
 ; )

Oi Familia!
Tudo Bem? So I'm here in Caxias, my new area, which is pretty sweet -- I'm liking it a lot thus far. It's a little hard to get around still because it's a grid (like Utah) without numbers or alphabet or anything useful to show you where you are (unlike Utah). So everything just kinda looks the same. It might take me a while to know where I'm going.

Elder Nogueira is my companion, who is from Sao Paulo. He's about 6'5" and looks about 23-24. But he's 19. He started his mission at 18 because his family knows people : ) Which reminds me, what part of Sao Paulo is Carol from? He knows SP pretty well, and it was one of the first questions he asked.

So Caxias is a pretty special area. It used to be the ZL's area, and it's the area that has the 4th most baptisms in the mission. E. Nogueira and I are both new here -- we're "re"-opening the area (meaning it wasn't closed, but that we're both new to the area). So yeah, we've both found ourselves in an interesting position -- we were both having a few : ) baptisms in our last areas, and we were put in an area with even greater potential. So we're rearing to show the trust put in us wasn't in vain. Because the Caxias area is actually two wards, we're missionaries for both (Caxias & Vila Sao Luiz). So, it's an area with lots of responsibility, especially because the old ZLs baptized two or three per week when they were here. Big mantle to take up! But we're ready to go. Elder Nogueira's got 10 months on his mission, and I've got a little more than 6 months. (Crazy, huh? 1/4 done? Where did that go?)

So this is a typical first encounter with a member:
"Oi Elder! Tudo bem? Seja bemvindo a nossa ala" (Welcome to our ward)
"Obrigado! To muito animado estar aqui" (Thank you - I'm really excited to be here!)
"De onde voce e?" (Where are you from?)
"California, nas Estados Unidos" (California - the United States)
"E? Americano? Fala bem Portugeus! Quanto temp tem na missao?" (Really? American? You speak Portuguese well! How long have you been on your mission?)
"Seis meses, on por ai" (Six months, or about that much)
"O que? Ja fala neste jeito? Parabens! (What? And you already speak in this manner? Congratulations!)

So, needless to say, I speak Portuguese pretty well for an American. (We were impressed to hear him on the phone - and we had something to compare it to - having already heard Carol, our '05 Brazilian exchange student speak with her family on the phone every week)

So I realized just now that this letter is full of GH (Gloria dos homens [pride, boastfulness])... I really didn't mean to do that, but that's just kind of what's going on right now. Yup ... Did I mention how much I love Alma 26:12? (this is the scripture Trent had put on his missionary plaque --"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.").

Anyway, love you guys! Hope all is well!
Be righteous and be excellent to each other!

Love,
Elder McGregor

Short email; 5 pictures

So we got to talk to Elder McGregor for an hour on Christmas, which was lots of fun. It was amazing to hear him speaking Portuguese. He was in good spirits and is really loving his mission. We learned that "magrelo" means "skinny" or "scrawny," which is why he said a few weeks ago that his companion is 6' 5" so he really gets called Elder Magrelo now. : )  

We also learned that he and his companion (who is from Sao Paulo, Brazil) flew kites on Christmas.  As he was telling us about it we realized that they were "kite running" - just like in Kite Runner - putting stuff on their kite string so they could cut others' kite strings, etc, and chasing the kites when they fell.  Very fun.  And something they do in Brazil!  I'm so glad he got to do something 'native'  - what a great memory!

The name of his new area is Caxias, but he still didn't send a mailing address. Sigh.

Here's his über short letter from today, and the pictures he sent as well:

Hey mom,
Sorry, don't have much time today, but there are some sweet pictures for you guys--

1. Elder Nogueira (new comp). It was a really steep hill, so I turned the camera to get a really cool photo =]

2. The family with whom we spent Christmas Eve.
3. Flooded bridge--it rained ridiculously hard the other day and the street totally flooded. I'll send the video when I get the chance, but apparently this happens pretty frequently.

4/5. Élderes de Natal numa moto (Christmas Elders on a motorcycle). Don't worry, it wasn't actually going. But they still make for some really funny pictures =]Love you guys, hope all is well.
Elder McGregor

Everything's fantastic ...

Family!
Hey guys! How're you all doing? Fantastic, I'm assuming--it's almost Christmas =] So, sorry about the late email, but we had Christmas Conference yesterday. Which was fantastic.

I received the two packages & promptly opened the first (which had my contacts [which I'm wearing], rubik's cube [which I've already taken advantage of], beef jerky, 3 Musketeers/Yorks [you guys rock], the colored RSVP pens [which are perfect] and that other stuff too). Thanks so much, it's fantastic to get packages =] However, I'm leaving the second one closed until Friday, which I'll open as a "Christmas Present" =]. But it's not as easy as it sounds, let me tell you... =]
Thanks for the 75 bucks--I'll be able to get a sweet official jersey of "meu time" (may-oo chee-mee -- my team).

So yeah, things are great here. We haven't had a baptism in this area yet, but I'm thinking we'll have one this week--we've been working with Jonatan, who's a fantastic kid.

So I hope all is well--love you guys, have a fantastic Christmas! Can't wait to talk to you guys!

Elder McGregor

Snail Mail dated 30 November '09 (written BEFORE his transfer to the new area)

Oi Familia!
So guess what! As I was finishing up my first letter, what arrives in the mail? A letter from the fam! Dated November 23! Yay! So more of Elder McGregor's snail mail for you guys!

So first, Dad wanted to know how many lessons on average we teach per week, how many people normally are in our teaching group, how many new investigators we get during the week, how many hours we spend tracting vs teaching, time spent with members, the greatest challenges in teaching, whether we eat out much or not, what I spend excess funds on, and who else sends me letters. So here we go:

We teach anywhere from 12-14 lessons per week, but we always aim to teach 20. We aim for 8 lessons with members, 8 others and 4 lessons with recent converts and less active members.

We have, usually, from 8-10 people in our teaching group. They're also pretty volatile, meaning we invite them to be baptized on the first or second lesson. And we baptize them or move on. So --

We'll add anywhere from 3 - 6 investigators per week. So we move pretty quickly. Some we keep for a long time, like Joaquim, based on what we think their potential is to be baptized. Others we cut quickly. It really depends on the person.

So when you say tracting, I assume you mean knocking doors? If so, we tract 0 hours per week. I haven't knocked one door here in Brasil. We don't have to. We do, however, do street contacts. 10 per companion per day is the mission goal, but we usually complete about 8-10 as a companionship. It might appear that these numbers don't add up, but we keep very busy. It's harder to teach lessons during the day because everyone works, but we always have a mountain of things to do after 6.

We spend probably up to 15 hours or more per week with members, asking for references, teaching lessons, etc.

The greatest challenge for us with adults is the fact that no one is married, which is necessary for baptism. For our younger investigators, it's getting mom and dad to let them be baptized. Not super difficult, but we have to be pretty convincing. Another problem is the difficulty we have getting people to go to church. "Will you go to church tomorrow?" "I will." "Great, we'll show up at 8:30 to go with you." We show up Sunday morning. "Oh, sorry, I can't go today for X reason." And it happens every Sunday. Blah. : )

We do not eat out at all. We have lunch every day with members (except P Day). And we don't usually eat until we get home at 9:00, so we eat quite a bit during lunch. : ) I do eat breakfast and dinner every day, though, don't worry.

We spend our money on food and bus rides.At R$2.50 per passage, it's quite expensive and that's without the other bus tickets for Zone Conference, the occasion what our zone leader leaves his cell phone at our house (which means we traveled 3 hours round trip & spent R$30.00 total). We also pay our water and electric bills, which are substantial. Thankfully, these things are generally reimbursable. (Not normal bus rides, though). But it takes about a week and a half to receive the reimbursement. So I find myself a little short on money at times, but it hasn't been a problem yet.

Grandma & Grandpa Fillerup, Jay & Judy, Melissa, and Amber Dayton write me regularly. I'll get a random letter from an old friend every once in a while, but you guys are the only ones that send weekly letters (which is totally fine. No complaints here. I get way more letters than almost all the other missionaries here).

So there you go. Hope that answers quite a few questions.

So Katie was watching the beginning of Beauty and the Beast when she wrote. I must say, the opening music I love. Sing along:
(here he does some doo doo doo's all up and down by pitch - it's pretty funny)

Too much fun. you wrote: "Katie, tu hermanita adorablita."
Portuguese: Katie, tua icmazinha adoravelzinha. Yay. : ) (I hope I typed that write - hard to decipher...)

Mom, I'm glad you're enjoying Seminary. I hope you know that it really does make a difference. Your efforts, though sometimes it may seem that they go unnoticed, make a difference.

Leese told me about New Moon, which is doing pretty well here in Brasil. I assume it was huge in the States. Let me know how our sparkly vampire friends are doing. Oh, and the werewolves as well. : )

Love you guys!
Elder Trenton McGregor

Snail Mail dated 24 Nov 2009 (written BEFORE his transfer to the new area)

Oi Familia!
So first, the letter I'm responding to is from 1 Nov, which was a little while back. Dad talked about his first haircut in Japan. Haha - I've always wanted a straight razor shave -- I hear it gets the job done much cleanlier (yes cleanlier is what it says!) than a normal razor.

I find sometimes that the missionary pace (which Dad spoke about) is quite a pace indeed. We get home usually about 9-9:15, and after planning, I'll take a quick shower and hit the sack at 9:45. Needless to say, I've still got no trouble sleeping. : )

So the new mission president spoke at Stake Conference? Well, I encourage you guys to do what he has suggested. If he's anything like President Bezerra, he is inspired of God. I will also say that after Conference it is easy to be excited about the Gospel. It is much more difficult to retain those feelings -- think back to what you felt while he spoke, and try to continue with those feelings. When was the last time GB3 had a baptism? Do you guys believe it could be you to bring someone else to the Gospel? If not, believe it. And when you do, do you have the faith to begin the work? If not, have it. Read Ether 12, which, as you know, is on faith. Guys, our family is special. I know this now more than ever. There really are people looking for truth in this life. I think many people believe this, but not in their own lives. The exist. They're all around us. I used to say proudly to my friends that many people didn't know I was a Mormon. I was so normal that they wouldn't know it. I could not have been more wrong in being pleased with myself about this. We have the truth. The least we can do is let others know how much we love the Gospel. We must be proud of our beliefs, and ready to speak about them at any time. Those who are seeking truth, when they see our joy in the Gospel, will want a part of it. Guys, each of you has a wonderful testimony. Share it. Whenever it comes up. Every Fast Sunday. With your friends, associates, neighbors. BE NOT AFRAID! : ) People will not be offended. I think many times I didn't want to invite people to church when I could have -- what will be said at church? It might not be ideal. I've learned that there is no such thing as ideal in the imperfect world we live in. People enjoy church. Do not worry about offending -- people DO have interest. Help them see the real truth -- the greatest truth -- in this life. Let them accept or not -- don't choose for them by not sharing.

Anyway, I'll get off the soapbox now. : ) But these are all things I've learned here. Doing missionary work is truly something that brings joy. For many, it only brings a lot of stress : ) It will not be stressful for you guys if you share with love. It's not a math equation -- it will come naturally to you guys as you share with love. Just talk about the Gospel and the happiness it brings. And you'll find yourself surprised at how easy it will be to invite those who show some interest to Sacrament Meeting, or FHE.

Okay, off the soap box -- REALLY -- now : ) : ) : ) : )
So, as you can see, I've changed pens - it's now 30 November 2009. I got the letter previously mentioned last week after p-day had ended. Blah. But all is well. You guys got it eventually, right?

So Leese, you said you wanted SPORE for Christmas? I got to play that game before the mission and it's a lot of fun. I'd recommend it : ) Katie'll like it, too. And of the three holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas) I love Christmas the greatest. Only a little bit more and I get to talk to you guys! Very exciting : )

Well, I love you guys! Hope all is well!
Love love love love : )
Elder McGregor

A Transfer! Now serving just outside Rio...

Check out where E McGregor is now!
(pictures from Google Earth)

Green - new area, Caxias
Yellow - second area, Conselheiro Paulino
Purple - first area, Barra Mansa
Red - Rio de Janeiro

and, just to show his areas in relation to the Brazil MTC (CTM)
(the aqua marker, lower left):

Hey hey! Well, as you guys suspected, I was indeed transferred. I am now in the Caxias area, of the Rio de Janeiro zone.

We live here, but I don't know the number of the house. So send letters to the mission office for now, k?
Rua Valença
Bairro Prainha, Duque de Caxias--RJ
Brasil

Elder Nogueira (no gay ruh) is my companion--he's from São Paulo. He's 6 foot 5, so now I really am Elder Magrelo. Good stuff =]
But I'm liking the new area a lot. Sorry, no pictures this week--the LAN house we're in isn't all that great.

I didn't get to say goodbye to any of the members in the last area--both Elder Morris and I were transferred, and the area closed again. We were both surprised. But I suppose that's how it goes, huh? But I'm here working hard in a really stinking hot area. Conselheiro was pretty cool--high altitude. It's stinking hot here. But luckily, to make up for it, we have an air conditioned bedroom!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D Totally fantastic. I'll take a picture of it for next week. Anyway, I love you guys and hope that all is well with you. I'll try to get a pretty good sized snail mail written today, kk?

Love, Elder McGregor

PS--don't know anything about the packages yet, but I'll probably get them both on the 21--we're having the mission conference next Monday. So it's quite possible I won't have time to do emails next week either. But I'll probably get both packages there.

PPS--I'm still not entirely sure how calling on Christmas works. So I'm going to need the house number for next week to talk to you guys. I remember it ends in 4805, and starts with 916, but the rest is escaping me. Looking forward to Christmas!! Love!

Snail Mail dated 23 Nov 2009

Oi Familia!
Tudo Bem? Sorry, it's been a while since I've written you a snail mail, so it's about time, huh? I hope everything's great with you and I'm pretty confident you guys are.

And of course everything's going well here. It's wonderful to be a part of the work, especially here in Brasil where it goes so rapidly. How happy I am to have been called here -- what a blessing. And I hear France is a very different mission -- missionaries that go without baptizing their entire mission. And I baptized in my third week. That's not to say that if you don't baptize, your mission wasn't worth anything -- just much more difficult because it is far less visible -- "it" being the fruits of your work. So I am indeed blessed to serve here where results are almost immediate. Do you guys know I haven't knocked one door since I got here? Not because we're slacking, but because it hasn't been needed. Again, what a blessing! : )

So yeah, I'm really well, and happy to be here. And I hope you guys enjoy my letters -- I try to make them interesting for you. If you find them lacking in something, go ahead and suggest something for me to write about, k? : )

I love you guys, and I know it's a short letter today, but I don't have much time : ( Sorry ... If I were Katie, I'd give you a hug and say, "There, all better!" I love you guys!

Love, love, love
Elder Trenton McGregor xoxoxo

A baptism, Zone Conference and Thanksgiving

Oí família! Tudo bem??
Everything's great here--last week was great =] Thanksgiving, Zone Conference, and a baptism!
So this last week we had lunch on thursday with Fransisco (papai de Nolan) and Kalyla (mamãe), (Fransisco and Kalyla are parents of the samba-dancing toddler Nolan) who lived in Australia for over 6 years. So they knew what Thanksgiving was (Thanksgiving is celebrated in Australia? Maybe they had Americans in their ward there or something), and they offered to do a Thanksgiving Lunch for us =] We had chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy (something I miss substantially--they usually eat them dry here), rolls and stuffing =] Elder Morris' fiancé sent him stuffing in his last package (I told you guys he's engaged, right?), and so we had the opportunity to introduce stuffing to Fransisco's family, as they'd never had it before. Very exciting =]

Friday was our Zone Conference. I won't go over what was said, but I will say that Presidente Bezerra is a man inspired of God. Also, this last week we had 91 baptisms in the mission, which, I'm pretty certain, set the new record for baptisms in a week--normally we have about 50-60. So everyone's super pumped to keep baptizing at this rate =] Wish us luck!

And finally, last week Elder Morris and I had a baptism--Emylenne! She's engaged to one of our formerly less active members, Alan. His father, Pedro, performed the baptism, and it was a very special occasion, as all baptisms are.

So this week I have a special request--E. Morris and I are going to have Joaquim interviewed to be baptized. If all goes well, we'll baptize him this Sunday. So if you guy could pray for him to see the importance of this next step in his life, and to help him give up whatever keeps him from entering into this saving ordinance, I would greatly appreciate it.
Love you guys a whole bunch! Glad everything is well with you guys still! Have a wonderful week!
Elder McGregor


The happy birthday song here in Brasil:

Parabéns pra você (congratulations to you)
Essa data querida (this beloved date)
Muitas felicidades (much happiness)
Muitos anos de vida (many years of life)

x2 =]


And - The new scripture cap I've got for my triple combination
(scripture cover)

Joaquim, a Critter, and baking soda

Oí Família!
Tudo bem?

Things are going well here in Brazil =] Haven't gotten the package yet--I'll either get it this transfer, or if it hasn't arrived by then, next time the zone leaders drop by.

I won't need the Ensign--the mission provides them monthly for us. Pretty sweet =] Glad you're not bovvered =] (I ordered a Conference issue for him. Bry and I would have LOVED to have those while serving our missions. The only way to get them was if someone sent it).

I call you guys on Christmas. I'm looking forward to it, too. And I think I call you guys from the mission office, where all the missionaries gather at Christmas time. A missionary mecca, if you will =]

Angela, Eva and Joaquim are doing well. I think Joaquim will be baptized soon-ish, and the others possibly as well.


So photos this week--first is an out of focus centipede, but it was pretty big. It moved too fast to get a comparison, but it was at least as thick as my thumb, and probably twice as long.

"Bixo" (critter)

Next is a photo of our district this transfer, with our Zone Leaders present. (E. Morris, E. Makiama [my trainer, now ZL], E. Fernelius [ZL], E. Vaniski, me, and E. Dooley in the chair. It's E. Dooley's last transfer--he's out of here!

The next two are our baptism this week--François. He's a fantastic kid, and we'll continue to work with his mom and she'll probably be baptized soon. Very exciting =]



But yeah, all is well here! Hope everything's great with you guys!
Love,
Elder McGregor



Then, in a separate e-mail Trent answers my question as to whether or not he wants us to send baking soda so he can make pancakes. He asked us to send pancake mix, but with the outrageous shipping I sent him a recipe and some baking soda ; )

Basicamente, it's really hard to find baking ingredients here. That's why all Brazilian meals consist of beans and rice, noodles and a type of meat, and possibly egs -- that's all they really sell here. There's no such thing as baking in Brazil, unless you buy a pizza. So I'll continue to look for flour and baking soda, but the easier way would just to send me the pancake mix (krusteez powder stuff. Which is why I asked for in the first place?)

But yes, it would be great to send me baking soda. I'm thinking they don't have it here. And it's pretty tough to find brown sugar here too. Wish me luck! =]

We got the email this morning and snail mail this afternoon!

Oi Familia!

Tudo Bem? Tudo bem aqui. Sorry, today I haven't got much time to write -- churrasco! (In other words, really good meat - smoked : )

So that Halloween movie looks pretty entertaining
(I sent him a few screen shots of this JibJab video Kelsey did starring Katie, Jordan, Elise, Kelsey and Trent:
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/dNJ4GjKW7O7265OM )
I remember being a vampire for Halloween once. Way fun.

We always have our own washing machine - the mission buys them for us. Very nice for us : )

Katie; cool stylus thingy - parabéns for learning how to use it well : )

And yes, Daw, miss the banter a lot. But one of the pluses of having an American companion is if I have something really witty to say, I'll just say it. Quite nice : )

So sorry, that's it this time around.

Love you guys!

Elder McGregor

Photos, baby samba, and ties

Oí família!
So photos this week are of Pedro Lucas' birthday--he's Rulian's (last week's baptism) brother, who's 7th birthday we celebrated. He loves Ben10, a very popular kids show here in Brazil, which also exists in the US.


The video is of Nolan, kicking a futebol, and dancing the samba. Very entertaining as well.


But things are well here in CP. No baptisms this week, but we're working with a young man (13) named François--he went to church for the second time this week and is loving it. We got a white shirt for him, and I gave him one of my older ties. He was so ridiculously happy, haha. But his mother's having a tough time letting him be baptized. We're still trying to convince her--she's not totally against it, but not totally for it.
But that also reminds me--all of those fantastic ties we got for my mission are well loved by the Brazilian people--too well loved. Every Sunday I get at least two or three members asking for a tie. It happens every time.
"Hey Daniel!"
"Hey Elder! What a lovely tie you have there."
"Why thank you."
"Do you have any beautiful ties to give to me as a gift?"
I think I'm going to go buy some ugly ties and wear them only to church on Sunday.

Love you guys. Hope all is well!
Elder McGregor

Remember Baby Nolan of "Where's Jesus?" fame? The video is of him. I don't know why the sound's a little weird; it isn't that way until I upload it. Anyway, I came home from Seminary this morning and Bryon and Elise were all happy because we'd already received our Monday email from Trent. Then Bryon shows me the video, too, and as I'm watching it he says, "When Trent talks... it was so weird because I hear my voice, but it's speaking Portuguese!" ha ha! Bryon and Trent sound so alike that they were frequently mistaken for one another on the phone. Kind of fun!

ps I'm also noticing Trent's vocabulary and sentence structure are changing more and more as he is immersed in Portuguese longer and longer ... : )