Sept. 3, Elder Gatten

What’s going on there in the promised land? I hope that your all doing awesome and that this letter finds you all happy and smiling! After looking at the blogs it looks like everyone is doing awesome there, and the kids are growing up in a hurry. Seriously! The little nieces and nephews that I used to have all turned into to boys and girls. They all look so different its amazing. Especially cade. It looked like they all had fun in the kids triathlon that they had there this last week. The sun was shinning and the little buggers were working their tails off! Training them young there huh. Great job guys! Oh also I saw that tom finished a half triathlon too! That a boy. Keep it up! It looked like you had a fun time and you were alive at the end of it. It seems like everyone in the family is getting hooked up on this kind of sissy runny and swimming junk. Que porkaria é essa?! I cannot believe that tyler poked a freaking elk the first weekend of the season. That is how we do it!!!!!!!!!! How many elk has he killed? I find myself super depressed writing in my journal because I just keep recounting that story of when I lost that big bull last year. I have had 2 haunting dreams about it. And also you want to know how many elk I have killed after all of the sleepless nights I have had hunting? 0 yes 0. what a pitiful number. Here I am this mighty hunter in brasil always talking about elk, and I have not killed one. Sucks. But I am so proud of tyler. Now jon has the help to go and get one for him. I don’t think that he could have a better chance. Just him going to be up there at the pond peak ready to slay some game. Tyler got another though. That’s tight. Well I am also going nuts knowing that dad is going to Alaska today. I tell all the people my comp and everyone and they think that he is insane. They seriously think that he is so rich. Cause its like every weekend he is going somewhere. And he just went to Alaska fishing. They think he is the man! They love too how my family hunts and gets out in the wild. People here don’t know what life is until they stick their hands into a steaming hot dead animal! As you can tell I am pretty trunky for hunting. Its in my blood though, I was raised that way. Ha. Mas meu amigo tyler, parabéns com o successo cara. Eu sabia que tu iria matar um aulci! Tu é o bicho, capaz pra tudo! Agora vai lá e mata pra mim. Compra logo um ingresso meu, se tu quiser. Ta? Até logo bruxu!Oh by the way, elder hugh b. mason from my group that is from Colorado is like my main man. Just like me and brett. Big and buff and stuck on hunting. Anyways his dad has tons of ranches and hunts eld até o pó, he said his dad got a couple tags in mexico and Arizona that are super hard to get. Its like guranteed he will mata a fatty bull!I am sick of hearing from the people about the united states and who will win presidency in their opinion. Everyone here is saying that Obama is going to win. I just tell them it is a bunch of you know what. I cannot believe what the world is coming to. The more political the things are getting the more it just pushes me away from having an opinion and caring about what is going on. I hate it. I hope Christ comes before we elect a……ha.I got the packages that you guys sent me! A couple shirts from sportsmans! Ducks and a big fatty bull elk that got my blood going! Ha ha. Also new shoes that are seriously heaven. I never though that I loved having comfortable shoes so much. I opened up the package and I grabbed the shes and began to kiss them uncontrollably. Shoes! Thanks for everything. Seriously. I loved the clif bars too. I already ate them all! Ha. It was all awesome. My birthday is coming up too, but you don’t have to worry about sending me anything. If you really want to send something send me a written copy of your testimony and a story of how you first came to know that the church was true. That would definitely be enough for me.! Thanks again for the things that I received. I am so blessed.So, this last weekend I had the conference with elder Ellis of the area presidency of brasil. It was a great experience, and I learned a ton to say the least. It is so nuts how you feel so small when you have such a spiritual giant and learned man in your presence. He gave us training and ate dinner with him after. He did not interview us though. Only the zone leaders. His wife is super cool. She spoke some Portuguese also which was super surprising. Elder Ellis was the president of the brasil são Paulo north mission from 01´to 04´. He was the president for the bishop of my ward. Crazy. So they have some experience with missionaries and with the atmosphere here in brasil. So anyways he taught us a ton of stuff. He taught us mainly that we need to work more with the members. He used a little symbol to illustrate this for us. mBm. Members + missionaries, baptize more. And it also reflects missão brasil manaus. He taught the importance that every member has in the missionary work. He related a ton to what elder bednar spoke about in the last general conference. He said the missionaries are full time teachers and the members are the full time finders. Members have to not just pray for the missionaries, but pray for personal missionary experiences. But wait….it does not just finish with that. That is where many people mess up; they pray for experiences and then they do nothing about it. You have to pray for the discernment to know who to talk to and what to say. To have the ability to listen to the whispers of the spirit, and have the courage to follow the answer you receive. He spoke with the spirit, and I could just feel that without a doubt what he was saying was pure revelation. It was an awesome. Meeting. Oh and one crazy fact! He is from BURLEY, IDAHO. Ha ha. Now he lives in Texas though. So you guys want to know about my president but there is not that much to say. He served a mission here in brasil at the same time dad was in south Africa. He is a little older. He does not speak that great of Portuguese but I know that the lord will qualify him for the work. He is a scientist guys and taught at the BYU Hawaii for like 20 years. He lives there right by the school and temple. It was cool cause we can talk about all the areas there in Hawaii and the islands and we both can relate to it. With the sister too. She is awesome. I had the opportunity to sit down with her and talk for a couple hours. We laughed and cried together. She told me how she feels being on the mission and the whole process she went threw with the prophet and such. Its an amazing story. They are awesome. I told her how my family was so excited to hear about how they are and everything and she began to cry and said that that big gatten family sounds like they are one in a million. I thought that was sweet. So the work is going good. We have really spent so much time on our knees lately. We have been ready DC 42 14 a lot and I am continually seeking the spirit in all that I do. I am praying for the ability to recognize its promptings and being able to act in accordance to them. I love the work. I know that it, the work, is not easy, no one said it would be easy. It is teaching me so much though. I know who I want to be. I know that the gospel is true. I know that my father in heaven has a plan for me and that I have the opportunity to have an eternal family in his presence is I live according to his standards. We have to do our part or we have no promise.D C 82 10 around there. I love the gospel. I know that it is true. I want each of you to receive another conformation of its veracity. Read moroni 10 3-5 and humble yourself and ask the father with a sincere heart if really these things are true. I know that threw the power hole ghost you will receive an answer. Galatians 5 22 what greater joy a man can have than to know of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Its real. Now is the time to prepare. Be valiant. I love you all. Keep your head up and make him proud. Bring forth good fruit! I am praying for you.Elder gatten