Apr. 27, 2015 Ahhhhh, the Amish Life!

         11 months and amish living

Well im gettin to that point where i can start going down the hill right? haha So some things have happened this week both good and bad. pretty interesting how that happens right?

Our power still hasnt come back yet. That really sucks. We dont have a washing machine, microwave, fridge, phone charger, hot shower, or light. just some really basic things. If youve ever tried living like an amish youll know what im talking about. So this week we went to the other missionaries house about an hour away from our house to wash and iron all of our clothes. we were there all day. But its amazing how their house seemed like a resort haha. A hot shower and clean clothes can really change your perspective on life haha. 

This week was the first week i ate at McDonalds on my mission. Dont worry they didnt change anything. Its the same crappy food that tastes amazing that they have in the states. Its a little more expensive though.. i paid 21.50 R$ for a big mac with fries and a drink. but it was definitely worth it. 

On last Pday we went to Villa-Lobos. and went roller blading. If thats not the gayest thing you and your companion could do. It actually turned out pretty cool cause we found some other missionaries there and we had a lot of fun. I did try to do a pretty amazing trick and jump a crack and i ended up on my butt. But that was the worst that happened. 

Our brazillian roommates have really been hating on me recently. Ever since the emergency transfer, they have been pretty annoying. I just go to my room and try to keep away from it. then they exploded at me and asked me why i didnt like them. I told them that they kept glaring at me and i didnt like that and that when i dont like someone i prefer that they go away. so i went away to keep them happy. When i told them that they kept quiet cause it was pretty true. we got a division in our area again and so now we are a lot better friends. Also one of them will be transfered this week so that should help. 

This week on friday i will be able to hear Elder Christofferson talk to my mission at the MTC. Live :) Should be pretty legit and pretty spiritual. I mean i live in Utah but ive never seen an apostle in real life before so this should be pretty cool to participate in this (and not have to have a translater ;) )

we had a pretty cool lesson where the investigators were actually interpretting the scriptures right and were understanding everything we were saying. it was really awesome. One of the girls that was there was actually a friend of the other. when we went to get her address she doesnt live in our area. that was kinda disappointing cause she was searching for a church and was confused with the others. She will get baptized for sure :)

So i ran out of things to talk about. Have a good week and dont get dengue. (DANE-gee)

Love,

Elder Kyson Sullivan

We have a water shortage in São Paulo right now 

but that wont stop the Lords work from moving forward. 

filling up the font with buckets man!

and the ways we invented filling them up.

thats a fridge shelf. :)

and an eraser with a sacrament cup haha

My zone. :)

oh and my companion had a baptism in his last ward. that was fun :)

Apr. 20, 2015 cold showers out of a bucket, no power, and mosquitos galore

            No power, gas, or water

heres a cool pic of a  milk carton on the ground i saw when i was walking :)

This week has been really interesting. We have basically been living without any of these 3 things for a week, a day, and everyday during 12 and 6 pm.

Brazil kinda sucks for this reason. they are in a drought and dont know how to store enough water for the amount of people they have so..... they have to cut off the water to try to save it or prevent people from using it. Also our power bill hasnt been paid for about 3 months.. so that got cut off. apparently it was under a members name and it said that the power was included in the rent so nothing happened with it. So... we dont have fans at night (lots of mosquitos) we dont have a fridge that works, we cant charge our phone at our house, or iron our clothes, candles are our light and if we had a shower top (shower head?) we would have cold showers. but the cold shower is a normal thing for us now cause its been about 3 weeks without a warm shower. our water will shut off from the shower at 7 am so you have to get a bucket of water and a cup and dump the water over yourself to get clean. Thats also really fun let me tell you. ;)

On my birthday we did something really fun. we had a milk shake. haha well thats all we did during pday. then we went out to go work and visit members. when we got to the first members house she wasnt there... so Elder Williams said we were going home. we got home and a different sister had made a cake and we bought pizza ;) so it was a good birthday :)

birthday pizza. dominos and pool :)

birthday cake :)

We had interviews with President on wednesday and those were good. First one as a zone leader so he had a little more to tell me and to help us out. basically he told us its our zone and we can do with it what we please so... here we go :) 

oh and my zone. at the interviews.

An experience that happened this week was one day we were working and we got to a house where the lady was leaving. Well... I wasnt about to let her slip out of my hands like that. So i started to teach her about the restoration. I taught it REALLY fast. when i asked her if we could say a prayer she invited us in and asked us more questions. We said our prayer and it turned out to be a really cool lesson. We have another appointment with her tonight :)

So ya thats about it for this week. I hope youre all well and healthy and not missing any power.. or gas... or water... cause it really stinks haha. 

Love,

Élder Sullivan

an american from oakland who has 2 things any american would die for!

and they have dominos here :) that pizza was expensive but worth it :)

 (the member gave money for lunch)

 (also the kfc in the background ;) )

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:33 PM, Koby Sullivan <koby sullivan> wrote:

I see your mission and realize that my mission has nothing....

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:34 PM, Kyson Sullivan <kyson sullivan> wrote: 

yes that would describe your mission perfectly haha

On Mon, Apr 20, 2015 at 12:34 PM, Kyson Sullivan <kyson sullivant> wrote:

in that same place theres a mcdonalds, and a burger king, and a subway :)

a freaking pink limo that was really really ugly. it had eye lashes too. 

it was for a little girls birthday party... haha

and a cool looking spider :)

Apr. 13, 2015 It's my Birthday!!!

          Its my Birthday!!!

Happy birthday to me! im 21 now and that doesnt mean anything here in brazil cause you can drink when youre 18... so its just another birthday! (not that im planning on drinking haha ;) )

This week was fun. I almost bible bashed the crap out of this guy but the spirit told me not to so we just left. that was really fun to get rialed up like that :) Something thats not so fun is blistered feet. its always a bandaid and duck tape to try to ease the pain. they are going away but they always come back. i just cut off a bunch of caloused skin to see if that would help with the blisters. One more thing thats awesome is that we have been taking a cold shower for about 2 weeks now. our shower broke and we just have a pipe sticking out of our wall that cold water comes out of. so its pretty nice. wake up and get in a cold shower ;)

This week we did a lot better than the last. we found a lot of new investigators but no one worth mentioning yet. We are trying to talk with everyone and something cool happens when we do this. most of our new inv. have invited us in without us asking. then we teach and they ask questions and thats usually a good sign of someone who wants to enter the church. so this should be pretty cool to see if they actually want to progress and go to church and what not. 

I love this gospel and i love being a missionary. I love these people and although sometimes after lunch its hard to get up and get working i love serving them everyday :) 

I love you guys too! always remember that! :)

Elder Sullivan

Apr. 6, 2015 Still sick and an American companion.

         Conference weekend

So this week we also didnt do too much. well like a lot of work that is. I was still sick at the beginning of the week and cause me and my companion are new at the ZL thing we were being trained by an assistant to the president. Well i really wasnt feeling good so sister del guerso sent me to the hospital. That was a fun 8 hours of waiting and getting home after midnight. We didnt even get our full training by the assistant but its all good. Turns out i only had an infection in my intestines. or something like that. all i know is that i took the medication and felt better. 

The next day we went to a leadership counsel. Also a blast cause there was a lot of debating and a lot of people pulling out the preach my gospel to prove their points and it was pretty entertaining to watch. I didnt say anything cause i am new and dont know anything haha. But we were able to see where we can help our zone and what points we need to do better. 

We did however get a little bit of work in. Thank goodness. We are working off a list of references that another missionary left. Most of them dont exist but a few do still. We found a 8 or 9 new investigators that have room to progress. I am excited for this week cause its a normalish week and we can do a FULL week of work :)

Then we had conference. That was good. I watched in english and got to feel the emotion in everyone of the speakers. I did however watch the preisthood in portuguese and that was right when the other brazillian spoke so i heard it live :) Its nice cause conference is like the missionary holiday. Just conference all day and being spiritually uplifted :) 

Ya but other than this that was all that happened this week. I really like my new companion. He is chill. Its great to have another american cause when you dont want others to understand or you want him to understand completely you can speak in english. He is really funny and i like him. He Has a good spirit about him and will help me become a better missionary. 

I love you all!

Elder Sullivan

Mar. 30, 2015 fired from DL, called to ZL

          what a week.

Kyson is right behind the girl in the yellow skirt/white shirt.

9th from the left.

Well not a ton happened that was worth mentioning on the side of the work. we just had 2 baptisms fall through which sucked....

But this week i hit 10 months in the mission! this exact day i also got hit by dengue fever. Its a disease that you get from mosquitos. so i spent the day in bed and in the bathroom. yupp. diarreah like crazy. just water really. also my body hurt so bad. like i had just finished working out with Jesse White and Stan Watts ;) (mom's note: two of the buffest guys on the cheer squad w Kyson at Utah State) also a headache that can't be described and to top it off a fever. It was pretty nasty really. Sister told me to get tonic water and a lime and drink it. also paracetamol. those helped a little but not a ton. i still felt like crap. a little later that day....

President called me. He said that he is opening a new zone. Zona Vila Yara and he called me to be a new Zone Leader in this zone. Yup. 2 weeks as a District Leader and now im moved up? i felt really untrained and really unqualified. but i accepted. i am getting my training today in a little bit. I got a new companion yesterday. his name is Elder Williams. He also is a new ZL and has never been a DL. so we are really new. like REALLY new. also i dont know my area all too well so we will be basically opening the area too. My other companion... well he went next door. He moved into Vila Yara B (which is in the same house) and so now we are still together. He got put with another brazillian. He is going to still teach all the other investigators that he started so we have nothing. just a few contacts. 

Elder Williams is cool. He is from Kansas City, Missouri and has a year and 3 and has been in brazil since august. so its pretty chill. My first American companion :) 

so ya.. my week. not all that crazy since tuesday but still a good week. we´re trying to get this whole zone under control so we can focus a little better on the work and do a good job. ZL is better than DL i think. less you have to try to control. you just get the burning from the assistants haha. 

thats about it. i hope youve had a good week too and keep me in your prayers. im gonna need them this week. tchau! Abraços!

Elder Kyson Sullivan

Mar 24, 2015 Back to Sao Paulo, and back to the temple!

          1 week in Vila Yara

This week has been absolutely crazy. Like there were so many things to do but i feel like we didnt do anything this week at the same time. 

My new companion is elder Barros. we call ourselves the gordinhos gostosos. cuz we are both fat ;) haha He has been the biggest help to me as a district leader. he has basically been the companion to the DL for about his whole mission. (8 months) and has been keeping me in the path. He is really funny and loves this people. He works really hard and is really obedient. Just think about the dream companion that you would want and he is it haha. This Area is a prime area. We hit the standard this week and this is normal here. so many people to talk to and its going really well. Just a really good plan everyday. 

I love this new ward too. Like i dont think ive ever eaten so much in my life. they are really nice to us and help out with all we need. Also we have been getting references which hasnt been happening here before too. so thats a good change for the better. Go new missionaries!

We went to the temple today so thats why we have pday on tuesday. I love the temple and my other zone didnt go so its been a while. i definitely feel rejuvenated from these past months! The church really is true :)

As a LD i had my first District meeting, training, and interview for baptism. They all went well and i didnt mess up too bad for my first week. Something funny in this district is that im the DL of the ZLs. Also my trainer (Elder Cinezio) is in my district too. I have new people, people who are going home soon, people who have been in the area for a while and the new DL. Its been pretty cool to take on new responsibilities and be able to grow a little more as a leader and see the mission in a different view. 

Like i said a lot happened but its hard to get it out in english. Let alone sum it all up. I love you all and thank you for the support and prayers that are sent my way. Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Kyson Sullivan

yup.. i went there :)

my snake (a girl who likes you on your mission)

my companion. it was his bday. we had lots of cake this day :) ill be spending my bday with him too :)

my first experience with american food in brazil. BK. of course with an american haha

brazilians and duct tape curiosity

i got a guitar from a good friend :) thats pretty sweet :)

meu companheiro no predio    (my companion on the building/roof?)

gordinhos gostosos ;)    (chubby delicious? haha google translate)

we rented a van for our zone to go to the temple.

pinked tied missionaries

brazilian selfie.

 (the 2 that live in the same house with me. 

theyre from pernambuco). 

(northeastern Brazil)

my companion got 6 letters and a package... wheres mine????? ;)

Mar. 17, 2015 fixed my toe and found some Heaven at the LDS bookstore.

Transfers.

So this week felt like P-week. haha We had pday, then the next day was our toe appointment. 

We didnt get home until like 9, so no work. the procedure was really quite cool how she cut the nail. She put some cotton on it with some liquid to make the nail softer. Then she took some sort of medical knife and cut the toe down the side where it was ingrown. it didnt even hurt. she then pulled out the part where it was stuck inside my toe. it looks like a shark tooth.. ill send a picture! 

The next day i was feeling so sick and the other elder that went to the toe doctor with me couldnt walk cause his toe was hurting pretty bad he couldnt get shoes on. so.. it was basically another p-day. that day sucked... i felt like a loser haha. 

On thursday we had our Mission Tour. Elder Costa of the quorum of the 70. That was really cool and really spiritual! one of the things that i loved was when he told us to just put ourselves in the hands of the holy ghost and he´ll guide us where we need to go. 

(The mom feels like this is a nice humorous spot to add this picture!!!)

The other soda is A&W root beer. The mom has a hard time believing that Kyson is the one drinking the root beer. He has craved a Dr. for 10 months!

We met a reference that we got a while ago. he was never in his house but we kept passing by. one day we found him in the streets and invited him to semanary. he went! like we only invited him the one time. he went to church and now they are getting him ready to be baptized this sunday! Our mission has a challenge called march 5 which is to baptize 5 people in the month of march. that area will definitely get it!

We had transfers today. Im finishing writing today cause yesterday when we were writing the internet fell and we didnt have power. so president said we could come in today and finish writing. I got my new companion Elder Ba. He is way chill and way cool and i already love him! I got transfered out of the jungle and into the city. 

I am in Zona Rochadale in area Villa Yara A. I was also called to be a District Leader! :) I have 4 areas in my district and even the elder who trained me is in my district too! Im so excited to be able to help these elders in any way i can. 

Yesterday we said a lot of goodbyes. they were pretty hard. The area was hard but the ward was really loving and helped me grow a ton. they did so much when i need their help and it was hard to leave. 

The name of this dessert escapes me!! (the mom)

No, it doesn't, I am just not going to repeat it!!! LOL

It is

chocolate covered marshmallows!

Sorry i took a while to get back on. Its been a crazy day already. Full of fun times already. But now its time to get to work and get to know this new area! Should be pretty fun! there are a lot more people here in this area than there were in my past one so it should all go fine! 

I love you all and thanks for all the support and love you send my way!

Elder Kyson Sullivan

Mar. 16, 2015 don't know why, but only got 15 minutes on the computer

This is everything that we heard from Kyson this week. He got on and responded to our letters, then nothing, nothing, nothing. He just disappeared!



Dad says: Kyson your toe looks very pain full!

ya im working on cutting it better now. ill send the pics of them cutting it and the huge nail that was inside me haha

the cool thing about them cutting it was that it didnt hurt and i could walk with shoes on right after she cut it! pretty neat stuff!

Dad says: congrats on the baptisms! Does your ward members keep them active?

ya this ward does a great job with it. they already have family home teachers, and they are well in with the YM already so its going good. they are some cool boys and are doing well.

love ya dad!

Elder Kyson Sullivan

Picture mom sent to him of his 2 sisters: front in pink, and back with tongue out, and his 3 neices waiting for a hotdog picnic to start.

Kyson: it took me a good 30 seconds to realize that the girl in the front was kamarie.... like when did she get so big??????? holy cow!

i miss a good american hot dog. the hot dogs here suck.......

love ya! Kyson

Mom did find out from one of his very good friends on facebook that is in his current area that he is being transferred tomorrow. Otherwise, I would not know anything.

These are the pics the friend sent to the mom.

Cutest decorations for a baby birthday party!!!