Many more days...

Well, it has been a while, and so much has happened, so I guess I'll get started! It's finals week here at BYU now, which is sometimes stressful, but I think is still better than a hard week of classes. My finals aren't too bad either, I got a 91% on my first one, and hopefully there are more good grades to come!

Well, some of the fun things from the last few weeks:

Laser Tag! Our Elder's quorum went laser tagging with about 20 people, and I came in third, which was awesome :) And the top three places were all really close, so I was happy, especially since both of the guys ahead of me (just barely) essentially camped the whole time :P But oh well, I doubled their kills haha and then there was quite a gap to fourth place. The fourth place guy was the only other experienced paintballer with our group, so I was worried he'd beat me by a long shot, but turns out he only got two more kills than me (73) but got like 20 more deaths. So that made his points several thousand lower than mine. And even then, we were way ahead of most of the players. I think average scores were between 30,000 and 40,000, and I got about 61,000. So it was pretty awesome. I only have a few complaints about how this particular laser tag place scores and records hits, but now I have a modified combat strategy specifically for it that will allow me to at least half my deaths, which should theoretically put me way in first place next time. But we shall see. I still like paintball a lot more.

Talent Show: Our ward had a talent show! And it was catered by Panda Express! It was super good. And there are so many talented people in my ward it is amazing! It was so much fun. There was a lot of music, a few skits, and then some dances and that was most of it. But the people singing and playing piano and such in many cases had written or composed their own stuff, and combined with their own talent, it was awesome. :)

End of classes!!!!!!!: So yeah, classes ended. Yay!!

Well, that is all I can think of for now on specific events, but there were so many more fun things that happened with friends that it would take all night to write about them. Had a super fun time with the ward, and I have learned that mistletoe is apparently a pretty powerful kiss attractor. No worries though, I didn't kiss anyone or let anyone kiss me. haha though I am flattered to say that there were several girls who tried very hard, and even formed their own plots to try and get me. In the end it practically came down to a strength contest when they all ganged up on me, but luckily being more than six inches taller than them all prevented their immediate success and I am apparently stronger than them. haha it was nothing too serious, they are all good friends of mine, they were just trying to get lipstick on my cheek, but still no. haha not gonna happen. Though it would be hilarious to see Robbie and Derek's reactions to me coming home in such a state... haha! I get the brunt of the jokes about relationships. I think it's just because they know I could be in one but chose not to be, but I could be flattering myself too I suppose haha. Pretty funny though I think.

Finals aren't too bad, and the week is probably going to fly by! Well, I am off to bed. Good night! And as a parting thought, never forget just how much the Lord loves you! He knows you very personally, and is doing all he can to help you succeed. Even if you feel like your life is going down the tubes, remember that he knows what is best and that once you are doing what he wants you to do, he will set your life on the track that is BEST for you. It may not be easy, and it might not make sense, but he knows. Trust him, and do what is right! You will go further than you currently see or think is possible. I know from experience! Good night!

12.24.12 - Elder Viglione Writes Again!‏

Olá Queridos! 

So, another week has passed blindingly fast. First, thank you to everyone who wrote me or sent me emails. I love them and treasure them. They are some of the only pieces of home I have, and they mean a lot to me. They give me strength, help me remember why I'm here working so hard, and help me push myself yet harder. 

So many mission calls!! I am so happy for all of you serving!! You guys have no idea what joy and purpose you are about to find. Or how much you will learn. I am just beginning to realize it, and it is amazing. If you know someone who I know whose gotten one, let me know who, when, and where. Also what language and for how long, I love seeing what people have been called to do :)

So, this week was pretty amazing. Right now Elder J. Lima and I are working harder than ever before -- and also consequently facing more adversity and trials than ever before -- but we are also being more blessed and more helped by Heavenly Father than I can adequately explain. While you all enjoy winter, we are entering summer, and an average day is well above 100 degrees. There have been times when we were tired to the bone and thirsty, and out of nowhere someone would literally appear and offer us food, water, or a shaded place to rest. One man saw us, and came and took us into his church to drink water and give us sacole (simmilar to ice cream), all the while thanking us for the great service we are doing. I think we are going to teach him soon. 

Historically, not much progress happens very fast in this part of Brazil. An average missionary baptizes 20-30 in their mission, maybe 40 if they are lucky. Well, I decided I wasn't going to settle to be average. I decided that I will baptize every single one of God's children in my area. I know the promises the Lord has made to us, and there is literally no limit to what we can accomplish with His help. At times Elder J. Lima gets frustrated with me because I don't stop and I strive to be perfectly obedient to every mission rule, even the ones "nobody" keeps. It's hard. It's hard to be that way. Sometimes people don't like you for it. But it is right. And it is only hard while you are making the change. After the trial of our faith, which will be as great as the change we are trying to make, it becomes easy. And now we are pushing ourselves still further, faster. 

We are seeing results. The ward here was dwindling, almost about to regress to being a branch, but we are working to strengthen it, and I feel we will be the motivating power for great change here. 

As for missionary work, we have four more baptisms marked, three of which will be Sunday. By the time my seventh week here in the field ends, we will have had six baptisms. And even more people than ever are accepting us and progressing. We are having to plan better than ever before to try to get to them all, and we almost can't! It is amazing. Truly Heavenly Father is perfecting us and trying us so we can better do His work here. So He can better work through us. And every day I ask for more of His help, and He gives it. 

At this rate, by the time this transfer is over, the work here will have progressed more in six weeks than it did in six months, and honestly I think that we are barely beginning to realize just what a difference we can make. I feel like we often forget that, all of us. We are children of an Almighty God who loves us and who has promised us His help, His guidance, His knowledge and His power if we will just trust Him and obey. That's all. Trust Him. Obey. He's perfect, why not trust Him? He's our Father, why not talk to Him every day in humble prayer? Great are the things He has in store for thise who are worthy and who ask. Truly I am just beginning to learn the reality of this simple truth.

So, my favorite miracle of the week: A nine year old girl named Camila. Her aunt found us in church and told us she wanted to be baptized, so we started teaching her. This is a miracle in and of itself, nobody has ever searched us out and literally asked us to baptize them before! This little girl has so much faith and is so pure that I almost cry thinking about it. After we taught her the first time, we marked a section for her to read in the Book of Mormon, and explained that if she read and prayed about it she would find even more peace and joy, and that she would know God was her father, and that she would feel His love. She explained that she was barely learning how to read, but that she would try. We returned three days later, and she had read it all. She even marked parts she liked. And she was so happy! It literally fills me with joy to think about her. 

The youth in the world these days are often so lost, so blinded by the filthiness of the world, yet here is little Camila - exercising her faith, literally a light shining in darkness. This faith will save her from the broken ways of the world. Here there are so many young women with children and no husbands. Starving and abused and abusing their children because it is all they know. There are so many young men already fathers, yet don't even know or care to know the names of their children, defiling themslves and others and destroying lives with their carnal desires. Yet the gospel of Christ has the power to change this all - to bring life where there is death. To bring a future full of purity and opportunity to this little girl who is just beginning to learn who she really is. How beautiful is that? Anybody who thinks that this gospel doesn't have power, that faith in Christ isn't real power to change, simply has not seen enough to truly understand.

I am so glad to be a missionary. My heart is filled with indescribable joy. Watching the gospel change these people is changing me. 

In moments of weakness I have been tempted to think, "Matthew, this is hard. Why are you here? You can't really do anything, you are missing all of the opportunities in your life you left behind. Look at what you had. You had it all. You had family. You had friends. Everyone around you loved you. You had an excellent university.You had a good job, and for the first time in your life you had money. You were comfortable. You felt like you truly belonged. Why are you wasting your time here?" 

I am immensely grateful that in these moments of weakness there was also something else in my heart: Faith. A belief in things which I could not see, but were true. A desire to do what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. A hope, and later knowledge, that truly the Lord had prepared a way for me to do what He had asked and that He would keep His promises, that indeed no sacrifice would be in vain. It has been in these moments of weakness I have come to know my Savior best. To remember that He lived His entire life for others, and yet they still rejected Him. To remember that He was perfect, yet He had still suffered all pain. To know that not a minute of His life was "easy", or maybe even "comfortable", yet He choose always to give up His own will and do the will of His Father. What an example of humility. What an example of faith. What an example of love.

This is what helps me go further than I ever thought I could. This is what helps me never give up. And this is why I will keep trying until the day I die. Because He really lives. Because we really are the children of an almighty God. Because we really do have opportunity to learn and grow and become something better that we could not become alone. We all have the promise that we can do it. We can succueed.

Now I am very grateful that these moments of weakness never completely overcame me. That there was always someone there a whole lot more powerful than me to help me - truly my Savior. And now I can see more clearly. I can see the end from the beginning, and I see that all the sacrifice is truly worth it in the end. And now I pray every day that I will have the strength and the faith to not give up before the test is over.

I am so glad for this grand opportunity. Indeed I cannot say even a part of what I feel inside, but I can tell you all that this gospel is so incredibly wonderful. I am so glad to be a servant of God bringing it to the world. I am sad not everyone accepts it, truly sorrowful. We are all children of God, yet many let themselves be blinded and even once they know the truth let themselves be led away by the ways of the world. I now pray every day that I won't be one of these some day. None of us are immune, it will always be work to do what is right and if we don't we too will be led away and will forget the happiness and freedom we once had.

I'll close with a quote a good friend sent me: 

"Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light." -Bruce Lee

I am so glad to be a missionary, bringing the light to the world! And to all of you my family and friends! Stay strong! I love you all more than you know!

All the Best, 

Elder Viglione

Oh, and Merry Christmas!! :) 

12.18.12 - Another week of miracles in Rio de Janeiro!‏

Olá queridos! 

So, I am typing crazy fast today, please excuse any spelling errors or grammar errors, my English is getting worse and this computer thinks every English word is misspelled, and I need spellcheck more than ever. 

First, I want to eliminate all ambiguity concerning how people can contact me, since there is still a little confusion. Anyone is allowed to email me at: matthew.viglione@myldsmail.net  

The only catch is I can only reply via email to family. So, if you email me and want a response and aren't immediately related to me, include in your email your address so I can reply with a letter. 

Information about letters: Right now, it is taking 4 to 6 weeks for me to recieve letters, just fyi. I am not sure how long they take to the US from here. Also, a few of you I really want to write (Britta!  Karee!) but I either have addresses that are old or that will be old by the time my letters get to there. So, send me permanent addresses! And mission addresses too (MTC and Mission Office), for those of you leaving in the near future. :)

My address is, and will remain:

Elder Matthew Salvatore Viglione

Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission

Rua Dois de Dezembro 78 salas 703/704

Flamengo

22220-040 Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Brazil

NOTE: Packages, letters, anything can be recieved there. Just DON'T put "Elder" in front of my name for anything that isn't just an ordinary letter. Postal workers sometimes see "Elder" and get a little too interested, but regular letters with nothing extra inside are safe. 

Okay, I will respond to all confusion hearafter about email and such on a personal basis. On to the miracles :)

So, miracle 1: Learning Portuguese. I can testify that the Gift of Tongues is real, and active in my life. Right now my companion, Elder J Lima, speaks no English. My first month in the field has passed with me speaking almost none. I decided I wasn't going to let a language barrier stop me from testifying to the whole world this gospel, and started praying and trying real hard to learn. Well, we had a conference with our mission president (who also doesn't speak any English) and it is a tradition to have the missionaries who arrived in the last six weeks and also those finishing and leaving for home bear testimony, so I bore my testimony. It was quite amazing. As usual (In English) I didn't think about what to say beforehand, knowing the spirit would guide my words. I just got up, said what was in my heart, and sat back down. Afterwards, many missionaries came to me and said they couldn't believe I already could speak, and my mission president and his wife even came up to me and expressed their suprise. They and the other missionaries said in both language and power that I appeared more like one of the missionaries going home than one of the new arrivals. I can tell you all that I am not able to learn so fast alone. I've never learned so fast before in my life. And I've never felt so complete in my life either. Heavenly Father is helping me. In fact, He's doing everything for me. We give the little bit that constitutes our best effort, and He gives us a small part of the vast knowledge and power He possesses, and then He uses us to do His work and work miracles. And even more, we grow in the process.

This week we recieved a few references from the mission office of people who called for a Christmas DVD, and we went to give them out. These people lived very far away in an area we'd never been to before, and when we arrived it became apparent that no missionaries had been there in a very long time, if ever. It was so great. Everyone watched us go everywhere, and when we talked to them they always wondered who we were and we were able to share the gospel with them. The two families who wanted the dvds accepted our visits, plus another woman we met, but best of all was a man and woman we found asking for directions. We started talking to them, and as we were going to leave I explained that we were missionaries. The two of them immediately started talking about the gospel and we found that they knew quite a bit. We talked for a while, they accepted our visits, and the two of them even became a little emotional. The man had worked as an electrical engineer and when I started talking about my work and study before the mission, he was so happy. The woman told us about her life and some trials she had gone through, but she said she always sought to do what was right. I was amazed at how prepared they were for us, in every way. Truly Heavenly Father put us in the right place at the right time to find them. Before we left, the woman looked at me and said, "I can see the spirit of God in you. You are different than all these people around here. I can feel it." I can't describe how I feel about these two. They are married, and have a 14 year old son. All I can say is that I feel like I already knew them before, and we agreed that I would find them and bring them the gospel here on Earth. I can't wait to see them again.

Meu tempo está acabando... My time is running out.. but before I go, I just want to tell you all how glad I am to be a missionary. But even more important than that, how glad I am that we have a Heavenly Father that knows us, cares about us, and will help us with anything. That He has a Son that alson loves, knows, and cares about us, so much in fact that He gave everything to help us return to live with Him and His Father. I am so glad we have the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, to guide and direct us, as well as a living prophet and apostles. As we read, study, and ponder their words and the scriptures, we will find all the strength and direction we need to overcome the evil and hardship so prevelant in this world. Indeed, we really can stand apart and live better lives. We have everything we need, all we need now is to do -- do everything we know is right, and then live off the blessings. How perfect a plan! :) 

I love you all so much! You better believe I pray for you, and miss you guys loads. If the salvation of souls wasn't on the line, I'd be with you all in a heartbeat.

All the best!

Elder Viglione 

12.10.12 - Miracles in Brazil!! Elder Viglione's Mission Email‏

Olá Queridos!

First, I wan't to say, congradulations to Mitch and Marissa!!! I wish I could be there for your wedding! Also, Carlin and Rachel!!!! I wish I was there. I'll try to visit you guys in 2014 when I get back :) Also, congrats to Kyle and Julia!! You two are awesome! And congrats to Ben and Andrea too :) And congrats Becca with your mission call!!! I am so happy for you!! 

I still remember you all. And I won't forget. ALL of my friends have special places in my heart, and I don't forget my friends, even if it's been a long time. I'll see you all again someday, if not in this life then in the next, so you can count on telling me how life's been for the last however so long :)

I also really really want to thank Becca, Naomi, Dallin, Sister Tahauri, and Jerry. You're guys' emails mean a ton to me. And letters too. A few of you indicated you sent letters but I have yet to recieve them. All is well, they just take a while. Let me know when you sent them, and whether it was to the MTC or to the Rio Mission and I should be able to tell whether they were lost or are just slow. Thank you so much! It is so good to hear about the far away place called home. I will write you guys back in letters. But I need your addresses! So send them to me is you haven't yet! And to obliviate all remaing doubt, anybody can email me now :)

So, what have I learned on my mission so far? Too much to tell. But the most important thing I have learned is that when we work our hardest, Heavenly Father makes up the rest and we can accomplish anything. It is easy to not put in all your effort, to slack off, to be a little more comfortable. Trust me, I know. I was the biggest slacker I know. But the truth of the situation is that we always need to do our best. In every moment. It is not easy, but it is right. If we want to be better tomorrow, we have to be better today. If we really want to accomplish things and go places, we have to do our best, ask Heavenly Father for help, then keep doing our best believing that our effort will be worth it and that He will help us. He will take us places we never thought we could go. And you know what, we were right for thinking that! We couldn't go there! At least not without Him. Miracles happen when we put in our best, and then Heavenly Father gives us a little bit of His best. So, moral of the story, remember Him, and do your best! Your best will always get you there! 

The Rio de Janeiro mission isn't like others in Brazil - It is one of the oldest and one of the hardest to Baptize in. For the last five to six-ish months, the area I'm in hasn't had much progress. Elder J. Lima told me the day I got here that Saracuruna is a hard place to be a missionary, that the work doesn't progress much -- and also, it's really hot. Well turns out, only one of those things is true. I decided long ago, before I even set foot in Brazil, that I would work, every day, as hard as I could. I would put in my best, and I knew that if I did that, the Lord would bring me sucuess. After all, what difference is there between us, and people like Ammon, Nephi and Lehi, the Sons of Mosiah, or the stripling warriors? None. We are just as capable today as they were then. Then how did they accomplish such great things? Because they were obedient; Becuase they trusted the Lord, and they did their best. It was never easy, but they did it anyways. When we are clean and pure, when we are completely obedient, and we put in our best, Heavenly Father uses us to accomplish miracles. There is no limit to what He can do, and so, there is literally no limit to what He can do with us. "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

So, I said there were Miracles in Brazil. That is because there are! I had my second baptism yesterday, a young man named Douglas. He is 14, and we have been working a ton with his mom too, but she has to give up drinking, smoking, and coffee. But we are hoping she will be baptized this next week. Also, I baptized another young man by the name of Guilherme (pronounced geel-yer-me). Elder J. Lima baptized his mom my first Sunday, and now we are working with his great-aunt too. The amount or work Heavenly Father has accomplished with Elder J. Lima and I in the last four weeks surpasses that that has been accomplished here in the last four months. So many people are accepting the gospel here, and I am so happy for them! It is amazing to watch it change their lives. To see light and peace where before there was confusion. To see happiness enter where before people never even knew they were lacking! How wonderful it is to be a missionary, declaring to the world the truth! I am so glad! It is oh so hard, but oh so good :)

Sadly, I am out of time. Write me, and I will reply with some specific stories I found especially meaningful. I love you guys!

All the best,

Elder Viglione

12.4.12 - Elder Viglione Mission Email‏

Olá queridos! 

So, somone told me I forgot to send out my email address. I thought I did. It is matthew.viglione@myldsmail.net

Well, I hope the holidays are passing nicely in the States! To be honest, I miss them. I absolutely love the holiday season, and I love snow, and friends, and Haley's Birtday, and all such, but I know this is where I am suppossed to be. And while you are all enjoying brisk winter evenings, it is currently summer here, which means super hot and quite humid. Somewhere in the 90s I think, and more humid than I've ever known. But I was well prepared for the heat by my desert life. So it isn't too bad. Anything for the kingdom of God! 

So this week was really great. Tough, but great. Being a missionary is incredibly difficult, but so incredibly worth it. 

The first day was my birthday, and I didn't tell anyone but Elder J. Lima told everyone, and Brazillians are so loving and welcoming that even people I didn't know in the ward were wishing me happy birthday and they gave me a lot of chocolate :) I hadn't had chocolate in quite a while, and I have discovered that the only way for me to stop eating chocolate is to run out. haha. 

We had P-day, and I don't quite remember what we did, but that night we held a family home evening with Maria Meneguette, who I previously spoke of. She is bed-ridden and can't walk. So we go every week to visit her. It is always good to see her, and she was very happy to have us over. Some members also came and we all ate cake together, and they sang me happy birthday. It was great.

On a mission, it is very easy to feel alone. Especially in another country where nobody speaks you language. Very hard at times. But the most important thing I have learned through it all is that Christ knows exactly what I am feeling, and that we never truly walk alone. The times I am most tired, when I feel like I can't work any more, when my feet hurt from walking, my body hurts from being bitten by misquitos, and my heart hurts longing for home or for someone to accept us and believe what we know to be true, the times I start to really wonder if I really do believe... these are the times when I most think of our Savior, and remember what He did for us. He was hated. He was rejected. He was spit on, smitten, scorned. He suffered every pain, every trial, and He was faithful through it all. He was the best man to ever walk the Earth, and yet he was still rejected. He didn't live one second of his life for himself. He lived it all for others, and suffered every pain we ever would. So when my feet hurt, when I think I can't continue, I remeber Him and what he did. And it gives me strength. Being a missionary is incredibly difficult, but so incredibly worth it. I have rarely felt as close to Him as I often do now.

I have much more to write, but no time. I am sorry, I will try to write more when I can! I love you all so much! Oh, also, I baptized a young man named Guilherme yesterday. What was even cooler was that I actually taught him. In Portuguese. And he understood. And in the end, he chose to be baptized, and he chose me to do it. I was so happy! It was one of the best experiences ever! His mother was our first baptism here, and now his grandmother wants to be baptized too. In three weeks we have had as much sucuess here as they've had in three months. When we work hard, Heavenly Father works through us. I have seen this work change lives, and it is still changing mine. 

I am so glad to be here. To have this opportunity. To show Heavenly Father that I really will go and do, and that I really do believe and want to do what is right. And more than anything, to show Him every day by how I live that I really do love Him. This work is incredible. It is incredible to think that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father love us so much, and are so willing to give us everything. 

If we give Heavenly Father all we have, He will gives us all He has. What a blessing.

Before I go, I want to share an awesome scripture Elder J. Lima brought up this morning! I hope you find it as inspiring as I do :)

(English below, I just love the Portuguese so much too I wanted to include it).

"E serei também vossa luz no deserto; e prepararei o caminho a vossa frente, se guardardes meus mandamentos; portanto, se guardardes meus mandamentos, sereis conduzidos à terra da promissão; e sabereis que sois conduzidos por mim" (1 Néfi 17:13).

"And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led" (1 Nephi 17:13). 

I love you all! If you have time, emil me and let me know how goes life :) And thanks for the letters Nathalie, Sister Tahauri, and Mitch and Marissa! haha I especially liked the wedding announcement. 

All the best!

Elder Viglione

11.26.12 - You better read this one! :)‏

Olá queridos! 

So, I don't have time to tell all the miracles that are happening here. I wish I did. I will give more complete accounts as I can, and as people ask. But trust me, I know Heavenly Father is very close to us and that he is waiting to help us with everything! Unfortunately, I am already out of time to write, so very quickly I am going to paste some stuff in I wrote to someone else. It is below my address.

Also, you all can email me! My email ismathew.viglione@myldsmail.net . If you are wondering if I have gotten your emails, with the exception of Ben Christensen, Ronni, and my family, I haven't gotten any. So if you haven't written, no worries. If you have, make sure you have my correct email, because I haven't gotten them. Also, here's my mailing address, just in case: 

Elder Matthew Salvatore Viglione
Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission
Rua Dois de Dezembro 78 salas 703/704
Flamengo
22220-040 Rio de Janeiro - RJ
Brazil

Something I have learned, and I am continuing to learn: Don't get discouraged! Satan's work is to make you feel worthless, and feel like you can't accomplish anything. Ironically enough though, he then tries to stop you from doing any good too, which doesn't make sense because if he truly thought you weren't able to accomplish anything he wouldn't waste time targetting you. So the take away? Realize that you are a great threat to him, and that there is really no limit to what you can accomplish. He doesn't want you to know that. You must work your hardest, and you must do it all with Heavenly Father's help. If you are right with Him, you will be able to be happy no matter the circumstances. So do what it takes to be right with Him, pray sincerely, study the scriptures every day, repent, and you will recieve all the help you need and feel Him very close, helping you every step of the way. I know this is true. It is the only way I survive out here on the mission, and it was the only way I survived before too. 

Many people wondered how I always seemed to be so happy, and to accomplish so much. It's simple: Learn what is right, and then do it.

Sometimes you feel really alone. Sometimes, for reasons you don't know, you feel sad, and feel like there is no point to anything. It is hard to pull yourself out. You lose all motivation and feel utterly alone. And sometimes you want to feel alone, so you will feel justified in being sad. The truth of the matter is you are not alone, and if you are right with Heavenly Father, you will feel Him so near that all the pain and all the lonlieness flee. You will be filled with happiness and light, and you will find it is easier to do what you should -- to work effectively, to stay motivated, and even to progress faster and further than you ever thought possible. And it will be true. You will progress faster and accomplish more than you are able to alone. 

This is why, no mater what problems you are facing, the most vitally important thing you can do is keep Heavenly Father your number one priority. He knows what you are going through. He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to suffer all the pains you will ever suffer, so that He, Christ, would know exactly what you are going through, so He could know precisely how to comfort you. Keep Him first, and you will be able to do everything else. You will be happy independent of whatever happens to you. True happiness only comes from being close to your Heavenly Father and and to Christ, and you get closer to them by living the gospel. All good things come from God. So if you want good things, get a little closer to Them. Learn what is right, and then do it.

I know we have a loving Father in Heaven. If any of you are doubting it, stop. He never leaves us. We leave Him when we let our will for ourselves get in the way of His will for us. Strive to follow Him, do as He has asked, and you will feel Him near. I know it. I have already seen miracles here in Brazil. The most important ones for me are the ones only I see and feel. Heavenly Father is waiting to work miracles with you. So let him :)

I love you all so much!

All the best,
Elder Viglione

11.19.12 - My first week in Rio de Janeiro - Minha primera semana em Rio!!‏

Olá queridos, (hello dear-ones) 

So, miracles happen. I've seen them. I've seen miracles before, and I am seeing them now here in Rio. There is so much that it is impossible to include everything here, but I will try my best to note some of the really special ones. But first, I have some good news and some bad news: 

Good news: I can recieve emails now, from everyone! So please please send me emails!! If you are doubting wheter or not I have thought of you here, I probably have. Today I wrote a list of all the people I want to write, and Elder J. Lima could barely believe how many people were on it! I love you guys, and I pray for you! So send me emails!

Bad news: I can't send you emails. So, in your emails, include your FULL address please :) And tell me if it is going to change soon, for school or any other reason, so I can compensate when sending letters since they occasionally take quite some time to get to the US.

Alright, now that you all can send me emails, tell me what is up in the world and in your life! I am in a remote part of Brazil, I rode a train 30 minutes to get where I am, and now I send email. So write me! Tell me stories in your life, news, announcements, send photos, tell me about mission calls, everything! I have wondered about you all so much, so let me know :) And some of you already have letters on the way. Also, don't forget your name in the email so I can save it in my contacts.

So, write me an email, and then continue reading this one :) Also! I need the addresses of some missionaries, so anyone who has access to them, please send them to me: Marcos Gallo, Roland Laboulaye, Elizabeth Bown, Karee Brown, Daniel McClellan, and Hope Tuft. Thanks!

So, time for the many miracles happening here. So I flew in a few days ago, and my first impression of Rio - It's beautiful! No wonder so many peopl want to come here! We saw "Christ the Redeemer" looking out over the city, over the clouds. It is a giant statue of Christ with his arms outstretched over the city, and it sits on top of Sugar Loaf mountain. You should google "Christ the Redeemer" and look at photos. It is amazing, and as a missionary here bearing His name to these people, it has a special place in my heart. 

Well, it is hard to begin! So much has happened! I am learning Portugués, little by little. First miracle I'll tell you all about - I can understand people and they can understand me. It is a miracle because I've only been here a little over two months, and the people here say I speak without an accent, which normally doesn't happen or takes a while. A whole lot longer than two months. The people I have met could not believe I didn't start learning Portuguese before. So miracle one, the gift of tongues. It's real, believe it. I can hardly believe it and it's happenening to me. 

So, we have had our first baptism! It was amazing! I want to talk about something else though. So today I discovered a new way to feel alone in a room full of people: Speak a language none of them understand. Elder J. Lima and I were at a clinic because he keeps having random headaches, and we were seated in a row of chairs with three seats. A lady and two kids walked in, so I wanted to tell him we should move so they could sit down, but I accidentally said it in English, and he is Brazillian and had no idea what I said. He just laughed a little and smiled until I realized what I had done. It is the strangest feeling when you say something that feels perfectly natural, and then realize that nobody will understand, that it will just sound like strange noise to them, especially when it is your native language and you can't speak theirs very well. For a moment it made me feel very alone and far from home. But then it reminded me that we are all far from home, spiritually speaking, and that Heavenly Father is still aware of me, still knows me, and still cares about me. Then I thought about what other people must feel like, when they feel that alone. I don't feel alone often, because I know God is always near, and I often feel Him by my side. What a blessing. I realized that many people feel completely alone, as I did for that split second, always. What a terrible feeling! 

This is what we are bringing these people here: Hope; Light; The knowledge that God knows each of us, is aware of us, and loves us. It made me think of an elderly woman we visit often who lives in Jardim da Primevera, in Saracuruna, near the city Duque de Caxias. Her body is frail and crippled, and she can't get out of bed by herself. She met the missionaries, and took the lessons. She was baprized recently. I believe the Elder before me literally carried her into the water so she could be baptized, because she cannot stand. She stays in a small bed, in the corner of a small room, on the side of a small house, off of a side street of a small neighborhood in a small and relatively unknown part of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the whole world, there are maybe 20 people that are aware of her, that even know she exists, and fewer still that love her and care about her. She is practically alone almost always. Despite all of this - suffering so much and being so alone - she is full of light and joy. She is happy, and full of love. She owns practically nothing, can barely move, and can only speak very slowly, yet her she is, living happily, because she knows what is important and that she isn't alone. God knows her, and He loves her, and she knows it and loves Him too. Thinking about her there, smiling, hapilly talking to us despite all she doesn't have, brings tears to my eyes. 

I think about how alone I could feel, being a wanderer here in a strange land, so very far from home, with people I don't know and with whom I can barely communicate. And then I think of her - Meneguette - lying in her bed, in the corner of her house, in a relatively unknown city, likely smiling and enjoying the day. Full of happiness and love. She has something noone can take from her: Faith. She knows God and she knows her Savior.  When I think of her now, I think of Him too. I love her. I love Him. I think I feel a little bit of His love for her, and just a little bit of His love for me, and for all the people here and everywhere. Just a little bit - but how great and all-consuming that little bit is! I marvel to think His love for each of us is so great! I can scarce comprehend it, yet it exists! It is there! He is aware of us, and He loves us so much! What a wonderful thing to know :)

This is why I am a missionary. I feel this love, and I want nothing greater than to share it with the world! And I've been called to share it here for now. So I will! Being a missionary is not easy. My feet blister, I get eaten by mosquitos, my body and my mind are weak compared to the work I have been called to do - but Heavenly Father strengthens me. He helps me ignore the pain and walk further than I thought I could. He helps me focus, and learn more than I ever thought I could. He helps me speak, better than I ever thought I could. He is here, by my side, every step of the way, and I think of Him often. I thank Him often. It pains me to think of everything our Savior suffered for us - to think that I contributed to that pain too - but it is done, and the way is clear. He accepts all who come to Him. I know it! And I am so glad! This is why I am here, to try to show Him that I do know, that I do care, and that I do love these people. I want them to know Him and be happy too. So here I am :)

My friends, my family, you mean the world to me. Never doubt it. I pray for you. I would do anything for you. But someone even more willing and far more powerful is already waiting to help. Go to Him!

I love you all so much! My time is up. I will tell more as I can. Email me if you have a chance!

All the best!

Elder Viglione

11.13.12 - Mais uma semana no novo mundo!‏

Olá queridos! Tudo bem? Espero que sim!

First things first. I have recieved back some mail I sent out months ago. So, here are people I have written, and if you haven't gotten a letter, it is probably in the mail. I'm sorry. I'm not sure what I did wrong, I hope the rest gets through to the US. I sent out letters to: Anthony, Haley, Hannah, Britta, Chella, Becca Oliphant, Lauresa, Bishop Smith, a whole load of y'all in the PYSA 183rd ward, and I think a few others. Hannah, I am especially sorry. I wrote you a letter for your birthday that got sent about two months ago, but I recieved it back last week. And I sent the ones to Britta and Chella to the same address, so I think I will get those back soon too. I'll try sending them again today. So y'all just get them like three months late I supposse.. Sorry :( I hope the other letters are getting through!

Well, I wasn't suppossed to have time today to email. I was suppossed to be on a plane to Rio de Janeiro, but the mission presidents are all gone right now so we are leaving tomorrow instead. So, today we get to pack and wait. And write! I am glad. Today we went proselyting on Paulista Avenue, in the very heart of São Paulo! We took public busses forever, about an hour each way, and then were on the street, in rain, for about forty minutes. Not many people there wanted to hear us, and nobody seemed to have time. My companion and I did manage to give out some Books of Mormon though, so it wasn't a waste. And we got to see the heart of São Paulo! It felt like New York. Even though I've never been there... I imagine that's what it would feel llike. Skyscarpers galore and many rushing people. And jungle too! We weren't allowwed to go into the park though. I'm not sure why, but they said not to. So we didn't.

Well, the best story from this week was actually on the bus ride over. We crammed two districts (about 20 missionaries) onto an already crowded public bus to make our way to Paulista Avenue. It was super full, and lots of people looked like they didn't want to have anything to do with us. After a few minutes, I noticed one of the sisters had managed to get a seat next to a Brazillian woman, and they were avidly talking about the gospel. I wished I could do it too. Here were people right with us that needed the gospel, but didn't know. I was surrounded by missionaries, so I couldn't talk to anyone, but I wanted to so bad. Finally I worked my way to the back of the bus and set next to a young man, who immediately put in head phones and pulled out his phone. He tried not to look at any of us, and for a long time I just sat there not knowing what to do. So I started to pray. I asked Heavenly Father to help me find at least one person I could share the message with, and help that day. Here we were, surrounded by people, but feeling very much alone.

Anyway, I prayed, and then sat for a while, watching our sister talk to that woman for quite some time. Eventually I noticed that the young man took out his ear phones, and was just sitting looking out the window. I decided to go for it, so I said hi. He immediately asked who we all were and why we were all there. Funny part was, he asked in English! I explained that we were all missionaries and that many of us had left our own home country and our family to come preach the gospel. He was very intrigued. We kept talking and he told me he was 18, and he was going to work. He was pretty dressed up, so I imagine he had a very good job, and we were going from one of the poorer parts of the city to one of the most wealthy. I ended up speaking mostly Portuguese so he could understand me better (He had learned English on his own from movies and video games. It was very good english, but it was still quicker to speak in Portugues so I didn't have to think of words he would know).

I told him why we were all here, and also that we had only been here two months, and that I had just begun learning Portugues. He was quite astonished! He said I was very good. Which I am not "very good" so that was Heavenly Father helping us understand eachother. Anyways, point of the whole story, I explained the Book of Mormon a little and he was very excited. He said He loved Jesus Christ and that any more of his words would certainly be good. I gave him one and he could scarce believe that it was free, and he was even happier. His stop arrived, and as he was getting up to go, he said he was very glad, that he would read, and that he wanted very much to share it with his dad, who studied theology. As he left, I felt so good. I am so glad to be a missionary :)

Other than that, we had little succuess in the big city. We handed out 5 more copies of the book of Mormon, but I don't know if the people will actually read like we asked. Oh well. We are called to find those who have been prepared. And I already know Heavenly Father is guiding us all here. I can't wait to get to Rio :) I leave to head there tomorrow morning at 3:30am, so in Utah, 10:30pm tonight. How fun! Our flight is less than an hour, and I think by tomorrow night I'll be eating at a member's home in Rio. How awesome!

Might I just say, my time here in Brazil has been amazing. I cannot adequately describe what it is like to be a missionary. Certainly not easy. Tiring. Exhausting in body, mind, and spirit. But the best thing I have ever done. I feel so close to Heavenly Father. And it is my pleasure to finally be able to dedicate my whole life to his service. And to the service of the people of Brazil! I love it so much! I've never felt so free in my life. Figures, all it took was to leave everything behind. But how inspired of a call it was, for me. To leave all, and follow Him. I feel like I understand just a little better what the Peter, James, and John must have felt like when Christ asked them to leave all and follow Him I am so glad to be here. I am so glad to be a missionary! There is no better wirk, no better use of my life and my energy.

I know we have a loving Father in Heaven. If any of you are doubting it, stop. He never leaves us. We leave Him when we let our will for ourselves get in the way of His will for us. Strive to follow Him, do as He has asked, and you will feel Him near. I know it. I have already seen miracles here in Brazil. The most important ones for me are the ones only I see and feel. Heavenly Father is waiting to work miracles with you. So let him :)

I love you all so much!

All the best!

Elder Viglione

11.6.12 - My last P-Day at the CTM! And my first proselyting!‏

Hello everyone! So, lots has happened this last week. I'll start with thet best since I'll probably run out of time typing.

So, yesterday was my and my companion's first try of proselyting out in the city. They just let us out of the CTM, gave us each two Books of Mormon, and told us not to come back for three hours. To say the least, this was intimidating. Neither of us really speak the language very well, and here we were just going through the streets trying to preach the gospel to everyone we passed.

Well, we prayed, asked what direction we should go, and set out. We walked past a few people, and each one I just kept thinking, "If only they knew how valuable this gospel was! If only they really understood, how much happier they could be." Those couple little books we were carrying around cost hundreds of lives and some of the finest blood this plannet has ever seen. They contain the history not only of one, but two full civilizations here in America, one that lasted almost 2000 years. And that's just the beginning. They contain the fullness of the gospel as it has been restored by the very hand of God in these days, as well as a more complete witness of Christ. Needless to say, each of those copies of the Book of Mormon were immensley valuable, and here we were, in the midst of hundreds of people who don't speak our language, and it is our duty to try to explain to them just how much they need this gospel. So, just a tad intimidating.

Well, we started by an LDS chapel, and the first lady we talked to just kept walking. I asked if she knew this church, and pointed at the building, and she said something like, "Yeah.." and payed us no heed. So that was a little sad. We walked for a while until finally we found someone else. An older woman, sitting on a curb in old, dirty clothes, looking pretty sad and scraggly. She was sitting next to a homeless man who was asleep on the sidewalk in the shade of a tree. I introduced my companion, Elder Tibbitts, and myself, and she didn't want to have anything to do with us. She just said, "I don't understand you guys" and waved us off annoyed. SO we were a little discouraged. We had thus far made zero progress, and apparently nobody could understand us.

We walked further and we finally found another man (There was nobody outside which was really strange...). I found out he was a missionary from another church, but I still asked him if he wanted a Book of Mormon anyways. He explained again that he was a missionary from another church again, and I said I understood, and he just smiled a little and said no. We said goodbye and headed back out. So far, zero succuess. We ran into some other missionaries who told us they had managed to give one out, and we still couldn't. Oh well, I thought, we'll just keep trying.

We walked pretty far till we were almost lost, and then we started talking to every person we saw. People would run across the street to get out of our way and evade us. It was pretty funny. I was sad though, because they didn't know that this book we wanted to give them could open the doors to more happiness than they could even imagine. And here they ran from us.

Well, we kept working, and as we tried harder and harder, our effprts started to pay off. I saw a woman at a bus stop and felt like I should talk to her, so we went towards her. There was another man before her though, leaning on a pole smoking. So I said hi and told him about the book of Mormon and testified of it's truth. He was really astonished. He loved it. He accepted it, and we told him how to contact the missionaries. He was very impressed by our efforts, and seemed very grateful. I am so gld we decided to tlk to him, and not just pass him by because he was smoking and looked a little intimidating. He turned out to be very nice, and I absolutley felt our savior's love for him. I wish we could be friends forever.

We then talked to the lady we had origionally seen, and the same thing happened. It was amazing. She was so happy. She wanted it so much, and she thanked us over and over again. It was amazing. I wish I could talk to her more too.

We kept walking, with less sucuess, and then we spotted a whole cafe with like six people around, so I thought, "Challenge accepted." As we were walking to the first person, a lady with a young biy ran up to us and was so happy to see us. She saw the book in our hands and said she had wanted one so desperately but did not know where to find it. She was so happy to see us. Overjoyed even. We gave her one and took her information for the local missionaries. She left so happy. We ended up talking to everyone there, and everyone accepted a book of mormon. Two of the people we talked to had been given one by other missionaries sometime before, but they were of another religion and didn't read it at all. I testified of it's truthfullness, and the young woman we were talking too got really quiet and pensive, and then when I asked if she would read it and pray about it, to know if it was true, she said she would. She too seemed very happy by the time we left. There was a really old woman with her, and I think she was trying to tell us she had a vision or a dream or something relating to us, and she also agreed to read and pray. I really don't know what she said, so I could be mistaken. But she was talking so fast and so excited and had so much energy I almost feared it would overwhelm her frail body.

Well, we continued and had much more sucuess. A lot of no's, including a whole bus stop of like 8 people where nobody even wanted to acknowledge us. As I walked away I looked at them all again, and in one last effort asked them all at once, "Ninguem quer?" meaning, "Nobody?" I was so sad. But we kept working.

By the end of our three hours, we had given out nine copies of the book of mormon, got information for four people who would talk to the missionaries, and could have given away one more copy but we ran out. My companion and I had purchased extra copies to give out since the MTC only gave us each two. Another missionary who has been excelling with the language (He was already fluent in spanish) asked us how we did, and when my companion said we gave out 9, he asked out of how many companionships. Just ours. He was astonished.

Needless to say, Heavenly Father guides his servants. I saw things in that three hours that made me very sad, but also we found people who had been prepared by the Lord for us. I am so glad to be a missionary!

All the best!

Elder Viglione

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

10.30.12 - Another week living the dream! Uma mais semana vivendo o sono :)‏

Hello everyone! So I may have written the Portuguese in the subject line wrong, but I have very little time to type. I miss you guys! I pray for you all! And if you are thinking "Naw, you don't pray for me," you are probably wrong. I pray about lots of things. But most especially my friends and family. There is so much time to talk to Heavenly Father. So why not mention everyone I know and love? He knows and Loves you guys too.

First things first, thank you so much to those of you who have sent me letters! I appreciate them so very much! I have sent quite a few out to the US, but they sometimes take a month, maybe more, to get there. So you could have one on the way. Also, I am moving! Finally going to Rio de Janeiro! So forget, scribble out, and dispose of my old CTM address. Use the address below from now on. And, you can send me packages now! Yay! Don't feel obligated, in fact don't unless you really want to, and if you do, don't fed ex or anything, just straight old US postal service. Otherwise I will have to pay loads of customs on this end and I might not even get it. Just fyi, my sister said people were asking.

Here's the new address, use it!

Elder Matthew Salvatore Viglione

Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission

Rua Dois de Dezembro 78 salas 703/704

Flamengo

22220-040 Rio de Janeiro - RJ

Brazil

Awesome, now, for all the awesome things happening in Brazil! Oh, side note, Haley, could you send me our new home phone number, I have to change it with the mission home. Thanks so much Twin!

So, life here is wonderful! I absolutely love being a missionary! There is nothing better I have ever done, and I have done some pretty sweet things. I am finishing week seven here at the CTM, and the language is coming along. I can usually understand people that speak slow and have a Sâo Paulo accent, other than that, it really varies. I have gone full days without using English though :) It is quite empowering, and also a little interesting, learning a new language. It is strange to think that I will be better at it than English by the time I'm done. I already mess up my English now. haha. You'll all love it when I come home and can't speak or spell.

So, cool thing that happened this week. So in sacrament meetings here, the branch president just gets up after the sacrament and calls out the names of the people who will be speaking for the day. No notice at all. He calls you and you go. So kind of nerve wracking for most people. I am finding it is still odd to be the kind of person who always wants to tell everyone everything. But I love to share the gospel, so I take every oportunity, even when among the missionaries. So, the talks are all in portuguese, so if you get called on, you had better be able to speak. Well guess what? I got called on! I was so happy! I had wanted to speak so bad, to share some scriptures and tell everyone how great Heavenly Father is, and I got called on! And I was the newest missionary to speak this week. Everyone else had two weeks on me, which is a lot in the CTM>

Anyway, so I got to give a talk in Portuguese about Hope. It was so wonderful. And it was really cool. There are two districs in my branch that have come in after us, so I felt really cool talking to them too. Since I'm the AP, I get to go visit them all throughout the week, answer questions, and just be their friend and help them all out. So it was way cool to have a personal realationship with all these Elders and then get to speak to them. I didn't realize it at the time, but also in attendance at our little meeting was one of the area presidents. For Brazil. As in the whole country. Well I noticed a Brazillian looking at me intently during the talk, and it turned out it was his wife. They spoke that night at the CTM devotional, and she mentioned me by name! I was so surprised! Afterwards a bunch of Brazillian missionaries I know came up to me, and were like, "You're famous!" It was really cool.

The cooler part though was that she doesn't speak English. She had somehow not only understood my talk in broken Portuguese, but it touched her and meant something to her. Now I would be astounded, but this is how the Spirit works. We are only the instruments through which God works. When we do are part, He works through us, and accomplishes more with us than we could ever hope to accomplish by ourselves! It was so cool to be a part of that, in a very real way. And I feel so blessed to be worthy and able to serve Him with every effort I possess. This is why I am so happy. The work is not easy. It is not easy being away from your home, your culture, your language, and not being able to do anything for yourself. But it is so wonderful to be in a position where you can serve Heavenly Father with every thought, every action, and every effort. He takes care of his servants, and I am overwhelmingly grateful to be part of this great work. In leaving everything and serving Him, I have found freedom and joy and peace that is unparrelled. Surly the words of the scriptures that say "He that shall try to save his life shall lose it, and he that shall lose his life, for my sake, shall find it" are true. In losing my life I am finding it again. And I am so happy.

My family, my friends, be strong! Do what is right! Everything you give Heavenly Father is rewarded! No effort is too great, and no trial too hard, that it won't be worth it in the end. All things really do work together for our good. I love you all so much! I can't wait to see you again! Do your best, and leave the rest to God.

All the best!

Elder Viglione