I Usually Suck at Crossy Road
Hey friends! We are back. Quick week, actually it felt like a million years, BUT I hit 2 months! At least I got that going for me.
I am (almost) a Brazil Crossy Road pro. Which is crazy because I always rage quit Crossy Road but the amount of times I have shamelessly stepped out in front of cars or casually strolled across the street is way too many. Anyways…
Braving the São Paulo West Mission
On P-day, last week, we had the chance to go to the temple, which is outside our mission. The trip there was… an adventure. Have you ever seen the videos of the security guys literally pushing people in the train, just so the doors close? Yeah, well that happened AND the ride was 1.5 hours. Yep.
However, the temple was so worth it. Walking in those doors and sitting in the endowment room put peace in my heart and joy on my face. After our endowment session we got to sit in the celestial room. Just us four missionaries. The reverence was incredible. I finally got a moment of peace where I could sit, reflect, rest, and reset. Then, when we were exiting the temple, I glanced into the waiting room and SAW MY CTM INSTRUCTOR. I (reverently) ran over to him and gave him the biggest hug. It was a much needed hug. It was a miracle that our paths crossed and that I got another reason to keep pushing.
Since we were there on a Wednesday, there were missionaries from the CTM there too. I got to see some people I was with a few weeks ago which was fun. Then we just sat on the temple grounds which was also relaxing.
One Hill at a Time
My days very quickly go from “I just need to get through today” to “I just need to get up this hill.” Everytime I turn a corner I say a quick little prayer that it won't be a hill… 90% of the time it ends up being one anyway. Going downhill is impossible in Brazil, HOWEVER, here's the cool part: Every time I say that quick prayer, I, all the sudden, have a burst of energy and my feet feel light. Enough for me to get me most of the way without tire and then I just say to myself “I just need to get up this hill.” Eventually we are on the last hill of the day and we rest and do it again the next day.
Porque Eu Creio and A Changed Perspective
The low-light of the week but also most insightful was “Porque Eu Creio” (Translates to “Why I Believe”), a devotional that the stake wanted to put on for recent converts, investigators, and members where testimonies and musical numbers are shared. Sounds super sweet right? Yeah, five people showed up… I was definitely heart broken. Actually, I think we all were. 40 minutes after we were supposed to start, we had managed to get 15 people there and had a brief testimony meeting with some music (no one from the stake presidency showed up).
We had a 1 hour walk back to our house (spoiler this is where the insightful part happened) and me and my ZL started talking about how I felt, that since I got here, the only thing that has been drilled into my brain is that IT IS, in fact, ALL about the numbers. He agreed. We also talked about how despite the fact that we attempt contacts all day, I still feel unproductive because we have seen no results. He agreed but also explained to me that the number shouldn't be what makes you feel successful, it's whether YOU feel like YOU worked hard or not. Something I definitely need to remember.
After a bit of talking I realized that my mission is going to be exactly what I studied at BYU last semester (coincidence? I don't believe in those). I started looking at my mission from an advertising perspective. No, not the money and clients side of advertising, but the goals, strategy, and planning side. Think pitch decks. Rather than walking the endless hills without an end goal in mind, my new perspective is to: Find out the GOALS of the area I am serving in, come up with a STRATEGY for a way that I can contribute to the goal. PLAN how I will execute my strategy, then PITCH that strategy and plan to Leaders, asking for their support. That way, not only can I find an end goal in mind but, I can have effective and purposeful ways to include members in missionary work and strengthen the ward and its trust in the missionaries.
Typing this out, it feels like “duh, you should be doing that,” but, in the hecticness of things, it's something I've honestly never thought about. I just gotta learn the language before any of this can happen though…
Random
On Thursday we walked 12.4 miles with an elevation gain of way too much. Like more than my hikes in Glacier.
Kite Chronicles: kites are a big thing here. There are always kites flying and there is ALWAYS one higher than the other. Their spools have more than a half-mile of thread. They also have kite fights here, which I have yet to figure out.
I get bug bites in the most random places. Under my watchband, the bottom of my foot, my knuckle… it's actually awful.
In Church I looked down at my bag and thought “Wow, I'm literally in a different country with this tiny bag and me,” then I remembered that in the CTM, we had some devotionals about how missionaries just have a bag and a testimony and realized that they were not lying.
I'm gonna be the most organized person after my mission, I have made so many spreadsheets to organize my life already.
I spend all my money on crackers and cookies.
I'm telling you, chocolate stuffed crust pizza is actually the best thing ever invented.
Elder Bingham let me play his guitar.
I am so thankful for Ubers that play music.
We were at an investigators house for 6 hours one day and I almost passed out on the couch 10 times. I was fighting for my life bruh.
Vocab
Endowment - a sacred ceremony in the Temple where members make covenants and partake in ordinances (See full explanation here)
Celestial Room - a room in the Temple where you can sit in silence, pray, meditate, and rest.
Stake - a group of wards (congregations) in an area
Quotes
“If he could do the exact same thing, take [his situationship] out and put the Gospel in, he'd be unstoppable… but the Gospel doesn't dance.” [Elder Bingham, 10/16/2025]
God's Hand
Rain! I love rain, it makes me so happy to be out in the rain. On my toughest day this week it started raining, it was the best.
Everytime I say a quick prayer about a darn hill, I get more energy!
Everytime I have prayed for help on how I can make my mission feel like it has a purpose, someone talks to me about cool things I could do that others might not even think about.
Music and the presence of the Spirit.
A big thing I saw while I was deciding and preparing to serve a mission was God's timing and His hand. I realized this in an even bigger picture of this, this week, when I realized that if I didn't choose to go to college for a year there would be a lot I didn't know nor would I be prepared for. I wouldn't have the friends that push me to keep going. I wouldn't have the advertising knowledge that I most definitely plan on using. It definitely is how God wanted it to work.
Spiritual Thoughts
“Mourning is one of the deepest expressions of pure love. It is a natural response in complete accord with divine commandment: “Thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die” (D&C 42:45). Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.” (Doors of Death, President Nelson April 1992)
As I have struggled with missing my friends, family and coworkers I came across this quote. Although it is talking about death I believe it is still applicable. I struggle now but with that I know there is immeasurable joy to come.
The end. Congrats, now you gotta wait another week for an email. Sad, I know, I am too. On the bright side, you can email me whenever you want! Brandon.urbano@missionary.org. I promise I'll read it. I love you all so very much, thank you for following along on my adventures!
Muito amor,
Elder Urbano
