December 25th, 2008

Merry Christmas!
What a great day today! We got to talk with Elder Coats on the phone.
We had a heck of a time connecting with him. After almost an hour of being unable to get the phone to ring through with the number he gave us, He called back and told us that they had given him the wrong country code!! Once we got the right code, it rang right through and it sounded as if he were in the very next room.
He is doing great. He is so happy and loves the mission. He has a good new companion who is really helping Nick learn the language. Elder Cruz speaks no english! So Nick ought to be able to pick up the Portugese faster now out of necessity.
He feels so blessed to be in Brazil and is grateful for the opportunity that has been given to him to be there telling the people of the love of our Savior and spreading the good word about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He said to tell everyone hello and that he loves all of you and appreciates all the support that has been given to him and the prayers being offered in his behalf each day.
The hour that we got to talk with him went by really fast and now he is approaching his 7 month mark in the field.
Have a good week, everyone!
Elder Coats' Mom

December 17th, 2008: Transfer to Caiua

Hi everyone!
i am now in my second area here. i got transfered and i'm with a brazilian comp now!! i have to talk all the time in portuguese now. its gonna be good though cause i need to use it as much as possible.
my new area is called CAIUÁ, good luck pronouncing it... my new companion seems really cool and he says a lot of good stuff about the area so its going to be a good transfer.
so you finally got snow now that christmas is almost here. its always good to have a little snow for the holidays.
i bet that ariens graduation was really good. i know that she has got to be excited about that!
anyways, everything is going great and im excited for this next mission conference cause were gonna get the Christmas packages and then two days after, i get to talk to you guys!!!!!
i still dont know to much about the call other than im going to call. just try to stay at the house for most of the day. i am hoping to call the house around nine or 10 o clock but if you dont get the call by then don't worry cause i will call. i think we are 6 hours or so ahead of the U.S?
Eu estou sentindo falta de vocês mas tudo é bom!
i love you guys!!!! have a good week and i'll talk to you next week!!!!!!!!!!
um Braço,
Elder Coats

hope you all had a good week and it sounds like everything is going really well.
i'm excited for you arien!! so you will just finish out the year subbing until next year? do you think that your still going to move to logan? i know that your life is pretty much in Logan but now you'll have to drive to Preston to work...
has Preston got any snow yet? it's been a real scorcher this week here! i'm getting burned pretty good. i think i might start using sunscreen for the first time in my life.
i never thought that dad would buy a little pickup like a chevy love but i guess that if it gets good gas mileage that's what ya need it for. you'll have to send me a picture of it so i can tell ya if it would be a good truck for me when i get home. i'm sure he´ll get it all fixed up and running good.
Jud is gonna be done before to long. i'll make 6 months on the mission tomorrow and that's all he has left!
How's Ty's bald lumpy head holdin up? he probably gets a little cold at this time of year.
i'm glad that the Jim Brickman concert went good. my comp has some of his music on his ipod that we listen to at night and man he really is a good piano player!! i bet that the concert was really good.
so we are teaching a lot of people these days and we even made a visit to a crazy apostate church!! we had an investigator say that if we went to her church she would go to ours. so we went to Congregação Crista no Brasil. i cannot believe that some of these people can believe that it is Christ's church... a Pastore just stood up front for an hour yelling who knows what and others screaming Hallelujah!! it was a good experience. now the investigator is gonna come to our church and feel the peace and love.
transfers are next week so will see if i go to a new area...
have a good week, i love you guys and i'm excited to get to call ya here in a few week.
até mais.
Elder Coats

Brasil, Brasil 12-03-08

hey ho family
sounds like things are going great back home and you all had a good thanksgiving! im glad that jud and everyone could help ol blake out. that is what it is all about. the turkey dinners were way good and me and my comp were in heaven for a little while.
it is already time for christmas... hard to believe. so still no snow on the ground yet there? usually when the town gets the festival of lights going its starts to get cold and a little bit of snow.
ty you might have to wait on getting the pass to beaver mountain this year. especially with the shaved head! why would you shave it right in time for winter... some girl told you to do it huh. i want a picture of that.
i was so happy when i read the big news with krissy and the kids!!! that will be so awesome! the neighborhood is good too with Paul and Vicki ,also the Checkettes. and then its also not to far away from us. the house sounds really nice and will work out perfect. that will be a fun christmas party there.
that jim brickman concert will be sweet!! mom u love that guy. that music will for sure get you ready for christmas.
im sure the christmas package that you sent will be here soon, presidente is going to hold all the packages until christmas so i wont get it until then but its better that way. if you dont find a razor no problem i really dont need it. i have a electric converter though so u dont need to worry about that.
im still doing good with the pepto. dont need to send anymore right now. my stomach has been doing pretty good. some days better than others but it all works out. brazilian food is not spicy at all. i wish it was a little more spicy to tell ya the truth.
im still in the same area but transfers are soon and im thinkin that i will be transfered. it will be good. be able to start over fresh in a new area, new people and all. im excited.
arien!!! graduation on the 13th, thats gonna be awesome!
i love you all so much and its gonna be a different holiday season being without all of you but im doing what ive been set apart to do.
im excited to get to call you for christmas. ill let you know more about that when i find out. have a good week. love you!!

Elder Coats

Happy Thanksgiving: Nov. 26th 2008

i hope that you guys are getting your stomaches ready for the big feast tommorow! the brazilian people have no idea about thanksgiving here. everyone here is just getting ready for feliz natal. we're eating lunch with an Irmã tommorow that always gives a good lunch so we will probably have a good little feast of our own i hope... i made the 7up salad and it turned out really good! my comp is allergic to bananas so i didnt put them in but other than that it was really good. im excited to eat the little turkey deals that you sent. we'll eat them for dinner and im gonna mash up some potatoes and whip up some gravy also. it wont be the Coats thanksgiving but i think that it will do.
im glad that it is staying warm for you guys there for the holidays. 50 degrees is prettty good for november there i think. its been getting up there here as well. every one in the ward says that im starting to look brazilian!!
things are going good here. my comp is a way cool guy and we have fun, we just struggle with the teaching a little bit. we're getting the hang of it though. every house gets a little better.
nothing too exciting has gone on this last week. sombody stole the electricity wire that runs from the power line to the church so this last sunday we had no electricity. i guess that it has been happening alot because you can cash in the copper for good money right now.
the zone conference we had went good and i learned a lot of good things to apply in the lessons. im working on really relying on the spirit to help these people understand this message.
i love you guys!! make sure to have a good thanksgiving and let the whole fam know that i am thankful for all of them.
have a good week!
Elder Coats

Week of Nov. 19th

it has been a good week in the sun here in the garden of sun. i got a little burnt this week and im turning into a little bronzinho. the summer hasnt officially started yet but the weather is getting there.
we are doing a lot of walking and teaching a lot of first lessons to the people here and really working to build up the work here in this area.
we had a talent show last week in the ward and i ended up doing a dance with the rapiazes in the ward (young men). foi muito maça!! everybody loved it and the kid that choreographed it all was way happy about it. i was able to get my groove on for a little bit out here in the field...
we had the best attendance in church last week that it has ever been for a long time so that was really exciting and the bispo was really happy.
thats awesome to hear that in just a few months pretty much all of us will be out in the field!?
we have our zone conference tomorrow so that will give all of us missionarys another boost to get out and baptize the heck out of these brazilian people. i like the meetings that we have. i learn a lot from them and they really give good ideas to apply in our everyday work.
so everything is going right along and im thankful for this time that i have to be here to work, learn and grow.
i love you guys!!!!
Tchau,
Elder Coats

Nov. 10th, 2008: 5 Months in Brasil

hope you guys had a good week. everything keeps moving right along here. i reached my 5 month mark yesterday. going kinda fast!
i got the thanksgiving package and im already enjoying it. one of the cider pakets got torn in the box but it was all good cause i just licked everything as i pulled it out. im excited to make the 7up salad and eat the turky things. im gonna try to save them for a while. the letters were great and me and my comp laughed so hard about the homer simpson one that kris and the kids sent. "ohh i probably shouldnt have eaten that packet of dryed gravy in the parking lot" hilarious! that was so cool to here your voice mom in the thanksgiving one. thats cool that you could record with it. my comp is probably sick of it cause i just played it over and over.
my new comp is really quiet so im doing a lot of the teaching and all the re-activating work but its all good cause it is helping me alot with the language.
it is starting to warm up a little here and everyone is getting ready for Feliz Natal! its strange that they celebrate when its so hot!
i cant believe that trent is engaged to be married! tell him i said congratulations. i kinda figured that it would happen. .
so ya me and elder barrus got robbed. it was actually like my second week in the field but i didnt want to tell you and worry you about it. a little skrawny guy with a gun robbed us but luckily just a little money not our backpacks or any thing so it wasnt to bad. i was just kinda mad cause one punch and this guy would have been out, but he did have a gun....
we saw a guy crash pretty hard core on his motorcycle rounding a corner the other day! luckily he was wearing a helmet but it cut him up good. we helped him out for a while but he just had a little shock from the crash.
all is going well and im continuing with learning alot each day. i love you guys. have a good week.
Elder Coats

Eu vou ficar aqui em Jardim do sol: Nov.5th, 2008

From: ncoats@myldsmail.netTo: KCoats5150@aol.com
Sent: 11/5/2008 12:37:27 P.M. Mountain Standard Time
Subj: Eu vou ficar aqui em Jardim do sol

We had our transfers today and i am staying another transfer here in Jardim do sol. my father (elder Barrus) got transfered to another area. it kinda sucked to see him go. he was a way cool guy. we had a lot of good times together.
So my new comp's name is Elder Spendlove. he is from the same group that elder barrus was in so he has 1 year 7 months on the mish. he is way quiet and kinda just keeps to himself but im gonna try to work on that. hopefully i can warm him up so that we can enjoy our time. he is from the factory where missionarys are made....UTAH. it will be a good transfer. i think we will have some good success.
I'm kinda the leader here for the first few weeks cause he doesn't know the area at all. our area is really big!! the language is still slowly progressing. i understand quite a bit now....
So its the same price to send a package up to 50 pounds? i really am doing good on supplies and even if i need any thing there is a nice grocery store in the area that i can just go to. just like little packages of cookie or muffin mix or mac and cheese. stuff like that would be nice. the only thing that i kinda need is a nice electric shaver... if you could do that, it would be good. maybe in my christmas package.
That's too bad about chase workman tearing his knee. at least he is still planing to go back out.
You will have to let me know about Viss's farewell.
Is Jud still able to work with his hand? i hope that it heals up good enough that he can still ride his bike.
Its crazy to think that Ty and Arien have been at school now for 4 months already! Christmas break will be coming up soon.
So how are the elections going.... i hear that Barrack Obama is going to win. its not to important to me here i guess. Brazil's president is a guy named Lulu.
How are you doing mom? todos as coisas estou certínos? tell dad to write me a letter or somethin. i miss seein his skullet everyday.
I love you guys!!!! thanks for all the support. have a good week!!!!!!!

Elder Coats

Week of Oct. 25th

oooooooooopa
the baptism went good this last week. we were a little worried at first cause he didnt show up for a while but then he finally walked in. he tried to get his parents to come but it didnt work out. i almost fell bringing him up out of the water! i think he was half expecting me to carry him up out of the font or something! so as i was lifting him out my feet slipped on the bottom and i just about was baptized myself. it was funny and everyone laughed.
elder barrus´s cousin came to brazil for a little vacation and we were able to spend all day with him today. it was fun. we went clear out to the center of curitiba and checked out all the shops and what not. his cousin was amazed at how everything was run here. we ate at a churrasceria for lunch which is a place that they have huge slabs of meat on sticks and they walk around and cut off pieces for you. it was definately the best food ive had since i got here!
so this will probably be my last week with elder barrus. the transfer ends this next week. im thinking i might get a brazilian comp next. it would be cool. help my portuguese out a lot. as long as he likes to work. there are a lot of slacking elders, i just hope i dont get with one. it has been great with elder barrus. we have had some fun times. he reached his year and six mark last saturday.
so tommorow we have a conference with Elder Neil L. Anderson, in the presidency of the seventy. it should be really good.
i think that it would be pretty cool if ty got the ring. he would never wear it but it would still be cool. i havent been wearing the ring to much. i still have it but it kinda makes my finger sweat and i already sweat enough. i have to peel my sweaty, nasty socks off everynight. i did buy a cheap watch here, its pretty cool looking though. i accidentally broke the pocket watch.
Arien, congrats on your graduation coming up! that is sweet! all the hard work is gonna pay off.
im so glad that brady got his call. thats cool that he will still be going to honduras. the mission is a great place to be.
i think i can give the thanksgiving feast a try. i make mashed potatoes just about once a week here so im gonna step up and try to cook some good meat or something. the gravy is a hard thing to come by here.
thats the news for this week.
i love u guys. have a good week!
Elder Coats

Laranha: October 22nd, 2008

The mission life continues here for me here in Brazil. Everything is going good and I'm getting good and accustomed to just about everything.....(i still haven't figured out why beans and rice- always, always, always) Brazilians love their beans and rice! No i like them and now it seems weird if i dont eat them everyday.
I'm finally gaining a little weight and i weigh the most i've ever weighed right now! I'm trying to do exercises everyday but mostly i just do pushups with my perfect pushup deals that i got for my b-day.
We have a baptism marked for this Saturday so I'm hoping that it well go well, this guy, Gentil is bem legal! 23 years old and he really wants the gospel in his life. Vai ser bom!
We had the mission olympics today and they went really good. it was cool to meet up with all the missionaries in Curitiba. All the guys that were in the mtc with me were there so we got to talk about whatever. I know that i will be sore tomorrow from playing basketball and volleyball but it was worth it.
I also got the envelope that u sent with all the goods. thanks mom! the guy in the ward is going to love the coins!
Crazy Jud broke his hand huh? what happened, just from crashing or did he land wrong or what? but im glad that the surgery went good and everything. can he still work? Did Ty get his tonsils removed? its good to hear that he is still liking WS.
If Grandma ends up getting some "jazzy" new glasses make sure to send me a pic. I knew that when u said u were going to Logan, u would with no doubt go to the Golden Corral. (Ariens Favorite place.) Aunt Stephs house sounds like its going to be really nice! That's awesome that it is getting the finishing touches already.
I was glad to hear that Grandma Coats is doing good and that they got all the cancer removed with out radiation.
Those pictures that i sent were with our ward mission leader. Sutil, He is way good to us and way funny.
I'm glad that ty liked the bday card also.
I love u guys and i miss u guys but the mission is a great place to be. im learning so much and my testimony is getting stronger each day. im so thankful for this gospel in my life, and im happy to share it with the people here in Brazil.
love you.
Elder Coats

Calor de Mais! October 15, 2008

hey mom

sorry about the e-mail last week, i sent one and everything but it didnt get to u huh? i wonder what happened...
any ways this week went by really good and fast! the only thing now is that it is gettting really hot here now and the humidity is crazy. we wake up ready to get out of bed because it is so hot. im getting used to it and in a way i kinda like it so its working out good.
i cant believe that it has already snowed there. i love in when it gets to be october usually because the temperature is just about right at that time but it sounds like an early winter back home.
thats too bad that ty got so sick and missed all of home coming week. what did he have? it must have been pretty bad for him to miss a whole week of school.
im sure that arien is going to get along great with those younger kids and a challenge is always good. she is up to it!
so now that jud is reaching the next stage in drug court do the rules get a little more relaxed now. like curfew and all that? i got his letter this week. it was good to hear from him.
we had an old investigator come to church this last week by himself and he had a whole new outlook on things. we actually dropped him because he wasn't progressing at all but now that he wants the gospel in his life we are working on getting him baptized. he told us that as he walked in to the church he felt something different, something really good and he even bore his testimony. i think will get him baptized before to long.
we have the mission olympics this next p- day so that should be fun. futebol, volé e basquet.
the language is still slowly but surely moving forward. i will get it some day.
well thats all the news for me here in sunny brasil for this week. have a good week!
i love u guys!
Elder Coats

October 8th, 2008

No E-Mail was received this week.

Curitiba Temple 10-01-08

We got to go through the Curitiba temple today!! it was so BEAUTIFUL! its really a unique looking temple and muito líndo. the session went great and after words i was able to do like a hundred and 50 confirmations for the dead. the temple staff was low so they just instructed us on how to do it and we went to work. i was really glad that we could help out. the temple is such a good place to go and find peace and feel the spirit.
i was glad that u said that u got the pictures and the letters. i was gonna ask u if it had made it home yet cause i sent it a while ago. (i do have a charger for the batteries just no batteries).
that garden sounds like it really did good this year. dad will do what ever he can to be able to eat fresh stuff all year.
i wish that the weather was the same here as it is there. i know that im going to deny saying this later, but i want it to get summer time here! we have been getting a lot of rain and today it really came down for most of the day. when it rains here it really rains!
so tys collar bone really was broken then huh. how long did he go with it broken? did the doc put him in that same thing that i had to wear when i broke mine? how did his home coming dance go? tell him i said boa sorte with his tonsils.
if jud trys the backflip this week make sure to get it on film. i want to see that for sure. im so glad that he is doing good with everything. i pray that he will continue to have the mindset that being sober is the best way to go. he knows that.
arien might not have to worry about getting pucked on in third grade but i guess we will see. i hope she does....
im excited for this weekend for the big general conference. i know that it is gonna mean so much more for me on the mish. i wish i would have paid more attention to them when i was home but its gonna be a good one this week end.
tell kris to keep working hard and have faith. tell the kids that i said hi and to kameryn, happy birthday here in a week or so.
also ty. his is this week. tell him happy birthday.
mom i love you and im so thankful for all the support that you give me. have a good week.
até a semana que vem.
Elder Coats

Mission Work Continues: Sept. 24th 2008

im so glad that viss finally got his call! its cool that all of us friends will all be out in the field here pretty soon. when does he actually enter the mtc?
so you're getting the signs of fall now.... its always nice when it cools off a little but it also means that winter is around the corner!
things here are going great! we had two batísmos this week. we were actually supposed to have three but the third one was a little girl that thought she was nine. no one in her family knew how old she was! her mom is a member so thats how we came in contact with her but, come to find out she is only 7. so she will have to wait a little while. a lot of people dont know how old they are here.
I just finished one transfer this week! ive got a few months under my belt now out here in the field. time has seemed to go pretty fast. me and my comp., Elder Barrus, are staying together here for another month and a half. i was glad when we found out that we were both staying. we have made some good goals for this transfer and were gonna work hard to get er done!
the people in the ward got all sad when they found out that we might leave but they are happy now to know that we will be here for a little while longer. some families here and especially the kids just live for the missionaries. they love it so much when we visit. its really cool.
its a good thing that ty's shoulder is healing up good so he can go to the dance. perfect timing! he will have a good time. you made it through another case lot sale this year... thats a lot of cases during that time. how's your leg?
are kris and the kids still liking the new house? Robby will have it full of little creatures before to long if Kameryn keeps buying him snakes. sounds like Loyal is doing good with the new hearing aids. he wont have to blast the volume any more. that will be really good for grandma to go out walking every night. man i love ol gram! i miss talkin to her about any thing and everything.
so there is another guy in the ward thats collects coins. he has all the state coins except wyoming utah oklahoma new mexico and arizona so if any of those are out and if you can send them in the package that would be good. also, sorry to ask for these things, but i need some rechargable batteries. i cant find any and my camera eats normal batteries really fast.
every thing is still moving right along out here in brazil. im really enjoying it. i love u guys. have a good week.
Elder COATS

Boa esperiencia: Sept.17th

We have gone through almost every season each day this week. its cold in the morning then its gets really hot about one then it rains and then about the time we head back to the house you can see your breath. all we need now is snow and we will get all seasons! its gonna be weird going into winter months and having it be hot. so arien is an official teacher now. i think getting thrown up on is definately the official initiation. thats pretty funny. i cant believe that jud got to meet mike metzger! that is his hero! and he even talked to him and eveything! i bet that made him all excited to try to pull off another backflip on his motorcycle. i know that his job stinks but tell him to keep working hard and it will pay off in the end.his truck should turn out pretty cool if him and justin get workin on it. when u send some more pictures make sure to get some of the truck to. and also im good on the seeds. no one else knows how to eat them so im still stocked up on the seeds. if you can send like maple syrup that is what i need. they have no syrup here. i think that ty should be able to work through his hurt collar bone. he is pretty tough. he will like that new job im sure. is dad still doing the good ol septic tank pumpin with the cowboy cori? so me and my companion had a really good experience this week. we were heading home and we were in the area of a new member lady, Juci Mara. we decided to stop by her house and visit. she was so glad that we did cause her son was really sick and needed a blessing. we gave him one then decided that he needed to go to the hospital cause he was shaking really bad and said that he was freezing and his stomach was killing him. we ran to another members house and got him to drive them to the hospital. it turned out that he needed to get his appendix removed. while they were doing the surgery his appendix burst and later they said that if he would have waited any longer he could have died. its crazy how the spirit works through people! i was so glad that we could help out. the language is still slowly but surely coming along. i hope that by the time i call in a few months i will be pretty comfortable with it. i love u guys. keep working hard and having faith in all things!
Elder Coats

September 10th, 2008

hey i got the package with all the new pictures in it! we had zone conference this week and i was way excited when i saw that i had an envelope full of pictures and all the letters. tell everyone that i said thanks for the letters. its always fun to get letters. those pictures were great too of the good ol famous preston parade. what was that crazy picture of arien in the cow girl giddy up about? wow cierra talbot looked really pretty on that float also. i wish i could say the same about the one of arien but.......jk. every thing is going good here. we had a really motivating conference that made me want to go out and work even harder. my knee is still doing good and working like it should. i wear a band around it every day that i think seems to help hold it in place. we are eating really good. we eat lunch with members everyday and we also cook alot on our own in our own place. no need to worry about that. my shoes are still holding up good. i think we got a good brand. my comp. has a few pairs that are really thrashed. i bet mine will be the same way before too long.there is no need for the bug spray and the sun screen lately. it has rained quite a bit and has been cloudy. the language is slowly but surely coming along. i still havent been able to go to the temple yet here but i think that we will go soon. the temple is a great place to go to get away from everything for a while. also to learn new things. i love u all and im thankful for all the support. im workin hard and enjoying my mission. have a good week!
Elder Coats

A Letter From the Mission President:Aug 17th, 2008

To the Family of Elder Coats:

We are pleased to welcome Elder Coats to the Brazil Curitiba Mission. We are enclosing a photograph of him with us at the mission home when he arrived in Curitiba. We already love him.
The day of your son's arrival, he attended several training sessions. We are impressed with the potential for fine service that he brings to the mission field. Elder Coats has been assigned to serve in the area of Jardim do Sol with Elder Barrus as his trainer.
We advise you to send mail directly to the mission office address. Mail usually arrives from the United States in about ten days. We encourage you to write weekly letters or e-mails which are cheerful and supportive. The first three months is a time of cultural and language adjustments and your letters and remembrances will be very important in this transition stage. Please continue this habit of writing throughout your son's mission.
We have made the health and well-being of our missionaries a priority; please know that we will do everything we can to prevent illness or injury. On your part, you can encourage your son to eat well-balanced meals and to drink the bottled mineral water(reimbursed by the mission).
We know that the mission experience is an ennobling one and that your son will grow through serving the Lord and the people of Brazil. We are pleased with the missinary spirit, and the growth we see in the missionaries in this mission.
Please know how much we value having Elder Coats in our mission family. We thank you for entrusting such a fine young man to our care. Please feel free to contact us about any concerns you might have.

Warmest Regards,

President Paulo Messias de Araujo
Sister Renata Araujo

Letter 9-03-08: Another P-day come and gone

From: ncoats@myldsmail.netTo: kcoats5150@aol.comSent: 9/3/2008 2:26:28 P.M.
Subj: another p day come an gone

i love reading about all that is going on everyweek back home. im glad that everyone is doing good and enjoying the summer time.
im glad ty is liking the new school. i figured that he would. i bet he already has a dozen friends over there.
im glad that arien is liking her classes and her new students. its awesome that she is a teacher now.
i bet jud and ty and justin had fun with all those racoons! thats crazy that there were that many in the yard at once. tell ty to call trent and ask if he wants any of the carcases.
i got a letter from trent today and a few of the parade pictures that u sent. they were some really good pictures. every one in my zone really liked that picture of brooke on her horse. she looked really pretty, and they were all asking me how old she was cause a few of them are going home soon.
work during labor day is a busy week at stokes.it probably made the time go by really fast though.
well im pretty sure that the winter months are over here cause it is really heating up! im getting a little more darker every day. my comp is a pale white color so he gets fried every day.
the work is going pretty good some days. it seemed like we got shut down quite a bit this week. people werent home for our appointments and stuff like that. i guess i just got to get used to that. i know its going to happen alot.
today for our pday our zone pitched in and rented a bus to visit all the parks in this area. it was pretty cool and i got a lot of good pictures that ill send home when i can get them developed.
Another p-day has come and gone. its always the fastest day of the week! i love u guys! have a good week!
Elder Coats

Jardim do Sol: August 28th ,2008

everything is still going really good. i am learning so much being exposed to the actual mission work and being surrounded by these Brazilians everyday! the language is becoming more and more familiar each day and i do my best to really try to pay attention to everything going on so i can pick up on everything. so i had the opportunity to baptize a 14 year old girl this last week! it was an awesome experience, especially being so early in my mission. a was happy when she decided that she wanted me to do it for her. i really love my area here. i think i lucked out being able to be here for my first area. the kids in the ward are awesome. the familys are really good to us also. we had conference also this past sunday. from what i could tell.... it was a good one. president Arroujo and his wife spoke and also a member of the seventy came and spoke. i was surprised from what i understood. mostly just words here and there but i could tell what was going on. i was so surprised when u said that president smart talked about me in his talk..wow. ive noticed that i think to much in english... portuguese is not structured the same so i really dont make sense to these people. its all good though. im continuing to have funny experiences out here because of the lack of me not knowing this crazy language. last week i attempted to make a street contact and i asked the couple `voces morreu juntos`? which means ´do you two die together`? i meant to say morem juntos... ha ha very close but no cigar... i ve just decided to make the best of these days that i dont know the lingue. were working with a few investigators that seem really interested and they like the book of mormon and they want to come to church. its nice having a big beautiful church house that every one sees and thinks that it is nice. there are so many apostate little church houses on every street corner! a lot of times that we walk by them at night they will be having a service and its just a lot of screaming and weird stuff like that. i dont know how people could think that that kinda stuff is the truth... we witnessed a big gang fit at the bus station the other day that was pretty intense! the cops came and broke it up with there billy clubs. we saw it as we were driving by but the bus driver just stopped the bus cause he wanted to watch, so we all got to witness the show. crazy. ty is liking the new school so far, im really glad that he is. its awesome that jud is doing so good and is almost a year already. keep it up man, and you will be much happier. arien is finally able to start what she has been working so hard to do. have fun and enjoy. im proud of ya. dad i cant believe that we actually had a watermelon this year thats awesome. mom how is the ice in the freezer? no, your probably on to the raw potato stage now that it is summer. just kidding. ill tell you what though, you would love our freezer in our apartment... there is a crack in the fridge so air gets in and creates a lot of frost. im enjoying all of the experiences that i am having so far on the mish. i see now why so many return elders talk about there missions so much. i love u guys! keep workin hard! Tcheu,
Elder COATS

I'm In the Field 8-20-08

so my first week was a good and frustrating one. i love it cause im actually out doing the missionary work but it is frustrating that i cant speak very well. im learning to have patience. patience is going to be key for me these first few months. my companion is working really well with me. he is from california to answer our question. a crazy funny story that happened this week was when we went to an investigators house that my companion had said was wanting baptism but he had to work some things out first. he also told me that he was a little femmy. so we went to his house and right from the get go i knew that he was as gay as they come. he asked me where i was from and then said all u americans are so beautifull... he told us he had some questions about his reading in the BofM so we read with him. he sat right inbetween me and my comp. on this tiny couch and asked me to read. as i was reading he was rubbing my back and my side and my thigh! i couldnt believeit! so we answered his questions then he told us that he wanted baptism but he had to dump his man first. he said he would do it. the whole time i kept looking at my comp. signaling that we needed to leave but he just kept shaking his head. our investigator said that we needed to celebrate because he was going to break up with his boyfreind and brought out some wine! poured us a glass and told us to drink. i tried to explain that we dont drink alcohol. my companion said that he didnt want to affend him so he started sipping of this wine. i was freakin out. i didnt drink any and so paulo our investigator ask one more thing of us before we left..... if we would sing his favorite hymn, sisters in zion! at this point i was going to kill my companion and punch this investigator. i was not going to sing that hymn. finally they both busted out laughing and fell on the floor!!! it was my freakin Bishop!!!! they planned the whole thing and i had no idea. we laughed about it. my bishop is awesome. church went really good also. the members are awesome.a few more things that hapened this week... i got made fun of by a blind women because i couldnt read very well, ya thats right a blind women. i also asked another lady to read after she clearly explained that she couldnt read. good times on the mission i guess... so everthing is starting out well. im glad that everyone is well back home. if u can i would like to see a picture of that car. we get an alawance twice a month that is enough for me to do what i need so i will only use my card if i have to.so dont expect to much being takin out. we have lots of people that we are teaching right now and were staying realy busy. i have a baptism marked for this saturday. my supplys are still good and if i need anything i can usually just by it here. i love u all so much and i miss u but im am enjoying my mission so far. have a good week. Love Elder Coats

Letter Wed. August 13, 2008

Im made it to CURITIBA! it feels so good to be out in the field finnaly. i am loving it so far. of course it is only my second day but its awesome. my new companion is really cool and he seems like a really good trainer. He said that there is a good chance that i will get my feet wet this transfer.....so i guess will c how that goes. the president and his wife are way nice and it was a good interview that i had with him. we were able to send a letter home at his house but i was kinda rushed for time so it isnt to much but u should get it soon. thanks for the package. the scripture cause and the jump rope will be very usefull. but especially the seeds. i was glad for the letters to. there werent any pictures in there though? ther is no post office in my area of jardin do sol so i cant send to many letters but i still do receive them. so the plane ride went good and then we ate lunch and had a meeting where we met our new comps. the meeting was over my head cause it was in portuguese but thats ok. i was amazed with how much the missionarys that have been out a year could speak so well. my companion elder Burrus is way cool. he is an American so we still speak english but im hoping to pick up alot from him. the apartment is awesome also! way getto but way awesome! the shower head is something else. we have no hot water heater so the water is heated by a coil that u have to strikewhile the water is running. it shocks ya some times. ill have to send ya some pictures. so tomorrow were gonna do some lesson with some people. im gonna do the best i can with what little portuguese i know. the bus ride to the area was a crazy one. i had all my lugguage and there were a million people on the bus that i just had to crowd in with. we took the wrong bus and had to back track but it ended up good cause i was able to see the Temple. its beautiful. we finally made to the apartment after a little backtracking but it worked out good. so things are back under way back home.im glad that u guys are all workin hard and stayin happy.i love u all and ill let ya know more about evrything here next week. Love Elder COATS

Letter July 30th

were the oldest American district now in the mtc! it seems so crazy cause i remember just yesterday thinkin that the oldest group was way smart with the language and what not but now when we teach the younger districts they all think that about us. the lessons are pretty easy to teach now. more and more words stick in my mind everyday. its really fun to understand another language. im excited to get out in the feild and teach the gospel through this language. the mail has really been pouring in these last few days. the strike is over! i got the letters that u sent me and the pictures also. Jud/Ty that is the sickest car ive every seen. it is truely a geo storm. i bet it gets great milleage. has jud just been driving that to work? i also saw the brazilian flag that u have in the yard. thats cool! i sure do love america though. Ive really come to realize that since ive been here. The arena cross pictures were sweet also. that was a good one of ty skying over the arena. so i did talk to elder Oldham. he said that he knew justin and i showed him a picture of arien and he new who she was. it is crazy that everyone does someway or another know someone from little ol preston. ive got the whole napolean dinomite thing quite a bit here. i dont mind though. gives me a chance to get to know a lot of elders. a new shipment of curitiba elders came this last week. there are quite a few in the ctm now that are going there. 7 from our disrict alone. me and my companion will travel together but we wont be companions once we get out. this is actually the longest time that i will have the same companion in most causes. we have done really well together. he is way smart. we teach relly well togther. i did take my card to get money out of the atm for my vaccinations. im also going to buy some things today to get me prepared for the field. i just charge it as credit... thats the right way i hope. u know me when it comes to things like this. i suck! if u see sid beckstead tell him that são paulo is huge but he will enjoy it. it is nothing like dayton. when we prosolite in downtown são paulo it is crazy. millions of people. codys farewell sounds like it went good. thats funny that he said that a littlte over weight 19 yr old doesnt go to mexico for just a fat camp! i think that it is a good idea to just start sending the letters to the mission home now. it will be there probably really close to the day that i get there. make sure that the friends all get it also. thanks for the package mom. im sure it was a little spendy. i ccant believe that ty actually went through with selling the safari! he loved that thing. but iguess we cant be storing to many cars in the yard... we dont want to look like the sheilds junk yard. i bet that the girls are glad to be home from school for a little bit to enjoy the summer. i dont know if chelsey is off or not but i hope they can all get together and have some fun. viss got a motorcycle! HE is going to hurt himself. no he knows what he is doing as long as he uses his brain. well mom, i love you and i pray for u and all those that are close to me everyday. and im really thankfull for the oppurtunity to serve the lord. Elder COATS

July 2nd 2008

From: nick coats
To: KCoats5150@aol.com
Subject: july 2nd
Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Mom
every thing is still going really well here. just the same old same old. im glad
that everything is going good at home. im glad ty had fun at camp. hopefully he
continues to go to some of those church activities. arien im glad that u got all
moved into the new room. i actually really like my new place also. i cant
believe ty and jud baught that car. you need to send me some pictures of it. the
safari has been a good car but terrible gas millege. the gas here is a little
bit cheaper than in town but not by much. thats good to know that your leg is
doing good. im sure that working on your feet all day doesnt really help. i know
that it will slowly get better. the weather is is pretty nice. its there colder
months but it is still right up around 60 almost every day. the humidty isnt to
bad but it is differnt than being in preston. i get a nice fat dirt ring around
my collar almost every day. the language is coming along good. this past week i
have kinda felt that i hit a wall but that is normal cause i learned a lot the
first week. the prosoliting is this friday. its gonna be awesome! all the
missionarys say that it is the funnest thing to do in the mtc. im excited for
it. im sending a few pictures home today by mail. let me know when u get them.
the traffic here is crazy!! the roads are so narrow and everyone drives100 mph.
when we came home from the temple today there was a guy driving a work truck
with a big box on the back that just decided to park and run into a shop and
grab some food. our bus driver laid on his horn and the guy just waved and sat
down to eat. it was pretty funny. we sat there for a good 5 minutes then
everybody was honking, so some one just came out, got in his truck and backed it
out of the way. there are a lot of people on motorcycles also and they cruise in
and out of traffic just honking there horns to let people know that they are
coming through. its madness! im hoping that i dont have to drive when im out in
the field. it seem crazy that i have been out almost a month alredy. going buy
fast. i cant wait to get to my actual area int he feild. i love u. tell every
one hi for me. keep sending the pictures but dont bother sending more of that
dog..... she sickens me. jk. i love u guys and your always in my prayers.

Elder Coats

June 25th 2008

From: nick coats
To: kcoats5150@aol.com
Subject: june 25
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:07:20 +0000

family-
everything is going great here still. im learning so much! the language is
slowly coming to me more and more each day. i can understand quite a bit. cant
speak it all that well still but it is coming along. my p-day is every wednesday
and it is better for u to send me e-mails cause i just check them every p-day.
there is a little place called mr. cheneys cookies where we go and pay 2 rais
for an hour on the computer wich is about a dollar 20 or so, so its not to bad.
every other night we get to have gym to run around for a while and im really
glad for that cause we sit a lot. my knee is feeling better than it every has
right now and i hope it continues that way. i know that im being blessed for
what im doing. the one elder that was flying with me by the name of groosbeck is
actually related to luke groosbeck that we know from town. kinda crazy how small
the world is. my companion elder halgren is a really good kid. he really helps
me to focus on my studies and keep up. all of my roomates are all studs. we have
two brazilian roomates and the rest are americans. there is six of us to a room.
the room is really nice though. my one roomate reminds me a lot of ty, elder
gardner. he is way funny and he likes to make every one laugh and he is good at
it. it would of been nice to get away from the smart alik remarks that ty always
had but elder gardner took off right where ty left me... jk. i got my first
taste of brazilian guacomole and it is amazing. and it was just cafeteria
guacomole. i ate so much that my roomates had to deal with me for the whole
week! you know what i mean. hey did any one go to the fathers day derby... how
was it... im really glad that jud is doing so well. when i get home he will be
done with all of this and me and him could maybe earn some big bucks together
some where. arien how is the room coming along. dont make it all girly and what
not. and keep your juuicy watermelon talk out of that room also. the laundry
thing is a piece of cake so far. its all free at the mtc and it puts the soap in
on its own so its all good till i get into the field i guess. dad u can do what
u want with my car. take it out and drive it every once in a while. i know u
want to. next week we get to go prosoliting in down town sao paulo. its gonna
be sweet. im working on my street contact so i can know what im gonna so to
these crazy brazilians. every thing is going good. tell everyone hi and tell
grandma and loyal my news. maybe just forward all my mail to my friends. love u
guys.

Elder Coats

First E-mail homen 6-18-08

family

i made it to the mtc. everything is going good. the city of sao paulo is huge! the mtc is really nice and everyone makes u feel really welcome. i was able to take the blue dot off my tag today which means i have finished a whole week! i have learned a lot in the first week! almost to much for my abilities. no its all good, i can now pray, bear my testimony, and start a small sonversation in portugese. today was my first p day and i was glad for that. we spend a lot of time in the classroom leaning the language and doctrine, so it feels good to be out of the hot class room sitting in a chair for most of the day. im glad for the gold bond powder cuase i have no butt and its chafing from sitting in those chairs. im having a good time though. my district is a really good group of guys we have a lot of fun. my companheiro is really quiet and a little akward but he keeps me focused on my studys so it working out good. we are slowly becoming friends. we had a fun experience today trying to send some letters out and the lady just went off in portugese and we had no idea what she was saying....it was pretty funny. we get to go out on our own with out companheiros on p day. we got to go to the campinas temple today also and that was really good. really pretty temple. the brazilian people are very friendly and willing to help us with the language. so arien how is your room coming along? we have devotionals a few times a week that we all go to and most of them are good. i do feel the spirit quite often. sometimes more than others. i think ive gained a little weight....we eat a lot of food in the mtc and the food is pretty good. beans and ricde is always a side dish for lunch and dinner. the language is quite a bit different from spanish but it is pretty cool to hear them talk. all in all everything is going really good. i hope everything is good at home

Elder Coats

All in this together!

When we got home from the airport, Nick called and said he'd made it to Texas, where he would be laying over until his flight to Brazil was ready. He told us that in Salt Lake a father of one of the other missionaries had taken some pictures of all the missionaries going to Brazil and had e-mailed them to the parents. It was so nice to see Nick with other missionaries!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: davidfonda@comcast.net
To:kristal_shepherd@hotmail.com;tdjensen@integrity.com;mhousley@beyondbb.com;rosiemgl@gmail.com;tmfarnsworth84@yahoo.com;lbstephenson100@msn.com;paulagroesbeck@hotmail.com;mhalgren@yahoo.com;kcoats5150@aol.com;lilliancampbell@hotmail.com;t.grow@mchsi.com;me;;Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 00:33:21 +0000
Subject: Your sons at the SLC airport

Hello,
We had the opportunity today to go with our missionary son past security to the gate to see him off to Brazil. We took several photos and I thought you might like to have them. By the time they left, there were a total of 14 missionaries and they all looked happy and excited. We anticipated just seeing those who were going to serve in the Belem Brazil mission with my son, but were please to see missionaries going to missions all over Brazil.

As missionaries or groups of missionaries found their way to gate A1, they immediately migrated to each other. It was fun to overhear their initial conversations which all went the same humorous way:

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Brazil,"

"Yeah, so are all of us. Where in Brazil?"

Then they would share their calls and find others who were going to their same mission. They looked great. They looked strong. They looked happy to be where they were and with each other. Good luck to all of them. I have 16 pictures and for size reasons I will attempt to send 4 at a time in four separate e-mails.

Regards, David FondaElder Brandon Fonda - Belem Brazil, June 2008-2010

The Hard Part

Gram, Ty, Me, Elder Coats, Jud at the airport
Everyone always told my mom that we were so lucky we didn't have to go to the MTC, but I think saying goodbye is saying goodbye, no matter where you are.

Mom lined us up to take our last photo of the four of us together. Two whole years...we will be so lonely for him. We have all always been so close, and we have always had a special way of using humor and jokes to become closer.

As we rode in the van to the airport, he kept taking very deep breaths and wiping off his sweaty palms on his pants. But when we arrived we saw lots of missionaries there. As we would walk by them, they would shout out to Nick, "Hey! Where you goin?" when Nick would say Brazil, it made us all breathe a little easier when they would reply, "Me too! See ya in a minute!" Just to know he wouldn't be alone was so comforting to all of us!

Saying Goodbye

The morning of June 10, 2008, we woke up early to take our brother Elder Nick Coats, to the airport to begin his journey of being a missionary for The Churh of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Brazil Curitiba Mission.

We were all a little nervous to let him go, and you could feel it that morning. Nick was nervous too; but after spending some time in the bathroom and drinking a half a bottle of Peptobismol (our family's favorite pink drink that cures all) he was ready to go.