Letter 6/11/12

Well winter has officially arrived here! When I say winter, I don't mean that it's cold or Christmas lights go up or you drink hot chocolate....it just means that it rains a lot and that you get wet! It's a nice change from being wet with sweat though! Haha, I can't even imagine what it's like to live in a cold climate anymore. I am very well accustomed to live here on the equator! 

Our zone! Good guys here

We had an awesome week! It's funny how I often don't realize just how much we accomplished or how many miracles we saw throughout the week until I go back through my journal and look at everything that's happened. We had a zone meeting on Wednesday. We were principally trying to get everyone excited and help the Elders be happy and willing to do the work! It's a tricky process. We bought a ton of food and brought it to the Zone meeting. If there's one thing that makes 20 year old young men happy, whether they be Brazilian, American, or, Bolivian, it's food! I gave a training about the importance of walking into every lesson and home with the spirit. Without that, we might as well not even enter. I stressed how important it is that these people recognize that there is something "different" about two young men entering their homes and talking about God. This, is the holy ghost. This, is what makes this work possible. This, is why 55,000 19 year old boys are able to bring hundreds of thousands of people into the true Chruch of Christ. This, is why the church has been successful as it has been. I used a scripture in 1 Corinthians 2 that I felt really illustrated this principle. Paul says the following about his teaching

(4 -5) And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

(10-11)  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Every Elder needs to understand that people will join this church because of the Spirit of the Lord which testifies and teaches the people the true principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not because of the 30 minute lesson that we leave with people 3-4 times a week. If we can understand that and apply that as miracles....we're are going to see some serious miracles take place. 


Well in other news, it looks like we are going to have two baptisms this week! Mical, an older lady who we have been teaching for about 2 months, finally accepted baptism. She had a bit of a problem with coffee, which she has to give up before she can be baptized. We bought cevada (which is a substitute for coffee made by the 7th Day Adventist church....it looks like they don't drink coffee too!), and brought it to her house to make it. She had been pretty pessimistic about it, saying that she doesn't have much desire or willpower to give up her coffee. She smelled the cevada, and did not like it. As she was boiling the water to make the coffee, I just started praying silently that the Lord would bless her with a good taste and that she would accept the coffee.

Mical with trying Cevada (a substitute for coffee!) for the first time....she loved it! and gave coffee and confirmed her baptism on the spot!

My thoughts turned to the story in 1 Ne 17, when Nephi tells about how they had not been permitted by the lord to have camp fires (presumably to avoid being detected by thieves in the desert), and that the Lord had blessed their meat, so that they could eat it and be sustained. 

(I Nephi 17:12) For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
I knew that the Lord has power to perform miracles. What we saw, really was a miracle. She drank the cevada, and loved it! She said, on the spot, "Ok, I will give up coffee, and you I will be baptized!" I couldn't believe the joy and happiness that I felt in that moment! The Lord really had provided a miracle for us. Since then, Mical really has progressed a lot as far as her attitude. She has a sincere desire to follow the Lord and seek the source of the blessings which she has been receiving. She said something that really hit me deep. She said, "You guys really do help people don't you?". I am way excited to see her be baptized on Friday!

We talked with Eliel too (remember our super-pastor investigator?). He had been more or less avoiding us for a long time, without us really knowing why. We finally had a chance to sit down and talk with him, and we found out that he has some serious doubts about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. We explained the need for a restoration and the necessity of having the priesthood. He was pretty closed minded during the whole discussion, but at the end I stopped and felt prompted to challenge him to read the Book of Mormon for himself to know if it is true. He paused a good few seconds....the Lord worked yet another miracle on the heart of this man. His response was more or less the following: "Ok. Get me a Book of Mormon with large font, and give me 3 months to study the book." My word another rush of happiness and joy filled my body with that response! I know that the Book of Mormon has such power and such a capacity to convert. I do not have a doubt that if this man reads the Book of Mormon with an open mind, he WILL be converted to know that the true church of Jesus Christ is here on the earth. It really is that powerful!!!

At a Family Home Evening…you can see the happiness on all their faces…especially Mike’s!!

On saturday we went to the temple with Thayris (who was baptized last week) and Alailson, another investigator we have. It was a great trip. The spirit was sooo strong there. It was really cool being able to visit the temple before watching the temple dedication in Manaus on sunday! It was soo weird to think that Joy and Chris were there in the temple watching personally what I was watching along with the rest of Brazil by transmission. I'm sure Joy is loving Brazil....especially the Amazon!!!

Elders McKinley & Chapuis take Alailson & Thayris to the Recife Temple.

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes I received this week....a mission birthday is going to be weird for sure, but there's not another place on the face of the earth that I would rather be right now. This time is more precious to me that anything else that the world has to offer me. I love this work. It really is true. Jesus Christ really lives. Heavenly Father really does love us! I have more and more of a certainty of these things with every day that I pass here!!

Until next time, 

-Elder McKinley