We continued to have yet another amazing week! Luckily, I was not transferred out! I've been here for 4 transfers already (5 and a half months almost)....you kind of get a little bit tired of an area after so much time, but a baptism here and there renews your commitment and love for the area and the people. Seriously, I've learned 3x more here in this area these last 5 months than I have in the first 7 months of my mission. A lot of it is do to my calling as a zone leader....I don't even look at it as a "leadership" position, but a "learnership" position (sorry if that sounds really corny....) I have so many amazing experiences that my journal can barely contain everything that's going on here!
I had a companion exchange with an American Elder this week, Elder Firouzi....he's from Pittsburgh (I always joke with him and tell him that's he from Philly....that drives him nuts!) He told me that he was half Iranian, and I didn't believe him, but he kept on insisting....I think he's actually telling the truth....pretty crazy huh? An American and an Iranian preaching the Gospel to Brazilians. He's a good guy. We had a great time together working like crazy!
On Monday night, we had a Family home evening with a less active family that is coming back to church. A few other members showed up too. I realized that everyone in the room was a convert to the church....in fact, now that I think about it, I believe that our entire ward (or at least everyone older than 20) is a convert to the church. We talked about the role that the Book of the Mormon has had in all of our lives. We invited each and every one of the members there to share how they came to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and how that knowledge has made a difference in their lives. Every time that we have an experience like this (and we frequently do), I feel the spirit testify to me through the words and simple testimonies of these humble people that this sacred book really is the word of God. It makes me SO grateful to realize that I never had to seek for this knowledge....I was so privileged to arrive in this world with the restored gospel at my fingertips.Tuesday morning we showed up at our chapel for our district meeting. To our surprise, there was a small "hobbit-like" man already there looking for us. His name is Saulo. He lives about an hour away, but ended up in our chapel looking for the "missionaries". He told us that he was recently robbed and was in need of 18 reais. He went to the Assembleia de Deus here in Abreu (that giant cathedral looking church that I sent a picture of a while back) and asked the Pastor for help. He has been a full tithe payer his whole life, and the pastor denied him. He showed up initially looking for financial help, but we started to tell him about the restoration of the true church and gospel of Jesus Christ here on the earth. We told him that their is no paid ministry in the church, and that the church has living apostles and prophets. He was fascinated when we told him that everything that we believe is based in the bible. He was also strongly impressed by a picture of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on the Chapel bulletin board, and even asked us where he could buy a photo of them. We tried to get his address to pass to the missionaries where he lives, but he said his family would probably kick him out of the house if he brought "Mormons" there. We left him with a Book of Mormon, a restoration pamphlet, and our testimonies....it's in the Lord's hands now!We had another MIRACLE Tuesday night. I have talked a lot about Babí, who is dating a member here in the ward. I have been teaching her since April....it was always a zoo trying to coordinate with her hectic schedule, but though the months, we were always teaching her here and there, but it was kind of a long shot to get any kind of real progress out of her. When June rolled around, she finally accepted baptism! We got everything all prepared and ready for her and then.....her parents said that they wouldn't let her be baptized until they visited the church first. So, we spent another month trying to coordinate with Babí's (Ba-bee) schedule and her parents' schedule to try and talk with them about her baptism. Tuesday, we finally got there....we hit it off really well with her parents...we starting explaining the basic beliefs of the church, and ended up talking a lot about the Book of Mormon (that tends to be the most "controversial" subject here in Abreu e Lima that we deal with). We asked Babi to share her testimony of how she received a spiritual confirmation that the book was true. She touched her parents' hearts....they said "alright, when is the baptism?" I was so happy at that moment I wanted to jump out of my shoes (again, sorry for the corniness...) We had fasted and prayed specifically for this cause....the Lord really provided a miracle for us. Babí is going to be baptized this Saturday!Speaking of baptism, Iara was baptized this week! One more miracle for the tally. She lives in a neighborhood that is like the "Hawaii" of our area....you don't have a reason to go out there unless you have something specifically planned there. When we were doing our weekly planning last month, I was studying the map of our area and felt extremely strongly impressed that we needed to start working in the Desterro, or "Hawaii" (unfortunately, it's location situation is about the only thing that it shares with Hawaii). We ran into a drunk man that told us his sister was a member of our church. We came back to visit, and found Gilka and Iara! They were both hungry for the Gospel. It was a cake walk to teach them the Lord's restored truths. They were both extremely willing to make sacrifices and changes in their lives to walk in harmony with the standards of the gospel. There were about 50 people at her baptismal service, about 10 of them being investigators. It was a wonderful experience. Seriously, it was a very, very gratifying day. I'm going to leave it off on that note. I'm gaining a greater and greater appreciation for the blessing that baptism is....not just for the person being baptized, but also for the person that prepares the person for that sacred ordinance....I'm gaining such a profound respect for this work....It really is the Lord's harvest....we are the laborers here....what a privilege it is to be here at this time and place. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Until next time,
-Elder McKinley
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