Well after last week, I was hoping for a
chance to catch my breath.... I had no such luck.....our zone is at full
steam ahead. There are so many miracles happening where we are. We had 6
more baptisms, 2 huge weddings, 4 interviews, companionship exchanges,
and what not....my brain hurts at times tryng to process all of
this....luckily I have a little planner that is basically my best
friend....if not my head might literally explode!
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| Elder Jubitz and I |
Well
to start, we have continued teaching José and Dora. They are super
wealthy and super nice to us....just to give you an idea, while passing
on the street, they call us over, buy a cake, popsicles, mangoes, and a
bunch of other goodies at the local market for us. It'a a little bit
overwhelming at times, but I'm not going to lie and say it's annoying!
They are incredible people. I can't help but to look at him and think
"Stake President"......Dora is super Catholic...her husband just kind
follows her lead, but as he's been reading the Book of Mormon (yes, he
has been reading quite a bit!), he's dropping more and more hints that
he wants to pursue the church. We meet with them about once a week to
eat dinner and then teach them....they will probably go to the baptismal
service we will have this Friday and to church on Sunday. I'm excited!!
We
had a zone meeting this week. I've said this before, but we have 18
missionaries in our zone. While thinking about what Elder Jubitz and I
could talk about in the meeting, we had the idea to have a testimony
meeting. As a missionary, you bear your testimony dozens of time
each day to investigators, members, or even people on the street, but to
be in an environment with just other full-time missionaries bearing
their testimonies is something even more special. The Spirit was very
strong. I saw some missionaries that I've known since the beginning of
my mission who have been absolutely transformed and changed by this
work....we see many investigators change their lives as missionaries,
but something that I think is even more special is the change that
happens in the life of a missionary. I was very grateful for
that opportunity.
We
have been teaching a man named Antônio for a good while now. We made
contact with him on the street a few weeks ago....he was walking without
a shirt and with his head down. I felt impressed to talk with him, and
we found out that he is good buddies with Roberto, or ward mission
leader. We asked him if we could visit him and share a message. We later
found out that Roberto had invited him several times to get to know the
missionaries, but that he had never been interested. We ended up
teaching him and bringing him to watch General Conference. He had
worked hard in the sun that entire day, and when he showed up the dark,
air conditioned chapel, he didn't stand much of a chance....he slept for
a good part of the conference, but when the Prophet got up to speak, I
"accidentally" woke him up. He ended up loving the message. We taught
him the Gospel of Christ this week from 3 Nephi 27:13-22. Boy was that
experience fun. There's nothing better than seeing the Spirit break down
the barriers of hardened heart. Antônio drinks and smokes, but he has
made significant strides to quit since we have started to teach him. We
are going to keep on helping him with the hopes to baptize him soon!
I
talked a bit about a 20 year old girl named Vanessa that came to church
last week. When we passed by her house, her parents told us that we
"didn't need to come back there" and that they "preferred to not mix
religions". She's a big girl, so we are going to try and keep on
teaching her...let's see how this one is going to play out.
The
highlight of the week was Roberto and Elza's wedding! Boy was this an
operation....we helped them to clean the chapel and set up for the
event....there were a few members from the ward to help too. The wedding
was scheduled to start at 8PM, but Elza showed up super late! Almost
9:30! Everyone was a bit eager, but like they say, good things come to
those who wait right? It was an awesome experience. Elza was baptized
about 30 years ago but fell away from the church. Her husband, Roberto,
who is a cop, told her that he wanted to start going to church, so they
ended up coming back to the Church of Jesus Christ! The missionaries
have been teaching them for a few months now, but it was a cool
experience to see the finishing touches of their progress. Roberto and
his 2 kids, Geyson (yeah.....that's a Brazilian "Jason" for ya) and
Deborah will be baptized this Friday. It's going to be a fun one for
sure.
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| Wedding! |
We had transfers
today....I've passed a month and a half already here in Jardim São
Paulo. I'm happy here....I'm liking it a lot...I will probably only have
one more area on my mission other than here. It is such a blessing and
privilege to get to know these wonderful Brazilian people. The Lord
truly has blessed me to have allowed me to serve among such a wonderful
people. A mission is the best thing I've ever done. I'm so grateful for
the time I've already had here, and for the remaining time I still
have!!
Until next time,
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