Well it was another busy one here. We've stepped it
up a notch with our commitment to work within the various areas of our
zone. I've mentioned before, that we are personally responsible for our
own area (Jardim São Paulo) plus two others which are currently without
missionaries (Afogados and Curado). On top of that, we have another 7
wards/branches in our zone that have missionaries....To give a recap of
this week, I went to Curado to teach a part member family (wife and kid
are gonna be baptized!), Moreno for a District Meeting, Boa Vista to
pick up materials, Jaboatão to switch out companions from splits,
Vitória for another companion exchange for two days, Jaboatão for 3
baptismal interviews (an ex-pastor was baptized this week! woo-ho!),
Afogados twice to teach a girl who will be baptized next week and once
to attend the church meetings (we teamed up with some members to be able
to attend two wards), and then to Mangueira to visit Diego, our recent
convert.....The names of these cities and neighborhoods don't mean much
to you folks back at home, but let's just say they aren't all very close
together.....we get around all right. It's a bit hectic at times, but
I've learn to love being busy. It's fun seeing so many different places
and getting to meet so many different people. What's not fun is when
loud, drunk people get on the bus when you're trying to explain the plan
of salvation to your neighbor, but hey it's Brazil. You got to love it
while you can!
I'll
talk about this pastor that I interviewed for baptism. He's super
intelligent. He was a pastor of the Assembleia de Deus for about 11
years (that's the church that gives us a lot of trouble....they talk bad
about us, to someone who has recently been meeting with the
missionaries. It's a bit frustrating at times, but it's all part of the
ball game. It makes things more interesting I guess you could say,
especially when one of their own comes over to good side! Just so you
have an idea, while interviewing this man, I explained about how he
could keep the Sabbath day holy by not spending money on recreational
activities. I explained that there are exceptions however. For example,
when you pay the bus fare to get to church. He turned the table on me
and told me that if I really wanted to be obedient, I would walk to
church, no matter how far away it is. Impressed by his desire to be
obedient, but also realizing his "over-zealousness", I explained that
the Lord expects us to use our own judgement. I quoted the words of
Joseph Smith. I told him that we, as missionaries, would teach him
correct principles and leave him govern himself by his own personal
choices. I think he got the idea. It was an interesting
self-thought....I thought about how many little choices we make that
fall into the "gray area" with the commandments. The Lord doesn't give
us a list of do's and don't's, but he does expect us to make good
decisions, regardless of the circumstances. We learn by making mistakes,
and as a result we end up continually refining our character and
lifestyle choices until we get where the Lord wants us to be. This man,
Cleidson, has a profound knowledge of the scriptures, but has yet to
learn some important Gospel principles. Don't we all?Anyways, he, his
wife, and his daughter all passed the interview with soaring colors. A
solid family. Congrats to the Jaboatão Elders (Elder "Hermano" Quinteros
is from Argentina!)
The
Lord also responded to our prayers in a miraculous way. We have been
praying rather fervently lately that the Lord would lead us to prepared
people who can be baptized quickly (without having to be married, give
up addictions, etc.) Well, we got a phone call from our mission
secretary with a referral from another ward. A 17 year old young woman
had invited her friend from Afogados to visit church in Várzea (another
ward out of our zone). She liked so much, that she returned again and
again, for 5 straight weeks. Finally, someone had the bright idea to
write down her address and send it to the mission. We went there the day
after we received her information. This friend's name is Taynar (think
"Tie-a-nah"). She's also 17. She lives with her mom and step-dad. Her
member friend had already invited her to be baptized....we showed up and
marked the date. It was incredible how the Lord put her in our
outstretched hands. We were starting to feel that our hard work and
prayers were going unanswered. Just when we got to the point of
doubting, the Lord came through for us, like he always does. She went to
church this week in Afogados, and loved it. Her mom and step-dad aren't
married, but also don't live together (it's marriage time!). We taught
them as well. They really felt the Spirit strongly during our visit.
They are going to attend Taynar's baptism this weekend....it should be a
family of 3 for the Afogados ward!
The work goes on my friends! Every day counts! Make the best of every one!
Until next time,
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