Well it's been another great week! We had a bit of a funky week, but it was nonetheless very enjoyable and uplifting for me. While tracting last week, we ran into a few interesting investigators that I think are worth mentioning. Generally, we can talk with just about anyone here and mark a follow appointment with them (it wasn't like this is my last area....the people are much more open and friendly here). We passed by a kid (I thought he was a man, everyone here looks older and more mature than they are...) and started talking to him. Turns out, he's 18, lives with wife and 4 year old son in their own house (it's actually a house too....separated from all the other ones....very unusual for here.) Not to be outdone, about an hour later we passed by a girl who was sweeping in front of her house where 3 little kids were playing in front....she's 17.....yikes. I've never seen anything like that before. Raising a family and taking care of the home like that at such an age.....what a difficult, sad situation. Definitely makes me feel grateful I was born into a family where the parents were well matured and experienced!
I had a girl ask me to sign a pamphlet that I gave to her...I think she thought I was famous or something....I got a kick out of that....I think the Brazilian missionaries don't really like how much attention the Americans get....I can understand where they are coming from, but I think the frustration gets taken out on us sometimes unfortunately. My roomates ( my district leader, and zone leaders may I remind you) have a problem with getting to bed on time....I woke up the other night at midnight, and I was still the only one in our bedroom....they are just fiddling around doing nothing, wasting time. My companion is always tired during the day too. He's fallen asleep during lessons several times....the investigators think its funny, but I don't know that it's really helping them to see us as representative of Jesus Christ.
About one of our investigators....we are expecting/hoping to baptize a mom and son, Aparaceda and Ronnison on Christmas Eve. Both of them have been attending church for quite some time, but have been waiting for the grandma, who is a member, to visit so that she can be there for the baptism. I am hoping that Christmas will come one day early for us!
On Thursday, our zone got to go to the temple....half of our zone paid some guy to drive us out to Recife and back (it's about a 2 hour drive). I've seen few times where so many people were packed into such a small car....to make matters even more interesting, on the return trip, we had about 6 large Christmas packages and boxes of copies of the Book of Mormon....and then the car broke down....here we were sitting in the middle of absolutely nowhere, with a broken down car, and a ton of valuable packages, bags, missionaries....I thought for sure we were gonna get robbed or something....the driver made a phone call, and about 10 minutes later an identical car rolled up (again out of nowhere) which we threw all our stuff into and drove off....a miracle? I think so.
But about Recife. Pres Lanius allowed our zone to visit the temple. Usually our zone doesn't have access to the temple because of how far away we are, but since we were coming in for the missionary Christmas program, we got to do a session there. The temple in Recife (and I think most international temples) has a little hotel next to it that the church owns. Man was it nice! Air conditioning too! It's usually used for people who are traveling great distances to do temple ordinances. The best part was the price....6 bucks a night! You gotta love the church! While in the Celestial room, I read my patriarchal blessing....man was that insightful reading that in such a sacred place. I got to many insights that I had never noticed before. It gave me a great deal of comfort not only as a missionary, but as a son of God as well. I realize that he really does have a plan for me, and parts of that plan I have already seen fulfilled in my life. How wonderful that is to know we have a purpose and a path prepared for us, and even more importantly, a destination.
The next day we had our Christmas program. It was just with the missionaries. Each zone got up and gave a talk, and then sang a hymn. It was wonderful. I really felt the Christmas spirit for the first time this year....It's a bit difficult to remember it's Christmas time when you're sweating in the blazing sun all day! After that, we had lunch (more like a feast). After that, we had interviews with Pres Lanius....like I said, this was a good 48 hours. It is so wonderful being able to walk into a room with your mission president, and not be worried about a single thing that you need to confess or resolve....we had a wonderful conversation. We talked about our families, Brazil, and how wonderful it is to be a part of this work. I loved that 10 minutes I got to spend with him, All of the frustration, sweat, study, and hard work becomes worth it when you have a meeting with a leader like that. It makes me realize how much more it will be worth it when I one day stand in front of the Savior, and give him an account of my works during this time here on earth.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas....it will be business as usual for us here for the most part, but I am looking forward to spending some time with my family come Sunday!
Until Next Time (that means Sunday if your last name is currently or ever was McKinley!),
-Elder McKinley
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