January 26, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

So this was the second week into my fourth transfer and I am still in Sobradinho 2 and I am loving it here. This past week we had a zone conference with president in Asa Sul and it was with another zone also. It was such a great conference and I learned so much. Also we got to see a video that was inspired by Elder Bednar and it has not come out in theaters yet but will I think in Feburary in the states and then in other languages. I was so inspired by this video and it was called "Meet the Mormons". Also I got to meet with our mission president for an interview and I passed!! I don't think it is possible to fail but it was a meeting with the mission president to see how I am doing and if I needed help. I love my president. He is amazing.

Also this week we lost power in our apartment because some of the little kids were flying a kite outside and it hit the power lines and shorted out a lot of houses on our block. In that time also I have officially learned how to solve a rubics cube because my companion taught me how!! Now I am such a pro (lol). This past week one of the LZ´s did a trade with an elder in Itapoa to do a baptisimal interview and the other elder came here and stayed with us. That next morning we played soccer in the rain and man was it fun!!

This week has been a rough week and long because a lot of our investigators have just been falling through on us and it is really tough. But this past Saturday we met 2 golden families and it was amazing. One of the families had two members come to church with us and during the gospel principles class she started to cry!! She has been asking us so many questions about the church and the gospel that it is amazing to see the power of the gospel work in her life. The other family after our first visit with them asked us when we could pass by them again because they are Catholic but when we taught them about baptism there were things about how they were baptized that they said they could see that there was something wrong in their church and wanted to know more. For my companion Elder Hernandez and I this has been an answer to prayers because we have been trying so hard to find people that really want to hear our messages and not toy around with us. So this past Sunday we had 3 investigators that came to church with us and we were so happy because all of our other investigators are really acting like they are not interested any more.

This past Sunday we had lunch at a members house and there were three families there and I gave the message about Mosiah 28:3 and I challenged them to think of someone that they know and be a friend to them. Invite them to church and try to share the gospel with them. I did this because I have encountered so many people here in Brazil that are in need of dire help. They appear and talk that they are lost and that their faith is in need of so much help. Also I have seen that when we talk to these people our testimonies seem fabricated because they see us every day and know that we only do this for 2 years but when we bring a member the results are completely different and the investigators see that we are not alone and that there is someone else that has experienced the same things they have and it shows these people that there is a light ahead. There is a way to escape this darkness of the world and attain happiness.

I NOW CHALLENGE ALL MEMBERS TO GO WITH THE MISSIONARIES ONCE OR TWICE THIS WEEK AND DO VISITS WITH THEM BECAUSE US MEMBERS ARE A GIGANTIC PIECE IN THIS WORK AND WE NEED TO HELP!