So recently I got sent to a city called Esteio. My companion is an american named Elder Barnum. He´s from Utah. Work here has been marvelous. The people here are very humble and acceptive. Since I got here we´ve baptized 2 people so far. One lady that we baptized had been taught by the missionaries since 2005. She been through a lot of difficulties and could never get baptized because of complications with her husband. She had been through a few abusive relationships with different husbands but was finally legally divorced. So we baptized her! She is very special and definitely strengthened my testimony. She seemed like a member of the church already. Because she wasn´t baptized she had been going to the catholic church for years and used manuals from our church and the book of mormon to teach classes at the catholic church. Maybe we should baptize her students. There´s another man we are preparing to be baptized this next Sunday. Saturday we did a fast with him to help him stop smoking, drinking beer, and drinking cafè, andddd conseguiu !(he did it!) Saturday night he went to work and didn´t get back home until 7:00 sunday morning. Church starts at 9:00am. It´s a good thing that he promised that he would go to church with us. So at about 8:15am Sunday morning we showed up at his house to take him to church. He was sleeping like a rock. His mom tried waking him up but couldn´t do it. So she told us that if we were able to wake him then he could go with us to church. After flipping the light switch and convincing him, he went to church! He even drove us there.
One day we were talking to a guy on the road and for some reason I looked to my left and saw a drunk guy on a horse coming right at me. I dodged it just in time but the horse bumped against my companion. Luckily he didn´t fall or get hurt at all. The drunk guy got off his horse and started saying sorry over and over. He looked like Jack Spearow. Drunk breath stinks.
Saturday we went to a ward activity. Luckily some members brought some friends. References! One lady who came we had already taught one time and she asked me if I was the man who had those books. What books? I said. The book of Mormon? She said yeah, she wanted to read the book of mormon because she likes to read a lot. So I gave her a book of mormon, and 6 pamphlets, 1 pamphlet for every lesson. Then we gave her a lesson right there in the church in the middle of the activity. She accepted to be baptized next sunday. Then we marked an appointment for the next day at 3:00pm. When we got there she had already read 1 chapter in the book of mormon and all of the 6 pamphlets that I had given her. She doesn´t drink, smoke, do drugs, and has no husband or boy friend. Woohoooo!
Another man we met at the activity accepted us to visit him the next day. We gave him the first lesson and they loved it. I think asked them if they´re going to be baptized, The husband said yes, and his wife said she´ll do whatever his husband does. Than the husband started telling me how nothing gets done without a goal. Alright then I thought. So I challenged them to be baptized July 24th. They told me that they had been visited by missionaries several times but had never received direct questions about baptism like this. I told them that baptism is our purpose, if they want to be baptized then we can help them. After thinking a bit they husband accepted and the wife said she would follow.
Really these miracles that happened were completely lead by the spirit. There would be no way to do this work if not by the spirit. I would not even know how to speak portuguese without the spirit.
For 4th of July I saw the usual gathering of people at all the bars to drink beer and all the teenagers getting together on the road to smoke marijuana. Maybe they were celebrating 4th of July, I don´t really know. But my companion and I listened to a bunch of American music by the mormon tabernacle choir and talked in English. What a blessing it is to talk in English. Be thankful when the people around you speak your language.
I have found that quality is better than quantity. You could maybe get a lot of work done, but if you do it without love and without the spirit, that work will not have very much of an outcome. Before thinking of our status and our needs we need to think of others. I´ve learned a lot living with different people from different countries who have different cultures and customs. Something that always works when dealing with people is charity. Charity eliminates fear, anger, sadness, fighting, and brings the spirit. When we see a problem it can be really easy to complain and blame others. Even if it´s clear that the other person is wrong it will never help to tell them that they are wrong. We need to have patience with others and focus on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Instead of pointing fingers we need to say sorry, ask for forgiveness, or do a little act of kindness that will make all the difference. Share with others. Everything we have really isn´t ours. It´s God´s. God gives us things to help others. God gives more to those who are willing to share and serve. Serving others is really the best thing you can do in your life. Search to serve every hour of every day. Try not to have "me time" or time where everything is about you, because it´s not about you. Happiness lies in the people around you.
I know that this Church is true. I know that the Book of Mormon. I know that using the Book of Mormon and the church we can know the will of God and keep his commandments and they will help to become more like Christ like we promised to do since we were baptized. Think of Christ and His gospel every day. Learn from it and apply it every day. This is the greatest joy and life. Do not let the world distract. The mission may be hard sometimes but it really has been the best time of my life. I´m so grateful for the mission and how it has opened my vision of things. God has a purpose for each one of us. Go after it.
