Week 21

It´s been a great week! Last Mondy we arranged to hold a Family Home Evening with our member neighbors. For the activity I taught them how to make Chocolate Chip cookies. For not having the correct measurements (my recipe is in cups and tablespoons while they use mililiters and grams here) and substituting a few ingredients for others that are difficult to come by in Brazil, the cookies turned out very well. Some of the best ones I´ve eaten. The family also enjoyed them a lot as you can tell.

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The rest of the week had some ups and some downs, but overall was quite good. Unfortunately Marli´s baptism fell through. We tried everything in our power, even filling up the font and filling out the baptismal record, but when it came down to it, her daughter had quite the negative influence on her and she wasn´t there when we went to pick her up. The adversary´s power is real! The up side is that we found a family and two other young men that have potential to be baptized in the coming weeks. We´ll be working closely with them to prepare them to make their first covenant with the Lord.

One of the times we went over to Marli´s house to teach her, we were surprised to find her daughter´s pastor there. It´s always annoying when this happens because all they want to do is Bible-bash and try to prove how so hopelessly wrong and lost we are. As missionaries and members we know that there is a much better way to clarify doctrine and invite the Spirit to provide an environment of learning, instead of contention; that is, by bearing testimony and honestly seeking truth. We changed our plans and instead taught my favorite lesson: The Restauration. At every point he challenged us, and attempted to talk over us and spew out scriptures to try and confuse all in the room. At one point he tried saying how because he is married and we´re not that he somehow knows more about the scriptures. Of course as it always does and always will, the conflict came down to Joseph Smith. Never can anyone try to slander and discredit that man to our faces withouth being born "down in pure testimony" (Alma 4:19). We bore solemn witness of the divinity of his calling as the prophet of the last dispensation. He saw God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. Of that I testify. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the same Church that Christ himself established when He was on the Earth, was restored through Joseph Smith. Praise to that man. As has already been said, "Joseph Smith has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it" (D&C 135:3). I love the talk that was given by Elder Neil L. Andersen in this past conference titled "Joseph Smith," and I encourage all of you to study and ponder the truths found therein.

Yesterday in church we focused on Elder Ballard´s talk last conference about staying in the boat. It was funny because I´d already shown all of them my guiding pictures from the Colorado River so they all looked at me when the analogy was given. It was cool because I was able to give more insights and explain in more detail how the river works and how well the analogy applies to our journey through life. Stay in the boat!

Até o próximo semana, tchau tchau!

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Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 20

Each day feels like an eternity due to all the work we do yet at the end of each week we look back and it feels like it´s only been a few hours! We were quite blessed this week in terms of finding baptismal canidates. Starting on the first day of the week (Monday), we ran into a 50 year old lady named Marli. It was as we were waiting for the bus to another city that we began to talk with her. Turns out she had been taught by other missionaries almost 6 months ago, been to church various times, read a good amount of the Book of Mormon, and even passed an interview to be baptized. But the time hadn´t been right and the missionaries lost contact with her. Then a week ago the Lord blessed us to encounter her on here way to work. She had been through some humbling trials during those months and was now more than ready to accept the gospel. We visited her almost every day following, each time leaving her house stunned at how ready she is. As always the adversary made an appearance and has been trying to halt her progress in the form of her daughter who is a devout (a little too devout) member of the Evangelic church. She tried and succeeded a few times to cart her mother out of the house before our teaching appointments but Marli´s testimony and determination to be baptized has come out on top. If it´s the Lord´s will, she´ll be baptized this coming Saturday.

We also had the opportunity to be interviewed by President Wright this past Saturday during our District meeting. I love him and his wife even more every time I have occasion to speak with them. I´m sad because I will only have 2 more interviews with him before he leaves back home to Draper, Utah this coming July. Our new president will be José V. Campos, from Brazil at that time.

Last week my companion and I also visited the Catholic Cathedral of Santa Cruz, the main city 15 minutes away from our area, Vera Cruz. It´s quite the building, with many statues and ornate decorations. As I exited the building after touring the interior I had the thought, what a blessing it is that we have temples that dot the face of the earth. Like this Cathedral, they are open to all that wish to enter, the only requirement being worthiness and a desire to "be in the world but not of the world."

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Have a wonderful week and read the scriptures daily!

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Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 19

Unfortunately our baptisms fell through. As missionaries we can do everything just right, teach all the lessons, respond to all questions and doubts, and get people literally to the waters of baptism, but when their free will comes into play, the story changes. It´s so sad for us, because we sacrifice our time, serve them, come to love them, desire their eternal happiness, and then when it actually comes to choosing the path to the Kingdom of God they reply, "Save it for another day," or "I´m comfortable where I am right now." What they know plainly but somehow don´t comprehend is that we´re not here to simply be their friends. We didn´t leave everything in our lives for 2 years just to sight-see. We´re not getting paid to be here. We´re here because we know the secret to eternal happinesss, we have the key to eternal life with our families, and we want everyone else to join us and enjoy the wonderful opporutnity they have to follow the example of their Savior Jesus Christ.

Like I did in my previous area, we decided to try something new. We studied the map of Vera Cruz and selected 2 neighborhoods that missionaries hadn´t touched for a very long time. Starting this week we visited them and made a goal to knock on every single door and to talk with every person that we passed. It might take to the end of the transfer but we´re determined to do it. We want to make a thorough sweep through those neighborhoods and find those who are prepared to hear our message of happiness and hope. Due to rain storms every day, it was a little difficult to find and teach a lot of people but we still managed to have success.

Yesterday I gave the obligatory new-missionary-in-the-area talk during Sacrament Meeting. I´m still surprised that I can speak and communicate in a way that people can understand me. Every week I have moments when I stop and think, "Did I really just carry on a meaningful and intelligent conversation with that person?" I can see blessings from the Lord for what I´m doing here. I based my talk on 2 Tim 4:7, one of my favorite scriputres. I challenged everyone to live in such a way that at the end of their lives they would be able to echo those words spoken by Paul almost 2000 years ago.

Unfortunately we´re having problems with the computers here so I´m not able to send any pictures this week. Hopefully we´ll have it figured out by next!

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Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 18

So this week I was transferred out of Carazinho and now I´m in Vera Cruz! This is the smallest and quietest town I´ve passed through so far. It only has a small branch. It´s really hard to find people walking on the streets too. But I´m now living in the only apartment in the whole mission with air conditioning! Granted it´s only for one room and it´s a little slow but it´s air conditioning nonetheless. My companion is Elder Garcia from Bolivia, and he´s been out serving for 11 months. He´s really cool and super friendly as hispanics are. He´s the first non-American companion I´ve had so far. It´s nice because he knows very little English so I´m finally forced to speak Portuguese. I´ve already seen a leap in my progress of learning the language.

Unfortunately this week I was plagued with a mix between a fever and a cold, so I had to stay home a few days due to some pains and lack of strength. On New Year´s Eve we got to stay out a little later, so we spent the evening with a member family that lives right next to us. Brazilians love New Year, they go crazy with their fireworks. The fireworks here are quite different than the ones in the States, while in the States it´s more about color, here it´s more about sound. They sure have perfected their fireworks to be loud holy cow.

Yesterday it was my opportunity to play the piano for sacrament meeting. Even though I made numerous mistakes, I´m afraid I´ve doomed myself to playing every Sunday until I´m transferred! I´m not sure if I should be thankful or not for having practiced all those years at home. This branch is sure thanking my Mom for that.

The best part of the week was getting to know our investigators. There are two young men in their 20´s that we hope to baptize in the coming weeks. Both of them are so ready too. João is 21 and newly married to his catholic wife. He is unbelievably intelligent about the gospel and remembers every little detail we teach him. He already studies the bible every day, and not just Psalms like many others. He told us yesterday that he´s conflicted in what he believes, part of him wants to believe in the Book of Mormon and part of him rejects more scriptures. But we got him to church yesterday and we know he felt the Spirit. It was a good meeting for him to attend: Fast and Testimony Meeting.

The other investigator, Marcio, has one 6 year old son and will be baptized this Friday if everything goes well. He is a physical trainer, and my companion and I are actually taking classes from him every P-day which is super cool. I´m super excited to work in this new area and I can´t believe the first week has already passed!

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Elder Joseph Andrew

Porto Alegre North Mission

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP 91010-971

Porto Alegre-RS

Brazil

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com