Week 38

This week, due to our hard work in gaining the trust of the members and less-actives, we were asked many times to give blessings to family members and friends. I was very happy for this opportunity to use the Priesthood more and bless other people. Almost daily, during our lunch visits with members and throughout the day, we were asked to give blessings for the sick or stressed family members at home. One of the more spiritual blessings was with a small child of 3 years. He was super energetic but during the blessing he was very calm. I had been working on the more formal way of speaking in Portuguese and it came in handy during the blessings. From all these blessings and opportunities to serve we were able to find people to teach whose hearts had been softened from the results and increased spirit.

On Thursday as we were waiting for the weekly District Meeting I was able to do many contacts with the people passing in the street. I was humbled as I spoke with many of the people as they came from very poor backgrounds. One man with whom I talked with actually asked for us to visit him the following day. He lived right next to a woman that was a reference from a member that we had received the day before. I also contacted someone very promising, but unfortunately for us he lives in a neighboring city. The only problem with these areas close to Porto Alegre is that you get contacts from all the neighboring cities.

At church I was sitting with my companion when the bishop asked that I sit next to an older couple that had just arrived and looked a little lost. We jumped right up at the opportunity and helped them find a place to sit and we got to know them better. The man was a less-active member that hadn´t been to church in years, and his wife is not a member. I got their address to visit them later this week. I was happy to see that the other members also jumped right up to get to know them and guide them around the church to where they needed to go. The woman was very receptive and enjoyed it a lot.

We were also able to go to the temple on Tuesday! What a blessing it is to be able to attend the temple on the mission.

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 37

​This week was quite productive. We worked closely with the members and gained their trust and now we recieve a lot of help from them in the work. Last Monday we were walking to a far away appointement at night and we had an interesting experience. A bus passing by us stopped and an older lady got off. As we passed her I noticed that right after she got off she stood there staring at us while the bus drove away. I thought nothing of it and we continued on our way. 10 minutes later we heard some weird noises behind us and saw someone walking 500 feet away. The person called out to us and we stopped to let him or her catch up to us. When the figure reached us we recognized her as the woman who had stared at us after getting off the bus. She told us how she was trying to visit her daughter but had never been to this part of the city (it´s a big city) and due to the darkness had become lost. She had followed us because she felt like we had something that she needed. She knew that we were Mormons (she had had contact with missionaries before) and knew that she would be safe with us.

Unfortunately she didn´t know her daughter´s address and so we weren´t able to help her locate the house. We helped her call her daughter and arranged for her to come with us to our visit to a less active´s house and wait there until her daughter could come pick her up. At the house she was welcomed warmly and they became quick friends. During our conversation we talked to her a little more about the church and she showed interest. She told us she is a strong Espírito (another church here) but that she never denies the mormon missionaries. She was familiar with the Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and Book of Mormon already. She had also read the Liahona once and asked if she could have the most current one. We gave her the May Liahona and the family paid for a year´s subscription. Before her daughter came to pick her up she felt at home in that house and we were able to write down her address to visit her in the future. After the day my companion and I talked about the many different ways that the Lord places people in our path.

The following day we attended a Noite Familiar for the São Leopoldo Stake. President Wright was there as his farewell to the Stake and missionaries serving in it. There Sister Wright played 2 amazing songs with her violin, one with the President accompanying on the piano. All the missionaries of the Zone sang Be Still My Soul in Portuguese, a hymn that isn´t part of the Portuguese hymnbook. At the end they made 50 pizzas for everyone. While there a member that does many splits with us and helps us out brought one of his non-member friends. We taught her the Restoration and the Spirit was very strong among all the members.

On Wednesday we went to the hospital because Élder Moreira was feeling pretty sick. We ended up waiting there for 3.5 hours for the nurse to eat lunch and then tell him that he was sick. He spent 30 seconds in the room to be prescribed 5 different medications. Thursday was a really productive day, beginning with District Meeting in which I gave part of the training, and ending with us almost being assaulted on the way home. On Sunday Nicole was confirmed a member! After 2 weeks I´ve become accustomed to the area and am loving it.

Nicole´s baptism!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

Week 36

So last Monday when we used the computers to email our family, we also received an email from the mission home telling us who would be transferred. When I read the list, I didn´t find my name. However, 5 minutes later one of the Assistants called me and told me that I would indeed be transferred! The next day I was sad to leave Élder Lemes, but in the bus station we learned where we would be going and who would be our next companion. I was assigned to Feitoria in the São Leopoldo Zone with Élder Moreira.

On our way to the area we got to know each other and I learned that he´s the youngest in his family, only member, and from São Paulo. Because of his example, his family will be his last baptisms at the end of his mission! When we arrived at the house, he showed me something I had written in his notebook 2 transfers ago when we´d been in the same Zone. I had written "I hope that we will be able to work together in the future," and 3 months later my hope was realized! In this area there is a ward (instead of a branch like Vera Cruz) full of members that love to help us. We´ve already made great friends with all of them and they´re excited for this transfer because they know that we´ll do a lot together.

On Thursday we had a Zone Meeting and we had our last interviews with President Wright. The next one will be with President Campos after July. While there I saw my old companion Élder Diamond and we talked about our time in Carazinho. From him I heard the wonderful news that a less active member named Giovani that we´d worked with a lot is now active! We had done many Family Home Evenings with his family in our transfer there. After we´d left he put his life in order, got active, married the woman he was living with and she is planning her baptism shortly. From what Élder Diamond said, that family only talks about us every Sunday.

On Sunday we ended our week with the baptism of one of our investigators. She is a young woman that is incredibly intelligent. We´d been teaching her that week and she had memorized everything because she wanted to pass the interview so bad. Because my companion was feeling really sick, I baptized her. To top off the week we were able to Skype our families for Mother´s Day! I was told by my companion that I speak English like a Brazilian, and I struggled a few times to find the right word while talking with my family. I have a firm testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. He lives!

--

Élder Joseph Andrew

Missão Porto Alegre Norte

Caixa Postal 13008

CEP: 91010-971

Porto Alegre - RS

BRASIL

Read my blog at elderandrewinbrazil.blogspot.com

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