Week 52

This week was super busy due to the preparations for the wedding and many splits with other missionaries. I was only in my own area two days of the week. The climax of the week was the wedding of course. Friday morning Vanderlei and Cristina were married and signed all the papers necessary. Saturday evening we held the baptismal service and all their non-member friends came to participate. There were almost more non-members than members. I baptized Vanderlei and Élder Lacerda baptized Cristina. After the baptisms, while we were drying off and changing clothes, the members finished decorating the church and getting everything ready for the reception.

It was such a cool experience to be there with all our investigators. There were lots of pictures taken, a few wedding traditions done, lots of food to eat, and afterwards there was a dance that lasted hours. All the members integrated with the people that were visiting and after it was over the members as well as the non-members were commenting that they would like this to happen at least once every month!

This is their youngest kid, Bruna.

The Wedding Reception!

The next day Poliana and Grasieli were confirmed with Vanderlei and Cristina. After the Sacrament Meeting the Branch President ordained Vanderlei to be a priest. In a few weeks he´ll be an elder already. A young man named Eliezer that had been to church last week came this week as well. We had been preparing his family to be baptized but they had gotten cold feet the last minute. As Eliezer left church with a huge smile on his face he told us, "Man, I want to be baptized."

That night we watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration with Vanderlei´s family. Everyone felt the Spirit and it was even stronger as they had the Gift of the Holy Ghost now. I gave them a few hymn books, the Liahona, a poster of the Porto Alegre temple, and a few other church materials to stock their house. As we visited with them, a pastor from another church arrived to give them an invite to some 'miracle meeting' of theirs. It was so gratifying to hear the testimony that Vanderlei bore to him as he explained that he wouldn´t be attending the pastor´s church anymore because he had found where he belonged: in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Today we received the transfer email and we discovered that neither one of us will be transferred. I'm happy to stay in the area as Vanderlei and Cristina will be a great source for other baptisms. He used to work as a taxi driver and so he knows almost everyone in the city.