Hello, Hi, Hey, Howdy,
It has been another week!
Congrats! We all survived! Im so proud of us. Truly we are blessed. I
had a good week, a weird week but it seems to be going faster, or
slower. I have no idea how time works on the mission.
Monday (October 22nd, 2018)
Today
was a really good P-Day. We got together with the other missionaries in
our district, Elder Blanco and Elder Chamorro, and played basketball
which was actually way fun because I have not played good old sports in a
while. I am awful which is unfortunate but its ok because it was
something different. Then we went to the center and got food for the
week. Elder Newman bought only popcorn, cookies and soda. Shoutout to
all of you college kids who did the exact same thing. To balance things
out, I bought apples, bananas, and pudding. I am hoping that we both
survive this week. And if we run out of food, its always a good
opportunity to fast. ;)
Tuesday (October 23nd, 2018)
Today
was really good because we found some good solid families to teach.
There are three that live right next to a recent converts house so that
has good potential. But we will see what the Lord has in mind. We also
sat down with a woman who has been smoking forever and basically said,
really, if you want your family to be together forever, you have to stop
but its your choice. It was actually pretty tense because I have never
had to be that firm before but I really hope it helps. Do whatever you
have to to have an eternal family.
Wednesday (October 24nd, 2018)
We
have been teaching a kid named Derick for a couple of weeks now and he
is really special. He has woken up early 2 weeks in a row and waited for
us to take him to church. He was the one who asked to be baptised a few
weeks ago. The only uncertainty was if the parents would let him. But
when we went to his house they were really good about it and supported
it. Although, Dericks dad thought that whoever baptised him would become
his godfather so that created some confusion. But we cleared it up. I
think. He was kinda drunk. Good thing the mom signed the baptismal
form.
Thursday (October 25nd, 2018)
We
have also been working with Zilda and Samira forever but they have
literally been busy for the past 4 weeks in a row. How that is possible I
am not quite sure but oh well. But they are all set for baptism this
Saturday. They both are really good and have a great desire to do what
is right and will be a great strength to the ward as a whole. I just
really hope that nothing happens this weekend because that would be
really really sad for all involved. Also, we got some really good news
today. One of our investigators, named Paulo, who has been smoking for
years and hasnt gone more than 2 hours without a cigarette, went 8 hours
today without one. It honestly was a miracle. We have been praying so
hard that he would have the strength and desire to quit and it is
finally coming.
Friday (October 26nd, 2018)
Ok,
this is crazy. Zilda is really sick. So it looks like she wont be able
to be there on Saturday. Five weeks in a row. She has a fever and has to
stay in bed. Turns out some weird animal (bixou in Portuguese) bit her
and now she has a red bump the size of a large grape on her shoulder. So
at this point, all we can do is pray and hope and believe that she will
be ready for the next Saturday. That she will be protected from all of
the crazy things that have been happening lately. But, the baptism of
Derick is still going strong and he is really excited.
Saturday (October 27nd, 2018)
What
an amazing day. Dericks baptism was absolutely amazing. He really was
ready and willing to make a covenant with The Lord and follow the
example that He set. He will be such a great young man and already is.
Something really great that happened was that a ton of the young men
came and watched his baptism. This may not seem like a lot but now he is
integrated into the ward and especially the young men. Honestly, one of
the things that I have learned here is that members are so so important
in missionary work. It is almost impossible to do the work without
them.
Sunday (October 28nd, 2018)
Church
today was great as always, and Derick came to church early and without
our help. Wow, what a stud. Later in the afternoon we were teaching one
of our contacts and just teaching them the first lesson. At first it was
only the wife and her daughter but then her husband came home and
started to listen too. We were focusing the lesson more on the wife
because she seemed "more promising" but as we invited them to read the
Book of Mormon, she replied with a very firm no. But the husband seemed
really interested and promised to read and pray. I learned two really
important lessons. One, that we have no idea who is ready to hear the
Gospel and who will be more sensitive to the Spirit, and Two, that very
often, it is through the contact of other people that The Lord helps His
work to get done. I am certain that we never would have met the husband
on our own because he works all the time. So, help the Lord get His
work done and be an answer to someones prayer.
Random Thoughts:
- I can always hear the frogs making their weird baby/cat sound, but I still to this day, have not seen one. If that is not creepy, I have no idea what is.
- We did not run out of food.
- But we also did fast halfway through the week.
- The word for bull in Portuguese is Boi and the other day I saw a truck drive by with BOI in big red letters on the side of it. I laughed for a solid 10 minutes after.
- The same Derick that got baptised, has a younger brother named Erick. Come on now. Thats just rude.
- My companion coughs when it is windy. It is amazing. Its like clockwork, he coughs, then 2 seconds later a big wind comes. I think it is a great gift. He doesnt like it so much.
- We ate Burger King today and I felt really American.
I love you all! Hope that your faith grows this week. Go bless a life!
Love,
Elder Allen
