"ONEIDA WAS BAPTISED! what a miracle!!! earlier this week, the zone leaders called us, telling us that they had a strong impression that we needed to revive our efforts with Onieda. we were still visiting Álvaro every once in a while to strengthen the faith a bit, but Oneida had been on the backburner for a while. she had such a fear of leaving her old church that she disregarded all the answers she had been recieving from God. we prayerfully meditated on how we could show that these answers she had been recieving were direct revelation from above. Álvaro wasnt helping much though, he gets everyone so sidetracked with random conversation that the spirit kept leaving throughout the lessons. very frustrating! until one day we felt prompted to promise her that she would recieve an answer that she could discern with ease. we left their house confident that she would get the answer she was looking for.
The next day, she related to us that she found her answer! she had a dream that she was sitting with Álvaro in the church, she took that as her answer and the very next day she was baptised. I cant describe the feelings i had that day! Oneida was all smiles and Álvaro couldnt hold back tears. i know why ive been kept here in Nilópolis until now! to witness the completion and comencement of a family united in the faith. the next step is the temple! And im going to do all that i can to help them get there.
Another miracle happened this week as well! while leaving a lunch visit, i felt impessed to take a different route to our area of concentration, rather than the ordinary road we usually use. by doing so, we saw a family i didnt recognize all dressed up in sunday clothing, flagging us down by waving their hands. we approached and learned that they were members from Niteroi, who used to live in oue area, and were visiting some less actives in our area. We didnt have any plans so we went with them. Throughout the day we contacted tons of fallen away families and new investigators. right before they left however, the dad looked me straight in the eyes and said, ´´i need you to give my son a blessing.`` slightly startled but ready to serve i obliged. The son was about my age. as we placed our hands on his head i immediately felt the spirit. as i opened my mouth, i was instantly guided by the spirit to promise blessings and consel fairly out of the norm. i had never met the kid, but i was giving him consel that i felt was way beyond me. after the blessing i found that the entire family was in tears. apparently they were going through some really hard times, their son was going pretty wayward and the blessing that the spirit gave through me were exactly what they needed to hear. it was one of the most spiritually rewarding exeriences of my life. i know that preisthood power is real. i love being an instrument of the lord!"
-Elder Kelland Hansen
"this week has been incredible! Lots of changes. first of which would be my companion Élder Sutto. He´s a Paulista(from São Paulo) with an Italian background, hence the last name. its always a big change when a companion transfer comes. i went from Élder Carvalho, an energetic playful charismatic kinda guy to a companion who is very quiet and introverted. during the first few days together i worked really hard to serve and get to know him, but he wasnt really opening up. So i decided to play on the things that he likes! hes really into Japanese cartoons, so i asked him a lot about it, but it was hard to relate. i had a hard time relating to anything that hes into, so there was a bit of a barrier between us untill i figured out his taste of music, but its hard to talk about our favorite bands because it´ll turn the best missionary trunky real quick!
i guess we have a better relationship now because of the work we´ve been doing. he´s not super outgoing so ive taken the reins in almost every aspect of the work, which is strange to me since he has almost doulbe the time out here in the field. Ive grown a ton though! untill now ive always been the follower, but this week ive been applying all the lessons ive learned into the work and i have faith that we´ll have sucess.
Our ward activity however was less than sucessful. ´´Coração para Coração`` was an activity in which all of brazil participated in their own wards. it was supposed to animate the members about missionary work, but no one showed up! i went home and that night i wrote on the most powerful talks ive ever written. perhaps it was the spirit, perhaps it was my own indignant spirit, or maybe just my fluency in portuguese, but the talk was power! I explained exactly what is the gospel, why we preach it, and how. this sunday i presented the talk to the ward. i cant descibe what happened! i was so filled with the spirit that the very words i spoke were guided by him. the shockwave of my conviction hit the members like a hurricane. i dont say these things to boast in my own strength, i say them because through the hand of god ive turned sinner to saint, follower to leader , and doubter to believer! All credit to our creator. the ward looks to me now as a source of strength, im so grateful for the opportunity i have to be an instrument of the Lord!"
-Elder Kelland Hansen
"Transfers! Seems ive got even more lessons to learn here in Niló, because im staying for another six weeks! i couldnt be happier, i love his place! But as for my companion, he´s already going out the door! He´s off to Agra dos Reis. Im pretty upset about it too! he´s my good friend and taught me a ton about missionary work. he´s helped in ways that have eternally altered my course, i´ll miss him a ton! meanwhile im getting another Brazilian, Elder Sutto. i hope hes as animated as my prior companions because theres a great work here to be done here in Nilópolis!
As for our investigators- the confirmation of our miracle baptism fell through. Mateus was all set for the confirmation, but the day of we swung by his house, only to figure out he was in the hospital! poor guy almost lost his thumb. hopefully he´ll be well enough for next sunday? Only the Lord knows i guess!
Florlinda and her family have been hard to contact, but the ward is really pulling together to make them feel welcome! the bishops wife(whos the young womens president) passed by with a couple of young women to make the daughter feel like a part of the ward. hopefully there´ll more interaction this week so we can set a date for baptism.
It appears João has had some talk with his very concerned mother, because hes not been answering the phone, and his friend Morôni(member) related to us that hes been avoiding the topic of baptism. its been difficult to work with him since our only connection to him is through Morôni, so we´re having to deal with three different schedules! im hoping we´ll have the opportunity to clear things up with the kid.
Our miracle this week though was an amazing family we contacted in the street! Luisa is an older woman whos grandson took a stray bullet to the head in a gang shootout that he wasnt involved in. just one of the tragedies here in the slums of Rio, so many families are broken here. all we did was listen to her. She cried to us all the pains we here having because of the loss. we told her she would see him again, and set a date to return. a couple days later, we were introduced to the rest of the family. it was heartbreaking to see the impact of thier loss. Ive never seen such sorrow manifested in the eyes of the mother of the fallen son. Silva is an incredibly intelligent women, and despite her loss continues to spead charity and love in her community. but i can that inside her thats shes hurting more than i can imagine. the lesson we left with them was incredible, we were so humbled by their circumstance that we completely submitted ourselves to the will of the spirit. i dont really remember all the things we said, but i firmly believe that this family is elect, and that we´re helping them return to their beloved son. A lot of responsibility, but im putting all my confidence in the lord so we can have the strength to help them enter into the waters of baptism!!"
-Elder Kelland Hansen
"miracles! they happen more often than we often expect. this week was filled with them! i think the greatest was the change of pace here in the little ward of Nilópolis. Morôni, son of the stake president, has really stepped up to the plate in helping us with our visits. it helps a ton when the investigators see that people with normal lives can live the teachings of the church! the young guys been prvoviding us with a lot of references as well.
perhaps the most promising is his friend João Guilherme(try pronouncing that...). hes a young kid who loves the Book of Mormon. hes been attending church and mutual, and so far has been progressing well. we met with him and his grandmother this week, and invited them to be baptised this sunday. they agreed and the date was set. But only two days later, we recieved a phone call from a very upset mother! we had never met with the mother of João due to her busy work schedule; she was under the impression that we were sent from the devil to convince her poor child to be baptised! we then had to back track a ton, explaining to her that the baptism was entirely his choice and that our sole purpose is to help others come unto christ. she understood and accepted another date to talk more fully, but still wasnt comfortable with the idea. so my companion and i started to pray. we fasted and prayed fervently that the heart of jaqueline(joãos mother), would be opened so that we could continue with the baptism as planned.
Sunday arrived. it was stake conference here in Nova Iguaçu, which detracted from the probability of him showing up at church. we waited hoped and prayed that he would show up, but he never did! it was a big blow knowing that we probably wouldnt have a baptism this transfer. but then the miralce happend! right after the conference ended, a young man named Mateus that we´ve been teaching ran up to me, hugging me saying,´´today im going to be baptised!!!`` it was a miralce because Mateus was already baptised a while back, but was never confrimed! he then fell away due to some serious sin. his baptism therefore wasnt valid. we´ve picked him up recently as a new investigor, helping him over these past few months overcome almost every addiction in the book. morally speaking his was clean, but we werent thinking he had the spiritual witness that was required for baptism untill that point. apparently he recieved that spiritual witness during the conference! we scambled to get him interviewed and get some baptismal clothes, our mission president was even there so he delivered a powerful message on the fly! His baptism was incredibly spiritual, ive never seen such a bright smile on somebodys face! i have confidence in the lord that he will revcieve the holy ghost this time, hes already talking about serving a mission!!! it was not only a miracle to see a young man taste the sweet taste of forgiveness and renewal, but to see the answer to earnest prayer and fasting answered, in a way that i wasnt expecting! The power of prayer and fasting is real im witnessing its power in my life and in this work!!
Com a humildade de minha alma, Élder Hansen"
