Week Twenty-Six

"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"