Week Thirty-Four

This week was good, just like every other week theres ups and downs! ups-we discovered that theres a burger king in our area. downs- its 30 reis a meal! the trials of a poor missionary...

 

Investigators:

 

François- Progressing a ton!! Turns out this guys gold. we went to his house this week and really felt impressed to teach him about repentance. as we talked, i could see the spiritual weight being lifted off his shoulders. He wants more than anything to be baptised, every time we teach him the spirit fills the room to the brim! we were actually preparing him for baptism when we hit a wall... apparrently he has a long time girlfriend(lame, i was about to send him off to marry my sister) who he really wants to be involved with his change of lifestyle. she sounds pretty open but we have yet to meet her. we´re pushing back his baptism untill next week to give us time to establish a relationship with both of them, hopefully you guys will be seeing us in white clothing next p day!

 

Rafael- we had to drop him. he´s really involved in his church and doesnt have the faith/testimony to follow the spirit rather than his pastor...

 

Daniela- rapidly becoming an ´´eternal investigator.`` Sprirtually speaking, she´s ready for baptism, but we haven´t been able to sit down with her all week. shes working a ton now that the holidays are over, which has been impeading her progress with the book of mormon. her husband hasnt been wanting to visit us either so we´re giving them a bit of breathing room this week.

 

Vinícius- a less active we contacted in the street this week. he´s 16 and hasnt been to church since he was baptised, which was several years ago. He lives with his sisters(baptised as well) and with his parents, both of whom have never been to church. We passed by his house almost everyday this week to get him to church on sunday. on saturday he told us,´´being a missionary sounds like the best job ever, how do i be one?`` we set up an appointment for him with the bishop, and now my companion and i have the privelige of helping him start the prep for a mission. maybe we´ll be able to get his parents to be baptised as well!

 

This week has been filled with spiritual guidance. the spirit has been working with me in ways i´ve never witnessed! its once we really start looking that the Lord shows his hand, im so grateful for the gift of the holy ghost!

 

To finish i wanted to share a qoute from a national hero/champ in my eyes(missionaries dont take political stances so i wont say who said it, but dad will probably know who it is!), who said this-

 

Dependance is death to initiative.

 

I thought a lot about that qoute this week, and how appliable it is! No wonder the church believes in the word of wisdom. if we are too dependant on ANYTHING else besides Christ(government, girlfriend, booze, parents testimony) and what he teaches, we hurt ourselves spiritually! and anything that hurts us is NOT from god. God blesses us with experiences to help us grow, not to make us dependant on some substance/community/belief. ive really been analyzing on the things that im dependant on that dont fall under the category of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and unfortunately the list is long. im not saying we have to become hermits, but every time we throw of the natural man we become more like Christ. thats what we´re here on earth for! lets use this time here to get to know christ, and throw out our lazy dependance on earthly things!