So we are off again! I was transferred. This time it will probably be the very last time. So that means I only have to pack my bags one more time, thank the heavens... I already knew that I´d be transferred like I said, so it wasn´t a big surprise. The transfer meeting will be tomorrow morning where I will be off to my final destination. I am 95% sure I know the area I´ll be going to and it is going to be awesome. So I basically spent my whole morning and afternoon packing my bags. I bought a hammock this week and it is going to replace my blanket to insure I have room for it :) ha. I am also leaving lots of clothes for converts that are needing them and other young men that need some stuff like ties, belt, and stuff. It´s been hectic. I will send pictures of it all.
BUT this week was crazy. Basically, we were just visiting our baptismal dates everyday to make sure everything went smoothly and make sure Satan wouldn´t ruin our work this last week of the transfer. So our first baptismal date is Bruna. Good ol Bruna. As we´ve been teaching her she has progressed so much! She is keeping all the commandments, has been going to church, and reading the book of mormon. She is a single mom of a little 2 year old girl. So we set the baptismal date for this last week but it didn´t happen. She has been worried that she isn´t ready, but she is. We set the baptismal interview with her Friday morning. Thursday morning we got a call from her. Saying she didn´t want to do the interview. We were worried and prayed a lot we´d be able to help her. That afternoon we visited her with her member friend and helped her to feel more ready. When we left, she still didn´t want to do the interview. We told her to pray about it and call us if she changed her mind. Luckily Friday morning we received a phone call from her saying she felt better about it. She did the interview and passed! Phew. :)
Our other baptism for this week was a little girl. She is the daughter of a less active that isn´t so less active anymore. She had been working on sundays but finally stopped and now is able to come back to church. Her daughters name is Karen, she is only 9 years old, but wanted to be baptized. And since we hold the keys for baptisms of 9 year olds and up, we had the priviledge to teach her and strengthen her family these few weeks. She is just a doll and you all will see in the pictures.
So we had a crazy weekend. Saturday we had to go to Luziania where I did a baptismal interview there. After we ate some pizza at our favorite place there :) The only bad thing is that we sat waiting for the bus almost 2 hours! The buses are so bad on the weekends and at night. It turned 9pm while we sat at the bus stop. We decided it would be better for us to stay the night and get the bus early in the morning. So the 6 of us elders had to throw all the mattress on the ground and sleep on 4 mattresses because they don´t have spares. It felt like a campout with the scouts. lol :) But early yesterday morning we came back to our area and got ready for church and off we went.
Yesterday was a wild day for sure... We had Karen´s baptism after church and it was super special! Her smile after being baptized was soo awesome! The spirit was super strong. We did have Bruna´s baptism at the same time because she couldn´t after church. So we marked it for yesterday night at 7pm. The only thing is is that the stake called us to a meeting about missionary work they do once a month. I told Elder Ribeiro that we´d never make it back in time for the baptism. I told him to go with the stake president and I´d stay with one of the Priests to set everything up for the baptism. So that is what happened. The only thing is, the meeting went longer than expected (but I expected it) and E. Ribeiro called me and told me to just start. So we started the meeting and it was awesome. We had some investigators there and some members that don´t participate much. I was the one who baptized her because Ribeiro baptized Karen. When we got in the water it was sooooo cold because it was night time! But as always, during and after the ordenance, that cold feeling goes away because the Spirit is there warming the room. But in the end, everything worked out just fine and we saw lots of miracles this week. We had fasted and prayed a lot that these baptisms and the baptisms of our zone would happen. We received lots of blessings and our zone was the zone that had the most baptisms this transfer. Good way to leave this area and this zone.
Anyways, tonight is going to be awesome. Our last family night with Irmao Cristiano and his family (lucas´ family). I am definitely going to cry saying goodbye to them because they are so special to me. I will be sure to give you all more details about where I am at and who I am with next week. Love you all! have a great week.
com amor, Elder Patterson
The baptism of Karen!
The baptism of Bruna! They really are happy people, brasilians just have a culture of not smiling in pictures... haha
Me and my friends!!! I love these people sooooooooo much!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment