This week passed by extremely fast. It just seems like tie has been going faster and faster. This week however was just full of visits, activities, and miracles. I will go back to last Monday night to tell about our day because it´s worth telling. Last Monday night, we had a family night with a really awesome family that lives real close to us. They invited a couple that aren´t members to come and another little family in the ward. The family night was awesome and we gave the message and the young couple that was there participated and loved it. After we had some chicken soup and cake. While we were all sitting there talking I was just worried because these members don´t know exactly how to do missionary work. Because they just sit there tossing out all the info about the church at them.. for example, baptisms for the dead, word of wisdom, temples, modest clothing, and basically everything else (besides polygamy, thank goodness! lol) I was worried that they were going to scare this little couple into thinking this church is full of weirdies! But as I sat there and thought about it, I was feeling the Spirit and knew it was going to be okay because the Spirit was there with us. I was impressed and saw with my own eyes how the Lord qualifies members to do this wonderful work. Even though they don´t know exactly how to do missionary work and talked about everything and anything before they even heard the message of the Restoration, they had a desire to share the gospel. And that is all the Lord requires of us as teaches in D&C 4. So sure enough, this family accepted our visit back and invitation to go to church.
So Tuesday was a whole new experience. I did a trade with one of the new missionaries that got here this transfer. He had one week in the mission field when he went out with me here in Ocidental. It was fun because he is argentine and I was able to help him a lot. We spent the day working hard and talking with lots of people. It was funny because he was just super impressed the whole day and I was able to pass a few tips to him that really helped me out earlier on in the mission. The only bad thing was was that I spent the whole day talking and teaching because he is still learning portuguese, and I had a little cold, so my voice was shot at the end of the day. Luckily, it´s basically better now.
Wednesday night we did an activity in the church at it went super well! We gave a little message after and then we played a game with everyone there. We got papers, crumpled them up, and then had a basketball shoot out. And three people that were able to make a basket in a bucket from the furthest distance, got some chocolates :) After, they even had some hot dogs to eat. It was a success for sure :) ha.
This week was just so awesome in finding new people to teach. Besides the references we got, we went out to find the lost sheeps of the Lord. So I will talk about a few people this week that we found/are teaching. Rita, the daughter of a recent convert. She is superrr awesome. We gave her the pamphlet of the restoration and the gospel of jesus christ. When we went back to visit her, she had answered all of the questions and studied all of the scriptures in the pamphlets! It was so awesome. And anyone that has/is serving a mission knows that almost next to nobody does that. We love teaching her because she wants to learn.
We also started working in a new area that is a little less rich and we have had some success. The first two houses we knocked, let us in (their yard) and we taught. The second house was probably the best. It is a single mother that has a son that is 9 years old (score for missionaries lol) and another younger son. But she is truly looking for a church to go because all of the churches she has gone to have let her down. When she described what she was looking for, we were able to bear testimony that everything she was looking for was in our church (and she went sunday with her sons and loved it!)
The other family I want to talk about is super special because they are a complete family. Vania, Irandí, Ingrid, and Raiy. We knocked there two weeks ago and went back last week to teach them and they are super receptive and are looking for a path to follow as well. They go to church every once and a while, are married, and have a car. So It´s the perfect situation to teach :) I went there on Saturday with one of the young men and we taught the Book of Mormon. Before we had even said amen, Vania (wife) was already reading it. We invited them to go to church and as always we doubted a little because everyone says I will go! but doesnt...
Anyways, the miracle of yesterday was that we had 10 investigators there! That family went and loved it. The other little family went as well. And one of the young men went and got our investigators to go to church! it was just perfect. And it was super legit because I did a contact last transfer with this lady in the rain and we were never able to find her at home, but a less active showed up to church with her! And we have a visit marked for tomorrow with her :) It was just a day of smiles. haha.
So, yeah all is well down here. Something I have really learned about more these past few weeks is about agency. Elder Hales talked about the Holy Ghost/choices and after studying a little bit in the book of mormon and D&C, I have learned a lot. I have learned that God truly does expect us to use our own intelligence He has given us to solve our own problems and make our own choices. Sure, the Holy Ghost is with us, but the Holy Ghost also respects our agency and allows us to choose for ourselves for our own personal progression. A myth about missionaries and a concept many people have wrong about us, is that we are spiritual giants, that the spirit is with us constantly in all times, and the the Spirit is directing us, our path, and our words 24/7. Oh how I can say that this is not true. We also have to search out the companionship of the Holy Ghost and we too have to rely on the blessings of the Sacramental prayers each week as we renew our baptismal convenants. Each day we ask and pray for forgiveness the we can have a portion of the spirit to help us in our work. And thanks to our Heavenly Father, we have the Spirit with us and we teach and preach with the power of the Spirit. This work is amazing. I love it as I love all of you. I hope that you all look to feel the Spirit a little more this week as we do each week. Love you all to the moon and stars and brasil and back!
com amor, Elder Patterson
our activity (church building where we have sacrament meeting...)
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