I’m doing great!!! been
thinkin bout Noah and yall a lot at home since he has been in the MTC and yall
had to say goodbye!! I hope that yall are adjusting to him not being around!!
He will be awesome!! I know that yall are all proud of him.
So my week was awesome!!
Working hard and loving being here and serving the Lord. It’s such a
blessing.
We found this awesome
family this week. We found them by doing contacts in the street. I felt
prompted to talk with this lady and she was super cool with us! After we
explained who we are and what we do, she said "I’m catholic, but would
love to have you visit me and my family sometime." Sold!!! Her
name is Valdierene and her husband is Raimundo. They have two sons. One is 18
and lives in another part of Brasil playing professional soccer. He left home
at age 14 to go live with the team at the club center and train in southern Brasil.
I’ve learned that kids even as young as 8 years, leave their families to
go live in other cities at the training center. They develop them from a young
age. But we shared with them the message of the Restoration, it was super
powerful. At the end, when I gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon she was like
"Now how much do I need to pay you?" ha. I was like no it’s for free.
She was shocked, she said our lesson was so beautiful and would have been
willing to buy it if she had to out of curiosity to know about it since she
could see how strong our testimonies were about it. They want to learn
more and marked another visit for this week. Raimundo was really cool with us
and is a cool guy. We found many other new people this week who are
interested and that we marked second visits with so hopefully they continue to
work out. We have been marking a lot of baptism dates and having good turnouts
at church with lots of investigators there!!
We have been teaching
Antonio, Joelma, and their kids. When we taught them the first time I told them
the "cake analogy" that I like to give. comparing the Book of Mormon
to a delicious chocolate cake. I told Joelma that I had faith and believed that
she made the best, most delicious chocolate cake in the world (besides my
momma´s of course). And that her husband could tell me it was the best and many
others could as well. But until I try it and experiment it myself, I will
never know. I don’t have to eat all of the cake to know it is good and the most
delicious that I have eaten. I just have to eat a part. Just take a bite, and I
will know.
I compared how we don’t
have to read all of the Book of Mormon or Bible to know if it is good. Just a
part will do. I don’t have to eat all the cake to know if it's good, just a part
will do. Later in the week, they invited us over for a BBQ for one of
their kid’s birthdays. We did a bunch of contacts with the friends and family
they had invited over. We had to leave a little early before they brought out
the cake. It was funny, cause Joelma was like "Uh! I made a chocolate cake
just for you, because of your example you told us, so you could see how good it
was!" hahah. it was hilarious, but she said she would save some when we
visit this week on Tuesday.
Raimundo and Ivaneide are
still doing great, their family treats us so good and loves us. Always making
dinner for us and bringing it to the apartment at night. Raimundo took us out
for ice cream this past week and made us eat a ton!! We had a great
experience with Raimundo yesterday. He went with us to do some visits. One of
the visits we made was to his families house where his mom, stepdad, and
cousins live. We started talkin with them and then it got into where the
stepdad just wanted to argue with me about religion. Even though I want to just
fire back with scriptures and knowledge to prove him wrong, I have learned that
it doesn’t help to argue back, especially with someone who doesn’t even know
what they are saying. Raimundo then started talking and it was incredible what
happened. He read to them a part from the Book of Mormon and he started to cry
and bore his testimony to his family. It was so powerful. He told them how much
he loves them and how important they are to him. He continued to talk about his
experiences with the Book and the church and told them how much he desired for
them and pleaded for them just to read a part, for 1 minute and then pray and
ask God. He pleaded with them to do it and that it would mean so much to
him. The Spirit was so strong, seriously!! It was powerful and I know
everyone felt it! I was so happy because I have seen so much progression in
Raimundo from the first day I visited him, and now he is like family to us and
bearing pure and strong testimony to his family cause it is so important to
him!! It was incredible!!
Augusto is still doing
great!! He is funny, gives us a headache sometimes but me and Fernandez love
him! He really is a good kid that wants to do what is right. He is funny, when
he told us he is crushin on an investigator his age who we have been bringing
to church with her family as well. haha. ohh Augusto. Augusto´s step-dad and
mom really love us. Last night we had a great experience with Augusto. We
got there and he said he had something to tell me. I sat down and he made me
promise that I wouldn’t be disappointed in him and be upset. He told me how he
was at "recess" and the soccer ball went over the wall. So they climbed
over the wall and then decided to just skip the rest of the day of school.
When he told me this he almost had tears in his eyes and then told me how
he has so much respect for me and never wants to disappoint me. Never wants me
to see him as a failure and that I am like a Father to him.
I just put my arm around
him (and tried to think of all the advice my dad gave me) and just told him how
I love him and he will never do anything that will make me not love him and
care bout him. Cause with Augusto, I have had to get onto him and be firm with
him sometimes. At that moment I truly realized how much I meant to him and the
impact I have made in his life. It will be so incredibly hard to say
goodbye to him when I leave Itapoã. He is like family, and I’ve grown to love
him so much and Fernandez has as well. At church yesterday, He asked me
to be the one to ordain him to the priesthood and the office of Deacon. It was
a great experience and I felt really honored to do that for him. Now he will be
able to perform his duties as a deacon and continue to grow in the gospel. He
wants to serve a mission now and help the rest of his family be baptised
someday. It is inspiring to see his answers to the questions we give him in the
Book of Mormon, and the duty to God booklet that he is working on.
Hearing about the things he has had to say No to at school and turn down
to keep the standards is incredible.
I’ve learned so much being
here, especially from others. So grateful for the people we are teaching that
have taught me so much!!
I hope yall have a great
week and have a good school year!!
Love,
Elder Bean
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| Elder Fernandez celebrating 6 months on the mission!! |
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| Burning a tie as per tradition to mark the first 6 months |
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| Raimundo and Ivaneide take such good care of us! |
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| Raimundo!! |
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| Ice cream with Raimundo. He bought us each a sundae with 4 scoops and then he bought us each a cone with 2 scoops because he wanted us to eat his favorite flavor!! He's awesome!! |
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