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| Elder D. and the killer ant monster |
February 23, 2015
Well,
today we emailed and then we wet straight from that to practice the choir
pieces. That was basically our entire p-day. It just so happen that I had to
sight read one of the accompaniments and it was one of the hardest ones of them
all! Ugh!!! And unfortunately I am a yes
man, so I told her that there was no problem and that I’d get it down. I sure hope so! I know that I will have to dedicate one of my
days of studies to practicing this music.
So me and the other elders were starving because we hadn’t even eaten
breakfast OR lunch and it was already 5 pm.
I ended up going to McDonalds with Elder Anderson and Elder Smyth. It’s weird, because McDonald is a nice
restaurant here! I took some pictures because it seemed so nice. I have a
feeling that I have completely forgotten what it is like back in the states.
The best news of the day is that I finally got the camera
from Taylor. I am so excited that I will
be able to take some pictures of the last part of my mission.
February 24, 2015
Wow, it has been a long time since I have sat down and
practiced piano for an extended period of time.
I was able to sit down and play for 3 hours! It didn’t even seem like it was anything. I
miss that. Before my mission I wasn’t
able to appreciate just how nice it is to play instruments. I am actually excited to play the viola
again. Guitar as well….Oh it is going to
be nice to have access to the internet and as much time as I want to play.
We taught someone today and he has been bedridden and is
waiting for surgery of some type. He is very faithful, reads the Book of
Mormon, knows that it is true, and wants to be baptized. But he can’t come to church for a good long
while.
The big news down here is that it actually does rain here in
Fortaleza. In fact, it has been pouring
for the past 4 days. I had to buy an
umbrella because mine got all rusty and broke.
Water is leaking through our ceiling with all this rain.
February 25, 2015
Zone conference was really good today. Up until today, I didn’t have a lot of faith
for the future of this mission. Don’t
ask me why, but I didn’t feel it from the leadership. I have had a hard time feeling mutual love
and respect that existed with President Sousa,
But this conference was a turning point and felt perfectly inspired and
uplifting. With these changes I think
that the mission will definitely start to make progress.
After the conference, we were planning to grab a bus, but
one of the brethren from our ward passed by on his way home from work in his VW
van. (There are a LOT of those
here.) It was perfect for us because we
fit almost our entire zone inside…12 elders.
The bus would have normally taken over an hour to get home and we made
it in 15 minutes.
We held a special activity tonight at our ward mission
leader’s house. We had one of our investigators
come and at the last minute I was asked to present the message. So, I asked everyone there who was a convert
to share their conversion story, specifically how they came to know that the
gospel was tru. Everyone told their
stories and each one was very different except for one thing that they all had
in common: they each applied the test in Moroni 10:4-5 personally and
sincerely. The cool part about the night
was that I finally got to here my companion’s conversion story which was
cool. He said that his answer was
completely based on the Book of Mormon.
Before, when I asked him how he got baptized, he would just say, “Oh it
was normal.” I guess that it is true
because even something that is so special and sacred is at the same time normal
here on a mission.
February 26, 2015
I am thoroughly convinced
that every single week as a missionary has to have as least one day where
everything falls through. Today was one
of those days. One the plus side, I made
the most of the zone conference and tried to hit the standard of excellence as
far as the contacts went. We should have
made our 20 contacts, but on contact #17 we ended up talking a long time so we
had to hurry home before 9:30. We made
it home just in the nick of time. The
other Elders made it back late because a member gave them dinner and they
brought home some extra crab for us!!! YUM, I have never eaten an entire crab
before, so that was a new experience for me.
February 27, 2015
Today was almost the exact opposite of yesterday. We taught
a ton of people, and it was kindof sad because we had to drop a lot of
investigators and we also had a big family drop us because they don’t want to
give up praying to Mary or their saints.
I really had thought that they were going to change, but they ended up
telling us that they didn’t have any desire to change their religion. They told
us that if they were to change, it would be to become a Mormon. It was a hard day for us.
February 28, 2015
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| Evaldo and his wife! |
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| Evaldo's new family! |
Wow, that musical activity that Sister Evans had us do
turned out amazing! It was a stake
activity for the Fortaleza stake. I have
already passed through both the Nova Aldeota and the Aerolandia wards, so I saw
a bunch of people that I knew. Mainly, I
saw Evaldo! He was baptized almost a
year ago and he got married to another
member and they are planning to be sealed this summer. Only Taylor and Dad would be able to
understand the pure joy I felt at this moment.
Levi is going to feel this too, and it will make all the moments of
hardship and sacrifice worth it. Also, I
found out that one of the investigators that we had to drop, got baptized one
year later. I was able to visit with
Bishop Amorim and his son, Bruno. It was
great! I should have taken more pictures
than I did. I think that it is kind of
funny because I spent very little time in those wards and still everyone
remembered me and I have such a love for them.
It was by far my favorite place to be.
As far as the actual activity went, the chapel was full to
the brim and it is a huge chapel/stake center.
We pulled it off much better than I thought we would. I messed up on a few parts, but I have
developed the ability to keep going and cover up mistakes. Before my mission, that was one of the
hardest things for me. Sister Evans got
after me a TON, but it was actually really fun in the end. We have an interesting love/hate relationship
that usually exists between the pianist and the chorister, especially when the
pianist isn’t all that great. We didn’t
get any missionary work done this week because of all the practicing that I had
to do, but I think that it was worth it.
I know that this activity was inspired and for me it was a special
gift. I would never have been able to
see these people again had it not been for this activity. It was just sooooo good for me. 
On the bus ride home we got to talk to some other elders in
the neighboring zone to the zone that I was in when I served in Jatoba, mainly
Elder Evangelista and Elder Pereira. Elder Evangelista told me that he was
surprised at how much I have changed since the Jatoba days. Well truth be told, I was suffering a lot during the days
that I served in Jatoba and that suffering shaped me and changed me into a more
mature and better person.
March 1, 2015
Where did February go?
That month just snuck right past me!
We started off the months super well.
We did the normal before church routine of running around trying to get
investigators to come to church, but no one came. However, I am convinced that God wants to see
our efforts despite the outcome. Ultimately we had 4 investigators show up late
and 2 kids of less actives that we are teaching. One of our investigators came
by herself, and another came and brought her cousin (who is a member) with her.
Another person came to church that lives on the other side of the city. We referred him to the elders in his
area. Ultimately, we had a great Gospel Principles
class about exaltation. I am always
apprehensive about potential anti-mormon propaganda that can come up during
this lesson. We read a bunch of
scriptures that teach the doctrine simply and clearly: Romans 8:16-17,
Revelation 3: 21, Psalms 82, and a few others.
Everyone seemed to comprehend the lesson and one of the recent converts
asked me a question that led us to go to his house after church and teach her a
really meaningful lesson.
In fast and testimony meeting today, I bore my testimony and
got a little emotional (which never happens to me). I also had a bad cold so I
was snuffling and snorting…I was a mess.
One of the reasons that I was emotional was because a less active member
came to church and bore her testimony about the stake musical activity. She went to the activity because her less
active brother told her about it and she described the choir as a choir of angels.
I felt so touched that something that I participated in would have such an
impact on others. I was able to testify
to the ward of the power that we have to touch people’s lives without even
knowing about it simply by living the gospel and serving the Lord.
After church we taught M. and she committed to baptism. She really loves the Plan of Salvation and
had a lot of questions about it. I
expressed some impressions to her about the three degrees of glory. I told her that everyone is going to be happy
and receive according to their desires.
I compared it to fish in a tank.
A small fish needs a small tank and is content in that place. A bigger fish needs an aquarium and a whale
needs the ocean. Each fish is happy in
the environment that fits his desires and needs,. The Celestial Kingdom is created for people
who have enlarged their capacity to be like Christ and be obedient to his
gospel. It is the best place for celestial beings to live. M. has such a great
spirit and understanding of the gospel. I could see her serving a mission
someday. I really hope that she does.
After that lesson we taught another really GOOD lesson to
B. Seriously, it has been a long time
since I have had a lesson like this. She
read the Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11 and had questions about baptism and what
would be the right baptism. She
expressed her desire to be baptized and asked us what she would need to do to
prepare herself. Well, she lives with
her boyfriend so we taught he about the Law of Chastity which is usually a very
hard topic to teach. It went perfectly and
she committed herself to living the law from now on. She decided right then that she would move
out and keep the commandments. As a
missionary, it is a great feeling when you can help someone to change and
become closer to Christ.
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