Everybody! Everybody!

Hey everybody! (dadadadeeeduh!)

 

This was a good week. The work in our area continues to truck on, and we have been receiving a lot of blessings from the Lord. People to teach, people with desire to be baptized, etc. Vilma was baptized!!! I´ve never seen someone so happy to be baptized, ever! Even among the members who are baptized as an 8 year old!

 

(time ran out to send pictures sorry)

 

This last week was one of the better ones of my mission. We didn´t have ridiculous numbers, we didn´t baptize 3 million 40 year-old potential leaders in the church, but we witnessed many, MANY people receive an answer about the BOM. We have been focusing a lot on helping the Zone (including us) to practice the teaching techniques that were given by the First Pres. and Council of the 12, and yeah, they knew what they were talking about. For example, a small experience:

 

I was on a division with one of the Elders in the Zone (in my second area!! Weird!!) and it was going great - he´s an awesome missionary. We left the house and starting talking with everyone about the BOM and we began to feel the missionary spirit even stronger. We then went to teach a lesson - at a house that I had knocked at at least 10 times when I was there 9 months ago! We were attended by Edvaldo, and he made it adamantly clear that we weren´t wanted there. We insisted (gently and kindly) and he reluctantly let us in. As we sat down and talked with him, we found out that he had not read the BOM, not prayed and had no desire to do either. He didn´t even believe that Jesus is our Savior. I scrambled to listen to the Spirit to find out what it is we could teach and we then discovered by listening that he is a heavy drug-user - crack, cocaine, everything. We prayed. We taught about Alma 36 (Alma´s conversion story - impressive) and tried to help him understand that God has for him. At the end of a very intense lesson, with us trying to help him let the Spirit into his heart, we invited him again to pray (at the beginning we had him prepare to pray at the end of the lesson) and he put up a wall - I won´t pray, he said. To make a long story short, he prayed. We waited at the end to recognize the Spirit. He opened his eyes, crying. He said he wants to believe. The seed has been planted.

 

It´s not all about baptisms, callings, crazy things, etc. It´s about helping ALL others that we meet recognize the necessity that they have to make righteous changes and choose the right. THAT´s where the joy in this work comes from.

 

Amo ser um missionário de a Igreja de Jesus Cristo. SEI que Ele vive e reina. Ele responderá a nossa oração. Ele nos conhece e ama. O Livro de Mórmon é o livro dos livros. NÃO TENHAM VERGONHA DESTE LIVRO!!!! Ele é a prova de si mesmo!

 

Google translate from Mom:

I love being a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ. I KNOW that He lives and reigns. He will answer our prayers. He knows and loves. The Book of Mormon is the book of books. NO SHAME IN THIS BOOK!! It is proof of itself!

 

Love you all. Ana´s getting baptized this week!

Elder Brown

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