Month: January 2020

Teaching

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Sisters Faulconer and Pires with the elders
Photo courtesy of Sister Lori Houseman

This week was good. We went on splits with the sisters from Janga this week. Janga is a city that is half an hour from Olinda. It is a pretty big area. We have been working on the message we will be sharing in the zone conference tomorrow. We will talk about how to be a successful missionary through obedience, working effectively every day and doing all you can do, and loving people and desiring their salvation.

Our district in Goiana

Goiana is split into two branches, and each branch has some outlying cities that are part of the branch as well. The other area closed this week, and our district leader told us that the assistants told him that we could work in the other branch as well. We aren’t totally sure about what is expected of us (from Pres. Houseman, God, etc.) in terms of the other area. But we asked the other branch president and the Relief Society president if there were any investigators we ought to be teaching. They gave us a few great references! We planned to visit one of them this week already and are thinking about how to plan when to visit the others. Probably we are going to set a few days aside next week to go there. We don’t have a map, area book, or cellphone for the other branch, so we’re a bit in the dark. But we are going to keep records of the people we find and turn them over to the next missionaries when the next transfer starts.

Cuscus topped with hot sauce sent all the way from home–thanks Mom!

Mateus and Raiane, a couple we were teaching, went to church this week! Their neighbor Bruno also went! They have really managed to understand the message of the Restoration and seem interested in the church. They said they are praying and reading the Book of Mormon and searching for an answer to their questions. They don’t feel they’ve gotten an answer yet, but they are still searching!

This week we were walking down the street and I felt like I should talk to the man who was walking next to us on the sidewalk. He turned out to be an ex-seminarian who studied theology in order to be a Catholic priest but then decided he didn’t agree with the Catholic religion. He said he had always wanted to go into the church building in Caruaru but hadn’t been invited so never went. At this point I was sad because I thought that meant he would just be a reference we would have to pass on to other missionaries in the Caruaru area, but about three weeks ago he moved to Goiana! We ended up teaching him a summarized version of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon on the street and he promised to read the Book of Mormon and go to church on Sunday. We called him at night to give him the address. But then on Sunday morning we called him to ask if his map application managed to find the church building and he hung up after we said we were the missionaries. And he didn’t go to church. But hopefully when we visit him this week he ends up being interested! Who knows . . .

Patrick went to church again but doesn’t feel he has gotten an answer yet. He feels answers from God need to be law-of-physics-defying to be convincing, so we are trying to help him recognize the other ways God responds.

Moto-taxis who keep their commitments

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Sister Faulconer with her new companion, Sister Pires

This week was good. The miracle of the week was Patrick. We asked Patrick for directions and did a contact with him. When we went to teach him, he wasn’t there–that’s something that happens every single day, many times a day.  His family was there so we did a contact with them and planned to go back a different day. But then on Friday night Patrick called us! He said he had researched the Church and liked what he found out about!  He said he wanted to go to church!  And he went!  Miracles.  He seems to have potential, as someone who might be interested in joining the Church!  We are excited. 

A few days earlier we had had a bit of difficulty finding people at home, when we managed to teach someone at a motorcycle taxi station. His friend, who is a moto taxi driver, also decided to listen, even though he had to turn down a ride.  When we told him about the Restoration, he repeatedly said “I have never heard about this!” That is my favorite investigator response! We went on splits this week and I stayed in Igarassu.  While I was there, Renato said he had prayed and gotten an answer! Hooray for investigators who keep their commitments! We are going to visit him tonight.

Sister Faulconer and Sister Centeio (a former companion) together at mission council this week.

We also went to mission council this week. I found out that the missionaries who followed Sister Nogueira and I in Candeias are . . . Sister M. Ribeiro (who I trained!) and her new trainee! That’s pretty funny. I have been praying for those missionaries — it turns out I was praying for someone I already knew pretty well!

The sisters go on splits
Splits with Sister Lopes

This week we will do splits with Janga.  Next week it will probably be Olinda, where Sister M. Ribeiro was training until this transfer. 

Preparing to transfer

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Centro Goiana
Downtown Goiana
Photo credit: Rilson @ Wikimedia Commons

This week was different! Sister Nogueira and I spent a lot of time at night and before studies in the morning trying to leave lots of information for the new missionaries in Candeias.  We are not sure if they are sisters or elders, but they probably are not Sister Training Leaders.  We suspect they might be elders, but who knows when I will find out!  On Wednesday morning we spent more time trying to leave all the information well-organized for them, and then left to get a bus.  Just as I was leaving I picked up a box of trash.  It had containers of soy sauce that were not put inside a trash bag.  When I picked up the box to take it outside, just as we were leaving, it got soy sauce all over the floor. We tried to clean it up quickly, but I hope the new missionaries weren’t surprised by a strong soy sauce smell when they opened the door! 

We left the keys in the “aquatic club” across the street and  started lugging the suitcases to the bus stop.  It was a production, albeit much easier than when I lugged my suitcases to Candeias two transfers ago!  This time we went the short pavemented way! As we were almost to the bus stop we passed below a skyscraper where a recent convert, Camilla, lives.  She ran outside to help us lug the suitcases, which was nice of her.  Then we noticed that the doorman was calling us.  He had Sister Nogueira’s Book of Mormon! That was a shock.  Two days before she had lost her pocket Book of Mormon.  We looked everywhere, but couldn’t find it, which was sad.  Two minutes before getting to the bus stop he flagged us down and said that someone had left the Book of Mormon with him!  It was good that Camilla ran out to help us because 1. Three people makes the task easier 2. If not, the doorman might not have noticed us!  Definitely a miracle–we might have left a different way or the doorman could have been distracted when we were leaving.  It was literally the last ten minutes Sister Nogueira would be in that area for the rest of her mission!

Goiana is different than Candeias. It is a busy city but does not have skyscrapers, so it’s a pretty different atmosphere. Everyone travels to the beach for two months this time of year, so it is much more deserted than usual.  We split the city with another companionship of elders. We are also taking care of a few other cities, but the Sisters weren’t visiting them very often.  We’ll go to one of them next week, but we’ll see how it goes.  The branch here is going to turn into a ward in March.  I will probably be here; it will be cool to see!  Two of my companions were in Goiana before going to Candeias, and one of my other companions, Sister Arce, went to Goiana after we were companions.  Pretty funny!  

We have been working hard to find more investigators this week.  So far we have been having some difficulty finding investigators at home, but we marked a number of investigators for next week, so hopefully that helps!  It is a little bigger here than in Candeias, and quite a bit bigger if you include the other cities we take care of! One interesting thing about this area is that we have lunch with members two days a week, and the other days a week is money or pre-prepared lunches in styrofoam containers that one of the sisters in the ward makes.  That is a lot less lunch with members than in my other areas! 

This week we will go to mission council on Wednesday and do a transfer with the sisters from Igarassu.  Today I hope to see the outdoor market.  Goiana does not have big supermarkets like Casa Forte or Candeias but it does have an outdoor market open every day, so that is a plus!

Investigators at Church!

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I am going to be transferred to Goiana, the area that Sister Nogueira just left, and Sister Nogueira is also going to be transferred! We are not sure what will happen with the area yet, but hopefully everything works out.  It is always hard to leave investigators, and even more so if your companion will be transferred as well, but I’m sure the next missionaries will be great.

Yesterday we had a miracle of several new investigators who went to church!! One was a young woman we met giving out cake at the Christmas activity we did.  Her name is Nayara* and she is really interested in helping indigenous peoples and making art.  She wasn’t sure if she believed in God. After we gave her a Book of Mormon she read 3 Nephi 11 and felt doubtful about whether what it had said really happened. Then she had a spiritual experience at some kind of religious ceremony with indigenous people and decided that everything the Book of Mormon says is true! Not something you hear every day.  She also accepted a baptismal goal!

Also Vitoria and her two siblings Mary & Guilherme went to church.  She had seemed very uninterested, but the other day when we were trying to teach her a lesson she suddenly asked if she could bless her baby at our church!  Then she accepted a baptismal date, so that was exciting!

We also met the mom, Barbara, of a future missionary, Clara.  Barbara isn’t a member but said she would pray and would be baptized if she received an answer–that’s all we ask  of people!  Her daughter was really excited.  It was great to hear Clara’s testimony of the difference the gospel has made in her life.  Bernardo’s wife also shared her testimony of the Book of Mormon.  I was praying for it to touch his heart!  Last we heard, he hasn’t yet prayed again to know if the Book of Mormon is true. But we have been fasting for him and hope he recognizes the answers God is sending him.  Unfortunately it will probably take a while to find out because of transfers but here’s hoping! Juliana and Joao Pedro found out that they will have to pay for new certificates so Joao Pedro said he would go to the marriage office today!  They are making lots of progress.  Their daughter, Aléxia, a Young Woman [the Young Women are the group of female youth ages 12-18],  had just gotten her temple recommend so we ended up teaching about temples again.  It was a great lesson–they really want to be sealed together! I am really excited to hear about their marriage in the not-distant future! 

We can ask God for wisdom. We can ask to be shown the truth.

We are teaching a man named Ibrahim, who is from Iraq.  He is Muslim and very interesting.  It is great to learn more about his culture and religion–I am a little sad I don’t live closer to him–I would like to be his friend after returning home!  He is very knowledgeable about many, many subjects but had never heard of the Church.  The first time we taught him we took a Book of Mormon in English (easier for him to read than Portuguese) but weren’t able to discover the Book of Mormon in Arabic on his phone.  When we went back the second time we were all set to show him how to find it, but he had already downloaded it and started reading!  He is very committed to friendly, helpful relations with people of other faiths, but believes that religion is something that doesn’t change (“We believe almost the same thing.  We are like two parallel trains.  They are close but never come together!” –Ibrahim). I respect him a lot.  While he does not believe that it makes sense to ask God questions (“You can ask, but He will not answer!”), he does believe we can ask God for wisdom or to be shown the truth. So we invited him to ask God to show him if the Book of Mormon is true.  He promised to ask God and to read the whole book (He said several times “But you have to give me time.  This book is very long! I will not read it in one day!” Well, we are happy to give him all the time he wants.  Anyone who is committed to reading the Book of Mormon makes us happy.

Next week, coming not-live to you from Goiana in Pernambuco, the next installment of letters from a missionary.