Tag: Answers

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.

Merry Christmas!

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In front of the Recife Temple during our Christmas Conference

This week was good. Christmas! Merry Christmas! Our Christmas was great. We went to an old folks’ home, visited an investigator or two, and talked with our families. Christmas was great. What a blessing to be on the mission at Christmastime — definitely helps me focus on the reason for the season. It is great to be able to share the good news at Christmastime! We went to contact someone we met at the activity we did last week. We went to call her and discovered that the number I had written down didn’t exist, so we went to her apartment building. Luana from apt. 101 came down . . . and we didn’t recognize her. Someone with the same name lives in the address this lady gave us . . . and she seemed super receptive. We started apologizing for contacting the wrong person and trying to introduce ourselves so as to do a contact. She asked if we wanted to sit in the lobby! We sang a hymn, briefly mentioned the Restoration, and gave her a Book of Mormon. She said she would read it, watch the Christmas video, and go to church this Sunday! It was very exciting. Unfortunately she did not go to church or read the Book of Mormon, and she ended up leaving with friends when we marked to see her later in the week. But I am hopeful that this week we will be able to mark an appointment.

Also we visited a sister’s nonmember husband. He has had many, many lessons but never felt he received an answer about the Book of Mormon. The lesson we had with him was pretty spiritual. He said he needed to exercise his faith more and pray with his whole soul! I am pretty excited about that.  Please pray for him!

A great talk I read and loved this week — Elder Budge’s talk from this past conference: “Consistent and Resilient Trust.” I recommend it!

Christmas and the Atonement

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Christmas Conference–Visiting the temple in Recife with our zone

Fun facts: This week I stepped on a piece of cement covering a sewer opening and it tipped over!  I half-fell in but luckily only my calves ended up inside the hole.  They got scraped up a little but, most importantly, I did not actually touch the sewer water, so that was good!  I am not going to step on any more sewer covers! 

Giliard didn’t get baptized this week.  He ended up going to a late-night party and slept late on Sunday, so he didn’t go to church.   I think it is tough — he is getting to know the church now but he has many friends who aren’t church members.  It is tough.  We hope he focuses on searching for God’s answers — it is so important to pray!  Hopefully we manage to teach him several times this week and help him with this.

This week we did an activity.  We projected the new Christmas video onto a screen in front of the church building and invited people to watch.  A few people decided to watch.  We asked some members to take cake to attract people.  We ended up taking the cake to the street and offering free pieces with our invitation.  We got the contacts of a few people, hopefully it turns out well!  It was a good way to shake things up.

I have been thinking this week about the importance of the atonement in conjunction with Christmas. This week I shared a scripture, and afterwards Sister Nogueira explained it in a way that helped me understand things I hadn’t seen before.  3 Nephi 27:13-16:

13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

I understood that this scripture highlights the importance of Christ’s atonement — He was born to die and sacrifice himself for us.  But I didn’t know why Christ mentioned our judgement in this verse instead of salvation.  Sister Nogueira explained that men judged Christ, lifting him up on a cross to crucify him.  He chose to go through this so that we could be lifted up and judged by God.  A meaningful parallel.  

I also like this video about why we need a Savior–the reason for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!