A Challenging Week (Week 8)

It's Monday already? This week FLEW past!

Anyway, olá familia and hello to whoever is still reading these blog things. ;) This week was good but more difficult than usual. Of course it's not all meant to be a smooth ride but let's be positive! :) Last week at Laiz's baptism, we managed to get two children of an inactive sister to church. Their names are Thamires and Samuel, really cool and intelligent kids! They stayed for the baptism and watched all the way through reverently. In the end, the girl, Thamires, said to us how much she had enjoyed the baptism and that she had felt something really special. Me and Elder Yegros were super happy to hear that. This little girl had been interviewed a few months ago for baptism but made the interviewer cry by the end because she was so tough. We clearly saw that the Lord was softening her little heart and showing her the way. She even drew a picture of her baptism! :D

Her brother wasn't so emotional about the whole thing but he is a 9 year boy so I'll give him a break. ;) So this week we went to their house several times to teach them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Restauration and other topics. They were SUPER attentive and when we asked them to teach the lessons back to us they did it even better. Thamires especially learnt very fast and left me and Elder Yegros flabbergasted. Yup, I said it... Flabbergasted. ;) Anyway, we went to talk to the mother about the possibility of her baptism this weekend and she was super excited for her daughter to be baptised Sunday morning. On Saturday she was interviewed and passed with flying colours. However Samuel didn't want to be baptised just yet and it left her a bit uncertain about the whole situation. We went back the same day in the evening to organise the final details for the baptism and Thamires came to the door and explained, more eloquently than I've ever heard an 11 year old speak, that she no longer wanted to be baptised. It was like a punch to the face. We were super sad. She was, and is, super ready but we feel someone has been changing her mind. She said she had to leave but when she saw I had chocolate in my hand she was like: "Oh you brought a prize? Come on in!" Haha, kids! :D We went in and talked to the whole family, left a prayer and a message and played a really fun game. We asked her again if she wanted to be baptised the next morning and although we could see in her eyes there was nothing she wanted more she still shook her head to say no. It was a tough pill to swallow but the Lord knows all things and there is a whole week ahead of us here in Cidade Nova to get her and her brother baptised and on the path to salvation! :)

This week we found lots of children who have been to church many times and who could be baptised but it's not always that easy. Getting both parents to accept that their children be baptised is no easy endeavour and this week we are going to have to teach more families in order to make up for the baptisms we didn't have this week. ;) But despite the difficulties we had this week, it has also been a week of many spiritual experiences and growing opportunities. :) One of them was on Friday when me and Elder Yegros went to Porto Feliz, the area of the Sisters in our district, to do some interviews.

A little boy and a girl were being interviewed and they were very excited for the baptism. The parents weren't too sure if the little boy should be baptised just now. But when we 4 missionaries began to speak and to testify the spirit in the room was unquestionable. I explained to the mother that baptism is the door to Christ and that if we don't take that step we will be limited on our spiritual progression. Children need to begin to learn the things of Christ while they are young and unblemished by the things of the world so that when they are eight years old they can take that essential step. The mother said that her son was an "easy prey" and that his opinions could change from one day to the other. The little boy who had kept pretty quiet said that once he got baptised he would never change his mind and that he would stay loyal to God and to the church. I hope that this family goes to church together and support their children in this decision! The Church of Jesus Christ is for families and there is no better place for them to be. :)

Queue funny story! ;) This week the iron broke (or in other words I broke it, accidentally I swear!) and we were left in a bit of a tricky situation with white shirts to iron and nothing to iron them with. Here on the mission I've seen my primal instincts come out when mum and dad aren't around to fix things for me. My GENIUS idea was to heat up a pan and try to iron with that. It worked SUPER well would you believe it!... No, just kidding. My invention was useless. :P Look at my face when we were able to buy a new iron. Christmas came early here in Brasil. ;)

I love you all and I hope to login to my email next week to lots of news from all of you! I'm especially excited to see a picture of my nephew who could, for all I know, be being born right now. :P

Lots of love,

Elder Torres