Exploring (Week 20)

Olá família and friends!! :D

A lot has happened since last weeks blog but most of it is office stuff which will bore you but we've had plenty of great spiritual experiences too, now let me just remember them! :P

Well, on Sunday we had a great first Sunday in the Tucuruvi ward. It was Fast and Testimony meeting and although there were not many people due to the holidays and people going away, the spirit in the room was very strong. Most of the missionaries that are serving in that ward shared their testimonies and it was very special. An old lady whose name I cannot recall went up and bore a fervent testimony of missionary work. She served several missions with her husband and one of their converts was there in church with his family. He was only a child when he was taught by her and her husband but had remained faithful and strong. It was wonderful when he went up to her after her testimony, hugged her and thanked her with tearful eyes. I hope one day I will have the chance to return to São Paulo and hug those people I played a small part in helping them come unto Christ.

The other day we left the office to go find some people and get to know the area of Tucuruvi. We were walking and knocking/clapping at doors and people were not very interested which discouraged us a bit. As we were walking down a street looking for an old investigator, a garage door started automatically opening and almost knocked us out. We jumped out of the way and waved at the man apologizing inside the car and kept walking. Then a lady called: "Elder!". I looked back and saw a woman waving at us so we went and started talking to the couple. The man who was in the car came out and greeted us very warmly.

It turns out the woman is a member and the husband was never baptised. They had moved into the area a couple of weeks ago and didn't know where the church was or who to contact. The man received all the missionary lessons and they love the missionaries! They weren't married when the Elders taught them but 2 months after the missionaries returned home they were married but no more Elders passed by their house. It was a small miracle that we were led to them by the Spirit, even if it meant almost being knocked out by a garage door. :) They invited us in, we talked a bit, introduced ourselves and they showed us the house. In the end, André even asked us to dedicate his home and we all knelt down and Élder Gonzales offered a wonderful prayer, the spirit was very special. His name is André and hers Reijane, what a golden couple! They even drove us home at the end of the day! :D

Just when we were getting comfortable with the area of Tucuruvi, President Farnes had to make some transfers and we were sent to open the area of Horto Florestal. There had been no missionaries there for a long time so we had a look at the area book and went to find a few people. Unfortunately, those people didn't want to speak to us so we were left with nothing. We kept talking to lots of people, always cheerful and joyful. We came across a man who invited us in and when he opened up his Youtube for us to show him the Restauration video, all of the suggested videos were atheist themed. I was hoping for some miraculous conversion after the video but he was too concerned with factual and historic information to let the spirit enter his heart. As he shared his doubts and articles he has previously read about the Church I knew that no explanation would satisfy him. When I asked him if would he follow Jesus if He were to walk into the room in that moment, he began saying that he would first need evidence and what not. I quickly realised that to contend with him would not benefit anyone, so we all bore our testimonies and left. Our testimonies were unchanged and even perhaps strengthened with that experience and we learnt that we must be unmovable and steadfast in our testimony of the truth, even with opposition and attempts to make us doubt.

Today was P-Day and me, Elder Williams and Gonzales went to hike on a trail called Pedra Grande" (Big Rock) in the 'Parque Estadual da Cantareira'. We were surprised to find out we had to pay to enter but boy, was it worth it. We walked through the forest, listening to the animals and the sounds of nature. We chatted along the way and I slipped off a rock trying to be like Mufasa from the Lion King. Eventually we made it to the end of the trail and got to the "Big Rock". There was a breathtaking view of the vast forest and further in the background, high buildings and houses as far as the eye could see. It was amazing! On the way back to the entrance we saw monkeys jumping from tree to tree and about 15 people stood in silent looking up at the canopy. Some people walked straight past, seemingly uninterested by the nature. Some walked the trail with earphones in, oblivious to the beautiful sounds of nature and of the animals, insects and birds. As we looked up at the monkeys and admired all of God's beautiful creations we were filled with the Spirit and were humbled by His greatness. What a wonderful morning we had, we're definitely going back! :)

Anyway, I'm getting the hang of all the office stuff, Elder Gonzales is teaching me well and I'm getting more independent. Now we just need to go out more to find his elect in this wonderful area of Horto Florestal.

Love you all and miss you!

Elder Torres