Following the Promptings of the Spirit (Week 29)

Família! Amigos! :)

Ah, the mission is the best thing I've ever done! It may sound cliché but it's so true! What a privilege it is to witness so many miracles on a daily basis. At times I don't recognise them until I reflect my day or week while writing my diary or writing this blog. We're so submersed in the spirit of the work that at times it can be easy to miss or overlook the miracles. I think of it as being in a pool full of water, the water being the miracles and the spirit of missionary work. If someone was to add a bucketful of water we may not recognise the difference while being submerged but the extra water is there and made a difference. When engaged with preaching the gospel the Holy Ghost is ever present, the miracles ever flowing and we sometimes have to "zoom out" to see God's hand in the work. This week many miracles happened but I'll begin with our baptism!

So as I said last week, Gabriel (Rodrigo's brother) was baptised this week. It was after Stake Conference and here was a lovely spirit present. A lot of people stayed behind to watch the baptisms as a few other areas had baptisms too and we did a joint meeting. Before the baptism we met with and taught him and his family every day and got him even more pumped for his baptism. His mum was super happy for them two and will be there to see them receive the gift of the Holy Ghost tomorrow. :)

We also took a few people to church from the Blue and Yellow Houses I spoke about last week namely: Adriano, a father in his 30's; Thaina (13) and her little brother Mateus (8) who all loved church and are going back tomorrow! Thaina and her brother will hopefully be baptised tomorrow too! We went to their house this week and taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ using Bis (brazilian wafer chocolate which is YUM). They loved the little visual representation and the chocolate too. ;) Here is a picture Elder A. Oliveira took Sunday morning as we walked to church with Rodrigo, Gabriel and those three people I just mentioned. In the background is me talking to Adriano. :)

There has been a new couple coming to the ward for about a month now: Conrado and Belissa! Belissa is a member and Conrado has been coming and learning more about the restored gospel for a few weeks. We marked a lesson with them at the chapel on Wednesday night and let me tell you, it was one of the most powerful lessons I've been in. Not because of what we said but because of their contribution, comments and testimony. Right after the prayer, Conrado began sharing that he had done a fast with Belissa during Stake Conference and whilst he was listening to a hymn at the end of the meeting, he began crying and crying and feeling something he had never felt before. He said that he had tried to find a rational explanation as to why that had happened but he concluded that it was nothing more or less than an answer from God that this church really is the only true church and that the restored gospel is true. He finished talking and the spirit was incredible. We looked at each other smiling from ear to ear and we extended the baptismal invite, to which he accepted without hesitation. We then taught the Restoration and he seemed to already know everything, his girlfriend is an amazing teacher! :D I am so grateful that despite of shortcomings as missionaries (and humans) God still blesses us and entrusts us which His children whom he has prepared to enter His kingdom through the saving ordinance of baptism. We taught them on Thursday and Friday too there in church and the spirit was strong everytime! As we taught the Plan of Salvation yesterday, I decided to use my talent and drew roughly on the chalk board the plan. I am thankful to my mother and her strong testimony of the Plan of Happiness, of which she always bore testimony to us when we were growing up. Here is a picture of us with Conrado and the Plan of Salvation I drew (excuse any doctrinal mistakes on the drawing, it was done on the spot!)

Lastly, this week I learned to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost every single time! We were walking back from the blue and yellow houses and were looking for new people to teach. I heard the noise of family, you know, children, laughter and the sort. I had the impression to go and knock so that is just what we did. They invited us in and there was a great family, around 5 children, the parents and the grandma. We taught them and they hung on to every word. We talked about baptism to them and they all said "YES!" The grandma's name is Carmita and she is especially dear to me, I can see some of my own grandmothers' characteristics on her. She is super excited to go to church tomorrow and for her baptism. As we decided what to teach them along the week, we studied and prayed and every time it was just what they were needing to hear. This morning we took two of the boys - Mateus and Lorenzo - to football and they met all the young men and had a great time. I'm excited to help this whole family come unto Christ. :)

Have a great week everyone, I love you and miss you all! Keep sending me emails and pictures! ;)

Elder Torres (aka Torrão as the office staff like to call me, haha)