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So we got to church and
it turns out that unfortunately some family members had kind of put
some not so positive encouragement into Gabriel´s head about his being
baptized. So he didn´t come to church and it broke our hearts, but we
know that he will get baptized soon.
Lygia also had an interesting circumstance; so her
husband lives in a different city and has some serious struggles with
the word of wisdom and is a less active member of the church. She was
set to get baptized because they have been separated (they aren´t
married) for a long while now (like 8 months) and so she was really
excited. Well on the same weekend of her baptism it all came to a
breaking point with her husband and it turns out he is having some very
real problems with depression, related to his word of wisdom problems,
and needs help from Lygia. So she decided that she is going to move back
to the other city and help him get over these struggles. Her kids will
stay here with her parents in the same house that she has been staying
at and she is going to commute back and forth to be with both parties.
Which also kind of broke our heart, but they are planning on already
setting a marriage date so that she can be baptized as quickly as
possible. So I was kind of a bummed out Elder, but I am so thankful for
Thais. She was SO excited to be baptized.
So she came to church and at Sacrament meeting she
was bawling because of how happy she was to be there. So then came the
baptism and Elder Albuquerque baptized her and I helped him in the font
because she can´t stand up on her own. She has MS which makes it hard
for her to use her hands really well so I got to plug her nose for her.
It was really sweet, she was so so happy to be baptized and the ward
really was there and supportive of her. The Spirit that was there was
one of the strongest that I have felt in a long time. She is truly a
special daughter of God. So after a lot and a lot of prayer she was
baptized and it was such a joy to see it happen.
Then started like the most busy week ever! We had an
elder go home because he had to start school earlier than normal, well
we found out that day after looking a his passport for seemingly no
reason that when he had had his visa renewed the Federal Police hadn´t
stamped his passport! So it showed that he was illegal in Brasil! Even
though he had had it renewed! So we were definitely worried and after
obtaining some documents proving he was legal we ended up having to go
with him to the airport in the case that they wanted to detain or tax
him or something. It ended up going smoothly which was another answer to
a lot prayers from some very worried Elders!! It was good to go with
him as well, he is one of my friends from the mission and it was just so
strange to see him going home!
Also on Monday we had two of the Analysts from the
Church Headquarters of Brasil come and give President and Elder McArthur
and I a training since President is new. It was really good, it was a
review for me but it was great for Elder McArthur and President to get a
solid comprehensive understanding of how finances work for the missions
here. They were super nice too and afterwards did an audit of the
mission and it went really smoothly. I am grateful that we have so many
rules about organization, it makes it easy to have an audit when
everything is in it´s right place and ordered!
So then another thing happened that broke our hearts
(our hearts were kind of beat up on this week). One of the elders here
in the mission had to go home because his mom was killed in a car
accident. He is from Santiago, Chile and his dad already passed away
years ago and so now he only has his step-dad and his younger brother
who has like 10 years. President drove two hours to tell the elder what
had happened at like midnight. It was hard, I can´t imagine how that
would be. There was only one flight available that day to go back and he
didn´t have time to pass by the office before he left so that he could
make his flight so we went to the airport again to meet him there and
give him his passport and flight info. He barely made it but then we
sent him off and came back with his companion to get them all set off
for the emergency transfer. We fasted as a mission for him and his
family, he s going back for the funeral and to make sure his little
brother is cared for and then he coming back in two weeks. We are all
praying a lot for him right now.
Between all the craziness this week we have had
barely any time at all in our area and it makes me worried for my
investigators, I have been praying a lot that the Lord will bless them
while we can´t be there to teach them. I have found that the Lord has
blessed us so much, that when we cannot be there, the Spirit teaches
them so much and often softens their hearts. I am really praying for
them so that they can continue to progress towards baptism.
Well it was kind of a crazy week, I am glad that the
Lord blesses us so much. He truly loves His children and blesses his
missionaries. I feel those blessings all the time and am grateful for
God´s tender mercies.
Love you all, have a great week!
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