December 21, 2015

Hey everyone. So this week was very special for me. We saw many miracles  and felt spirit very strongly. To start off the family that we have been teaching for a few months got married on Wednesday. we went to the cartorio and the Judge legalized there married.(picture included) It was such a great event. After living together for 13 years together they were finally able to make the right choice and follow one of Gods commandments. It was so great there 2 kids went wearing tie and everything. It was a privilege to be a wittiness for their wedding. 

  Then the same day at 7:30 was their baptism. Victor and Lorenna didn´t know if they should ask their son Author if he would want to baptized also. They were in doubt because he had just finish a major achievement in the Catholic church.  I called Author over and explain about baptism and how it needed to be done. I told  him that his parents were going to be baptized and ask him if he wanted to be baptized also. He responded without a doubt,

I want to.

   It was very spiritual for me because I had the honor to do the 3 baptism ordinances. There were so many people at baptism. I was so happy that the ward is getting excited and coming out to support this new family. I love this family so much. I know that they will help the church alot and I can already imagine there 2 sons going on missions one day. I know that Victor is a great Dad and that he will be a great Priesthood holder when he receives it. They were ready for that special day. 

  Anderson our recent covert received the Melchizedek priesthood this week. after 2 and half months. Also Moisés and Helena we confirmed this Sunday. Moisés couldn´t stop asking  about when he was going to receive the Priesthood and how it works. He loves the church so much. 

  This week passed by really fast. I can´t believe that it is already Christmas. We are working hard now it find new people to teach. It is just a little complicated because everyone is traveling or doesn´t want to receive visits because they have so many things to do this time of the year. But the Lord always finds a way. 

Merry Christmas!! 

Com Amor,

Elder Seth

December 14, 2015

So this week I was showing the area to Elder Josephson. He met a lot members and the recent converts. He was stunned because he has been serving in really humble areas where everyone has little money. I think he is going to love this area a lot. 

  We had the ward Christmas dinner this Saturday. The entire week the members were telling me that it was going to be full of non members. I was think how in the world am I going to get contact information of all these people at a 2 hour dinner. Then we came up with the idea to do a raffle of American Candy. It was a success. Everyone filled out the papers we made that asked for name, number and address. Now we have a lot more people to teach!

  This week we focused a lot on updating the members list to see if there was a less active or if they had moved. There was this one house we visited were the member had moved away. But another member who moved from São Paulo had moved to the same house just 15 days before we knocked on his door. He said that he had stopped going to church and that he wanted to return. His wife and 2 kids aren´t members yet! I´ll keep you guys posted on how it goes. What ia miracle

  

  This Sunday was the baptism of Moisés and Helena. It was fantastic. I have never seen so many members at a baptism in my entire life, the ward really showed up and gave them support. Gabriel the first Counselor baptized both of them. It was perfect because we really worked hard on the integration before they we baptized and it paid off. I love  this family so much. Moisés is one of the smartest people I have ever met. He has a college degree in physics, administration, and law. They are really going to help the church a lot. They are really involved and ready to serve.

  When we were finishing up the baptism we announced the baptism of Vitor, Lorenna, and Author. A family that we have been teaching  for awhile submitted their papers  to get married and this Wednesday. They will be baptized and married! It is going to be a really special event. I can´t wait till it happens.

 Thanks Mom and Dad for the Christmas stuff! loved it. Miss everyone. time is passing by really quick.

My last Christmas on the mission is coming up. I have never felt such mixed feels of happiness and sadness. I love the mission so much!

Com Amor,

Elder Seth

December 6, 2015

Hey everyone!

This was my last week with Elder Montes sadly. Love that kid. He was one of my best comps and we work hard and well together. I know that he will do great things on the mission and in his life. I´m really grateful for the things he taught me, including the love and patience he had with everyone. He will be missed but I´m super excited because my new comp is Elder Josephson. He was in the MTC with me and we have always been buddies. This was inspiration from God to President without a doubt. I can´t wait to learn from him and become a better missionary.

 This Sunday Rose was baptized. She caused us to stress out alitle bit because she was more than ready. We had already taught everything she needed to know. Then she went through the baptismal interview and she passed. But she said ´´I don´t know if I have desire to baptize right now.´´ We told her to pray about it and see what God has to say about this. The next day she pulled us aside and told us she recieved here answer. She was baptized Sunday right after church. It was awesome and she was crying the entire time. We are so grateful for her and the spirit that helped her be baptized.

 Update on our elect family Moisés and Helena. This family is amazing. They are the family that said they want to be baptized and enter in the kingdom of God. They are loving the church. This Sunday we all went over to the house of the 1st Counselor and ate lunch. They opened up and said they feel the changes happening in there lives. Then we left a message about temples. They were super interested and asked a lot of questions, gladly we had 2 families there that was able to share there experience they had when they were seal in the temple. The only thing they didn´t like was that they are going to have to wait 1 year after the baptism to be sealed! This Sunday will be there baptism!

I have never been so busy in my entire life. We are help people be baptized, visiting the people that were recently baptized, finding new people to help, taking care of 30 missionaries, and helping member return to church. I love this so much. At time I stop and think about it and get sad because everything is happening to fast that I can´t even take advantage of each special experience I and having.

The mission is awesome. Love this scriptures, love prayer and love the presence of the Holy Ghost.

Com Amor,
Elder Seth

November 30, 2015

Finally after 3 months of going to Church Julio, Sandra and Mel were baptized. On Friday we went to legalized their marriage. It was really great to see a family be legally married and that they were able to keep a commandment of God. They are going to be really blessed. Then that night a few members helped us do a small reception. It wasn't  a typical  wedding party but it was a great way to celebrate. Every member did something so it turned out to be super great.

Then on Sunday they were baptized. Most of the members thought they were already members because they always go to church and they know so much. There were so many people that went to the baptism that everyone didn´t fit in the room. The best problem a missionary can have, when there are too many members supporting the people getting baptized. Next week they are going to be confirmed.

Moisés and his family went to church this Sunday and loved it. We are helping them get ready for their baptism on the 13th. He pulled me aside and thanked us for the visits and the differences that are happening in his life. He is going to be a great leader and is going to help many people in the church. We are going to keep praying and helping them so that they will be ready for the 13th. The ward loves them and is helping a lot in the process of them feeling at home.

The ward is so excited that they are inviting us to teach all their friends. This week is already super busy just because the members marked all the visits.

Time is passing by so fast here on the mission. I am always telling my missionaries in my zone that they can´t afford to waste their time. They can always buy a new car, get more money but time on a mission  is something that passes and we can´t get it back. The mission is just 2 years of our lives and after these 2 years we will have an eternity to think about what we did. Things are so busy here, which I love. It´s better to be super busy than sitting at home playing video games.

Love the mission, love to work.
-Elder Seth