I had a blast this week!!!
This week was so much fun to say the least. Nothing better that working and seeing the results. To start off we had service project as a stake. We went to a catholic church a redid everything. We built walls, painted, plastered, cut the grass, ect. It was amazing to see the difference we made. This is why I love is church, it doesn´t matter who you are, we are trying to serve everyone.(picture with the Padre)
This week was a little difficult to work with members because everyone went to the temple! This is the best excuse to be traveling. Everyone loved it and felt the spirit really strong. And guess what..one of our recent converts went, Thainá! She was baptized only 3 months ago. She loved ever second of it and said she can´t wait to go again. The this Sunday she gave her first talk in church about Faith and the temple trip. I love seeing people become better because of the gospel of Christ. The Lord truly blessed me to me an instrument in her life and to see her progress.photo at the temple
The latest on Isabella. We passed by a few time this week to get her ready for her baptism. We taught the word of wisdom. She was shock that coffee is a no no. She said she loved coffee and drank it everyday. At the end we talked about the blessing and the Lords promise. she said if it´s a commandment of God I will have to follow it. We confirmed with her that she would go to church this Sunday.
We Sunday came around we were waiting in the front for her. 10 minutes passed, 30, 40. We called and there was no response. We thought of everything about why she didn´t show up yet. We said a prayer that she would come to church. Finally we jumped in the car to go get her. We went to her house clapping, calling her name, basically everything...we woke up all of her neighbors but nothing from her house. We returned to church with our heads hanging down. We said a prayer that she would come to church even though the chances were slim.
Two minutes didn´t pass when she called us frantically saying sorry. She was sick the night before and took a really strong pill that made her sleep really deeply. She got a ride to church with her Mom and strolled in right as sacrament meeting started. What a miracle.
After church we were at a member house and she sent this text message
´´Elder Seth and Elder Rojas, Today I had one more sign that I am on the right path. I woke up late, and was feeling really sick, but I got up with the purpose to go to church. Arriving there, I found you guys in that place of peace, I realized that there isn´t a pain in the world that would stop me from going to the house of the Lord. I thank you one more time for visiting my home and teaching me about these things, That I know with certainty is true and pure. I am immensely happy to be a part of this church. I hope you have a great Sunday and I can´t wait to see you guys on Wednesday.´´
To start off I didn´t make this up. this was exactly what she sent to us,cray right. This is why I´m here. to help people change there lives for the better. With all the people who shut the door in our faces or people that mock us. Miracles make it all worth it in the long run.
I´m loving my mission and I love the spirit I feel. Hard work is always rewarded in the end. I know these things that i´m sharing are ´´true and pure´´ and during these 2 years there in no other place I would rather be.
Thank you for the support and love.
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
Things are getting better!!
This week was great to say the least. We were blessed immensely. We were working closely with the members and it paid off. I saw a lot of miracles in how the Book of Mormon is true and how people are influenced by its power.
To start off a we received a reference from someone that was living in the USA and was baptized there. She was talking to her friend in Brasil and she asked for us to visit them. We went to the house of this friend. There we found Isabella(friend 17 years old), Lucas(brother 11 years old), Mayda(Mom). We talked for awhile to break the ice and we discovered that they received the missionaries 3 years ago. The Mom had a lot of interest, but Isabella wouldn´t even say hi.
Eventually they told the missionaries they had lost interest. Isabella told us that she changed alot and that she is looking for a church that she can feel good and somewhere she knows that she is following Christ. We taught the Restoration and we left a part marked in the Book of Mormo for them to read and pray.
We returned after two days and we asked how was the reading and praying was going. She said that when she was reading she feeling this warm feeling of joy and happiness. Then she said that when she prayed she felt it really strong. She went to bed and woke up with the same feeling. She received her answer! We taught about baptism and how it is necessary. We taught them and we invited them to be baptized on the 8th of August. They accepted! Such a spiritual experience. Isabella went to church and loved every second of it(even though the power was out at the church this Sunday). Sadly her Mother didn´t go because she was really sick in the Hospital. Isabella say that her Mom asked if we could pass by again, or if we couldn´t go there house anymore because she didn´t going to church. haha I love teaching people that had desire to better there lives.
Other miracle that happened when we were teaching Julia(Friend of the recent convert). We were teaching here at a playground because her Dad doesn´t like to hear our lessons. Let's just say it was cold and windy. Everyone was shivering. Then we started to talk about the Book of Mormon and we asked what she thought. She said ´´I did as you asked, and I received my answer.´´ When we heard this we were grinning our faces off. With this knowledge we marked a date with her and she said: ´´I thought you would never ask´´. We cut the lesson short because we didn´t want anyone to get sick.
The work is picking up here and we are getting really excited. These next few weeks are going to be really fun!
I hope everyone is well. Happy Birthday Erica, I love you so much and I will never forget your kindness to me in my life.
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
Photo of a recent member how was baptized. He was a leader of a gang, now he going to church in a shirt and tie. Giving lunch to the missionaries
The ball keeps rolling
I´m really short on time because we were traveling this p-day so I will give a quick update of the week.
First off i´m loving our ward. The kids are awesome. They are all getting excited with the missionary work and they are all wanting to do visits with us. Because of them, we managed to 32 lessons with member this week. They are also getting the spirit of sharing the gospel and they are wanting us to teach their close friends. We are doing a lot with the young people of this ward because they have alot of friends and a lot of time. It´s really great because we are using them to help us to do visits and their testimonies and knowledge of the gospel are increasing.
Funny moment. Our ward had Americans visiting this Sunday. Being an American I went to talk to them. The only problem is they could barely understand me because it has been so long since I've spoken in English. They couldn´t stop laughing because I wasn't making sense. You pay the price to learn a language.
We are teaching Julia who is a friend of Nina. She is really sweet and has a lot of interest in what we are teaching. We always like to talk about families and the joy we feel with them. When we started to say that at times our families hit a rough spot, she just started to cry. She said that her family was going through some difficult times and that she is looking for help. We explained that gospel is the way to have a family really happy. It was a really touching experience to see the peace she felt after the message. She said that Nina(recent convert) has changed a lot and that she is a better person. . This is why I love this church, we don´t have to go door to door to help baptize people. At times we just need to be the firm example in what God wants us to be.
We are working, and with time we will see the fruits. It´s taking its time, but it will come.
Thank you Dad for the package, means a lot.
Hope all is well. Be the example that God wants.
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
WHAT A WEEK!!
To start off this week was a blast. Loving my comp Elder Rojas. It´s he first time being Zone Leader and he is super nervous and exited. It makes the best type of companion because they are willing to work hard and learn. It was awesome to talk about new ideas, what has worked in the pass and what we want for the future. Also getting to know someone new is always fun. The current questions about the other ones life or crazy story help makes our bond stronger.
As a zone we are doing weekly goals to help get everyone motivate. This week was to find 15 new investigators. As leaders we can´t ask other people to do something if were not doing. So this week we focused on listening to the Holy Ghost and finding the Lords elects. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday was a disaster. It was as if nobody cared at all about what we had to say. It was difficult because we were really needing new people to teach. Then on Thursday it felt like everything went right. Every door we knock or every contact we did, it felt like the Lord put them in our path. They would say ´´Come in, I always wanted to hear what you had to say`` or ´´I was visiting your church where I lived and then I moved, I loved it there`` It was one of the most inspiring days here on the mission field. The Lord truly lifted us up that day and for the rest of the week.
We are starting to visit less actives that have fallen away from the Church. We know that they have a testimony about these things but they have a problem. We are visiting this less actives to help them with these problems. As a result they are returning to church and they are bringing their wives, kids, ect who aren´t members yet. This way we can help them return to church and find new people to teach.
I´m really excited to see the results of this transfer. We have alot of young missionaries in the zone that are willing to work hard and do what is right.
Through this the Lord will bless us. I know that being here in Brazil has a purpose in my life and the lives of the people i´m meeting. I loving the constant challenge we have everyday to work hard and say ´´I did everything I could`.
Thank you everyone for the emails and support. I pray often for you guys. Remember what ever problem you have your Heavenly Father is one prayer away from you, get on your knees and talk to him.
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
Sadly Elder Xavier was transferred today. I was really sad because we were literally best friends. We lived together for 3 Months but it flew by so fast. He was called to be Assistant to the President! He really deserved it because of his example as a missionary and leadership. I´m going to miss him alot. We have already planned to hang out after the mission so it´s gonig to be alright.
The members had a party for Elder Xavier, it was great to see all the lives he helped. Then we went around and said what we like about Xavier and half of the people we crying. He had a huge affect on the people of Gama.
But I´m really excited because of my new Comp. Elder Rojas. He is from Argentina and has a year and a few months on the mission. He was a District Leader for our Zone and had alot of success. He is really obedient and is always happy. I´m excited to learn from him and to become a better missionary. I don´t know everything about him yet but I know that he was baptized when he was 14. He was play soccer professionally but he decided to serve mission. His Dad was so furious that he hasn´t talked to him since. This just proves that he is a missionary who is here because he wants to. I´ll tell you guys more abut him next week when I know more.
This week we had a family go to church! It was a reference from a member. They are awesome. They loved the church and they have a 1 year old kid. They don´t drink, smoke and best of all legally married(what a miracle). The only problem is they are really hesitant about Churches because the last Church they went to stole their money. We are going to teach them this week about the Church of Jesus Christ and about how this is a only church with all the truths.
Nina, who was baptized a month and half ago, gave her first talk is sacrament meeting. Sure baptizing someone is an amazing experience but seeing your baptism progressing is the gospel is one of the best feelings. You can see the huge difference that Christ has made in their lives. I like to think about what will be different in their lives because of this church in 20 years. Mission, married in the temple, kids, free of drugs, ect. This church has such a powerful power to change people for the better. This is why I´m here. To help people use this power to better their lives. Not only their lives here on the earth but for eternity.
I love my time here in Brasil, at times it´s painful when people don´t accept something that will make them more happy but the pains are taken away when someone finally accepts.
Thank you family and Friends for the emails and prayers. I miss you guys!
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
First off, Congrats Dad on TAP. You earned it. Also thank you everyone for the emails this week, I was really needing it even though this week flew by.
Here on the mission my hate for Satan has risen. We found some really great people these past few weeks. We taught them for the first few times and they really felt the spirit. They were reading and asking questions. Elder Xavier and I were getting super excited with the progress that we were having. But... with the help of Satan they started to lose interesting for what ever reason. Friends didn´t approve, Mother heard something bad a able the church, ect. We were feeling really sad because we know of the truthfulness of this Gospel and the changes that they will have in there life if they applied it. Sadly we can´t force them to do anything. Just do our part of leaving our phone number and prayers. World keeps spinning.
I´m short on this week so I´ll cut to the goods. We had the division of the stake and it was awesome. We heard some inspiring talks that really got me motivated to work harder. They also talked about keeping that Sabbath Day Holy. They said that we should do everything possible to take the sacrament every Sunday. Through this we can renew our convenient that we made when we were baptized. Also how God has given us everything in our lives. He asked that we use one day to worship him and leave behind the things of the world to spend time with our family. I loved ever second of it. I hopé I can share this powerful message with my investagators. I was able to see all the member from Jardim Ingá(my first area in Brasil) I love them so much.
This week fly by super fast and I´m not remembering anything that happened. I promise next week will be more detailed.
If the mission was easy and perfect everyone would do it. Loving my time here. At times I'm frustrated with the difficulties but after i´m always grateful for them and the things I learned. In life we work hard to earn a good life. But the things we learned through that hard work is more valuable to us.
Love you guys. Pray often for your health, safe, and happiness.
Com Amor,
Elder Seth
