August 27, 2018

Soaking it all in!

Hi there!

I am still in love with Vigo! 

And there is so much joy in being a missionary!

Dennys is my favorite human. He completely changed and he is so patient and diligent and happy! He has a plane ticket to go back to Brazil and he was debating all week about what he should do. We prayed and fasted that he would make the best decision for his life and progression. A few hours before he was suppose to leave he called and told us he was staying and then an hour later he called and said I’m in the airport. It was sad to see him go, but he is blessing his whole family! He would walk about 8km to get to church here, and when we sent him the address there he sent back a screenshot of a short 12 minute walk to his new chapel! He said, “I think God is up to something.” He invited his mom and his brother to church too! He sent the reference before he had left and the missionaries passed by and met the mom and she doesn’t have much interest in changing but she is supporting Dennys which is a huge miracle by itself. He messaged us about how he was studying the Word of Wisdom (which we didn’t even get a chance to mention) and that he loves it. He’s excited to be able to learn in Portuguese and express himself fully and it is such a blessing to see how the gospel has not only brought him hope, but also a light to his life and into his eyes. I’m so grateful for WhatsApp and technology so we can continue to witness the JOYFUL blessings that only coming from living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Pedro is also doing excellent and is so excited for his baptism on the 8th of September. We walked through the interview questions and he bore a very sweet testimony of how he came to know by reading the Book of Mormon and prayer that it is true. He is so funny and has a bit of a stutter, so it makes for great listening practice. 

Rafael and Rosmary are a remarkable couple that are “dry members”. She puts up lots of excuses, but he seems so ready. We gave them a challenge to read in the BoM and pray daily about baptism for a month, and so far so good! He told us without us even hinting on the topic that he wants to give up a few hours working on Sunday so that he can go to church. He knows that God will provide for them. I just pray everyone could have that kind of faith.

Our good friend Ismailin made some progress this week!! The secret is in the cookies! She lives in our building so we swung by on our way out to have a follow up visit and she told us how she hadn’t read because it just seemed boring to her. Sitting there the spirit gave me the idea to teach her how to have faith (she claims to be atheist but she really isn’t) with Alma 32 and instead of plants and seeds, we changed it out for cookies!! She loved it and came to church the next day!! Cookies always bring miracles!

I know the gospel is true. It is the only way to have a firm foundation. The winds will never stop and if we are rooted in Christ, we don’t have to worry. We will me strong enough.

I love you all

Have the best week! 

And go help your friends and family!!

Hermana Read