I cannot believe that Easter is just a few days away! How in the world did that happen? It seems like Christmas was just yesterday. Today marks exactly 5 months as a missionary. Woo hoo! I still feel like I have so much to learn and improve. Good thing I ave more time here in Brasil. I miss you all like crazy, but I love being a missionary. The Lord definitely helps me focus on the work and not be homesick.
This week I am writing from Unifal- one of the universities here in Alfenas. We figured out this week that because it is a federal university it is open to the public- so we can use the computer lab for free! So today I get to use a nice computer in an air conditioned lab (it's actually a bit cold in here), with a functioning letter "g" and I don't have to pay anything! It is good all around. I do have to admit that it is kind of weird to walk around on a college campus right now. It makes me miss BYU. Haha, I want to go to class... The boys will probably make fun of me for that, but it's true.
I love that talk! I love how it is not just "it will all work out" but it is that "it will all work out in the end". So if things aren't working out, you know that it's not the end yet! I actually was thinking of that talk this week with some of the challenges that we had. Thaylor (also 14 yrs old) was set to be baptized this Saturday. He is a really fun kid. I have loved teaching him. He is a bit of a goofball, but really sweet and sincere. So we had everything set for the baptism and then he called only 3 hours before and said he didn't feel ready. He hung up on us after just a couple of minutes without really explaining. He doesn't have a phone and was using the cell phone of a friend so we couldn't get a hold of him that way. So we rushed over to his house only to find that he had left for the roça (countryside) for the weekend with his uncle. Needless to say, the baptism did not take place. That was really hard. We were both crushed. But, "everything will work out in the end". We were able to talk with him Sunday night and I think he was just nervous. He wants to keep learning and still has a desire to be baptized, so I have hope. I hope he will feel peace and have the courage to take this step. So next week hopefully you will be receiving some more baptism pictures.
One of our other investigators, Luciana (I think I have written about her before) has a baptismal date for this weekend too. She is absolutely amazing! I love her so much. She has such great faith. Every time we teach her a new principle or mandamento (commandment) she immediately puts it into practice. She has been coming to church steadily and is definitely prepared for baptism. The only problem is that she doesn't think that she is quite ready yet. I am praying so hard that we will be able to help her recognize the importance of baptism and that she really is ready. Her daughter, Ana Julia, has 8 years, but has the sass of a grown black woman. It is absolutely hilarious! She is so dang cute (probably drives her mom crazy, but in the small doses that we get it is perfect). Sunday night we stopped by to teach Luciana and the family. During the lesson Ana Julia slipped away into the kitchen. Then when we finished up she proudly walked into the room with two plates of little sandwiches that she had made herself. They were a bit messy and lopsided, but they were absolutely perfect. She set the plates on the table and declared that since her mom hadn't prepared anything for us to eat, she did it all herself! Haha, it was so cute. We are meeting them this afternoon for ice cream (Ana Julia has been talking nonstop about this the entire time we have been teaching them). You know you really love your investigators when you give up your time on p-day to visit with them and teach (ice cream is just an added bonus)
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