I'm afraid I don't have much to tell this week. I'm kind of in an office slump- I'm pretty tired of being here. I'll be glad when I get out. We have so little time to work in our area, we barely manage to accompany one or two people per night. Only on the weekends do we actually get to really work. We haven't had a baptism in two months.
We're teaching a girl named Andreia who is 25. She lives with a member in an apartment, and her baptism is supposed to be this Sunday. We marked her interview for tonight, but we haven't been able to get in touch with her all week- the last time we talked to her was Sunday. We know she's afraid to be baptized, so her being at the interview tonight is essential because we know that Elder McArthur will get her excited and ready to go. I'm just worried that she's gotten lazy. She has kept all the commitments- she stopped drinking and drinking coffee, which was her biggest problem. She knows the church is true, she just needs to take the necessary steps now, and she doesn't think she's ready. It would be nice if you could pray for her. So anyway, I'm kind of tired of not being able to teach people as much as I would like.
Last night we scheduled an FHE at the chapel, and 10 minutes before it was supposed to start, the rain came. It poured, and poured. We were on our way to the chapel with an investigator and we all got soaked. We got to the church looking like we had all just jumped in a pool with our clothes on.
There were only like, 12 people there, including 4 missionaries, but it was good- everyone who went liked it.
There's a new elder who just got here this month named Elder Poulson. It's weird to see him interacting with people and trying to talk to people because I look back at the beginning of my mission and wonder if I had that much difficulty understanding and communicating with people. Then I realize that yes, I most certainly did. And I'm very grateful that that part is over, and I can speak Portuguese now.
I think it would be an interesting experience to train an American. Last Sunday I helped Elder Poulson give his first lunch message- it was gratifying.
I've been reading A Marvelous Work and a Wonder by LeGrand Richards. It's pretty cool. I don't have that much time for "leisure reading" but I pull it out sometimes before study and before I go to bed at night. I'm about halfway through it.
Oh, we're also teaching a rich guy (which is rare)! And he already has a date for his baptism (22nd) and he's received an answer to his prayers about the Book of Mormon and is excited. So that is something that gives me hope. His wife worked for a bank for 28 years and is now retired and takes care of 52 old people at an old folks home volutarily. He is a construction worker. Theirs is one of the coolest apartments that I've seen so far in Brazil. It's blatantly obvious that the Lord has blessed them for their generosity and willingness to help. We called him on Saturday to see if we could pass by his house and he was like "no, I can't, I'm at the nursing home fixing some of these doors." And he does it for free! His apartment is sweet. It has two stories, and a pool on the second story balcony. And they're already friends with the Bishop because his wife used to work at the same bank as him. She's hardcore catholic, but little by little she'll get there. So I'm excited about that.
Well, that's pretty much all the news I've got. Today for PDay we're going to go home and sleep. Everyone is exhausted.
I love you all and pray for you constantly.
I love being on a mission. I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord for two years straight. I know that this is the true church- there is no back door to salvation, and I'm happy to be sharing the truths that we know with the people of Brazil.
I know that the Lord blesses us as we follow him and his commandments. The more we go out of our way to serve him, the more he goes out of his way to bless us. The church is a church of service and sacrifice.
There's a guy in our ward who always says that "in the service of the Lord, the salary isn't very good, but the retirement is worth it."
Love,
Elder Sisco
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment