I hope you all had a fabulous week! Mine was great, as always! :) And I hope you all remember the very special day that is this Friday, the day of my birth! Please celebrate for me! Thanks!
I made a list this week of thing I wanted to write because I couldnt remember anything last week. Ok so first of all we have this girl who is 14 and her dad wont let her get baptized but she knows the church is true...really its tragic, this is the second time this has happened. She had missionaries about 3 or 4 years ago also. Anyway we were teaching her and I invited her to be baptized and she said no because I dont know some lame excuse. And then we talked about following the example of Christ...all that good stuff. And she says and I quote (but I also translate): I dont want to follow Christs example. I think my jaw literally dropped. And I repeat a lot of what people say to me because I cant understand but this I was just floored and I asked if I heard her right and she said YEP! (kind of like a snotty 14 year old...lol) Anyway, then her mom explain that that wasnt true but that her dad wouldnt let her get baptized but it was really funny, I was so shocked!
Anyway, Ibiporã is having this festival of some sorta, Im not really sure what it is but its been going on for quite some time now and it is beautiful, we walked through it the other day and they have lights and these paper cut out banner things, I dont know what they are but everything is so colorful and it was really cool when we walked through at night during the day its not THAT great. Anyway the other day when we walked through we stopped and got a pastel, which was DELICIOUS..just meat and cheese in a fried bread thing, oh man! So Sister de Oliveira and I are walking down the street enjoying our delicous food and this guy stops us and starts talking about the church and some other old sister and Im not really sure but then he starts talking about marriage and he was looking at me. And I dont speak Português and so I didnt understand much but he thought we were both American and Sis. de Oliveira was laughing so I laughed too. But then when he went to leave put his arms out and tried to hug me, oh my goodness it was the funniest thing Ive ever seen. I screamed, ran backwards, Sister de Oliveira grapped me, shouted NOOOOO! and pulled me away. Ok Im not explaining this week and its probably not that funny but we laughed about it for days which was a blessing!
Oh so we have this record for someone that was taught in the past, Maurinho, and I have been really concerned with him and I say to Sister de Oliveira everyday that we NEED to find him. We looked for him one day and some lady said he was old and died but the record says that he is 18. So I told Sister de Oliveira that was a lie and we needed to find him. Anyway, on his record it says that his girlfriend, Suelen, is a member but no ones seems to know her. I talked to one member that I was told would know who she is, but the member didnt know. Yesterday we were near the area that he lives waiting for the bus and this girl walks up so we start talking to her and she says her name is Suelen, and I almost died, I was like OMG your name is Suelen, we have been seaching for a Suelen!! (literally I said that). And so I asked her if she knew Maurinho and she said no...BUT she lives on the same street as Maurinho and she has gone to church one time a few years ago in a different city. What are the chance, I think she is why I have been so concerned with Maurinho, but Im still a little concerned with him because we have made no effort to find him. Oh if there were only more hours in the day!
It has been raining all week, it is really hot today...well not really hot but hot. But for two days this week in rained ALL day and not just a little rain, like SOAK you rain. But good thing I have a raincoat! (Thanks mom!) Also we moved, our new apartment is REALLY nice, I love it it is so much bigger and I think nicer than most of the places I lived at BYU. I have heard quite a bit this week that our mission is the nicest in Brasil as far as wordly possessions goes...I dont know though. I havent been to all of the missions in Brasil and Im not really sure how people are judging that but whatev!
We had another investigator that literally did not understand ANYTHING I said, and I said things...PERFECTLY. I have been practicing a baptismal invitation and I finally got it down perfectly with her and she didnt understand a word of what I said. And then Sister de Oliveira repeated the SAME thing and she understood everything. And I mean I teach people all day everyday and this was the first time there was a probelm like this. I felt so bad but Sister de Oliveira assured me it was because of my accent...whatever. Not my favorite moment of the week.
Lastly, we had investigators come to church on their own...this doesnt happen. It was crazy! We showed up and they were already there, it was a miracle! Normally we have to go to their house and wake them up at 8:30 because church starts at 9 and bring them with us. But Ubaldina and Mario came all on their own. They are great but they need to be married! Hopefully more on that next week!
I love love love this work. It is hard and it is WORK but Im learning so much and it is so great. This week I realized how powerful prayer is. The very few investigators that we have that sincerely pray about our message receive an answer, not sometimes, always. It is incredible. I love it. Prayer is so powerful and has the power to change peoples lives, literally. Im so incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for all of your love and support and prayers! Thank you! I finally received some letters this week! It was exciting! And my first birthday card from Auntie Joel! Thank you! I love you all I hope you have a wonderful week and remember the importance of Friday! :)
Sister Brooks
p.s. sorry for the novel email! But the past few have been really short!
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