It was a great week because I got to see some of the fruits of my labor! Wanna know why? Because I got to spend some time with two of my very favorites. Gabriela and Edmilson. It was great!
President started a new program with the sisters in our mission to better take advantage of the temple we have right in the middle of our mission. Now we take turns, every two weeks, standing in front of the temple to make contacts and give tours. It was fun to talk to lottsss of people. And we even gave a tour. Problem was... the kid is from Argentina and did speak or understand a lick of Portuguese. And turns out my high school Spanish class did not have much of a lasting impact on me. Ooops.
But the best thing about the temple is that Gabriela lives right by!!! So during our lunch hour we stopped by and ended up eating with her and her boyfriend. Oh they are so so happy!! And getting all ready for their wedding in January. Needless to say, they are both very appreciative that Sister Farfal and I taught and baptized Gabriela to create a way for them to meet. Of all the wonderful luck, that night they were throwing a birthday party for Gabriela´s 5-year-old daughter Sofia, so we scored an invite for that too! It was Dorah Explorer themed and so cute! But the best part is that her boyfriend totally helped plan and docorate because he already considers Sofia his own daughter! And Gabriela told me about their plans to have at least 4 more little rascals! What a cute eternal family they will be! Just goes to show that Heavenly Father always has a plan for us that is even bigger and better than we could ever dream up on our own!
And her mom, Cecilia was just as wonderful as normal. She asked all about our P-days and our recent adventures. Like normal, she began planning what we NEED to do here in Sao Paulo. Clothes, restaraunts, etc. She still seems pretty tied to her coffee and cigarettes but at least she loves the missionaries and the church now! I will be forever grateful for that lady!
And Edmilson! Is even better than I could have imagined! I am actually stunned that after we gave the challenge to just stop... completely stop smoking, he managed! This week we started teaching his son. (25 years) His son came to the baptism last week and was super touched so he agreed to sit in on the recent-member lessons. So we taught about the restauration with a special spin on the Priesthood. And it was an incredible lesson. Seriously, such a strong spirit. I got a little emotional when I talked about my gratitude for the priesthood in my home. How my father blessed and watched over our home with such a special, God-given power, and how they have the opportunity and responsibility to do the same thing.
Andddd, Edmilson recieved the Priesthood this week!! So next week he will be blessing or passing the sacrament! He is super nervous but excited. I gave a special shout out to JD and talked about how much he loves and honors his Priesthood. And Edmilson made a few visits with us and sang our praises to our investigators. He told about how much he appreciates our help and how he is more happy than he has ever been in his whole life. He made the promise that if they made the sacrifices necessary to go to church and change their lives they would never, ever regret it. He told us that he would never forget us and the potential he helped him see in his own life.
So, not everyone accepts our message, but at least we are making a pretty significant impact in a few special lives! I´ll take it!
Boa Semana! Love you all!
Sister Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment