Pictures: Before lunch in our house and at the talent show.
Mina Familia,
This week went a lot better than the
past week! Rained a ton, which made the roads rivers and the weather a lot cooler!
Elder Gois and I are working well together, creating new goals, changing the
way we work and teach, and finding new families and people to teach. One goal
that really changed the work in a matter of a week was we dropped all the
investigators that were not progressing. By the end of the week we were left
with few investigators, but now we are free to find those people that are
prepared to receive the gospel now. I have realized more than ever how
important planting the seed of a testimony is here in Brazil. At times it is
hard to understand that not everyone is ready to receive The Restored Gospel of
Jesus Christ. All we can do is invite and they must act for themselves. I know
that a lot of these people will receive the gospel in a later date as their
seed begins to grow and the light of Christ is received. This letter will be a
little different. I am not going to write about everyday and what happened
throughout the day, but about 2 or 3 things that were very special this
week.
At the beginning of this week we met
with a less active member named Johndir. He is a great man, but has mental weaknesses
because of the lack of education. As we taught him he seemed a little different
from all the other visits we had with him. He seemed a little smarter and he
could understand a little better. He told us of how he has been reading the BOM
and also other material of the church (Preparation for the temple booklet) he
shared things he learned and also the desire he has to go to the temple
someday. We talked with him about the temple and challenged him to prepare for
the temple and that it was possible for him to go there someday. The spirit was
very strong and after we invited him to come teach with us and share this spirit
we felt with others. He went with us and we taught an investigator. Amazing how
much can change when we use these materials from the church in our lives, especially
the Book of Mormon and Bible.
Thursday night at 8:45 it was cold, rainy
and super dark. We finished all our teaching appointments and had nothing else
to do. We almost decided to return home and plan for the next day but we didn't.
Elder Gois said, “We need to pray right now to find someone that needs our help.”
So we prayed. As we walked towards a park in our area we saw a man walking
alone. I knew we needed to talk to him and that he needed help. We talked to
the man and he told us that he is a member, but hasn't gone for many years
because of addiction to drugs and other problems in his life. He said he has
been thinking a lot about the church and that he has organized his life. We
told him that we could help him return to church and return the testimony back
that he once had. Volnei was very grateful and we met with him the fallowing
day and taught him. He is a great guy and will return to church. This
experience was very powerful and showed us that even with 15 minutes left in the
day we can still find someone to help.
The last experience was a week-long
experience. This past week I have been working a lot on receiving revelation of
where to go and when to find the elect that will hear our message. Throughout
the day i pray for this but sometimes i am confused of where and when we must
go. Sunday, yesterday, as we finished lunch and got back to work I prayed and
pondered of where we must go. Meetings arose and made the scheduling we made
the night before inadequate. I received the feeling that we must visit
Cristiane, an investigator, we arrived there and she wasn't there. As we left
her house I was a little upset and confused. As we walked towards the main
street that leads back to town a family called us over and asked if we could
explain about our church to them. I knew at that moment this is why we had to
come to Cristiane's home. We taught them and the lesson went very well. They
are interested and he will return there this week. Amazing how revelation/ the
Holy Ghost works with us. At times we may not even realize that we are being
guided by Him. Very powerful experience. A scripture I like that kind of talks
about this is DC 42:61.
I am so grateful for all the
experiences I receive here on my mission. They truly are priceless!
Mom, I am excited to receive a letter
from you! : ) The family looks awesome and it’s super cool about Amy’s El Chepo
dance. Amanda, Happy Birthday!! I love you! Glad to hear everyone is well! Our
family is awesome, Mom! : ) And about
Missionties, if it costs money there’s no need to do it. I love the emails as
it is and a year without a letter is fine. Still haven´t received the Valentine
package as well…haha!
Dad, that analogy is perfect about
the thousand dollar bills (the gospel) that we hand out but no one sees the
value. It is hard, because the value of the Gospel is worth more than any
amount of money or worldly thing. That is crazy about the missionary returning
home! Sounds like he was a good missionary to stand up against a gang beating
on 2 women. A death threat is a good reason to come home two weeks early. What
is his name? And Dad, I want that piece of mom’s cake when I get home. I miss
that kind of cake. Ha-ha!
I love you Family!
Elder Hauck
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