NOSSA GENTE.
This week has been filled with many awesome things that make
me grateful for being alive here in Mossoró Brasil -
RAIN
RAIN
 |
| I love the rain |
1. You know how much I love fruta (fruit) right? So knowing exactly how fã (what a fan) I am, multiply that by like 10 MILLION
and you have how much Sister Arámburo loves fruit - it’s not even funny. We had
the prime opportunity of gaining 4 mamões (papaya) and
5 melões (honeydew) from this guy Germano that
we met for the first time. And we're
hauling this MASSIVE sacola of fruta (bag of fruit)
back home and passing melon here and there for random people on the street, but
we still arrived home with a good quantity of fruit to be enjoyed (perfeito) (perfect). Well so while we may have arrived home and
gone to sleep with 3 goodly sized melões (honeydew) and
3 huge mamões (papaya), I definitely woke up in
the morning to find that my sweet Mexican companion had eaten an ENTIRE mamão
SOZINHA (alone) and later consumed an entire
honeydew. ALSO SOZINHA (also alone). We have
been buying food as a casa (house) and sharing
the cost but we have unanimously decided that it wasn't such a good idea
because an entire sack of apples disappears in a matter of an hour if you're
not paying good attention. #whatdotheyputinthefruit? 
3. Officially joined the ranks of the time de futbol (soccer team) São Paulo (view jersey attached) - it's
like a life or death battle out here on the mission which team you side with.
It's funny because there's just a couple of crazy missionaries that get
all of the estrangeiros (foreigners) to root for
their team because we don't know any better #butttt #sãopaulo-soccerteam-ISTHEBEST
4. I have seen some pretty amazing examples of faith this
past week. Life really tries us sometimes and God tests us to see how much we
are willing to sacrifice. There's this guy we have been teaching who has really
been trying to be courageous and tell his parents that he wants to be baptized (his
sister was baptized about a month ago), and Caio approached his parents
this week to talk about it again. Beforehand, we talked with him about how his
mom would really try his faith as she had with his sister. We said that it
wouldn't be easy for him, and we asked him exactly WHY he wanted to be baptized
and what he would tell his mom. His response consisted of "all I want to
do is follow Christ. I want to serve Him like He's served me." He then
asked if we would pray for him (on top of his personal prayers) and we knelt in
that small side room of his humble home, asking God for strength to talk to his
mom and that she would understand. When we returned the next day, we found that
Caio had talked to his mom that very night, and after saying that he wanted to
be baptized, his mom came at him with vehement "essa nâo é a igreja
verdadeira" "vôce não ENTENDE o que vôce fala" "O Livro de
Mórmon é FALSO" and lots of other whiplashs. (“this
is not the true church” “you do not understand” “The book of Mormon is false”) Joyce (his sister recently baptized) came back
in rapid defense, bearing her sincere heart out that it really was true and
that it wasn't all nonsense. She wasn't shaken with the doubts of her mother
because the testimony she had gained hadn't come from the missionaries or from
some other person, but was knowledge gained through the spirit from the One who
knows all, God. There really was a test of his faith, and when we passed by to
see him the next day to head to church, he made excuses and wouldn't come with
us. I left his house just in tears because of how confused I was and how sad I
was this is what he had decided. As we are sitting in sacrament meeting, I was
thinking a lot about the Lord and how He must feel when we get so close to
choosing to obey and then turn away - it just tears your heart right out
because you really love these people and you know what decision will make them
happy.
But as we were starting the opening hymn, I looked around at
all those that were present and glancing towards the back I see one last family
slip in the double doors, shuffling in late into the last row. I see one green
shirt and a bright smile, and I turn back towards the front crying again
because it was Caio who had decided to come after all.
I think there will always be those who doubt and question us
in life, não importa (no matter) what your
stance or belief is. We will always be tested.
That's kind of the point of our life - but I know that God always gives
us strength to be stronger than the problems He gives us. He is always
there for us.
Feeling grateful, even if there is a significantly less
amount of mamão (papaya) in my stomach.
sending my love!!
