Hey everybody!
I had another great week here in Cruzeiro! Even though it is a tough area and there aren´t a lot of members, I love it here! I really saw Heavenly Father´s hand in work this week. We have been working super hard to find people to teach, but the only way to do that here is to knock doors because there are so few members. We have been working as hard as possible to do this, and Heavenly Father blessed us with a lot of people to teach this week! It was awesome! Here are the things that happened this week:
9. I got hit by bird droppings on Thursday.
8. I stepped in a massive pile of horse dung on Friday
7. A dog licked all over the straw part of my water bottle on Saturday.
6. A drunk guy bought us soda. We were passing by a bar on the way home, and this guy calls us over right outside. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but then he yelled into the bar that he was going to buy us a two liter soda. The bar didn´t have any, so he just bought us each a can of Guaranita and a can of Coca-Cola.
5. My companion had to go to Sao Paulo with two other missionaries from our district to renew his Visa and get his Brasilian ID, called a CPF. Americans don´t receive the CPF until they have been here for 6 months. I went on divisions with Elder Jaime and Elder Tuttle. However, the morning that they were supposed to leave, Elder Hatch called us to come get him and told us that the bus station wouldn´t let him on the bus because he didn´t have a CPF. That´s one of the crazy things about Brasil. They have laws like that, but only a couple people follow them. I haven´t had any trouble going on busses without the CPF yet. My comp just got unlucky. Elder Hatch and I are going to try to go again on Wednesday.
4. Celso. Celso is this super old guy we met knocking on doors. Usually, super old people are hard to talk to. They are either old men that are missing teeth and are impossible to understand, or they are old Catholic women who won´t talk about anything except "Nossa Senhora, Maria". However, we started explaining about the purpose of the Book of Mormon to Celso, and how it is another Testament of Jesus Christ. We asked him at the end if he would read it, and he said, "well I have to, don´t I?" Lots of people say this, but don´t do anything, but we came back to check on him three days later. When he saw us at the door, he shuffled back inside. He came back out holding the Book of Mormon and said: " the theology in this book is fantastic!" It turns out that he had read 16 chapters in four days! We have an appointment scheduled with him for this week.
3. Fernando. We visited Fernando twice this week, and the second time we showed him the film of the Restoration. He thinks that everything about the church makes sense. I can see his testimony growing.
2. Lucas and Ires. We met Lucas and Ires last week knocking on doors. They are a young couple with a 9 year old daughter. When we knocked on their door, they let us right in, and we taught them the Restoration. We left Books of Mormon with them and came back this week. They actually started reading, and even watched some of President Nelson´s Conference address. We taught them twice this week. Lucas told us that everything we have taught him makes sense. And, yesterday, they came to church!!!!! It was so awesome! The testimonies people bore were perfect for them, and both Lucas and Ires really liked it.
1. Adriano. We met with Adriano once this week and read 3 Nephi 27 with him. That chapter talks about Christ´s church and His doctrine/gospel. When we finished reading, I asked him if he believes the Book of Mormon is true. He said yes. We then read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with him. The intro talks about the three proofs of the Book of Mormon: 1. Christ is our Savior and He lives, 2. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, 3. The Church of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God on the earth. I asked him if he believes those three things. He said yes. I asked him if he has prayed about this. He said no, but he said he would this week. I then asked him if he receives confirmation if he would be baptized by someone who has priesthood authority. He said yes!! He still has problems with some of the commandments, but when we go back there next week, if he has received an answer, we will talk with him about what he needs to do to prepare for baptism.
Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 5:13
Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.
I love representing the Savior in Brasil, I love my companion, I love the Gospel and Atonement of Christ, I love my family, and I love my Redeemer. I am ready and excited to work harder, learn more, and love better this week!
Love,
Elder Warren Matthew Dudley
Pictures:
#1 Up the Hill
#2 Elder Hatch and me
#3 The English Class book
#4-6 The Tracks
#7 - A Capybara at the River
#8 Our wonderful cell phone
#9 - The best soda ever - Guaranita!!!
