Week 49: Só Aguas

So when I got here, the Sisters had already been teaching a family for a while. The family was awesome and very receptive, but hadn't yet been to church despite having been invited several weeks in a row. The dad, Emerson, was trying to quit smoking and had gone down from 4 packs a day to 5 cigarets and the girls were reading the Book of Mormon, but my companion wasn't sure if they'd really start going to church and would be baptized. But we kept teaching and last week they went to General Conference and *loved* it. The girls thought the chapel was the prettiest building they'd seen and Emerson said he felt the Spirit really strongly right when he entered. They liked listening to the apostles and the prophet, and promised to come back each Sunday to learn more.

They really wanted to be baptized, but one by one they had problems come up. Emerson, despite his best efforts, was having trouble kicking the last cigaret. Isabelly started to feel a little aprehensive and wasn't sure if she was really ready. The mom of the family goes to another church and wasn't sure if it was right for them to be baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ. And then Saturday night, Emerson's boss called and asked him to work on Sunday.

But you know what? This family has a ton of faith. Emerson stood up to his boss and said that he wouldn't be able to work Sunday because he'd be baptized. He smoked his last cigaret and has stopped completely. The girls realized that they really were ready and the mom started really supporting them.

Yesterday this sweet family was baptized and I'm ridiculously happy for them. We sang "As Famílias Poderão Ser Eternas" and it struck me how God really loves us and if we do our part He will help us to have eternal joy, which is to be with those we love forever. I'm so proud of Emerson and his daughters, and I know that his wife will soon follow their example. They're an awesome example of faith for me.

Love y'all!
Sister Hiatt

(Note from editor: Pictures were sent with this letter, but due to her computer being "a potato" they were inaccessible.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 47: Bem-Vindo, Amigo! Preparar-se Para Mudar

Image
So this week was pretty wild. I saw John (he's entering the CTM here and in a few weeks will serve no Missão Brasil São Paulo Oeste, which is awesome) and my mission president let me go to the airport to meet him (que foi um pouco trunky mas eu gostei). He's going to do awesome things on the mission, I know. Boa sorte, amigo! (In this picture he looks taller but that's because I'm behind him and the picture was taken at a weird angle. I am in fact taller, thank you very much) We had an awesome Zone Conference this week and I wanted to share with you some of my notes. I think sometimes we reach a certain point and then stop progressing. We're not as desperate to learn, we're not as humble, we think to ourselves, 'well, I'm not perfect, but I think I'm doing okay,' and use that as an excuse to stop changing. But in reality, we're here to change. God wants us to be perfect and when we stop repenting of the little things each day, we make H...
Read more

Week 3: In Which I Celebrate Thanksgiving, Work as a Sealer, and Get to Meet a German Shepherd

Image
Hey y'all! How have you been? How was Thanksgiving? I hope everyone had good food, and awesome family and friends to share it with. As good as your holiday may have been, though, I betcha mine was better. Thanksgiving morning we had a devotional given by a very special person, someone whom we were promised we would appreciate. And appreciate we did. It was quite possibly the coolest day of my life. You know how sick kids get to meet whoever they want, like through the Make a Wish Program or whatever? This person would have been my Make a Wish. They were super funny and also spiritual and just about the coolest person ever. They (and their spouse) gave a talk and then the best part was after when---hang on, I'm getting ahead of myself. The person (are you ready for this) was... drumroll, please.... ELDER DIETER F. UCHTDORF!!!!! Awesome, right? In the flesh. Like, I could see him. It was the coolest thing. Since it was Thanksgiving, he spoke about gratitude. My favorite was wha...
Read more

Week 56: Challenge Accepted

Image
So we're teaching this guy and he's pretty cool. His name is Anderson and he is an atheist. Now, there aren't a ton of atheists here in Brasil, and most of the ones we've met have been either slightly rude or politely disinterested in the gospel, but this guy is different. He lets us talk with him and teach and stuff, and every time we challenge him to do something, he does it (que significa que ele é menos mole do que a maioria de nossos pesquisadores, embora não acreditar em Deus). So he's been praying pretty much every day (even though he hasn't yet really felt the Spirit) and he went to church last week, and he watched the restoration video (you know, the one that's like an hour and a half long). So one day we were talking about stuff, and I was explaining that all these things are important because they prepare us to make covenants with God, like baptism. I then challenged him to prepare to be baptized. He had accepted all our other challenges until tha...
Read more