(Elder Mackrory)
Bom dia amados amigos e familiares! Essa semana foi
novamente cheia se aprendizado e fuscas. Vimos 20, totalizando 931.
Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates in my
last email. This ones a long one to make up for last week. On pday we went to
arraial, a nearby tourist town. We did a little hike and went to the beach.
Lots of travel and left little time to write. But it was super cool and had
beautiful beaches and bays.
Notable things that happened last week:
-had district council on Friday due to interviews on the
same day
-had district conference, where we became a ward. Kind of.
The whole process of what actually happens is complicated. We're part of a
different stake now and the district to which we belonged no longer exists. We
are now a group of a ward instead of an independent branch. Some people see all
of this as a step back because usually branches are created to become wards
because of rapid growth. But the church here is not growing super fast, so it's
better that we have less units, and more united units. Lots of drama with
members here but it's OK we're working on that.
Alright. This week,
On Tuesday I had a division with the goated Elder Erekson.
He's super chill and a hard worker. Rare combo, but it's lit. We also had
district council and Elder Flores and I gave a really cool training on the Book
of Mormon. I learned a lot and felt the spirit.
On Wednesday we had a really cool lesson with my favorite
Argentine family. They all have testimonies really strong about the Book of
Mormon and are motivated to learn more and keep on the progression toward
baptism.
Thursday we had lunch with some members who usually just
send us money. Super great lunch, amazing. But the thing that was cool was the
fact that this dude has a sword. He was part of the navy, and so it's more of a
decorative and ceremonial sword, so it isn't sharp, but it's still really cool.
On Friday a miracle happened. Elder César, previously known
as Mariano, gave us a reference just as he left for the CTM. It's Brazilian
custom to make decorative goodbyes, quoting scripture and pronounce fancy
blessings. It's cool actually. When he was saying goodbye to this family and
they quoted a scripture from Alma. Elder César was like “wait a minute, from
where do you know that?” And they were like “oh these two young men showed up
at my house and left this book with me like 8 months ago”. So Elder César hits
us up and says “yo there's this family that wants to be taught but doesn't know
how to find you guys” and so we look them up, and sure enough, 8 months ago
this family was taught and then for some reason the missionaries stopped
teaching them. I get in contact with the missionaries who taught them, and find
out that the last lesson with them, the pastor of the local church was there
and stayed chill during the lesson, but talked all sorts of crap and nonsense
and the family asked that the missionaries stop coming. That the missionaries
did, but when we texted them on Friday, they were overjoyed to mark with us.
That night we visited them and they explained the whole story from their
perspective. The pastor did say all sorts of crap to stop the missionaries
then, but it also backfired on him because the family said that they felt so
bad about what he said that they stopped going to his church. The only reason
they didn't ask for the missionaries back is because they were embarrassed. But
they kept reading the book of Mormon as a family, praying, and living the
standards the missionaries had taught. We didn't teach them much this night, it
was more to get to know them and what they need, but I was shocked at one
thing. Yes their story is unique and unexpected, but that wasn't what grabbed
my attention. I'll give some background.
For those reading this who aren't members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, something that is interesting about us is
that we can recognize each other with somewhere around 75% accuracy. Put two
members of the church who don't know each other at a party, and it's a good bet
that by the end of the party they've found each other and became friends. Some
can say that it's because we have similar diets and therefore we generally look
similar, but I believe that it's something more than physical appearance. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints puts a large emphasis on acting in
a Christlike way. We try to act as Christ would act. It's not to say that no
other denomination does this, but that the way we define “Christlike” is
uniformly understood by members of the church. Our behavior contains minute
mannerisms and ways of talking and interacting that gives off a “light” of
sorts that we recognize in ourselves and others.
Alright, background over. This family is unique. Why did
they leave me shocked? They have “cara de membro”. I thought “Wow, they look
like members of the church”. Their dedication to the things the missionaries
taught is unlike any I've seen. They live the principles of the gospel with
such an exactness that their countenances shone. They emphasize personal study
of the scriptures and unity in the family, some of the church's principle
teachings.
Saturday. Ready for this? We were able to remark with this
marvelous family for Saturday and when we showed up, we got straight to the
point. Next month, if everything goes right, all four of them will be baptized.
The date we set looks a little early, but it's possible, and we'll be doing
everything we can to make it happen. I have nothing to do but this work and to
thank God for the care He has shown this family and the opportunity He has
given me to be a part of their spiritual journey.
Sunday. Ready for this again? So actually this family had
some trouble coming to church (actually valid reasons for not coming). But this
day was nonetheless very interesting and unexpected. We had church in the
afternoon for some reason. We thought it was because our newly called bishop
was gonna make tons of callings and had to also be present at another meeting,
but then no one was called. I gave a talk (18 hour notice). I was told 15
minutes and got to pulpit with 30 minutes to fill, being the last speaker. To
my surprise, I did it. Pro-tip: quote so many scriptures that you only end up
having to speak for half the time. Don't just explain the doctrine, Bear
testimony of every principle. Do these things and your talk in church will be
much easier to give. Right after church, a member I didn't know, but that
apparently attends the neighboring congregation, asked us if we had any lessons
in the evening. We had one, so we invited him to participate. Not sure if this
was a mistake or not. He gave us a ride to his house, we had cake and talked
about our plans for the lesson. He told him that the intent of the lesson was
to reinforce was has already been taught because it had been a while. He said
“OK, sounds great. I have a system that worked great on my mission for teaching
this”. So I asked “great! What is it?” He said “you're gonna love it”. Again, I
asked “I bet! How does it work?” “It's gonna be great. You guys will baptize so
much with this system”. So basically he wouldn't tell us his plan no matter how
many ways I invented to ask the same question. So I'm worried a bit, but we're
in too deep to say “we’ll take it from here, thanks anyways”. Like come on!
We're eating cake at his house and then say “nah we're good”. So we're just
gonna bite our tongue and hope his system is as good as he says. We get to the
lesson and he pulls out his laptop and started to present the lesson he
prepared alone. He started of great, quoting scriptures and giving simple
truths. But it was clear he did not want our help. But the friend were teaching
is eating it up, so we're OK with it. As the lesson continues, I realize that
his system so special is just the same system we use with more words.
Oversimplified and overcomplicated at the same time. I managed to fit a few
words in here and there, but this dude did not ever look like he was finishing
soon. After about an hour and a bit, he goes “and that's It. Any questions?”
“nope, I understood everything” responded our friend. So definitely our friend
has questions and understood very little. We left the lesson in awe. This man,
alone, took 75 minutes to teach what we get done in 15 minutes. The
missionaries did not teach a lesson with a member participating. The member
taught a lesson with the missionaries participating. Exhausting. Guys, if
you're ever accompanying the missionaries, just follow what they say and bear
simple testimony. Let them do the teaching. Maybe you served a mission before,
but they're serving now and have the systems that have been refined so much
since you were in the field. Don't worry, our friend sent us a message this
morning saying he loved the visit and wants to mark again, but we will
definitely have to answer a million questions and revisit every principle we
covered. Rant finished. Cake was really good though. That's a win.
That's it this week. Hope everyone enjoyed this
roller-coaster of an email.
Tender mercy: Honestly the message our friend sent us this
morning. I lost a bit of sleep worrying that he wouldn't want us back. He has
such a desire to know the truth and has such a strong testimony of the Book of
Mormon. I'm at ease now. Questions I can handle. Actually enjoy killing doubt
because when doubt is quenched, what comes in its place? Faith and
understanding, some of my favorite things.
Spiritual thought: when the Savior comes again, He will call
His elect. According to His Word, the elect are those who believe in Him and
hearken to His voice. Let us all say as Samuel of old, “Speak, Thy servant
heareth” Let us with joy and exactness follow His commands. In this there is
safety and peace. This week, seek the Lord’s voice in study and prayer. Seek to
know how you can more exactly keep His commandments and repent of your
shortcomings. In this there is joy. Not as the world giveth, but as He gives,
eternally. Hearken to His voice, and watch your life be free of all worries
about the future and past. Watch your problems disappear. Not because they stop
existing, but because they stop being problems; they become opportunities to
learn, grow, and teach. Go now, and fulfill His commandments. In conclusion,
Fear God, and keep His commandments. This is the whole duty of each man, woman,
and child.
Fotos: there will be a second email because there's a dumb
limit on the total size of files I can send on one email.
1. Que bicho
2. Sword
3. Tereré, my new favorite drink (did you know this kind of
straw is called a bomb? Looks like I'm gonna bring a bomb to the airport in a
little less than a year)
4. My teaching area
5. Arraial pday
6. Flower
7. Horse
8. Don't share this foto. CV is the biggest gang in Rio.
9. Meme
10. I'm dengue's worst enemy (killed like 15 mostquitos in a
row)
11. Pineapple after a long day goes hard
12. Dog
