March 11th letter

BUN DINHA!!

We had a pretty big miracle here in Vinhedo. David, a member, brought his neighbor Diógenes (gee-AH-gen-ees) to visit church last Sunday. He loved it and we scheduled to visit him at his house the next evening. There we taught him and two of his sisters about the Restauração [gospel restoration], and they accepted to read the Livro de Mórmon [Book of Mormon] and pray. We passed by Wednesday and everyone had already read the part in 3 Nephi 11. Diógenes had read it twice, I think, and received a response. He was super excited and open to everything. I remember when we got to talking about baptism, we explained about it and I looked at him and said "Diógenes, I know you are prepared to be baptized this Sunday" and he gave a big grin while I heard his sisters gasping in astonishment. I invited him to be baptized the coming Sunday and he said 'Com certeza' [For sure]. He explained to us that he had received the impression from God that we were going to invite him to be baptized that night.

Baptism of Diógenes (on the left, he usually has a smile on),
and on the right is David who baptized him.

We passed by the next day and explained the commandments, all of which he already knew. Then the interview on Saturday and baptism on Sunday! I have never seen anyone so prepared for baptism. He was already searching for a church, and wanting to start a new life and be baptized BEFORE we met him. Usually, the people we teach that are ready don't have this desire until after sharing one or two lessons. This is one reason that referrals and member missionary work are so important. The work becomes so much more productive when not just the full-time missionaries but also the members are looking for people who need the gospel, because the finding part is the most difficult. Think of the ratio between missionaries and members in a ward. If every member spent a little time doing this, finding God's elect would be a snap.

So to answer your questions, I've passed and blessed the sacrament a few times on the mission. Two weeks ago I passed the sacrament because we have a group (practically a branch) growing in the Capela area and there aren't very many young men.

Also about your comment Mom, at times it is very humbling to see the Spirit work through us to touch people. When I see this I think "Holy cow, this is the real deal. These are real lives being affected here." Sometimes I take things lightly and forget that our work is of saving souls. We hold a lot more power and authority than we understand. One thing I'm trying to do when I talk with anyone is imagine what Christ would do and imagine what he would do to help this person receive salvation. It would be awesome if I could figure out exactly what every single person we meet needs. But the problem is, it's hard! You have to have the Spirit with you and have to be completely concentrated on the person and not on when and where is our next appointment, and man I'm thirsty, and I wonder what I should do next preparation day, and man I'm hungry, and wow that song I heard yesterday was pretty cool (things that pass through my head if you didn't know). I'm learning a lot here in Brasil and I hope to learn more how to control my thoughts and focus on the needs of the people I'm teaching.

Family Home Evening activity with recently baptized family

Regarding the picture I included, we had a Noite Familiar [Family Night] at the home of a recent convert family. We gave a message about helping others, and as the object lesson we taped a broom behind the shoulders of two volunteers and we asked them to eat ice cream by themselves, which gives no option other than just diving in. But then we allowed them to help each other and they figured out that one of them could grab the spoon and feed the other and it's a lot more efficient. They thought it was cool so it must have been a success!

That's all for today! Com todo o amor do mundo [With all the love in the world],
Elder Bradford