Taco Time!

TACOS -- This is a rarity here in Brazil

Dear Everyone!

Well, it's good to hear from you guys!  I'm glad Mormon Prom was a success.  I know all the things you guys are doing for those kids are super important.  They are the future missionaries, so keep them firm!  Thanks for the info about the new mission prez.  I already know that me and Sister Broadbent are gonna be tight, because we're both from the Bay.  But I already know I'll be sad when President and Sister Tanner leave because they are just such an awesome couple. 

So for these past few weeks, Elder Watt and I have been doing all we can to find the Lord's elect.  We have been doing our 10  conversations a week and showing the Lord our faith and desire to succeed.  It's been pretty tough this past little while because a lot of our investigators are super flakey when it comes to going to church, BUT the Lord has been blessing us with his tender mercies.  For example, this last week when we were walking in the favela, this lady behind us started calling out "Elder! Elder!"  We turned around and she started explaining to us that she was actually taught by the missionaries a few years ago and was about to be baptized, but it seems there were transfers and the area got closed, so she never went back.  She told us that she wants to go back to church really badly, and that she stopped drinking coffee (which is really an issue here in Brazil) and that her husband (who she is actually not married to -- another problem here in Brazil) stopped drinking alcohol.  We set up a visit with her for the next day and by the time we left that visit, my mouth was wide open.  We had found one of the Lord's elect and it made that day sososososo much better.  Unfortunately, she wasn't able to go to church this Sunday, BUT we haven't lost hope!  We're not gonna give up on her! 

But that was the little miracle of the week, even though she wasn't able to go to church. To me, it was a miracle because the Lord put us there at the right place and at the right time to meet with her; and if we hadn't been doing our contacts, we probably wouldn't have found her.  So this past week, I also got to do a division (split) with Elder Huxford again. He got moved from being a junior companion being trained, to District leader and trainer of a brand new missionary, without even finishing his 12 week training period -- so he's a powerhouse.  He's a really good missionary.  Even though he's still learning the language, he is doing super well. I learned a lot from the division and I'm going to apply what I learned here in Cidade Leonor. 

So this Saturday we are going to get a special visit from Elder Evans of the Seventy for all of the leaders in the missions in the São Paulo Area. It's great timing, because Elder Watt and I are looking for ways to help our zone the best that we can.  Apparently we are going to be focusing a lot on what we learn at this meeting and applying it in Leadership council and Zone conference, which we will have this next week. I just want you all to know that I'm excited for this upcoming week. I'm super optimistic and hoping that everything will go well this next week for us.  I hope that you all have a fantastic week.  I know that this work is truly the Lord's work. I know that through our hard work and faith and  sacrifice, we will be blessed in touching the hearts of the people here in our area.

Love you all!

Elder Schwartz

Chimarrão (my tribute to Elder Steil)