Almoço Em Casa

Lunch at Home

Dear Family!

Man, it sounds like you guys are still staying busy!  That's good to hear.  Hey not to be trunky, but Nate only has one month left!  THAT IS SO CRAZY!  It seemed like it was yesterday when that kid left and now he's coming home a man.  So weird.  But good thing I still have a lot of time left to serve!  I don't want it to end! 

This past week was really great!  The investigators are doing well.  We found a lot of really good people this week.  For example, a member was found by a less-active girl and she said that she wants to come back to church and bring her family.  So that was an awesome miracle.  Unfortunately, they didn't go to church because of a medical emergency, but they promised us for next week. We're really excited for them.  Another really sweet experience that we had this past week was we got invited by a Karate Sensei to come to his dojo, and he said that if we went and trained with him for a session, he would come to our church.  So of course we took the challenge and went. It was pretty sweet.  He taught us some basic defense techniques and a few other things.  Then there was the teaching moment.  Sensei made us and his students sit in a circle so we could talk about religion. He said he invited us to teach his students to have an open mind and to search the truths of all things.  Then he started talking about all the apostasy around here in Brazil with religions.  So here there's the two main Christian beliefs: Roman Catholic and Evangelical (Protestants).  So, Sensei says he was born Catholic but doesn't really practice, so he just started bashing the Catholic churches and all the other chuches here in Brazil that are just pastors getting paid in "tithing".  He then started asking us about our church and we answered his questions and it just made us sound really good, and he then started telling all of his students to go to our church and telling them how he promised us that he was going to go.  It was really sweet, and he says he wants us to come back to talk to more of his students. We have developed a really good relationship now, and we're going to go there this next week and find new investigators.

Also this week, I got the chance to do another division with Elder Teixera who is another one of the office elders.  It was a really good division.  It was good to see how their area was doing and to see how other missionaries work.  Then that night we had a really sweet activity.  It was a Pre-Ward Conference event where the members put on a little show for everyone.  It was amazing!  And the best part was that there was a lot of friends that came.  And then the next day we had our ward conference which was so powerful.  I learned so much from the talks that were given and the Spirit that was there.  But I think the biggest lesson that I learned was from the High Counselor over missionary work.  He was talking to us for a little bit and he talked to us about the principle of faith.  He said that if we focus our minds on something and just visualize it for the whole day on it, then the miracles happen.  For example, If I were to leave in the morning and visualize and focus and have 100% certainty that I will find one of the Lord's elect, I will find one.  It's something I feel like I have been lacking, just really setting my mind on the miracles to happen and truly believing that they will.  I usually just focus on the million things that we have to do, but if I just set my mind on that one thing, I know it will happen. 

Well I'm about out of time, but I love you all and thank you all so much for the support you are giving me! Until next week!

Love,

Elder Schwartz