Principles with Promise

With the APs  and Elder Sander at Leadership Meeting

Oi todos-

This past week went by super fast. We had a great week. Carnival started and everybody left the small city where we are because there is nothing to do in our area that fits the "carnival crazy" party requirements. haha It is pretty mild where we are. It was tough to find anyone in their house or get them to answer the door but we gave it a shot. Didn't get much done in respect to teaching but it's all good! We have transfers tomorrow and I am staying in my area! My companion is leaving for the zone that I was in before coming here (Pirassununga). We kind of thought that my companion probably would be leaving, so we made the best of the week. It was awesome. My new companion will be Elder Vasconsales.

With Elder Sander & Passos at Leadership Meeting. Passos finished his mission.

This past Tuesday, we had another leadership meeting in Piracicaba. It was nice to see President again and all the friends of the mission that are zone and district leaders. Got to see Elder Sander and Elder Passos. Elder Passos is returning to his house tomorrow, he finished his mission. He is from Recife which is about a 3 hour flight from Sao Paulo. I think people do not realize how big Brasil is. Recife is not even on the most northern part of Brasil but he said if you drove by car it would take like 35 hours to get to his house from Piracicaba. So it would be like going from Charlotte to Utah or something like that. Brasil is so huge!! The meeting was great. President talked a lot about teaching principles with a promise and how to better teach our investigators that in order to feel the truthfulness of gospel principles they need to live them and reap the promises that come with obedience to them. He also spoke about how we need to help others by showing an example. Some questions he asked us to personally ask ourselves that I want to share with you is "Can we expect others to do the right thing if we aren't doing it ourselves? Can we expect to have everything go well when we aren't doing all we can? Are we helping others through our example? If others aren't doing the right thing do you follow their example or are you their example?" We often are worried about what others are doing and what they shouldn't be doing but really we need to focus on our example and choices. We need to let them see us enjoying the blessings of obedience. We can all help others through our example and that almost always speaks louder than our words. We all know that when we choose how to act or be it should based on what Christ would have us do rather than what is accepted by others. But it is not always easy. We need to do our best to represent Him in every moment, every place and every word and action. It was a great meeting that inspired me to reach a little higher and be a little better.

President Bangerter

After Leadership Mtg.

Thursday we had a zone meeting to relay the info we got from the leadership meeting and that went well. A sister in our District, Sister Araujo is ending her mission this week so we had a little party for her and took a zone picture. We had a zone t-shirts made and got them this past meeting so of course we had to get a photo with the t-shirts on.

Zone meeting - in our new zone t-shirts

With Elder Miki from our Zone

Sister Burbank and I at zone Meeting

Sister Cardoso trying to prove she has "grown"and is a spiritual giant

Last week of lunches with this guy

After lunch we learned how to call and feed the chickens.  Picking up all kinds of skills here.

Elder Vieira using his super powers...haha

Which one of these is not like the other? Got bit by something and this happened...

So my spiritual thought this week goes along with what President said about obedience on Tuesday. It is D&C 82:10.

"I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."

That scripture is a great reminder to all of us of the great blessings and promises that are there for us if we obey. I have a testimony of that - we have to have the faith to live the principle and then we will see the promised blessings come into our lives. Make it a great week!


Love you all!

Elder Davis