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| Someone forgot the umbrella!?!? |
On Monday I was able to visit Adriano in Hortlandia and surprise him. We took a bus there and met up with the sisters that are in the area now. We had asked them to mark a family night at his house. When we showed up with the sisters at his door he was so surprised, it was super funny and great to be there with them. We talked and had a great FHE with them. They have shown incredible faith and strength during their challenges. I am so grateful for the friendship I share with him and the opportunity I had to share the gospel with him. I look forward to their sealing next month.
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| Working with Elders Hainsworth and Christensen |
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| Zone Meeting with APs |
Thursday the assistants came to our area and we did divisions. So this time I went with Elder Hainsworth and my companion stayed with Elder Christensen. It was super great to work side by side. Practice a few techineques and learn some new ones as well as teach some people together. Brought back memories from the old days since Christensen and Hainsworth are from my CTM group. We speak a lot better Portuguese now but horrible English. haha. On the division we were knocking doors and we found João. Quite honestly ,he was a little hesitant to let us in. We testified to him that this message isn't just any message. It is a message that changes lives, and really brings blessings into our lives. He broke down and said that he studied in the church for a year and 8 months but had stopped. He let us in and as we entered the living room, we saw that he had a very large picture of the Temple in Campinas framed that was hung up on his wall. He also had a large Book of Mormon that was stored in the book case. We had a great first lesson about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited him to go to church and we marked another appt to comeback another day. He had had some personal challenges that caused him to fall away from going to church but as we talked you could see he was feeling the spirit and refinding the things that he was missing out on/had forgotten. It was a great to see.
Ana Lucia, one of our investigators that was supposed to be baptized this Saturday, ended up getting a bacterial infection and went to the hospital this past week. She is still there but we had the opportunity to go the hospital to visit her. We gave her a blessing and said a prayer there with her. She was sedated but it was a great experience because we could feel the hand of God taking care of her and watching over her.
Clayton is her son. We are teaching him as well. He was really affected by what happened with his mom. On Sunday when we went to pick him up for church he said that he wasnt going to go because he had only gone to sleep at 4 am because of all the worrying about his mom. After we spoke with him about the blessings that come from honoring the Sabbath, he agreed to come. He was only going to stay for Sacrament meeting and the first talk that was given was specifically for him. The person giving the talk told a story about a family who went through a situation similar to his and how the Lord blessed them with strength. It truly was a blessing to Clayton to hear this. We were all very glad he had made the choice to come to church and show his faith. It was a tender mercy from the Lord that he heard that talk and it gave him hope and strength.God truly does know what each and everyone of us need, He is just waiting for us to show our faith and show it through our works. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:17.
Saturday we had the privilege to go to the temple of Campinas to see a sealing of a family in our ward, our ward mission leader Ivan and his wife Eduarda. They are awesome and I was so thankful for the opportunity to be there. We do not get to go to the temple very often because it's not in our mission even though it's really close. It was great to have that opportunity. You can truly feel the spirit of the Lord in the temple. It is a great feeling of peace as you are able to learn more about Christ, Heavenly Father and His plan for us. Even being outside in the garden, you feel of His presence. We truly need to attend the temple with frequency and with a pure heart. There are so many blessings we gain there.
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| Brothers at the Temple together. So happy for Ivan! |
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| The joy of being at the temple! |
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| Rodrigo and Gina were there too! |
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| Templo de Campinas |
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| Templo de Campinas |
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| A Casa Do Senhor with Elder A. Silva -"Santidade Ao Senhor" |
This week as I have been studying the scriptures I have been thinking about if the Lord returned in this moment, what would be of us, and of me personally. Are we prepared for the coming of Christ? "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night" 2 Peter 3:10 We are not certain when He will come so we need to prepare ourselves spiritually everyday. We do not want to be part of the prophecy in Luke 21:26 that says "Men’s hearts failing them for fear" We need to go forward with purpose and focus on what truly is important and not what is merely satisfying momentarily. As we do the small important things we build that strong foundation and prepare ourselves. So let's read the scriptures, pray, fast, attend the temple, home teach/visit teach and magnify ourselves in the Lords callings so that we may be as Moroni."
... this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity. Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." Alma 48:16-17. Even though we have weaknesses, we can fortify ourselves in God that we may protect ourselves, our families, and our beliefs until the last day. We should always respect all people, but we also need to stand up for our beliefs. We need to stand and speak for Heavenly Father, His plan and our Savior Jesus Christ. I want you to know that I know Christ's church is here on the earth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is directed by revelation through a prophet by the Savior Jesus Christ. It is His church restored on this earth again. If you are not sure of this, I encourage you to ask Heavenly Father through personal study and prayer to help you have that confirmation in your heart.
Thank you for your love and support. Hope you have a great week.
Elder Davis
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