The Blessings of Baptism

                                                                                                                 February 1, 2016

Oi Familia!!! 

 

So, this week has been exciting and challenging all in one!! Yesterday we had the baptism of Emily,  She was adorable!! She had a lot of fear of the water, and after many attempts, she was immersed completely in the water.  

 

 All went well!! Robson came to the baptism and Stake conference as well!! Unfortunately, Sister Bezerra wasn´t able to make it :(. My companion and I were a bit scared that Emily wouldn´t be able to be baptized yesterday because it was really hard for her to be completely immersed without a leg popping up, or a part of her head peaking out of the water, but she did it!! After about 9 attempts or more in almost ice cold water, the poor thing trusted in Heavenly Father and had more confidence and courage to be baptized because she loves her Heavenly Father more than she has fear of the water.

Our district leader, Elder Seixas (on the far right) had the opportunity to baptize Emily

 

Yesterday, we also had our stake conference, and let me tell you, it was amazing!!

 

The night before, all of the missionaries were required to go the adult session on Saturday night, and I want to share a brief experience I had. One of the speakers who was a mission president in the past for Recife called all of the missionaries up to the stand near the pulpit. He had some of us bear testimony of missionary work, and testified that we are representatives of Jesus Christ.

 

 

At the end, he had all of us sing Called to Serve--the first verse just full-time missionaries, and the second verse, with all of the members. I remember when the members joined in, it was as if a hole in my heart was filled. We declared as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that we were followers of Jesus Christ, and we all have the responsibility to share with others who we are, and what we stand for.

We must share the sweetness of the gospel!

  The dessert ice cream we received in the house
of a member, Irma Solange one day. 

We all have the calling to be a missionary. It´s a commandment from our Heavenly Father when we are baptized. Every week we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, and this means that we represent Jesus Christ in all of our actions and words. I remember that as we sang together as members and missionaries, the spirit touched my heart, declaring to me that this truly is Heavenly Father´s work for the Salvation of His Children. As full time missionaries, we aren´t able to help others without the help of the members.

 

This past week Sister Rabbia and I had more opportunities to teach with members, and the members have such powerful testimonies of truth. They know exactly what to say by the Spirit, and working with them truly is a blessing and a treasure. 

 

I know that each one of us plays a part in the eternal salvation of our brothers and sisters. 

I also want to share a quote from a talk that was shared yesterday in Stake Conference. 

~O limite de Cristo era morte. Deus o ressuscitou. Qual é o seu limite?

The limit of Christ was death. God ressurrected Him. What is your limit?

In this talk, the speaker was talking about how we all reach our limit in this life when we feel like we can´t continue. We pass through trials so big that we just can´t seem to jump over them. But to Heavenly Father, there really is no limit to how much we can do. Jesus Christ already broke the boundaries of our limits, and through Him, we can come closer to Heavenly Father. Through Him, we can overcome any trial.

 

I love each and everyone of you!! Sorry I wasn´t able to write much this week, but I want to let you know that I am so proud of each one of you.

 

You all are wonderful missionaries, and never let one limit or trial get in the way of your faith or testimony. I know that missionary work is real. Heavenly Father is building His Kingdom both on this Earth and in the Spirit World, and we have the responsibility to be instruments in His Hands to complete His will, and fulfill His work.

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR KIND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT!!! I REALLY NEEDED TO HEAR THEM!!!

 



My summer time sunburn/tan from teaching in the hot weather



So funny to see horses lounging around!