The Restoration Brings Great Blessings!

                                                                                                               March 7, 2016

HELLO FAMILY!!!!!                                                                           

 

This past week I had an incredible spiritual experience that I would like to share with you all.

 

Sis. Rabbia, me, and Sis. Caleira 

 

SO, Casa Verde, this area, makes me really trunky because it has just about everything in the United states, and many members talk about the United States often, and many members are leaving Brasil to study in the United States, and so on....Woo, it´s just a bit too much.

 

This transfer I have had some trouble staying focused on my mission, and on the people that I am here serving. With Sister Caleira, I felt the Spirit very strongly in almost every lesson, but here in Casa Verde, for some reason I have been teaching lessons, and I haven´t felt the Spirit very strongly for what I was teaching.


I love my companion! She is a wonderful teacher and we teach in harmony together, so I knew that there had to be something that I needed to improve on. 

Anyway, two days ago during our companion study, we studied about the Atonement. About halfway through our study, my companion turned to me, and asked me if I could teach her the message of the Restoration. Startled and a bit confused, I began to teach her about the Restoration.

I asked her questions about what she thought happened after the 12 apostles were killed, and so on. When it came to the part of the Restoration, I began to describe the life of Joseph Smith--how he really had doubts about who had the authority to baptize him, and which baptism would be valid in the heavens. I described his situation in much detail, and as I said that he knelt down and offered up a prayer to talk with His Father, I couldn´t speak. I began to cry uncontrollably, and I felt such a warm peace come over my heart. I felt so much love inside of me because the Spirit touched my heart in that sacred moment. The room fell silent, and I just sobbed. I began reciting the first vision in the words of Joseph, and I actually believed in his words for the first time in my mission. At the end of this experience, I testified of the Book of Mormon, and continued to cry as I bore testimony of it. How we can come to know our Father--our Heavenly Father from the words of the prophets in this book. At the end of the practice, my companion was in tears. We expressed our gratitude in heartfelt prayer for what happened in that room that day.

 

Later on, my companion told me that she had a spiritual experience in that moment. She had been telling me that she had been feeling discouraged in the mission because she hadn´t really had a ´´spiritual´´ experience in the mission, and this had made her want to return home. She told me that that message of the Restoration really helped her feel of Heavenly Father´s love, and had comforted her heart immensely. I too, needed that experience. I had been feeling trunky and discouraged in this area that is very difficult to work in, and I had thought that I had lost the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Until that moment, I remembered why I am here on the mission. That I am here because of that young man´s prayer in 1820. Because of that young man´s faith and obedience, and because I am here because I know that the Church of Jesus Christ was restored by Heavenly Father´s faithful servant, Joseph Smith.




As missionaries we teach so often lessons of the Restoration of the Gospel, but it is one thing to teach a rehearsed lesson, and another to actually believe it. I encourage you all this week to study Chapter 3 of Preach my Gospel--the chapter of the Restoration, and you will begin to find that it is a simple message to share with your friends.



We went on splits with two Sisters (returned missionaries) in our Ward



For a short time, I got to work with Sis. Danielle

We have been working with Maria Luisa this past week, but she still is ashamed of her circumstance in her home because of the rain. The rain leaks through her ceiling in her home, causing her home to be full of buckets of water that she needs to empty every hour. She is pretty hold, and the buckets of water are pretty heavy to carry, so one day we helped her carry out the water in her home. We also had the opportunity to give her two sweaters that were passed down to us by our neighbor, Donna ester, another elderly lady who is an investigator. Maria Luisa couldn´t stop wearing the sweaters around in the house and smiling, admiring herself in the mirror, and thanking us. It was like seeing a child receive presents on Christmas day. She doesn´t have many clothes, so this really made the difference in her life.

 

As for Donna Ester, who is 79 years old, she came to church last week, and absolutely loved it. She recently had a dream that she was in a lot of water, with a young man by her side, and that she almost fell in the water....When she told us about this dream, we automatically knew it was about baptism. She also has some fears like Maria Luisa to be baptized because she was already baptized three times in her life. We are going to work with her this week to strengthen her. 

 

Have a wonderful gente!! I love you all so much!!!