Hello everybody!
So this keyboard is really hard to type on, I´ll just say that right now. But it is about 4 o´clock right now and so far, I´ve had an AWESOME p-day, but I´ll talk about that more later.
So, this week was probably the best I´ve had on the mission and I´ll just go ahead and credit it to the help we got from the member´s (hint hint). We moved into our new house this week, but our furniture and appliances haven´t showed up yet, so we´ve been living in the stone age! But it is really nice. it was funny because all of our stuff was brought over in a little tiny truck piled about 8 feet high. I have a picture (but no way to send it... pois é).
Tuesday, we had interviews with the President. We waited about 4 hours until it was our turn, and he had been taking a while with the other elders. So Elder Baltazar went in and i was helping the secretaries out (because I was bored out of my mind!) and about 5 minutes after he went in, he came back out. He called me in, we chatted for a bit and he said ´´Well, I don´t have any questions for you, so if you don´t have any questions could you offer a prayer?´´ I won´t lie, I felt cheated! But then again, interviews aren´t really to chat for 30 minutes, so I counted my blessings for the other 25 minutes. After, we went to Burger King and headed back to our area. We had the baptismal interview for Carlos about an hour after we got back. Theres a cool story that goes with this too!
So, Carlos went to church on Sunday and really enjoyed it, and he had already gone a few times, so he could be baptised if he wanted. We set an appointment for the interview and headed on our way. During the day of the interview, he was having some doubts and he was just talking to himself, thinking what he would do. He at first thought he would just go down the street and forget about being baptised, but he thought about it more, and decided he would sit and wait 15 minutes, and then leave. So he made up his mind and sat down to wait. The instant he sat down, we called out to let him know that we were here. He told the elder interviewing him that he would never leave the church ever because of that.
It was just one of those things where it really wasn´t because of the missionaries that he was baptised. We were just doing what we were supposed to, and the Lord did the rest. It really amazed me. I was blessed with the honor of baptising him the next day. He was the only member of the family not baptised, so I hope they will be ready to go to the temple when the temple is ready for them!
But this week gets better! On Thursday, we set up an appointment with a member to teach some kids at the church before we played soccer. So we prepared the first lesson and we went to go teach them. The member shows up, and he had 7 teenaged boys with him. We were floored. We went in and taught, and every single one of them payed attention the whole time. 7 boys, waiting to play soccer, payed attention to us talk for 30 minutes. We were amazed. Every one of them passed on their addresses for us to talk to their families too. We taught some of them on Saturday and they were all excited about our message. We had five investigators at church on Sunday. We were very happy and the member I think was even happier than we were!
Today was awesome too! We went to the city center, which is actually by the beach. There is a big shopping center there, and we walked around for about 3 hours just looking at all the things they had (Think downtown el Paso times 10). Afterwards, we ate at a really good self service restaurant, and on our way back, we went to a HUGE Cathedral. It was all white on the inside and had the stained glass and everything. I took pictures and everything, but I´ll show them to you later. I ended up buying a Corinthians Jersey for R$15. It is super awesome! Its white with a red dragon and yeah... I´m excited about it!
All in all, that was our week. Lots of fun and lots of hard work! But that´s all I have today!
Vós amo muito! Sempre se lembre que Deus nos ama mais do que qual quer pessoa no mundo! Ou seja, como a gente fala aqui, Deus é fiel!
Com um embração,
Elder Cornwell.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
I can´t remember if this week was busy or not...
Hello again!
So this week was a different week again. We had a bunch of things that weren't holidays kind of get in the way of the work, but all in all the week went on just normal! Also, I managed to borrow a card reader from another elder for today, so I sent some pictures of my area and other goings-on.
There weren’t any events of real significance this week. It was just the normal work work work. We have 4 investigators who are coming along, so I've taught the "hard" lessons a bunch of times (tithing, word of wisdom and chastity). It wasn't that rough for me because we had 2 straight weeks of nothing and I just wanted to get back in it. So this week was a lot better because we actually got a chance to talk to people!
On Thursday we had splits because of some training for the leaders, so Elder Heath and I had both of our areas (which was a lot of walking). We had lunch in his area, then went home and studied, back to my area, taught Aline and Silvana some commandments, then back to his area to teach a couple who had been together for 14 years but not married. We taught them chastity and it was funny because the wife was joking around and the husband was seemingly uncomfortable with her doing that. He didn't want to get married because "everyone gets married and divorced, I don't want to break apart" like marriage is going to make them separate. I said "You've been together for 14 years already... don't you think your relationship would last a lot longer with the promised blessings of marriage?" They didn't respond hehehe.
On Saturday we went to a member's house for lunch, but on the way we passed through the feira, which is basically a big outdoor market. It was cool to walk through because it was all fake stuff and fresh fruit. It was the kind of thing mom would LOVE. It was kind of like in El Paso, but they weren’t stores, just little stands. I ended up buying a Fortaleza jersey for R$10 or like $6... score! Definitely not an original, but I don’t care! They have a big central market here that we will probably go to next week that is all stores and stuff. There is just always something going on in this town.
The only other thing to really happen was Sunday, we brought a less active member and her husband to church, and afterwards her husband really liked it. It turns out he has already been before, so we started going forward with preparing for baptism. He is really excited about it. His family was baptised but he wasn’t, so it’s a cool chance for us. It was funny, in sacrament meeting, we were sitting there and Elder Baltazar tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to them. I looked over and he had a package of cookies and offered some to us with a big smile. It made me chuckle.
So that's really all I have this week! Hope you like the pictures I attached!
Love you all!
Elder Cornwell
P.S. Congrats to Drew and Chrissy for the arrival of Mason! Now Drew can torment someone other than me! Also for Mike, STEELERS LOST! PPPBBBBBBBLHLHLHLLTTLHLTHT ;)
So this week was a different week again. We had a bunch of things that weren't holidays kind of get in the way of the work, but all in all the week went on just normal! Also, I managed to borrow a card reader from another elder for today, so I sent some pictures of my area and other goings-on.
There weren’t any events of real significance this week. It was just the normal work work work. We have 4 investigators who are coming along, so I've taught the "hard" lessons a bunch of times (tithing, word of wisdom and chastity). It wasn't that rough for me because we had 2 straight weeks of nothing and I just wanted to get back in it. So this week was a lot better because we actually got a chance to talk to people!
On Thursday we had splits because of some training for the leaders, so Elder Heath and I had both of our areas (which was a lot of walking). We had lunch in his area, then went home and studied, back to my area, taught Aline and Silvana some commandments, then back to his area to teach a couple who had been together for 14 years but not married. We taught them chastity and it was funny because the wife was joking around and the husband was seemingly uncomfortable with her doing that. He didn't want to get married because "everyone gets married and divorced, I don't want to break apart" like marriage is going to make them separate. I said "You've been together for 14 years already... don't you think your relationship would last a lot longer with the promised blessings of marriage?" They didn't respond hehehe.
On Saturday we went to a member's house for lunch, but on the way we passed through the feira, which is basically a big outdoor market. It was cool to walk through because it was all fake stuff and fresh fruit. It was the kind of thing mom would LOVE. It was kind of like in El Paso, but they weren’t stores, just little stands. I ended up buying a Fortaleza jersey for R$10 or like $6... score! Definitely not an original, but I don’t care! They have a big central market here that we will probably go to next week that is all stores and stuff. There is just always something going on in this town.
The only other thing to really happen was Sunday, we brought a less active member and her husband to church, and afterwards her husband really liked it. It turns out he has already been before, so we started going forward with preparing for baptism. He is really excited about it. His family was baptised but he wasn’t, so it’s a cool chance for us. It was funny, in sacrament meeting, we were sitting there and Elder Baltazar tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to them. I looked over and he had a package of cookies and offered some to us with a big smile. It made me chuckle.
So that's really all I have this week! Hope you like the pictures I attached!
Love you all!
Elder Cornwell
P.S. Congrats to Drew and Chrissy for the arrival of Mason! Now Drew can torment someone other than me! Also for Mike, STEELERS LOST! PPPBBBBBBBLHLHLHLLTTLHLTHT ;)
Monday, January 2, 2012
Slow Week; Sick Missionary
So we got another uneventful week. Everyone in my area either left town or was in a state of drunkenness for about a week straight... that´s my mission! Also, my companion took it upon himself to share everything within the companionship so low and behold, I have a cold! Who would´ve known that was possible here? Its been 90 degrees everyday practically... which here is WAY hotter than 85.
This week was just slow in general. We went by member´s and investigator´s houses just hoping that someone was home so we would have 40 minutes less of wandering around the town. The only people we visited frequently were Aline and Aldênia. They´re both building a strong foundation with their testimonies, but still have some fears about baptism, so we´re just going one step at a time.
We are also teaching this family (Mom Dad and 2 daughters) and the two girls practically eat out of my palm. Its just ridiculous. Elder Baltazar will talk and invite them to do things and they will just be like ´eeeh, sure.´ But whenever I talk or invite them to do things, they are just straight smiles and giggling and they say they will do anything I ask. Saturday night, we were inviting EVERYONE to go to church and we stopped by there. Elder Baltazar invited them to Church and they thought it was kind of early and I said ´´Só acorda um pouco cedo, e nós vamos lá!´´ Which is basically ´´Get up early then you lazy bums!´´. They went for it. Of course they didn´t go to church, so I think that whole admiration thing won´t be a problem when it comes to joining the church.
Other than that, New Years, we stayed up and made food, and ate until midnight. Made noise and whatnot, then went to bed. It was LOUD because everyone was doing the same kind of fireworks (not even colored!).
In reality, that was my week. Nothing really of note. Also, I´m sick and have no desire to think at the moment.
Love you all!
Elder Cornwell.
This week was just slow in general. We went by member´s and investigator´s houses just hoping that someone was home so we would have 40 minutes less of wandering around the town. The only people we visited frequently were Aline and Aldênia. They´re both building a strong foundation with their testimonies, but still have some fears about baptism, so we´re just going one step at a time.
We are also teaching this family (Mom Dad and 2 daughters) and the two girls practically eat out of my palm. Its just ridiculous. Elder Baltazar will talk and invite them to do things and they will just be like ´eeeh, sure.´ But whenever I talk or invite them to do things, they are just straight smiles and giggling and they say they will do anything I ask. Saturday night, we were inviting EVERYONE to go to church and we stopped by there. Elder Baltazar invited them to Church and they thought it was kind of early and I said ´´Só acorda um pouco cedo, e nós vamos lá!´´ Which is basically ´´Get up early then you lazy bums!´´. They went for it. Of course they didn´t go to church, so I think that whole admiration thing won´t be a problem when it comes to joining the church.
Other than that, New Years, we stayed up and made food, and ate until midnight. Made noise and whatnot, then went to bed. It was LOUD because everyone was doing the same kind of fireworks (not even colored!).
In reality, that was my week. Nothing really of note. Also, I´m sick and have no desire to think at the moment.
Love you all!
Elder Cornwell.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Was it Christmas?
Hello and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!
It didn´t really feel like Christmas, mainly because it was 85 out, everybody was drinking and nobody was at church. We had 15 people in our Church Meeting of 30 minutes. I thought it was ironic. Elder Baltazar said that that was his first time going to sacrament meeting on Christmas!
Pretty much everyone here went on a trip somewhere so we´ve had no one to teach and no members to talk to, so this week was very uneventful.
Our Christmas party was fun though. We had a talent show which was finished by President Souza when he played guitar and sang for sister Souza hahaha I will never forget that. After we had a huuuuge lunch and then finished with a Christmas program done by the Zone Leaders. All in all it was an enjoyable experience. We returned home at 8:30 and that was that day.
Christmas, we had church early, and then we called home (which was way awesome!). AT about 2 we went to George and Monalisa´s house for lunch and they had a tooooonn of food for us and we ate and talked and just enjoyed the time for about 2 hours. Then we went back home because everyone else was out of town. Elder BAltazar and I were alone in the house (which is odd in a house of 8 elders) so we just watched church movies and ate treats until like 9 when the others came back and then we played card games until we went to sleep. IT was a fun day, but it just didn´t feel like Christmas(I think because of the Forro playing and the fact that was 85 out helped).
But really, that was my week! Sorry it was uneventful, and I´ll apologize in advance for next week because it will be worse!
Love you all!
Elder Cornwell
Note from Allison: We spoke to Kyle for about an hour yesterday. Michele, Kate, Drew and Mike were also able to speak to him (some via cell phones/speaker phone combo).
Kyle is doing very well and is enjoying his experience immensely. He says he also LOVES the food (beans, rice, pasta and meat and lots of very good fresh fruit).
Monday, December 19, 2011
Manna From Heaven
E aí meus amados?
All is well here. It rained yesterday and it´s a little overcast and cool here so I´m doing pretty good! So it’s the end of the transfer and basically everybody is staying in the house except for the Elder who finished his 2 years... he is being replaced by another Elder on his last transfer. We all feel sorry for this other Elder because his old companion wasn´t diligent and his new companion has been dead since before Elder Baltazar got here (7 months about).
As for this week, it was kind of just go go go the whole time. I didn´t bring my planner with me, so I can´t give the details of all that happened this week, but here goes the good stuff!
WE went to Aldeota earlier in the week because Elder Baltazar had to pay to get his camera fixed at the Samsung place, and then we came back and ate at the Sister´s house who was less active. We ate A LOT. I thought I was going to pop, but not die... somehow the food here just doesn´t kill me everytime I gorge myself. After that, Elder Heath and I went on exchanges together in Sitío São João for the rest of the day. We talked to three families that day, which was kind of a miracle! We understood well and talked well too. t was awesome because the last family we talked to we actually approached on the street. The son, Gutemberg, was on the curb playing guitar and his Dad was sitting out there too. Elder Heath played guitar too, so he approached him and talked a little about it. Then the conversation shifted to us and our missions, so we explained that we go around and share messages of happiness through Jesus Christ. We asked if we could share the message with them and they gladfully accepted. Turns out Gutemberg has already gone to church a couple times with a friend who is preparing for a mission. Elder Heath had never heard of this family, so it was pretty much a miracle that we passed by. He got four new investigators out of that. I came back to find that Elder Baltazar had gone with a member and visited 4 of her friends who were all excited about the gospel. We were really in need of more people to teach, so we really had some help there.
The next real specific thing I can remember is Sunday. We had an investigator who couldn´t come to church in the afternoon, but he could go to the other ward in the morning. We weren´t able to go so afterwards, we asked the other elders if he was there. They said no, but someone in our ward just randomly showed up. He lives in our area and has been going to church off and on since he was 8, but was never baptized. He is 19 now, so he’s familiar with the church.
Also, a friend of the member (Layane) came to church with her. Turns out he was investigating in Joãozeiro and was close to being baptized (she has a testimony and a desire), but one day the Elders just stopped showing up. She ended up moving up here and now she lives in our ward.
Two new investigators just fell in our laps when our other 16 that we found didn´t come. I guess the Lord is telling us where our place in this whole process is. It’s frustrating to work so hard and have no fruits come from our labors, but we are always overwhelmed with joy when we wake up and there is manna outside our door.
Anyways, it is Christmas season here, but it is hot, and no one really decorates in this part of Fortaleza, so it really doesn´t feel like it. We have a mission wide Christmas party on wednesday, with our district meeting in the morning, so that day is basically shot. Oh well, we will have a good time with it!
This was my President´s response to my weekly report
Caro Elder Cornwell,
Estou maravilhado com seu progresso. Parabéns por mais um batismo. Aprecio seu empenho em fazer um trabalho ainda mais excelente e em aprender o idioma e sotaque. Continue se qualificando para futuras responsabilidades na missão.
You can Google translate that later. (Allison’s note: here is the “Google” translation – “Dear Elder Cornwell,
I am amazed at your progress. Congratulations for a baptism. I appreciate your commitment to work even the most excellent and learn the language and accent. Continue qualifying for future responsibilities in the mission.”)
But also, my companion continues to express his feelings that I will continue progressing at a rapid pace. I can´t tell this myself. I´m just trying to keep the rules and do what I should be, which in reality is a C, but I´m receiving blessings that I ask for like I am earning an A. I always have something I can improve on, so I always can be better.
That’s all I have for this week! Also, thank you for all the letters! And give the Lee´s a big hug for me!
Felíz Natal para todo mundo! Eu vos amo muito!
Com amor,
Elder Cornwell
Questions and Answers:
• Are you calling on Christmas?
I am calling on Christmas... we have only sacrament meeting, but I still don´t know when I´ll call.
• Can the Brazilians pronounce “Cornwell?” If not, how do they say it?
Not even close. It takes about 2 weeks for them. They say ´´Cawwull´´ or something like it.
• Are you feeling well?
I´m feeling good! I just live with 6 other missionaries... BLECH
• How far do you walk each day?
Probably 6 or 7 miles. Not sure exactly.
• Are your shoes holding up?
They are indeed
• How far did you go to take your investigator to and from church (the one who wasn’t sure she wanted to have you teach her anymore and gave you chocolates when you took her home)? Did you walk?
We went to Palmeiras II near the edge of that and Palmeiras to Tamandaré so I think like 2 miles there maybe.
• Do you know your physical address now? If so, is it secure to send mail there?
I do, but they want us to send all mail to the mission office and it gets distributed weekly.
All is well here. It rained yesterday and it´s a little overcast and cool here so I´m doing pretty good! So it’s the end of the transfer and basically everybody is staying in the house except for the Elder who finished his 2 years... he is being replaced by another Elder on his last transfer. We all feel sorry for this other Elder because his old companion wasn´t diligent and his new companion has been dead since before Elder Baltazar got here (7 months about).
As for this week, it was kind of just go go go the whole time. I didn´t bring my planner with me, so I can´t give the details of all that happened this week, but here goes the good stuff!
WE went to Aldeota earlier in the week because Elder Baltazar had to pay to get his camera fixed at the Samsung place, and then we came back and ate at the Sister´s house who was less active. We ate A LOT. I thought I was going to pop, but not die... somehow the food here just doesn´t kill me everytime I gorge myself. After that, Elder Heath and I went on exchanges together in Sitío São João for the rest of the day. We talked to three families that day, which was kind of a miracle! We understood well and talked well too. t was awesome because the last family we talked to we actually approached on the street. The son, Gutemberg, was on the curb playing guitar and his Dad was sitting out there too. Elder Heath played guitar too, so he approached him and talked a little about it. Then the conversation shifted to us and our missions, so we explained that we go around and share messages of happiness through Jesus Christ. We asked if we could share the message with them and they gladfully accepted. Turns out Gutemberg has already gone to church a couple times with a friend who is preparing for a mission. Elder Heath had never heard of this family, so it was pretty much a miracle that we passed by. He got four new investigators out of that. I came back to find that Elder Baltazar had gone with a member and visited 4 of her friends who were all excited about the gospel. We were really in need of more people to teach, so we really had some help there.
The next real specific thing I can remember is Sunday. We had an investigator who couldn´t come to church in the afternoon, but he could go to the other ward in the morning. We weren´t able to go so afterwards, we asked the other elders if he was there. They said no, but someone in our ward just randomly showed up. He lives in our area and has been going to church off and on since he was 8, but was never baptized. He is 19 now, so he’s familiar with the church.
Also, a friend of the member (Layane) came to church with her. Turns out he was investigating in Joãozeiro and was close to being baptized (she has a testimony and a desire), but one day the Elders just stopped showing up. She ended up moving up here and now she lives in our ward.
Two new investigators just fell in our laps when our other 16 that we found didn´t come. I guess the Lord is telling us where our place in this whole process is. It’s frustrating to work so hard and have no fruits come from our labors, but we are always overwhelmed with joy when we wake up and there is manna outside our door.
Anyways, it is Christmas season here, but it is hot, and no one really decorates in this part of Fortaleza, so it really doesn´t feel like it. We have a mission wide Christmas party on wednesday, with our district meeting in the morning, so that day is basically shot. Oh well, we will have a good time with it!
This was my President´s response to my weekly report
Caro Elder Cornwell,
Estou maravilhado com seu progresso. Parabéns por mais um batismo. Aprecio seu empenho em fazer um trabalho ainda mais excelente e em aprender o idioma e sotaque. Continue se qualificando para futuras responsabilidades na missão.
You can Google translate that later. (Allison’s note: here is the “Google” translation – “Dear Elder Cornwell,
I am amazed at your progress. Congratulations for a baptism. I appreciate your commitment to work even the most excellent and learn the language and accent. Continue qualifying for future responsibilities in the mission.”)
But also, my companion continues to express his feelings that I will continue progressing at a rapid pace. I can´t tell this myself. I´m just trying to keep the rules and do what I should be, which in reality is a C, but I´m receiving blessings that I ask for like I am earning an A. I always have something I can improve on, so I always can be better.
That’s all I have for this week! Also, thank you for all the letters! And give the Lee´s a big hug for me!
Felíz Natal para todo mundo! Eu vos amo muito!
Com amor,
Elder Cornwell
Questions and Answers:
• Are you calling on Christmas?
I am calling on Christmas... we have only sacrament meeting, but I still don´t know when I´ll call.
• Can the Brazilians pronounce “Cornwell?” If not, how do they say it?
Not even close. It takes about 2 weeks for them. They say ´´Cawwull´´ or something like it.
• Are you feeling well?
I´m feeling good! I just live with 6 other missionaries... BLECH
• How far do you walk each day?
Probably 6 or 7 miles. Not sure exactly.
• Are your shoes holding up?
They are indeed
• How far did you go to take your investigator to and from church (the one who wasn’t sure she wanted to have you teach her anymore and gave you chocolates when you took her home)? Did you walk?
We went to Palmeiras II near the edge of that and Palmeiras to Tamandaré so I think like 2 miles there maybe.
• Do you know your physical address now? If so, is it secure to send mail there?
I do, but they want us to send all mail to the mission office and it gets distributed weekly.
Monday, December 12, 2011
It's a Little Hot Out Here
Hello everybody!
So I just have to relate this funny experience really quick. Yesterday, we were walking to church with an investigator and I saw something climbing on the power lines and I thought "that's funny, a squirrel!" I looked closely and I realised it was a small lemur type animal. I pointed it out and our investigator Aline said "Sagui!" (Allison’s note: Google Translate says, “Lemur”) No clue what it really was still haha.
As for this week, we had a mission goal to talk to 70 men on the street. It’s difficult for us because we have the main avenue in our area which is church, bar, church, bar, church.... sio we had to talk to people in the streets with whoever we could find. We ended up talking to 75 people and got the addresses of about 20 who really seemed interested. WE always love to have enough people to teach. We're supposed to be teaching about 16 people every week.
Elder Baltazar and I were talking about the growth of our ward since we got here earlier this week and we realized we really are just answers to the prayers of someone. We just worked the hardest we could and the growth came, really through none of our efforts. A few inactives have started coming back to church and we have baptised some people, but our role in it has been really small. Just a reminder to everyone in the ward how important the members and their prayers and faith are.
On Tuesday, we had district meeting, came back and taught a few lessons, and that was basically our day. We just did the usual.
Wednesday was more eventful. We taught 2 or 3 people about the book of Mormon and then at night we had the baptism of Dayanne. She asked me to baptize her, so I had that great opportunity. Aline was also at that so she got to see what it’s like. Dayanne was super excited about it. The whole time after she was smiling laughing, she was just happier. That was the same thing I noticed with Junior, he was just happier overall.
The next day was pretty uneventful... we had to make the trek to the Mission Office in Aldeota to drop off the water bill, so that pretty much burnt our day until 7. We stopped by Dayanne's house and she said she had a fantastic day and just didn't know why (we knew why).
Friday, we taught a household of one inactive member and two other nonmembers and invited them to church, but the guy had a hard time understanding me (only him, everyone else got along just fine haha). After lunch, we taught these teenagers we met in the street and their parents were just kind of listening in to what we were teaching. After we finished the father invited us to eat a quick dinner with them and they asked questions about what a mission is and what we do. The mother loved the idea (I think for her son ;) ) and the father was really interested in our dedication. They were out of town this Sunday, but we invited them to church the next week. We also taught the husband of a formerly inactive lady. She started coming back to church in full stride. She started up a family night for her family, got on the lunch calendar and asked us to teach her husband. This all happened just after we stopped by and visited with her for a bit. Sometimes it only takes a little of that feeling of the spirit to want to come back.
Saturday we really didn’t do anything spectacular. We went to another formerly inactive members house because it was the daughter's fifth birthday. They are just a pleasant family and we love to stop by and just share our spirit with them. Most of their friends are in the church too so they have great support there.
Sunday, we went to an investigators house to go to church and she said she wasn't sure she wanted to continue the discussions. She said she felt the desire to go back to her old church. We asked some questions and came to the conclusion that she was missing that spirit from her life. We found out she hadn't been giving her all to find the truth, but we just simply invited her to church and if she still didn't have the desire, we would respect that. IT was really perfect because we had the Confirmation of Dayanne and then it was fast and testimony meeting. It was a great meeting block and our investigator really enjoyed it. We took her back to her house (which is far away. Good thing the SS lesson was on sacrifice!). She offered us some chocolates and she said, "Thank you for not giving up on me." I was really touched because we are just doing what we should be doing and it made that much of a difference to her. She said we could come back tomorrow, so I think the Spirit did its part.
After that we went home and finished our week, and planned how we were going to help some specific people throughout the week, and that was what I did!
All in all it was a great week... it went fast but I enjoyed it. I don't have anything else to add, so with that I will close! I love you all!
Elder Cornwell
PS Another Photo from Elder Heath's blog:
So I just have to relate this funny experience really quick. Yesterday, we were walking to church with an investigator and I saw something climbing on the power lines and I thought "that's funny, a squirrel!" I looked closely and I realised it was a small lemur type animal. I pointed it out and our investigator Aline said "Sagui!" (Allison’s note: Google Translate says, “Lemur”) No clue what it really was still haha.
As for this week, we had a mission goal to talk to 70 men on the street. It’s difficult for us because we have the main avenue in our area which is church, bar, church, bar, church.... sio we had to talk to people in the streets with whoever we could find. We ended up talking to 75 people and got the addresses of about 20 who really seemed interested. WE always love to have enough people to teach. We're supposed to be teaching about 16 people every week.
Elder Baltazar and I were talking about the growth of our ward since we got here earlier this week and we realized we really are just answers to the prayers of someone. We just worked the hardest we could and the growth came, really through none of our efforts. A few inactives have started coming back to church and we have baptised some people, but our role in it has been really small. Just a reminder to everyone in the ward how important the members and their prayers and faith are.
On Tuesday, we had district meeting, came back and taught a few lessons, and that was basically our day. We just did the usual.
Wednesday was more eventful. We taught 2 or 3 people about the book of Mormon and then at night we had the baptism of Dayanne. She asked me to baptize her, so I had that great opportunity. Aline was also at that so she got to see what it’s like. Dayanne was super excited about it. The whole time after she was smiling laughing, she was just happier. That was the same thing I noticed with Junior, he was just happier overall.
The next day was pretty uneventful... we had to make the trek to the Mission Office in Aldeota to drop off the water bill, so that pretty much burnt our day until 7. We stopped by Dayanne's house and she said she had a fantastic day and just didn't know why (we knew why).
Friday, we taught a household of one inactive member and two other nonmembers and invited them to church, but the guy had a hard time understanding me (only him, everyone else got along just fine haha). After lunch, we taught these teenagers we met in the street and their parents were just kind of listening in to what we were teaching. After we finished the father invited us to eat a quick dinner with them and they asked questions about what a mission is and what we do. The mother loved the idea (I think for her son ;) ) and the father was really interested in our dedication. They were out of town this Sunday, but we invited them to church the next week. We also taught the husband of a formerly inactive lady. She started coming back to church in full stride. She started up a family night for her family, got on the lunch calendar and asked us to teach her husband. This all happened just after we stopped by and visited with her for a bit. Sometimes it only takes a little of that feeling of the spirit to want to come back.
Saturday we really didn’t do anything spectacular. We went to another formerly inactive members house because it was the daughter's fifth birthday. They are just a pleasant family and we love to stop by and just share our spirit with them. Most of their friends are in the church too so they have great support there.
Sunday, we went to an investigators house to go to church and she said she wasn't sure she wanted to continue the discussions. She said she felt the desire to go back to her old church. We asked some questions and came to the conclusion that she was missing that spirit from her life. We found out she hadn't been giving her all to find the truth, but we just simply invited her to church and if she still didn't have the desire, we would respect that. IT was really perfect because we had the Confirmation of Dayanne and then it was fast and testimony meeting. It was a great meeting block and our investigator really enjoyed it. We took her back to her house (which is far away. Good thing the SS lesson was on sacrifice!). She offered us some chocolates and she said, "Thank you for not giving up on me." I was really touched because we are just doing what we should be doing and it made that much of a difference to her. She said we could come back tomorrow, so I think the Spirit did its part.
After that we went home and finished our week, and planned how we were going to help some specific people throughout the week, and that was what I did!
All in all it was a great week... it went fast but I enjoyed it. I don't have anything else to add, so with that I will close! I love you all!
Elder Cornwell
PS Another Photo from Elder Heath's blog:
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Picture, Courtesy of Elder Heath
Thank you, Elder Heath!
Kyle needs to start sending some pictures home...or maybe we need to send him a card reader.
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