Campos - Week Twenty-one

Well, this week was pretty interesting.

Basically many of our investigators stopped progressing, but I'm still able to see many of the miracles that God works in his missionary work.

First of all, I will tell a little bit about Magda. Even though Angelo hasn't been home this whole week, (which has got me really worried, I’m going to fast this week) Magda has been SO prepared by the Lord that it is just amazing. She has such a strong desire to have a happy family and to have an eternal family. So she went to church yesterday, and she really liked it. Here’s the part that was really amazing: In Principles of the Gospel, we were talking about the family being forever, I showed Magda a picture of the Salt Lake Temple and started to explain about temples, and being sealed. When I said that this is a temple of the Lord blahblahblah, she said very casually, yeah I know, I dreamt about one of these temple some time ago. WHAT? Apparently, she receives a lot of personal revelation through dreams, and in one a long time ago, she saw the Campinas temple. When she was in church, and saw the picture on the wall, she instantly realized the temple as a place she had been in her dream. There was also a random butterfly in the chapel today, and it landed on her, (the only person it landed on) and she said that she felt something really special when it landed on her. She also told us during the week that she got an answer to her prayer. She finished reading the part in the Book of Mormon that we left for her, and she prayed about it and said she felt a really strong feeling of peace. We taught her all of the commandments this week, and she does not have a single problem with any of them.

Thinking back at what had to happen for us to teach her, is just amazing. If we hadn't knocked doors last transfer, we wouldn't have found Angelo and known where his house was. We only saw him one time, and we never went back. The other day we were walking. And I thought, hey, do you remember that kid we taught who lives over here? Let’s go visit him. We got to the door, and Magda was there, and she let us in and was really receptive. She also heard the sisters a long time ago. Just thinking about how she has been prepared, and how we were lead there is still amazing to me. God really does work miracles in the lives of his children.

The other miracle that I saw this week, was with Fernando, an inactive member that I have been working with basically since I got here. Yesterday, I saw a huge change in him. (I sent a picture of him last week). Basically, to tell a little bit about his story, he used to be rich. He lost everything, and was living with a younger woman, and her child when I met him. She betrayed him and abandoned this child more than three times. He used to be full of hate and anger and didn't really want to go back to church because the members stopped helping him because he wasn't going to church. He also had Word of Wisdom problems. Because his "wife" left again, he had to stay home to look after his son, (which isn't even his, but he has legal guardianship and the love that he has for this child is amazing) so he can't work. We were there earlier this week, and was more or less the same as always.
Elder Lefoll, during a division, told him about how the Lord, and how the church, needs worthy men, priesthood holders that will make a difference in the Lord’s work. Yesterday when we visited him, it was awesome. Fernando started to cry and the Spirit was really strong there. After all the suffering, all the trials, all the anger, hate, and bitterness, he was able to forgive the woman that betrayed him many times, abandoned a child. He had basically by himself, ended his Word of Wisdom problems, and was trying to clean himself spiritually from all the evil that he had done in his life. I have seen how powerfully the Atonement has worked in this man's life. Even after everything he had been through, he stood, with tears running down his face, saying, "I will be in church, I will be ordained to the priesthood, and I will be clean in the presence of God. I will go to the bishop and say I will clean this the Lord's house BY MY SELF because He has done wonders in my life and through my suffering and my misery He has not forgotten me, so this is the smallest act that I can do to show my gratitude to my God." It was a moment very special.

Really was a miracle of the atonement that we saw in this man's life.

I love working for the Lord. The spiritual experiences are great. Seeing the Atonement work in these people's lives is a great reward. Just thinking about this story and passing it to you, I can feel the Spirit.

The Atonement is real, and in works miracles in our lives if we let it. All the sorrow and pain and guilt that we feel is washed away with light and joy. I have felt this in my life. Repentance is real. And Christ can heal our broken souls. I love the Lord's work and I love this gospel.

This week I was also feeling really, alone, and I wasn't happy. I was annoyed with things, I wasn't feeling the Spirit. I wanted to know what was wrong, and I didn't feel like God was watching out for me. I remember that when I prayed that night, an amazing feeling of warmth and love came over me like I've only felt one other time in my life.
Like someone was hugging my soul. I know that God loves us and that he is looking out for me. Just that experience tells me how much God loves me and wants me to be happy.

Thank you mom and dad for all that you have done in my life, teaching me the gospel, and doing everything to help me go on a mission. I love you Mom and Dad.

Love you fam. Keep up the good work. =) Stop destroying the car Drew. xD

Eu amo todos Vocês!