Serra - Week Seventeen

Well unfortunately, its not letting me send photos again. =( annoying.

I was transferred. My companion will stay in the area. There are going to be 18 new missionaries, and I want to train again. That's what I'm hoping for.

But anyway, this week was super good. It ended with a baptism!

So, Daniela, who we have been working with for more than a month, was baptized on Sunday. But she had really changed from the start of the week to the end. At the start of the week she was just the same, keeping with commitments, she really likes the church, but didn't want to make the hard commitment to be baptized. We taught her with a member and we ended up talking a lot about baptism and the baptismal covenant. It was really good, and we marked her interview. On the night before the interview, she woke up in the middle of the night, thinking a lot about baptism and the things that we taught. She went and got a notebook and a pen, and started writing things that she like about the church, and why she should be baptized. She said that it was like her hand was being guided and that it wasn't really her that was writing these things. At the end of the list that she had written about why she liked the church, that she knew it was right, and all the things she knows, she wrote, "so what's keeping you from being baptized?" And she decided that she would be baptized. Sunday was stake conference right after, with about the whole ward there, we performed the ordinance. It was awesome. Everything went well, and she said after that she had been really nervous and stuff, but after she knew she had made the right decision. =) I know that she will never fall away from the church. She is already integrated well with the ward, and has really felt the power of conversion in her life. =) Now she just has to keep it up so her husband will get baptized too.

We also had a super awesome experience with a couple that we are teaching, Renan and Silmara. We bought members there, and this lesson was really spiritual. We talked a lot about the restoration, and Renan was asking a lot of questions because he really wanted to understand. He is feeling the lack of God in his life, and really wants to change that because of his new daughter. What was cool is that this member couple taught more than we did, which I thought was great. At the end we wanted him to pray. We suggested that one of us pray, then one of the members, and then him, on our knees. He agreed. When it was his turn to pray, the spirit was really strong. It was probably the first time he had ever prayed out loud, and probably the first that they had prayed together as a family. It was really cool to see him take that step in his life. He has so much potential. =)

I'm just sad that I have to leave the area. There are so many good people here! Speaking of which, at stake conference I saw some people from Linhares, my first area. And they remembered my name! That made me really happy. It was good seeing these friends again, although I did have time to catch up because I had to do a baptism. haha

And, I saw the cops chase some guy down. And WE were in the way. Almost got shot. haha  It was exciting even though for me it was super casual. Some guy was running away on a bike and started to take a gun out and I super casually said to my companion, that guy has a gun...
Soon after, two gun toting cops came around the corner after him, then two pickups full of the BME (which is kinda like SWAT-- they go to GET the guys.) My comp dropped on the ground, I just stood more to the side. Someone shot at someone, but I didn't stop to see. I just kept going back to the house, but it was cool. I've never seen the cops chasing after someone.

That's about it. If I have a package I'll get it tomorrow. Oh, and a member gave me a guitar yesterday. =) that was cool. But yeah, I really liked this area and I'm sad to be leaving. I want to train a new American. haha but we'll see. I'll let you know.

I love you all, I'm safe, (I have yet to be robbed on the mission, the spiritual protection is great =) and I love what I'm doing. Hope you're all well. I'm surprised how fast its gone. I'm almost on the home stretch. =/  Well, until next week. =)

ps, I took a lot of pics this week, but the computer won't let me send them. Better luck next week I guess.