We ate at president Chiaki's house for dinner, then we went home and watched the fireworks at midnight. Unfortunately, champagne is against our beliefs, so we just drank grape juice. :P
When you were teaching the new investigator, who talked a lot, did you get a chance to get a lesson in?
Kind of. What we did is to let him teach himself. Just say a few things and try to direct him into the right train of thought. ;) However, it's a lot more complicated than it sounds.
Fireworks are really a big thing in Brazil. For one, summer isn't complete without tons of randomly fired fireworks during the day. For another, every official holiday(Christams and New Years) means staying up til midnight and setting off all the mortars you've got. Officially, we missionaries have to sleep just as we always do. However, just as I could never sleep in a war zone, there was no way we'd be snoring in bed any of these nights. ;)
Anyway, although this season is full of some great memories and some wonderful opportunities, it also means a lot of difficulty in the missionary work. When it gets really hot around here, you can guarantee that everyone in the city has one, gone to the beach, or two, gone to the lake. So, the official population of the city falls somewhere around two, Elder Angus and his exhausted companion. So it goes to say that this week we knocked on a lot of doors with little or no success. But, we did however find a few golden families, all of which were truly prepared by God.
The first was one that I'd actually met before. We'd knocked on every door, in the rain, and we were rejected by everyone until we reached the last house. Once there, the woman shouted, "Oh, Elder! Come on in!" Beyond the fact that she already knew us, she said it all in English. :) Turns out that she was an English teacher that my second to last companion and I had helped out once. She told us that she was 'agnostic' but that she wasn't really able to decide because all of the different descriptions of God, who he is, and what he does just left her with doubt. So we sat, we talked a little while, and she showed this intense desire to know, as if she was simply waiting for someone to say simply, "God exists, and he loves you."
Another, although only a contact, was something really cool. A member was helping us do contacts yesterday, when we passed one of the richest houses I've seen in all the area. So, Elder dared me to try the contact, and I did. After chatting a little on the interphone, she came out front and we talked to her about the importance of the family and a little about the church. In return, she told us that this had been exactly what she'd been looking for. Although her husband was under the belief that "all churches are true," she was truly searching for one different, and one that could help her family be happier. When the holidays settle down, we'll start visiting with her and her family. Booyah!
Just to finish, I'll talk about one of the coolest things I saw happen. Basically, the Holy Ghost takes an active role in every life to help them do what's right. That role kicks in for all of those that are ready to follow his promptings. One of our investigators showed us this. When we arrived there to visit him, he said he knew we would come. Earlier, he'd passed in front of six churches he'd previously attended and was invited to, but something inside him told him to leave and keep going. So returning home, not knowing why, he got the feeling to stick around, because God would be "sending him his servants." Little later, we arrived at his doorstep.
Anyway, gtg. Thanks for everything!
Elder Angus
wotw
desafio (des-ah-fee-oo) Challenge. Life's better when it's full of them.
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