Another Miracle

So this Sunday we had a few investigators come to church, but all hope of  having a baptism this transfer kinda fell through. But at the last moment an old investigator popped up and said she wanted to be baptized, so we marked her baptism for the 8th of December!!

Honestly me and my companion have been working hard and have had a little success, but finally our labors have qualified for a miracle!!!!

Things that happened:

I saw a giant tarantula just walking on the sidewalk.

Got terribly sick on Wednesday with a fever of 101 degrees and vomited; got a priesthood blessing and was totally better the next day.

Found several cockroaches in our apartment and promptly destroyed them.

I am super excited for Frazier to go to Brazil. You will learn to love America, not to say Brazil is terrible, but we are so blessed to have been born in America. Learning another language has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but you know Spanish so it should be a bit easier. Also read preach my gospel in English first to get the lessons down.

Anyway, I’m excited to talk to my family on Christmas, hopefully through Skype, but we still have some time. I hope Thanksgiving was awesome. That is not a holiday here...so I just worked. I miss berry delight...and orange rolls.

Eu Amo Voces,
Elder Willard

Mission Changes

New changes to all missions in Brazil.

-We can not play basketball or soccer or football.
-We can not be with other missionaries on P-day.
-We can not have Zone activities.

We don’t really know what to do on p-days now...we can have staring contests in the apartment.
Other news! Frazier got his mission call to Manaus Brazil!!! I also made pancakes today because we found some mix in a random store. Of course it’s a Great Value brand, Oh Walmart....

I sure am enjoying the work, being a missionary and teaching o evangelho restaurado!
até agora, foi maravilhoso, aprendi bastante. Mas agora chega a hora a trabalhar bastante
e batizar todo mundo. Eu gosto de ver pessoas mudando vidas deles para preparar-se ser
batizado na igreja de Cristo. (the restored gospel! Until now, it was wonderful, I learned a lot. But now it's time to work hard and baptize everyone. I like to see people changing their lives to be prepared for baptism in the church of Christ.)

I have never been so tired in my life. I'm getting a better understanding of what exercising faith truly means, and going the extra mile. And what it means to love your companion on the mission. People weren't lying when they say you become a better husband, father, brother, etc, serving a mission. It’s just natural after seeing literally thousands of families and their relationships, what works and what doesn’t work.

Eu sei que a igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Ùltimos Dias é verdadeira.
(I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.)

Elder Willard

Missionary Angels

We are already listening to Christmas music! Which is great! Thanksgiving does not really exist in Brazil so we are just gonna skip it and go to Christmas. Something cool happened yesterday. My companion and I went to an investigator’s house and as we came in we saw that the family was watching American football! Let me remind you that Futebol Americano is not popular at all. It is nearly impossible to find the football channel, let alone people that are interested in it. But lo and behold, I saw my beloved Seahawks playing the Jets!

We also saw Lynch score a touchdown! It was pretty difficult to teach a lesson compared to just sitting and watching something other than soccer.

On a more spiritual note, we found a family pretty far from our home and the Grandmother, Olinda, told us that just the previous day she had been praying for an angel to come and see her. Then she said, “And then two angels came walking down the road to my house.” Hopefully we can get her to come to church and get baptized.

Also a little advice about dating or having a relationship:
Get married to your husband or wife legally and don't live together until you are married. Being legally married strengthens every single aspect about your relationship with your spouse and your future children. If someone truly loves you, they will want to marry you legally because they don’t want a light relationship or “no strings attached.” They are in it for the long haul, for good or for bad. Too many people here in Brazil just start dating someone and then start living together because it’s fun and easy. But down the line they realize that they don't truly love each other, and at the first sign of trouble they want to split and unfortunately the children suffer.

Eu sei que Cristo sofreu tudo por nós e podemos aplicar a Expiação de Jesus Cristo em nossas vidas incluindo casamento.
Vivem vidas certas e nunca esquecem oração pode dar muitos respostas para todas as perguntas. Eu Amo Vocês!

[I know that Christ suffered for us all and we can apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives including marriage. Live certain lives and never forget prayer can give many answers to all questions. I Love You!]

Élder Willard

Prayer Works

Being senior is pretty awesome, but an aspect that I'm trying to watch out for is listening to my companion and allowing him to do his part. He can receive revelation about the work just as much as I can.

Estamos falando portuguese na rua e a gente tem mutia coisa a melhorar, ainda. Mas, estamos ensinando muito e, pela nossa fé, vamos batizar!

{We are speaking Portuguese in the street and we have a lot to improve still. But we are teaching very much and, by our faith, we baptize!}
We are going to the temple today, which is why I didn't write on Monday.

But one quick experience: yesterday we went about working with almost no success which was very bothersome and frustrating. As we walked and worked I was praying to Heavenly Father for guidance or direction to help us find someone to teach. We had a dinner with a less active family, so I had given up in finding anyone for the day. But it wasn't until the end of the dinner that the family’s 10-year-old daughter asked to be baptized!! YEAH! Prayer works everybody!!

I am thankful for all the blessings that I have received on the mission and in my life.

Elder Willard