25 November 2013

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Well, there is not too much to write about in this e-mail. The week was normal. The highlight is that we will probably have a baptism this coming Saturday. It will be the baptism of Junior, an eleven year old. I don't necessarily want to baptize kids on the mission but who am I to deny him, he asked to be baptized after an activity we had at the church Saturday night. We met Junior and a lot of other young investigators my first week in Intercap in the house of a member. We invited them all to go to church that coming Sunday and to our surprise all of them showed up to church, all 8 of them. Over the past 4 weeks Junior has been the only one that has shown interest in the church and has not missed a Sunday yet. We spoke with his mother yesterday and she gave us the go ahead. I see potential in his mother as well, so we will baptize him this weekend and then start to work with his mother. The best part is that his neighbors are members so he already has a lot of support. I am super stoked for him, he is really good kid. He answers all of our questions perfectly and understands the messages. Also, he is reading the BoM and had memorized all the names of Nephi's brothers ha ha.

I mentioned above that we had an activity in the church Saturday night, it was about the missionary work. We the missionaries were invited to do the spiritual part of the activity. I think a missionary's worst enemy is probably procrastination and well... we procrastinated. We decided at the last minute to put together a play about the missionary work which was definitely not a smart idea because non of us are actors. Our play turned out so badly, but it was extremely funny. And because of this play now our lunch calendar is full for like the next two months ha ha. We even have back-up lunches if necessary The members really liked our play a lot. The play started with us making a contact in the street with a punk teenager and after the lessons he is baptized and serves a mission. It was classic.

So we are teaching Carlos and Fátima, an older couple in their 50's and they are super interested in the church. They have already been to church and also the activity and they are preparing to be baptized. The only problem now is that they have to get married and stop smoking. Carlos has already stopped but it is has been a lot more difficult for Fátima. Also, Fátima has to get divorced from her husband from 11 years back. Can you believe that she is still married to her ex-husband which separated from her 11 years ago? That is Brazil for ya. But all in all they will make great members of the church. It will take awhile to baptize them.

The missionary work is kind of difficult here. I thought it was going to be a breeze, but I have come to realize that this is not the case here. It is mainly because the members are so busy and the missionary work is not really a focus for them. I don't really know what to do because we don't have time to train members. Also, I have a feeling that I won't be here in this area for too long and I don't have the will power to fix this problem. We are on our own here. But hey it is not the first time, it is been like this my ENITRE mission so it is all right.

Lastly, our district is doing well. All of us will baptize this coming Saturday. All three companionships. I am excited for this day. If I don't go ZL in this coming transfer I think it will be guaranteed for the next transfer. I don't want to go ZL for any kind of glory it is just that I am tired of working from scratch in every area that I pass through. I want to have a stud companion that likes to work just as much as me and having a good area would be a cherry on top. I want to have a lot of success until the end of mission so that I can go home without any regrets. This is the great desire of my heart.

That is all for now, 

Tchau, 

Elder Miller