Well my dearest family! First off I just wanted to thank you guys for all the support that you give me. All your prayers, your thought and all the precious little things that you all have done on my behalf. They really do help. Thank you.
This week went by really fast. On Tuesday me and Elder Luis, an elder that I live with, went to Maceio for a leadership meeting with the Mission President his wife the AP and the secretaries. The trip was very exhausting. We left Tuesday afternoon and got back on Friday morning. But as always the meeting was great. I love talking with the Mission President and Sister, they are so full of love and energy and they radiate it to everyone around them. And talking with them gives people a drive to work hard and baptize everyone! After the meeting I just wanted to get back home as soon as possible to get to work and find those special people that God has prepared for me and my companion to find and teach, Those elects. I know they exist. So I was full with this energy to get back home and… we missed the bus! We called the bus station to see when the bus would leave and they said 6 o'clock. But when we got there at 5:30 they said the only bus was 6 AM and not PM… Ahhh man! So we had to sleep in Maceio to wake up early and catch the bus. But the energy was still there.
One of the bummers of this week was with a young man that we brought to church, we have been teaching him and his mom together. We think that this young man might not be all there, if you know was I mean. But this Sunday he said he could come but his mother couldn’t make it. Well we brought him to church showed him around a bit and he got to know some of the members and then we went to priesthood. About a half an hour into the lesson he got up and said he needed to leave. We talked a bit and he said he has been trying to find the right religion and that its not this our religion. He said he will just stay with the religion that he was with. We ask what happened and why and so on but it didn’t make a difference. He said that our religion is complex or complicated… But he couldn’t explain why. Needless to say it was extremely hard for me to handle. It was the first time in my mission that someone left the church with a decision made that the church isn’t for them… But I did my best.
Another hard part of this week was seeing the principles of the Gospel class. Last week we had about 20 people in the class, which was really good. But this week we had 2. I got to thinking, what am I doing here, what difference am I making, what am I doing wrong? I couldn’t get these negative thoughts out of my head. It wasn’t until we went into the chapel and the sacrament was being blessed that I finally understood. Thinking of Christ and how much He suffered and how the people didn’t understand His purpose and didn’t accept Him and His teachings. It makes sense. At times I ask myself why things don’t go better, but then I remember Him and what He went through. It was easy for Him. I know that this church really is the church of Christ. He is our leader, our head, our example and our model. I am so thankful for the testimony that I have of the gospel and the work that I am doing. I know it's true.
On a happier note one of our investigators is changing her work schedule to work every other Saturday and Sunday so she can come to church! We are way excited for her! And this Saturday we will most likely have a baptism of a teenage girl.
I am so happy to be on my mission, I'm learning so much and loving it!
ELDER RALPH
Maceio Brazil Mission Assignment
Serving in God's Army
