God really loves his children! These past couple of weeks have been a little tricky for me but this past week I have been really appreciative of all the opportunities I´m having to learn and grow.
One day all of our appointments fell through and I was standing on the sidewalk thinking what we were going to to when an elderlyish woman walked by and I talked with her and asked her if she was busy and had time for a message. She said yes and that she was walking to the house that we were standing near. We entered the house and there was Gabriela who has 14 yrs. We taught about the plan of salvation. The woman was Seeda, grandmother of her. Gabriela said her older sister was a member and when we talked about baptism she got very excited. At the end of the lesson her mom and sister came in the house so we got to talk with them. Gabriela is underage and so we need the signature of Clarice the mom to teach and baptize her. Clarice was resistant at first because she also has another son who is baptised but doesn´t go to church any more and she didn´t want Gabriela to be baptized and later not want it anymore. I´m so grateful for the Holy Ghost because I said exactly what I needed to say, that baptism will bless the life of Gabriella and recieving the Gift of the Holy Ghost will help guide her and make the right choices in life. I asked Karen, the older sister to share her testimony about the Holy Ghost and at the end Clarice signed. Gabriela also has a younger sister Patricia who is 8 and super super cute. Both went to church this Sunday and loved it. It´s still early but I´m so excited we found this family.
Another moment that was a miracle was also when we didn´t have any appointments. I was standing on the street thinking what were we going to do and I saw a house and went to knock on it. There was a little interphone box and when we interphoned up a person asked who we were and I said we were looking for Maria (because Maria ia a common name) and that we talked with her and she said we could share a message. The door buzzed and opened! A man was leaving and said Maria was upstairs. He was super nice, said he was baptised and now was catholic. We entered the house and met the elderly couple Maria Rosa and João. They are super nice and hadn´t been to the church in many years. I´m not sure how else we would have found them without the Holy Ghost.
I also had a very tender moment yesterday. Two weeks ago Denisse and Maria Rita were supposed to be confirmed, but they had to pick up a friend at the airport. So this Sunday they were confirmed and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the bishop. I felt the Spirit strong and felt so happy in that moment. They really are so special to me and such a miracle. Two weeks ago Arthur was also confirmed by his dad Jussario too and it was also great.
This transfer I will learn a lot and grow too. Growth has a lot of pain involved, but I´m learning to develop my relationship with my Father in Heaven and one day I will laugh about it some of the challenges I have now. Oh this week Sister Garcia had a division with Sister D. Sousa so it was fun seeing her and we ate pizza with crust stuffed with chocolate. So good and so terrible for my body! Also we are teaching a "scorpion" in missionary terms or someone who likes to flirt a lot. The first time we talked with him he said he needed a church because he was looking to get married. He is very funny but I really think he will like the church and he has a real desire to know more about Christ so we will see. We also had interviews with the president of the mission. President Del Guerso is really a cara- he is super awesome. Very very smart and funny and he always has good advice.
That is about it
Beijos e abraços
Sister Haggard
