Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Street Contacting!

Sao Paulo Sunset


Massive rainstorm! Notice the water spewing from the spout across the street.


Elders Rodriquez, Santos, Titus and Burt. Elder Burt is my companion.


Week six has come and gone! I’ve been told that I’ll be transferred out into the field (somewhere in Londrina) about October 23rd. I’m excited, and also a little nervous. I wish I knew the language better, but I guess that’s what everybody says. I’m one of the top in my class, so I hope I’ll manage okay.

Last Friday we went “street contacting,” with a goal to hand out two Books of Mormon. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in case you forgot, people here don’t speak English. Anyway, it went really well. Elder Burt and I met a man sitting outside his house. We asked if he believed in God and Jesus Christ, and he said, “Certo (s-air-too),” which is the English equivalent of “word,” but actually means “correct.” We asked him if he believed in the Old Testament prophets, like Noah and Moses, and he replied again, “Certo.” We told him of the authority they had to direct the church at that time, and to receive revelation for the people. And we explained that without the proper authority on the earth, the church could not function, and that when Jesus Christ and the Apostles were killed, that authority was gone, too. But with the formation of America came freedom of religion and we went on to tell him about Joseph Smith and how he noticed there were many churches and they taught so many different things. In Ephesians 4:5 it says, “…one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Joseph was confused, so he went to the Lord in prayer. God answered his prayer. And when Joseph had matured enough, the Lord led him to the Book of Mormon, a record of scripture about the people of the ancient Americas. We explained how the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and like the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, it is another testament of Jesus Christ. We gave him a Book of Mormon with our testimony that if he read it and prayed to know if it was true, that he would receive his answer. He took it from us with a smile on his face. It felt really awesome.

We then talked to a few younger guys, one was in a hurry and the other was not religious. We found another man sitting down and talked with him, and had another successful lesson. He asked, “Quanto costa?” which means “how much?” We told him, “De graca,” which means “It’s free,” and he had a smile on his face as he took the Book of Mormon from us. Before we left him, I pointed out a few of my favorite scriptures that he should read first; such as 2 Nephi 29:7-8 which explains that there is more scripture beyond the Bible, because there are many nations in the world, and God knows of them and loves them enough to talk to them, just like He did with the Jewish people. Also, Moroni 10:3-5 which talks about praying to know whether or not the Book of Mormon is true, through the power of the Holy Ghost. I mean, really, how many books give a promise that you can discover whether their content is true or not?

Overall, it has been a fun time and I’m really excited to get out into the real world. But, for now, there are still 2-1/2 more weeks of class.

Elder Rodriguez and Elder Santos left today and are both headed to Recife, Brazil. It won’t be the same without them. Elder Santos was really getting good at Uno!

No comments:

Post a Comment