Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Marlene and Kids Got Baptized!

Elder McCombs, Isabella, Marlene, Guilherme, Diego (you have to be 8 before you can be baptized), Juliano and me

We found this sweet little secret spot

Almost as good as the shower at the apartment

Yo,

This week was super! Started out with the sweet baptism of Marlene and kids. In the past, Marlene was taught the lessons, but didn’t get baptized because of coffee. But from Sunday night until now, she completely stopped cold turkey, and they were baptized!!!! Yeah! It went super well. The branch president’s wife gave a talk on baptism and enduring to the end. Elder McCombs baptized Guilherme first, who was freaking out because the water was cold. Then I got in and baptized Juliano, who also was freaking out. He descended the first 3 steps but refused to descend the last, so I had to pick him up and get him in position. Then I baptized Isabela, who didn’t fuss at all. Haha, shes a toughy! Then I baptized Marlene, and it was awesome. Then on Sunday, with the confirmations*, the ward secretary confirmed Marlene and Guilherme, and I confirmed Isabela and Juliano. That is the first time I have confirmed anyone. It was very cool. Marlene is soooo much happier now. It’s nuts. We visited them yesterday. The gospel has the power to completely move people's lives, I have no doubt about that. People completely change. It’s amazing. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help these people.

So, the U.S. lost to Ghana, what the heck? But, Brasil beat Chile 3-0. Woot!

Figured out that Assis has 98,000 people, so it's not as small as I thought. We also take care of 7 other cities, but only visit one or two occasionally. ie, our area is as big as the Seattle Mission... and it’s all ours.

On Sunday two people came to church alone. Dora (mom), and Agosto (son), who is 19. And they are super interested and live behind the church. Yes, baptism is marked for July 17th. We already ate lunch with them.

Me and Elder McCombs went on a cool adventure. There was this river under a bridge, and we went down there and it was way sweet! It looks like paradise (just with some litter). It was a neat discovery.

Had my first boo-boo in Portuguese last night. Some dude said he was from Sao Paulo, on the street while contacting him (because he didn’t know where the church was) and his girlfriend said “Só detalha,” which means “Only a detail,” but what does that sound like? To us, it sounded like “Sou da Italia,” or “I’m from Italy.” So we were like, “Oh cool, where in Italy?” and she got confused. It was awkward.

The end.

Tchau, boa semana. (Bye, have a good week)

Elder Titus

*Confirmation: When you have repented, and are baptized by one with the priesthood authority given by God, you receive a remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). After the baptism, you are confirmed. Confirmation is an ordinance in which a person is confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One or more authorized priesthood holders lay their hands on your head, confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and bless you to receive the Holy Ghost.

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