Monday, November 15, 2010

Two New Techniques We've Been Asked to Implement

Elders in the Arapóngas District

Bruna's baptism

E aí? (means: what’s up? Pronounced: ee-eye-ee)

Surprise. We had a baptism on Saturday. So, the general authorities are having us use 2 new techniques that Elder de Jesus and I put into practice on Saturday. First of all, they are emphasizing the importance of missionaries visiting with less active people whose families are not all baptized. For example, there is a lady that was baptized who is inactive, and whose husband isn’t a member. So the missionaries are visiting with them. Well, when we first got here we had a meeting with the leadership of Arapóngas, and they sent me and Elder de Jesus to visit a less active family, that had not been to church in 10 years, but had been sealed in the temple. They have a daughter who had gone to a Young Women’s activity the previous week. We went there last week on Thursday the 4th. Turns out the family was cool. Bruna is the name of their daughter. She’s 15. We marked her baptism for the 13th of November which she accepted. It was weird though because she was initially excited, then got super weird and on Monday she didn’t wanna get baptized anymore. So we were like, “Yo, ask God if it’s what you should do.” The day before, she had told her parents “I’m no longer a girl of the world any more, I’m a girl of God.” So I used that to our advantage. I ripped out a picture of baptism from the 3rd lesson pamphlet and had her write that phrase on a sticky note that I had, and then had her tape the picture and the note on her closet. Well, she got an answer and got baptized on the 13th.

Technique #2, they want us to have the members do more of the actual baptizing. So we had Irmão Mario baptize Bruna. When Mario was investigating the church 10 years ago it was Bruna’s dad that helped him get baptized. It was cool to have Mario baptize Bruna. And Bruna’s family came to the baptism and is working hard on coming back to church.

Anyway, things are going really well here in Arapóngas, except all the streets here have bird names!!!!! It is so weird! Arapóngas is a bird. EVERY STREET has some freaky bird name. And some are kinda difficult, for example: Cambaxirra Rouxinol (cahm-buh-she-huh -- ho-she-nohl). Yeah. Does that not sound Japanese? Now say it as fast as you can, and imagine someone saying it to you at that speed and you having to write it down.

Well. Tchau.

ET

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