afrodescendente com deficiência mental... a nega maluca

Olá gente! This week was rockin' like Mike's new band, Rocktopus.

So what happened....

Last week, I bought brand new shoes and went to McDonald's....Oh the comforts of a big city...I don't really like McDonald's, but I just had to.

But this week was wonderful...On Tuesday, I gave a training about fulfilling commitments and how it has something to do with our purpose as missionaries. I think I learned a lot more than my district about fulfilling commitments, because this last week, I applied all the things I taught to a higher degree than what I was doing before, and holy cow, the results were magnificent. Whenever a missionary works in the way that Preach My Gospel teaches, the work is so much more effective and successful. The General Authorities wrote Preach My Gospel. So really, whenever we do what the Prophet and Apostles say, everything works out, and we have an effective and successful life!

On Tuesday, I went on a division with the Zone Leaders. I went to their area and our goal was to close all the baptismal dates that were marked. We made plans of how we were going to do it, and how we were going to help their investigators. We were able to mark 2 baptismal dates, and now the Zone Leader's ward is going to have some awesome new members this coming month. It was a powerful division, and I'm grateful that I was able to help. I also learned so much with Elder Sol about being a more effective missionary. 

On Wednesday, we visited Edson. Edson is a man that was supposed to be baptized this coming Saturday, but he didn't go to church on Sunday. This week, we went and were helping him to prepare for his baptism and his daughter was there. We were able to converse with her and it was a powerful lesson. Edson is trying to stop drinking alcohol so that he can be baptized, and in the end, have a happy life. As we were accompanying his drinking, his daughter starting to teach him too! She started begging him to stop drinking. She noticed the sadness and unhappiness that he had in his life because of alcohol, and she started imploring him to stop drinking. It was a powerful help to the lesson. It was also New Years Ever, so we left him with the commitment to not drink that night. If he could prove to the Lord that he was able to not drink that night, he would be able to receive a more powerful remission of his sins, and be much more prepared to be baptized. It was an incredible lesson, and he was very committed. It was really sad to us when we returned on New Years Day to accompany him, and he had drunk the night before. We did all that we could, but every one has the gift of free agency. If we use it to be happy, or use it to be sad, that's our choice. But everyone has it. Please pray for Edson and Laura, his daughter!

There was a lot of rain here so it was a fun week. We taught English and piano classes on  Saturday, and it was super fun. 

We had a really cool experience this morning. There's a member here in Santa Maria who's having some problems in her marriage. I'll keep it short, but basically she and her husband are splitting up and it's being really hard on her. This morning, she called us and asked if we could pass by her house and give her a blessing. When we got there, her daughter was sleeping on the couch, and her son was playing with his action figures. It was a peaceful scene, but yet you could see that she was so sad inside. We sat down and talked about how to have a happy family, and how she never depended on her rude husband to be happy. It was interesting because this last week, I dreamed of her and her husband, and I was teaching them how to have a happy family. In the dream, I shared a special scripture that I love about keeping the commandments of God, and how when we keep the commandments, we're happy. (Mosiah 2:41). In the dream, I challenged her to go to the temple, which was something her husband didn't want to do (even though he is a member). When we arrived at her house this morning, I knew exactly what scripture I needed to share with her. I shared the same scripture with her and I told her that her happiness only depends on if she keeps the commandments or not. I challenged her to go to the temple, which is a commandment of the Lord, and she accepted. Now, she's preparing herself to be worthy to enter into the temple and I know that she'll be able to be more happy as she keeps the commandments. Before, she told me "I don't think God likes me very much"...when she said that I told her that of course God loves her! I told her about the dream and about how God prepared us to give her this blessing and that he cared about her so much that he sent his servant a dream. Now, she will be able to have a happy life as she leaves her husband behind, who was stopping her from progressing, and she'll be able to have a happy life in the Gospel, as she prepares herself to go to the temple and raises her children in the Gospel. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a vessel for the Lord to help her when she needed it the most. I love how our Heavenly Father cares about each one of us and how important we are to him! His ultimate goal is our personal happiness and the happiness of our families. But as we keep his commandments to the best of our abilities, God will bless us with miracles, peace, and happiness. I know this is true. 

I LOVE THE GOSPEL SO MUCH! God loves us and cares about each and every one of us. I hope every one knows that.

I love you all, and I hope your week is full of scripture study, family prayer, and hugs.

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!!!!!!

Elder Hintze