"See that ye do them"

OLÁ FAMÍLIA!!  

FIRST OFF. Congrats to my favorite new couple Dallin (my brother) and Paige on getting married this past week!!!! I wish I could've been there in person instead of cardboard haha.

WHAT A WEEK. Well to start off we got to see an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ this week, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Twelve.

Before I get to the part of what I learned, let me give you guys an update. This week we had divisão with the assistants and I stayed with E. Fernandes from São Paulo. He's from my group from the CTM and he's a great leader. His family will be moving to Utah, so we'll be sure to get a hang out session in. We worked super hard, running around and talking with everyone in sight. We were able to put some new investigators on date as well!!

We also had divisões with Cidade Oeste in order to help them out as well. I was able to stay with Elder Oliveira. He was baptized 3 years ago and is still the only member of his family. He is 3 months in to his mission and has already learned so much. He is a real example to me in how to be a real convert to this gospel. We decided to go on splits because E. Engel (from Oklahoma) is a senior companion with very little time in the mission. Their situation reminded me a lot of when I got called to train E. Eiras after 3 months of training, haha. Good times.

In our area, the struggles have continued. All was set for the baptism of Sarah and Luana, when out of nowhere their Dad and Mom (both members of the church) said they didn't know what they wanted with their life yet so it would be better to not baptize them now. We pleaded and pleaded and pleaded again with them to let their daughters make the right choice and be baptized. After 30 minutes of trying to convince them, E. Alves bore his testimony and I felt the Spirit very strong in that moment of discouragement and sadness. When I bore my testimony, I expressed my gratitude for having parents who put me in the covenant path ever since I was little. I said that I honestly had no idea where I would be if it wasn't for my parents. I bore my testimony on families and the role of parents in the family.

 I can't describe to you guys how discouraged I was with the recent lack of success we've been having as a zone. Elder Alves and I have been praying and fasting non-stop to help the zone and that miracles might occur, but nothing seems to be happening. That's when I really had to put me knees on the ground and to as James 1:5 and ask of God. I started to find comfort in the scriptures when I found this scripture in the famous discourse of King Benjamin:

9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. 

10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them. (Mosiah 4:9-10)

This scripture reminds me of a saying that my parents and church leaders have told me ever since a kid that was the answer to my prayers and fasts: 

"Work like everything depends on you, and pray like all depends on the Lord."

- We had a opportunity to hear from an Apostle this week, Gary E. Stevenson. We got there super early and we got to rehearse how we would shake his hands and everything. The 2 missions were there: Brazil Fortaleza Mission and the Brazil Fortaleza East Mission. It was a TON of missionaries. I remember very vividly the anxiousness for when Elder Stevenson would walk through the doors. When we walked through, we were all posed ready for the pictures, and he and E. Aidukaitis (Seventy, Area President of Brazil) were astonished with the reverence. He walked in, and I knew in that instant that he was an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

- After that, we got to shake his hand. I was pretty nervous because Elder Stevenson is the first apostle I've ever seen in my life!! When it got to my turn, he had a little trouble with my name but got it right in the end. When he said my name correctly, I said "Isso!!" which is portguese for "that's right". Lol. I quickly corrected myself and said "yep, yep, thats me!". I knew I would do something weird.

- E. Aidukaitis challenged us to preach with the sound of a trump being bold and told us of the promisses of talking with 20 people each day: Our baptisms would double!!

- Sister Stevenson challenged us to bring our converts to the temple and have 2 baptismal dates. 1 for their baptism, and 1 for on behalf of their ancestors who didn't have the chance to accept the gospel here.

- Elder Stevenson gave a great training on how to use Preach my Gospel more effectively. He told us that we have to be addicted to committing and promising blessings to others. You can't do one without the other. He gave an example of the scripture "Ask and ye shall recieve, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen." If we just leave the commitments it looks like this: "Ask... knock... amen." Commitments don't make sense without promising blessings!!

- He told us of a story when he was a mission president in Japan where 2 missionaries were teaching 2 little girls of 9/10 who were ready to be baptized but the Father was firm in his stance that the girls wouldn't be baptized (Does this story sound familiar?) He went down to the small little branch in Japan to talk with the father. He talked and talked with him, and slowly his heart started to open but he said that he WOULD let them be baptized when they turn 18. A little disappointed, he then challenged him to let the kids be baptized by the time the Elder that was teaching them would go home. The Elder was in his last 3 weeks of his mission. The father said no. He made another invitation for him to watch Sacrament meeting with them that same day. 

He reluctancy said yes but kept his head down with his hoodie up the entire meeting. When Elder Stevenson when up to repair the damage of what he had did, he lifted his hoodie and his face was red with tears running down his face. He said that he would let the girls be baptized. Elder Stevenson made ANOTHER invitation, the big one, for him to be baptized. He said, "I don't think I can do it." After 2 months of fighting to overcome his problems, he was baptized. 2 months later when E. Stevenson returned he was the Ward Mission Leader, had invited 65 people to come to church, and he was known as the "Happiest man of the Branch" throughout the branch.

I know this was a lot, but it was a crackin' week.

AMO VOCÊS!!!!

Elder Eliason

Fotos

1/2) Luana painted me and Elder Alves 

3) My Cardboard cut out at the wedding hahaha